Debates of June 12th, 2024

Veterans Affairs

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

Is it agreed?

[Some hon. members]

Agreed.

[Luc Desilets, Bloc, Rivière-des-Mille-Îles, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I am truly honoured to have participated in this study. I am also very pleased with the participation of the 100 or so witnesses that we brought in. Approximately 40 or 50 of them are here in the gallery today. They spoke on behalf of 75,000 Canadians, including 15,000 Quebeckers.

What remains to be done is the most challenging, most demanding, most important and most crucial step: implementing these 42 recommendations. Among other things, I personally would like to see a work of art erected to honour women veterans. This is one of the report's recommendations.

The Government of Canada has only contributed one work of art, whereas there are closer to 100 for male Canadian veterans. We hope that the government will take a step in this direction. We hope that these women, who were once invisible, can now take their place with honour.

[Jonathan Wilkinson, Liberal, North Vancouver, BC]

Mr. Speaker, I rise on a point of order. I apologize. I inadvertently missed the first vote, and I am seeking unanimous consent to have my vote counted.

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

Does the hon. member have consent to have his vote recorded?

[Some hon. members]

Agreed.

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

Hon. minister, how will you vote?

[Jonathan Wilkinson, Liberal, North Vancouver, BC]

Mr. Speaker, I vote yea.

[Rachel Blaney, NDP, North Island—Powell River, BC]

Mr. Speaker, on a personal level, the study has been one of the most painful and beautiful studies I have ever been part of, but we have to remember that the study exposes how women are treated by systems they committed themselves to in order to serve us all.

When women were finally allowed into the CAF, there was no work done to include them. Inclusion matters, and the lack of inclusion created invisibility, a wound that has not yet been healed. This violated women's safety. It made them targets. They were wearing uniforms and equipment made for men, not for women's bodies. Little access or research for medical care for women was included, and there was no space created for military women to have a safe place to report military sexual trauma. This limited their ability to thrive. I want to be clear that they still fought for Canadians.

I hope every Canadian reads the report, listens to the voices and makes visible what was invisible for so long. I call on the government to complete all recommendations. We cannot squander the hope of the beautiful women who reported to us in this place.

Stronger Sentences for Safer Streets Act

[Rob Moore, Conservative, Fundy Royal, NB]

moved for leave to introduce Bill C-394, An Act to amend the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act (importing, exporting and producing certain substances).

Mr. Speaker, today I am introducing the stronger sentences for safer streets act. Drug overdoses kill 22 Canadians per day, and 82% of those deaths involve fentanyl. Producers, importers and exporters of dangerous drugs are benefiting from Liberal soft-on-crime policies like Bill C-5, which eliminated mandatory jail time for those who prey on vulnerable Canadians suffering from addiction.

The Prime Minister has sent a clear message to criminals and criminal organizations that they can operate in Canada with near impunity. The bill before us would target the criminals who are fuelling an industry that is built on pain, misery and death. The stronger sentences for safer streets act would reinstate mandatory jail time for criminals who produce, import and export dangerous drugs like meth, heroin, cocaine and fentanyl. It is impossible to address the opioid crisis in Canada without acknowledging the growing criminal involvement.

The bill is common-sense legislation to combat crime and crack down on criminals who are peddling poison in our communities.

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

Criminal Code

[Bardish Chagger, Liberal, Waterloo, ON]

moved for leave to introduce Bill C-395, An Act to amend the Criminal Code (public transit workers).

Mr. Speaker, 10 year ago, lawmakers took a crucial step to support frontline transit workers by broadening sentences for assaults on drivers. However, even at that time, we acknowledged that there was more work to be done.

Each year, thousands of on-duty transit workers face violence while serving our communities. They ensure that our trips are smooth, safe and comfortable, and yet each day we hear stories from these workers saying that they are victims of assaults that range from verbal abuse to life-altering physical attacks.

The bill would extend protections to essential transit workers who were left out in 2014. Constituents within the riding of Waterloo and across the country expect the House to act. Together, let us give the legislation the smooth journey that transit workers strive to give us every day, because doing our jobs means protecting transit workers and their jobs.

I hope that everyone will work together to support this bill.

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

Stopping the Tax on the Carbon Tax Act

[Eric Duncan, Conservative, Stormont—Dundas—South Glengarry, ON]

moved for leave to introduce Bill C-396, an act to amend the Excise Tax Act (carbon pollution pricing).

Madam Speaker, I am pleased to table my private member's bill, the stop taxing the tax act.

A growing majority of Canadians are frustrated with the ever-increasing NDP-Liberal carbon tax, but they are furious to know that, in addition to having to pay the ever-increasing carbon tax, they are forced to pay the GST on top of it. That means there is a tax on a tax.

We know the government has a tax obsession when it taxes a tax. The independent Parliamentary Budget Officer has done the estimation, and $600 million per year right now is being collected from taxing the carbon tax with GST. That revenue will go up to $1 billion per year in the coming years as the NDP and Liberals plan to quadruple the carbon tax from its current rate. That means that between now and the end of March 2031, Canadians will be out-of-pocket $5.7 billion.

After nine years, Canadians are struggling. They cannot afford an ever-increasing carbon tax, and even more than that, they cannot afford to be taxed on that tax when it comes to their gas, groceries and home heating.

I look forward to debating the common-sense Conservative bill that would end the crazy idea of taxing a tax.

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

Excise Tax Act

[Michael Coteau, Liberal, Don Valley East, ON]

moved for leave to introduce Bill C-397, an act to amend the Excise Tax Act and the Department of Employment and Social Development Act.

Madam Speaker, it is my pleasure today to table my first private member's bill.

In 2020, I was in the U.K. when my mother passed away. As members know, when a loved one passes away there are a lot of administrative processes people have to go through. The private member's bill I am proposing is based on a U.K. model called Tell Us Once, where, rather than going to many different places to cancel government services, people can go to the Onestop Solutions website, where they can report the passing of a loved one and all services are cancelled at once.

In addition to that, it would remove all of the GST, the federal tax, from anything to do with the passing of a loved one; funeral costs, a tombstone or anything to do with the cost of a funeral would be exempted from the federal portion of the tax.

I would like to thank the seconder of my bill. I also thank the House for this opportunity.

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

Business of the House

[Chris Bittle, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Housing]

Madam Speaker, there have been discussions among the parties and, if you seek it, I believe you will find unanimous consent for the following motion:

That, notwithstanding any standing order, special order, or usual practice of the House, when Bill C-70, An Act respecting countering foreign interference, is called later today, it shall be disposed of as follows:

(a) the report stage motion in amendment, standing on the Notice Paper in the name of the Minister of Public Safety, Democratic Institutions and Intergovernmental Affairs, be deemed adopted;

(b) the bill, as amended, be deemed concurred in at report stage with a further amendment;

(c) the bill shall be taken up immediately at the third reading stage and a member of each recognized party and a member of the Green Party each speak for not more than 10 minutes followed by five minutes for questions and comments, provided, if required, that Government Orders be extended to complete the said stage of the Bill; and

(d) at the expiry of the time provided for the debate at third reading later today, or when no member wishes to speak, whichever is earlier, any proceedings before the House shall be interrupted, 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, and a recorded division shall be deemed requested and deferred until tomorrow after Oral Questions.

[The Assistant Deputy Speaker, NDP, Carol Hughes]

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

It is agreed.

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

(Motion agreed to)

Striped Bass Fishing

[Joël Godin, Conservative, Portneuf—Jacques-Cartier, QC]

Madam Speaker, the mission of the Fédération québécoise des chasseurs et pêcheurs is to represent and defend the interests of Quebec hunters and fishers.

I would like to commend its president, Marc Renaud, and Mathieu Martin, the sponsor of petition e‑4831, which was signed by nearly 6,000 people who are calling on the government to authorize striped bass fishing in the St. Lawrence and the Saguenay River to ensure the survival of various species. The reason is simple. The reintroduction of the striped bass was successful and its population in the seaway and the Saguenay river is now abundant and stable. Allowing this species to be fished will contribute to biodiversity conservation, which is essential.

As a small reminder, hunters are not criminals. The government is off the mark.

Human Rights

[Jagmeet Singh, NDP, Burnaby South, BC]

Madam Speaker, today I rise to table a petition signed by members of the Sikh community across the country. They petition the House to formally recognize the state-organized and sponsored killing of Sikhs in India in 1984 as a genocide. As well, they petition the House to recognize this genocide this year as it is the 40th anniversary of this genocide.

They also ask that the House confirm its belief in the United Nations Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide and affirm that India must use all measures available to ensure anyone responsible for this genocide is held to account, including criminal prosecution.

Access to Medicines

[Tracy Gray, Conservative, Kelowna—Lake Country, BC]

Madam Speaker, I am rising to table a petition on behalf of residents from my community of Kelowna—Lake Country and the surrounding region.

To summarize, cystic fibrosis is the most common fatal genetic disease, affecting 4,338 Canadian children and young adults, and there is no cure. Trikafta is a life-changing medicine that treats the basic defect of cystic fibrosis, not just the symptoms. It can treat almost 95% of Canadians with cystic fibrosis, but not all can access it.

Therefore, petitioners are calling on the Government of Canada to, first, improve access to rare disease medications by empowering Health Canada to expedite use of patient and laboratory in vitro data to expand access to drugs for rare diseases mutations where clinical trials are not feasible, and second, develop a regulatory model that would permit bulk approvals of gene mutations that can respond to precision medicines such as Trikafta.

Foreign Affairs

[Heather McPherson, NDP, Edmonton Strathcona, AB]

Madam Speaker, I have three petitions to present today. The first petition is from Canadians who are very concerned with the case of Hassan Diab, who spent three years mostly in solitary confinement in France without charge.

The petitioners are calling on the Government of Canada to formally declare that Canada will neither accept nor agree to any second request from the French government for Hassan Diab's extradition.

Gaza

[Heather McPherson, NDP, Edmonton Strathcona, AB]

Madam Speaker, the second petition I am tabling today has over 17,000 signatures, and it is from Canadian citizens who are very concerned about the war crimes and the crimes against humanity since October 2023.

The people who have signed this petition are asking for sanctions on the Government of Israel and for the return of all hostages. They note that there is generational trauma being caused by this occupation, and they ask for the Government of Canada to please take action.

The final petition I am tabling today is calling on the Government of Canada to continue funding for UNRWA amid the horrifying crisis we are seeing in Gaza and to make sure the that support for humanitarian principles is expressed very clearly by the government.

Bird Welfare

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

Madam Speaker, I am rising to present a petition from concerned residents of Nova Scotia, so not my riding, but they have reached out to me concerning a land-based testing facility being built by the Department of National Defence. It threatens a forested area where there is a bird observation site, which is the nesting and feeding ground for thousands of migratory birds. The public consultation was rushed, and the petitioners urge that the House review what the Hartlen Point development would do. They are asking for a full and transparent consultation, inquiry and review before building these DND facilities.

[Gord Johns, NDP, Courtenay—Alberni, BC]

Madam Speaker, this is a timely petition, given that the last five summers children in my riding have had to deal with smoky skies due to forest fires as we see a warming climate. The petitioners call on the government and all members of Parliament, regardless of party lines, to consult with secondary or elementary school leadership, student councils or environmental youth groups—

[The Assistant Deputy Speaker, NDP, Carol Hughes]

I want to remind members that they need to have a tie on in order to rise in the House.

Carbon Pricing

[Garnett Genuis, Conservative, Sherwood Park—Fort Saskatchewan, AB]

Madam Speaker, I am pleased to present a number of petitions in the House today.

The first petition draws the attention of the House to, after eight years, it being clear that the Prime Minister is not worth the cost, the crime, or the corruption. The petition goes on to say that this failed Prime Minister and his failed NDP Liberal government have increased the cost of everything and have failed to take responsibility for their failures. The petitioners further note that crime, chaos, drugs and disorder are filling our streets due to the failed policies of the Prime Minister and his NDP-Liberal government. Therefore, the petitioners call on the House to axe the tax, build the homes, fix the budget, stop the crime and, further, to hold a televised carbon tax conference.

I know members across the way are enjoying this. They should listen as they could learn something.

The petitioners finally call on the House to immediately voice its non-confidence in the failed NDP-Liberal government and bring about a carbon tax election in which Canadians would be able to vote to end the carbon tax everywhere and for good.

Of course, I table petitions in the House regardless of whether I personally agree with them or not, but I am happy to put this petition before the House.

The second petition I am presenting draws the attention of the House to the Liberals' imposed carbon tax and how it will continue to drive up the cost of home heating for Canadians. In Canada, heating one's home in the winter is not a luxury. It is a necessity and, after eight years of the Liberal government, Canadians now must decide whether to heat their homes or put food on their tables. Petitioners further say that never before in Canadian history have Canadians paid more in tax than under the Liberal government and that inflation has caused massive increases to costs faced by non-profits and registered charities, which are further compounded by the carbon tax.

Therefore, the petitions, citizens and residents of Canada, call upon the House to cancel the tripling of the carbon tax on home heating, ensure no new taxes for Canadians and ensure that Canadians are being put first, for their families, their paycheques, their homes and their futures.

This is another petition for members across the way to reflect on, and all members of the House, I am sure.

Freedom of Political Expression

[Garnett Genuis, Conservative, Sherwood Park—Fort Saskatchewan, AB]

Madam Speaker, the next petition that I am tabling is in support of a private member's bill, coincidentally put forward in the House by me. The private member's bill is Bill C-257. This is a private member's bill that would add political belief and activity as prohibited grounds of discrimination in the Canadian Human Rights Act.

The petitioners note that our country is better off when people are free to be politically active without fear of reprisal for their political activities. They call on the House to support Bill C-257 and to defend the rights of all Canadians to peacefully express their political opinions.