Debates of June 15th, 2022

Finance

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

Mr. Speaker, I have the honour to present, in both official languages, the fifth report of the Standing Committee on Finance in relation to the motion adopted on Thursday, February 17, 2022, regarding the invocation of the Emergencies Act and related measures.

I would like to thank our clerk, Alexandre Roger; analysts Brett Capwell, Sylvain Fleury, Michaël Lambert-Racine and Joëlle Malo; the whole team of interpreters, technologists and staff of the committee; and of course all of the members of the committee for their dedicated work on this study and on the report.

Fisheries and Oceans

[Ken McDonald, Liberal, Avalon, NL]

Mr. Speaker, I have the honour to present, in both official languages, the fifth report of the Standing Committee on Fisheries and Oceans, entitled “Traceability and Labelling of Fish and Seafood Products”. Pursuant to Standing Order 109, the committee requests that the government table a comprehensive response to this report.

I would like to thank all the members of the committee for their work, as well as the witnesses who appeared and of course our translation people, our clerk and our analysts for putting the report together for us in such a timely manner.

Canadian Heritage

[Hedy Fry, Liberal, Vancouver Centre, BC]

Mr. Speaker, I have the honour to present a report in both official languages.

This is the second report of the Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage, in relation to Bill C-11, an act to amend the Broadcasting Act and to make related and consequential amendments to other acts.

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

I want to give specific thanks to all the officials, the clerks and the interpreters who helped us with this extraordinary committee work as we went through clause-by-clause, specifically to Mr. Philippe Méla, the legislative clerk.

Medical Freedom Act

[Dean Allison, Conservative, Niagara West, ON]

moved for leave to introduce Bill C-285, An Act to amend the Canadian Human Rights Act, the Canada Labour Code and the Employment Insurance Act.

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to rise to introduce my bill, a bill that I believe is crucial at this point in time. I would like to thank my esteemed colleague, the member for Peace River—Westlock, for seconding the bill.

As a Canadian, I am a firm believer in freedom. I believe in the freedom of Canadians to make their own medical choices. That is why, today, I am introducing the medical freedom bill. The bill would amend the Canadian Human Rights Act to add conscientious belief and medical history to the list of prohibited grounds of discrimination. The bill seeks to protect travellers from being banned because of their medical status. It would protect employees from reprisals by their employers because of a medical choice. The bill would also safeguard employees' EI benefits in the event that they are let go because of a medical decision they made for themselves.

Finally, I truly believe this bill to be the start of more legislation and action that would seek to fortify our freedoms and enshrine them to never again be cast aside as they have been in the past year.

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

Recognition of Foreign Credentials Act

[Brad Redekopp, Conservative, Saskatoon West, SK]

moved for leave to introduce Bill C-286, An Act to amend the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (recognition of foreign credentials).

Mr. Speaker, it is a great honour for me to rise and present my very first private member's bill in this House, the recognition of foreign credentials bill.

I am bringing forward this legislation in my role as deputy shadow minister for immigration to help immigrant communities throughout Canada. This is an issue that I constantly hear about form newcomers to Canada, and it is something I want to improve. Many newcomers to Canada have qualifications to do a particular job in their home country, but a combination of red tape, confusing rules and licensing boards means they cannot practise their profession here in Canada. We all know the examples of doctors driving taxis, nurses working as nannies, or mechanics working as janitors. The system for foreign credential recognition is broken. When newcomers to our country are denied the opportunity to practise their profession, it hurts them and their families, and it negatively affects the Canadian economy, individual businesses and the welfare of all Canadians.

One way to fix this process is by reducing red tape. By giving government the tools to bypass the red tape, the process could be expedited. My proposed legislation would give the government expanded regulatory authority in assessing foreign credentials. It would allow the minister to designate certain foreign education credentials as equivalent to Canadian ones. This would speed up and simplify the ability of newcomers to work in their profession in Canada.

As I said, the largest barrier is red tape, and this bill would remove some of that complexity and confusion. My legislation is one piece of the puzzle. It is not the whole picture, but it is a solid start. When combined with funding announcements, such as the one proposed by my friend, the future leader of the Conservative Party, the member for Carleton, this legislation would go a long way to resolving the issue.

That said, I would ask all members of this House to support this legislation.

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

Citizenship Act

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

moved that Bill S-245, An Act to amend the Citizenship Act (granting citizenship to certain Canadians), be read the first time.

Mr. Speaker, I am proud to rise today to move first reading of Bill S-245, an act to amend the Citizenship Act with regard to granting citizenship to certain Canadians.

I first want to thank my friend, Senator Yonah Martin, for her leadership on this file and for introducing this bill in the other place, where it passed unanimously.

It is an honour to sponsor this bill here in the House and raise awareness of lost Canadians. These are Canadians who had citizenship before they turned 28, but because of a bureaucratic mistake, they lost their Canadian citizenship and the rights that come with being a Canadian citizen. While many amendments have been made to the Citizenship Act to restore citizenship to lost Canadians, there still remain many Canadians who have been left without citizenship.

I want to thank my colleague and friend, the hon. member for Souris—Moose Mountain, for seconding this bill, and my colleagues who have already indicated their support for this very important bill. I hope that all members in this place will also unanimously support Bill S-245 and restore citizenship to lost Canadians.

(Motion agreed to and bill read the first time)

Business of the House

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

Mr. Speaker, there have been discussions among the parties and if you seek it, I believe you will find unanimous consent to adopt the following motion:

That, notwithstanding any standing order, special order or usual practice of the House, during consideration of Bill C-14, An Act to amend the Constitution Act, 1867 (electoral representation), at report stage later today, one member of each recognized party and a member of the Green Party be allowed to speak for not more than 10 minutes followed by five minutes for questions and comments, and, at the conclusion of the time provided for debate or when no member rises to speak, whichever is earlier, the question on report stage motion No. 1 be deemed put and negatived on division, the bill be deemed concurred in at the report stage on division and deemed read a third time and passed on division.

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

All those opposed to the hon. deputy House leader's moving the motion will please say nay.

It is agreed.

The House has heard the terms of the motion. All those opposed to the motion will please say nay.

(Motion agreed to)

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

Mr. Speaker, there have been discussions among the parties and if you seek it, I believe you will find unanimous consent to adopt the following motion:

That a take-note debate on global food insecurity be held on Thursday, June 16, 2022, pursuant to Standing Order 53.1, and that, notwithstanding any standing order, special order, or usual practice of the House: (a) members rising to speak during the debate may indicate to the Chair that they will be dividing their time with another member; (b) the time provided for the debate be extended beyond four hours, as needed, to include a minimum of 12 periods of 20 minutes each; and (c) no quorum calls, dilatory motions or requests for unanimous consent shall be received by the Chair.

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

All those opposed to the hon. member for Longueuil—Charles-LeMoyne moving the motion will please say nay.

I hear none. The House has heard the terms of the motion. All those opposed to the motion will please say nay.

(Motion agreed to)

Human Rights

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

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to present a petition. This petition concerns the Tamil Rights Group's communication sent to the Office of the Prosecutor at the International Criminal Court under article 15 of the Rome Statute.

There is mounting evidence that the Tamil population in Sri Lanka was subject to atrocities that amounted to crimes against humanity and war crimes, particularly in the final stages of the civil war that ended in 2009. Parliament recently unanimously adopted a motion to make May 18 Tamil Genocide Remembrance Day, and the petitioners are looking to Canada, which was a state party to the Rome Statute, to refer the situation to the International Criminal Court.

Business of the House

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

Mr. Speaker, I am rising on a point of order to seek unanimous consent to finish Routine Proceedings before proceeding to Private Members' Business hour.

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

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

It is agreed.

The House has heard the terms of the motion. All those opposed to the motion will please say nay.

(Motion agreed to)

Climate Change

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

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to rise today to present a petition to the House where the citizens who have signed it are calling upon the Prime Minister and the Government of Canada to enact just transition legislation.

They want this legislation to reduce emissions by at least 60% below 2005 levels by the year 2030. They want it to create new public economic institutions that expand public ownership of services and utilities across the economy. They want it to create good, green jobs and drive inclusive workforce development and, finally, they want this transition to be paid for by increasing taxes on the wealthiest and corporations and financing through a public national bank.

Pensions

[Ryan Turnbull, Liberal, Whitby, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to present a petition on behalf of one of my constituents in Whitby, signed by more than 12,000 Canadians from across Canada. Since 1982, more than 250,000 Canadian seniors have suffered the loss of pension income due to corporate insolvency. With over four million Canadians depending on a defined benefit pension for their financial security and retirement, we cannot afford another pension insolvency, like that of Sears or Nortel, which had a negative impact on the financial security of many seniors.

This petition calls upon the government, through the Department of Innovation, Science and Economic Development, to work with all Canadian parliamentarians to undertake a direct consultation, generating specific goals and timelines to ensure that vulnerable seniors receive 100% of their pensions that their employers have committed to.

Indigenous Affairs

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

Madam Speaker, I rise to present two petitions today. The first one is one that drew my attention to something that we really need to focus on, which is that the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, many years ago now, called on the government to take action to deal with the judicial system and make sure it is cognizant of the challenges to indigenous people in obtaining justice in this country.

The petitioners hearken back to a report from February 2013, when a former judge, the Hon. Frank Iacobucci, issued a report on what happens in terms of jury representation of indigenous peoples. The Truth and Reconciliation Commission's calls to action 25 to 42 speak directly to this issue.

The petitioners call on the House of Commons to undertake to encourage the provinces to reform their jury selection system in order to ensure that the accused stand before a jury of their peers and not of people who have no understanding of their realities.

Climate Change

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

Madam Speaker, the second petition is from a group called the Physician Mothers of Canada. It calls on the government to take seriously the warnings of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change that we are dangerously close to leaping past the important threshold of no more than 1.5°C global average temperature rise.

It calls on the House of Commons and the Government of Canada to eliminate fossil fuels, to move more quickly toward renewable energy, to eliminate single-use plastic and to ensure that there is climate justice in the move away from fossil fuels.

Salmon Fishery

[Rachel Blaney, NDP, North Island—Powell River, BC]

Madam Speaker, today I am here to present a petition on behalf of many people who live in the Powell River region of my riding. They are very concerned that the Department of Fisheries and Oceans has not increased community funding to hatcheries or made any adjustments since 1982. The reality is that they just do not have the resources necessary to carry out the Pacific salmon enhancement, conservation and education activities that they do so well with their very limited resources.

The petitioners are asking the Government of Canada to increase the annual contribution agreements to the Powell River Salmon Society and, of course, to ensure proper representation of coastal communities by DFO staff.

Telecommunications

[Sophie Chatel, Liberal, Pontiac, QC]

Madam Speaker, I am honoured to rise in the House today to table a petition that was started by the council of mayors of the MRC Pontiac and concerns a request for funding to ensure adequate cellular coverage in all rural communities of the Pontiac.

I would like to thank the warden, Jane Toller, for her leadership, and every mayor and regional councillor for their amazing work for the community of Pontiac. They have my full support.

Corporate Social Responsibility

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

Madam Speaker, I have an important petition that I am presenting today on behalf of over 100 Canadians from coast to coast to coast. They are concerned about companies based in Canada that are contributing to human rights abuses and environmental damage around the world.

We often see situations where human rights activists and environmental activists are being tortured, killed and intimidated. We have seen widespread examples of sexual violence, even slavery, on the sites of Canadian-owned corporations. The undersigned are asking the Canadian government to put in place due diligence legislation that would require companies to prevent adverse human rights impacts and environmental damage, require companies to do their due diligence and ensure a legal right for people who have been harmed to be able to seek justice in Canadian courts.

I would add that my Bill C-262 does exactly that. The petitioners are asking the Canadian government to push forward legislation such as that.

Questions on the Order Paper

[Mark Gerretsen, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Leader of the Government in the House of Commons (Senate)]

Madam Speaker, the following questions will be answered today: Nos. 523, 526 and 527.

Question No.523—

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

With regard to the Green and Inclusive Community Buildings program, of the $1.5 billion in funding to be delivered, since the program’s announcement on April 14, 2021: (a) what are the details of the projects approved to date, including the (i) name of each project approved, (ii) dollar amount of funds distributed to each project, (iii) name of each recipient of funding, (iv) location of each project by city, town or village, (v) province or territory; (b) what are the criteria and metrics used to determine which projects are eligible for funding; and (c) what are the criteria and metrics used to determine which projects receive funds, if different from (b)?

[Jennifer O'Connell, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, with regard to the green and inclusive community buildings program, of the $1.5 billion in funding to be delivered, since the program’s announcement on April 14, 2021, members should please note that Infrastructure Canada provides funding for public infrastructure projects through various programs to provinces, territories, municipalities and other recipients. This response is based on federal funding commitments and does not necessarily reflect when project spending occurred.

Members may refer to the attached annex for information with regard to projects approved to date.

With respect to part (b), all applications are reviewed for eligibility against the following criteria: The applicant must be an eligible applicant type; the applicant must be an eligible applicant type; the building/asset must be an eligible asset type; he building/asset must be a non-commercial community-oriented structure or space that provides open, available and accessible community services to the public; the applicant must have authority over the asset either as the asset owner or by having secured an agreement with the asset owner to carry out the project; the project must be implemented no earlier than April 1, 2021, and no later than March 31, 2026; for retrofits only, the applicant must submit their building’s structural information, energy profile and greenhouse gas, GHG, emissions using the RETScreen Expert software; for retrofits only, the project must not lead to an increase in GHG emissions in the building’s operation; impacts of climate change have been assessed and considered for the project; the applicant must commit to securing the necessary capital to proceed if approved for federal funding; the applicant must provide all necessary data and supporting documents; the applicant must attest to the manner in which the project will meet relevant building and construction laws and regulations, including completion or planned completion of such environmental assessment and consultation as may be required by federal and provincial/territorial governments; and the applicant must attest to the manner in which the project will align to the building standards and codes that apply to the jurisdiction of the existing building, as applicable.

With respect to part (c), these are the criteria used to assess and evaluate applications. For retrofits, the following criteria apply:

Construction start date: Projects that begin sooner will receive a higher score. Located in and demonstrates the ability to serve one or more communities with high needs: Projects that provide greater benefits to high need communities will receive a higher score. Increased accessibility: Where applicable, projects that demonstrate an intention to exceed (rather than meet) the highest standards for accessibility will receive a higher score. GHG reductions: Projects that demonstrate the ability to achieve greater GHG emission reductions relative to the building’s baseline will receive a higher score. Energy savings: Projects that will achieve at least 25% in energy efficiency improvements compared to the building’s baseline energy consumption, as calculated with the RETScreen Expert software, will receive a higher score and are more likely to be selected for funding; in select cases, projects with lower energy efficiency improvements could be considered and selected for funding. Climate resiliency and best practices adoption: Projects that demonstrate strong climate resiliency considerations and measures will receive a higher score; projects that provide reasonable and accurate detail for why climate resiliency is not relevant to their project will not be subject to this criterion and will be assessed relative to other project merits. Confidence in delivery/risk: Projects that demonstrate strong risk assessment and mitigation measures will receive a higher score.

Continuous intake retrofit projects with total eligible project costs between $100,000 and $2,999,999 are evaluated on a continuous basis, with projects needing to meet or exceed a minimum point threshold in order to be granted funding. Retrofit projects with total eligible project costs between $3,000,000 and $25,000,000 are evaluated on a competitive basis, with projects being scored and ranked against one another.

For new builds, the following criteria apply: Construction start date: Projects that begin sooner will receive a higher score. Located in and demonstrates the ability to serve one or more communities with high needs: Projects that provide greater benefits to high needs communities will receive a higher score. Increased accessibility. Projects that demonstrate an intention to exceed (rather than meet) the highest standards for accessibility will receive a higher score. Zero-carbon design standard: Projects that are designed to meet net-zero carbon performance without the need for a transition plan will be scored higher; projects that are exempted from this standard will not be subject to this criterion and will be assessed relative to other project design merits. Climate resiliency and best practices adoption: Projects that demonstrate strong climate resiliency considerations and measures will be scored higher; projects that provide reasonable and accurate detail for why climate resiliency is not relevant to their project will not be subject to this criterion and will be assessed relative to other project merits. Confidence in delivery/risk: Projects that demonstrate a strong risk assessment and mitigation measures will be scored higher.

All new build projects are evaluated on a competitive basis, with projects being scored and ranked against one another.

All of the above information can be found in the green and inclusive community buildings applicant guide at https://www.infrastructure.gc.ca/alt-format/pdf/gicb-bcvi/GICB-Applicant-Guide-BCVI-Guide-du-demandeur-EN.pdf

Question No.526—

[Heather McPherson, NDP, Edmonton Strathcona, AB]

With regard to orders issued under section 4(1)(b) of the Special Economic Measures Act and section 4(1)(b) of the Justice for Victims of Corrupt Foreign Officials Act, broken down by year since 2014, month since 2022 and action (freeze, seize or sequestrate): (a) how many times have these orders been used; (b) how many properties have been frozen, seized or sequestrated as a result from these orders; and (c) what is the assessed value of properties frozen, seized or sequestrated?

[Rob Oliphant, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Foreign Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, with regard to (a), (b) and (c), Canada’s sanctions regime prohibits persons in Canada and Canadians abroad from engaging in activities related to the property of sanctioned persons, including the provision of financial or related services. As a result, the assets of sanctioned persons are effectively frozen. They cannot be sold and they cannot be transferred, making transactions involving these assets prohibited.

Together with like-minded international partners, the Government of Canada evaluates potential targets for sanctions that would have the greatest impact on the Russian government and put maximum pressure on President Putin.

Through budget 2022, the Government of Canada is proposing amendments to the Special Economic Measures Act and the Justice for Victims of Corrupt Foreign Officials Act that will allow courts to order seized or restrained property belonging to sanctioned persons, including Russian elites, oligarchs and their proxies, to be forfeited to the Crown.

The proceeds generated from forfeited assets may be used for the reconstruction of a foreign state adversely affected by grave breaches of international peace and security, the restoration of international peace and security, and the compensation of victims affected by grave breaches of international peace and security, gross and systematic human rights violations or acts of significant corruption.

The management and disposal of assets are expected to be handled by the Minister of Public Services and Procurement Canada under the Seized Property Management Act. These changes will make Canada’s sanctions regime a leader in the G7.

The Government of Canada has also recently proposed legislation that would render foreign nationals sanctioned in response to Russian aggression in Ukraine inadmissible to Canada. These changes would allow Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada officials to deny temporary visas overseas. They would also allow the Canada Border Services Agency to deny entry to, and remove, individuals subjected to sanctions.

Federally regulated financial institutions, or FRFIs, are regulated and supervised by Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions, OSFI. This includes foreign banks operating in Canada. OSFI expects FRFIs to comply with all relevant Canadian sanctions legislation and to ensure they have adequate procedures in place to comply on an ongoing basis with existing laws and any future laws.

Disclosures on the existence of sanctioned assets are made by reporting entities, such as Canadian financial institutions, to the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, the RCMP.

The approach adopted by the Government of Canada has been to use sanctions authorities under section 4(1)(a) of both the Special Economic Measures Act, or SEMA, and the Justice for Victims of Corrupt Foreign Officials Act, or JVCFOA, to prohibit certain activities through regulations made under the relevant acts.