Debates of April 30th, 2021

Health

[The Deputy Speaker, Conservative, Bruce Stanton]

The hon. member for Sturgeon River—Parkland.

Infrastructure

[Dane Lloyd, Conservative, Sturgeon River—Parkland, AB]

Mr. Speaker, the latest Liberal budget has revealed yet another Liberal broken promise.

In 2019, the Liberals promised to support communities where coal had been phased out with a $150-million infrastructure fund. In today's budget, I found no reference to their promise to these communities. The Liberals are leaving communities and the families that live in them behind.

Why did the government break its promise to coal communities and not include the $150-million infrastructure fund it promised?

[Sean Fraser, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance and to the Minister of Middle Class Prosperity and Associate Minister of Finance]

Mr. Speaker, with respect, I live in a province that continues to rely on coal. I want to thank our premier for his commitment to accelerate the phase-out of this form of energy usage.

With respect to the use of coal, I would point the hon. member to the fact that supports are being administered today through regional development agencies to help communities that are phasing out coal. I look forward to continuing our work to support communities as they transition to a clean future. Indeed, there are very few things that are even close to being that important.

Fisheries and Oceans

[Patrick Weiler, Liberal, West Vancouver—Sunshine Coast—Sea to Sky Country, BC]

Mr. Speaker, British Columbians are concerned about the steep decline of wild Pacific salmon. When the people of West Vancouver—Sunshine Coast—Sea to Sky Country elected me, they expected me and this government to take action to protect and restore this iconic species.

With this in mind, could the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Fisheries and Oceans please update the House on what our government is doing to protect and restore wild Pacific salmon?

[Terry Beech, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Fisheries]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank my friend for his leadership on this issue. I would also like to thank my colleagues in British Columbia who works so hard to advocate for our iconic wild Pacific salmon.

Through budget 2021, our government is investing an unprecedented $647 million to both protect and restore our wild salmon stocks. This is a historic investment at a crucial time.

Working together with our provincial and indigenous partners, we can ensure that wild salmon grow and prosper on the B.C. coast for generations to come.

Canadian Heritage

[Randall Garrison, NDP, Esquimalt—Saanich—Sooke, BC]

Mr. Speaker, this month, on the eve of the International Holocaust Remembrance Day, the Chabad Centre in Victoria was defaced with anti-Semitic threats, clearly a hate crime. This week saw the release of a report on anti-Semitic incidents in Canada, which showed another annual spike of 18%, the fifth consecutive annual increase.

Canadians have been without an important and effective tool in fighting hatred since the repeal of section 13 of the Canadian Human Rights Act by the Conservatives, the section that allowed filing complaints about hate incidents with the Human Rights Commission.

When will the government table legislation to restore section 13 so we can move forward in the fight against hatred of all kinds?

[Adam van Koeverden, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Diversity and Inclusion and Youth and to the Minister of Canadian Heritage (Sport)]

Mr. Speaker, anti-Semitism and all forms of hate have no place in Canada. Our government is unwavering in its commitment to diversity and inclusion, including tackling all forms of systemic racism and discrimination that is informed by lived experience.

Eighty-five projects worth over $15 million have been selected through a call for proposals to support the anti-racism action program and its objectives, which will help combat all forms of racism and discrimination.

We will continue to be unwavering in our fight against racism, anti-Semitism and all forms of hate.

Post-Secondary Education

[Paul Manly, Green, Nanaimo—Ladysmith, BC]

Mr. Speaker, students and young people in Canada have been greatly impacted by the pandemic. Mental health challenges and dropout rates have been rising in universities, colleges and trade schools, and students continue to be crushed by debt.

Northern European countries have built their knowledge-based economies on free post-secondary education. They invest in their people and have a highly educated workforce.

Will the government make tuition-free post-secondary education a pillar of the post-COVID recovery plan?

[Irek Kusmierczyk, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Employment]

Mr. Speaker, I thank the hon. member for his advocacy on this important issue.

Young Canadians and students must be at the centre of our recovery, not only to help them rebound today but to invest in their future and our economy. That is why through budget 2021 we are investing $4.1 billion to make student debt easier to pay down and to provide direct support to students who need it most. This includes waiving the interest on federal student loans for an additional year, enhancing the repayment assistance plan, doubling the Canada student grants for two more years and extending disability supports.

We are proud that our response represents one of the largest youth support packages in the world.

Foreign Affairs

[Rob Oliphant, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Foreign Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, pursuant to Standing Order 32(2) I have the honour to table, in both official languages, two treaties.

The first is entitled “Annex V to the Protocol on Environmental Protection to the Antarctic Treaty”, done at Bonn on October 17, 1991; and amendments to “Annex II to the Protocol on Environmental Protection to the Antarctic Treaty”, done at Baltimore on April 6 to 17, 2009.

The second treaty is the Final Acts of the World Radiocommunication Conference of the International Telecommunication Union, done at Sharm el-Sheikh on November 22, 2019, known as the “Final Acts 2019”.

Foreign Affairs and International Development

[Peter Fonseca, Liberal, Mississauga East—Cooksville, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I have the honour to present, in both official languages, the sixth report of the Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Development, entitled “Igniting a crisis: The devastating impacts of COVID-19 on displaced populations globally”.

Falun Gong

[Garnett Genuis, Conservative, Sherwood Park—Fort Saskatchewan, AB]

Mr. Speaker, I am going to be tabling four petitions in the House today.

The first petition highlights the passage of the Magnitsky act by the House, unanimously, in the last Parliament as well as the persecution of Falun Gong practitioners, which has been going on for two decades, and, in particular, that Falun Gong practitioners are being persecuted in spite of their beliefs in truthfulness, compassion and tolerance. They have also been subjected to horrific practices of forced organ harvesting.

The petitioners call on the government to deploy all legal sanctions, including the use of sanctions under the Magnitsky act.

Human Organ Trafficking

[Garnett Genuis, Conservative, Sherwood Park—Fort Saskatchewan, AB]

Mr. Speaker, the second petition, on a similar issue, zeroes in specifically on the issue of organ harvesting. It is in support of Bill S-204, a bill that would make it a criminal offence for a person to go abroad and receive an organ without consent.

The petitioners are supportive of Bill S-204. They note that it has been before this House and the other place in various forms for over 10 years. They are hopeful that this Parliament will be the one to finally get it done.

Conversion Therapy

[Garnett Genuis, Conservative, Sherwood Park—Fort Saskatchewan, AB]

Mr. Speaker, the third petition is with respect to Bill C-6 that would ban conversion therapy.

The petitioners are supportive of efforts to ban conversion therapy, but they are also very concerned about the definition of conversion therapy as written in the bill. They believe we should be seeking to ban coercive and degrading practices, but should not be restricting the ability of people to have conversations in which personal views on sexuality are shared.

The petitioners call for amendments to be made to the bill to clearly address these ambiguities in the drafting of the definition.

Ethiopia

[Garnett Genuis, Conservative, Sherwood Park—Fort Saskatchewan, AB]

Mr. Speaker, the fourth and final petition relates to the situation in Ethiopia, a humanitarian situation in Tigray region that has captured the attention of many and has been raised on multiple occasions by my colleagues and by others in the House.

The petitioners call on the Canadian government to be more engaged with the humanitarian and human rights situation in Ethiopia, to engage directly with the Ethiopian and Eritrean governments with respect to the conflict and to promote short, medium and long-term election monitoring.

Secure Certificate of Indian Status

[Rachel Blaney, NDP, North Island—Powell River, BC]

Mr. Speaker, I want to thank Vivian Hermansen, the constituent who put forward petition e-3281, which I am pleased to table today with 1,164 signatures.

The petitioners point out that the Government of Canada's website says that the processing time for a secure certificate of Indian status is sixteen weeks when they know that it is between six months and two years, which, happily, the government corrected when it saw this petition. They are concerned that the process to receive a Canadian passport is on average 20 business days and that systemic racism is continuing to be perpetrated by the government, saying that its most important relationship is with indigenous communities.

The petitioners therefore call upon the Government of Canada to explore all options, including alternative solutions such as the hiring of additional staff dedicated to processing applications for a secure certificate of Indian status in a timely fashion, and that it take no longer than the equivalent time needed to process a Canadian passport, namely, 20 business days.

Forestry Industry

[Paul Manly, Green, Nanaimo—Ladysmith, BC]

Mr. Speaker, it is an honour to table this petition initiated by constituents in Nanaimo—Ladysmith. The petitioners are concerned about the logging of old-growth ecosystems in British Columbia. They note that old-growth forests provide immeasurable benefits, including carbon sequestration, biodiversity and cultural, recreational and educational values.

The petitioners call upon the government to work with the province and first nations to immediately halt the logging of endangered old-growth ecosystems, fund the long-term protection of old-growth ecosystems as a priority for Canada's climate action plan and reconciliation with indigenous peoples, support valued-added forestry industry initiatives in partnership with first nations to ensure Canada's forestry industry is sustainable and based on the harvesting of second- and third-growth forests, ban the export of raw logs, maximize resource use for local jobs and ban the use of whole trees for wood pellet biofuel productions.

The Environment

[Elizabeth May, Green, Saanich—Gulf Islands, BC]

Mr. Speaker, it is an honour to take the floor in the House of Commons virtually today.

On a historical note, the petitioners, whose petition I present today, initially raised this issue when the Hon. Lisa Raitt was the minister responsible for making the decision. They have been patient and they once again have asked for this petition to be presented to the House. It relates to the ecologically sensitive zone called the Saanich Inlet within my riding of Saanich—Gulf Islands. There is such a thing as being able to designate waterways as areas for zero discharge of raw sewage. The issue with Saanich Inlet is largely for recreational boaters, not a municipal issue.

The petitioners call on the Minister of Transport to please act to designate the Saanich Inlet, a very ecologically sensitive zone, as one for zero discharge.

Food Security

[Gord Johns, NDP, Courtenay—Alberni, BC]

Mr. Speaker, it is an honour today to table e-petition 3290 sponsored by municipal councillor Vickey Brown of Cumberland, B.C. The 1,118 signatories to this petition are calling on the government to create a national matching program for all provincial food market nutrition coupon programs across Canada that would match the provinces that are already contributing to their food market nutrition coupon programs and encourage provinces that do not have such a program to implement one, offering matching funding.

We know farmers' markets are a key tool for COVID-19 recovery as small business incubators, and domestic food system resilience and security builders. Farmers' market nutrition coupon programs are a key support for new and existing farmers, market development and their provincial associations or their equivalent. They help with food security and resiliency by providing vulnerable people access to healthy locally grown food and dietary education.

Natural Resources

[Dane Lloyd, Conservative, Sturgeon River—Parkland, AB]

Mr. Speaker, it pleases me to rise and present a petition on behalf of more than 1,400 of my constituents, led by local businessman and community leader Mark Jansen. They are calling on the government, in light of the cancellation of the Keystone XL pipeline and the threatened cancellations of Enbridge Line 3 and Line 5, to take immediate action to secure Canada's economic and energy sovereignty, and to protect Canadian industry by prioritizing the construction of new pipelines to ensure that all of Canada can be connected to our very ethical energy resources.

Farmers' Protests in India

[Brad Vis, Conservative, Mission—Matsqui—Fraser Canyon, BC]

Mr. Speaker, today I am tabling two petitions.

In the first petition, my constituents are concerned about the safety of Indian farmers protesting changes affecting their livelihoods. They call on the federal government to condemn the use of violence and reaffirm Canada's international support for the fundamental freedoms of expression and assembly. Without farmers, we do not have food.

Human Trafficking

[Brad Vis, Conservative, Mission—Matsqui—Fraser Canyon, BC]

Mr. Speaker, the second petition I am presenting today relates to human trafficking. The petitioners outline that the U.S. Department of State's 20th Trafficking in Persons Report indicates that Canada meets the minimum standards for eliminating human trafficking. Therefore, they call upon the Government of Canada to strengthen the Protection of Communities and Exploited Persons Act.

Questions on the Order Paper

[Kevin Lamoureux, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the President of the Queen’s Privy Council for Canada and Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs and to the Leader of the Government in the House of Commons]

Mr. Speaker, I ask that all questions be allowed to stand at this time.

[The Deputy Speaker, Conservative, Bruce Stanton]

Is that agreed?

[Some hon. members]

Agreed.