Rick Perkins

[2020 Shootings in Nova Scotia, March 30th, 2023]

Mr. Speaker, profound loss never leaves us. I cannot imagine the lifelong horror, grief and questions never answered when a loved one is murdered.

A few hours ago, the report of the Nova Scotia Mass Casualty Commission was released, on the murder of 22 of my fellow Nova Scotians and an unborn child. The commission's work had minimal input from the families, who were not allowed to question witnesses. They deserved better.

Lisa McCully, Constable Heidi Stevenson, Sean McLeod, Alanna Jenkins, Jolene Oliver, Emily and Aaron Tuck, Jamie Blair, Greg Blair, Corrie Ellison, Gina Goulet, Tom Bagley, Elizabeth Thomas, John Zahl, Joe Webber, Lillian Campbell, Dawn and Frank Gulenchyn, Heather O'Brien, Joy and Peter Bond, Kristen Beaton and her unborn child all deserved better, as do their families.

They lived in the community of the member for Cumberland—Colchester, where he is today with the families. The past three years have been a nightmare for them. Today, let us remember their vibrant lives and pray for them.

[Fisheries and Oceans, March 29th, 2023]

Mr. Speaker, for the second year in a row, Liberals have expropriated $5 million a quota from elver harvesters to give to others without compensation. This is against two decades of DFO policy that a willing buyer needs a willing seller.

The minister, in committee this week, stated that the expropriation will come mainly from harvesters who have not used their quota, yet her department has said it will come equally from all licence holders. Who was right? Was it the minister, or her officials?

[Digital Charter Implementation Act, 2022, March 28th, 2023]

Madam Speaker, my question for the member is about the balance between personal information, privacy and business interests. It is something that this bill focuses a lot on.

The government talks about balancing them rather than the personal privacy of an individual being paramount. In particular, in subclause 18(3) of this bill, the government says that it is okay if it is in the “legitimate interest” of the company, even if it harms an individual. They do not need express consent to use the information.

I wonder what the member's views are on that, and whether or not the government is actually putting the emphasis on the individual or the big tech giants from the U.S.

[Digital Charter Implementation Act, 2022, March 28th, 2023]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to ask the hon. member a question about clause 5 of the bill. Clause 5 is the purpose section and is probably the most important section of any bill, as it sets out the reason for the legislation. That is the section where the government says an individual's rights are equal to a business's right to use people's personal information. That is the section, in my view, that needs to be amended to make a personal privacy right a fundamental right.

I wonder if the member could comment on why it so important to put a fundamental right in that section of the bill.

[Digital Charter Implementation Act, 2022, March 28th, 2023]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to ask my colleague about the overall theme of his speech, which was about the positioning of personal privacy versus business interests. In clause 5 of this bill, it basically says that the purpose of the bill is to balance interests. There has been a lot of discussion about the protection of personal privacy interests. However, clause 18 of the bill says that business interests can trump individual interests by saying that express consent is not needed for a company to do something with the information of an individual if the company thinks it is in the legitimate interests of the company.

I wonder what the member thinks about a government that says this protects personal privacy while giving all the power to the businesses to determine legitimate interest.

[Petitions, March 28th, 2023]

Mr. Speaker, I have the honour to present a petition from 72 Canadians with regard to the holding of a Canadian in prison in China.

Petitioners say that, although Canadians Michael Spavor and Michael Kovrig have recently been released after a thousand days of unjust detention in China, there are at least 115 Canadians still being detained in China, including Huseyin Celil, who has been detained for over 5,000 days.

Huseyin is a Canadian Uighur human rights advocate who was detained in China for supporting political and religious rights of Uighurs. He is a Canadian citizen who escaped China to Uzbekistan after being unjustly jailed for 48 days in 2001. On recognition from the United Nations as a refugee, he immigrated to Canada, obtained Canadian citizenship and gave up his Chinese citizenship.

The Chinese government has refused to accept his Canadian citizenship and has denied him access to lawyers, family and Canadian officials.

Petitioners demand the Chinese government recognize Huseyin's Canadian citizenship and provide him with consular and legal services according to international law, that the Canadian government formally state that the release of Huseyin from Chinese detainment and his return to Canada is a priority for the government of equal concern to the unjust detentions of the two Michaels, that it appoint a special envoy to work on securing his release, and that it seek assistance from the Biden administration and other allies around the world in obtaining his release.

[Questions Passed as Orders for Returns, March 22nd, 2023]

With regard to contracts entered into by the government where the vendor did not meet its contractual obligations, since January 1, 2019: what are the details of all such instances, including, for each contract, the (i) date, (ii) vendor, (iii) value, (iv) description of goods or services agreed to in the contract, (v) part of the contractual obligation which the vendor did not meet, (vi) corrective action taken, (vii) amount recovered by the government, if any?

[Questions Passed as Orders for Returns, March 22nd, 2023]

With regard to government contracts on professional and special services which were signed since January 1, 2016, and that have a value greater than one million dollars: what are the details of all such contracts, including (i) the contract start and end dates, (ii) the vendor, (iii), the value, (iv) the description of work completed, (v) whether the contract was sole-sourced or awarded through a competitive bidding process, (vi) the reason the work was unable to be completed using existing public service resources?

[Points of Order, March 8th, 2023]

Mr. Speaker, I will withdraw the comment.

[Digital Charter Implementation Act, 2022, March 7th, 2023]

Madam Speaker, I appreciate that the member has been participating in the debate today.

One of the questions that I have is, if this is really about protecting the personal privacy of individuals, why this bill has so many exemptions for businesses. It allows, in subsection 18(3), the legitimate interests of businesses to override the interests of an individual. In subsection 15(5), it allows businesses to use implied consent, not real consent, to override the interests of personal privacy.

Why is it that personal privacy is not part of the purpose of the bill as a fundamental right?