Debates of May 3rd, 2023

The Environment

[Steven Guilbeault, Liberal, Minister of Environment and Climate Change]

Mr. Speaker, the last time CEPA was reformed was more than 20 years ago. What our government did was introduce strong amendments to CEPA, which were applauded by environmental organizations, scientists and industry alike.

The parliamentary process was a clear success. Both Senate and House committees worked on this bill, and they have spent 50 hours studying it. They heard testimony from over 80 witnesses representing civil society, academia, industry and indigenous organizations. We received more than a hundred written briefs. It is now time to pass the bill as reported by the environment committee and send it back to the Senate.

[The Speaker, Liberal, Anthony Rota]

That is all the time we have for question period today.

The hon. member for Sarnia—Lambton is rising on a point of order.

[Marilyn Gladu, Conservative, Sarnia—Lambton, ON]

Mr. Speaker, yesterday, in question period, the Minister of Housing claimed that I had praised the housing accelerator program, so I reviewed the 479 interventions I have made on Hansard here and in committee, and I have been consistent in claiming that the government has been inadequate in their approach to affordable housing. I just wanted to correct the record.

The House resumed from May 2 consideration of the motion.

Opposition Motion—Home Ownership and Renting Affordability

[The Speaker, Liberal, Anthony Rota]

It being 3:22 p.m., pursuant to order made on Thursday, June 23, 2022, the House will now proceed to the taking of the deferred recorded division on the motion of the member for Carleton relating to the business of supply.

Call in the members.

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

Vote #309

Business of Supply

[The Speaker, Liberal, Anthony Rota]

I declared the motion defeated.

The House resumed from April 26 consideration of the motion that Bill S-211, An Act to enact the Fighting Against Forced Labour and Child Labour in Supply Chains Act and to amend the Customs Tariff, be read the third time and passed.

Fighting Against Forced Labour and Child Labour in Supply Chains Act

[The Speaker, Liberal, Anthony Rota]

Pursuant to order made on Thursday, June 23, 2022, the House will now proceed to the taking of the deferred recorded division on the motion at third reading stage of Bill S-211 under Private Members' Business.

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

Vote #310

[The Speaker, Liberal, Anthony Rota]

I declare the motion carried.

(Bill read the third time and passed)

(Bill C-45. On the Order: Government Orders:)

March 23, 2023—The Minister of Crown-Indigenous Relations — Second reading and reference to the Standing Committee on Indigenous and Northern Affairs of Bill C-45, An Act to amend the First Nations Fiscal Management Act, to make consequential amendments to other Acts, and to make a clarification relating to another Act.

First Nations Fiscal Management Act

[Jamie Schmale, Conservative, Haliburton—Kawartha Lakes—Brock, ON]

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

There have been consultations, and I believe you will find unanimous consent for the following motion:

That, notwithstanding any Standing Order, special order or usual practice of the House, Bill C-45, An Act to amend the First Nations Fiscal Management Act, to make consequential amendments to other Acts, and to make a clarification relating to another Act, be deemed read a second time and referred to the Standing Committee on Indigenous and Northern Affairs.

[The Speaker, Liberal, Anthony Rota]

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

Agreed.

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

(Motion agreed to, bill read the second time and referred to a committee)

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

Foreign Affairs and International Development

[Sameer Zuberi, Liberal, Pierrefonds—Dollard, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I have the honour to present, in both official languages, the 15th report of the Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Development, entitled “The Human Rights Situation in Haiti”.

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

Transport, Infrastructure and Communities

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

Mr. Speaker, I have the honour to present, in both official languages, the 12th report of the Standing Committee on Transport, Infrastructure and Communities, entitled “Main Estimates 2023-24”.

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

Publication Bans

[Laurel Collins, NDP, Victoria, BC]

Mr. Speaker, I am honoured to present, in both official languages, two petitions, which collectively have over 5,000 signatures. The subject of these petitions is publication bans.

The petitioners note that these restrictions, when unwanted, are paternalistic and prevent a victim complainant from exercising freedom of expression. They reinforce shame and the notion that anonymity always equals protection. Unwanted publication bans can give the impression that abusers are protected and benefit from the restrictions on the victim complainants, as they prevent open communication about the offence and harm experienced.

The petitioners are calling on the government to allow victim complainants to attribute their own experience of sexual offences without being charged; to grant adult victim complainants of sexual offences a choice in the application of publication bans; to produce comprehensive, accessible, multilingual and public information on these bans on government websites; to simplify the process to lift a ban without the services of a lawyer; and to allow victim complainants to opt out of these bans on their victim impact statement forms.

Hazaras

[Tom Kmiec, Conservative, Calgary Shepard, AB]

Mr. Speaker, as I have done before, I am tabling another petition on behalf the minority ethnic Hazara community from my riding specifically.

They are again drawing the attention of the House to the ongoing genocide of the Hazaras by the Taliban regime, something that has been ongoing for many decades now.

The petitioners are calling on the government to recognize the genocide of the Hazaras by the Taliban and to include the Hazara ethnic minority from Afghanistan within the 40,000 Afghan refugees that the Canadian government is trying to resettle by the end of this year.

Human Rights

[Heather McPherson, NDP, Edmonton Strathcona, AB]

Mr. Speaker, I am presenting a petition today on behalf of many constituents across the country who have asked that the government acknowledge the important contributions that German Canadians have made to this country, and recognize that during World War I and World War II, innocent German Canadians and Austrian Canadians were interned, alongside enemy combatants.

They recognize that Ukrainian Canadians, Japanese Canadians and Italian Canadians were apologized to, and the petitioners would like the government to apologize for their unlawful internment.

Public Safety

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

Mr. Speaker, your home, my home, our home, let us bring it home and stand with petitioners in Mission—Matsqui—Fraser Canyon who want federal action to combat the vandalism and theft of telecommunications infrastructure.

While these crimes are not considered to cause actual danger to life in the context of the Criminal Code, and thus are not prosecuted as severely as they otherwise would be, they can in fact be life-threatening. Damaged and stolen cables could lead to local residents being unable to call 911 in the event of an emergency, or keep up to date on emergency weather situations in ridings like mine.

The petitioners call on the Government of Canada to enact tougher penalties for vandalizing or stealing telecommunications infrastructure. When seconds matter, Canadians must be able to contact emergency services without delay.

The Environment

[Matthew Green, NDP, Hamilton Centre, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to rise today to present a petition signed by 141 people in my area of Hamilton, who are concerned about the Ford government's proposal to build Highway 413 and pave over more than 2,400 acres of land, including protected greenbelt, farmlands, forests, wetlands and the traditional indigenous lands of the Mississauga, Haudenosaunee, Huron-Wendat, Chippewa and Six Nations.

This petition calls upon the Minister of Environment and Climate Change to commence a complete and thorough federal environmental impact assessment to identify, predict and evaluate the environmental effects of the Highway 413 project, and conduct public hearings prior to the start of any construction.

Syria

[Matthew Green, NDP, Hamilton Centre, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to rise in the House today to present a second petition that highlights the need for greater action to address the humanitarian crisis in Syria, particularly in light of the earthquakes that devastated the region earlier this year.

The petition highlights the calls from the UN Special Rapporteur, the Syrian Arab Red Crescent and member of the European Parliament Clare Daly to take immediate action to ensure greater aid could reach the most in need.

The petitioners calls for the Government of Canada to immediately end sanctions against Syria and urge other states to follow suit, and amplify its aid and rescue efforts in all areas of the region.

Climate Change

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

Mr. Speaker, it is an honour to rise in this place today to speak. I want to let people watching know that the reason we are all wearing red carnations is for multiple sclerosis awareness.

The petition I am honoured to present today is from a rather specific and unusual group of petitioners, medical doctors who are also mothers. The Physician Mothers of Canada are calling on the Government of Canada to recognize that the World Health Organization has identified climate change as “the greatest threat to global health in the 21st century.”

They are calling upon the Government of Canada to view the advice from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and the special report on 1.5° as the call for urgent and transformative change.

In short, the petitioners, being the Physician Mothers of Canada, call on the Government of Canada to act on the Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment's calls for action to decarbonize our economy rapidly and to recognize that we must ensure green energy policies at every level. Every minister in the Government of Canada should view their actions through the climate lens.

There are other elements of this petition. I am summarizing a really important work rather quickly.

Criminal Code

[Damien Kurek, Conservative, Battle River—Crowfoot, AB]

Mr. Speaker, as always it is an honour to be able to rise in this place and share a petition on the matters that are so important to Canadians and specifically one today that references Bill C-311, an important bill that protects pregnant women and the unborn.

These petitioners establish that there is an increased risk of violence against women who are pregnant and that there needs to be action taken to ensure that violence against pregnant women is addressed accordingly. These petitioners call upon the House of Commons to pass legislation that the abuse or infliction of harm on a pregnant woman and her preborn child is an aggravating circumstance in the sentencing of those crimes.