Debates of Feb. 16th, 2023

Aviation Industry

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

Mr. Speaker, Canadians want to travel again, and airlines want to offer new routes and hire new pilots. Unfortunately, the problem seems to be the Liberal government and the eight-month backlog at Transport Canada in issuing commercial pilot licences. This is a process that took only two months until just recently.

Why do the Liberals not just move out of the way so the Conservatives can get air travel moving again?

[Omar Alghabra, Liberal, Minister of Transport]

Mr. Speaker, the Conservatives first blamed the vaccine mandates. Second, they blamed ArriveCAN. Third, they blamed testing at airports. The Conservatives have no idea what they are talking about. They are ambulance chasers. However—

[Some hon. members]

Oh, oh!

[The Speaker, Liberal, Anthony Rota]

Order. Are we ready now?

The hon. minister, please continue.

[Omar Alghabra, Liberal, Mississauga Centre, ON]

Mr. Speaker, COVID-19 has had a massive impact on the air sector, and our government has been there to support the workers and Canadians.

Yes, there have been several disruptions. The government is on top of this. I have been speaking to Transport Canada on hiring more resources. We are fixing this issue.

Justice

[Lena Metlege Diab, Liberal, Halifax West, NS]

Mr. Speaker, many of us have heard heartbreaking stories of people wrongfully convicted and who spent many years behind bars for crimes they did not commit. In my own province, one need only think of the Glen Assoun case. When this happens, it ruins the life of the convicted person, the lives of their family, and their community. It also erodes public trust in our justice system.

Can the Minister of Justice please provide the House with an overview of how the bill he tabled today would improve the system currently in place to review cases of wrongful conviction?

[David Lametti, Liberal, Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada]

Mr. Speaker, first of all, I want to thank Susan Milgaard and James Lockyer, both of whom joined me in the press conference today.

[Some hon. members]

Hear, hear!

[David Lametti, Liberal, LaSalle—Émard—Verdun, QC]

Mr. Speaker, Susan is the sister of David Milgaard, and the daughter of Joyce, after whom the bill is named.

Bill C-40 would create a miscarriage-of-justice review commission to examine wrongful convictions fairly and efficiently—

[The Speaker, Liberal, Anthony Rota]

I am afraid we are out of time and I want to remind the hon. members that ministers and individual members cannot refer to people in the gallery.

The hon. member for Winnipeg Centre.

Indigenous Affairs

[Leah Gazan, NDP, Winnipeg Centre, MB]

Mr. Speaker, last week, we learned that the Liberals spent just 5% of the $724.1-million violence prevention strategy announced in fall 2020 to address violence against indigenous women, girls and two-spirit people.

Not one new shelter or transitional home has been built. It is unacceptable. This delay is costing lives. We should not have to beg for our safety. The public wants to know why so little of this money has been spent.

When will the government get this money out the door?

[Ahmed Hussen, Liberal, Minister of Housing and Diversity and Inclusion]

Mr. Speaker, I really agree with the hon. member on the importance of this $742-million fund to develop a comprehensive violence prevention strategy. This includes $420 million over five years to support the construction of a minimum 38 shelters and 50 transitional homes. We understand the urgency of this matter.

CMHC has already selected 22 projects to move forward, and we expect concrete announcements in the next few weeks.

Public Safety

[Kevin Vuong, Independent, Spadina—Fort York, ON]

Mr. Speaker, yesterday, I held a town hall on community safety. I thank police officers of 14 Division for attending.

Hon. members may recall a man being swarmed and killed by eight female assailants. This happened across the street from my constituency office. Parents of children at Jean Lumb Public School were threatened for speaking out about their kids being targets of the legal cannabis shops. One even set up shop next to two schools.

Public transit is becoming a war zone. A woman was knifed on the Spadina streetcar. This is the new normal that my constituents must accept. The government legalized cannabis. It cannot just walk away. Urban centres require urban solutions.

Will the Minister of Public Safety commit to creating an urban public safety strategy?

[Marco Mendicino, Liberal, Minister of Public Safety]

Mr. Speaker, I share my hon. colleague's concern, which is one of the reasons why we partnered directly with the City of Toronto, in the form of an announcement of $12 million to address many of the social determinants that he mentioned in his question.

What this means is that local organizations will have a greater capacity to offer mental health services that can help address substance issues, that will provide them with the additional capacity to help people who are at risk, especially young people who need more training when it comes to schooling and careers.

We will continue to work very closely with the City of Toronto and municipalities across the country, so we can stop crime before it starts.

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, Ander Gil, Speaker of the Senate of the Kingdom of Spain.

[Some hon. members]

Hear, hear!

Oral Questions

[Tom Kmiec, Conservative, Calgary Shepard, AB]

Mr. Speaker, the Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food, during question period, accused a member on our side of the House of deliberately engaging in disinformation.

The definition for “disinformation” in Oxford Reference states, “...dissemination of false information with the deliberate intent to deceive or mislead.”

I am asking for two simple things from you.

The first is that there are terms in the House that are considered unparliamentary under any circumstance. Therefore, I wonder if you could make a ruling in the future as to whether the term “disinformation”, when speaking of the terms used by members, is still parliamentary in the House.

The second is to have the minister retract her statement.

[The Speaker, Liberal, Anthony Rota]

I want to thank the hon. member for his point of order. I will look into it further.

The hon. Minister of Agriculture.

[Marie-Claude Bibeau, Liberal, Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food]

Mr. Speaker, I will retract my comments, no problem. I invite my colleague to share the entire quote, because I have a quote that is different from the one he has shared in the House.

I would love to compare notes with him.

[Dan Albas, Conservative, Central Okanagan—Similkameen—Nicola, BC]

Mr. Speaker, in today's QP proceedings I think you will find that the Minister of Transport used the term “ambulance chasers”.

I would remind the minister and the government that we are all hon. members and I think you, Mr. Speaker, should rule on whether or not the use of such terms toward another member is parliamentary.

[The Speaker, Liberal, Anthony Rota]

I will look into that.

Let me talk first and then I will go to the other points of order.

I would like to have the attention of members. We are picking different words, and one of the things I want to see is more judicious use of words in the House, on all sides, during the questions and the answers. If we are going to start picking words apart, it could be a long process, not only for me, but for every one of you who brings a word that is questionable. Therefore, please be judicious with your use of words.

I thank the hon. member for Central Okanagan—Similkameen—Nicola.

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

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

Mr. Speaker, during question period you made reference to the gallery, after the Minister of Justice made his comments, but nowhere in his comments did he make reference to Susan Milgaard being in the gallery. In fact, I stood to applaud when I saw her there. The minister did not make reference to—

[The Speaker, Liberal, Anthony Rota]

I think we are getting into debate. What happened is that you cannot do indirectly what you cannot do directly. When someone starts speaking, we have a rule of 35 seconds. Whether it is during clapping or a statement, I have to stop it after 35 seconds. Unless the House decides to change the rules, I have to stick to those agreements that have been made and implemented over time.

There were two things that took place there. One was something being done indirectly, and everybody was clearly looking up and clapping and it took up the time. Unfortunately, that is how it worked out.

Are there any other points of order? The hon. member for Saanich—Gulf Islands.

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

Mr. Speaker, I do not want to belabour the point, but I would like guidance for my own conduct in this place.

I agree with the hon. parliamentary secretary that the minister did not reference anyone in the gallery, and I agree that time taken up in applause does cut into speaking time.

I would find it difficult to know, if someone well known were in the gallery and we referenced that person who was earlier in the day at a press conference, whether that violates our rules.

[The Speaker, Liberal, Anthony Rota]

It does.