Debates of Feb. 15th, 2024

Privacy Commissioner

[The Speaker, Liberal, Greg Fergus]

It is my duty to lay upon the table, pursuant to subsection 40(1) of the Privacy Act, a report of the Privacy Commissioner entitled “Special Report to Parliament: Investigation of the RCMP's collection of open-source information under Project Wide Awake”.

Pursuant to Standing order 108(3)(h), this report is deemed to have been permanently referred to the Standing Committee to Access to Information, Privacy and Ethics.

It is also my duty to lay upon the table, pursuant to subsection 40(1) of the Privacy Act, a report from the Privacy Commissioner, entitled “Special Report to Parliament: Investigation of unauthorized disclosures and modifications of personal information held by Canada Revenue Agency and Employment and Social Development Canada resulting from cyber attacks.”

Pursuant to Standing Order 108(3)(h), this report is deemed permanently referred to the Standing Committee on Access to Information, Privacy and Ethics.

A message from Her Excellency the Governor General transmitting supplementary estimates (C) for the fiscal year ending March 31, 2024, was presented by the President of the Treasury Board and read by the Speaker of the House.

Supplementary Estimates (C), 2023-24

[Anita Anand, Liberal, President of the Treasury Board]

Mr. Speaker, I have the honour to table, in both official languages, the supplementary estimates (C), 2023-24.

Accessibility in Canada

[Kamal Khera, Liberal, Minister of Diversity]

Mr. Speaker, I have the honour to table, in both official languages, the historic, first-ever annual report from Canada's chief accessibility officer. This report highlights the progress our government has made toward building a barrier-free Canada by passing the Accessible Canada Act. It highlights the important work we need to continue to do to make Canada more accessible for persons with disabilities.

If allowed, I would like to take a moment to thank Stephanie Cadieux, our chief accessibility officer, for her insight and dedication as we continue to take a whole-of-government approach to building a barrier-free Canada for all.

Canadian Heritage

[Taleeb Noormohamed, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Canadian Heritage]

Mr. Speaker, pursuant to Standing Order 32(2), and consistent with the policy on the tabling of treaties in Parliament, I have the honour to table, in both official languages, the treaty entitled, “Audiovisual Coproduction Treaty Between the Government of Canada and the Swiss Federal Council”, done at Montreal on November 3, 2023.

Situation in Ukraine

[Heather McPherson, NDP, Edmonton Strathcona, AB]

Mr. Speaker, I believe if you seek it, you will find unanimous consent for the following motion.

I move:

That this House:

(a) condemn the continuation of Russia's unjustified full-scale aggression against Ukraine;

(b) call on Russia to end hostilities against Ukraine and withdraw all its troops from the territory of Ukraine;

(c) call on the Government of Canada to continue to provide military and financial assistance to Ukraine, to conduct the security guarantee agreement with Ukraine in order to increase its capabilities to defend itself from Russian unprovoked aggression;

(d) support Ukraine's future membership in NATO;

(e) call on the Government of Canada to strengthen sanctions against Russia, confiscate the assets of Russian oligarchs and Russian sovereign assets for Ukraine's rebuilding;

(f) call on the Government of Canada to exert all possible efforts and provide necessary diplomatic and financial support to ensure the return of Ukrainian children forcibly deported to Russia; and

(g) call on the Government of Canada to support efforts to bring those responsible for violations of international law to justice.

[The Speaker, Liberal, Greg Fergus]

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

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

(Motion agreed to)

Natural Health Products

[Cheryl Gallant, Conservative, Renfrew—Nipissing—Pembroke, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to present a petition signed by people in eastern Ontario, including Kingston. They are calling on the House of Commons to immediately repeal the new regulatory constraints on natural health products passed last year, so that many of the Canadians who rely upon them to stay healthy can do so. They ask that the Liberals stop just sucking up to the pharmaceutical companies.

[The Speaker, Liberal, Greg Fergus]

I remind members when we are presenting petitions, it is to provide a summary of what is on the petition. I am convinced that was not the wording used on the petition. I will ask all members to please exercise discretion in that regard.

Pornography

[Ted Falk, Conservative, Provencher, MB]

Mr. Speaker, I have two petitions here. In the first petition, the petitioners would ask that the government follow recommendation no. 2 from the Standing Committee on Access to Information, Privacy and Ethics' 2021report on MindGeek, which recommends that all content-hosting platforms in Canada verify age and consent prior to uploading content. Bill C-270, the stopping internet sexual exploitation act, would add two offences to the Criminal Code. The first would require age verification and consent prior to distribution; the second would require removal of material if consent is withdrawn.

As such, these petitioners call on the House of Commons to pass Bill C-270, the stopping internet sexual exploitation act.

Firearms

[Ted Falk, Conservative, Provencher, MB]

Mr. Speaker, the second petition is stating that the Trudeau government has attempted to ban and seize the hunting rifles and shotguns of millions of Canadians; that, the targeting of farmers and hunters does not fight crime; that, the Trudeau government has failed those who participate in the Canadian tradition of sport shooting—

[The Speaker, Liberal, Greg Fergus]

There is a point of order by the hon. member for Milton.

[Adam van Koeverden, Liberal, Milton, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the hon. member is an experienced member, and he knows not to use the first or last names of members of Parliament.

[The Speaker, Liberal, Greg Fergus]

Although the hon. member is reading from the petition, we do have a firm rule in the House that we only refer to members by their riding names or the executive position they hold. Therefore, I will ask the hon. member to rephrase his presentation of the petition.

[Ted Falk, Conservative, Provencher, MB]

Mr. Speaker, this is what the petitioners are saying: Whereas the member for Papineau's government has attempted to ban and seize the hunting rifles and shotguns of millions of Canadians, the targeting of farmers and hunters does not fight crime; and that, the Liberal government has failed those who participate in the Canadian tradition of sport shooting. Therefore, the petitioners are calling on the current government to stop any and all current and future bans on hunting and sport shooting firearms.

This petition is signed by the residents of Bulkley Valley, whose member of Parliament would not present the petition.

[The Speaker, Liberal, Greg Fergus]

Now we are raising another issue. I am going to ask the hon. member to withdraw that point. The Chair had made it very clear that members cannot make a reference to other members of Parliament. It is a good tradition to have because any member could be a victim of that kind of statement and might not be in the position to defend themselves. Therefore, I ask the hon. member to please withdraw that last sentence.

[Ted Falk, Conservative, Provencher, MB]

Mr. Speaker, I will withdraw the last sentence and leave it as this: This petition comes from residents of Skeena—Bulkley Valley.

[The Speaker, Liberal, Greg Fergus]

I thank the hon. member.

The hon. member for Abbotsford.

[Ed Fast, Conservative, Abbotsford, BC]

Mr. Speaker, I, too, am here today to present a petition on behalf of the residents of Skeena—Bulkley Valley, dozens of whom have signed this petition. They draw the attention of the House to the fact that the Liberal government has attempted to ban and to seize the hunting rifles and shotguns of millions of Canadians. The targeting of farmers and hunters does not fight crime, and the very same Liberal government has failed those who participate in the Canadian tradition of sport shooting.

Therefore, the petitioners are calling upon the government to stop any and all current and future bans on hunting and sport shooting firearms.

[Todd Doherty, Conservative, Cariboo—Prince George, BC]

Mr. Speaker, I rise to present two petitions.

The first petition is on behalf of the good residents of Skeena—Bulkley Valley, the riding adjacent to my beautiful riding of Cariboo—Prince George.

The petition states that the undersigned citizens and residents of Canada draw the attention of the House of Commons to the following: Whereas the current government has attempted to ban and seize the hunting rifles and shotguns of millions of Canadians, the targeting of law-abiding farmers and hunters does not fight crime and the government has failed those who participate in the Canadian tradition of sport shooting. Therefore, the undersigned call on the Government of Canada to stop any and all current and future bans on hunting and sport shooting firearms.

Correctional Services of Canada

[Todd Doherty, Conservative, Cariboo—Prince George, BC]

Mr. Speaker, I also rise to speak regarding the thousands of correctional workers, guards, within our prison system. I ask this today, on behalf of the correctional officers in Mission—Matsqui—Fraser Canyon and surrounding areas who are concerned about the prison needle exchange program currently being operated by Correctional Services Canada.

I have met with these officers and those who are on the front line. They truly are frontline heroes. They say that drugs and drug paraphernalia are considered contraband in prisons, yet the Liberal government is forcing our correctional officers to simply turn a blind eye and to allow dangerous drugs to be used inside prisons. They also say that these drugs and contraband needles and syringes can be used as dangerous weapons against the officers and their members. These correctional officers are calling on the government to immediately cancel the prison needle exchange program, to stop permitting the use of illicit drugs in Canadian prisons and to focus efforts on helping inmates recover from their addictions.

I will add, too, that I received an impassioned letter signed by members of a female prison in Alberta who called on us and said that when they are incarcerated, it is their time to get clean, and the prison needle exchange does nothing to facilitate recovery. They ask that the government end its prison needle exchange program.

Foreign Affairs

[Alexandre Boulerice, NDP, Rosemont—La Petite-Patrie, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I have three petitions to present today.

The first is signed by more than 70,000 citizens who say that blockades in Gaza have continued for two decades. Since October, air strikes have been carried out in densely populated areas in Lebanon and Gaza, which is a violation of international law. Journalists have been killed by Israeli forces, and thousands of children have died or have been killed in these strikes too.

These 70,000 people are calling on the government to sanction the State of Israel for violating international law, to impose an arms embargo and stop selling arms to Israel and to condemn the war crimes committed against the Palestinian people.

My second petition concerns the 2015 arrest of a child, Ahmad Manasra, who was convicted of attempted murder in 2016 in proceedings marred by allegations of torture, and despite the fact that he was below the minimum age of criminal responsibility at the time. This teenager is still detained and has been in solitary confinement since November 2021, which constitutes cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment, according to Amnesty International. Hundreds of people have signed this petition and are calling on the government to demand that Israel release Ahmad Manasra.

Corporate Social Responsibility

[Alexandre Boulerice, NDP, Rosemont—La Petite-Patrie, QC]

Mr. Speaker, my third petition is from citizens who are concerned about human rights abuses and environmental damage caused by companies based here in Canada. They are calling on the Canadian government to require companies to prevent any negative impact on human and environmental rights throughout their global operations and supply chains. They are asking that these companies be required to exercise due diligence and that there be legal recourse to bring these companies to justice in the event of any human rights violations or environmental destruction.

First Responders Tax Credit

[Carol Hughes, NDP, Algoma—Manitoulin—Kapuskasing, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to table a petition that includes individuals from my riding, especially volunteer firefighters from Wawa. The petitioners indicate that 71% of Canada's total firefighting essential first responders are volunteer firefighters and that there are approximately an additional 8,000 essential search and rescue volunteers, who respond to thousands of incidents each year. They also indicate that the tax code only allows these volunteer first responders to claim a $3,000 tax credit if 200 hours of volunteer service are completed in the calendar year.

That comes up to only about $450 a year, or $2.25 an hour, but if they volunteer more than the 200 hours, the tax credit becomes even less than that. They add that these essential volunteers not only put their lives on the line but also play an important role in keeping the property taxes low and ensuring that communities are safe. The petitioners are calling on the government to support Bill C-310, which would amend the Income Tax Act by increasing the volunteer firefighting and search and rescue volunteer service credit from $3,000 to $10,000.

I am pleased to table this petition.

Human Trafficking

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

Mr. Speaker, I rise today on behalf of British Columbians who are concerned about human trafficking in Canada.

The U.S. Department of State's “2023 Trafficking in Persons Report”, or TIP, indicates that “Canada fully meets the minimum standards for the elimination of [human] trafficking.” It also highlights that the range, quality and timely delivery of trafficking-specific services varies across Canada, including persistent funding shortages in certain jurisdictions.

The petitioners call upon the Government of Canada to strengthen the Protection of Communities and Exploited Persons Act to address these shortcomings and to put an end to human trafficking in Canada.