Debates of Oct. 26th, 2022

Reuniting Families Act

[The Speaker, Liberal, Anthony Rota]

Pursuant to order made on Thursday, June 23, the House will now proceed to the taking of the deferred recorded division on the motion at third reading stage of Bill C‑242 under Private Members' Business.

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

Vote #200

[The Speaker, Liberal, Anthony Rota]

I declare the motion carried.

(Bill read the third time and passed)

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 North Okanagan—Shuswap, The Economy; the hon. member for Battle River—Crowfoot, Access to Information; the hon. member for Brantford—Brant, The Economy.

[Kevin Lamoureux, Liberal, Winnipeg North, MB]

Mr. Speaker, in light of what happened today, in particular prior to question period, I hope you would find unanimous consent to adopt the following motion: That, the time provided for Government Orders today be extended by 30 minutes.

[The Deputy Speaker, Conservative, Chris d'Entremont]

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

[Some hon. members]

Nay.

[The Deputy Speaker, Conservative, Chris d'Entremont]

There is no agreement.

I wish to inform the House that, because of the deferred recorded divisions, Government Orders will be extended by 27 minutes.

[Some hon. members]

Oh, oh!

[The Deputy Speaker, Conservative, Chris d'Entremont]

Government Orders is extended because of the vote, not because of extenuating circumstances. It is an automatic change.

Government Response to Petitions

[Kevin Lamoureux, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary 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 one petition. This return will be tabled in an electronic format.

Interparliamentary Delegations

[Francis Drouin, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food]

Mr. Speaker, pursuant to Standing Order 34(1), I have the honour to present to the House, in both official languages, the following reports of the Canadian Branch of the Assemblée parlementaire de la Francophonie, or APF, respecting its participation in the meetings of the APF Education, Communication and Cultural Affairs Committee, the APF Young Parliamentarians Network and the APF Network of Parliamentarian Women in Papeete, French Polynesia, from April 19 to 22, 2022; in the Working Group on Reforming the APF Constitution and in the meeting of the APF Political Committee in Quebec City, Canada, from May 12 to 15, 2022; in the 9th edition of the Francophone Parliament of Youth in Tirana, Albania, from July 25 to 31, 2022; and —

[The Deputy Speaker, Conservative, Chris d'Entremont]

Order. There is still a technical problem with the system.

We will send another wireless system over to the member so he can access the translation.

The parliamentary secretary may continue.

[Francis Drouin, Liberal, Glengarry—Prescott—Russell, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I got to the 9th Edition of the Francophone Parliament of Youth in Tirana, Albania, from July 25 to 31, 2022; the 37th Session of the America Region of the APF and Conference of Branch Chairs in Edmonton, Alberta, from July 18 to 22, 2022; the Bureau Meeting and 47th Annual Session of the “Assemblée parlementaire de la Francophonie”, or APF, in Kigali, Rwanda, from July 5 to 9, 2022; and finally, the Symposium of the APF on Contested Democracies in Luxembourg, Luxembourg, September 15 and 16, 2022.

Public Accounts

[John Williamson, Conservative, New Brunswick Southwest, NB]

Mr. Speaker, I have the honour to present, in both official languages, the 21st report of the Standing Committee on Public Accounts entitled “Just Transition to a Low-Carbon Economy”.

Pursuant to Standing Order 109, the committee requests that the government table a comprehensive response to this report.

Canada Student Financial Assistance Act

[Kevin Vuong, Independent, Spadina—Fort York, ON]

moved for leave to introduce Bill C-301, An Act to amend the Canada Student Financial Assistance Act, the Canada Student Loans Act and the Apprentice Loans Act (interest on student loans).

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to rise today to introduce my private member's bill, which seeks to eliminate interest on Canada student loans and Canada apprentice loans.

This bill will assist Canadian students trying to obtain a post-secondary education and their families with the high cost of education. Especially during high interest rates, high inflation and soaring food costs, removing the interest on these loans will lessen their financial burden and provide students with the opportunity to obtain good-paying jobs in the future.

Anything that reduces financial barriers to education and creates a better taxpayer will reap dividends for our nation. There is no better investment for our country than Canada's youth.

(Motions deemed adopted, bill read the first time and printed)

Vaccine Mandates

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

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to present a petition on behalf of residents of British Columbia who are frustrated with the mandatory vaccination requirements that were in place at Canada Post.

These residents are asking the federal government to investigate Canada Post's treatment of employees who refused to attest their personal vaccination status and demand that Canada Post compensate affected employees for monetary loss pertaining to leave without pay or employment termination.

Charitable Organizations

[Cathay Wagantall, Conservative, Yorkton—Melville, SK]

Mr. Speaker, citizens and residents of Canada are drawing the attention of the House of Commons to the following: The Liberal Party of Canada promised in its 2021 platform to deny the charitable status of organizations that have convictions about abortion, which the Liberal Party views as dishonest. This may jeopardize, they say, the charitable status of many other institutions, such as hospitals, churches, schools, homeless shelters and other charitable organizations which do amazing work in Canada. They do not agree with the Liberal Party on this matter for reasons of conscience.

Many Canadians depend on and benefit from charitable work done by such organizations, and the government has previously used a values test, through the summer jobs program, denying funding to organizations not willing to endorse the political positions of the governing party.

They therefore call on the government to recognize that all Canadians have a right under the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms to freedom of expression without discrimination. They also call on the government to protect and preserve the application of charitable status rules that are politically and ideologically neutral, without discrimination on the basis of political or religious values and without the imposition of another values test.

Old-Growth Forests

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

Mr. Speaker, it is an honour to rise today to present a petition. It is rather long, so I will try to summarize it, as required by our Standing Orders.

It relates to the really high value and importance of old-growth forests for Canada, particularly in the context of indigenous values, indigenous exercise of rights under treaties and the indigenous role in fighting the climate crisis.

Petitioners are calling for the Government of Canada to act to protect the last unprotected, intact old-growth forests on southern Vancouver Island, specifically referencing Fairy Creek. They call on the government to work with provinces and first nations to immediately halt logging of endangered old-growth ecosystems, move to high-value forest initiatives in partnership with first nations, preferring value added and the harvesting of second and third-growth forests.

The petitioners specifically also call for banning the use of whole trees for wood pellets, in what is described as a fairly fraudulent climate action because it does not reduce emissions of carbon, but it does remove forest. They also call for banning the export of raw logs, whole logs, from Canada, to instead make sure they reach Canadian mills to create Canadian jobs.

Human Organ Trafficking

[Luc Berthold, Conservative, Mégantic—L'Érable, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I have the honour to table in the House a petition signed by many people regarding an issue that is of concern to many Canadians, and that is the increased international trafficking in human organs removed from victims without consent. I think it is critical that the House take these Canadians' concerns seriously. The undersigned are calling on Parliament to move quickly on the proposed legislation to amend the Criminal Code of Canada and the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act to prohibit Canadians from travelling abroad to acquire human organs removed without consent or as a result of a financial transaction. More importantly, they are calling on Parliament to render inadmissible to Canada any and all permanent residents or foreign nationals who have participated in this trafficking of human organs.

Charitable Organizations

[Glen Motz, Conservative, Medicine Hat—Cardston—Warner, AB]

Mr. Speaker, I have the honour of presenting four petitions today.

The first one is a petition on behalf of Canadians who are concerned that certain charities could be targeted based on their views and forced into a values test. The petitioners note that the Liberals have promised to deny charitable status to groups with views they call dishonest. They say it could jeopardize the charitable status of hospitals, houses of worship, schools, homeless shelters and other organizations. They also note that the Liberals previously used a values test to discriminate against groups applying for the Canada summer jobs grant.

The petitioners ask the House of Commons protect and preserve the application of charitable status rules on a politically and ideologically neutral basis without discrimination on the basis of political or religious views and without imposing another values test. They also ask for an affirmation of their freedom of expression as Canadians.

Vaccine Mandates

[Glen Motz, Conservative, Medicine Hat—Cardston—Warner, AB]

Mr. Speaker, another petition I have is from constituents and Canadians across the country who want a permanent end to the vaccine and COVID mandates. Right now, the government has only suspended some of the mandates. The petitioners note that countries around the world have removed their vaccine mandates and restrictions, and they call upon the government and the Minister of Transport to end all federally regulated COVID-19 vaccine mandates and restrictions.

Age Verification Software

[Glen Motz, Conservative, Medicine Hat—Cardston—Warner, AB]

Mr. Speaker, my third petition calls for the passing of last Parliament's Bill S-203, which in this Parliament is now Bill S-210. The petitioners are concerned about how easy it is for young people to access sexually explicit material online, including violent and degrading explicit material. They comment on how this access is an important public health and public safety concern. Petitioners note that a significant portion of commercially accessed sexually explicit material has no age verification software. Moreover, the age verification software can ascertain the age of users without breaching their privacy rights.

Petitioners note that many serious harms associated with sexually explicit material include the development of addiction and the development of attitudes favourable to sexual violence and harassment of women. As such, these petitioners call on the House of Commons to pass legislation protecting young people.

Carbon Pricing

[Glen Motz, Conservative, Medicine Hat—Cardston—Warner, AB]

Mr. Speaker, Canadians are suffering from inflation and the Liberals' carbon tax. In my final petition, petitioners say the carbon tax drives up the cost of everyday essentials, including gas, groceries and heating, and makes life very expensive for Canadians. The Bank of Canada said the carbon tax has increased the impact of inflation. Also, the carbon tax is an added expense to Canadian businesses and creates economic disadvantages compared to other nations.

The petitioners call for an end to the carbon tax. They want the government to control inflation and reduce its spending. Finally, they want to see pipelines and other projects approved, especially LNG projects; and pipelines getting clean ethical Canadian energy to tidewater; and international markets to displace the fuel provided by the authoritarian regimes and dictators.

Human Organ Trafficking

[Arnold Viersen, Conservative, Peace River—Westlock, AB]

Mr. Speaker, I have a number of petitions to present today.

The first petition is in support of Bill S-223. The folks who have signed this petition, who are from across Canada, are concerned about international forced organ harvesting that happens around the world.

The petitioners are calling on the Government of Canada to ensure that Canadians cannot go abroad to get organs that have been forced harvested around the world, and also to ensure that financial transactions that happen are rendered inadmissible in Canada to all permanent residents and foreign nationals who have participated in this. It is kind of a sanction.

Falun Gong

[Arnold Viersen, Conservative, Peace River—Westlock, AB]

Mr. Speaker, the next petition is in a similar vein. Petitioners from across Canada are calling on the Government of Canada to eradicate the use of forced organ harvesting against practitioners of Falun Gong. There is an estimated 60,000 to 100,000 transplants that have happened in Chinese hospitals since 2000, and hundreds of Falun Gong practitioners have been murdered for their organs over the last 15 years.

The petitioners recognize that both the U.S. House of Representatives and the European Parliament have passed resolutions condemning this and calling for an end to the Chinese state-sanctioned, systematic organ harvesting for prisoners of conscience, including Falun Gong. They note that, in 2015, Canada's international human rights committee unanimously adopted a similar motion.

Since May 2015, the petitioners note that Chinese citizens have filed criminal complaints against the former Communist Party leader who orchestrated the persecution of the Falun Gong. They are calling on the Government of Canada to establish measures to stop the Chinese mass murder of innocent people for their organs, including but not limited to introducing Canadian legislation to ban organ tourism, criminalize those involved and take every opportunity to call for an end to this terrible act of persecution against the Falun Gong.