Debates of Sept. 26th, 2022

Health

[Carolyn Bennett, Liberal, Minister of Mental Health and Addictions and Associate Minister of Health]

Mr. Speaker, I thank the member for his tireless advocacy on this issue.

Too many lives have been lost to the toxic drug and overdose crisis. Ensuring local organizations have the necessary resources and capacity to support their communities is essential to ending this tragedy. The five innovative community-led projects we announced together will allow for increased safer supply capacity, as well as improved outreach for people dealing with problematic substance use. This funding will also help increase access to multiple supports for youth in the Guelph region and support training and certification for the truly effective peer support workers.

Indigenous Affairs

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

Mr. Speaker, with Orange Shirt Day fast approaching, we are going to see once again a government that talks a good game about respecting the rights of indigenous peoples but does not follow through. For clean drinking water, deadline after deadline has been missed. On overcrowding and homes in disrepair on first nations, there has barely been a dent, and for all the government's public commitments that communities must lead their own searches for the unmarked burial sites of their children, communities are saying that the government is dragging its feet instead of supporting them.

Can the government explain why, when it comes to really supporting indigenous communities, its answer is no?

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

Mr. Speaker, as an update for the House, I think folks would appreciate knowing that there are about 91 communities that have now received funding to do searches on their own time, at their own pace. It is something we obviously have to respect as a government.

If the member opposite has a community in mind that needs to be brought to my attention, I would ask her to please do so. I will ensure that the funding is provided expeditiously.

Employment Insurance

[Alain Rayes, Independent, Richmond—Arthabaska, QC]

Mr. Speaker, everyone knows about the passport saga with its endless delays.

Unfortunately, we are experiencing the same problem with employment insurance, despite the fact that unemployment is at an all-time low and there are fewer applications. Public servants are saying they are powerless and cannot see the light at the end of the tunnel. Meanwhile, our citizens are paying the price for a service they are absolutely entitled to.

Can the minister tell us what concrete measures are going to be put in place to deal with these unacceptable delays, which are only getting worse?

[Karina Gould, Liberal, Minister of Families]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank my colleague for his question.

I can assure him that the people at Service Canada are serving Canadians, whether it is for help with employment insurance, pensions or passports. We will continue to ensure that Canadians receive these services.

As for the employment insurance, I can assure my colleague that everyone is busy dealing with these changes and people are up to the task.

Presence in Gallery

[The Speaker, Liberal, Anthony Rota]

I wish to draw the attention of hon. members to the presence in the gallery of His Excellency Wolfgang Sobotka, President of the National Council of the Republic of Austria.

[Some hon. members]

Hear, hear!

Russia's Actions in Ukraine

[Yvan Baker, Liberal, Etobicoke Centre, ON]

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

That, given:

(i) Russia is running sham referendums in temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine;

(ii) Russia has pre-determined the results of these referendums with the desperate aim to legitimize the territories it has seized in Ukraine, weaken international support for Ukraine and limit Ukraine's surging counteroffensives;

(iii) Russia is resorting to coercive tactics such as sending armed soldiers and police door-to-door to collect votes from Ukrainian citizens to secure those pre-determined results;

(iv) These sham referendums are part of Russia's illegal annexation playbook and were used in 2014 when Russia held a sham referendum in an attempt to legitimize its illegal annexation of Crimea from Ukraine; and

(v) The UNHRC Commission of Inquiry has confirmed that the Russian Federation committed war crimes in Ukraine in a number of regions, including the execution, torture and rape of civilians and the rape, torture and confinement of children;

the House:

(a) Condemn in the strongest possible terms the sham referendums being held in Russian-occupied regions of Ukraine;

(b) Declare that it does not and will never recognize the legitimacy of these referendums;

(c) Reaffirm that Ukraine's territory is that which was recognized at the time of the Budapest Memorandum in 1994 and includes Crimea and the Donbas, which Russia illegally invaded in 2014;

(d) Reiterate its unanimous support for Ukraine in the face of Russia's genocidal war; and

(e) Call on the Government of Canada to:

(i) Continue working relentlessly with our allies to ensure those who have committed or enabled war crimes in Ukraine are prosecuted and held accountable; and

(ii) Continue to provide additional support to Ukraine until all of Ukraine's territory is once again under the sovereign control of the government of Ukraine, by imposing more severe economic sanctions against Russia and providing Ukraine with more military, financial and humanitarian aid.

[The Speaker, Liberal, Anthony Rota]

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)

Indigenous and Northern Affairs

[Patty Hajdu, Liberal, Minister of Indigenous Services and Minister responsible for the Federal Economic Development Agency for Northern Ontario]

Mr. Speaker, pursuant to Standing Order 32(2), I have the honour to table, in both official languages, copies of the progress report on the implementation of the recommendations in the “Default Prevention and Management 2017" report of the Standing Committee on Indigenous and Northern Affairs.

Procedure and House Affairs

[Bardish Chagger, Liberal, Waterloo, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I have the honour to present, in both official languages, the 14th report of the Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs. The committee advised that, pursuant to Standing Order 91.1(2), the subcommittee on Private Members' Business met to consider the items added to the order of precedence on Monday, June 20, as well as the orders for the second reading of private members' public bills originating in the Senate and recommended that the items listed herein, which it has determined should be designated non-votable, be considered by the House.

[The Speaker, Liberal, Anthony Rota]

Pursuant to Standing Order 91.1(2), the report is deemed adopted.

Foreign Affairs and International Development

[Ali Ehsassi, Liberal, Willowdale, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I have the honour to present, in both official languages, the fourth report of the Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Development.

COVID-19 Mandates

[Arnold Viersen, Conservative, Peace River—Westlock, AB]

Mr. Speaker, I am presenting a petition on behalf of Canadians across the country who are opposed to the COVID–19 mandates and want them all to come to an end. The petitioners state that throughout the pandemic truckers have served Canadians, that they are heroes and that they have been subjected to the vaccine mandates that have impacted our supply chains. The petitioners say the Prime Minister has politicized the vaccines and insulted Canadians who disagreed with him. They are calling on the House of Commons to immediately end all COVID–19 vaccine mandates and restrictions implemented and controlled by the federal government.

Charitable Organizations

[Arnold Viersen, Conservative, Peace River—Westlock, AB]

Mr. Speaker, the next petition I have to present is from citizens across the country who are concerned about the Liberal Party's promise in its 2021 platform that would deny charitable status to organizations that have convictions about abortion with which the Liberal Party is in disagreement. 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. Many Canadians depend upon and benefit from these charities and the work they do. Therefore, the petitioners are calling on the Government of Canada and the House of Commons to protect and preserve the application of charitable status rules on a politically and ideologically neutral basis, without discrimination on the basis of political or religious values and without imposing another values test.

Human Organ Trafficking

[Arnold Viersen, Conservative, Peace River—Westlock, AB]

Mr. Speaker, the next petition I am tabling comes from Canadians who are concerned about forced organ harvesting and trafficking. This bill has passed through the Senate twice and in this House once in its current form. It is currently stalled before the foreign affairs committee. The petitioners are hoping it will soon be passed. The families of victims of forced organ harvesting and trafficking have now waited almost 15 years for Canada to pass this legislation. The petitioners are calling for the House to pass this legislation quickly.

Age Verification Software

[Arnold Viersen, Conservative, Peace River—Westlock, AB]

Mr. Speaker, the next petition I have today comes from petitioners across the country who are concerned about how young people can easily access explicit material online, including violently explicit and degrading material. The petitioners comment on how this access is an important public health and safety concern. They note that a significant portion of commercially accessed sexually explicit material has no age verification software. Moreover, age verification software can ascertain the age of users without breaching their privacy rights. The petitioners note the many serious harms associated with sexually explicit material, including the development of addictions and attitudes favourable to sexual violence and the harassment of women. As such, they are calling on the House of Commons to pass Bill S-210, the protecting young persons from exposure to pornography act.

Natural Resources

[Arnold Viersen, Conservative, Peace River—Westlock, AB]

Mr. Speaker, the last petition I have today is from Canadians across this country who are suffering under inflation and the Liberals' carbon tax. The petitioners claim that the carbon tax is causing inflation and increasing the cost of everyday essentials, including gas, groceries and heating, making life very expensive for Canadians. The Bank of Canada has also said that the carbon tax is contributing to the impacts of inflation and is an added expense for Canadian businesses, which creates an economic disadvantage compared with other nations. The petitioners are calling for an end to the carbon tax. They want the government to control inflation and reduce its spending.

Finally, the petitioners want to see pipelines and other projects approved, especially LNG pipelines, to take clean, ethical Canadian energy to tidewater and international markets to displace the fuel provided by authoritarian regimes and dictators.

Charitable Organizations

[Cathay Wagantall, Conservative, Yorkton—Melville, SK]

Mr. Speaker, I am presenting this petition today on behalf of Canadians who have mobilized because of a concern over a promise made by the Liberal Party of Canada in its 2021 platform to deny charitable status to organizations that have convictions about abortion that the Liberal Party views as dishonest. The petitioners feel that this is another opportunity for the government to use a values test, as it did to discriminate against worthy applicants to the Canada summer jobs program, and in the same way this will jeopardize the charitable status of many organizations, such as hospitals, houses of worship, schools, homeless shelters and so many others that play such an intricate role in taking care of the needs of Canadians.

Therefore, the petitioners are calling on the Liberal government to protect and preserve the application of charitable status rules 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. Certainly of significance is that the petitioners are very concerned that the current government affirm the rights of Canadians to freedom of expression.

Justice

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

Mr. Speaker, I rise to present a petition on behalf of Canadians. The petitioners wish to express concern with the Supreme Court of Canada's recent decision to strike down a Harper Conservative law that allowed judges to exercise their discretion to apply consecutive parole ineligibility periods for mass murderers. As a consequence, some of Canada's worst killers will be eligible for parole after just 25 years. The petitioners note that the Liberal government has tools at its disposal and has failed to use them. They call on the government to do so by, namely, invoking the notwithstanding clause.

Human Rights and the Environment

[Mario Beaulieu, Bloc, La Pointe-de-l'Île, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I have the honour to table a petition presented by Development and Peace—Caritas Canada that François Adam and Father François Baril, of the Solidarité Mercier‑Est pastoral committee, and also Yves Bourassa, of the Groupe local de l'Arrondissement Saint‑Léonard, had signed by 335 citizens from La Pointe‑de‑l'Île and Montreal East.

This petition is in response to the fact that some Canadian companies contribute to human rights abuses and environmental damage around the world. Unfortunately, the Canadian government does not require that these companies stop these harms from happening in their operations.

The petitioners are calling on the House of Commons to adopt legislation on due diligence for human and environmental rights. This legislation would require companies to prevent any negative impact on human and environmental rights throughout their global operations and supply chains.

Peace is not only the absence of war. Peace is built by supporting social and economic justice every day.

First Responders Tax Credit

[Gord Johns, NDP, Courtenay—Alberni, BC]

Mr. Speaker, it is an honour to table this petition, in particular because it is timely, given hurricane Fiona. This is about volunteer firefighters, who account for 83% of Canada's total firefighting essential needs as well as first responders. In addition, approximately 8,000 essential search-and-rescue volunteers respond to thousands of incidents every year. The petitioners cite that the tax code of Canada currently allows a volunteer firefighter and search-and-rescue volunteer to claim a $3,000 tax credit if 200 hours of volunteer services were completed in a calendar year. It works out to a mere $450 a year.

The petitioners are calling on the government to increase the tax exemption from $3,000 to $10,000. It would help retain these volunteers at a time when volunteerism is increasing. Also, it would demonstrate how Canada values our first responders and our volunteer firefighters, especially in times like this.

Ethiopia

[Salma Zahid, Liberal, Scarborough Centre, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to present two petitions related to the situation in the Tigray region of Ethiopia, where there is a major famine. They are calling on the House of Commons to demand access to the region for aid groups to deliver food and humanitarian assistance, the restoration of communications in the region, the withdrawal of Eritrean forces and an arms embargo in Eritrea and Ethiopia.

Somaliland

[Salma Zahid, Liberal, Scarborough Centre, ON]

Mr. Speaker, my third petition is in regard to Somaliland. The petitioners question the legality of the union between Somalia and Somaliland, and call for Somaliland to be recognized by Canada as an independent country.

Climate Change

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

Mr. Speaker, I rise to present a petition from a number of constituents. This petition deals with the subject matter of what is generally called “just transition”. The petitioners note that Canada has a commitment to the Paris Agreement, which includes in its preamble the concept of making sure workers and communities in the fossil fuel sector receive transitional support so that they can be transitioned to renewable energy. It is one that protects individuals and communities.

They call on the House to work alongside oil and gas workers to create such a plan and to include in it the 10 recommendations that were initially put forward by the special task force commissioned under former environment minister Catherine McKenna on a just transition for Canadian coal power workers and communities.