House of Commons Hansard #371 of the 44th Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament's site.) The word of the day was goods.
Heather McPherson NDP Edmonton Strathcona, AB
Mr. Speaker, I rise on a point of order.
I am gravely concerned, because your ruling makes it very difficult for members of the House to know how to act going forward. My worry is that you are taking direction from those who are loudest, those who are most obnoxiously loud, sitting right next to you, rather than from all of those in the House equally. I have to say—
The Speaker Liberal Greg Fergus
The hon. member is entering into debate, and I am going to ask her to read my ruling carefully. She will discover that the normal procedures and practices of this place will continue. I ask members to be judicious in what they do when either wearing pins or raising concerns with the Chair.
The Speaker Liberal Greg Fergus
I hope this is not an issue about the ruling that I just issued. I just ask—
Leah Gazan NDP Winnipeg Centre, MB
Mr. Speaker, I would like you to respect my parliamentary privilege to raise a point of order.
The Speaker Liberal Greg Fergus
The hon. member has the right to raise a point of order, but the Chair also has the right to stand up and ask whether it is with regard to the ruling I just gave.
The hon. member for Winnipeg Centre is rising on a point of order.
Leah Gazan NDP Winnipeg Centre, MB
Mr. Speaker, I just need clarification. I wear, for example, a red dress pin to signify the ongoing genocide against indigenous women in Canada. I have worn shirts to signify the genocide that happened to indigenous people. I am wearing—
The Speaker Liberal Greg Fergus
The hon. member is now engaging in a debate on the ruling that I just gave. I will invite the hon. member, and all hon. members, to please read the ruling carefully.
The hon. member for Victoria is rising on a point of order, and I hope it is not with regard to the same issues that have been raised.
Laurel Collins NDP Victoria, BC
Mr. Speaker, it does not have to do with the pins. It is a point of order to ask for clarification about my colleague from Winnipeg Centre, who just rose to add new and pertinent information for you. I am asking for clarity on whether you will allow her to speak to give her point of order.
The Speaker Liberal Greg Fergus
I am afraid that is not a point of order. The Speaker has made a ruling. I invite the hon. member to take a look at it and not engage in debate. There are avenues she could proceed with on that point.
Garnett Genuis Conservative Sherwood Park—Fort Saskatchewan, AB
Mr. Speaker, it is very gracious of colleagues to finally give me the time I need to table a sufficient number of petitions.
The first petition highlights the horrific persecution of Falun Gong practitioners in the People's Republic of China. We table these petitions regularly, but there are a number of practitioners and leaders of the Falun Gong community on the Hill today, and I think all members would join me in welcoming them.
In tabling this petition on the persecution of Falun Gong practitioners, I want to highlight three specific cases of practitioners who are imprisoned in China: Sun Qian, a Canadian citizen from Vancouver who was illegally sentenced to prison for eight years simply because of being a Falun Gong practitioner; Xie Mingguang, the father of a permanent resident living in Regina who was imprisoned for being a Falun Gong practitioner and faces torture as a result; and He Lizhong, the brother of a Canadian citizen from Mississauga who was also illegally arrested simply for being a Falun Gong practitioner.
These and other cases of Canadian citizens or people with close ties to Canada who face persecution in the PRC because they are Falun Gong practitioners need to be highlighted. I join colleagues in highlighting these specific cases, as well as calling for an end to the persecution of Falun Gong practitioners in general.
The petitioners want the House to take strong, clear action opposing the persecution of Falun Gong practitioners and to explicitly continue to call for an end to the persecution of Falun Gong.
Garnett Genuis Conservative Sherwood Park—Fort Saskatchewan, AB
Madam Speaker, the next petition I am tabling highlights the situation in Ukraine, as it is 1,000 days since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine. I join colleagues in deploring that invasion and in calling for strong action to deliver the support to Ukraine, weapons and other forms of support, that it urgently needs and to do so without delay.
The petitioners further highlight some of the inconsistencies with respect to the immigration regime involving Ukrainians who have come to Canada, and they call on the government to allow Ukrainian youth, under the Canada-Ukraine authorization—
The Assistant Deputy Speaker NDP Carol Hughes
There is a point of order from the hon. parliamentary secretary to the government House leader.
Kevin Lamoureux Liberal Winnipeg North, MB
Madam Speaker, I apologize to the member opposite, but what we have witnessed in the past is that he has a number of petitions to present. As other members would like to present petitions, it would be kind of the member to let them do so. We can always go back to the member, but I understand there are other members who want to present petitions. I say this for what it is worth. In the past, the member has been very generous by allowing other members to table their petitions before he does his because he typically has a series of petitions.
The Assistant Deputy Speaker NDP Carol Hughes
I was going to advise the hon. member at some point that he needs to wrap it up.
Petitions are supposed to be summarized briefly. A number of individuals want to table petitions, so I remind members to be respectful of others who want to table petitions. The procedures specify that I have the ability to stop members from tabling petitions when others want to table them.
The hon. member for Sherwood Park—Fort Saskatchewan has the floor.
Garnett Genuis Conservative Sherwood Park—Fort Saskatchewan, AB
Madam Speaker, the point of order took much more time than I intended to take.
The petition I was just tabling highlights a call for Ukrainian youth to access the Canada summer jobs program.
Garnett Genuis Conservative Sherwood Park—Fort Saskatchewan, AB
Madam Speaker, I will conclude with a petition in support of Bill C-257, which would ban discrimination on the basis of political belief or activity. The petitioners want to see the House support Bill C-257 to protect Canadians from political discrimination.
Jenny Kwan NDP Vancouver East, BC
Madam Speaker, I rise to table e-petition 5137. The petition gathered 3,497 signatures. In addition, on a previous occasion, I tabled a similar petition that had 152 signatures on it. There are another 717 signatures to be certified from Toronto and another 247 signatures to be certified from Vancouver, for a total of 4,613.
The petitioners note that on August 12, Hong Kong's top court upheld the convictions of seven of Hong Kong's most prominent pro-democracy activists, including 82-year-old Martin Lee and 76-year-old Jimmy Lai, for participating in a peaceful demonstration on August 18, 2019. The group of 47, which includes legislators, were found guilty on May 30 in the exercise of their democratic rights for participating in the election primaries.
Chow Hang-tung and former leaders of the Hong Kong Alliance have been arrested for holding annual candlelight vigils in remembrance of the 1989 Tiananmen massacre. Given the extraterritorial reach of the national security law in article 23, there is ongoing fear of surveillance among the Hong Kong diaspora. In light of the recent spying charges laid against staff at the Hong Kong Economic Trade Office in the United Kingdom, Hong Kongers want to be reassured that this is not happening in Canada.
The petitioners are therefore calling on the Government of Canada to call on Hong Kong and the People's Republic of China to release Jimmy Lai, Chow Hang-tung, the group of 47 and others, whose only crime was to exercise their rights and freedoms as prescribed by the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights; to stop according any special rights of diplomatic status to the Hong Kong Economic Trade Office; and, finally, to proactively apply sanctions under the Justice for Victims of Corrupt Foreign Officials Act against Chinese and Hong Kong officials.
Mike Morrice Green Kitchener Centre, ON
Madam Speaker, I rise to present a petition on behalf of folks who note that residents from across Waterloo region have long expressed frustration with the unreliability and lack of access to GO Transit, particularly GO train service between Kitchener and Toronto.
The petitioners also note that our community has been promised two-way, all-day, GO train service every 15 minutes for over 10 years. They note that there is plenty of demand for this service and that research has shown that the demand will increase by 400% by 2031. The petitioners go on to note that the federal government committed 40% of the project cost, $752 million, back in 2017, and that as of today there are no timelines to complete the project, leaving folks on overcrowded buses.
The petitioners call on a number of items from the Government of Canada, most notably to demand timelines for project completion from the province and to report back to our community on those timelines.
Michael Kram Conservative Regina—Wascana, SK
Madam Speaker, I am pleased to have the opportunity to present two petitions today, both signed by the Pakistani community in Regina, Saskatchewan, and both concerning the well-being of former Pakistani prime minister Imran Khan, who is currently imprisoned in that country for reasons that the United Nations have found to be an arbitrary detention and a violation of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
The first petition calls on the Government of Canada to direct the High Commissioner of Canada in Pakistan to visit Imran Khan in prison and report back on his treatment and condition.
The second petition calls on the Government of Canada to use diplomacy to call on the Government of Pakistan to release Imran Khan from prison altogether.
I am pleased to have the opportunity to present these petitions today.
Gord Johns NDP Courtenay—Alberni, BC
Madam Speaker, it is a privilege to table e-petition 5126, which has over a thousand signatures. It is particularly timely given that the Peace Train is arriving in Ottawa tomorrow, and many of its riders are signatories to this petition.
The petitioners are calling on the Government of Canada to establish and fund a centre of excellence for peace and justice focused on research, education and training in conflict resolution, diplomacy and peace operations for Canadian civilians, police, military personnel and the international community. They highlight that with the closing of the Pearson Peacekeeping Centre, Canada has lost an important civilian-led, independent, institutional structure that supported effective research policy and training in peace operations and conflict resolution. They note that an open society and an informed public in Parliament is essential for the understanding of complex issues of violent conflict and for achieving lasting peace and disarmament; that the lack of universal respect for observance of human rights and fundamental freedoms is the underlying cause of violent conflict; and that upholding the basics of justice, equality, freedom, security and well-being for all is essential in preventing conflict in war and for Canada's own security and stability.
The petitioners also highlight that Canada signed the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 1948, pledging itself to achieve co-operation with the United Nations on the promotion of universal respect and observance of human rights and fundamental freedoms.
Last, the petitioners note that Canada's Truth and Reconciliation Commission and Canada's adoption of the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples reflect our commitment to the principles of justice, equality and freedom.
Kevin Lamoureux Liberal Winnipeg North, MB
Madam Speaker, it is with pleasure that I table a petition signed by many constituents and others dealing with the growth of the Indo-Canadian community, which has been absolutely wonderful to see. However, one of the direct results of that is the demand to have international flights, not only from that community but other communities, which would see more international flights taking place between Canada and Europe, and in this case to India.
Ultimately, the petitioners would love to see a flight going directly from the city of Winnipeg to New Delhi.
Questions on the Order PaperRoutine Proceedings
November 19th, 2024 / 1:45 p.m.
Winnipeg North Manitoba
Liberal
Kevin Lamoureux LiberalParliamentary Secretary to the Leader of the Government in the House of Commons
Madam Speaker, the following questions will be answered today: Nos. 3003, 3010, 3019, 3024, 3026, 3031, 3033 and 3036.
Karen Vecchio Conservative Elgin—Middlesex—London, ON
With regard to Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC) and the cost of raising a child in Canada: (a) what is the benchmark used within ESDC regarding the minimum cost of raising a child in Canada, broken down by the (i) age, (ii) province or territory of residence, of the child; (b) where does the benchmark in (a) originate; (c) how often is the benchmark updated; and (d) what formula is used to determine the benchmark?
Élisabeth Brière LiberalParliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Families
Mr. Speaker, Employment and Social Development Canada, ESDC, does not use a benchmark as there is currently no officially recognized benchmark for the minimum cost of raising a child in Canada. Most analytical approaches that examine the cost of raising children focus on direct or out-of-pocket costs.
A 2023 study from Statistics Canada examined pooled data from the survey of household spending, SHS, for the period of 2014-17 to provide Canada-level estimates on child expenditures that account for children aged 0 to 22 years who live at home. The results from this study indicated as follows. A two-parent, middle-income family with two children spends about $293,000, on average, from birth to age 17, an average of $17,235 per year, raising a child. Two-parent families with two children and an annual income of more than $135,790 spent on average $403,910 per child from birth to age 17. The same sized family making less than $83,013, by comparison, spent on average 52% less per child, or $238,190. One-parent families with two children and an annual average income of less than $83,013 spent on average $231,260 per child from birth to age 17, while those making $83,013 or more spent $372,110 per child. When adult children aged 18 to 22 living with their parent or parents are considered, the overall amount spent rises by almost one-third, or 29%, for both single- and two-parent families.