John Nater

[Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership Implementation Act, September 18th, 2018]

Madam Speaker, it is an honour to rise today to debate this important legislation. Conservatives support free trade and expanding our markets. The Conservative record speaks for itself.

During our time in office we negotiated trade deals with 53 countries, including Peru, Colombia, Jordan, Panama, Honduras, South Korea, Ukraine, as well as the original signatories of the trans-Pacific partnership and the 28 countries of the Canada-Europe trade deal.

Conservatives support trade because we know how important it is for our constituents, for our industries, for our agricultural industry and for our Canadian farmers.

I am glad that we are finally debating Bill C-79, but I have to wonder why it has taken so long for the government to finally act on the CPTPP. After all, back in June it was the Conservatives who offered to have the bill fast-tracked at all stages so that Canada could be one of the first countries to ratify the CPTPP.

Back in July, it was our leader, the leader of Her Majesty's loyal opposition, who wrote to the Prime Minister strongly encouraging him to bring back Parliament during the summer so that we could work here to get the bill passed so that all Canadians could enjoy the benefits of this important trade deal. After all, this trade deal was originally negotiated by our government. We have to give credit to those who have done the hard work, the heavy lifting, to get the TPP to the finish line.

[Gordon Young, September 18th, 2018]

Mr. Speaker, I rise to pay tribute to Gordon Young, who passed away last week at the age of 80.

Gordon's life was a life of service. He was a charter member of the Moncton Optimist Club and spent years as both a board member and a volunteer with the Galbraith Optimist Camp for Kids. He was a 4-H leader and a member of many agricultural organizations, including the Farm Safety Association, the Perth-Huron Jersey Club, the Perth County Soil and Crop Association and the Perth County Milk Producers.

He was a municipal councillor, first in the former township of Logan and later he would serve for more than a decade as councillor in the amalgamated municipality of West Perth. During our shared time together on West Perth council, I came to know Gordon for his thoughtful comments, his subtle sense of humour and his efficiency at chairing meetings. Gordon held the record for the quickest meetings at our council meetings.

To his wife Helen, his daughters Lauri and Lisa and his grandchildren, I offer my deepest condolences on their loss and our collective thanks for a life well lived.

[Petitions, June 20th, 2018]

Mr. Speaker, I am very pleased to present a petition signed by many constituents in my riding of Perth—Wellington. The petitioners call on the Prime Minister to defend the constitutionally protected fundamental freedoms of Canadians, including freedom of conscience and religion, and to remove the attestation for participants in the Canada summer jobs program.

[Questions Passed as Orders for Returns, June 18th, 2018]

With regard to information sharing between the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) and the Canada Council for the Arts: is being designated a professional artist by the Canada Council for the Arts sufficient proof in order to prevent the CRA from declaring an individual to be a “hobby artist”?

[Main Estimates, 2018-19, June 14th, 2018]

Mr. Speaker, I want to give the member for Thornhill the opportunity to talk a little about the mismanagement we are seeing from the Liberals, especially when it comes to the $7-billion slush fund. Does he think the Liberals can actually manage a $7-billion slush fund?

[Latin American Heritage Month Act, June 13th, 2018]

Madam Speaker, it is an honour to rise in the House at this relatively late hour to debate Bill S-218.

Before I do, I want to make note of the hard-working people who allow this place to operate: the table officers, the pages, our Hansard reporters, Parliamentary Protective Service, food services, the bus drivers, and everyone who keeps this place going. They do an exceptional job, especially at this late hour. I would just point out that the Hansard officer today is a young man by the name of Sam, who is actually in the Arthur Kroeger College of Public Affairs, which is the same college I attended at Carleton University. He is an exceptional, hard-working young man.

I would note that I am the 35th person to debate the bill tonight. I would note as well that those who have debated so far have been Conservatives, New Democrats, and even the Green Party. Unfortunately, those who serve as members of the government have not spoken to the bill.

Bill S-218 was introduced in the other place by our dear friend, our late colleague, the hon. Senator Tobias Enverga. Certainly, on a night like this when we are debating his bill, we all wish he was here with us, that he could be sitting in the Senate gallery observing this important debate. However, we lost him all too soon at the age of 61. In fact, he was attending a meeting of the Canadian section of the ParlAmericas, travelling with the Canadian section to Colombia when he passed away so suddenly. Tonight our thoughts are with his family, his dear wife Rosemer and their three daughters. As we have heard, his daughters were truly his inspiration for a variety of different things, including his support of Canadians living with disabilities. One of his daughters lives with Down's syndrome and was always a support to him.

As members will know, before being elected, Senator Enverga was a trustee in the Toronto Catholic District School Board. In fact, when he was elected to that position, he became the first Filipino Canadian elected within the city of Toronto. When he was appointed to the other place in 2012, it was the first time a Filipino Canadian had been appointed to the other place. In the 145 years, to that point, of Confederation, Senator Enverga became the first Filipino Canadian to be appointed to the Senate.

When I rise to debate the bill, an act respecting Latin American heritage month, I think of the many Canadians of Latin American descent who came to Canada to build a better life for themselves and for their families. I think of a good friend of mine, Sebastian Ortega. His parents, Julio and Carmen Ortega came from Peru to Canada in 1993. They are now proud to be living in Canada and their family is contributing to our great society.

When the bill was introduced in the other place, Senator Enverga rose on March 8, 2016, to state:

I came to Canada as an immigrant, and I am one of many in this chamber who have been fortunate to be welcomed here to contribute to our society. Few countries in the world are as open and accepting to people who come from other countries to settle and make a new life for themselves as our country is. The Canadian policy of multiculturalism is a great success when it comes to allowing for, and celebrating, the various cultural backgrounds and languages we have.

I would echo those comments from the late senator. By passing Bill S-218 we are able to celebrate that great diversity. We are able to celebrate that history of multiculturalism that we see in this place, that we see across the country, and that we see in each of our ridings.

According to Statistics Canada, in 2016 there were 674,640 Canadians living in Canada who are of Latin American descent. Indeed, in my own riding of Perth—Wellington, a strong rural community, there are 1,570 Canadians who are of Latin American descent. It is important that we recognize and celebrate this contribution to our great society.

There is precedent for a bill of this nature. The House and the other place have, in the 42nd Parliament, designated a variety of months or days for symbolic cultural purposes. The month of May was designated as Canadian Jewish Heritage Month. Motion No. 124 designated the month of January as Tamil Heritage Month. Motion No. 64 dedicated the month of June as Italian Heritage Month. Motion No. 73 dedicated the month of October as German Heritage Month. Coming from a riding with a strong German presence, we certainly appreciate that recognition. Motion No. 126 dedicated the month of June as Portuguese Heritage Month. On the Order Paper, as we speak, Bill C-317 would designate the month of October as Hispanic heritage month, and Bill C-376 would designate the month of April as Sikh heritage month.

I have minor concerns about some of these bills, and they are mathematical in nature. We only have 12 months in the year, and there is some duplication and overlap in months. That is a concern for some. For example, the bill we are debating here tonight would designate October as the said month for Latin American heritage month, which would fall in the same month as Oktoberfest and German Heritage Month. There is an overlap. It is not an insurmountable overlap or a significant concern that would delay the passage of the bill, but it is something we need to recognize, and ensure that we are cognizant of these points when we are debating this issue.

For example, we have already passed in this place the designation of the month of June both as Italian Heritage Month and as Portuguese Heritage Month. We can enjoy and celebrate both those important contributions by recognizing these days.

I would note that earlier tonight, the member for Huron—Bruce provided an exceptional overview of some of the contributions Latin American players have made to the great sport of baseball. In my riding of Perth—Wellington, we are home to the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum, and the induction ceremony is this weekend. Madam Speaker, if you are free, we would welcome you at the induction ceremony, where they will be honouring Pedro Martinez, who was born in the Dominican Republic and will be inducted for his time with the Montreal Expos. I am looking forward to that celebration this Saturday, and I invite all members to join us on Saturday when we make that induction official.

I would like to conclude by saying how important I think it is to recognize the month of October as Latin American heritage month, and I would like to conclude with the words of Senator Enverga. He said, in the other place:

Declaring the month of October as Latin American heritage month will be a wonderful opportunity for us to contribute to our collective story, a uniquely Canadian story increasingly filled with symbols of multiculturalism, a shared history that has led us to the society we now live in where our rights and freedoms are protected under the principles of peace, order and good government.

[Latin American Heritage Month Act, June 13th, 2018]

Mr. Speaker, I rise on a point of order. I am a relatively new member here, so I am not fully aware of procedure in this place, and I admit I am still learning. I know generally that when the Speaker calls on members to speak, he operates on a list provided by the parties. If my understanding is correct, a member can catch the Speaker's eye and the Speaker can call on that person to speak. I wonder, Mr. Speaker, if you could survey the other side of the House to see if someone is trying to catch your eye. I am looking for fairness in this place. I just do not want—

[Questions on the Order Paper, June 11th, 2018]

With regard to designations of Her Majesty’s counsel learned in the law: who has been conferred a Queen’s Counsel designation since November 4, 2015?

[Business of the House, May 31st, 2018]

Mr. Speaker, I rise on a point of order. I would draw your attention to page 363 of the 24th edition of Erskine May, which says that during the weekly business statement members are permitted in the U.K. parliament to ask supplementary questions to the weekly business statement.

To the Parliamentary Secretary to the Leader of the Government in the House of Commons, could he perhaps answer the questions asked by the hon. House leader for the opposition about which time allocation motion will be forthcoming and what the priority bills of the government are for this week?

[Federal Sustainable Development Act, May 30th, 2018]

Mr. Speaker, the member is absolutely right. These events do not happen in isolation. The vote to adjourn earlier today was a matter of protest against the heavy hand of the Liberal government.

Let us see what the Liberal government has done. It introduced Motion No. 6 in June 2016 to basically take away all the tools of the opposition. Last spring, it introduced, and tried to ram through, changes to the Standing Orders unilaterally, forcing a three-week filibuster in the procedure and House affairs committee, not to disrupt but to preserve the rights and privileges of parliamentarians. That is what we are here to do. It is our right and duty to defend those rights.

Now we see it happening once again in the procedure and House affairs committee. The Liberals have tried to introduce a motion with a guillotine, forcing limited debate, next to no debate, in fact, and forcing amendments to be tabled before we have even finished hearing from witnesses. We have not even heard from any witnesses outside of departmental officials. We heard a limited response from the minister. We are still waiting for responses from the minister on how she bungled the appointment of the Chief Electoral Officer. The government made one appointment, and then it appointed someone else, with virtually no consultation other than a letter saying that this was who they were nominating. That is wrong.