Debates of June 3rd, 2024

Government Response to Petitions

[Ryan Turnbull, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance and to the Minister of Innovation]

Mr. Speaker, pursuant to Standing Order 36(8)(a) I have the honour to table, in both official languages, the government's response to 14 petitions. These returns will be tabled in an electronic format.

Status of Women

[Shelby Kramp-Neuman, Conservative, Hastings—Lennox and Addington, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I have the honour today to present, in both official languages, the 11th report of the Standing Committee of the Status of Women, entitled “Supporting Women's Economic Empowerment in Canada”.

I would like to thank all the witnesses who contributed to this study.

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

[Michelle Ferreri, Conservative, Peterborough—Kawartha, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to present the dissenting report that the Conservatives are tabling on behalf of what we call the “Supporting Women's Economic Empowerment in Canada” study done in the Standing Committee on the Status of Women.

This is a seven-page dissenting report that we feel is important to put forward, because some of these points were not covered well in the study. There are four main points that we have put into the dissenting report, because one of the key messages that was overlooked throughout this study was the access to affordable, quality child care.

In 2021, when the Government of Canada rolled out its national early learning and child care program, one of the fundamental pillars it presented was making it easier for women to return to the labour force. However, as we heard continuously throughout testimony during this study, it is quite the contrary.

Here is what we heard throughout the study. Women entrepreneurs are being targeted for extinction with no room for private representation; child care operators are closing their doors; parents have lack of choice and face long wait lists; and women's participation in the labour force is declining.

I will conclude with the following, “Canada's child care entrepreneurs are asking...whether they have a place in Canada's national child care program or a future in child care at all.” “It's to the detriment of all women that child care entrepreneurs are being targeted for extinction through the nationalization of Canada's child care sector.” Those are quotes from one of the witnesses, Andrea Hannen.

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

[Serge Cormier, Liberal, Acadie—Bathurst, NB]

Mr. Speaker, I have the honour to present, in both official languages, the 24th report of the Standing Committee on Human Resources, Skills and Social Development and the Status of Persons with Disabilities in relation to Bill C-322, an act to develop a national framework to establish a school food program.

The committee has studied the bill and has decided to report the bill back to the House without amendment.

[The Speaker, Liberal, Greg Fergus]

I would like to remind hon. members that the taking of a deferred recorded division is scheduled for Wednesday, June 5, on the motion to concur in the 23rd report of the Standing Committee on Human Resources, Skills and Social Development and the Status of Persons with Disabilities.

In its 23rd report, the committee requested an extension to consider Bill C‑322, an act to develop a national framework to establish a school food program. However, as the bill has been reported back from committee, a decision on the extension is no longer required.

Therefore, pursuant to Standing Order 94, the order for the recorded division is discharged and Motion No. 58 to concur in the report is withdrawn.

(Motion withdrawn)

Government Operations and Estimates

[Kelly McCauley, Conservative, Edmonton West, AB]

Mr. Speaker, I have the honour to present, in both official languages, the 20th report of the Standing Committee on Government Operations and Estimates, the mighty OGGO, entitled “Changeover of the Public Service Health Care Plan from Sun Life to Canada Life”.

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

[Stephanie Kusie, Conservative, Calgary Midnapore, AB]

Mr. Speaker, the Conservatives are submitting a supplementary report to this Canada Life study. We certainly support the ideas, as mentioned in the main report, relative to comparable rates for physio. These comparisons, of course, should be done when a new plan is being revised and implemented. As well, there is the necessity to deliver service in both official languages.

We would also like to add the two points of Canada Life evaluating compensation, not the government, for those who have been wronged by the implementation of this new plan, as well as the discrimination against seniors, those who were unable to use the application in an electronic format and who would prefer to use a paper format. All these ideas, and more, can be found in our supplementary report.

[Julie Vignola, Bloc, Beauport—Limoilou, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I need to seek unanimous consent to table a supplementary opinion to the report of the Standing Committee on Government Operations and Estimates.

[The Speaker, Liberal, Greg Fergus]

Does the hon. member have the unanimous consent of the House?

[Some hon. members]

Agreed.

[The Speaker, Liberal, Greg Fergus]

The hon. member for Beauport—Limoilou.

[Julie Vignola, Bloc, Beauport—Limoilou, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the supplementary opinion points out that the federal government is unable to properly manage the files under its own jurisdiction, including Phoenix, passports, immigration and more. The Bloc Québécois is also making the following supplementary recommendation:

That the federal government endeavour to pay its employees, provide them with the health care they are entitled to receive and properly manage its own files instead of engaging in open conflict with the provinces by refusing to provide the right to opt out with compensation, while increasingly interfering in their areas of jurisdiction.

Public Safety

[Dan Mazier, Conservative, Dauphin—Swan River—Neepawa, MB]

Mr. Speaker, it is an honour to present a petition on behalf of constituents.

I rise for the 40th time on behalf of the people of Swan River, Manitoba, to present a petition on the rising rate of crime. The community members of Swan River are demanding that their voices be heard. They live in crime and chaos caused by the Liberal government's soft-on-crime laws, like Bill C-5, which allows criminals to serve their sentences from home. In fact, Manitoba West district RCMP reported that in 18 months, just 15 individuals racked up over 200 charges.

The people of Swan River are calling for jail, not bail, for violent repeat offenders. The people of Swan River demand that the Liberal government repeal its soft-on-crime policies, which directly threaten their livelihoods and their community. I support the good people of Swan River.

Canada Post

[Martin Shields, Conservative, Bow River, AB]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to present a petition from residents of Langdon. There are seven thousand residents in this area and they do not have a post office. They need a post office. Canada Post does not have a post office in this community. The residents are redirected 30 kilometres away. In the wintertime for seniors, this is a very strong hardship. The people in Langdon need a post office. Canada Post needs to have a post office. According to their petition, the residents say that they need to have this done for this community.

Public Service Health Care Plan

[Julie Vignola, Bloc, Beauport—Limoilou, QC]

Mr. Speaker, today in the House I would like to present a petition signed by 2,972 people across Canada listing the known problems with Canada Life and calling on the government to commit to resolving these deficiencies and to provide adequate services to all members of the public service.

The Environment

[Mike Morrice, Green, Kitchener Centre, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I am honoured to rise to present a petition where petitioners note, first of all, that scientific assessments have already underlined the mix of crises we are facing, including the climate crisis, biodiversity breakdown and resource depletion.

The petitioners note that there is no legislation currently in international law with respect to ecocide. They note that ecocide legislation has been proposed in other jurisdictions already all around the world and that there are growing calls across the country from civil society and faith groups, among others, that are calling for ecocide as a new international law that would require an amendment to the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court to include ecocide as a crime. Petitioners are calling on the House of Commons and this Parliament to publicly declare their support for the international crime of ecocide.

Seniors

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

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to be able to present a petition today. The petition states that, whereas in 2018 the Canadian government announced an end-to-poverty plan that would affect all Canadians, the undersigned residents of Canada call upon the House of Commons and Parliament assembled to review and amend the Old Age Security Act, so that low-income GIS benefits would be adjusted in ways that eliminate seniors poverty, including elimination of inequities that exist for those living in the same location, and include ways to provide added funds for those living in other locations where there exist higher living costs, as shown in Statistics Canada table 11-10-0066-01.

Citizenship and Immigration

[Brad Redekopp, Conservative, Saskatoon West, SK]

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to present a petition on behalf of Hong Kongers who are resident in Canada. They are here on the lifeboat scheme, stream A and stream B. The petitioners note that there are 8,000 applications in backlog, and I believe that number is actually growing. The petitioners want to make sure the government is aware that this is a problem. The government is processing about 100 applications a month right now, so it will take years at this rate. The petitioners want to make sure that the government allocates additional admission targets to the Hong Kong pathway to effectively address the backlog.

Infrastructure

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

Mr. Speaker, petitioners in my riding are calling on the Government of Canada to provide additional funds to support the construction of the Lets'emot Regional Aquatic Centre in Agassiz. The name “Lets'emot” means “one heart, one mind” in the Halq’eme’ylem language.

Residents of the District of Kent, Harrison Hot Springs, Seabird Island, the Cheam, Stó:lo, Sts'ailes, Sq'éwlets, Skawahlook, Popkum and Peters first nations, and the Fraser Valley Regional District's electoral areas C and D all support this project.

It is one of the first infrastructure projects in Canada where all local indigenous communities are collaborating with municipalities. I humbly ask the Minister of Infrastructure and Communities to support it.

Health Care

[Kevin Lamoureux, Liberal, Winnipeg North, MB]

Mr. Speaker, it is a pleasure to rise today to present another petition from health care workers, in particular nurses. The petitioners are highlighting the important role that nurses play, and they are looking at ways to encourage governments and political parties of all stripes to get involved in recognizing the need to ensure that nurses are supported, both financially and with other types of resources.

One of the things that I would note is that there is one little side issue that the petitioners raise, and it is relevant to today, where they are talking about and recognizing the needs of seniors on fixed income for prescribed medicines and the need to deal with that issue too.

[Jaime Battiste, Liberal, Sydney—Victoria, NS]

Mr. Speaker, in the spirit of the National Indigenous History Month, there have been discussions among the parties and, if you seek it, I think you will find unanimous consent to adopt the following motion: that, notwithstanding any standing order, special order or usual practice of the House, Bill C-61, an act respecting water, source water, drinking water, waste water and related infrastructure on first nation lands, be deemed read a second time and referred to the Standing Committee on Indigenous and Northern Affairs.

[The Speaker, Liberal, Greg Fergus]

I already hear that there is no unanimous support for this motion.

[Luc Berthold, Conservative, Mégantic—L'Érable, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I rise on a point of order.

My point of order has to do with one of the usual practices of the House, the Thursday question and the weekly meeting of the parliamentary leaders.

In both cases, the scenario for Bill C‑61 was to continue debate at second reading on Wednesday of this week. We agree to refer the bill to committee at the end of the day Wednesday after the debate.

I am seeking the unanimous consent of the House for the following motion: That, notwithstanding any standing order, special order, or usual practice of the House, Bill C‑61—

[Some hon. members]

No.

[The Speaker, Liberal, Greg Fergus]

The hon. member for Mégantic—L'Érable does not have consent.

I would ask members to ensure that they have the unanimous consent of the House before moving their motion. Sometimes members may think they have consensus, but this needs to be negotiated in good faith before members rise in the House.