Debates of June 16th, 2021

Indigenous Languages

[Alexandre Boulerice, NDP, Rosemont—La Petite-Patrie, QC]

Mr. Speaker, if you were to seek it, I believe you will find the unanimous consent of the House for the following motion:

That the House:

(a) support the unanimous consent motion adopted by the National Assembly of Quebec on June 9, 2021, recognizing primarily that,

(i) the Charter of the French Language explicitly recognizes the right of First Nations and Inuit to maintain and develop their languages and cultures,

(ii) several Indigenous languages are threatened with extinction,

(iii) the 11 Indigenous nations in Quebec have, like the Quebec nation, the right to live in their languages and to promote and protect them,

(iv) the Government of Quebec has a responsibility to assume in this regard; and

(b) call on the federal government to recognize its responsibilities and to deploy more resources to protect and promote Indigenous languages in Quebec and in Canada.

[The Speaker, Anthony Rota]

All those opposed to the hon. member moving the motion will please say nay.

I hear no dissent. The House has heard the terms of the motion. All those opposed to the motion will please say nay.

There being no dissenting voice, I declare the motion carried.

(Motion agreed to)

The House resumed from June 10 consideration of the motion that Bill C-254, an act to amend the Canada Labour Code, the Official Languages Act and the Canada Business Corporations Act, be read the second time and referred to a committee.

Canada Labour Code

[The Speaker, Anthony Rota]

It being 3:10 p.m., pursuant to order made on Monday, January 25, the House will now proceed to the taking of the deferred recorded division on the motion at second reading stage of Bill C-254 under Private Members' Business.

Call in the members.

(The House divided on the motion, which was agreed to on the following division:)

Vote #144

[The Speaker, Anthony Rota]

I declare the motion carried. Accordingly, the bill stands referred to the Standing Committee on Official Languages.

(Bill read the second time and referred to a committee)

The House resumed from June 11 consideration of the motion that Bill C-271, An Act to amend the Governor General’s Act, be read the second time and referred to a committee.

Governor General's Act

[The Speaker, Anthony Rota]

Pursuant to order made on Monday, January 25, the House will now proceed to the taking of the deferred recorded division on the motion at second reading stage of Bill C-271 under Private Members' Business.

(The House divided on the motion, which was negatived on the following division:)

Vote #145

[The Speaker, Anthony Rota]

I declare the motion defeated.

The House resumed from June 15 consideration of the motion.

Opposition Motion—Amendment to Section 45 of the Constitution and Quebec, a French-speaking Nation

[The Speaker, Anthony Rota]

Pursuant to order made on Monday, January 25, the House will now proceed to the taking of the deferred recorded division on the motion of the hon. member for Beloeil—Chambly relating to the business of supply.

(The House divided on the motion, which was agreed to on the following division:)

Vote #146

Business of Supply

[The Speaker, Anthony Rota]

I declare the motion carried.

The House resumed from June 15 consideration of the motion.

Federal Dental Care Plan

[The Speaker, Anthony Rota]

Pursuant to order made on Monday, January 25, the House will now proceed to the taking of the deferred recorded division on Motion No. 62 under Private Members' Business in the name of the hon. member for St. John's East.

(The House divided on the motion, which was negatived on the following division:)

Vote #147

[The Speaker, Anthony Rota]

I declare the motion defeated.

I wish to inform the House that because of the deferred recorded divisions, Government Orders will be extended by 53 minutes.

It is my duty pursuant to Standing Order 38 to inform the House that the questions to be raised tonight at the time of adjournment are as follows: the hon. member for Vancouver East, Housing; the hon. member for Mégantic—L'Érable, Seniors; the hon. member for Kelowna—Lake Country, the Forestry Industry.

Government Response to Petitions

[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, pursuant to Standing Order 36(8)(a) I have the honour to table, in both official languages, the government's response to five petitions. These returns will be tabled in an electronic format.

Interparliamentary Delegations

[Hedy Fry, Liberal, Vancouver Centre, BC]

Madam Speaker, pursuant to Standing Order 34(1), I have the honour to present to the House, in both official languages, the report of the Canadian delegation to the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe Parliamentary Assembly respecting its participation at the 18th autumn meeting of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly, held in Marrakesh, Morocco, from October 4 to 6, 2019.

Also, I present the report of the Canadian delegation to the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly respecting its participation at the 19th winter meeting held in Vienna, Austria, February 20-21, 2020.

Foreign Affairs and International Development

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

Madam Speaker, I have the honour to present, in both official languages, the eighth report of the Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Development, entitled “Mandate of the Canadian Ombudsperson for Responsible Enterprise”. Pursuant to Standing Order 109, the committee requests that the government table a comprehensive response to this report.

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

Madam Speaker, Conservative members on the committee are presenting a supplementary recommendation to the Subcommittee on International Human Rights' report on the Canadian ombudsman for responsible enterprise, CORE.

The committee heard expert witnesses that expressed concerns about CORE, in particular its advisory capacity, its potential conflicts of interest and its effectiveness and jurisdiction.

Extraterritorial concerns, at a minimum, would require information and collaboration with entities outside of Canada. In addition, greater industry consultation would be necessary if CORE's responsibility was to be expanded to all sectors, which is a desire that has been expressed by the government.

Conservative members recommend the government conduct, through an independent expert panel, a comprehensive review of CORE every four years to ensure its effectiveness as a tool to uphold human rights.

Economic Relationship between Canada and the United States

[Raj Saini, Liberal, Kitchener Centre, ON]

Madam Speaker, I have the honour to present, in both official languages, the second report of the Special Committee on the Economic Relationship between Canada and the United States, entitled “Buy America Procurement Policies: An Interim Report”. Pursuant to Standing Order 109, the committee requests that the government table a comprehensive response to this report.

Government Operations and Estimates

[Robert Gordon Kitchen, Conservative, Souris—Moose Mountain, SK]

Madam Speaker, I have the honour to present, in both official languages, the fourth report of the Standing Committee on Government Operations and Estimates, entitled “Ensuring Robust Security in Federal Purchasing”. Pursuant to Standing Order 109, the committee requests that the government table a comprehensive response to this report.

I would also like to take a moment to thank the clerk who did such a great job of organizing the meetings that led to the production of this report. I thank the analysts who wrote the report. Their work is impressive, and we appreciate their dedication in producing this outstanding document that will hopefully go a long way when it comes to how the government looks at the integrity of its procurement procedures. I thank the witnesses for their well-thought-out testimony and candour during the meetings that took place on this study. Their contributions are invaluable and are the crux of this report. We really appreciate the time and effort undertaken to provide us with this input.

I thank the House of Commons staff including our interpreters and technical staff. We know that these hybrid meetings have not always been easy, and we are so thankful for the work that they have done behind the scenes to keep everything up and running.

[Pierre Paul-Hus, Conservative, Charlesbourg—Haute-Saint-Charles, QC]

Madam Speaker, the Conservative Party definitely supports the report of the Standing Committee on Government Operations and Estimates on the contract awarded to Chinese firm Nuctech.

However, we consider it urgent to table a supplement to this report because we believe that it is essential to uncover the extent of the systemic flaws in the federal procurement process. This standing offer is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the federal government’s complacency on national security issues associated with these procurements. Urgent and necessary changes to the contracting system are needed to correct these systemic flaws. Another thing that is urgently needed is strong leadership.

We studied the details of the contract awarded to Nuctech and heard from several industry representatives. Dubbed the “Huawei of airports” and banned from U.S. airports, Nuctech is a China-based company founded by the son of former Chinese leader Hu Jintao. The government awarded it a standing offer despite the national security risks. This standing offer made Nuctech the supplier of X-ray equipment to all Canadian embassies, consulates and high commissions around the world.

That the Prime Minister considered it a good idea to award such a contract to a company under the control of the Chinese Communist regime shows his disregard for the national security that he claims to be defending. Canadians have good reason to be concerned about his failure to take the threat posed by the Chinese Communist regime seriously. That is why we are tabling this supplement to the report, which contains additional recommendations.