Debates of Nov. 1st, 2023

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

Vote #439

Criminal Code

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

I declare the motion carried. Accordingly, the bill stands referred to the Standing Committee on the Status of Women.

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

I wish to inform the House that because of the deferred recorded divisions, Government Orders will be extended by 25 minutes.

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

Finance

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

Mr. Speaker, I have the honour to present, in both official languages, the 12th report of the Standing Committee on Finance, entitled “Merger of Royal Bank of Canada and HSBC Bank Canada”.

Transport, Infrastructure and Communities

[Peter Schiefke, Liberal, Vaudreuil—Soulanges, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I have the honour to present, in both official languages, the 15th report of the Standing Committee on Transport, Infrastructure and Communities entitled “Building a More Climate Resilient Canada”.

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

I want to thank our clerk, our analysts, the interpreters and the committee members for their usual amazing work.

[Dan Muys, Conservative, Flamborough—Glanbrook, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to table a supplemental report on behalf of my Conservative colleagues on the Standing Committee on Transport, Infrastructure and Communities. I echo the committee chair and express our gratitude to the witnesses, staff, analysts and clerk.

While we support several recommendations in the report, we believe it is vital to highlight key concerns, including the widening infrastructure gap, largely due to Liberal bureaucracy and its failures, which is a pressing issue. Layering more red tape on this will not help fix that. Also, with the housing affordability crisis, we need to prioritize affordable energy-efficient homes. More bureaucracy, which is contained in the recommendations in this report, is not the answer. Common-sense Conservatives want to see results: more keys in doors and building homes, not bureaucracy.

More details on this and other recommendations in our supplemental report are included.

Procedure and House Affairs

[Bardish Chagger, Liberal, Waterloo, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I have the honour to present, in both official languages, the 51st report of the Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs.

Pursuant to Standing Order 92(3)(a), the committee reports that it has concurred in the first report of the Subcommittee on Private Members' Business advising that Bill C-339, an act to amend the Competition Act (efficiencies defence), should be designated non-votable.

Liaison

[Judy Sgro, Liberal, Humber River—Black Creek, ON]

Mr. Speaker, pursuant to Standing Order 107(3), I have the honour to present, in both official language, the seventh report of the Liaison Committee, entitled “Committee Activities and Expenditures: April 1, 2023 - August 31, 2023”.

This report highlights the work and accomplishments of each committee, as well as detailing the budgets that fund the activities approved by committee members.

Albanian Heritage Month Act

[Yvan Baker, Liberal, Etobicoke Centre, ON]

moved for leave to introduce Bill C-361, Albanian Heritage Month Act.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to introduce a bill entitled the Albanian heritage month act. The bill, if passed, would designate the month of November every year as Albanian heritage month across Canada.

I would like to thank the member for Toronto—Danforth for seconding this bill. I hope all members of the House will support it.

Canada is home to many Canadians of Albanian heritage. Their contributions to our economic lives, our cultural lives, our social lives and much more span from coast to coast to coast. This bill, if passed, would give us another opportunity to celebrate Albanian heritage month. It would give us a chance to celebrate those contributions. It would also give Albanian Canadians and all Canadians another chance to say this:

[Member spoke in Albanian]

[English]

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

Foreign Affairs and International Development

[Garnett Genuis, Conservative, Sherwood Park—Fort Saskatchewan, AB]

Mr. Speaker, I move that the 10th report of the Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Development, presented on Tuesday, February 14, be concurred in.

I will be sharing my time with my great colleague from Yorkton—Melville.

This is an important report from the foreign affairs committee that focuses on the many actions required from Canada to continue and strengthen our support for the people of Ukraine. This week, at the Subcommittee on International Human Rights, we had harrowing testimony noting that as part of its illegal, genocidal invasion of Ukraine, Russia is using child abduction. Children are being abducted from Ukraine and brought to Russia, and this is part of the genocidal campaign of the Putin regime. It was harrowing testimony, and we will be hearing directly from victims at next Tuesday's hearings. This underlines how critical it is that we stand with Ukraine, that we fight for freedom and that we stand for truth and justice.

During yesterday's testimony, the point was made about Ukraine's territorial integrity that territorial integrity is not simply or primarily a matter of land. It is a matter of people. When Russia takes over or tries to take over territory, it is not just stealing land. The Russian regime is involved in a campaign of stealing people, of forcing people into its authoritarian orbit, of sexual violence and of stealing children from their families. Therefore, when Ukraine fights for territorial integrity, when it demands respect for territorial integrity, this is not just or primarily a matter of land; it is a matter of people and preventing the Putin regime from stealing people.

This report, a unanimous report from the foreign affairs committee that we are seeking to concur in today, has many different recommendations, all of which are important and many of which speak to justice, to bringing the aggressor to justice and to the steps Canada can take to do this, including, for instance, supporting the special tribunal for the crime of aggression. Recommendation 4 speaks of expelling diplomats. The report includes some creative ways of getting information to the Russian people, such as “supporting a free and open internet in Russia through the use of technologies such as virtual private networks”. There are many recommendations that are valuable and would be relatively uncontroversial in this House.

I want to focus my remarks on two recommendations. Those are recommendation 12 and recommendation 15. Recommendation 12 of this report says, “That the Government of Canada not grant a sanctions waiver to Siemens Energy Canada Limited for Nord Stream 1 pipeline turbines as long as sanctions remain in effect.”

This was an important recommendation because last summer, instead of working to bring Canadian energy to Europe to displace Russian oil and gas exports and instead of trying to use Canadian energy as a tool to reduce European dependence on Russia, the government was granting an exception to sanctions to allow the export of turbines to facilitate Russian energy exports to Europe. Rather than helping to create jobs in Canada and supporting energy exports from Canada to Europe, the government was more interested in allowing turbines that would facilitate the export of energy from Russia to Europe. Russian energy exports have been critical for the Putin regime as it tries to maintain its war. Its selling of energy is fuelling the violence we are seeing.

The area where the government has been the weakest when it comes to supporting our allies in their fight against the Putin regime is not understanding the importance of energy security and not understanding the crucial role that Canada could play there. It is a win-win-win. Exporting our energy, developing our energy sector and supporting the rapid export of energy resources to Europe are good for European security and good for our economy.

Often we talk about energy as an economic issue only. It is an economic issue but also a global security issue, because most of the world's democracies are geographically small, densely populated nations that rely on energy imports. As long as those nations are buying gas from Russia, they are sending back money that is being used as part of this horrific campaign of genocidal violence against Ukraine.

Canada, as a geographically large and sparsely populated country rich in natural resources, has a unique and special role to play if we develop our energy sector and we export that energy, displacing that dependence. Last summer, instead of thinking about this economic opportunity and security imperative, the government was granting a turbine to facilitate continuing exports of gas from Russia through the Nord Stream 1 pipeline. This was a massive betrayal of our allies in Ukraine. The ambassador from Ukraine came before the Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Development and was very clear that this was not at all what the Ukrainian government wanted. The Ukrainian government recognized the vital importance of allies standing united in opposing those sanctions, and the government failed.

That is recommendation 12. It is important the House concur in that recommendation as a sign of support for Ukraine and to be clear that never again should we allow the kind of weakening of sanctions we saw last fall. Finally, after months, the government pulled back on that permit after sustained opposition pressure, but frankly it sent a very negative and counterproductive message at the time.

Finally, I want to speak about recommendation 15. Recommendation 15 calls on the Government of Canada to list the Wagner Group, a Russian mercenary organization, as a terrorist group under the Criminal Code. This would be a critical step. The Wagner Group is responsible for horrific violence in Ukraine but also for violence in other parts of the world. The Wagner Group is notionally a private military organization with close affiliations with the Russian government. Historically, of course there have been some structural changes since the abortive coup and some further developments since this report was tabled, although it still makes good sense to list the Wagner Group as a terrorist organization as per this recommendation, as well as to look for the ways in which the institutional architecture of this oppression shifts as the Russian government responds to the abortive coup.

The call for the listing of Wagner Group as a terrorist organization is important in terms of delivering justice for the people of Ukraine and holding these violent terrorists accountable. It is also important for people of many other countries. There are many countries in Africa where the Wagner Group has been operating and has been, in effect, stealing from the people of those countries and has been responsible for absolutely brutal campaigns of violence within those countries. We see the increasing deployment and use of the Wagner Group in particular in Africa responsible for so much death and destruction and a kind of neocolonial policy of the Russian government trying to subject African countries and deploying this violence against vulnerable people.

The Liberal government has refused calls to list the Wagner Group as a terrorist organization. There was a unanimous consent motion in the House calling for that listing. There was this recommendation of the foreign affairs committee, a unanimous recommendation I believe, calling for the listing of Wagner as a terrorist organization. This is another way where we need to see the Liberal government step up in terms of its support for Ukraine.

There are many different positive recommendations in terms of bringing the Putin regime to justice and providing military and humanitarian support for Ukraine. These are all recommendations Conservatives support. We strongly support the actions required for quickly delivering the support necessary to the people of Ukraine.

Again, I want to particularly highlight these two recommendations, where the government has been unfortunately missing in action. Number 12 is on energy security. If Canada is going to support Ukraine effectively, we must attend to the energy security dimension of this conflict. We must attend to the reality that the Russian regime relies on energy exports in order to fund this aggressive war. Canada can provide an alternative for countries that have in the past been dependent on Russia.

We must attend to the energy security dimension and we must recognize the terrorist groups like the Wagner Group that the Russian regime is using for violence in Ukraine, for violence at home and indeed for violence around the world.

Concurring in this 10th report, including recognizing the importance of those particular recommendations, would go a long way. We are proud to propose that the House take these steps today to make these important acts of recognition.

[Randeep Sarai, Liberal, Surrey Centre, BC]

Mr. Speaker, I rise on a point of order.

I made an error in my vote on Bill S-205. I wish to vote yea. I ask for unanimous consent from this House to have that changed.

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

Is it agreed?

[Some hon. members]

Agreed.

[Kevin Lamoureux, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Leader of the Government in the House of Commons]

Mr. Speaker, I am sure the House would agree with me that we are witnessing a certain level of hypocrisy today.

On the one hand we have a Conservative Party that likes to pretend it is supporting what is taking place and Canada's position with the allied forces against what Russia is doing in Ukraine. Today, we were supposed to be debating Bill C-57, which plays a direct role with respect to Canada-Ukraine relations and what is taking place in Europe today. Instead of debating that bill, not only for the first time but now for the second time, the Conservatives are preventing it from being debated and being passed to go to committee.

The question I have for the member is this. His colleague, the member for Cumberland—Colchester, said that Bill C-57, the Canada-Ukraine trade deal, is woke. He said that Canada is taking advantage of Ukraine at a time of war by bringing in the bill. Is that why the Conservative Party continues to play the game of preventing the debate on Bill C-57 and it going to committee?

[Garnett Genuis, Conservative, Sherwood Park—Fort Saskatchewan, AB]

Mr. Speaker, it is clear the member does not want to talk about listing the Wagner Group as a terrorist organization. It is clear he does not want to talk about the important work that needs to be done around supporting European energy security.

I can tell members that our party strongly supports free trade. We want to have strengthened trade on energy. We believe there is an urgent need for Canada to do more to engage in energy partnerships in co-operation with other countries.

I think it is also clear that the government's priorities, when it comes to international engagement, have not actually been on leveraging the opportunity and importance of energy security. It likes to say the word “trade”, but it does not believe in the opportunities that come with trade in natural gas and other commodities that Canada is blessed with and has an opportunity to use to advance global security.

Our party stands with Ukraine. We stand on the side of strong free trade that recognizes the opportunities and benefits to all countries. I think energy security is a key part that the government is missing, which is why this report is so important.

[Julie Vignola, Bloc, Beauport—Limoilou, QC]

Mr. Speaker, naturally, this is a very important report. I would have liked to talk about Bill C‑57, but this is an important report nonetheless.

I would like my colleague to talk about recommendation 6. For a long time, the Prairies of western Canada were considered Canada's breadbasket, that is, the place to source wheat and other grains. Ukraine has taken on this role globally.

What consequences does war have on the world's food supply? How can recommendation 6 help avoid food security problems around the world?

[Garnett Genuis, Conservative, Sherwood Park—Fort Saskatchewan, AB]

Mr. Speaker, that is an excellent question. Ukraine is critical for global food security. We have seen the implications of this conflict, this brutal invasion of Ukraine, in that it has been much more challenging for Ukrainian farmers who grow food for their own communities and for export. There are many countries in Africa, for example, that are very much reliant on imports of food from Ukraine. Therefore, it is an important area that recommendation 6 deals with in regard to the Government of Canada strengthening global food security and recognizing the role Ukraine plays in joining in the efforts to support the Black Sea grain initiative.

Russia has continued to play games in this area to make it more difficult to continue to export grain. Of course, the circumstances of a war have created great challenges for Ukrainian farmers. It underlines the importance of this conflict. Negative implications are not just limited to Ukraine but are global in their reach. We need to act urgently to support the people of Ukraine in their struggle to restore territorial integrity and a strong victory as soon as possible.

[Randall Garrison, NDP, Esquimalt—Saanich—Sooke, BC]

Mr. Speaker, we heard from the member about the many important things in the 10th report, and I do not disagree with him about the importance of the report.

However, given that it was adopted unanimously in the committee, and now that we have had those important recommendations brought to the attention of the House, would the hon. member not agree that if we simply had no more people rising to speak on this, we could pass it, deal with the report and move on to other equally important business of the House?

[Garnett Genuis, Conservative, Sherwood Park—Fort Saskatchewan, AB]

Mr. Speaker, it was a unanimous report, but I would draw the attention of the member, respectfully, to the government response, which does not concur with all the recommendations. In particular, the government did not concur with recommendation no. 15.

I believe it was actually a member of his party that put forward the unanimous consent motion to recognize the Wagner Group as a terrorist organization. Certainly, Conservatives had been calling and continue to call for the listing of the Wagner Group as a terrorist organization as well. We have seen no action from the government. It has not listed the IRGC, despite the will of the House, and it has not listed the Wagner Group, despite the will of the House.

The Liberal government has been soft on, and reluctant to recognize, terrorist organizations as terrorist organizations. In support of the people of Ukraine, also recognizing the many victims of Wagner in Africa and other parts of the world, it is important that we talk about it, and take action on recommendation no. 15.

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

Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleagues and you, Speaker, for the opportunity to speak to the concurrence of the 10th report on Ukraine.

I am of Ukrainian heritage. My mom's parents came here after World War I and began a whole new life here in Canada. Because of that, Ukraine has a special place in my heart, although growing up, I knew very little about it because of some of the challenges my grandparents faced in coming over and in having experienced war. When I would talk to my grandmother about Ukraine, she knew actually very little about the history other than that the borders changed a lot, and she was not exactly sure where she had come from.

Ukraine has faced a lot of challenges throughout its history, and I am proud of the fact that Canada was the first, I believe, to recognize Ukraine's independence.

I also had the opportunity to visit Ukraine as a brand new member of Parliament. We sometimes hear the question of why members of Parliament should even do that and whether it is a waste of time. From my personal experience, it has enriched me greatly in my ability to do my work in this place. I was able to go after the war had started on Ukraine's border with Russia earlier on, and it was overwhelming to have the opportunity, in Kyiv, to go to the hospital and to see the injured soldiers and the conditions under which people were trying to take care of them. At the time, 20 Canadian surgeons were there. We did not get a chance to see them or to interact, because they were very busy, first of all, doing surgeries and, second, working on a textbook for the hospital, because the hospital had not experienced these types of injuries in a long time and did not have the capacity to do the surgeries it needed to do. Canadians were there on the ground in that hospital, helping out. As well, my own communities played a part in making sure there were new ambulances provided to Ukraine,

Our relationship with Ukraine is significant, and I am very grateful for my heritage and for the fact that the previous ambassador, Andriy Shevchenko, came to my riding to visit, with the huge Ukrainian community we have there. They talked so appreciatively of Canada's support for them in the past, and I cannot help but boast about the fact that here in Canada, Ukrainian community members are committed to their lives here in Canada, as was the case with my mom and dad. In the midst of all of that, they have done such an amazing job of maintaining their culture and their heritage, with their appreciation of their language, dance, food, dress and special occasions, that it has impacted my life.

I just want to give a shout-out to the wonderful Ukrainian community in my riding of Yorkton—Melville and our opportunity to work together with it in light of the circumstances that are going on with the horrific war in Ukraine at this time. It is due to an invasion by Russia that has been absolutely horrific, yet Ukrainians stand tall and continue to work. I know of veterans, being involved in Veterans Affairs, who have made the personal decision to go over to help train and provide resources to the Ukrainian army in these circumstances, and they find it an incredible privilege to be able to do that on their own effort. I have had circumstances in my riding where two individuals did pass away while there.

As a new member, when I would be part of a delegation that would welcome Ukrainian dignitaries, we were asked over and over again, in early 2016, why the government had removed our satellite surveillance system that was available to them and that showed the border line along Russia so Ukrainians could know for sure and be able to show the world what was happening on the ground. For some reason, the government took that away and would not reinstate it, and to this day I do not understand the rationale for why it chose to do that. Even now, the reality is, in so many of these wars, that the people on the ground suffer regardless of which side of the border they are on.

I do want to show the fact that, in my heart and mind, of course there is sympathy for the people whose lives are ruined on the ground in their own countries or in serving their governments, but, in this case, there is no question that Ukraine needs and deserves any help we can give it. I appreciate the work that was done on this concurrence report and the recommendations that are here. I will just mention, very briefly, the one that is near and dear to my heart, which I know that the government has responded to, but again, when I read its response, it is somewhat vague in the true level of support that we should be giving. This is in regard to recommendation 13. I will just read it: “That the Government of Canada adopt as a policy goal the enhancement of the energy security of Canada’s democratic allies, while fully complying with Canada’s domestic and international obligations related to climate change.”

On a political level, constantly in the House, accusations are made. On this side of the floor, the importance of balancing our economic growth and our economic resources with protecting our environment is constantly belittled and not reflected truthfully in regard to our perspectives on the importance of our environment. I sometimes feel that the response of the government is to blame Canadians beyond what is deserving. Of all the countries in the world that could be helping Ukraine in the circumstances it finds itself in, where Russia has been its source, let us say, of oil and gas, it is not there. The reason it is not there is that it is choosing to negatively impact the best oil and gas in the world that could have been available in the way that this country needed and that Germany needed.

The idea of “no business case” goes beyond the pale, because there definitely is a business case, especially when we are talking about global energy security and sustainable energy, good, clean energy, rather than what Russia is doing. Geopolitical stability would have happened sooner and far better, with far fewer lives lost, if we had acted the way that we know Canadians can act, to make something happen in a case where it is needed.

Of course, in terms of diversification of energy resources as well, Canada is on the cutting edge and has been for a long time, as 75% of the research going on in regard to alternative energy sources has been done by our oil and gas industries. They are exemplary in the world, and we should be proud of them. Instead, what we are doing is causing an economic lack of benefit for Canadians in the name of environmental responsibilities, which are talking points and messaging that is not accurate and is causing a great deal of angst in our country and, as result, in Ukraine specifically at this point in time.

The economic benefits are great. The opportunity for global security is great. If we were to actually move ahead in the way that I know, on this side of the floor, we see the ability of Canada to do.

[Mark Gerretsen, Liberal, Kingston and the Islands, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I could tell a certain sense of understanding of the issue and, indeed, the support felt for Ukraine.

With regard to the timing of this particular concurrence motion, I cannot help but wonder what is going on here. The last time we debated this issue, the member for Cumberland—Colchester got up and said that we are taking advantage of Ukraine and that the legislation we were supposed to debate today regarding the free trade agreement with Ukraine is “woke”. Since then, we have not been able to debate this, because every time we bring it forward and put it on the calendar or on the Order Paper for debate, Conservatives move concurrence.

I genuinely believe that the member supports Ukraine, but can she tell me whether that support is felt throughout the Conservative Party, and, if not, whether that is one of the reasons why Conservatives are preventing us from moving forward with the legislation on free trade with Ukraine?

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

Mr. Speaker, the member's words towards me were kind. He is definitely right that this is an issue that is extremely important to me. That was remarkable. Sorry, that was a bit of a jab back in the midst of a compliment.

That being said, I can assure the member that Canadians on this side of the floor serving in the House support Ukraine 100%. It was under the Conservative government that we recognized it as a nation when it separated from Russia. If we look around Canada, there are Ukrainians everywhere, but notice how many of them have settled in and are committed to Saskatchewan and Alberta. That should tell the member right there, on the basis of where they choose to live, how much we value them as Canadians.

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

Mr. Speaker, the member and I work together on the veterans committee, and I enjoy working with her. However, I do wish that we were actually debating the Ukraine trade agreement, as we were hoping to do.

I have looked at the recommendations of this particular report. Right now, we are doing a very important study in committee about women veterans, and I see that recommendation 2 talks about having the “Government of Canada work with Ukraine and other international partners in support of the documentation, investigation and prosecution of sexual- and gender-based violence committed during Russia's war against Ukraine, and provide support to survivors.

All too often in war, women and children are targeted very specifically. I wonder whether the member agrees with this, and how she thinks Canada can better support it moving forward.

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

Mr. Speaker, I do love the veterans file, and I know that the member does as well.

I find it so incomprehensible that violence against women and children is used as a weapon of war, in war of all kinds. This is something that is taking place, and it is very disconcerting. However, just from the study we have been doing on women veterans in our own country, there is a lot there that I have to say we need to work on with our international partners, and we need to get our act together here at home as well.

[Julie Vignola, Bloc, Beauport—Limoilou, QC]

Mr. Speaker, recommendation 15 asks the government to list the Wagner group as a terrorist group.

My question aims to inform the public, given that most people believe the rumour that Wagner wanted to attack the Russian government, its own government, so that the war would end more quickly. The government allegedly ousted the group's leader eventually. The general public may not understand why a group that said it wanted to attack the Russians would be considered a terrorist organization. I understand, but I think the general public needs to have a better understanding.