Debates of March 20th, 2023

Tragedy in Amqui

[Ken McDonald, Liberal, Avalon, NL]

Mr. Speaker, I have listened now, for weeks on end in question period, to members getting up and referring to a government that has been in power for eight years. This government will not have been in power for eight years until October 19.

I would like that to be corrected.

[The Speaker, Liberal, Anthony Rota]

I am afraid that the Speaker does not have the power to regulate either the questions being asked or the answers being given. That is up to the hon. members to do.

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 language, the government's responses to 39 petitions. These returns will be tabled in an electronic format.

Interparliamentary Delegations

[Julie Dzerowicz, Liberal, Davenport, ON]

Mr. Speaker, pursuant to Standing Order 34(1), I have the honour to present to the House, in both official languages, the following reports of the Canadian NATO Parliamentary Association, respecting its participation at the bureau and standing committee meetings in Athens, Greece, from April 9 to 10, 2022, and the spring session in Vilnius, Lithuania, from May 25 to 30, 2022.

Natural Resources

[John Aldag, Liberal, Cloverdale—Langley City, BC]

Mr. Speaker, I have the honour to present, in both official languages, the eighth report of the Standing Committee on Natural Resources, in relation to Bill S-222, an act to amend the Department of Public Works and Government Services Act (use of wood).

The committee has studied the bill and has decided to report the bill back to the House without amendment.

International Trade

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

Mr. Speaker, I am very pleased to present a report from the Standing Committee on International Trade, on which we have spent many hours in discussion and looking at opportunities for improvements in the system.

It is my honour to present, in both official languages, as required, the sixth report of the Standing Committee on International Trade, entitled “The ArriveCAN Digital tool: Impacts on Certain Canadian Sectors”.

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

Liaison

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

Mr. Speaker, this is a report on the committee activities and expenditures, from April 1, 2022 to December 1, 2022, of the committees of the House of Commons.

I will present it, in both official languages, as required. This is the fifth report of the Liaison Committee. This report highlights the work and accomplishments of each committee of the House and details the budgets that fund the activities approved by committee members.

Procedure and House Affairs

[Bardish Chagger, Liberal, Waterloo, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to wish everyone a happy International Day of La Francophonie.

Today I have the honour to present, in both official languages, the following four reports from the Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs: the 26th report entitled “Report on the Report of the Federal Electoral Boundaries Commission for the Province of Nova Scotia 2022”; the 27th report entitled “Report on the Report of the Federal Electoral Boundaries Commission for the Province of New Brunswick 2022”; the 28th report entitled “Report on the Report of the Federal Electoral Boundaries Commission for the Province of Saskatchewan 2022”; and the 29th report entitled “Report on the Report of the Federal Electoral Boundaries Commission for the Province of Manitoba 2022”.

I hope the members of that committee will find a solution so that we can begin the reports on Alberta, British Columbia, Quebec and Ontario.

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

Mr. Speaker, I rise on behalf of the Conservative members of the Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs to table three dissenting opinions in respect of the main reports of the committee regarding the reports of the federal electoral boundaries commissions for the provinces of Saskatchewan, Manitoba and Nova Scotia.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank each member who appeared before the committee to testify with respect to their notices of objection, as well as to thank the clerks and analysts for their work and their support for the committee.

We support and respect the work of the commissions and therefore broadly support the findings of the reports of each of the commissions. However, we do concur with the main reports of the committee with respect to the notices of objection of the members for Regina—Lewvan, Regina—Qu'Appelle, Selkirk—Interlake—Eastman and Churchill—Keewatinook Aski.

[Bardish Chagger, Liberal, Waterloo, ON]

Mr. Speaker, pursuant to Standing Orders 104 and 114, I have the honour to present, in both official languages, the 30th report of the Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs, regarding the membership of committees of the House.

If the House gives its consent, I intend to move concurrence in the 30th report later this day.

Strengthening Air Passenger Act

[Taylor Bachrach, NDP, Skeena—Bulkley Valley, BC]

moved for leave to introduce Bill C-327, An Act to amend the Canada Transportation Act (air passenger protection).

Mr. Speaker, I am proud to rise this afternoon to table the strengthening air passenger protections act. This bill comes on the heels of two seasons of air travel chaos that left air passengers sleeping on airport floors, missing important family trips and out thousands of dollars.

My bill would do four key things. First of all, it would close a loophole in the Canada Transportation Act that airlines have been using to deny passengers the compensation they are due. It would make compensation automatic. It would shift the burden of proof off passengers and squarely onto the airlines themselves. Finally, it would increase the financial penalties for non-compliance.

Most importantly, this bill would bring Canada's air passenger protection regime up to the standards set by the European Union, finally and for all time moving forward.

I will end by thanking the organizations Air Passenger Rights, the Public Interest Advocacy Centre and Option Consommateurs, whose hard work helped immeasurably in crafting this bill.

The government does not have to wait to debate my bill. It could take the ideas contained within and table a government bill. I hope it does that at the earliest opportunity.

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

Procedure and House Affairs

[Bardish Chagger, Liberal, Waterloo, ON]

Mr. Speaker, if the House gives its consent, I move that the 30th report of the Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs, presented to the House earlier this day, be concurred in.

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

All those opposed to the hon. member moving the motion will please say nay.

The House has heard the terms of the motion. All those opposed to the motion will please say nay.

(Motion agreed to)

Public Safety

[Melissa Lantsman, Conservative, Thornhill, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to present a petition on behalf of Canadians concerned about a report from Safeguard Defenders that the government in Beijing is operating three police stations in Toronto. These police stations threaten public safety, violate international law and undermine our sovereignty.

The petitioners are calling on the Minister of Public Safety to direct the RCMP and CSIS to investigate these operations, protect Canadian sovereignty and shut down any operations found to be contrary to Canadian and international law.

Natural Resources

[Alex Ruff, Conservative, Bruce—Grey—Owen Sound, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I am presenting a petition, and I have presented a very similar petition about 10 times in the House, from constituents calling upon the government to take action to shut down TC Energy's proposed pumped storage project on the 4th Canadian Division Training Centre base in Meaford due to the negative impacts it will have on the environment, the economy and more.

Opioids

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

Mr. Speaker, this is also not the first time I have presented a similar petition. The constituents in Saanich—Gulf Islands remain devastated by the deaths from the opioid crisis, both near our home and across Canada.

The opioid crisis in Canada is a poisoning crisis. It has not yet been declared, but the petitioners call on us to declare it a public health emergency based on the number of deaths in Canada due to the poisoned drug supply and the illegal drug supply. The petitioners call for us to recognize it as a health issue and not a criminal issue.

They call on us to act on the recommendations made by social workers, frontline workers, nurses, doctors, and organizations like Moms Stop The Harm, and decriminalize drugs in Canada.

National Defence

[Lindsay Mathyssen, NDP, London—Fanshawe, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I am honoured to stand and present e-petition 4217, signed by 1,393 signatories.

They are calling on the government and the House of Commons to conduct and publicize a comprehensive study on the financial, climate, environmental and social costs and risks of the F-35 fighter jets. They want to make public the findings for the gender-based analysis, the environmental assessment, climate impacts, and the impacts on indigenous communities of this new fleet. They are asking that the Government of Canada invest in climate change and the well-being of Canadians, instead of this massive purchase.

Questions on the Order Paper

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

Mr. Speaker, the following questions will be answered today: Nos. 1148 to 1150, 1152, 1169 to 1171, 1179, 1184, 1188 and 1189.

Question No.1148—

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

With regard to Veterans Affairs Canada (VAC): (a) what is the process for a case manager or Veterans Service Agent (VSA) to approve a veteran or a veteran's family member to receive services from a service provider; (b) how are case managers and VSAs made aware of service providers; and (c) what is the process for evaluating service providers, and (i) by whom, and (ii) how often, are service providers evaluated?

[The Hon. Lawrence MacAulay (Minister of Veterans Affairs and Associate Minister of National Defence, Lib.), Conservative, Kelly McCauley]

Mr. Speaker, in response to part (a) of the question, a Veterans Service Agent’s screening of unmet needs and a Case Manager’s assessment of a Veteran’s overall wellbeing identifies needs. Veterans may access treatment benefits based on their needs and corresponding coverage entitlement linked to a disability condition recognized by Veterans Affairs Canada.

Under the Treatment Benefits Program, Veterans Affairs Canada covers the cost for mental health services for family members when the mental health professional who is treating the Veteran indicates it will have a positive impact on the Veteran’s mental health.

For participants in the Rehabilitation Program, Veterans Affairs Canada covers the cost for family members who need mental health services when the assessing or treating professional identifies that it will help meet the participant’s rehabilitation goals and that these services are not available through other programs.

Veterans Affairs Canada also provides support for a range of mental health services available to family members through the Veterans Affairs Canada Assistance Service program. Veterans, former Royal Canadian Mounted Police, or RCMP, members, their families and caregivers can access mental health services at no cost 24 hours a day, 365 days a year by calling 1-800-268-7708.

With respect to part (b) of the question, Case Managers and Veterans Service Agents access the Medavie Blue Cross portal to verify registered providers in the Veteran’s area. They then discuss them with their clients, who can choose their providers of choice.

With respect to part (c) of the question, Veterans Affairs Canada’s claims processor, Medavie Blue Cross, manages a comprehensive network of service providers across Canada to provide services to Veterans who are clients of Veterans Affairs Canada and are regionally dispersed, through the Federal Health Claims Processing Services contract.

Service provider eligibility criteria for individual health care practitioners and firms are implemented on the Provider Registration System and maintained by Medavie Blue Cross Provider Relations to ensure consistency and efficiency, as well as to validate that service providers’ eligibility remains current. Service providers’ credentials are reviewed when they initially register and then again, if they have a change to their address or want to obtain an additional provider identification.

Medavie Blue Cross develops an annual plan to outline and support the development and execution of Service Provider Relations’ activities for the period of the plan.

General objectives of Service Provider Relations related to service provider evaluation include: maintaining a rigorous recredentialing and reregistration monitoring program; maintaining, supporting and renegotiating Service Provider Agreements and Memorandum of Understanding; maintaining current approved service provider criteria and associations based on the requirements of partners, namely Veterans Affairs Canada, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and the Canadian Armed Forces; and conducting annual Service Provider Inactivation to ensure that the Service Provider Registry remains current.

Since April 2022, Veterans Affairs Canada and Medavie Blue Cross implemented a new Service Provider Escalation Process to address concerns related to service provider quality of service and billing issues. Joint bi-weekly meetings are held between Veterans Affairs Canada and Medavie Blue Cross to investigate and address concerns. Resolutions include service provider education, follow-up with the regulatory body, and/or deactivation as a Veterans Affairs Canada’s service provider.

Question No.1149—

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

With regard to the statement made by the Prime Minister on November 30, 2022, that 93.5 percent of Canadians have access to reliable high-speed Internet services: what percentage of Canadians living in the Hamilton metropolitan census area have access to at least 50 Mbps download speed as of December 2022?

[Stéphane Lauzon, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Rural Economic Development]

Mr. Speaker, the Government of Canada knows that access to high-speed Internet is essential for all Canadians, no matter where they live. That is why the government has made more than $7.6 billion available across government connectivity programs to support the building of rural and remote Internet infrastructure.

The Government of Canada’s most recent connectivity program, the universal broadband fund, or UBF, is the largest federal investment in broadband in Canada’s history. The UBF is providing $3.225 billion to help ensure that 98% of Canadians will have access to high-speed Internet by 2026 and all Canadians by 2030. The government is on track to meeting that goal. Today, 93.5% of Canadians have access to high-speed Internet or are targeted to receive access through program commitments, compared to 79% of Canadians in 2014.

With regard to the Hamilton metropolitan census area, 97.6% of dwellings currently have access to a service of 50/10 Mbps or higher.

On July 29, 2021, a federal-provincial co-funding agreement with Ontario was announced to bring high-speed Internet to nearly 280,000 rural Ontario households in hundreds of communities across the province. This agreement is being made possible by an equal federal-provincial investment totalling more than $1.2 billion. Projects under this agreement have already begun to be announced and can be viewed on the UBF’s selected projects page.

The Government of Ontario announced selected projects and communities from its reverse auction, which will connect another 266,000 underserved households in the province. The Government of Canada has worked closely with the Government of Ontario to ensure recent funding decisions are coordinated with decisions on the reverse auction.

The Government of Canada looks forward to making more core UBF announcements under the Canada-Ontario broadband partnership in the coming months.

Question No.1150—

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

With regard to the Statistics Canada release entitled “Access to the Internet in Canada, 2020” which stated that only 76 percent of respondents living in a census metropolitan area, and only 48 percent of respondents not living in a census metropolitan area, had an advertised speed of 50 Mbps or more: what percentage of Canadians living (i) inside, (ii) outside, of a census metropolitan area have access to at least 50 Mbps download speed as of December 2022?

[The Hon. François-Philippe Champagne, Liberal, François-Philippe Champagne]

Mr. Speaker, for parts i) and ii), according to data from the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission, in 2021, 99.2% of those living in urban areas had access to 50 megabits per second, or Mbps, download and 10 Mbps upload internet speeds, compared to 62% of those living in rural areas. This represents an increase for rural areas compared to 2019, when 45.6% had access to internet speeds of 50/10. Rural areas are defined as areas with a population of less than 1,000 or a density of 400 or fewer people per square kilometre.

Note that the estimates provided from the 2020 Canadian Internet Use Survey represent the percentage of Canadians who knew their advertised connection speed and subscribed to a speed tier of 50 Mbps or higher. If they chose not to subscribe to a speed tier of 50 Mbps or higher, they would not be included in this estimate, even if the service was available to them. Comparable data for 2022 will be available from the 2022 Canadian Internet Use Survey currently being collected. It will be released in July 2023.

Question No.1152—

[Brian Masse, NDP, Windsor West, ON]

With regard to Canadian sourced income and the definition of "permanent establishment": (a) why is working from home in Canada while logging into US-based companies' internet servers interpreted or considered as Canadian-sourced income by the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA); (b) is the CRA considering a commuter's home as a US company's permanent establishment or as the commuter's permanent establishment; (c) since the commuter's home is not US company property by any measurement, why does the CRA consider the commuter’s home as a US company’s permanent establishment or as the commuter’s permanent establishment of work and in turn how does neither case imply that the commuter and his home are therefore a small business entity generating Canadian-sourced income with deductible expenses; (d) if a commuter's home is considered a commuter's permanent establishment and the commuter is not employed by a Canadian company but provides services to a foreign company, why is the commuter not considered its own small business entity for Canadian tax purposes and not qualified for small business tax deductions; (e) if the commuter’s home is considered as a permanent establishment, why are commuter business expenses such as utilities, travel, rent, vehicle used and registration, etc. not allowed to be deducted as business expenses from their Canadian-sourced income; and (f) if a commuter’s home is considered a permanent establishment, why is going to another office from the commuter's home permanent establishment not considered as a business travel expense?