Debates of Feb. 28th, 2024

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

Vote #648

Business of Supply

[The Speaker, Liberal, Greg Fergus]

I declare the motion carried.

The House resumed from February 15 consideration of the motion that Bill C-354, An Act to amend the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission Act (Quebec’s cultural distinctiveness and French-speaking communities), be read the second time and referred to a committee.

Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission Act

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

The House will now proceed to the deferred recorded division on the motion at second reading on Bill C-354 under Private Members' Business.

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

Vote #649

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

I declare the motion carried. Accordingly, the bill stands referred to the Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage.

(Bill read the second time and referred to a committee)

The House resumed from February 16 consideration of the motion that Bill C-321, An Act to amend the Criminal Code (assaults against persons who provide health services and first responders), be read the third time and passed.

Criminal Code

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

The House will now proceed to the taking of the deferred recorded division on the motion at third reading stage of C-321 under Private Members' Business.

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

Vote #650

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

I declare the motion carried.

(Bill read the third time and passed)

The House resumed from February 27 consideration of the motion that Bill C-320, An Act to amend the Corrections and Conditional Release Act (disclosure of information to victims), be read the third time and passed.

Corrections and Conditional Release Act

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

The House will now proceed to the taking of the deferred recorded division on the motion at third reading stage of Bill C‑320 under Private Members' Business.

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

Vote #651

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

I declare the motion carried.

(Bill read the third time and passed)

I wish to inform the House that because of the deferred recorded divisions, Government Orders will be extended by 51 minutes.

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.

While I am on my feet, I move:

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

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

The question is on the motion.

If a member participating in person wishes that the motion be carried or carried on division, or if a member of a recognized party participating in person wishes to request a recorded division, I would invite them to rise and indicate it to the Chair.

[Mark Gerretsen, Liberal, Kingston and the Islands, ON]

Mr. Speaker, we request a recorded division.

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

Call in the members.

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

Vote #652

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

I declare the motion carried.

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 Dauphin—Swan River—Neepawa, Carbon Pricing; the hon. member for Courtenay—Alberni, Taxation; the hon. member for Calgary Nose Hill, Public Safety.

Motion That Debate Be Not Further Adjourned

[Steven MacKinnon, Liberal, Leader of the Government in the House of Commons]

Mr. Speaker, in relation to the consideration of Government Business No. 35, I move:

That debate be not further adjourned.

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

Pursuant to Standing Order 67(1), there will now be a 30-minute question period. I invite hon. members who wish to ask questions to rise or use the “raise hand” function so the Chair can have some idea of the number of members who wish to participate in this question period.

The hon. member for Barrie—Innisfil.

[John Brassard, Conservative, Barrie—Innisfil, ON]

Mr. Speaker, what a tangled web we weave and how cynical the government has become over the years.

I recall, in 2015, when the Prime Minister, with hand over heart, said that better was possible and things were going to be different. In the 2015 election, one of the things Liberals talked about was making Parliament more functional and allowing the opposition parties to be the voices of their constituents, yet here we are again with this motion, which is effectively controlling this place, just as the Prime Minister has had a propensity to do in the past.

Does the government House leader not understand the significance of his actions for future Parliaments and what this could mean for the future of this place? In this place, things, as they relate to the Standing Orders, are built on consensus. This is anything but. This is the government strong-arming itself over the will of Parliament.

[Steven MacKinnon, Liberal, Gatineau, QC]

Mr. Speaker, first of all, I reject the premise of the member's question. I fail to see how a motion that expands the time available for members to debate bills, budgets and motions in this chamber is somehow undemocratic. In fact, we would be giving the opposition more opportunity to do so.

However, as the member well knows because he attends caucus meetings, the word from on high, from the Leader of the Opposition, is to block everything and not allow any progress on any bill. It does not matter if it is child care. It is does not matter if it is for supports for Canadians. It does not matter if it is dental care. It does not matter if these things are positive and could positively impact Canadians' lives. They are to obstruct all the time.

We would be allowing members of the opposition to debate these things for a longer period of time, and I fail to see how that creates anything but a healthy precedent of the hours we spend in this chamber.

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

Mr. Speaker, I have said many times that there are two bloc parties in the House of Commons, the Bloc Québécois and the “block everything” party, which is the Conservatives, who have systematically blocked every piece of legislation.

Now, if the Conservatives read the motion, and I am not sure that my colleague from Barrie—Innisfil actually read what is before the House, they would see that there are two aspects to it. First, of course, is the fact that we would be working into the evening, which would allow more time for debate in the evenings and more time for members of Parliament to be heard. Second, and this is perhaps the most important aspect, is that it would eliminate the toxic overnight voting, which has been propelled by the member for Carleton, who did not even show up last time. During 30 hours of votes, he showed up for an hour. This just shows—