Debates of March 20th, 2024

Interparliamentary Delegations

[Francis Drouin, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food]

Mr. Speaker, since today is March 20, I would like to wish you a happy International Day of La Francophonie.

Pursuant to Standing Order 34(1), I have the honour to present to the House, in both official languages, the following reports of the Canadian Branch of the Assemblée parlementaire de la Francophonie: “Bureau Meeting and 48th Annual Session of the ‘Assemblée parlementaire de la Francophonie’”, Tbilisi, Georgia, July 4 to 8, 2023; “38th Session of the APF America Regional Assembly”, Baton Rouge, Louisiana, United States of America, September 5 to 7, 2023; “Parliamentary Mission to the United Nations”, New York, September 20, 2023; “Leadership Workshop for Parliamentarian Women of the APF”, Bucharest, Romania, September 25 to 29, 2023; “Working Group on Reforming the APF Constitution”, Geneva, Switzerland, November 23 and 24, 2023.

Government Operations and Estimates

[Kelly McCauley, Conservative, Edmonton West, AB]

Madam Speaker, I have the pleasure and honour to present, in both official languages, the 17th report of the Standing Committee on Government Operations and Estimates, also known as the mighty OGGO, entitled “Question of Privilege Concerning the Refusal to Respond to Questions by Mr. Kristian Firth”.

Liaison

[Judy Sgro, Liberal, Humber River—Black Creek, ON]

Madam Speaker, pursuant to Standing Order 107(3), I have the honour to present, in both official languages, the eighth report of the Liaison Committee, entitled “Committee Activities and Expenditures: April 1, 2023 - December 31, 2023”. This report highlights the work and accomplishments of each committee, as well as detailing the budgets that fund the activities approved by the committee members.

Canada Fresh Water Day Act

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

moved for leave to introduce An Act to establish Canada Fresh Water Day.

Madam Speaker, it is an honour to introduce a bill to establish a fresh water day in Canada. I want to thank of my NDP colleagues for their enthusiasm on this.

(Motion deemed adopted)

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

While I am on my feet, I move:

That the House proceed to Orders of the Day.

[The Assistant Deputy Speaker, NDP, Carol Hughes]

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.

[Dominique Vien, Conservative, Bellechasse—Les Etchemins—Lévis, QC]

Madam Speaker, we request a recorded division.

[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 #672

[The Assistant Deputy Speaker, NDP, Carol Hughes]

I declare the motion carried.

Bill C-29—Time Allocation Motion

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

moved:

That, in relation to Bill C-29, An Act to provide for the establishment of a national council for reconciliation, not more than one further sitting day shall be allotted to the stage of consideration of Senate amendments to the bill; and

That, 15 minutes before the expiry of the time provided for Government Orders on the day allotted to the consideration of the said stage of the said bill, any proceedings before the House shall be interrupted, if required for the purpose of this order, and, in turn, every question necessary for the disposal of the said stage of the bill shall be put forthwith and successively, without further debate or amendment.

[The Assistant Deputy Speaker, NDP, Carol Hughes]

Pursuant to Standing Order 67.1, there will 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 has some idea of how many members would like to participate in this question period.

The hon. member for York—Simcoe.

[Scot Davidson, Conservative, York—Simcoe, ON]

Madam Speaker, here we are again with the Liberal government moving closure.

I find it a little bit rich for the government to pretend to care about reconciliation when the Chippewas of Georgina Island First Nation in my community, my riding of York—Simcoe, are not entitled to the rural top-up. They live on an island in the middle of Lake Simcoe, but they are now considered part of Toronto under this goofy carbon tax regime. Once again, we are seeing the Liberals move closure so that first nations' voices, like mine on the Chippewas of Georgina Island, are being silenced.

Could the minister comment about the Chippewas of Georgina Island First Nation not being entitled to the rural top-up under this carbon tax regime in York—Simcoe?

[Gary Anandasangaree, Liberal, Minister of Crown-Indigenous Relations]

Madam Speaker, I just want to highlight the number of days we have had debate on this particular bill: in 2022, September 21, 28 and 29; October 6; November 17; and November 29. I could go on. It is a total of 58 hours and 21 minutes.

The last time this matter was brought up, on February 12, we could have actually debated the issue that has been brought forward by my friend. However, there was a concurrence motion moved by the Conservative Party.

It is a little rich to suggest that we cannot get legislation done. This is important legislation that we need to get done and that is the reason we are moving this forward today.

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

Madam Speaker, I have said before that there are two bloc parties in the House of Commons: the Bloc Québécois and the “block everything” party, which is the Conservatives. Over the course of the last few years, they have tried to block the dental care the NDP brought to Canadians. A million seniors have signed up for the dental care program, including thousands of people in each of the Conservative ridings.

Conservatives tried to deny dental care to seniors, pharmacare and affordable housing funding. All those good things that the NDP is forcing the Liberal government to do, Conservatives have been blocking.

Now we see the latest example of this with Bill C-29, an act to provide for the establishment of a national council for reconciliation. Conservatives are blocking it. They are refusing for the vote to be held on this legislation and for the bill to move forward. It is simply incomprehensible, I think, to most Canadians that Conservatives would be so mean-spirited as to block every piece of legislation, every bill and every law that is going to help Canadians.

To my colleague: Why do Conservatives seem to want to block everything?

[Gary Anandasangaree, Liberal, Scarborough—Rouge Park, ON]

Madam Speaker, I want to take this opportunity to highlight a couple of critical elements of this bill.

This is really a response to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission's calls to action 53 to 56, four very important calls to action that look to establish, fund and support a national council for truth and reconciliation.

We already have an interim committee that has been working on the development of assessments for the calls to action. This bill would essentially set up an independent body to look at the actions of government and enable it to keep governments accountable on this path of reconciliation, which I know is a shared priority for all of us.

I really appreciate the question and want to emphasize the need to get this passed as soon as possible.

[Laila Goodridge, Conservative, Fort McMurray—Cold Lake, AB]

Madam Speaker, it is worth noting that reconciliation is incredibly important for our nation to be able to move forward with a variety of projects.

I am very disappointed that this bill came forward despite efforts by Conservatives to bring in amendments regarding economic reconciliation. That is truly a way forward and will allow indigenous communities to be partners in prosperity. They were rejected at every step.

Why have they decided to move closure yet again rather than allowing us to continue having debate? It is an absolute disservice to the indigenous communities, specifically in my riding of Fort McMurray—Cold Lake, that came to committee asking for economic reconciliation to be considered. Why is the minister so opposed to economic reconciliation, and why will the Liberals not reconsider?

[Gary Anandasangaree, Liberal, Scarborough—Rouge Park, ON]

Madam Speaker, I question whether my friend opposite actually read either the TRC calls to action or Bill C-29. This is essentially about implementing four calls to action that speak to the establishment of a national council for truth and reconciliation.

The notion of economic reconciliation is something our government has been working on. In fact, the loan guarantee program in the fall economic statement, which the opposition voted against, is one of those elements. Therefore, I find it a little rich when colleagues are opposing the bill without even reading it, because we need to move forward.

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

Madam Speaker, as members will know, on principle, I am deeply offended by the move toward the continual limiting and cutting off of debates through the use of closure.

I was elected to this place and have had the honour of representing Saanich—Gulf Islands since 2011. When this first began to happen under the previous administration of Prime Minister Harper, I counted the number of times closure and time allocation were used. It increased exponentially. At that time, the Liberals, in opposition, said they would not do the same thing, and now it is even more routine than it was under the previous Conservative government.

I would ask Liberal colleagues to consider that this will become permanent. I would say to our Conservative colleagues, who now object to it, that they will again experience it, no matter who is in office, unless we decide to respect debate in this place and not routinely use closure.

[Gary Anandasangaree, Liberal, Scarborough—Rouge Park, ON]

Madam Speaker, I have a great deal of respect for my colleague from Saanich—Gulf Islands. However, I fundamentally disagree with her on this particular issue, because we have had 17 days of debate in the House, along with 27 days of debate in the Senate, and it is now back here. The last time this was up, on February 12, a concurrence motion derailed debate on this, so we could not actually even debate this bill.

This is a bill on which we should have consensus. Everyone should come together. It should not offend anyone to be able to set up a national council for truth and reconciliation. If we are truly to move forward on reconciliation, we all need to come together on this. I find it troubling that we are unable to move forward.

The comments by the member for Saanich—Gulf Islands really do not help. I have heard her on this issue over and over again, but Parliament also needs to govern at some point.

[Adam van Koeverden, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Environment and Climate Change and to the Minister of Sport and Physical Activity]

Madam Speaker, a national council for truth and reconciliation is an essential step forward. It is right in line with the calls to action.

I was very proud to have my first committee experience with the hon. minister, who was the parliamentary secretary at the time. We discussed the preambles to Bill C-29 in meetings. Actually, it is disappointing that we are still discussing it after four and a half years, when indigenous communities right across this country are relying on us for action.

The Conservatives will use attacks to say we cannot get this done, while they simultaneously delay. I want to ensure that Canadians are aware of the fact that there are members of the House of Commons who claim that the government cannot get things like this done but simultaneously extend and prolong debate, complaining when closure is the necessary next step in order to get it done.

Could my colleague, the hon. minister, speak to the importance of this for indigenous communities from coast to coast to coast?

[Gary Anandasangaree, Liberal, Scarborough—Rouge Park, ON]

Madam Speaker, my colleague is someone whom I have had the pleasure of working very closely with. I admire the work he does, especially on the fight against climate change.

However, I want to take this opportunity just to talk about a couple of the other elements of the bill. This, essentially, would enable the establishment of a national council for truth and reconciliation. It would allow for an independent assessment of the work of the government on the 94 calls to action and the progress we make, along with annual reports, which are essentially a tool to keep governments accountable for what they have done and not done. I know the opposition sometimes asks us what we do, and there is no independent assessment of it. This would be an additional tool of accountability, one that all of us should actually be supporting for its quick passage.

I look forward to having this passed today.

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

Madam Speaker, it is disappointing that the Liberals would impose time allocation on this.

One of the real challenges that has been highlighted time and time again in Bill C-29 is that the Congress of Aboriginal Peoples, although acknowledged as a national indigenous organization, has been left out of the proposed council. The organization has been very vocal about the disappointment in that regard.

While there have been continual calls to ensure that the Congress of Aboriginal Peoples is included in the council and the conversations surrounding Bill C-29, that organization has been specifically excluded. This means that many indigenous peoples across Canada, who are not necessarily represented by the other organizations that will have a seat at the table, are excluded.

To the minister, very specifically: Why has the Congress of Aboriginal Peoples been excluded?

[Gary Anandasangaree, Liberal, Scarborough—Rouge Park, ON]

Madam Speaker, this issue has come forward. The Congress of Aboriginal Peoples had a chance to make submissions at the Senate and the House of Commons parliamentary committees. An amendment to add it on as one of the members of the council, or to have a delegate from the organization, was considered by way of amendment. It was rejected. We are at a point right now where the final amendments put forward by the Senate are acceptable to the government, and we are recommending acceptance and passage.

Therefore, I do not want to relitigate an issue that has already been considered in almost 60 hours of debate over 44 days.

[Laila Goodridge, Conservative, Fort McMurray—Cold Lake, AB]

Madam Speaker, the minister implied that I had perhaps not read the truth and reconciliation report, which is not accurate, but I am just wondering whether he could tell us how many actions the Liberals completed last year, 2023, when it comes to truth and reconciliation.