Garnett Genuis

[Business of Supply, December 6th, 2024]

Madam Chair, I apologize for the technical issues.

I want to follow up on the point of order from the member for Manicouagan. Members are presumed to be hon. members when they hear something and when they raise something. It is not the tradition of the House to say that we need to wait for the video evidence. If two members contradict each other, that is another matter.

The member for Manicouagan raised an issue of a threat. Other members heard it. No member has risen to contradict those comments or to say they were not made. Therefore, I think the tradition of the House would not be that we would wait for a tape, but rather we would presume the member for Manicouagan is an hon. member and has spoken truly about the threats that were made. Therefore, I think the Speaker—

[Business of Supply, December 6th, 2024]

Madam Speaker, my conscience was prodded by the intervention from the member for Northumberland—Peterborough South. I may too have at some point used the term Maserati Marxist to refer—

[Business of Supply, December 6th, 2024]

Madam Speaker, you have referenced convention of the House. Could you cite any precedent? I have been a member for a long time; I follow the procedure, and I am not aware of a single case in which a member who had a question of privilege, especially one with the urgent nature of that being raised, was told to wait. If there is a convention of the House I am not familiar with, I wonder if you could share even a single instance in which any member raising a matter of this nature has been told they have to wait for the convenience of another member, who is not speaking on the matter of privilege, until they are finished. Very respectfully, my understanding is no such precedent exists.

I know there is a requirement to provide an hour's notice, but there is also a requirement to raise the issue at the earliest possible opportunity. In fact, there are cases in which Speakers have dismissed questions of privilege simply on the basis that they were not raised in sufficient time and with sufficient proximity. I am thinking of Speaker Regan. Members are under an obligation: If they do not follow that rule, then their very serious question of privilege could be dismissed, even if it was a question of privilege deemed to have merit, simply because—

[Public Services and Procurement, December 4th, 2024]

Madam Speaker, we still have not gotten any response from the Liberals about the rampant abuse that has taken place. The most we have heard is them trying to deny the testimony of indigenous leaders. It is like they were not there. Previously, we pasted together their denials with the actual statements of multiple indigenous leaders. If the Liberals are really committed to this reconciliation concept, then they have to actually start by listening to what the folks who come to the committee are saying.

Over 1,000 businesses have been removed from the indigenous business directory. This should suggest that there is a problem. If, at some point, the Liberals look at the indigenous business directory and see there are over 1,000 businesses on this list that they have to take off the list, maybe that suggests there is a problem with the processes they have for qualifying indigenous businesses.

Will the Liberals recognize, at least as a first step, that there is a problem here?

[Public Services and Procurement, December 4th, 2024]

Madam Speaker, I have breaking news. Tomorrow morning, at the indigenous affairs committee, at 8:15 a.m., the member for Edmonton Centre, the former Liberal minister, not the other Randy, but the member for Edmonton Centre, is going to be coming to committee. I cannot guarantee he will answer questions, but he will respond to questions from Conservative members about the Liberals' indigenous procurement scandal and the factors that led to his resignation from cabinet.

I will be there, at 8:15 a.m., at the indigenous and northern affairs committee. I know my colleague from Haliburton—Kawartha Lakes—Brock, our capable indigenous affairs critic, will be there. I know the member for St. Albert—Edmonton will be there. There is another member from Ontario, whose riding has the word “lake” in it, who will be there, as well as the member for Kenora.

This will be an important event because we have been trying to get the member for Edmonton Centre to come before committee to answer questions about the scandal. He will finally be there, and we will put to him the harm that has been done by false claims of indigenous identity.

Here is the scandal we are dealing with: The government says that over 5% of contracts go to indigenous firms, but the Assembly of First Nations says that it is closer to 1%. In other words, the majority of those benefiting from this indigenous procurement program are shell companies. There are shell companies and shady joint venture arrangements that allow non-indigenous companies to take the vast majority of the benefit, and there are outright pretenders, such as the member for Edmonton Centre, who, through their companies, are taking advantage of programs that were intended for indigenous people.

This is an overwhelming situation of abuse by non-indigenous elites and insiders, such as the member for Edmonton Centre. The member for Edmonton Centre, during the period when he was not a member of Parliament, set up a company, and that company claimed to be fully indigenous-owned to try to get contracts from the government. It did get some contracts from the government, but the company made the claim to be fully indigenous-owned.

Incredibly, the former minister says that he did not know and it was his wild partner making these claims. Why did the former minister's partner think the company was indigenous-owned? Maybe it is because the Liberal Party of Canada repeatedly and falsely claimed that the member for Edmonton Centre was indigenous. There is a proliferation of those pretending to be indigenous. According to the AFN and other indigenous leaders, there is a massive scale of indigenous identity fraud, as these non-indigenous elite insiders try to take contracts and steal benefits that were supposed to be for indigenous people.

Meanwhile, not a single firm has ever faced consequences for indigenous identity fraud. The Liberals have set up a system where, instead of the indigenous communities themselves doing so, the government controls the list of what is considered an indigenous business, which many have called a colonial system. The government set up a system where it controls who is on that list. Many people made it on that list, or otherwise bid on contracts, falsely claiming to be indigenous. There have been zero consequences for anyone, including the former minister, who still continues to be a member of the Liberal caucus and still claims his innocence.

I invite others to tune in at 8:15 a.m. eastern time tomorrow.

[Privilege, December 4th, 2024]

Madam Speaker, I want to ask this member about the rural top-up. I think it is a subject he is familiar with.

In all seriousness, it is a great tribute to a member when as soon as we see that member, we know what issue he is going to mention. He has been such a dogged, effective advocate for his riding on the issue of the rural top-up.

For those who have maybe been living under a rock for the last few years and have never heard him mention it before, could the member tell us about the rural top-up issue?

[Committees of the House, December 4th, 2024]

Mr. Speaker, this is a very significant issue. I think many, if not most, members of Parliament have lost family members to cancer, of one kind or another. It is a little disappointing to see the amount of time Liberals have devoted in their speeches to partisan talking points about concurrence and aspects of the business of the House. There is a lot of time to discuss those issues and the appropriateness of concurrence at this hour, that hour, on this day or another day.

However, this is an issue on which we should all agree. It does show the orientation of the government that, rather than focusing on constructive solutions for a sensitive issue on which there is general agreement, there is more of a focus on trying to attack the Conservatives. I wonder if the member can just share, and I am trying to get him off some of that partisan tone we especially heard from his colleague from Kingston and the Islands, some constructive suggestions for additional steps the House could pursue that would help effectively combat this problem and promote wellness.

[Questions Passed as Orders for Returns, December 4th, 2024]

With regard to Canada-Sudan relations: (a) what are the complete details of development assistance dollars spent with the intention of having an impact in Sudan over the last two years, including, for each spending item, the (i) amount spent, (ii) recipient and any additional delivery partners, (iii) allocation timeline, (iv) amount spent on each item; (b) what are the complete details of development assistance dollars spent with the intention of having an impact on Sudanese refugees outside of Sudan in the last two years, including, for each item, the (i) amount spent, (ii) recipient and any additional delivery partners, (iii) allocation timeline, (iv) amount spent on each item; (c) how many people have arrived in Canada so far through the "Family-based permanent residence pathway for people affected by the conflict in Sudan"; (d) does the government have an estimate of how many people have died as a result of the current civil war in Sudan, and, if so, what is that estimate; (e) does the government have an estimate of how many people will die as a result of the civil war in Sudan over the next year, and, if so, what is that estimate; (f) has the government engaged with the Sudanese Coordination of Civil Democratic Forces (Tagadum), and what is the position of the government with respect to engagement with Tagadum; (g) has the government engaged with the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) or the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), and what is the position of the government with respect to engagement with the SAF and with the RSF; (h) what is the position of the government regarding the Sudanese peace process; and (i) what are the complete details of statements and diplomatic representations made by the government regarding the Sudanese conflict since April 15, 2023?

[Petitions, December 3rd, 2024]

Madam Speaker, I suspect this will be my final petition because of time.

This petition draws the attention of the House to human rights abuses in Eritrea, as well as actions of the Eritrean government that constitute foreign interference. Eritrea has been called the “North Korea of Africa”. There is a complete lack of basic political freedoms, and many have gone into exile. However, many of those in exile continue to face various forms of foreign interference, and their family members may be targeted with extortion as a result of the fact that members of their family are in exile.

The petitioners also note that Eritrea's government is an ally of Vladimir Putin.

Therefore, they want to see the government engage Eritrean political and human rights activists and pro-democracy groups, take a leadership role against Eritrea's human rights abuses and foreign interference activities, and enforce Canada's asylum law to prevent those who are associated with hostile regimes from being able to come to Canada. They also want to see strengthened sanctions against human rights abusers, and they are advocating for the release of various imprisoned parliamentarians and journalists in Eritrea.

[Petitions, December 3rd, 2024]

Madam Speaker, the next petition highlights the horrific ongoing persecution of Falun Gong practitioners in the People's Republic of China. Falun Gong practitioners practise a spiritual discipline that emphasizes meditation and moral teachings based on the virtues of truthfulness, compassion and tolerance, yet they have faced horrific violent repression by the government. That repression goes back 25 years, and it includes forced organ harvesting.

The petitioners want to see the House do more to combat the persecution of Falun Gong practitioners.