Garnett Genuis

[Petitions, December 3rd, 2024]

Madam Speaker, the next petition I am presenting is in support of Bill S-210, a bill that seeks to bring about meaningful age verification for those accessing sexually explicit material online. Bill S-210 had the unanimous support of the Senate and the support of a majority of the House at second reading.

The petitioners note that a significant portion of the sexually explicit material accessed online is not protected by any effective age verification method. The average age of first exposure to pornography is very young. It is, in fact, 11 or 12 years of age, so many young children are consuming this material who should not be. In fact, exposing children to sexual material is a form of child abuse. The petitioners also note that there is a great deal of research on harms associated with this early exposure, including reinforcement of gender stereotypes. These harms also include the development of attitudes favourable to harassment and violence, including sexual harassment and violence, especially towards women.

The petitioners also say that online age verification technology is increasingly sophisticated and can effectively ascertain the age of users without breaching their privacy rights in any way. Therefore, petitioners call on the House to pass Bill S-210, the protecting young persons from exposure to pornography act.

[Petitions, December 3rd, 2024]

Madam Speaker, the next petition is regarding human rights in Russia. Some aspects of this petition are a little dated, but it raises concern about the serious domestic repression in Russia, including violence and other measures targeting those who are advocating for freedom and democracy within Russia. We have seen, while Russia has been invading Ukraine, an escalating repression of democracy activists in Russia.

The petitioners want the House to stand with the people of Russia by working with allies to pressure the Russian government to uphold democratic and human rights norms. They want to see additional Magnitsky-style sanctions imposed against those who are undermining democracy and human rights in Russia.

[Petitions, December 3rd, 2024]

Madam Speaker, my colleague from Peace River—Westlock had so many petitions, I was afraid I would not get a chance, but here we go. I have a few petitions to present to the House today.

The first raises concern about the government's extreme euthanasia agenda, already the most liberal regime in the world. We see continuing proposals for further radical expansion, including one that draws the ire of the petitioners. It is a proposal to expand euthanasia to include “babies from birth to one year of age”. This proposal was made by Louis Roy of the Collège des médecins du Québec before a parliamentary committee.

This proposal for the legalized killing of infants is deeply disturbing to the many Canadians who believe it is always wrong to kill or wish the death of a child. The petitioners call on the House to block any attempt to legalize the killing of children in Canada.

[Petitions, November 27th, 2024]

Mr. Speaker, the next petition highlights the persecution of Falun Gong practitioners in the People's Republic of China and shares some of the history of that persecution.

Petitioners call for stronger steps by the Government of Canada and Parliament to combat the ongoing, now 25-year-long, persecution of Falun Gong practitioners, who simply wish to exercise their religious freedom and to practice a spiritual discipline that emphasizes truthfulness, compassion and tolerance.

[Petitions, November 27th, 2024]

Mr. Speaker, the next petition raises concern about the very radical and extreme agenda of the government and of some of the people who have testified in support of it on the issue of euthanasia. Canada already has the most liberal euthanasia regime in the world, which is being used as a cautionary tale in debates around the world on this very issue.

This particular petition highlights with grave concern a proposal for the expansion of euthanasia to include babies from birth to one year of age. This was a proposal made by Louis Roy of the Quebec college of physicians and surgeons for the legalized killing of infants. Petitioners see this as morally abhorrent and as the sort of thing that, frankly, a few years ago we never would have expected to hear openly uttered let alone advocated for in Parliament.

The petitioners call on the Government of Canada to block any attempt to allow the killing of children.

[Petitions, November 27th, 2024]

Mr. Speaker, the next petition is regarding the Liberals' so-called feminist international assistance policy. Petitioners note that the Muskoka initiative, launched by the previous Conservative government, involved historic investments in the well-being of women and girls around the world and that the initiative emphasized value for money and ensured that investments were made in priorities identified by local women.

By contrast, petitioners say that the Liberal government's approach has shown a lack of respect for the cultural values and the autonomy of women in the developing world by supporting organizations that violate local laws at the expense of international development priorities like clean water, access to basic nutrition and economic development, and that it pushes ideology at the expense of local priorities.

The petitioners also note how the Liberals' approach to international development for women and girls has been criticized by the Auditor General for its failure to measure results.

The petitioners call on the Government of Canada to align international development spending with the approach taken in the Muskoka initiative and to focus international development dollars on meeting the basic needs of vulnerable women around the world, rather than pushing ideological agendas that may conflict with local values in developing countries.

Petitioners also want to see better measurement of the outcomes in the work being done by the government.

[Petitions, November 27th, 2024]

Mr. Speaker, the next petition is an issue of concern to many Canadians who file their taxes and would like to have more flexibility in how they do so. Nobody likes filing their taxes, but petitioners in this case are frustrated by the fact that paper filing is being discouraged.

Petitioners note that Canadians need to file their taxes regardless of their level of connectivity. They are frustrated that CRA will no longer print line-by-line instructions in the paper package and will impose financial penalties for paper filing for certain kinds of taxes, including business filing and GST/HST returns. This is unfair to Canadians who do not have the same level of connectivity or who simply prefer to file in other ways.

Petitioners call on the Government of Canada to remove all penalties associated with the paper filing of tax returns and also to make available printed copies of the line-by-line instructions for tax filing for anyone who requests them.

[Petitions, November 27th, 2024]

Mr. Speaker, I have a number of petitions to present to the House today.

The first petition responds to concerns that have been raised by many people in the Eritrean Canadian community about ongoing human rights abuses in Eritrea, as well as foreign interference emanating from Eritrea.

Petitioners want to draw the attention of the House to the fact that Eritrea has been ruled by a brutal authoritarian dictator under a totalitarian system for the last 30 years. There is no constitution, no election, no parliament, no freedom of the press and no freedom of movement and association. The people of Eritrea have the same aspirations for freedom and democracy that people always and everywhere have.

Eritreans continue to flee indefinite military conscription, religious persecution and political repression. Petitioners note that a very high number of people have fled and yet continue to face threats in the form of foreign interference while they are living elsewhere. Those people who have managed to flee face intimidation and extortion from representatives and agents of the regime that are abroad. People are also harassed and forced to pay large amounts of money because members of their family have fled.

Petitioners are concerned about the use of Eritrean embassies for foreign interference. They also highlight other forms of repression that happen abroad.

Petitioners also draw the attention of the House to the conspiracy and the collaboration of the Eritrean dictator and the Russian regime, and how that is facilitating neocolonial efforts of the Russian state in Africa, which I know should be of great concern to all members.

Petitioners call on the Government of Canada to engage actively with Eritrean political and human rights activists, especially with pro-democracy groups working here in Canada and building coalitions around the world. They want to see Canada take a leadership role among western allies to challenge the Eritrean dictator's collaboration with Vladimir Putin and Russian neocolonial policy in Africa in general.

Petitioners want to see an investigation of foreign interference activity here in Canada and stronger measures to ensure that the asylum system here in Canada is not abused by people who are affiliated with the regime.

Petitioners want Parliament to advocate for the release of all imprisoned journalists and parliamentarians. They highlight specifically the cases of Dawit Isaak, Petros Solomon, Mahmoud Ahmed Sheriffo, Haile Woldetensae, Ogbe Abraha, Hamid Himid, Saleh Idras Kekya, Estifanos Seyoum, Berhane Ghebrezgabiher, Aster Fesehazion, Germano Nati and Beraki Gebreselassie.

The petitioners would also like to see strengthened sanctions against human rights abusers in Eritrea.

[Ethics, November 25th, 2024]

Yes, it is. Read the testimony.

[Ethics, November 25th, 2024]

Madam Speaker, it is clear from that answer that the Liberals have simply not listened to what indigenous leaders have told them. I encourage them to actually listen, instead of repeating talking points, written by people within government, that completely contradict what indigenous leaders are saying.

The AFN has said that a “majority” of those who benefit from these programs are “shell companies”. This is not Conservative members saying this. The AFN is saying this. I challenge the parliamentary secretary to simply answer this question: Does he agree with what the AFN has said, yes or no?

He said that identity can be complicated and difficult to trace. The member for Edmonton Centre has admitted he is not indigenous. He has openly acknowledged the company committed indigenous identity fraud by saying it was indigenous-owned. Will the member listen to what is going on, and does he agree with what the AFN has said, yes or no?