Debates of Dec. 12th, 2023

Food Security

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

Madam Speaker, I have two petitions to present today, both on the same subject. One is signed by members of the North Addington Education Centre in Kingston, and the other is signed by the St. Marguerite Bourgeoys Catholic School community.

These petitioners are calling on the federal government to implement a national school food program through budget 2024 for implementation in the fall of 2024. They bring to the government's attention Statistics Canada data from 2022 indicating that one in four children in Canada lives in a food-insecure household. They also draw to the government's attention that Canada is the only G7 country without a school food program.

Finally, they draw to the government's attention that there are 388 million children throughout the world in developed countries who benefit from such a food program, yet we do not have one in Canada.

Religious Freedom

[Brad Vis, Conservative, Mission—Matsqui—Fraser Canyon, BC]

Madam Speaker, indulge me for a moment:

Joy to the world, the Lord is come
Let Earth receive her King...

In places of worship across this country, Canadians come together to sing Joy to the World and other Christmas carols during Advent and the Christmas season. Unfortunately, the Canadian Human Rights Commission recently stated that this holiday is discriminatory, colonialist and intolerant to Canadian society.

My constituents reject that notion and call upon the Government of Canada to denounce the recent report by the Canadian Human Rights Commission, which discriminates against Christianity and freedom of religion for all Canadians.

Health Care Workers

[Tom Kmiec, Conservative, Calgary Shepard, AB]

Madam Speaker, I have two petitions to present today on behalf of my constituents.

The first one draws attention to the fact that only 41% of doctors with international credentials work as doctors in Canada, and 30% of nurses with international credentials work as nurses in Canada. That is about 53,000 foreign or internationally trained professionals, and many of them have great difficulty. We just had a case of that here in the Ottawa region, where an Ottawa doctor did not get her PR status.

My constituents are calling for the Minister of Employment to create a blue seal program with a 60-day standard for licensing doctors and nurses. This will make processes more streamlined and help fill Canada's shortages of health care professionals.

Energy Sector

[Tom Kmiec, Conservative, Calgary Shepard, AB]

Madam Speaker, my second petition draws the attention of the House to the following: The value of the energy sector is about 10% of Canada's GDP. It pays over $26 billion in taxes at all levels of government, and it paid about $48 billion in royalties and taxes in 2022.

Constituents are calling for Bill C-50, the “unjust transition act”, to be abandoned. They say that a central planning agenda is not fair, just or right. Instead, they would like the acceleration of Canadian energy projects and infrastructure, technology and exports and green-lighting of green energy projects.

Freedom of Political Expression

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

Madam Speaker, I have a number of petitions to present to the House today.

The first is from some great people from Skeena—Bulkley Valley. I want to thank them for signing this petition in support of Bill C-257. It is a private member's bill put forward by me in the House to combat political discrimination.

Petitioners note that it should be a protected right in Canada to be free from discrimination on the basis of political views, yet there is no such protection in the Canadian Human Rights Act. They support this bill, which would add political belief and activity to the Canadian Human Rights Act as prohibited grounds of discrimination.

Human Rights in Eritrea

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

Madam Speaker, next I am pleased to table a fairly lengthy petition about human rights in Eritrea, which was organized and signed by members of the Eritrean Canadian community. They are deeply concerned about the human rights situation in Eritrea and about attempts at foreign interference by Eritrea here in Canada.

To briefly go through the points, they note how Eritrea has been ruled by a brutal authoritarian dictator for the last 30 years, with no constitution, no elections, no parliament, no freedom of the press and no freedom of movement and association. Eritrea has been called the “North Korea of Africa”. They note how Eritreans continue to flee indefinite military conscription and religious persecution, how hundreds of thousands of Eritreans have fled the country, how those who have managed to flee still face intimidation and extortion from representatives and agents of the Eritrean regime abroad and how their families in Eritrea are harassed and forced to pay tens of thousands of dollars simply because their children have fled.

Petitioners note that the Eritrean embassy and other representatives of the diaspora have been utilized to surveil and monitor those in the diaspora. Various concerns are raised throughout this petition about violence that is organized outside Eritrea by the Eritrean regime. Petitioners also note the alignment of Eritrea's dictator with Vladimir Putin and the collaboration with Russia's aggressive agenda around the world.

Therefore, the petitioners call on the Government of Canada to engage Eritrean political and human rights activists and pro-democracy groups to take a leadership role among western allies to challenge the Eritrean dictators' malicious conspiracy with Vladimir Putin; to do more to combat foreign interference in Canada by Eritrea, including rejecting the entry visas of those who are affiliated with the regime; to enforce Canada's asylum laws properly against those who provide—

[The Assistant Deputy Speaker (Mrs. Alexandra Mendès), Liberal, Alexandra Mendes]

May I remind the hon. member that we really just want a short summary of each petition and not the whole reading out of it. I know it is a lengthy one, but it does go into many details.

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

Madam Speaker, I want to commend the petitioners, who have worked very hard to put many different items in this petition. I am summarizing it, but there is a great deal raised.

Petitioners want the proper enforcement of Canada's asylum laws and strengthened sanctions for human rights abusers. They also want Canada to call for the release of imprisoned journalists, including Swedish Eritrean journalist Dawit Isaak, and 11 imprisoned parliamentarians. Petros Solomon, Mahmoud Ahmed Sheriffo, Haile Woldetensae and Ogbe Abraha are political prisoners—

[The Assistant Deputy Speaker (Mrs. Alexandra Mendès), Liberal, Alexandra Mendes]

The hon. parliamentary secretary to the government House leader is rising on a point of order.

[Kevin Lamoureux, Liberal, Winnipeg North, MB]

Madam Speaker, the member, who has probably tabled more petitions than any other member inside the chamber, is very much aware of the rule that the member is supposed to capture the essence of the petition and not read—

[The Assistant Deputy Speaker (Mrs. Alexandra Mendès), Liberal, Alexandra Mendes]

I would like the hon. member to proceed, so other members can present petitions.

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

Madam Speaker, I hope, partisanship aside, that I can just briefly read the names of these political prisoners, because putting their names on the record is important to them and their families. I read some of their names already. The other imprisoned Eritrean parliamentarians are Hamid Himid, Saleh Idras Kekya, Estifanos Seyoum, Berhane Ghebrezgabiher, Aster Fesehazion, Germano Nati and Beraki Gebreselassie.

Petitioners want to see advocacy for their release.

Employment Insurance

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

Madam Speaker, the next petition that I am presenting is in support of Bill C-318, for my colleague. Petitioners want to see the government support this bill and provide a royal recommendation to allow all parents to have equal access to parental leave benefits, including adoptive families.

Women's Shelters

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

Madam Speaker, the next petition that I am presenting highlights the decision, according to petitioners, by the Liberal government to cut funding from women's shelters. They say that, sadly, women's shelters are seeing increased demand. They note the high cost of living and the challenges of those facing domestic violence and other areas of wasteful spending on bureaucracy and consultants, money that could be better spent on helping the most vulnerable.

Therefore, they call on the government to restore funding to women's shelters.

Children and Families

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

Madam Speaker, next, I am presenting a petition that is in support of Premier Blaine Higgs in New Brunswick and his policy to protect the rights of parents. The petitioners want to see the federal government butt out and not try to insert itself into decisions that should properly be made by provinces and parents.

Falun Gong

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

Madam Speaker, the final petition I am presenting today highlights the ongoing persecution of Falun Gong practitioners in China. Petitioners discuss the history of the petition and various human rights abuses that have taken place as part of that. They call on the Canadian Parliament and the government to take action to raise the issues of the persecution of Falun Gong more frequently and more forcefully in international fora.

I commend these petitions to the consideration of colleagues.

Questions on the Order Paper

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

Madam Speaker, the following questions will be answered today: Nos. 1861, 1863, 1864, 1867 to 1869, 1879, 1884, 1886, 1891, 1892, 1896, 1901, 1903, 1905, 1909, 1915, 1919, 1922, 1923, 1925, 1927, 1933, 1936 to 1938 and 1942.

Question No.1861—

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

With regard to the 2 Billion Trees Program mentioned in the Minister of Energy and Natural Resource’s announcement of August 2, 2023: how many of the trees were planted under (i) the Disaster Mitigation and Adaption Fund, (ii) the Low Carbon Economy Fund, (iii) neither the Disaster Mitigation and Adaption Fund or the Low Carbon Economy Fund?

[Jonathan Wilkinson, Liberal, Minister of Energy and Natural Resources]

Mr. Speaker, in 2021-22 and 2022-23, over 110 million trees have been planted towards the federal government’s commitment to plant two billion incremental trees over 10 years.

With regard to (i), no trees planted under the Disaster Mitigation and Adaptation Fund have been counted towards this total.

With regard to (ii), 54 million trees planted by provinces and territories via Environment and Climate Change Canada’s Low Carbon Economy Fund in 2021-22 and in 2022-23. The 2 Billion Trees program was designed to ensure that existing climate change programs that support tree planting are counted towards the Government’s commitment to plant two billion trees, which includes the Low Carbon Economy Fund.

With regard to (iii), over 56 million trees planted via Natural Resources Canada’s 2 Billion Trees program. No other trees planted under other government programs have been counted toward this total to date. In order to be included, trees planted must be incremental to business as usual, and must be reported by proponents with sufficient detail to support verification.

Question No.1863—

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

With regard to the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC): (a) what are the specific job performance benchmarks or criteria for an employee of the CMHC to receive a bonus or salary increase; (b) how does the number of new housing units constructed, or the creation of new housing starts, in Canada affect whether an employee of the CMHC receives a bonus or salary increase; (c) how does the performance of a CMHC program affect whether an employee of the CMHC receives a bonus or salary increase; and (d) how does the progress of meeting CMHC’s planned results, as laid out in the CMHC 2023-2027 Corporate Plan, affect whether an employee of the CMHC receives a bonus or salary increase?

[Chris Bittle, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Housing]

Mr. Speaker, with regard to the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation, or CMHC, with regard to (a), employees set SMART, namely specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound, objectives tied to the responsibilities of their individual positions. Each year managers assess the performance of the employee and assign a performance rating on a 5-point scale, namely does not meet expectations, meets most expectations, meets all expectations, exceeds most expectations, exceeds all expectations. Employees who meet or exceed their objectives are eligible for an annual individual incentive payment and salary increase.

With regard to (b) to (d), the Guidelines of the Performance Management Program for Chief Executive Officers of Crown Corporations, which can be found at https://www.canada.ca/en/privy-council/programs/appointments/governor-council-appointments/performance-management/crown-appointees.html, from the Privy Council Office, Senior Personnel Secretariat outlines the process for determining whether and at what level a performance-based compensation is payable.

Question No.1864—

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

With regard to the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) and the National Housing Strategy: (a) how many new homes have been completed with the assistance of any type of funding from the National Housing Strategy, since 2017, in total and broken down by province or territory; (b) how many new homes does the CMHC expect will have been completed in 2023 with the assistance of any type of funding from the National Housing Strategy; (c) what is the breakdown of (a) and (b) by program or initiative; and (d) will the National Housing Strategy help to construct enough homes by 2030 to meet the CMHC’s projection that Canada needs 5.8 million new homes to restore affordability?

[Chris Bittle, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Housing]

Mr. Speaker, with regard to the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation, or CMHC, and the National Housing Strategy, and with regard to (a), (b) and (c), please refer to the information available on the National Housing Strategy results website, which can be found at https://www.placetocallhome.ca. More precisely, the detailed breakdown requested can found by downloading the file made available on the Housing Funding Initiative Map section of the website, which can be found at https://www.placetocallhome.ca/housing-funding-initiatives-map.

With regards to the Housing Accelerator Fund, as of October 27, 2023, the committed permits to be facilitated for this program is 14,509 units. HAF is still undergoing the assessment of applications, hence, any further information cannot be provided.

With regard to (d), to restore affordability, CMHC estimates that Canada will need 3.5 million more units on top of what is already projected to be built based on current rates of new construction.

The National Housing Strategy is contributing to increasing housing supply across Canada and aims to create 160,000 new units but the federal government cannot achieve affordability for everyone in Canada on its own. The government needs partners, all orders of government, the private and non-profit sectors, and others who share our goal of creating a new generation of housing in Canada. Collaboration, partnership and innovation will be critical in addressing this supply shortfall.

Question No.1867—

[Kelly McCauley, Conservative, Edmonton West, AB]

With regard to heavy body armour acquisition and usage by the RCMP, since 2016: (a) how many sets of heavy body armour have been purchased for the RCMP, broken down by year; (b) what is the yearly breakdown of the total costs associated with the purchases in (a); (c) how many requests for proposals (RFP) have been issued for heavy body armour; (d) what are the details of each RFP, including, for each, (i) the date, (ii) how many sets of heavy body armour were desired, (iii) the RFP number; (e) how many and what percentage of RCMP vehicles have two sets of heavy body armour; (f) how many sets are currently in inventory or storage, but have not yet been issued to RCMP officers; (g) of the sets currently in use by the RCMP, how many are expired; and (h) what is the total number of sets currently owned by the RCMP, and, of those, how many are in use?

[Jennifer O'Connell, Liberal, Cybersecurity)]

Mr. Speaker, with regard to (a) to (d), the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, or RCMP, undertook an extensive preliminary search in order to determine the amount of information that would fall within the scope of the question and the amount of time that would be required to prepare a comprehensive response. The level of detail of the information requested is not systematically tracked in a centralized database. The RCMP concluded that producing and validating a comprehensive response to this question would require a manual collection of information that is not possible in the time allotted and could lead to the disclosure of incomplete and misleading information.

With regard to (e), on December 7, 2020, OM - ch. 99.2., Active Threat Training and Equipment, was updated to ensure that as many operational frontline members as possible are personally assigned unit-issued hard body armour, or HBA. This national operational standard ensures that the members at greatest risk receive the equipment and training they need to perform their duties as safely as possible.

The current benchmark for HBA is that “all operational frontline members are to be personally assigned unit-issued HBA by March 31, 2022.”

With regard to (f), as of October 26, 2023, 1,619 sets of HBA have been ordered, but have not yet been delivered to the RCMP National Warehouse. As soon as the HBA sets are received by the RCMP Uniform and Equipment Program, or U&E, there is a two-week preparation and quality assurance process that takes place before they can be shipped out to the Divisions.

With regard to (g) to (h), as of October 26, 2023, according to procurement records, there have been 18,595 sets of HBA procured by the RCMP. Since this number is based on procurement records, it does not take into account HBA sets that have been disposed of, lost, or destroyed. Of the sets that were deployed, 3,994 have expired. Based on Divisional annual HBA attestations, there are 12,607 HBA sets in use in the Divisions.