Debates of June 19th, 2023

Immigration and Refugee Protection Act

[Kevin Lamoureux, Liberal, Winnipeg North, MB]

Mr. Speaker, I request a recorded vote, please.

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

Vote #387

[The Speaker, Liberal, Anthony Rota]

I declare the motion carried.

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

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

Mr. Speaker, I ask for unanimous consent to table, in both official languages, a report shared in advance with all parties last week, entitled “White Paper on the Status of Trans and Gender Diverse People”.

[The Speaker, Liberal, Anthony Rota]

Is it agreed?

[Some hon. members]

No.

Interparliamentary Delegations

[Marc Serré, Liberal, Nickel Belt, ON]

Mr. Speaker, pursuant to Standing Order 34(1), I have the honour to present to the House, in both official languages, a report of the Canadian Section of ParlAmericas respecting its participation in the 19th ParlAmericas Plenary Assembly and the 14th Gathering of ParlAmericas Parliamentary Network on Gender Equality, held in Bogota, Colombia, from November 29 to December 2, 2022.

Natural Resources

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

Mr. Speaker, I have the honour to present, in both official languages, the 10th report of the Standing Committee on Natural Resources, entitled “Creating a Fair and Equitable Canadian Energy Transformation”.

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

[Shannon Stubbs, Conservative, Lakeland, AB]

Madam Speaker, the NDP-Liberal just transition plan, brought in as a bill last week even before the final committee report was out, is a dangerous government-mandated threat to outright kill 170,000 jobs and risk the jobs of 2.7 million Canadians overall. It will negatively impact all sectors of Canada's economy and disproportionately harm certain provinces and regions, namely rural, resource-based and indigenous communities. It will hike energy costs, undermine Canada's energy supply and security, prevent self-sufficiency and gatekeep Canada's ability to fuel, feed, secure and help innovate allies in developing countries to help lower global emissions.

The final report attacks Canada's energy sector and fails to recognize its world-class standards and unmatched contributions to clean-tech investment in Canada. It encourages an accelerated transition away from the livelihoods on which millions of Canadians depend, instead of examining practical ways and timelines for increased technological development and grid decarbonization, without jeopardizing Canada's economy and standard of living. It is designed to prop up the Liberals' legislation and excludes witnesses who disagree.

It is notable, as a final comment, that the recommendations use the term “sustainable jobs”, despite the fact that it was used only once by a single, non-government witness in the entire 64-witness, 23-brief, year-plus-long study of a motion that called this the just transition, an obviously cynical, last-minute name change to obscure the real aims and consequences of the plan.

The Conservatives believe in transformation, not transition; technology, not taxes; and that the energy evolution must be led by the private sector, not forced by government. The Conservatives will make both traditional and alternative energy affordable and accessible, accelerate approvals of energy infrastructure and export projects, and green-light green projects to put Canadian resources, innovation and workers first to ensure Canadian energy affordability, security and self-sufficiency.

The conclusions of the committee's final report will not do that. For these reasons, I am tabling a dissenting report on behalf of the Conservatives.

Justice, Human Rights, Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness

[Randeep Sarai, Liberal, Surrey Centre, BC]

Madam Speaker, I have the honour to present, in both official languages, the 14th report of the Standing Committee on Justice, Human Rights, Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness in relation to Bill C-295, an ct to amend the Criminal Code, neglect of vulnerable adults.

The committee has studied the bill and has decided to report the bill back to the House with amendments.

Library of Parliament

[Angelo Iacono, Liberal, Alfred-Pellan, QC]

Madam Speaker, I have the honour to present, in both official languages, the two following reports of the Standing Joint Committee on the Library of Parliament, entitled “Quorum and Mandate of the Committee” and “Certificate of Nomination of Heather P. Lank to the Position of Parliamentary Librarian”.

An Act to Protect Firefighters, Paramedics and Other First Responders

[Peter Julian, NDP, New Westminster—Burnaby, BC]

moved for leave to introduce Bill C-345, An Act to protect firefighters, paramedics and other first responders.

Madam Speaker, I am pleased to introduce an act to protect firefighters, paramedics and other first responders. I want to thank my dynamic, hard-working seconder, the member of Parliament for Nanaimo—Ladysmith.

We have seen through COVID the courage of the paramedics and firefighters across our country. In British Columbia, with the heat dome, during which hundreds of people died, we saw the courage and determination of firefighters and paramedics. I want to shout out to the New Westminster firefighters and the Burnaby firefighters, who show their dedication every day and do so much for the community. I also want to shout out to the B.C. paramedics. My seconder, of course, would want to see me shout out to the Nanaimo firefighters and volunteer firefighters in Ladysmith, Lantzville, North Cedar, North Oyster, Gabriola Island and Protection Island.

The reality is that assaults are increasing against first responders. That is why the IAFF and paramedics have called for this legislation. We need to fight rising levels of violence that target first responders, firefighters and paramedics.

This bill is designed to counter just that by putting in place protections for our firefighters, paramedics and other first responders. I hope the bill will receive support from all members of the House.

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

National Arts Day Act

[Sherry Romanado, Liberal, Longueuil—Charles-LeMoyne, QC]

moved for leave to introduce an act to establish national arts day.

Madam Speaker, whereas every year across Canada provinces celebrate arts and culture during the months of September and October, and whereas Parliament wishes to recognize and celebrate Canadians' achievements in and contributions to the arts, that throughout Canada and each year, the 23rd day of September is to be known as “National Arts Day”.

While I am on my feet, I move:

That the House do now proceed to Orders of the day.

[The Assistant Deputy Speaker, NDP, Carol Hughes]

The question is on the motion. If a member of a recognized party present in the House wishes that the motion be carried or carried on division or wishes to request a recorded division, I invite them to rise and indicate it to the Chair.

[Shannon Stubbs, Conservative, Lakeland, AB]

Madam Speaker, I request a recorded vote.

[The Assistant Deputy Speaker, NDP, Carol Hughes]

Call in the members.

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

Vote #388

[The Assistant Deputy Speaker, NDP, Carol Hughes]

I declare the motion carried.

Order.

It is my duty pursuant to Standing Order 38 to inform the House that the questions to be raised tonight at the time of adjournment are as follows: the hon. member for Edmonton Strathcona, Natural Resources; the hon. member for Elmwood—Transcona, Canada Revenue Agency; the hon. member for Selkirk—Interlake—Eastman, National Defence.

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

Madam Speaker, I rise on a point of order. I am tabling the government's responses to Questions Nos. 1484 to 1499.

[Leslyn Lewis, Conservative, Haldimand—Norfolk, ON]

Madam Speaker, I rise on a point of order. I am requesting unanimous consent of the House to table one petition that is time sensitive.

[The Assistant Deputy Speaker, NDP, Carol Hughes]

Does the hon. member have unanimous consent to table her petition?

[Some hon. members]

No.

[The Assistant Deputy Speaker, NDP, Carol Hughes]

I would ask the hon. member to check with the whips' offices to see if she could get unanimous consent.

Online News Act

[Pablo Rodriguez, Liberal, Minister of Canadian Heritage]

moved:

That a message be sent to the Senate to acquaint Their Honours that, in relation to Bill C-18, An Act respecting online communications platforms that make news content available to persons in Canada, the House:

agrees with amendments 1, 2, 3, 6, 7, 8, 9 and 10 made by the Senate; and

respectfully disagrees with amendments 4 and 5 because they undermine the objectives of the bill, which focus on encouraging fair deals that reflect what each party contributes to, and how each party benefits from, the making available of news online, and narrow the scope of the bargaining process and the key factors guiding final offer arbitration decisions;

Madam Speaker, first of all, I would like to thank all parliamentarians for their important work on this bill, starting with the members of the House of Commons Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage and also the senators who sit on the Standing Committee on Transport and Communications. In particular, I would like to thank Senator Harder, who did a truly remarkable job as the sponsor of the bill in the Senate.

Last, but certainly not least, there is my incredible, formidable parliamentary secretary, the member for St. Catharines. I thank all of them so much.

I have said it in the past and it bears repeating today: Since 2008, more than 500 media and newsrooms have closed their doors in 335 different communities all across the country. There are very few members who have not had a newsroom in their riding close. It affects us all. We are talking about local newspapers, television stations, local radio stations and news sites.

We discussed this here last week when Bell announced the closure of radio stations and the elimination of 1,300 jobs. Furthermore, we will recall, especially my Quebec friends and colleagues, that not so long ago Québecor announced 240 job cuts, including 140 at TVA. We are talking about real people who lost their jobs.

This bill is about them. It is also about the future of the news industry in our country. It is about upholding our democracy, because our democracy, or any democracy, needs a free, independent and thriving press. We all rely on fact-based and timely news to make rational decisions to counter misinformation and to participate in our democracy. Today, I would say, it is more important than ever.

We all know that the Internet has dramatically changed the way we create, search and consume content, especially when it comes to news. We see that more and more Canadians are using digital platforms to stay informed, and 77% of Canadians consume their news online, including 55% of them doing so on social media. We can see the impact right here. Meanwhile, our traditional news sector is in crisis; we all know that. It is very clear to all of us that there is a big power imbalance in our news marketplace, and the actions of the big platforms, as we have seen very recently, are a clear demonstration of this. Right now, there is absolutely no incentive for digital platforms to pay our news businesses and our journalists fairly for their content. Everything I have just mentioned here has a direct impact on our ability as Canadians to access reliable news.

The bill proposes practical measures to respond to everything I just said. It proposes to put an end to the status quo because it is not working, as we have clearly seen. When we are talking about nearly 500 newsrooms or news media outlets, whether big or small, in cities or in the regions, that have closed their doors, we clearly see that the status quo is not working at all. We therefore need to take strong, definitive action.

Bill C‑18 sets out clear criteria that the platforms must meet in their negotiations with news organizations. I hope it will be passed in the coming days with the help of my colleagues here and the administrators.

As soon as the law is passed, we will consult with Canadians, who will get to have their say. It is essential that Canadians have a say because this bill is partly about them. Basically, we are talking here about access to good quality, reliable, neutral, independent and non-partisan news. We are talking about local journalism, one of the pillars of our democracy. Because of that, we obviously want Canadians to express their opinions and have their say. It will therefore be a completely transparent process.

During their study of the bill, senators made 12 amendments to Bill C-18.

There is a provision to have the entire act come into force within six months of royal assent. There is also a guarantee that no media will be required to take part in this if it does not want to. Then there is the addition of provisions on official language minority communities, as well as Black, indigenous and other communities.

There are some important and interesting amendments that are in the spirit of the legislation that I would say improve the legislation. We propose supporting 10 of these 12 amendments, which is a lot. I want to take this opportunity to thank the senators for their work, in particular Senator Harder who, as sponsor, did extraordinary work. I thank him and the members of the committee and all senators. We are support 10 out of the 12 amendments.

The only one we cannot support is an amendment that would force negotiators to set boundaries on bargaining by setting a simple value for news content and limiting negotiation over other items of value. Currently, the legislation intentionally would not set boundaries on what parties can negotiate on. This would allow them to bargain over the elements outside the scope of news content if they want.

If you do not want to take my word for it, Madam Speaker, which I am sure you and everyone in this room would want to, but just in case—