Debates of May 30th, 2022

Official Languages

[Pablo Rodriguez, Liberal, Minister of Canadian Heritage]

Mr. Speaker, I had not even uttered the word “fight” yet.

What I am sensing here is a disregard for democratic debate and for diverging opinions. We have 35 MPs here from Quebec, who were elected by Quebeckers, who reflect their constituents' points of view, and who are also entitled to a say.

Just because we did this does not mean we are in favour of anglicization or against French. On the contrary, we stand up for French every day. We have done more than any other government, but it is not up to the Bloc Québécois to decide who is a real Quebecker and who is not. A Quebecker is a Quebecker.

[Martin Champoux, Bloc, Drummond, QC]

Mr. Speaker, a true Quebecker would stand up, defend French and defend Quebec culture.

I want to talk about the Liberals' actions when it comes to French. The posting for the appointment of a new CRTC chairperson states: “Proficiency in both official languages would be preferred”. It is not mandatory, simply preferred. The Liberals decided to make French optional for the person responsible for the regulation and future of Quebec television and the entirety of our telecommunications system. They feel it is okay to put someone who does not speak French in charge of an entire segment of our culture.

Do the Liberals realize that their actions speak for themselves, and that those actions speak English?

[Pablo Rodriguez, Liberal, Minister of Canadian Heritage]

Mr. Speaker, I think that is going too far.

In the Liberal government's opinion, it is absolutely essential that the next CRTC chairperson be able to speak both languages. It is a question of respect for the cultural sector, whether for English or French Canada. I think it is dangerous to get into an identity debate where the Bloc assumes the right to declare who is a true Quebecker and who is not. In addition to the bickering it causes, it creates a deep division, and that is unacceptable.

As parliamentarians, we must work together for unity and social cohesion. We can have different points of view, but we should never try to divide ourselves like that.

Justice

[Rob Moore, Conservative, Fundy Royal, NB]

Mr. Speaker, a troubling and recent Supreme Court of Canada decision allowing some of Canada's worst mass murderers to apply for parole much sooner means that families are revictimized by a vicious cycle that forces them to relive the worst day of their lives over and over again at repeated parole hearings. That includes the families of three RCMP officers who were killed in the line of duty in Moncton, New Brunswick in 2014.

The families of victims are speaking out and standing up for their lost loved ones. Will this government do the same?

[David Lametti, Liberal, Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada]

Mr. Speaker, I thank the hon. member for his question, and we acknowledge the pain that families and victims go through in these kinds of cases.

Nothing in the Supreme Court's decision changes the fact that all people convicted of murder receive mandatory life sentences. What happens here is that they are now eligible for parole after 25 years, but that does not mean that they will get parole. It is extremely rare for people who have been convicted of multiple murders to receive parole.

It was a clear and unanimous decision by the Supreme Court of Canada. It stated that the lack of parole was cruel and unusual, and we will respect that.

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

Mr. Speaker, what is self-induced extreme intoxication? According to the Women's Legal Action and Education Fund, self-induced extreme intoxication means that a person is so intoxicated that they are in a state of automatism, meaning that their actions are not considered voluntary or something that they can control. “Self-induced” means that the person chose to consume substances, such as alcohol or drugs, that caused their intoxicated state.

Victims already have enough barriers. When is this government going to table legislation against this type of defence?

[David Lametti, Liberal, Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada]

Mr. Speaker, once again, I thank the hon. member for her question.

We are committed to keeping communities safe, to protecting victims and to ensuring that their rights are protected. We are looking carefully at the decision. I will work with the hon. member and members on all sides of the House in order to reach a solution. We are troubled by the decision as well.

I would remind everyone in the House, and I would remind everyone across Canada, that as the hon. member has pointed out, this ruling only applies in a small minority of extreme cases. We will act, but we need to keep that in perspective.

[Michael Cooper, Conservative, St. Albert—Edmonton, AB]

Mr. Speaker, Brian Ilesic and two other victims were murdered in an armed robbery. They were shot point-black in the back of the head. A fourth victim survived with serious brain injuries. Brian's parents, my constituents Mike and Dianne, feel completely betrayed that this cold-blooded killer will be eligible for parole years sooner, along with other mass killers.

What assurance can the Minister of Justice provide, aside from empty words, for Mike and Dianne and other grieving families in the face of this unjust decision by the Supreme Court?

[David Lametti, Liberal, Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada]

Mr. Speaker, that was a 9-0 decision. It was a unanimous decision. It was clear and unequivocal.

Our hearts go out to victims. We make the justice system better by enacting and applying laws and seeing them applied. I remind everyone in this House, and I remind everyone across Canada, that eligibility for parole does not mean one will get parole. It is extremely rare that people convicted of mass murder achieve parole. That is the fact. We will respect the ruling of the Supreme Court.

Indigenous Affairs

[Lori Idlout, NDP, Nunavut, NU]

Uqaqtittiji, the legacy of colonialism is deep. Former students, now parents and grandparents, told churches and governments about the loss of their loved ones. They were ignored.

Unmarked graves are now being found and many more will show the truth of what was hidden. Indigenous peoples need the resources to support each other in these traumatic experiences.

Will the government provide funding directly to indigenous organizations, communities and families to help with healing, instead of giving funds to the RCMP?

[Marc Miller, Liberal, Minister of Crown-Indigenous Relations]

Mr. Speaker, as part of this comprehensive approach to supporting communities as they reel from the ongoing discoveries of unmarked graves, clearly what they have asked of us is to have a concerted approach, whether it is from me, the Minister of Indigenous Services or other departments, or whether they need supports now or for the next 10 years.

This is something that, sadly, will go on for some time. There are 70 searches and supports ongoing. Yes, we will absolutely provide those resources to communities.

[Niki Ashton, NDP, Churchill—Keewatinook Aski, MB]

Mr. Speaker, it has been one year since the date of the discovery of the remains of 215 indigenous children at the Kamloops residential institution, but not even this shocked the government into action.

The Minister of Crown-Indigenous Relations has admitted it has been too slow. This is a pattern. On clean drinking water, the housing crisis and the calls to justice, it has been too slow. Enough is enough.

One year ago, the government blocked my motion calling for support for communities, including bringing in international experts, such as the International Commission on Missing Persons.

When will the government do what is needed to help communities bring their children home?

[Marc Miller, Liberal, Minister of Crown-Indigenous Relations]

Mr. Speaker, to the member opposite's point, clearly what we have seen in this country is a pattern of dispossession that has continued to retraumatize and traumatize communities, and the constant denial of this reality is what characterizes today's discourse as well.

We have a duty, as a society, to keep opening our minds and being more respectful, and to show compassion to communities that are reeling, but also to provide those resources. We know that some communities are not even ready at this point and it may take some time, and the last thing they want to think about is any party in the House suggesting that the funding would ever stop.

I would encourage all people in the House to support our efforts in walking with communities and supporting them in their searches.

National Defence

[Sherry Romanado, Liberal, Longueuil—Charles-LeMoyne, QC]

Mr. Speaker, like many Canadians, I followed closely the work of our government to respond to the sexual misconduct crisis in our military institutions.

Today, the Minister of National Defence presented Madame Arbour's final report regarding this issue and presented the government's path forward. As part of a military family, I was pleased to see our government's commitment to creating change and establishing meaningful reforms that will stand the test of time.

Can the Minister of National Defence outline our government's response to Madame Arbour's report?

[Anita Anand, Liberal, Minister of National Defence]

Mr. Speaker, today, I announced that I have received, and I welcome and accept, Madame Arbour's report in its entirety. I confirmed that as an immediate step, I have accepted, and the defence team will be immediately moving on, implementing over one-third of Madame Arbour's recommendations.

This is just the beginning of our response, and I look forward to providing a further update as we strengthen, grow and improve our defence team and institutions.

Canadian Heritage

[John Nater, Conservative, Perth—Wellington, ON]

Mr. Speaker, last week, Morghan Fortier, creator of Canada's most-watched YouTube channel, appeared before the heritage committee, and had this to say about Bill C-11:

It's been written by those who don't understand the industry they're attempting to regulate....worst of all, section 4.2 hands sweeping power to the CRTC to regulate the Internet use of everyday Canadians and small businesses.

This is the creator of Canada's most-watched YouTube channel. It is someone we should be celebrating and not holding back. Will the minister make the very simple commitment to remove section 4.2 from Bill C-11?

[Pablo Rodriguez, Liberal, Minister of Canadian Heritage]

Mr. Speaker, what we are hearing at the committee is that our cultural sector needs Bill C-11. It is fundamental. This is what we are hearing day after day. Our musicians, producers and creators all need it. This is what we put forward. It has the support of a lot of people across the country.

I would like, for once, the Conservatives to support our industries and for once to support the cultural sector.

[John Nater, Conservative, Perth—Wellington, ON]

Mr. Speaker, we can support the cultural sector by taking user-generated content out of this bill and letting Canadian creators thrive here at home and internationally.

The Liberals claim that user-generated content will not be included in Bill C-11, yet the chair of the CRTC contradicted the government and said that it would and that it could regulate user-generated content.

We still have not seen the government's policy directive on Bill C-11. The government could do that right now. It could release the policy directive and confirm and make it clear that user-generated content would be excluded from the bill.

[Pablo Rodriguez, Liberal, Minister of Canadian Heritage]

Mr. Speaker, I have to admit that the Conservatives are very creative, because they invent a lot of stuff.

Bill C-11 is only about online streamers, those companies, so that they contribute to the Canadian culture. It is very simple. Platforms are in and users are out. That is it.

Could the Conservatives please, for once, support our artists and our cultural sector? That would be really nice.

[Rachael Thomas, Conservative, Lethbridge, AB]

Mr. Speaker, we find ourselves in a bit of a dilemma here, because the heritage minister keeps telling Canadians that user-generated content, such as YouTube videos, is out, but Mr. Scott, the chair of the CRTC, has said that actually user-generated content is in. Both of these men cannot be correct, so I would ask the minister to please tell the truth.

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

I think we will ask the question.

The hon. minister.

[Pablo Rodriguez, Liberal, Minister of Canadian Heritage]

Mr. Speaker, I do not think it is very parliamentary, but I will still, out of respect for our democracy, answer the question.

I am quite surprised that the Conservatives quote the CRTC, because they keep attacking the CRTC like they keep attacking the CBC. Actually, there is no institution they do not attack. Now it is also the Bank of Canada, for some of them.

The thing is that this is simply to ask streamers to contribute to our culture. That is it—

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

It is not for me to dissect things. All I want to do is make sure that people are listening, that people are able to ask their questions, that people are able to answer them and that we use parliamentary language.

The hon. member for Lethbridge.

[Rachael Thomas, Conservative, Lethbridge, AB]

Mr. Speaker, what I find interesting is that I simply asked the minister to tell the truth, but he could not even do that. He had to ramble on and make excuses for himself.

I will ask the minister again. The chair of the CRTC has said that user-generated content, such as Facebook videos, is in: It is captured. Meanwhile, the minister has said not to worry, that it is not. Which one of these is reality?

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

If we are asking someone to tell the truth, we are saying that they lied. That is basically what we are saying. I just want to make sure people are using the best possible language in the House of Commons so everybody is comfortable in that direction and so we get good questions and good answers.

The hon. Minister of Canadian Heritage.