Debates of May 17th, 2022

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

The hon. government House leader is rising on a point of order.

Business of the House

[Mark Holland, Liberal, Leader of the Government in the House of Commons]

Mr. Speaker, I request that the ordinary hour of daily adjournment today be 12 midnight, pursuant to order made Monday, May 2.

[John Brassard, Conservative, Barrie—Innisfil, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I rise on a point of order. I remind the Chair that yesterday I rose on a similar point of order related to Motion No. 11, which says:

a minister of the Crown may, with the agreement of the House leader of another recognized party, rise from his or her seat at any time during a sitting, but no later than 6:30 p.m., and request that the ordinary hour of daily adjournment for the current sitting or a subsequent sitting be 12 a.m.

The government House leader did that. Would he please indicate to the House which other House leader agreed to this? I ask because it was not me.

[Kevin Lamoureux, Liberal, Winnipeg North, MB]

Mr. Speaker, there are numerous precedents on the matter of consultation. The Chair has ruled on many occasions that the Speaker has no discretionary authority to refuse a motion if all the procedural requirements have been met. As indicated on page 676 of House of Commons Procedure and Practice, third edition, “the Chair has no authority to determine whether or not consultation took place nor what constitutes consultation among the representatives of the parties.”

Furthermore, Deputy Speaker Comartin, on March 6, 2014, indicated:

The nature of the consultation, the quality of the consultation, and the quantity of the consultation is not something that the Chair will involve himself in. That has been the tradition of this House for many years. What the Chair would have to do, in effect, is conduct an extensive investigative inquiry into the nature of the consultation. That is not our role, nor do the rules require it. Therefore, I am rejecting the request for the point of order.

Finally, if I may, I will quote Speaker Fraser, who stated on June 6, 1988:

...I do not think the Speaker has the authority, in view of the Speaker's responsibility to rule on procedural matters, to inquire as to what consultation did or did not take place.

There might be some occasion when the question of whether or not consultation had taken place on some matter comes before this Chamber. I am not in anyway suggesting what I have heard today either amounts to sufficient consultation or no consultation or any kind of consultation at all. I am just pointing out that, as I read the rule, it is not for me to get into that. I would not want any comments I made today in any way to take away from the ability of the Hon. Member for Windsor West to argue whether a certain set of conversations did or did not amount to consultation at some future time if the Hon. Member wanted to raise the matter again under this Standing Order or any other.

I am saying that I think I am bound by the rule as it is and that I cannot investigate whether consultation took place because, frankly, the Standing Order is silent as to my authority to do that.

[Peter Julian, NDP, New Westminster—Burnaby, BC]

Mr. Speaker, I disagree with the member for Winnipeg North often, but I agree with his point of order today. Certainly, as you are aware, we have seen repeated attempts to have these evening sessions. I will say that I regret enormously the conduct of the Conservative caucus yesterday, which I thought was simply not in keeping with the dignity required in the House of Commons.

[Alain Therrien, Bloc, La Prairie, QC]

Mr. Speaker, it does not matter what happened last night in the House. That is not what we are talking about.

As House leader for the Bloc Québécois, I was not consulted about extending today's sitting. I was never consulted about that. According to the motion, the sitting can only be extended if two leaders agree. The government is not disclosing who the second leader is, which raises questions. The motion clearly states that two leaders must agree in order to proceed.

Where is the second leader?

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

Mr. Speaker, I think the response from the hon. member for Winnipeg North missed the connection with what the hon. opposition House leader was saying, which is that it is not the word “consultation” that is relevant, but the words “support” and “agreement”.

[John Brassard, Conservative, Barrie—Innisfil, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I thank the hon. member for Saanich—Gulf Islands for rising on this, because she quite rightly said that Motion No. 11 says “agreement” among the parties; it does not say “consultation” among the parties. The House certainly has the right and privilege to know with whom the agreement was made, or which other leader of the House of a recognized party made it, as Motion No. 11 states.

I ask for some clarity on this. It is quite clear in Motion No. 11 that agreement must be had. There was no agreement by me. Certainly the hon. member from the Bloc said there was no agreement from him. I think we need it stated clearly where that agreement came from, as Motion No. 11 dictates. It does not say “consultation”. A consultation according to the party opposite is simply sending an email around. There has to be clear agreement. Who made that agreement?

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

I want to thank everyone for their interventions.

We are all hon. members in the House of Commons, and when we say we have consulted with one another, I expect, of course, as I do with unanimous consent motions and others, that there has been consultation among the House leaders. I will continue to push to make sure that consultation does happen on a regular basis, but in this particular case, you are all hon. members and I cannot intercede in the discussion between House leaders on the floor of the House.

Pursuant to order made on May 2, the minister's request to extend the sitting is deemed adopted.

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 six petitions. These returns will be tabled in an electronic format.

Status of Women

[Karen Vecchio, Conservative, Elgin—Middlesex—London, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I have the honour to present, in both official languages, the first report of the Standing Committee on the Status of Women in relation to Bill C-233, an act to amend the Criminal Code and the Judges Act (violence against an intimate partner).

The committee has studied the bill and has decided to report the bill back to the House with amendments.

I also have the honour to present, in both official languages, the second report of the Standing Committee on the Status of Women, entitled “Recommendations following the study of Bill C-233, An Act to amend the Criminal Code and the Judges Act (violence against an intimate partner)”. It states:

Pursuant to Standing Order 108(2), the committee has considered Bill C-233, an Act to amend the Criminal Code and the Judges Act (violence against an intimate partner), and wishes to make the following recommendations to the Government:

That the committee considered issues and consequences around the availability of cell service in the use of e-monitoring and recommends the Government of Canada move as soon as possible to ensure access to cell service is available across Canada, and that the committee feels strongly and recommends that when developing training for new judges, the issues of intimate partner violence, coercive control in intimate partner and family relationships, and social context be included.

Canadian Heritage

[Hedy Fry, Liberal, Vancouver Centre, BC]

Mr. Speaker, I have the honour to present, in both official languages, the first report of the Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage entitled “The Rogers-Shaw Merger: Bad News for Local News.”

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

Public Accounts

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

Mr. Speaker, I have the honour to present, in both official languages, the following two reports of the Standing Committee on Public Accounts: the 12th report entitled “Main Estimates 2022-23: Vote 1 under Office of the Auditor General” and the 13th report entitled “Lessons Learned from Canada's Record on Climate Change”.

I also have the honour to present, in both official languages, the following two reports of the Standing Committee on Public Accounts: the 14th report, entitled “Protecting Canada's Food System”, and the 15th report, entitled “Health Resources for Indigenous Communities”.

Pursuant to Standing Order 109, the committee requests that the government table a comprehensive response to each of these two reports.

Vaccine Mandates

[Melissa Lantsman, Conservative, Thornhill, ON]

Mr. Speaker, another day, another petition, and this time on behalf of 27,000 Canadians. Employees in the civil aviation sector have been on leave since last year, 2021. They were once hailed as heroes, and the government's interim order has put them out of a job. The world has moved on, so should Canada. Drop the interim order.

Climate Change

[Sean Casey, Liberal, Charlottetown, PE]

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to present a petition on behalf of Prince Edward Islanders who are very concerned about the climate emergency and motivated by a book written by Seth Klein called A Good War.

The petitioners call on the Government of Canada to enact just transition legislation that will reduce emissions by at least 60% below 2005 levels by 2030; expand the social safety net through new income supports, decarbonized public housing and operational funding for affordable and accessible public transit countrywide; create good green jobs; and drive inclusive workforce development.

Plains of Abraham

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

Mr. Speaker, I have a few petitions to present to the House.

The first is about National Defence's excessive use of a temporary road on the Plains of Abraham that negatively impacts the quality of life of individuals, of the people of Quebec City who live near the site. It degrades the heritage site. The temporary road has been in use since 2013 and is still open.

The Environment

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

Mr. Speaker, the second petition is from people who are concerned about the G&R recycling facility in Kanehsatà:ke.

The facility contains toxic waste being spilled into the environment, which is a threat to residents' health.

The petitioners are calling upon the federal government to secure and decontaminate the site. From a reconciliation perspective, they are calling on the government to fight environmental racism.

Machinists' Union

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

Mr. Speaker, the third petition is about the machinists' union.

Federal law contains loopholes that make it possible for employers to pay part-time and casual workers a lower hourly wage than they pay full-time workers doing the same work. That is discrimination.

Legislation received royal assent in 2018, but a date of effect was not given, which means this discrimination has gone on since 2018.

Pollution

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

Mr. Speaker, the final petition is from people who are concerned about pollution and, in particular, the impact of explosives in fishing waters, interprovincial waters and international waters.

The petitioners are calling for an end to the construction of all facilities used by highly polluting industries. They are also calling for meaningful consultation with indigenous communities and for impact assessments conducted by neutral third parties.

Climate Change

[Patrick Weiler, Liberal, West Vancouver—Sunshine Coast—Sea to Sky Country, BC]

Madam Speaker, today I have the honour to present petition 11771830. The petition was initiated by Force of Nature, which is a non-profit in my riding and throughout the Lower Mainland of B.C. It is a strong advocate for all orders of government to take action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and build a more sustainable future.

The petitioners are calling on the government to do the following, among some other things: significantly reduce emissions with transparent accounting each year; make contributions to emissions reductions in the global south; wind down the use of fossil fuel subsidies and transition to a decarbonized economy; create good green jobs and drive inclusive workforce development; protect and strengthen human rights, workers' rights and the inherent rights and sovereignty of indigenous peoples; expand the social safety net; decarbonize public housing; and provide accessible public transit.

Charitable Organizations

[Kelly McCauley, Conservative, Edmonton West, AB]

Madam Speaker, I rise to present a petition from many people in my riding of Edmonton West and across Canada who are concerned about the Liberal platform promise to use the CRA as a political weapon against charitable groups or religious groups that do not share the Liberal dogma. Specifically, the petition asks the House of Commons to protect and preserve the application of charitable status roles on a politically and ideologically neutral basis, without discrimination on the basis of political or religious values and without the imposition of another values test, and affirm the right of Canadians to freedom of expression.

Ontario Line

[Julie Dabrusin, Liberal, Toronto—Danforth, ON]

Madam Speaker, the Ontario Line is a public transit project that is going to have major impacts in my community. I fought hard at the time so that funding was provided by the federal government to Ontario for public transit and that there would be conditions.

I am presenting a petition from members of my community who would like the minister to report to the public with a review of the Ontario government's level of compliance with the federal government's funding conditions, report to the public on the steps he intends to take to monitor and enforce compliance with federal funding conditions and release federal funds for the Ontario Line projects only when the ministers can confirm to the public that Ontario is in full compliance with the federal funding conditions.

Climate Change

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

Madam Speaker, as we all know, it has been some time since we have been able to present petitions in this place, as Routine Proceedings became anything but routine.

However, I am pleased to stand today and present a petition on behalf of many constituents calling on the Government of Canada to recognize that this House voted in June 2019 that we were in a climate emergency, and we need to act like it. The petitioners call for reductions of emissions in Canada by at least 60% below 2005 levels by 2030; the need to accept that we are going to wind down the fossil fuel industry and its related infrastructure, as we did with asbestos; and the need to create protections for workers' rights to assist all of those dependent on the industry in a shift, over time, to a decarbonized economy. The petitioners have many bullet points in this petition, including a call for an increase in taxes on the very wealthiest to ensure we have the funds to assist the workers in the transition away from fossil fuels.

Charitable Organizations

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

Madam Speaker, I rise to present a petition in opposition to the Liberal plan to deny the charitable status of organizations that have convictions about abortion that the Liberal Party might view as dishonest. This may jeopardize the charitable status of hospitals, houses of worship, schools, homeless shelters and other charitable organizations that do not agree with the Liberal Party on this matter for reasons of conscience. These concerned petitioners, citizens and residents of Canada call upon the House of Commons to affirm the rights of Canadians to freedom of expression and to protect and preserve the application of charitable status rules on a politically and ideologically neutral basis.

Won Alexander Cumyow

[Han Dong, Liberal, Don Valley North, ON]

Madam Speaker, it is my honour again to present a petition on behalf of 13,822 Canadians who signed in support of Won Alexander Cumyow becoming the face of the new five-dollar bill. In light of all the attacks, we think the history of Won Alexander Cumyow will give us a better understanding of Chinese Canadians' contributions and show appreciation of the sacrifices made by the community. Together, we call on the Minister of Finance to decide to put Won Alexander Cumyow as the new face of the five-dollar bill.