Debates of June 19th, 2024

Health

[Sean Casey, Liberal, Charlottetown, PE]

Mr. Speaker, I have the honour to present, in both official languages, the 20th report of the Standing Committee on Health, entitled “Breast Cancer Screening Guidelines.”

Agriculture and Agri-Food

[Kody Blois, Liberal, Kings—Hants, NS]

Mr. Speaker, I have the honour to present, in both official languages, the 20th report of the Standing Committee on Agriculture and Agri-Food, entitled “Improving the Resilience of Canada's Horticultural Sector.”

Pursuant to Standing Order 109, the committee requests that the government table a comprehensive response to this report.

I would like to thank all the witnesses who were involved and all the stakeholders. There are some really good recommendations that we would encourage the government to move on. I wish all the best to my colleagues this summer.

[The Speaker, Liberal, Greg Fergus]

I understand there is a dissenting report.

The hon. member for Foothills has the floor.

[John Barlow, Conservative, Foothills, AB]

Mr. Speaker, there were some very important recommendations in this report about the horticulture sector, but there were some things that were missing. Yesterday I had the opportunity to visit Carleton Mushroom Farms, not far from Ottawa, and it spent $170,000 in carbon tax last year alone. We know that 44% of produce growers are selling at a loss.

One recommendation that was removed from this report was the importance of approving Bill C-234 unamended because the amendment would remove the carbon tax carve-out for greenhouses and mushroom farms, which would cost them more than $300 million by 2030.

Canadian Heritage

[Hedy Fry, Liberal, Vancouver Centre, BC]

Mr. Speaker, I have the honour to present, in both official languages, the 12th report of the Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage, entitled “Safe Sport in Canada.” This is a report everyone should read because it tells us about the deplorable state of safety in sports in Canada.

Pursuant to Standing Order 109, the committee requests that the government table a comprehensive response to the report.

[The Speaker, Liberal, Greg Fergus]

I understand that there is a dissenting report.

The hon. member for Saskatoon—Grasswood.

[Kevin Waugh, Conservative, Saskatoon—Grasswood, SK]

Mr. Speaker, in fact, I do have a dissenting report, in both official languages, on behalf of the Conservative members of the committee. The fact that this report is being tabled more than two years after the original Hockey Canada scandal broke shows that the current Liberal government does not take this issue seriously at all. We think Sport Canada has failed to hold the national sporting organizations to account.

I want to wish everyone on both sides of the aisle a happy summer.

[Sébastien Lemire, Bloc, Abitibi—Témiscamingue, QC]

Mr. Speaker, that is the same report we are talking about right now. I just want to mention that the Bloc Québécois is tabling a supplementary opinion, which notes that this study took more than two years.

I want to put forward the fact that one of the motions adopted—

[The Speaker, Liberal, Greg Fergus]

The hon. member is a seasoned member. He is well aware that in order to table a supplementary opinion, he must obtain the unanimous consent of the House.

I invite the hon. member to seek unanimous consent immediately.

[Sébastien Lemire, Bloc, Abitibi—Témiscamingue, QC]

Mr. Speaker, would it be possible to have unanimous consent to table a supplementary opinion on the safe sport file?

[The Speaker, Liberal, Greg Fergus]

Is it agreed?

[Some hon. members]

Agreed.

[Sébastien Lemire, Bloc, Abitibi—Témiscamingue, QC]

Mr. Speaker, as mentioned, more than two years after I moved a motion to call in the heads of Hockey Canada, I want to acknowledge the work done by all parties to delve deeper into the issue of safe sport.

I think it is important to mention today that one of the recommendations of the Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage is to launch an independent inquiry into the situation around sports and the practice of safe sport across Canada.

I hope that the government will take note and establish this commission.

Science and Research

[Valerie Bradford, Liberal, Kitchener South—Hespeler, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I have the honour to present, in both official languages, the 11th report of the Standing Committee on Science and Research, entitled “Incorporating Indigenous Knowledge and Science in Canadian Research and Policy Development”.

Pursuant to Standing Order 109, the committee requests that the government table a comprehensive response to this report.

I extend my best wishes to all members of the House for a wonderful summer at home, with your constituents.

International Trade

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

Mr. Speaker, I have the honour to present, in both official languages, the 20th report of the Standing Committee on International Trade in relation to the motion adopted on Thursday, June 13, regarding the duty-free industry in Canada.

Pursuant to Standing Order 109, the committee requests that the government table a comprehensive response to this report.

I wish everybody a wonderful summer.

Human Resources, Skills and Social Development and the Status of Persons with Disabilities

[Tony Van Bynen, Liberal, Newmarket—Aurora, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I have the honour to present, in both official languages, the 25th report of the The Standing Committee on Human Resources, Skills and Social Development and the Status of Persons with Disabilities, entitled “Promoting and Encouraging Intergenerational Volunteerism”. This is a crisis that the nation needs to deal with.

Pursuant to Standing Order 109, the committee requests that the government table a comprehensive response to this report.

[The Speaker, Liberal, Greg Fergus]

The hon. member for Kelowna—Lake Country is rising to present a dissenting report.

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

Mr. Speaker, on behalf of Conservatives, I am tabling a supplementary report, in both official languages, on the report entitled “Promoting and Encouraging Intergenerational Volunteerism”.

During its study, the committee repeatedly heard from witnesses who serve vulnerable members of their community about the impact that inflation and the rising cost of living are having not only on their needs in their community, but also on their ability to recruit and retain volunteers. In fact, a representative from the Central Okanagan Food Bank, from my community of Kelowna—Lake Country, told the committee that they knew of seniors who were no longer able to volunteer because they had to go back to work. We even heard how some volunteers had to stop volunteering due to the rising cost of transportation.

The benefits of intergenerational volunteerism are tremendous. However, without a government that promotes tackling inflationary deficits and the affordability crisis in this country, Canada's not-for-profit, volunteer and charity sectors cannot truly overcome the challenges they are facing in recruiting and retaining volunteers.

Industry and Technology

[Rick Perkins, Conservative, South Shore—St. Margarets, NS]

Mr. Speaker, I rise to present, in both official languages, the 19th report of the Standing Committee on Industry and Technology in relation to Bill C-352, an act to amend the Competition Act and the Competition Tribunal Act.

This was, members will recall, a private member's bill from the leader of the NDP. The Bloc-Liberal coalition proceeded to delete every clause, including the apparently offensive title of the bill. I am reporting back, on behalf of the committee, a blank piece of paper for consideration in the House because that is what has resulted from these amendments.

I am pleased to report that this bill now no longer has a clause in it, much like the blank slate or the blank commitment of Liberals on their promises.

National Defence

[John McKay, Liberal, Scarborough—Guildwood, ON]

Mr. Speaker, again, in the interest of time, I have the honour to present, in both official languages, the following two reports. The first is the 12th report entitled “A Time For Change: Reforming Defence Procurement in Canada”.

The 13th report is entitled “Providing Aid to the Civil Power: Disaster Relief and the Canadian Armed Forces’ Domestic Operations”.

Pursuant to Standing Order 109, the committee requests that the government table a comprehensive response to each of the reports.

[James Bezan, Conservative, Selkirk—Interlake—Eastman, MB]

Mr. Speaker, Conservatives on the defence committee are submitting dissenting reports and opinions for both of the reports from the committee.

As we learned at the procurement study, the global threat environment is increasingly precarious. The decision by the government to cut $1 billion a year over the next three years from the defence budget is unconscionable. We are asking that the government reverse that budget cut.

We are asking for more leadership coming from the Prime Minister and the Prime Minister's Office. We believe that we have to have more ministers who are actually in control and accountable. That includes having a secretary within the PCO and a prime minister who actually takes this seriously.

We are asking the Prime Minister to designate one minister to be ultimately accountable for all defence procurement. We are also calling on the government to grant members of the defence committee classified defence-related information and clearances so that we can do a better job of oversight and accountability.

I would also just want to say, on the issue of aid to civil power, which we also talked about, one of the important messages that we did hear when the committee was meeting is that, while part IV of the National Defence Act does outline that CAF can provide aid to civil power, it always should be the force of last resort. It is ultimately the responsibility of provincial, municipal and territorial governments to provide protection, and they need to invest more in mitigation and response assistance.

We also know that the Canadian Armed Forces are dealing with a retention and recruitment crisis, about which General Eyre was very blunt in his assessment. He said, “The demand signal for those primary tasks we're responsible for is only increasing. However, our readiness to do that is decreasing, due in part to the incessant demand for these types of domestic operations.”

Therefore, we are asking again that the budget cut be reversed and that we restore the $2.7 billion that was announced in September 2023. We also say that we want to see the private member's bill, Bill C-386, an act respecting the establishment and award of a special service medal for domestic and emergency relief operations, from the member for Cariboo—Prince George, be accepted by the government and concurred in, and that we can recognize those Canadians who step up to participate in domestic operations, such as disaster assistance, pandemic relief and other avenues, and recognize their contributions.

Also, we are saying that there should be an increase in youth involvement in aiding and assisting in civilian volunteer disaster relief.

[The Speaker, Liberal, Greg Fergus]

The hon. member for Cowichan—Malahat—Langford is rising on a point of order.

[Alistair MacGregor, NDP, Cowichan—Malahat—Langford, BC]

Mr. Speaker, this is with respect to a bill that I placed on the notice paper just yesterday. Because today is the last day, I am asking for unanimous consent to introduce the bill that is currently on the notice paper entitled “an act to establish a national framework to improve food price transparency” notwithstanding the usual notice period.

[The Speaker, Liberal, Greg Fergus]

Does the member have unanimous consent?

[Some hon. members]

Agreed.