House of Commons Hansard #84 of the 44th Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament's site.) The word of the day was finance.

Topics

Income Tax ActPrivate Members' Business

3:35 p.m.

Liberal

The Speaker Liberal Anthony Rota

Pursuant to order made on Thursday, November 25, 2021, the House will now proceed to the taking of the deferred recorded division on the motion at second reading stage of Bill C-240 under Private Members' Business.

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

Vote #138

Income Tax ActPrivate Members' Business

3:50 p.m.

Liberal

The Speaker Liberal Anthony Rota

I declare the motion lost.

Income Tax ActPrivate Members' Business

3:50 p.m.

Bloc

Gabriel Ste-Marie Bloc Joliette, QC

Mr. Speaker, I would like to raise a point of order.

I would like you to shed some light on the process for voting on private member's bills.

To my knowledge, it is customary to vote by row, not by party. Is the Chair allowing members to stand when their row has already voted and is she allowing members to vote by party? I would like some clarification on that.

Income Tax ActPrivate Members' Business

3:50 p.m.

Liberal

The Speaker Liberal Anthony Rota

That is a very good question.

The vote is by individual and by row.

A small mistake was made. I called the members of one row to vote and people rose after that. The clerk registered their votes.

This is a practice we have used before. That is why we registered their votes instead of starting all over again.

The House resumed from June 3 consideration of the motion that Bill C-241, An Act to amend the Income Tax Act (deduction of travel expenses for tradespersons), be read the second time and referred to a committee.

Income Tax ActPrivate Members' Business

3:50 p.m.

Liberal

The Speaker Liberal Anthony Rota

Pursuant to order made on Thursday, November 25, 2021, the House will now proceed to the taking of the deferred recorded division on the motion at second reading stage of Bill C-241 under Private Members' Business.

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

Vote #139

Income Tax ActPrivate Members' Business

4 p.m.

Liberal

The Speaker Liberal Anthony Rota

I declare the motion carried. Accordingly, the bill stands referred to the Standing Committee on Finance.

(Bill read the second time and referred to a committee)

The House resumed from June 6 consideration of the motion that Bill C-246, An Act to amend the Constitution Act, 1867 (representation in the House of Commons), be read the second time and referred to a committee.

Constitution Act, 2022 (representation of Quebec)Private Members' Business

4:05 p.m.

Liberal

The Speaker Liberal Anthony Rota

Pursuant to order made on Thursday, November 25, 2021, the House will now proceed to the taking of the deferred recorded division on the motion at second reading stage of Bill C-246 under Private Members' Business.

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

Vote #140

Constitution Act, 2022 (representation of Quebec)Private Members' Business

4:15 p.m.

Liberal

The Speaker Liberal Anthony Rota

I declare the motion lost.

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 Sherwood Park—Fort Saskatchewan, International Development; the hon. member for Leeds—Grenville—Thousand Islands and Rideau Lakes, Health; the hon. member for Spadina—Fort York, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship.

Oral QuestionsPoints of OrderPrivate Members' Business

4:15 p.m.

Green

Elizabeth May Green Saanich—Gulf Islands, BC

Mr. Speaker, I rise on a point of order that arises from a question during question period, and I would appreciate it if the Speaker could confirm if my understanding of petitions is correct.

The hon. Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Health referred in his answer to a petition presented by the hon. member for Niagara West with the presumption that the member for Niagara West supported the petition he presented. I have always taken the view that, when asked to present a petition, it is not a statement of my position but it is doing what my constituents or other petitioners have requested. I worry that this is a poor precedent, but I would not want to make the presumption.

Oral QuestionsPoints of OrderPrivate Members' Business

4:15 p.m.

Liberal

The Speaker Liberal Anthony Rota

Technically, hon. members are not supposed to endorse the petition or show their support, but saying it does not nullify the petition.

When presenting petitions, I want to remind hon. members to be as concise as possible and very factual. We are not looking for their opinion. We just want to know what the petition is about.

The hon. opposition House leader has the floor.

Oral QuestionsPoints of OrderPrivate Members' Business

4:15 p.m.

Conservative

John Brassard Conservative Barrie—Innisfil, ON

Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the hon. member from the Green Party raising this. It is convention around this place that petitions are presented by members, and I think the confusion may lie in the fact that the member for Milton referred to a member's support of the petition.

It is convention around this place that, when a member presents a petition, it is on behalf of their constituents and does not necessarily reflect an endorsement of the petition nor whether they are contrary to the petition or not. They are doing the work on behalf of the people they represent. I think that is where the confusion may lie.

Oral QuestionsPoints of OrderPrivate Members' Business

4:15 p.m.

Liberal

The Speaker Liberal Anthony Rota

That is exactly it. Members are presenting their petitions on behalf of their constituents. That is their duty as members.

Certificates of NominationRoutine Proceedings

4:15 p.m.

Ajax Ontario

Liberal

Mark Holland LiberalLeader of the Government in the House of Commons

Mr. Speaker, pursuant to 53(1) of the Privacy Act and Standing Order 111.1, I have the honour to table, in both official languages, the certificate of nomination and biographical notes for the proposed appointment of Philippe Dufresne to the position of Privacy Commissioner for a term of seven years.

I request that the nomination and biographical notes be referred to the Standing Committee on Access to Information, Privacy and Ethics.

Government Response to PetitionsRoutine Proceedings

4:20 p.m.

Winnipeg North Manitoba

Liberal

Kevin Lamoureux LiberalParliamentary 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 three petitions. These returns will be tabled in an electronic format.

AfghanistanCommittees of the HouseRoutine Proceedings

4:20 p.m.

Liberal

Sukh Dhaliwal Liberal Surrey—Newton, BC

Mr. Speaker, I have the honour to present, in both official languages, the first report of the Special Committee on Afghanistan, entitled “Honouring Canada’s Legacy in Afghanistan: Responding to the Humanitarian Crisis and Helping People Reach Safety”. In accordance with the motion adopted in the House on November 8, 2021, pursuant to Standing Order 109, the committee requests that the government table a comprehensive response to this report.

I want to congratulate the members of the special committee from all parties and thank them for their dedication, teamwork and collaborative efforts over the past six months. I also want to thank the support staff, including clerk Miriam Burke and the analysts Julie Béchard and Allison Goody, for all their hard work in preparing this very important report.

AfghanistanCommittees of the HouseRoutine Proceedings

4:20 p.m.

Liberal

The Speaker Liberal Anthony Rota

I believe we have a dissenting report.

The hon. member for Wellington—Halton Hills.

AfghanistanCommittees of the HouseRoutine Proceedings

4:20 p.m.

Conservative

Michael Chong Conservative Wellington—Halton Hills, ON

Mr. Speaker, I would like to comment on the supplement to the report of the Special Committee on Afghanistan.

Our supplementary report adds the following evidence and observations not included in the main report.

While all NATO allies scrambled in the withdrawal and evacuation last August from Afghanistan, Canada performed particularly poorly. The war in Afghanistan was Canada's longest war. Canada's withdrawal from Afghanistan last August was not only a betrayal of our soldiers, diplomats and Afghans themselves, but it was a disaster that has damaged Canada's interests for years to come.

Allies and competitors around the world will question the strength of the Canadian government's commitments and whether the government is willing and able to back up these commitments with effective action. Afghans who worked for Canada were left behind and are being persecuted by the Taliban, precisely because they worked for Canada. The Canadian government had a moral duty to evacuate these Afghans and their families and failed to do so.

Agriculture and Agri-FoodCommittees of the HouseRoutine Proceedings

4:20 p.m.

Liberal

Kody Blois Liberal Kings—Hants, NS

Mr. Speaker, I have the honour to present, in both official languages, the fifth report of the Standing Committee on Agriculture and Agri-Food, entitled “Confronting Urgent Challenges and Building the Resilience of the Canadian Food Supply Chain”.

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

I would also like to take the opportunity to thank our clerk, our analysts and, indeed, the witnesses who appeared before the committee. Their contributions have been very important, and I would like to thank everyone for their collective work.

Financial Protection for Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Farmers ActRoutine Proceedings

4:20 p.m.

Conservative

Scot Davidson Conservative York—Simcoe, ON

moved for leave to introduce Bill C-280, An Act to amend the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act and the Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act (deemed trust – perishable fruits and vegetables).

Mr. Speaker, I am very excited today and I am pleased to rise to introduce the financial protection for fresh fruit and vegetable farmers act, which proposes to amend the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act and the Companies' Creditors Arrangement Act to support Canadian produce sellers.

Every time I see the dark soil and endless rows of vegetables in the Holland Marsh in my community, the soup and salad bowl of Canada, I see opportunity. In order for that opportunity to be fully realized in the marsh and across Canada, more must be done to protect Canada's fresh fruit and vegetable growers during the bankruptcy of a buyer. We know that fresh fruits and vegetables are highly perishable with a limited shelf life. Unfortunately, the existing laws do not take this into account.

This legislation would address this deficiency by establishing a deemed trust for fresh produce sellers, ensuring they have priority access to an insolvent buyer's assets related to the sale of fresh produce. I am glad to bring this initiative forward and champion fresh fruit and vegetable producers. I trust that all members in the House will support this bill.

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

Human TraffickingPetitionsRoutine Proceedings

4:25 p.m.

Conservative

Brad Vis Conservative Mission—Matsqui—Fraser Canyon, BC

Mr. Speaker, today I will be tabling two petitions.

The first petition is from a group of British Columbians calling upon the Government of Canada to strengthen the Protection of Communities and Exploited Persons Act to address Canada's significant shortcomings on human trafficking, which were embarrassingly highlighted by the U.S. Department of State's 20th Trafficking in Persons Report.