Debates of May 10th, 2021

Human Rights

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

Mr. Speaker, the second petition draws the attention of members to the ongoing genocide facing Uighurs and other Turkic Muslims in China. The petitioners would like to see the House, as well as the government, recognize that genocide and apply appropriate response measures. The House has taken this action, as members know, but the government has not yet recognized this genocide.

Ethiopia

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

Mr. Speaker, the third and final petition highlights the horrific human rights situation in the Tigray region of Ethiopia. It calls for greater government engagement in response to the human rights and humanitarian events that have taken place there, as well as for broader engagement of Canada with developing events in Ethiopia and engagement with the Ethiopian and Eritrean government.

I commend all three petitions to the consideration of my colleagues.

Regina International Airport

[Warren Steinley, Conservative, Regina—Lewvan, SK]

Mr. Speaker, it gives me great pleasure to present a petition on behalf of the constituents of Regina on the air traffic control tower at the Regina International Airport. This is a petition that has already done some of the good work that it was meant to, because the transport minister and Nav Canada said the air traffic control tower is going to stay.

However, the second part of the petition says it explicitly opposes any decision or recommendation that advocates for the closure or reduction of service levels at the Regina International Airport air traffic control tower.

I am very happy to present this petition on behalf of 901 signatories from Regina.

Long-Term Care

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

Mr. Speaker, it is an honour to present this petition initiated by seniors advocates in my riding of Nanaimo—Ladysmith. The petitioners call upon the Government of Canada to: include long-term care in the public health care system under the Canada Health Act; work with provinces to develop national standards for person-centred relational care, which includes the Registered Nurses' Association of Ontario's basic care staffing guarantee formula; eliminate profit-making by government-funded, corporate for-profit chains by ensuring funds provided are spent as allocated and by banning subcontracting; provide standardized, equitable living wages and benefits and implement single-site employment for all staff; ensure government oversight and initiate strong penalties and clawbacks for facilities not complying with standards and regulations; and require independent family councils with protected rights.

Property Rights

[Damien Kurek, Conservative, Battle River—Crowfoot, AB]

Mr. Speaker, it is an honour to rise in the House today to present five petitions.

The first petition, signed by members of my constituency, asks that the government seek the agreement of provinces to amend the Constitution to include property rights and to ensure that legislation is implemented to ensure that just and timely compensation would be paid as a result of any federal government initiative, policy, process, regulation or legislation regarding the acquisition of property.

Equalization

[Damien Kurek, Conservative, Battle River—Crowfoot, AB]

Mr. Speaker, the second petition asks that the government immediately increase and backdate the fiscal stabilization program and that the government commit to working with provinces to address the current inequities that exist in the equalization formula.

Senate Representation

[Damien Kurek, Conservative, Battle River—Crowfoot, AB]

Mr. Speaker, the third petition is very simple. It asks the government to take the steps required to establish equal representation for each province in Canada's Senate.

Alberta

[Damien Kurek, Conservative, Battle River—Crowfoot, AB]

Mr. Speaker, the fourth petition includes a number of points: one, to formally recognize Alberta's place as an equal partner in the federation; two, to remove any barriers to Alberta being able to develop its resources without interference; and three, to ensure unfettered access to international markets for those resources.

Conversion Therapy

[Damien Kurek, Conservative, Battle River—Crowfoot, AB]

Mr. Speaker, the final petition, signed by constituents and Canadians, outlines some of the concerns related to Bill C-6, specifically that the government ban the coercive and degrading practices designed to change a person's sexual orientation or gender identity, but it raises a number of concerns related to the bill that the government brought forward in this regard.

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, the following question will be answered today: No. 586.

Question No.586

[Michael Chong, Conservative, Wellington—Halton Hills, ON]

With regard to payments made by the government to the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank: what is the (i) amount, (ii) exact date of all payments which have either been made or will be made in the 2021 calendar year?

[Chrystia Freeland, Liberal, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance]

Mr. Speaker, this information is disclosed in the Public Accounts of Canada and previewed in the 2021-22 main estimates. More information on the Public Accounts of Canada and the 2021-22 main estimates can be found at: www.canada.ca/en/treasury-board-secretariat/services/planned-government-spending/government-expenditure-plan-main-estimates/2021-22-estimates/2021-2022-main-estimates.html.

Questions Passed as Orders for Returns

[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, if the government's responses to Questions Nos. 575 to 585, 587 and 588 could be made orders for return, these returns would be tabled immediately.

[The Deputy Speaker, Conservative, Bruce Stanton]

Is it the pleasure of the House that the foregoing questions be made orders for returns and that they be tabled immediately?

[Some hon. members]

Agreed.

Question No.575

[Lianne Rood, Conservative, Lambton—Kent—Middlesex, ON]

With regard to providing the COVID-19 vaccine to Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) members serving abroad: (a) what specific measures are in place to ensure that CAF members serving abroad receive the vaccine; and (b) what is the timeline for when the (i) first dose, (ii) second dose (if applicable), of the vaccine has been or will be administered, broken down by the name of vaccine manufacturer (Pfizer, Moderna, etc.) and the country where CAF members are serving in?

(Return tabled)

Question No.576

[Lianne Rood, Conservative, Lambton—Kent—Middlesex, ON]

With regard to the 2021-22 Main Estimates and the amount of $53,132,349 listed under the Department of Finance, for "Debt payments on behalf of poor countries to International Organizations" pursuant to section 18(1) of the Economic Recovery Act: (a) what are the details of the payments to be made under this item, including the (i) name of international organizations receiving payments, (ii) amount, (iii) country for which debt payment is made on behalf of; and (b) what are the details of all payments made through this or similar items in all main and supplementary estimates since 2016, including the (i) name of international organizations receiving payments, (ii) amount, (iii) country for which debt payment is made on behalf of?

(Return tabled)

Question No.577

[Lianne Rood, Conservative, Lambton—Kent—Middlesex, ON]

With regard to the national vaccine management information technology platform (NVMIP): (a) what are the functionalities of the NVMIP; (b) which provinces and territories are currently using the NVMIP; and (c) what are the details the government has related to the usage of NVMIP by the provinces and territories, including (i) the date each province or territory began to use the NVMIP, (ii) which functionalities of NVMIP are each province or territory is using, (iii) the date each province or territory began using each of NVMIP's functionalities?

(Return tabled)

Question No.578

[Louise Chabot, Bloc, Thérèse-De Blainville, QC]

With regard to federal spending in the constituency of Thérèse-De Blainville, in each fiscal year since 2019-20, inclusively: what are the details of all grants and contributions and all loans to any organization, group, business or municipality, broken down by the (i) name of the recipient, (ii) municipality in which the recipient is located, (iii) date the funding was received, (iv) amount received, (v) department or agency that provided the funding, (vi) program under which the grant, contribution or loan was made, (vii) nature or purpose?

(Return tabled)

Question No.579

[Louise Chabot, Bloc, Thérèse-De Blainville, QC]

With regard to resolving complaint files associated with the Phoenix pay system: (a) what is the total number of tickets or claims pending; (b) of the claims in (a), how many have been waiting to be resolved for (i) 6 to 12 months, (ii) 12 to 24 months, (iii) over 24 months; (c) of the claims in (a), how many are from citizens residing (i) in Quebec, (ii) in the constituency of Thérèse-De Blainville; (d) of the claims in (a), how many have been identified as priorities by complaint resolution directorates; and (e) of the claims in (d), how many were in the category (i) 1, missing pay, (ii) 2, leave of absence or layoff, (iii) 3, promotion, secondment or acting position?

(Return tabled)