The hon. member for Coast of Bays—Central—Notre Dame.
House of Commons Hansard #148 of the 45th Parliament, 1st session. (The original version is on Parliament's site.) The word of the day was seniors.
House of Commons Hansard #148 of the 45th Parliament, 1st session. (The original version is on Parliament's site.) The word of the day was seniors.
This summary is computer-generated. Usually it’s accurate, but every now and then it’ll contain inaccuracies or total fabrications.
Criminal Code First reading of Bill C-292. The bill strengthens Criminal Code protections for human trafficking survivors by holding traffickers accountable, protecting vulnerable witnesses, addressing justice system gaps and improving survivors’ ability to be heard. 100 words.
Opposition Motion—Affordability Crisis Members debate a Conservative motion asking the House to recognize that the Liberals have governed for 11 years and Canada faces an affordability crisis. Conservatives cite rising costs for housing, food and fuel and call for spending restraint, tax relief and fewer barriers to development. Liberals acknowledge cost pressures but defend measures such as tax cuts, food and child-care programs, and housing investments, arguing the motion offers no solutions. Bloc and NDP members highlight seniors’ poverty, homelessness and workers’ wages. 47400 words, 5 hours in 2 segments: 1 2.
Alleged Premature Disclosure of Bill C-40 Members debate whether media reports disclosing details of Bill C-40 before MPs reviewed it breach parliamentary privilege, with the NDP supporting the opposition’s request for a Speaker’s ruling. 400 words.
Business of the House Members exchange Thanksgiving wishes and discuss affordability, with Conservatives criticizing taxes and energy legislation while Liberals cite benefit payments and fuel-tax relief; the House also sets upcoming business and approves an extended sitting to consider Bill C-38. 700 words.
Sergei Magnitsky International Anti-Corruption and Human Rights Act Report stage of Bill C-219. The bill modernizes Canada’s sanctions laws and human-rights framework, adding grounds to address transnational repression and other threats, requiring annual reporting on human-rights efforts, and setting timelines for the forfeiture of seized assets. Following committee amendments and cross-party support, it passes third reading. 7100 words, 1 hour.
Fisheries and OceansOral Questions
Clifford Small Conservative Central Newfoundland, NL
Mr. Speaker, selling out our fishing industry to foreign interests is not nonsense. I would have the member for St. John's East understand that.
The Prime Minister and the President of France two weeks ago announced a 1,500-tonne quota of crab to be caught in waters that are controlled by Canada. The Minister of Fisheries expressed her disappointment. The Canadian fishing industry deserves better.
Will the Prime Minister stand today with our fishing industry and stop this giveaway, or has he already sold it out to foreign interests?
Joanne Thompson LiberalMinister of Fisheries
Mr. Speaker, it is nice to hear the member stand in the House again. It has been a long time since we have heard from him. I want to take this opportunity to see if he still believes that our school nutrition program is garbage.
Let me remind him that we are facing a time in our country when we need to come together. Newfoundlanders and Labradorians understand this. The constituents in his riding understand this. It is a shame that he still has to play cheap politics.
Fisheries and OceansOral Questions
Fisheries and OceansOral Questions
The Speaker Francis Scarpaleggia
Let us speak through the Speaker.
The hon. member for Coast of Bays—Central—Notre Dame.
Clifford Small Conservative Central Newfoundland, NL
Mr. Speaker, crab fishermen and plant workers back home were not amused with that response from the member for St. John's East. The Minister of Fisheries should at least know that next year's crab quotas will be set next year, which is in opposition to what she said, that the quotas have not been announced. Maybe she is catering her response to the French fishermen she met last summer.
Will the Liberal Prime Minister stand with our fishing industry, or has he already sold it out like he did with our steel producers?
Joanne Thompson LiberalMinister of Fisheries
Mr. Speaker, I would like to remind my colleague across the aisle that I work in dialogue and actually have very strong relationships with the fishery sector in Newfoundland and Labrador. I certainly do not need lessons on how to speak with people from the member, but I will remind him that we are doing the work that Canadians have asked us to do. We are meeting this moment with strong strategies and programs that work, and we are meeting it in relationship and in dialogue with the people who need us to work alongside them. This rhetoric is not doing anyone any benefit.
Abdelhaq Sari Liberal Bourassa, QC
Mr. Speaker, in these difficult, unprecedented times, Canadians' creativity and genius must not be held in check by red tape. Our government was supposed to make that happen, and it did. Earlier this year, we modernized the clinical trials framework, attracted $3.3 billion in investments in the process, and saved the pharmaceutical industry $16 million. That is what we were supposed to do.
I have a question for the Minister of Health. What other measures is the government taking to unleash Canadian creativity?
Marjorie Michel LiberalMinister of Health
Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the member for calling attention to this important work. Indeed, yesterday, we introduced Bill S-7, the cutting red tape for all Canadians act. This bill will help Canadians spend less time on paperwork by making rules and regulations clearer and, most of all, more efficient. By limiting red tape and bureaucracy, we ensure that the government is meeting the expectations of all Canadians more effectively.
Laila Goodridge Conservative Fort McMurray—Cold Lake, AB
Mr. Speaker, Canadian families are facing their most expensive Thanksgiving yet, up 10% from last year, which was up 10% from the year before. Far too many Canadians know the feeling of watching the grocery store till tick up faster and faster each time they go and wondering how they are going to make ends meet.
Families are already struggling to put food on the table. Now, even sitting down to a Thanksgiving family dinner is out of reach for too many. Thanksgiving should be a time for families to come together, yet they are wondering how they are going to make this work.
Does the Liberal government even care that families cannot afford a Thanksgiving this year?
Adam van Koeverden LiberalSecretary of State (Sport)
Mr. Speaker, the real question is what we are doing collectively in this House, with the abilities we have, to answer those calls for a little bit of help.
The member of Parliament for Fort McMurray—Cold Lake might want to explain to her 20,772 constituents, who received $7.9 million through the groceries and essentials benefit, that she did not support it. She could also sit down with some of the military members, seeing as Cold Lake is a large military community. She also voted against a pay increase for those military members.
We have a chance in the House to work on affordability. The member could get on board.
Laila Goodridge Conservative Fort McMurray—Cold Lake, AB
Mr. Speaker, Canadian families are struggling, and what they do not need is another Liberal lecture about how good things are and how they should be grateful for everything they have. Thanksgiving is coming up, and families cannot afford to put food on the table. That should concern every single one of the Liberals, yet here they are defending their record.
Will the government admit that after 11 years of Liberal governments, Canadians are struggling and we are in an affordability crisis?
Peter Fragiskatos LiberalParliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Immigration
Mr. Speaker, the member has an opportunity on the floor of the House of Commons to offer constructive ideas. I do not hear that on the opposite side, not from the member and not from any Conservative member.
Yes, there are Canadians going through challenges. We should be there for them every step of the way. What do the Conservatives want to do? They want to get rid of the Canada child benefit, day care support and dental support, all these various benefits. However, let us take it out of the political realm and look to the private sector. At the investment summit, $500 billion of investment and financing was committed. We have seen the record foreign direct investment—
The EconomyOral Questions
Kevin Waugh Conservative Saskatoon South, SK
Mr. Speaker, Thanksgiving weekend is ahead, but unfortunately many Canadians will go without because the traditional Thanksgiving Day meal is 10% more expensive this year than it was last year. Liberal policies are driving up the cost of everything. In August alone, the Saskatoon Food Bank had 26,000 visits, an all-time high.
Will the government admit that after 11 years of Liberals, Canada is officially in an affordability crisis?
Buckley Belanger LiberalSecretary of State (Rural Development)
Mr. Speaker, our visionary yet humble House leader on this side of the assembly asked me to come up with some new material when describing the performance of the Saskatchewan Conservative caucus. He said we needed to find something else beyond “10 long years”. Here it goes. For 11 long years, we have seen no progress made by the Saskatchewan Conservative caucus. On this side of the House, we have done the groceries and essentials benefit. We have helped thousands of families in Saskatchewan, and we will continue to do so.
Shannon Miedema Liberal Halifax, NS
Mr. Speaker, in Canada, our culture and economy are built on the water. This is especially true in my riding of Halifax, located in beautiful Nova Scotia, Canada's ocean playground. From climate change to pollution, the health of our oceans is under threat. It is why I am so excited that next year, our government will be hosting the Our Ocean Conference in my riding.
Can the Minister of Fisheries tell the House how our government is addressing these threats and protecting our waters?
The EnvironmentOral Questions
St. John's East Newfoundland & Labrador
Liberal
Joanne Thompson LiberalMinister of Fisheries
Mr. Speaker, I thank the hon. member for her passion for ocean protection. She is right. Canada is stepping up as a global leader.
Recently, I joined the Prime Minister as he announced the start of Canada's oceans strategy, with more than $1.2 billion in new funding to strengthen marine safety, reinforce our fisheries and build a stronger, more sustainable ocean economy. We are not done there. In May, Canada will host the Our Ocean Conference. I look forward to welcoming all of Canada to Halifax.
Chak Au Conservative Richmond Centre—Marpole, BC
Mr. Speaker, the B.C. Supreme Court struck down a law that would make drug dealing even more legal across Canada. Canadians need protection from traffickers flooding our communities with deadly drugs. Our Conservative plan, alongside Bill C-289, would toughen penalties for serious fentanyl traffickers and save lives.
Will the Liberal government appeal the ruling and support the legislation that Canadians need to stop the drug supply in our streets and save lives, yes or no?
Sean Fraser LiberalMinister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada and Minister responsible for the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency
Mr. Speaker, drug trafficking is a very serious offence that can claim the lives of innocent people in this country. The case to which the hon. member refers is currently under the appeal period, during which the independent Public Prosecution Service of Canada has an opportunity to make a decision, separate and apart from the political arm of government, as to whether it is in the interest of justice to further pursue an appeal. I look forward to seeing the independent prosecutor discharge their responsibilities in accordance with the law in order to help protect communities. They are going to have an opportunity to do that independently, as it should be.
Gord Johns NDP Courtenay—Alberni, BC
Mr. Speaker, more than six million Canadians do not have a family doctor, yet having one means better health outcomes, earlier treatment and less pressure on emergency rooms and hospitals. Family physicians provide more than half of medical services, but Canada invests just 4% of health spending in primary care, half the OECD average. Investing in primary care is nation building.
Health ministers meet next week, looking for certainty. Will the Prime Minister restore the 6% health transfer escalator and deliver stable, predictable funding for primary care?
Marjorie Michel LiberalMinister of Health
Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague very much for his question. As he is aware, health is a key priority for the Canadian government. I will be meeting with my provincial and territorial counterparts next week, and I will work collaboratively with them, as always. I should also mention that all the provinces and territories have decided to make primary care access one of their priorities. I am working with them.