House of Commons Hansard #115 of the 43rd Parliament, 2nd Session. (The original version is on Parliament's site.) The word of the day was report.

Topics

Alleged Breaches of Privilege Presented in the Second Report of the Standing Committee on Access to Information, Privacy and EthicsPrivilegeRoutine Proceedings

1:40 p.m.

Liberal

Francis Drouin Liberal Glengarry—Prescott—Russell, ON

Madam Speaker, I want to thank my colleague for his speech.

He indicated that he has been here for only about a year and a half. I would remind him that, normally, in May and June, the House often sits until midnight. This has been going on since before the Liberals came to power.

I would also like to point out that the Bloc Québécois also often has a tendency to talk a lot in committee and slow down the work. Every party could accuse each other of doing that.

More importantly, we have bills that are important to certain people, including the LGBTQ+ community, several members of which have approached me about the importance of banning conversion therapy. I am not sure if my colleague is aware of what happened on Friday, but it became clear that the voting application suddenly stopped working for the Conservatives.

I would like to know what my colleague thinks about these tactics to slow down the work of the House and the importance of passing the legislation that Canadians and Quebeckers sent us here to pass.

Alleged Breaches of Privilege Presented in the Second Report of the Standing Committee on Access to Information, Privacy and EthicsPrivilegeRoutine Proceedings

1:45 p.m.

Bloc

Alain Therrien Bloc La Prairie, QC

Madam Speaker, I salute the member for Glengarry—Prescott—Russell.

The Bloc Québécois does indeed speak a lot in the House and in committee, and we often make some very intelligent points, I must say.

We speak a lot because we have a lot to say. One thing I can promise is that we will never prorogue the Parliament of Canada.

When the Liberals prorogued Parliament, they made the House and the committees lose out on five weeks. That Bloc Québécois will never do that.

Alleged Breaches of Privilege Presented in the Second Report of the Standing Committee on Access to Information, Privacy and EthicsPrivilegeRoutine Proceedings

1:45 p.m.

Conservative

Todd Doherty Conservative Cariboo—Prince George, BC

Madam Speaker, I will keep my comments short and sweet as our hon. colleague has summed it up quite concisely.

My question for my hon. colleague is this. Would he not agree that one group controls the legislative agenda in the House, and that is the government, which has dithered and delayed more than anyone? It has cast stones at us and the opposition, saying we are holding up its legislative agenda, and that is false.

Alleged Breaches of Privilege Presented in the Second Report of the Standing Committee on Access to Information, Privacy and EthicsPrivilegeRoutine Proceedings

1:45 p.m.

Bloc

Alain Therrien Bloc La Prairie, QC

Madam Speaker, I commend the minister and thank him for his question. He raised a good point.

I am the House leader of the Bloc Québécois. At these leaders' meetings, as I mentioned, we expect the legislative agenda to move forward at a quick pace.

We unfortunately never really managed to understand this government's plan for its different bills or which bills were most important. We had no idea.

This government's management of the legislative agenda is extremely problematic and inefficient.

Alleged Breaches of Privilege Presented in the Second Report of the Standing Committee on Access to Information, Privacy and EthicsPrivilegeRoutine Proceedings

1:45 p.m.

Bloc

Mario Simard Bloc Jonquière, QC

Madam Speaker, as my charming colleague from La Prairie said earlier, we will support the motion because we like to be constructive.

I completely agree with everything my colleague said. This is like a bad relationship, and I am wondering how we ended up here. I am not here to blame anyone, but I do want to talk about the attitude we are seeing from my Liberal and Conservative colleagues.

The Liberals may have made our Conservative colleagues angry by refusing to provide all of the information required to Parliament. This anger has been evident in recent weeks, and it does not contribute to a productive and harmonious atmosphere here. As we have seen today, our Conservative colleagues have been misusing our time here in the House.

Furthermore, Madam Speaker, you may have missed this, but while our Conservative colleagues were requesting votes on some matters of questionable relevance, the charming member for Beauport—Côte‑de‑Beaupré—Île d'Orléans—Charlevoix was singing Qu'il est difficile d'aimer. That about sums up the day we have had.

In the context of the pandemic, the government and the Conservative Party often tell us that we have to take a team Canada approach, even if being part of the team makes it hard to love them at times. I think my colleague's song choice was quite apt because they give us little reason to love them. It is complicated. In the past few weeks between the Conservatives systematically obstructing our work and the Liberals withholding information, it is hard to identify with team Canada.

However, there were some very interesting things on the legislative agenda that were important to me, such as Bill C‑12 on climate. The federal government announced a recovery plan that was meant to be green, but there is no clear direction. It talks about the electrification of transportation and makes an announcement, that I found distressing, on grey hydrogen, which is an oil-based product. I fail to see how that can be considered green. We would be better off with more robust environmental legislation. We are not sure if we will get to the end of the study on Bill C‑12 in parliamentary committee because we are running out of time.

The same goes for Bill C‑10, the culture bill. I know that, in Quebec, the divide between our position and the Conservatives' position on that issue is deep and wide. We believe we should support our cultural sector, but the Conservatives see Bill C‑10 as an attack on freedom of expression. That does not justify bringing Parliament to a standstill by raising points of order that can be a bit silly, in my opinion. We could have made a lot more progress on this bill.

There is also Bill C‑6, the conversion therapy bill, which has aroused what I consider to be the epitome of bad faith. I heard some things last week, some absolutely outrageous things, that made what is left of my hair stand on end. To draw a parallel between sexual orientation and therapies widely justified by certain pathologies is, in my humble opinion, a demonstration of bad faith.

In my introduction, I asked myself how we got to this point. I get the sense that some members of the Liberal Party and the Conservative Party cling very tightly to their ideology. Instead of placing public welfare and the public good above all else, they favour private and partisan interests, which is the worst possible thing in politics. As a result, we have hit the limit of what we can do in a hybrid Parliament. We have to acknowledge the fact that dealing with the pandemic is slowing us down too.

The interpreters do an outstanding job. They are essential for us francophones. Everyone knows that there are two official languages in Canada: English and translated English. Without the interpreters, we cannot participate in democratic life. When we do more work in Parliament, they are the ones who end up exhausted. I do not think we take that into account enough.

The interpreters do an excellent job in committee and in the House. Many members of the House sometimes do not use the right equipment. They are not aware of the impact that can have on people's health. This shows the limits of technology in the context of a virtual Parliament but also the appreciation—I do not want to use the word compassion—that we should have for these people.

We need to commend the interpreters. In fact, I would like to take a moment to thank them. They are essential for us. I would also like to thank the members of the technical team. Some of the older members of the House have trouble using new technologies. Finally, I would like to thank the committee clerks. This is not an easy situation since we are going to increase their hours of work. I get the impression that they already have a very heavy workload.

One of the government's responsibilities is also to ensure that the necessary human resources are in place and that they do not burn out. I think maybe the government needs to become a little more aware of that.

In closing, I am not trying to brag, but my party has showed that we were prepared to co-operate. The expression “team Canada” does not really reflect who we are, but we showed that we were prepared to co-operate. I am sure that, if everyone works together, we will be able to finish the work on the important bills, Bills C-12, C-10 and C-6, in the next week.

Alleged Breaches of Privilege Presented in the Second Report of the Standing Committee on Access to Information, Privacy and EthicsPrivilegeRoutine Proceedings

1:55 p.m.

Winnipeg North Manitoba

Liberal

Kevin Lamoureux LiberalParliamentary 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

Madam Speaker, I appreciate a number of the comments that have been expressed by the member from the Bloc. As I indicated to the previous speaker, Bloc members have demonstrated the need, from their perspective, to support time allocation and government legislation, and Bill C-10 is an excellent example of that.

If time allocation was not being used regarding Bill C-10, what would my colleague from across the way have anticipated to be a potential problem, whether at the committee stage or third reading, given the Conservative opposition to the legislation?

Alleged Breaches of Privilege Presented in the Second Report of the Standing Committee on Access to Information, Privacy and EthicsPrivilegeRoutine Proceedings

1:55 p.m.

Bloc

Mario Simard Bloc Jonquière, QC

Madam Speaker, I may not have as much parliamentary experience as my colleague, but I am sure that Bill C-10 would have progressed much faster if the government had not prorogued the House.

Alleged Breaches of Privilege Presented in the Second Report of the Standing Committee on Access to Information, Privacy and EthicsPrivilegeRoutine Proceedings

1:55 p.m.

NDP

Alistair MacGregor NDP Cowichan—Malahat—Langford, BC

Madam Speaker, I was looking at the parliamentary calendar, and it does say we are scheduled to return to the House on Monday, September 20. Of course, the reason we are having all this drama over extended sitting hours and the government trying to rush bills through is because it is widely expected the Liberals are going to call an election. I mean, let us just face the facts here.

Would the member not agree the Liberals are just kind of underwriting this whole crisis with their march to a sure election call this summer?

Alleged Breaches of Privilege Presented in the Second Report of the Standing Committee on Access to Information, Privacy and EthicsPrivilegeRoutine Proceedings

1:55 p.m.

Bloc

Mario Simard Bloc Jonquière, QC

Madam Speaker, I agree with part of his analysis.

Indeed, if we thought we would be returning to the House in September, there might not be this sense of urgency. However, I am pretty sure that we will have bigger fish to fry come September and we will be debating and hoping to come back to the House, so yes, I agree with his analysis.

Alleged Breaches of Privilege Presented in the Second Report of the Standing Committee on Access to Information, Privacy and EthicsPrivilegeRoutine Proceedings

1:55 p.m.

Bloc

Caroline Desbiens Bloc Beauport—Côte-de-Beaupré—Île d’Orléans—Charlevoix, QC

Madam Speaker, I appreciate my esteemed colleague's comments, and I am especially fond of his region.

I heard him talking about Bill C-10 earlier. I saw a leading public health scientist on television recently explaining to some journalists who were in front of her that some of the money allocated to public health should go towards culture, too, and not just to psychiatrists and psychologists. She believes that the remedy, the best antidote for the post-pandemic situation, will be culture and entertainment. That is why it is so important that Bill C-10 pass quickly, since that is the vaccine we need the most right now.

I would like to hear my colleague's thoughts on that.

Alleged Breaches of Privilege Presented in the Second Report of the Standing Committee on Access to Information, Privacy and EthicsPrivilegeRoutine Proceedings

1:55 p.m.

Bloc

Mario Simard Bloc Jonquière, QC

Madam Speaker, I love my colleague's question, and I encourage her to pass along the clip she saw to that Conservative member, whose name I do not remember, but who said that Quebec culture was outdated, that it relied on grants and that it was stuck in the 1990s.

I thought that all of those comments she was making were about oil, but I digress.

Alleged Breaches of Privilege Presented in the Second Report of the Standing Committee on Access to Information, Privacy and EthicsPrivilegeRoutine Proceedings

1:55 p.m.

Liberal

Iqra Khalid Liberal Mississauga—Erin Mills, ON

Madam Speaker, the member spoke about the paralyzing of Parliament due to points of orders being raised, which really stop debate on issues important to Quebeckers. On that note, I will give my condolences to the member with respect to another femicide that happened in Quebec very recently. We are hearing about women in Quebec who are the victims of domestic abuse, almost every week.

When the member hears the Conservatives raising all of those points of order, when he hears that debate is being halted in this House, preventing the good work that individual Canadians really need our government to do, how does he feel about that? How does he—

Alleged Breaches of Privilege Presented in the Second Report of the Standing Committee on Access to Information, Privacy and EthicsPrivilegeRoutine Proceedings

2 p.m.

Liberal

The Assistant Deputy Speaker (Mrs. Alexandra Mendès) Liberal Alexandra Mendes

I have to give the hon. member 10 seconds for an answer.

The hon. member for Jonquière.

Alleged Breaches of Privilege Presented in the Second Report of the Standing Committee on Access to Information, Privacy and EthicsPrivilegeRoutine Proceedings

2 p.m.

Bloc

Mario Simard Bloc Jonquière, QC

Madam Speaker, there is probably a connection between what I just said and the femicides.

I could perhaps make a connection with our debate on Bill C-6, an act to amend the Criminal Code regarding conversion therapy, an extremely important bill that could be passed quickly if our Conservative colleagues had one ounce of compassion regarding gender diversity.

That is the only answer I have for my colleague.

Portuguese Heritage MonthStatements By Members

2 p.m.

Liberal

Julie Dzerowicz Liberal Davenport, ON

Madam Speaker, my riding of Davenport is home to the largest Portuguese community in Canada. I am proud to stand up in the House of Commons today, the official day of Portugal, Camões, and the Portuguese communities and to celebrate it during the month of June, which we all know is now recognized nationally as Portuguese Heritage Month.

Due to COVID, we have to celebrate differently this year, but one day soon hope to engage in activities surrounded by a sea of red and green, filled with twirling rancho dancers and bandas proudly marching with their instruments. I want to thank all the Portuguese leaders, clubs, associations and media that have tirelessly promoted the love of Portuguese culture, language and community to all Canadians.

Whether ordering a meal from a favourite churrasqueira, listening to some Fado, watching Ronaldo in the World Cup, or having a glass of excellent Douro or Alentejo wine, take the time to celebrate Portugal this month.

Viva Portugal and viva Canada. Obrigada, Madam Speaker.

Ed PrebinskiStatements By Members

2 p.m.

Liberal

Wayne Easter Liberal Malpeque, PE

Madam Speaker, I rise to honour the life of Ed Prebinski of Cornwall, P.E.I., who passed away last month.

Ed, a veteran, served for 42 years in Canada's Armed Forces, joining at age 16. His postings were all over the world, including Germany, Cyprus and as an NCO at the Canadian embassy in Tehran during the 1979 Iran hostage crisis. His medal rack was full of international honours, too many to name.

A 1982 posting brought him to CFB Summerside and he never left the island for work again, spending the rest of his career at Veterans Affairs and Foreign Affairs and retiring in 2003. Following retirement, his passion became helping to deliver medical humanitarian aid to destinations like Cuba, sometimes several times a year, with Not Just Tourists; even a hefty generator was delivered to Haiti. Ed could cajole substantial medical supply donations and even get a break from the airlines.

We thank Ed for his service. We salute him. We offer condolences to Lynne and family.

Books of RemembranceStatements By Members

2 p.m.

Conservative

Cathay Wagantall Conservative Yorkton—Melville, SK

Madam Speaker, Canadians cherish our Books of Remembrance as a way for those not able to visit a final resting place to pay their respects to our fallen men and women in uniform.

In 2005, a seventh book was dedicated to those who died in the service of Canada during the Cold War. At the veterans committee, we heard from retired Major James McMullin who served our country for 38 years and spent more than 10 years of his retirement visiting and documenting every military cemetery in Europe with Canadians who were posted, died and buried since October 1, 1947.

Shockingly, his records indicate that 396 individuals buried outside of Canada, three-quarters of those who died, have not been included in the seventh Book of Remembrance. Mr. McMullin's appeal to the Government of Canada to ensure all names are memorialized has fallen on deaf ears. In memory of Canada's Cold War contribution and those who never returned home, the government should admit an error was made and ensure that those who died as a result of their service will forever be remembered.

Lest we forget.

Saint‑Basile-le-GrandStatements By Members

2:05 p.m.

Bloc

Stéphane Bergeron Bloc Montarville, QC

Mr. Speaker, the city of Saint‑Basile‑le‑Grand is celebrating its 150th anniversary this year. Saint‑Basile‑le‑Grand is one of four communities that make up the riding of Montarville, which it is my honour and pleasure to represent in the House.

Back in the 19th century, local inhabitants, led by a man named Basile Daigneault, requested their own parish, and their request was granted in 1870. One year later, the municipality was founded. Both the parish and the municipality were named Saint‑Basile‑le‑Grand after the illustrious doctor and father of the Catholic church, but also as a nod to the man who had played such an important role in the community's development and would become its first mayor.

Now home to a great community, Saint‑Basile‑le‑Grand will be celebrating its 150-year history. A full slate of events, designed with the public health situation in mind, will soon be announced. I am sure the people of Saint‑Basile‑le‑Grand will be in the mood to celebrate after months of lockdown. I wish them a fantastic 150th anniversary.

Laval InfrastructureStatements By Members

2:05 p.m.

Liberal

Angelo Iacono Liberal Alfred-Pellan, QC

Mr. Speaker, since 2015, our federal government has chosen to invest in infrastructure across Canada. These investments ensure that our communities grow.

Laval and my riding, Alfred‑Pellan, have greatly benefited from a $1‑million investment for a natural gas refuelling station, $1 million for the Parc de la Rivière-des-Mille-Îles Exploration Centre, $8 million for Collège Montmorency, $45 million for the Société de transport de Laval, $85 million for the Pie-IX Bridge and $260 million for Highway 19.

Through these investments, our federal government is reiterating its commitment to support projects that build our community in Laval in partnership with the City of Laval. We are and will remain a partner for the riding of Alfred‑Pellan and for all the people of Laval.

Bill C-10Statements By Members

2:05 p.m.

Conservative

Chris Warkentin Conservative Grande Prairie—Mackenzie, AB

Mr. Speaker, freedom to speak is a cornerstone of a free society. Bill C-10 will threaten that freedom and opens the door for the government to decide what is acceptable speech and what is unacceptable.

Democracy rests on the rights of a free people to speak freely, to freely debate and decide what are good ideas and what are bad ideas. I trust Canadians to engage in robust debates and wisely seek out truth without the government looking over their shoulders.

It is no wonder that it is the current government, whose entire philosophy is based on weak and faulty ideas, that is trying to ram this legislation through before an election. However, Canadians will not be silenced, and they know that Bill C-10 is simply an attempt to limit their ability to challenge those in power.

I will continue to fight against the passage of this flawed and dangerous legislation. Attempts to silence Canadians are wrong, and I will continue to fight and defend the rights of Canadians to freely challenge those in power.

IslamophobiaStatements By Members

2:05 p.m.

Liberal

Arif Virani Liberal Parkdale—High Park, ON

Mr. Speaker, my wife and I have 2 boys, and like many racialized families, we try to teach our sons to be proud of their South Asian heritage.

We encourage them to wear traditional clothing, so on religious festivals like Eid, the kurta pajamas come out. I often thought that the worst outcome for parents like us would be that our kids might grow up ashamed of their heritage.

However, after the attack in London, I realize that the worst fear is that our kids might actually be scared about their heritage. At the vigil this week, after a terrorist filled with Islamophobic rage killed members of a Muslim family simply because of their faith, we heard about young kids who were now asking, “Mom, do I look too Muslim?” No Muslim should be afraid to dress how they choose, to fear that visibly manifesting their religion makes them a target for lethal violence, yet this is the legacy of the London attack.

We need to call out anti-Muslim sentiment by name: Islamophobia. We need to call out politically motivated violence for what it is: terrorism. We need to work to address the root cause of this hatred: radicalization online. That is the work I am committed to, and I urge all my colleagues in the chamber to join me.

Portuguese Heritage MonthStatements By Members

2:10 p.m.

Liberal

Peter Fonseca Liberal Mississauga East—Cooksville, ON

Mr. Speaker, in June, we celebrate Portuguese Heritage Month, a great time to recognize and celebrate the contributions of Canadians of Portuguese descent. Also, today, June 10, is Portugal day, commemorated both in Portugal and around the world by Portuguese in honour of the 16th century poet, Luís Vaz de Camões, whose prose captured Portugal’s age of discovery.

It is a special day of pride for me, both as a Portuguese Canadian and as a resident of Mississauga, a city with over 20,000 Luso Canadians. Canada is now home to one of the largest Portuguese diasporas in the world, with nearly half a million people of Portuguese origin calling Canada home.

This past year has been very difficult. Personally, I have seen many losses within our Luso community here and back in Portugal. We know we are all in this together, much stronger and closer than ever before.

Again, to our Luso community, Feliz Dia de Portugal. Viva Canadá. Viva Portugal.

Keystone XL PipelineStatements By Members

2:10 p.m.

Conservative

Kelly Block Conservative Carlton Trail—Eagle Creek, SK

Mr. Speaker, yesterday, Alberta and TC Energy announced the devastating news of the official termination of the Keystone XL project.

Canada's oil and gas industry has long been a sector that has fostered economic growth and prosperity for thousands of hard-working Canadians, generating tax revenues, which support social programs and infrastructure, like schools and hospitals. However, a guilty pleasure of the current Liberal government is watching the destruction of this industry, which is, after all, the Prime Minister's goal.

The Liberals shower the industry and its workers with empty praise, while implementing policies that serve to hasten its demise. Western Canadians deserve the security and dignity that comes with a secure, stable and well-paying job. Canada's Conservatives will secure the future and enact a comprehensive jobs plan to get Canadians back to work in the oil and gas sector, and in every other industry in Canada.

Yonge Subway ExtensionStatements By Members

2:10 p.m.

Liberal

Francesco Sorbara Liberal Vaughan—Woodbridge, ON

Mr. Speaker, as we talk infrastructure during Canada’s infrastructure week, it is not just about building roads and bridges. It is about investing in infrastructure that builds strong communities across the country and delivers a better quality of life for Canadians.

That is why the Government of Canada announced a historic $10.4-billion investment for four shovel-ready public transit projects in the GTA, including the Yonge North subway extension. These investments support strong cities and respect transit decisions made by local decision-makers based on what is best for their communities.

Our York Region Liberal caucus, since the onset, advocated for the Yonge North subway extension and the government listened, with this $5.6-billion transformational project set to benefit over 1.2 million York Region residents.

We are ensuring that every $1 invested in infrastructure counts, creating good jobs and growing the economy post COVID-19, tackling climate change and building more inclusive communities for all Canadians.

Public SafetyStatements By Members

2:10 p.m.

Conservative

Leona Alleslev Conservative Aurora—Oak Ridges—Richmond Hill, ON

Mr. Speaker, this pandemic has exposed global vulnerabilities to biological threats and shown that progress in biotechnology could be exploited for hostile ends. That is why security breaches at Winnipeg's National Microbiology Lab must not be ignored.

Two scientists were fired from this lab after the Canadian Security Intelligence Service recommended that their clearances be revoked. Chinese military scientists were granted access to work in the lab and deadly viruses were transferred from this lab to the Wuhan Institute of Virology. These national security concerns must be explained.

The government was ordered to provide critical documents to the Canada-China committee, but has refused to do so. Instead, to avoid accountability, the Prime Minister submitted them to a committee that he controls and can subsequently silence. This was not his decision to make. The Prime Minister must abide by the will of Parliament. Canada's national security depends upon it.