Randall Garrison

[Business of Supply, March 9th, 2021]

Madam Speaker, I am a bit confused by the Conservative rhetoric, which rails against large government programs, but then the Conservatives bring forward a motion like this that calls for government programs to support sectors. However, I do not want to digress. I want to be fair.

I asked the last Liberal speaker a very simple question about small business and the severe situation that most small businesses find themselves in during the pandemic. The member for Burnaby South asked the government today if it would support a cap of 1% on the fees charged by credit card companies to merchants to help out small businesses.

I want to ask the same question of the Conservatives. Will they support a cap on credit card fees being charged to small businesses?

[Business of Supply, March 9th, 2021]

Madam Speaker, while it is interesting to hear the hon. member say that the government has done everything it can do for small businesses, the small business owners in my riding are certainly waiting to hear if the government can do more because many of them are going to have to close their doors permanently.

One of the things I want to ask very specifically for, and that small business owners have been asking for for a very long time, is a cap on the fees that credit card companies charge them. Today in the House, the NDP leader was calling for a 1% cap on those fees. Why have the Liberals not moved to cap those credit card fees, which are so hard on small business owners during this pandemic?

[Conversion Therapy, March 9th, 2021]

Mr. Speaker, the government is dragging its feet on banning conversion therapy. The justice committee completed its study of Bill C-6 last December, yet we still have not seen it come back to the House for a final debate and vote.

While I am confident a ban on conversion therapy will eventually pass, this will be only the first step. We heard clearly that there needs to be systematic support for survivors of conversion therapy and support for those who are still faced with misguided and harmful attempts to get them to change their sexual orientation, gender identity or gender expression.

One tool the federal government should use to combat these homophobic and transphobic attitudes is to set public health standards for comprehensive sex education, sex education which, at its core, affirms and celebrates the sexual orientation, gender identity and gender expression of all Canadians.

If we adopt standards for sex education that are affirming, comprehensive and in accord with our international human rights obligations, then we have a chance to stamp out not only conversion therapy but also the attitudes that cause it.

[Justice, February 26th, 2021]

Madam Speaker, the government likes to talk about its commitment to equal rights based on sexual orientation and gender identity, but often seems to confuse action with surveys and press conferences.

Last fall, the justice committee heard moving and compelling testimony on the urgent need to bring an end to conversion therapy in Canada. The committee worked hard to bring Bill C-6 back to the House promptly, but since it was reported back last December the government seems to have forgotten all about conversion therapy.

When is the government going to bring Bill C-6 back for final debate and a vote so we can finally put an end to conversion therapy in Canada?

[Criminal Code, February 23rd, 2021]

Madam Speaker, I want to thank the hon. member for his sincere comments. He and I rarely agree on many things in Parliament, but I never question his sincerity and his great attempts to represent his constituents. It is strange that the Liberals have driven us to a point where the member and I now agree.

I agree with the hon. member that, in accepting the Senate amendment, the Liberals have short-circuited the review that they were supposed to be doing of MAID legislation. In fact, they have gone farther and I wonder if the member would agree with me. By creating a special panel to set up supposed safeguards for those with mental illness, the government is prejudging the outcome of that study and suggesting that we are going to approve those with mental illness as their sole underlying condition for medical assistance in dying.

Does the member agree that the Liberals are actually prejudging this program in the way that they have stated their motion?

[Standing Orders and Procedure, February 1st, 2021]

Madam Speaker, I have been listening with great interest to the debate and I am one of the heretics on most of the ideas being suggested. In particular, the hon. member raised the idea of eliminating Fridays and lengthening the sitting days in the rest of the week. As a member from Vancouver Island, I do not think eliminating Fridays does anything productive for those who represent ridings farther away.

I wonder if the member considered all the other things that take place on Parliament Hill, such as meeting with delegations and constituents who come to Ottawa. If we eliminate Fridays and lengthen the other days, it would make MPs far less accessible.

[Economic Statement Implementation Act, 2020, January 27th, 2021]

Madam Speaker, I thank the hon. member for emphasizing the impact of the pandemic on arts and culture. It is true in all of our communities, no less so in greater Victoria than in Quebec, and artists are really finding it very hard, creative as they are, to find new ways to reach an audience and communicate during the pandemic.

In response to the question from the hon. parliamentary secretary about what he could do, I wonder if the member would join me in calling for an end to the threat to claw back CERB benefits from artists who are in need and who applied in good faith.

[Economic Statement Implementation Act, 2020, January 27th, 2021]

Madam Speaker, I listened with great interest to my neighbour's speech, and he really did a good job of laying out where we are presently.

What I am hearing in my riding is that most people are still very much in the pandemic. While we need to think about what is ahead, we also need to take care of those who are in need now. We are seeing a phenomenon in which independent professionals, artists and some small business people who were in need applied for CERB in good faith, but they are now being threatened with clawbacks because of the CRA's interpretation of the rules.

Can the member comment on how unjust that is?

[Economic Statement Implementation Act, 2020, January 26th, 2021]

Madam Speaker, I always listen with interest to speeches by the member for Renfrew—Nipissing—Pembroke and, of course, I enjoy working with her on the defence committee. As usual, we seem to live in different worlds. We have one point in common here, which is that we should have capacity in Canada to produce our vaccines.

I want to ask about the commitment that the government made, with the support of New Democrats, to have sick leave in place for workers so that those who need to stay home in quarantine or who need to stay home because they have symptoms, will not have to go to work if they have paid sick leave. The Conservatives have often talked about disincentives to work, so I wonder in this case whether they would join the other parties in supporting an effective program for sick leave, both to help workers maintain their paycheques and to prevent the spread of the virus.

[Economic Statement Implementation Act, 2020, January 26th, 2021]

Madam Speaker, I listened with interest to the speech by the member for Nickel Belt. I want to share the sentiment he expressed at the end in thanking the front-line workers who continue to provide essential services for all of us with respect to groceries, policing, fire and all of those kinds of things.

I want to ask the member a question about something that is not really addressed in the economic statement, which is the sick leave benefit. I am not talking about the fact that wealthy people who broke the rules have been able to get compensated for being in quarantine. I am talking about the fact that working families are having severe trouble accessing the sick leave benefit because of the way it is being administered.

Will the hon. member join with the New Democrats in pressing his government for a sick leave program that is more flexible, and will meet the needs of those front-line workers?