Debates of Oct. 28th, 2022

Judges Act

[Kevin Lamoureux, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Leader of the Government in the House of Commons]

Mr. Speaker, I find it interesting when the Conservatives talk about the whole issue of crime and how tough they want to be on crime. I was an MLA, and back in, let us say, 2005 or 2006, Manitoba had the highest number of car thefts per capita. It was about the same 300 youth stealing literally thousands of cars. I think 15,000 cars was our peak. That was when we had Stephen Harper as prime minister.

I am wondering if the Conservatives can provide comment on this, as they like to say that we have developed a revolving door. How would they respond to the fact that there were so many cars being stolen in the province of Manitoba? Would they take responsibility for that?

[Brad Redekopp, Conservative, Saskatoon West, SK]

Mr. Speaker, I am a little disappointed that the parliamentary secretary did not ask me the standard question he has asked all the other people who have talked. I spoke to that a little in my speech, but I want to reiterate it because I want to answer the question that he really wanted to ask me but could not. It is so important in this House, when it comes to legislation, that we do not ram legislation through but give it proper due diligence, and that when hon. colleagues have things to say, they are respected and have their chance to say them.

More importantly, it is interesting how the government complains at this point that it had to invoke time allocation, when in fact it called an election to stop this legislation before. We could have had this legislation passed had we not had the needless election a year ago that the Prime Minister called.

That was what I wanted to say in response to the question that I know the parliamentary secretary wanted to ask.

[Denis Trudel, Bloc, Longueuil—Saint-Hubert, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I thank my hon. colleague for his speech.

I would like to address a somewhat related issue. There is a problem in this country with the way sexual assault cases are handled. Women are still afraid of the legal system. Women in Quebec who are victims of sexual assault can turn to centres known as CALACS, or Centres d'aide et de lutte contre les agressions à caractère sexuel. These centres play a very important role. According to statistics kept by CALACS, 5% of sex crimes are reported to the police. Just 5% of all sex crimes are reported. Clearly, women are afraid of the legal system. Based on the same statistics, three out of every 1,000 sexual assault cases that end up in the justice system result in a conviction. That is outrageous.

How does my colleague see this problem being addressed?

[Brad Redekopp, Conservative, Saskatoon West, SK]

Mr. Speaker, what the whole situation boils down to is a lack of confidence in the justice system. When a victim is unsure if a perpetrator will be held to account, and particularly unsure if a perpetrator will ever be incarcerated or see any consequences for their actions, it is very difficult for a victim to go through the mental anguish and pain of a court process. That is exactly why we need to do everything we can in this House to solidify and improve our system.

The current Liberal government has done the exact opposite. It has made it weaker and less responsible, and we are going to see more victims not wanting to come forward. That is why we need a strong Conservative government to fix the mess that has been created in the judicial system by the Liberals.

[Leah Gazan, NDP, Winnipeg Centre, MB]

Mr. Speaker, I was really shocked to hear my colleague criticize harm reduction approaches for people who are struggling with addictions or who use drugs recreationally. I had five people in my riding die from the toxic drug supply last weekend. It goes against what public health experts are saying about the importance of putting in harm reduction to tackle addictions or to ensure people do not overdose.

My colleague mentioned the AA program. Certainly that works for many, but suggesting that is the way forward goes against science. I know his party has difficulty following science.

I am hoping my colleague can respond to me and perhaps evolve in his understanding of harm reduction.

[Brad Redekopp, Conservative, Saskatoon West, SK]

Mr. Speaker, I am just happy that today I was able to shock the member for Winnipeg Centre.

[Scott Reid, Conservative, Lanark—Frontenac—Kingston, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I have two minutes. I will be continuing after question period, after a delay of about an hour, which is better than a situation I once had where I started a speech and then was delayed by a two-week break. There is nothing like having two weeks between the first two minutes and the remaining eight minutes of a speech to allow one to refine those remarks. The second half of the speech was considerably better than the first.

This time I am going to turn it around, and I am going to put all the exciting stuff at the front end. I am going to talk about the legislative history of this bill, a bill that is so urgently important that the government is applying time allocation and limiting debate. It is a matter that is absolutely critical to get dealt with, which is presumably why the government has delayed debate from when it introduced the bill in December 2021. It did not start debate for a further six months, until June 16 of this year, just shy of six months after it was introduced. No, in fact it is exactly six months. Maybe the government is seeking symmetry here, but that is when debate at second reading started. Of course we cannot complete anything that fast. It then disappeared. It is now back in October, and the government is announcing that it is a crisis and we must deal with this immediately, after having delayed it.

However, the story is actually worse than that because the original bill was introduced in the Senate as Bill S-3, and the government then put its own bill in. Even that misses the point that there was a previous bill, which was essentially identical, introduced before the last election, the mid-COVID pandemic election, which caused everything on the Order Paper to be set aside. It was an election which served, as far as I can tell, literally no purpose. It was the least important election in Canadian history, and simply replicated the previous mandate down almost to the exact seat.

Now it is a panic. Before we had literally years to deal with it, and I should point out that this is dealing with an issue that is essentially 50 years old. However, I will stop now and I look forward to continuing after question period.

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

I thank the member for his intervention. He will have eight minutes when we return.

Cost of Living

[Churence Rogers, Liberal, Bonavista—Burin—Trinity, NL]

Mister Speaker, I rise today to speak of the reality most Canadians are currently facing with the increased costs of groceries and other basic necessities.

Our government understands these concerns and has done a lot to provide critical relief to those most affected by global inflation. Last night, Bill C-31 was passed through the House, an act respecting the cost of living relief measures related to dental care and rental housing. This bill would provide up to $1,300 a year for eligible families to access dental services so that children 12 and under can receive regular cleaning and preventative services. As well, those who rent their homes would also get relief with a Canada housing benefit top-up payment of $500, which would see 1.8 million renters get help with the cost of housing.

I am very proud of the work our government has done to help Canadians, such as the affordable child care benefit and the recent GST top-up. The passing of this bill would continue to help those most in need during these challenging times.

Field Hockey

[Jasraj Singh Hallan, Conservative, Calgary Forest Lawn, AB]

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize a very talented young woman from Calgary, Prabhleen Kaur Grewal.

She is a grade 12 student who plays with Kings XI Field Hockey Society. She has been selected for Field Hockey Canada’s next-gen program. Prabhleen represented Alberta at the U18 nationals, where her team placed second, and she was given the tournament 11 award at the national championships. As she said, she is the first Punjabi girl to be chosen for both. She will also play with the Canadian senior women in the near future.

I want to congratulate Prabhleen and her family for her accomplishments. In Calgary, field hockey has played a key role in building community and youth leadership. I want to congratulate the various field hockey clubs, like Kings XI, United Hawks Sports Club and United Field Hockey Club, for running very successful tournaments over the summer and their continued efforts to build a better future for our youth.

I thank the coaches, organizers, parents and players for doing their part to build a strong community, together.

Jayson Colin

[Sameer Zuberi, Liberal, Pierrefonds—Dollard, QC]

Mr. Speaker, last Friday, October 21, Emmanuel Christian School in Pierrefonds—Dollard held a walkathon against violence. The gathering honoured Jayson Colin, who at 26 tragically lost his life on August 10, 2022.

Jayson was an Emmanuel graduate. Jayson was a victim of gun violence. Jayson was deeply involved in his community. Jayson was deeply loved.

Let us recommit to creating communities that are safe from gun violence. Let us, as a society, address the root causes of violence. I commend Emmanuel Christian School for organizing this walkathon and for raising the voices of our community. Let us all take a stand against violence in all its forms.

Let us continue to look at and address the causes of violence in our society. We owe it to Jayson.

Cybersecurity Awareness Month

[Brian Masse, NDP, Windsor West, ON]

Mr. Speaker, as October comes to an end, so does Cybersecurity Awareness Month in Canada. This year I have increased hope.

With the help of cybersecurity and fraud awareness experts across Canada, including John Mecher and Kevin Cosgrove, we have worked to ensure fraud awareness is at the forefront of discussions. Our goal is to safeguard and educate Canadians against the attacks coming at them from their computers, phones and doorsteps. Alongside my colleagues in the industry committee, we just reviewed our report on fraud, which holds the government accountable to make sure it is doing everything to fight fraudsters and to educate and protect Canadians.

I have hope because, thanks to a historic U.S. settlement, some Canadian fraud victims had the opportunity to recuperate their losses to scammers when they used wire transfers through Western Union. I have hope, because the world is waking up to educating and protecting its citizens before they become victims. I am hopeful that all members in the House will work with me to educate Canadians on fraud and scams, and that the government will work with its global partners to advance protections and protect Canadians at the international level.

We can do better, and we must do better. I have hope we will unite and fight these scammers and organized criminals.

Oxi Day

[Annie Koutrakis, Liberal, Vimy, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I rise in the House today to acknowledge that October 28 is Oxi Day.

Oxi Day, or “no” day, commemorates the moment in 1940, at the start of the Second World War, when Greece rejected Mussolini's ultimatum calling for the occupation of Greece by Italy's fascist forces, allies of the Germans and the Japanese.

Oxi became a rallying call for Greek resistance to fascist aggression. Unified Greek forces defeated and repelled the Italian invasion, and more importantly, drew Nazi Germany into the conflict, which undermined its invasion of Russia and Ukraine, a critical junction in the ultimate Allied victory.

The day symbolizes the courage to stand up to defend one’s home and freedom, to confront the aggression of a much larger, richer country and military, and to prevail with the help of one’s allies.

Eighty-two years later, Oxi Day’s message is very relevant:

[Member spoke in Greek]

Rural Communities in Saskatchewan

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

Mr. Speaker, while the government sits back and watches Canadians struggle thanks to their lack of action on the just transition, I would like to highlight a group that is doing outstanding work surrounding the Liberal's phase-out of coal-fired power.

South Saskatchewan Ready, an economic partnership that represents nine communities, commissioned a feasibility study on the devastating impacts of the transition. Not only did that study recently win the 2022 Constantinus International Award, as the Canadian champion. It was also awarded the Gold Medal at the international level.

All federal funding to assist with the transition will end in March 2023, and the region stands to lose over $350 million dollars in GDP and a 67% drop in population. Only 3% of the federal funding provided has been for economic development, and combined with the Liberal's out-of-control inflation and cost of living, this will be the death knell for these communities.

The government needs to stop pretending that its harmful, job-killing policies are actually taking meaningful steps to help the people of southeast Saskatchewan.

Craft Brewers

[Stéphane Lauzon, Liberal, Argenteuil—La Petite-Nation, QC]

Mr. Speaker, on Sunday, the Canadian Craft Brewers Association held its first Canada Beer Cup. This new national competition celebrates independent Canadian craft brewers that showcase quality and innovation in craft beer from coast to coast to coast.

I have the honour of having one of the big winners of the competition in my riding. Les Brasseurs de Montebello won the gold medal for their Jack Rabbit beer, which is a dark pilsner, as well bronze for Le Grand Feu, their smoked IPA. That one is one of my favourites. Bravo to Riv and his crew.

Craft brewers are a major economic driver for Canada's rural regions. They create many jobs and promote local history and culture. I am proud to acknowledge their positive impact on our communities. Three cheers for beer!

Queen Elizabeth II Platinum Jubilee Medal Recipient

[Marie-France Lalonde, Liberal, Orléans, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I want to spotlight a constituent of Orléans and recipient of the Queen Elizabeth II Platinum Jubilee Medal, Kevin Frost.

Kevin is a multisport world champion who has competed against able-bodied persons in all disciplines, and he has the gold medals and world records to prove it. Kevin has competed in rowing, track, cycling and golf. As we can all see, Kevin is quite the athlete.

I would be remiss if I didn’t divulge that Kevin is also blind and deaf. Despite these disabilities, Kevin has shown what can happen when someone appreciates what they have and uses it to move forward in accomplishing extraordinary feats. Do not take my word for it; take his.

Kevin just announced the release of his book, Deaf Blind Champion: A True Story of Hope, Inspiration, and Excellence in Sport and Life. where he gives readers a front-row seat into how his life changed when he received his diagnosis and what he did to persevere through the depression that engulfed him to become an accomplished sportsman, father, life partner, son, brother, teammate and activist.

I congratulate Kevin.

Inflation

[Richard Lehoux, Conservative, Beauce, QC]

Mr. Speaker, Canadians can no longer afford the costly NDP-Liberal coalition. In Beauce, like everywhere in Canada, the use of food banks is skyrocketing. It is over 20% in my riding. Food inflation is at 11.4%, which is something we have not seen since the Pierre Elliott Trudeau days.

Farmers across the country are wrapping up their harvests and trying to meet the demand to feed our country and others. The unjustified 35% surtax on fertilizer and the soaring price of fuel, which is needed for planting, harvesting and drying grain, have only made things worse.

The government has done nothing to curb food inflation. The cost of breakfast cereal is up 16.7%, bread is up 17% and pasta is up 22.5%.

On the contrary, the government wants to triple the carbon tax, which will also have a direct impact on the cost of home heating for many families this winter. One-time cheques are not going to solve anything. Canadians need a break. They have suffered enough. A Conservative government will put an end to this punitive tax and finally put Canadians first.

Cloverdale—Langley City

[John Aldag, Liberal, Cloverdale—Langley City, BC]

Mr. Speaker, Cloverdale—Langley City is a wonderfully diverse riding. With almost 70 Christian churches, a Muslim musalla, two Sikh gurdwaras, a Hindu temple, a Buddhist temple and more, I aim to connect regularly with their faith leaders.

I recently hosted a religious leaders' round table with the United Churches of Langley. We discussed a wide range of topics. The faith leaders reiterated their respective communities' desire to help the government settle refugees fleeing dangerous situations. They also expressed concerns for our homeless and those affected by the opioid crisis. Our community is fortunate to have such a compassionate group of people.

I also had the chance to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the Laurentian Leadership Centre, or LLC. The LLC, formerly called Booth House, is one of 24 designated national historic sites in Ottawa. I had the pleasure of meeting Dr. Ann Penner, the executive director. As it is an affiliated program with Trinity Western University, I also appreciated seeing Dr. Mark Husbands, who is visiting from Langley. My intern, Lucy Chuang, is a Trinity Western University student and a participant in this year's LLC program. I thank Lucy for her hard work during her placement in my office.

Government Spending

[Michael Kram, Conservative, Regina—Wascana, SK]

Mr. Speaker, people in Regina—Wascana and Canadians across the country are having trouble making their mortgage payments. This week, the Bank of Canada increased lending rates by 50 basis points. That was the sixth consecutive rate hike this year. With housing becoming less and less affordable, almost all Canadians are starting to worry about paying for the roofs over their heads.

I say almost all Canadians, because these difficult economic times seem to have gone unnoticed in the Prime Minister's Office. On a trip to London, England last month, the Prime Minister's Office managed to rack up $400,000 in hotel bills and other costs. This included one room in particular that cost $6,000 per night. If the Prime Minister cannot understand that Canadians are struggling, then Canadians need a new prime minister.

Government Contracts

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

Mr. Speaker, once in every generation, there is a game-changing invention, something that dramatically changes all of our lives and brings us from the past into the future. For us, today, that invention is the ArriveCAN app.

For just $54 million, one can enter one's name and birth date, answer some questions and upload some documents. This app actually has a mind of its own. It sometimes tells people to quarantine when they are fully vaccinated, not because it is supposed to but as an act of pure metaphysical voluntarism. Liberals say this app saved tens of thousands of lives. The app was so insulted by these lowball numbers that it made them all stay home for 14 days.

Someone got very rich off this app. Fifty-four million dollars would allow someone to spend 25 years in that $6,000-a-night hotel. It would get them 85,000 gallons of the orange juice that, in saner times, brought down a cabinet minister.

Canada has truly entered a brave new world, where computers can make us stay home and decide which civil servants get paid. I, for one, welcome our new robot overlords. They may be bad, but the humans in charge are even worse.

Vaudreuil‑Soulanges Chamber of Commerce and Industry

[Peter Schiefke, Liberal, Vaudreuil—Soulanges, QC]

Mr. Speaker, our entrepreneurs and our small businesses are the driving force of our economy. That is why the Vaudreuil-Soulanges chamber of commerce and industry, the CCIVS, is so important.

Its objective is to support, consolidate and defend the interests of its members and contribute to the success and economic development of our community. I want to thank the CCIVS for all it has done to support our community's businesses since it was created. I also want to welcome all the newly elected members of the executive committee. I congratulate the president, Serge Ouellet, vice-president, Mélanie Bossé, the treasurer, Fanie Bradette, and the secretary, Pedro Lopez. I also congratulate the members of the board of directors: Jean‑François Blanchard, Josiane Farand, Philippe Roy, Luc Isabelle, Mathieu Janelle, Éric Bellegarde and Chloé Rousseau.

I wish them good luck as they continue to serve our businesses and our entrepreneurs. Together, we are developing a more engaged, active and prosperous community thanks to their efforts.

Vancouver Island Run for Homeless Vets

[Alistair MacGregor, NDP, Cowichan—Malahat—Langford, BC]

Mr. Speaker, not all MPs have motorcycle licences, but I count myself fortunate to be one of them. During the beautiful, sunny and hot day of Saturday, August 6, I joined with a couple of hundred other riders for the first annual Vancouver Island Run for Homeless Vets, riding from Duncan to Langford.

I will admit, most of the people on the run were not what I would call typical NDP supporters, and I was a little out of place with my dad's Kawasaki KLR650 in the midst of all those Harleys. However, what united us that day, which is something I hold dear that goes beyond politics, was our common concern for the plight of homeless veterans, the men and women who faithfully served our country in uniform and now find themselves on the streets.

The funds raised that day were divided between Cockrell House, the Legion, and Homes for Heroes. While I appreciate this effort, it underlines how much more the federal government must do. No veteran should be homeless.

World Stroke Day

[Marilène Gill, Bloc, Manicouagan, QC]

Mr. Speaker, on behalf of the Bloc Québécois and my own family, I would like to acknowledge World Stroke Day, which is held every year on October 29.

In Quebec alone, approximately 20,000 people have a stroke, and some 130,000 people who have had a stroke live each day with physical and psychological damage that affects their motor skills, their communication and even their emotions.

Strokes can affect anyone, young or old, at any time in their lives. My own family lives with the consequences of this medical condition on a daily basis, as my youngest son, Ulysse, had a stroke at the time of his birth.

I would like to thank all the people and organizations that work to prevent and treat stroke, and who give time, money and love to help us live better, healthier and longer lives.

Royal Canadian Mounted Police

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

Mr. Speaker, what we are seeing unfold is a disturbing trend from the Liberal government, particularly the Minister of Emergency Preparedness. Canada's independent police forces are being politicized to promote the Liberals' agenda. It started with evidence from the April 28 call with RCMP Commissioner Lucki, in which the commissioner admitted that she had received a request from the minister's office and that she was working directly with the minister and Prime Minister to release confidential information that could jeopardize an investigation, all to promote the Liberals' gun control legislation, which was soon to be released.

Now we learn from text messages released to the Public Order Emergency Commission that Commissioner Lucki asked OPP Commissioner Thomas Carrique whether the Minister of Emergency Preparedness had reached out to seek a letter of support for the Liberals' use of the Emergencies Act, days after it was invoked. Commissioner Lucki even sought to use a messenger app that would prevent investigators from recovering deleted messages. Clearly, she has something to hide.

The RCMP commissioner and the Liberal government are hiding the truth from Canadians. When will they finally come clean?

Local Journalism

[Tim Louis, Liberal, Kitchener—Conestoga, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the importance of local journalism was on full display this week as we saw the vital role it played in our Ontario municipal elections. Leading up to and on election day, our community turned to our trusted local journalists for information on local candidates, important issues and election results.

In Kitchener—Conestoga we relied on local news outlets like the Woolwich Observer, the New Hamburg Independent, the Kitchener Citizen, The Record in Waterloo Region and The Wilmot-Tavistock Gazette, all trusted and credible news organizations delivering essential information to us day after day. Our community newspapers are struggling as tech giants benefit from online advertising revenue while displaying local news content for free. This is an issue about fairness. Tech giants must pay for the news content they use.

I will continue to advocate for supports to local news outlets, including working on legislation that will require tech giants to fairly compensate news publishers and journalists, and I will always support quality, fact-based, independent, local Canadian journalism.