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Hon. Chrystia Freeland (Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance, Lib.)

Nov/24/21 3:26:24 p.m.
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Re: Bill C-2

moved for leave to introduce Bill C-2, An Act to provide further support in response to COVID-19.

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All Topics

Nov/24/21 3:26:24 p.m.
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Following my election as Speaker, I have consulted with the leaders of the recognized parties regarding nominations of the other Chair occupants. I am now prepared to propose for ratification of the House a candidate for the position of Deputy Speaker and Chair of Committees of the Whole. Pursuant to Standing Order 7, I propose Mr. d'Entremont for the position of Deputy Speaker and Chair of Committees of the Whole. The motion is deemed moved and seconded. Is it the pleasure of the House to adopt the motion? Some hon. members: Agreed.

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The Speaker

Nov/24/21 3:26:52 p.m.
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I am now prepared to propose for ratification of the House a candidate for the position of Assistant Deputy Speaker and Deputy Chair of Committees of the Whole. Pursuant to Standing Order 8, I propose Mrs. Hughes for the position of Assistant Deputy Speaker and Deputy Chair of Committees of the Whole. The motion is deemed moved and seconded. Is it the pleasure of the House to adopt the motion? Some hon. members: Agreed.

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Mr. Greg McLean (Calgary Centre, CPC)

Nov/24/21 3:29:17 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, it is my pleasure to be presenting a petition today drawing the attention of the House of Commons to the alarming bouts of unrest and violence engulfing the Tigray Region of Ethiopia. The petitioners indicate that this conflict has led to egregious human rights abuses and a humanitarian crisis. The petitioners call upon the Government of Canada to take action and to engage directly and consistently with the Ethiopian and Eritrean governments on this conflict.

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Mr. Garnett Genuis (Sherwood Park—Fort Saskatchewan, CPC)

Nov/24/21 3:29:49 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I congratulate you on your election, and it is great to be back. I am presenting a petition regarding the dire situation of minority communities in Afghanistan. The petitioners call on the government to note the situation of the Sikh, Hindu, Hazara, Christian and other minority communities whose position was precarious prior to the Taliban takeover and is much worse now. This petition was gathered prior to the Taliban takeover and calls on the government to create a special program to help vulnerable minorities receive direct sponsorship to come to Canada. Conservatives have been calling for this special program for over six years and Liberals have failed to act. Rather than focus on the crisis in Afghanistan, the government chose to call an unnecessary election on the very day that Kabul fell, putting its own interests ahead of its responsibility to lead. The petitioners want to see real leadership by Canada in defence of justice and human rights, standing up for the most vulnerable in Afghanistan and around the world.

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Mr. Alex Ruff (Bruce—Grey—Owen Sound, CPC)

Nov/24/21 3:30:53 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I present a petition today on behalf of Canadians who are concerned about the past and present atrocities suffered by the Hazara community within Afghanistan. The petitioners call on the Government of Canada to recognize the genocide of the Hazara people, to designate September 25 as a Hazara genocide memorial day, to ensure that all Canadian aid to Afghanistan continues to contribute to the peace and security of the region, and to fight for the rights of all Afghan minorities, including Hazaras, Christians, Sikhs and Hindus. The petitioners want to see real leadership by Canada to defend justice and human rights, to stand up with the Hazara community and other minority communities in Afghanistan, and to recognize the genocide suffered by the Hazara people.

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Ms. Elizabeth May (Saanich—Gulf Islands, GP)

Nov/24/21 3:31:43 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I am honoured to present a petition regarding the Trans Mountain pipeline. It is of critical concern to the petitioners that the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion not take place. They point out that a diluted bitumen spill would devastate local ecosystems and economies throughout British Columbia, but particularly in the coastal zone and anywhere along the 800 water bodies, tributaries and rivers the pipeline would cross. The petitioners call on the government to cancel any plans to put public money into, or to approve any expansion of, the Trans Mountain pipeline.

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Mr. Arnold Viersen (Peace River—Westlock, CPC)

Nov/24/21 3:32:37 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, congratulations and welcome back. I rise to present this petition on behalf of my constituents who live in the towns of Fox Creek and Swan Hills. These two towns are in northern Alberta, and they have some of the highest elevations in Canada. The petitioners note that there are extended travel times, and that increased heating costs and other expenses make life more expensive in these communities. As such, these petitioners are asking to be moved from the prescribed intermediate zone in Alberta, to the northern living allowance zone so that they can get the northern residents deduction. The petitioners are calling on the government to include Fox Creek and Swan Hills as communities within the prescribed intermediate zone, allowing the residents of these communities to claim these deductions.

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Mr. Arnold Viersen (Peace River—Westlock, CPC)

Nov/24/21 3:34:05 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the next petition I have is from Canadians across the country. The petitioners are concerned about the accessibility of violent and degrading sexually explicit material online and its impacts on public health, especially for women and girls. The petitioners recognize that we cannot say we believe in preventing sexual violence if we continue to allow companies like Pornhub to freely expose our children to violent and explicit material every day. The petitioners note that the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child requires Canada to develop the means to protect children from forms of media that are injurious to their well-being. As such, the petitioners are calling on the House of Commons to require meaningful age verification.

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Mr. Rick Perkins (South Shore—St. Margarets, CPC)

Nov/24/21 3:34:13 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I have the honour to present two petitions from Canadians who are concerned about the past and present atrocities suffered by the Hazara community in Afghanistan. Between 1891 and 1893, a genocidal campaign was waged against this ethnic community. Then, in 1998, thousands of men, women and children were slaughtered during the first reign of the Taliban. Since the fall of the regime, the Hazaras were often targets of violence and harassment, and things have obviously dramatically worsened. The petition calls on the government to recognize the genocide of the Hazara people, designate September 25 as a Hazara genocide memorial day, ensure that all Canadian aid to Afghanistan contributes to the peace and security of the region, and fight for the rights of all Afghan minorities, including Hazaras, Christians, Sikhs and Hindus. The petitioners want to see leadership by Canada in defence of justice and human rights, standing with the Hazara community and other minority communities in Afghanistan and recognizing the genocide suffered by the Hazara people.

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The Speaker

Nov/24/21 3:35:56 p.m.
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I just want to remind hon. members, when presenting a petition, to be as concise and short as possible and get their point across. I think this will work out best because we only have so much time, and if we use up the time, someone else does not get the chance to present theirs. I will not call the rubric Questions on the Order Paper because no questions are printed in today's Order Paper. The questions that have been submitted in the past few days now appear on the Notice Paper and will appear in tomorrow's Order Paper.

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Presentation of petitions

The Speaker

Nov/24/21 3:36:49 p.m.
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I have a request for an emergency debate from the hon. member for Saanich—Gulf Islands.

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Ms. Elizabeth May (Saanich—Gulf Islands, GP)

Nov/24/21 3:36:49 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I believe that this request for an emergency debate is widely supported on all sides of the House. I am requesting an emergency debate on the dire impacts of the climate emergency, particularly as they are now affecting my home province of British Columbia. This started with the heat dome in the latter part of June and early July, when nearly 600 people died within four days. We went through a summer of wildfires and we now have this atmospheric river, which has decimated our infrastructure and has caused death, destruction and the loss of homes and farms, and it continues. We see the impacts now as well in the loss of infrastructure in Newfoundland and Labrador. This is very timely, and it is entirely within the rubric of our rules for emergency debate. The situation is not chronic; it is a gathering emergency, and all of us on all sides of the House from every party would appreciate a ruling that allows us to discuss, debate and, one hopes, with a spirit of collaboration and cross-party alliance, make common cause with the people of British Columbia, the first nations and the people across this country suffering in the climate emergency.

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Mr. Richard Cannings (South Okanagan—West Kootenay, NDP)

Nov/24/21 3:38:09 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I would like to add my voice in support of the call for an emergency debate on the flooding situation in British Columbia, a critical situation. In my time here in the House, we have had emergency debates on pipeline closures, on rail blockages and on climate action. This issue brings all of that together. A one-day rain event in British Columbia has caused untold hardship for British Columbians, but everyone in Canada has been affected by this event. I would therefore like to add my support to the call for an emergency debate.

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Hon. Ed Fast (Abbotsford, CPC)

Nov/24/21 3:38:51 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, let me begin by congratulating you on your re-election as Speaker. I believe the outcome was well deserved, and I look forward to working with you in this next Parliament. My request, which is more specific than you have heard from my colleagues, has to do with the rain event that happened this past week in British Columbia, the atmospheric river event, and all of the destruction and mayhem it created across our province. I highlight that this massive flooding event affected communities throughout the Fraser Valley, the Fraser Canyon and the interior of British Columbia. At least four people have lost their lives. Dikes have been breached, major rail lines and highways have been badly damaged and a major evacuation of people and livestock has taken place. Communities in Merritt and Princeton have been fully evacuated. We can imagine the displacement and anguish this has caused for thousands of families. The human and economic consequences are and will be enormous. This is arguably the worst natural disaster in the history of our country, and obviously the federal government has a significant role to play in delivering emergency support to the flood-ravaged areas and in preparing a long-term funded plan to invest in critical infrastructure to prevent such a disaster from reoccurring. Therefore, I would like to request an emergency debate to discuss how we can work across party lines. I sense from the comments by my colleagues in the other parties that there is a willingness to move forward with an emergency debate on this. However, it should be focused expressly on the event that has just taken place this past week. Thank you, Mr. Speaker, for your consideration of my request.

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Hon. Mark Holland (Leader of the Government in the House of Commons, Lib.)

Nov/24/21 3:40:54 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I want to indicate the government's full support for an emergency debate on the devastating situation that is unfolding in British Columbia.

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The Speaker

Nov/24/21 3:41:07 p.m.
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I have two other requests, but before going on to the two other requests, I will say that I thank the hon. members for their interventions and am prepared to grant an emergency debate concerning the flooding in British Columbia. This debate will be held later today at the ordinary hour of daily adjournment. We will now go to the hon. member for Vancouver East.

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Ms. Jenny Kwan (Vancouver East, NDP)

Nov/24/21 3:41:49 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, in addition to the emergency debate about what is going on in British Columbia with the climate crisis, I would like to request that you consider granting an emergency debate on the humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan. As we know, the election was called on August 15, the very day on which the Afghanistan government collapsed. As a result, many people have been put at risk under the Taliban regime. We know that this is an urgent situation that has not dissipated since August. Many Afghans helped Canadians during the time when our military was abroad. They were there to support them, yet they have been left behind. Their loved ones have been left behind too. We also know that there are Canadians who have sponsored spouses and children to come to Canada and processing has been delayed. They have not been able to bring their loved ones to Canada. This is urgent, and we need to have this debate to talk about the government's response in the face of Afghanistan's humanitarian crisis and what other action must be taken to save lives. I hope that you will grant this request, Mr. Speaker.

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The Speaker

Nov/24/21 3:43:11 p.m.
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I thank the hon. member for Vancouver East for her intervention; however, I am not satisfied that her request meets the requirements of the Standing Orders at this time. We will now go to the hon. member for Elmwood—Transcona.

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Mr. Daniel Blaikie (Elmwood—Transcona, NDP)

Nov/24/21 3:43:26 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, it is a pleasure to rise for the first time in this Parliament. I want to thank the voters of Elmwood—Transcona who saw fit to return me here to represent them. Under Standing Order 52, I want to request an emergency debate on a crisis that is developing for tens of thousands of Canada's most vulnerable seniors who have seen their guaranteed income supplement clawed back as a result of collecting pandemic benefits last year. What does this mean for those seniors? We have heard so many heart-wrenching stories from across the country of seniors who simply cannot make ends meet. They are not getting the pandemic benefits anymore. They already lived on a shoestring budget, and having their GIS benefit cut means they cannot make rent. We are hearing from folks who are being evicted. They are being escorted out of their apartments and do not know where to go. Putting all the good moral arguments for supporting our most vulnerable seniors aside, we know that it will be more expensive to serve those seniors on the street than it would be to maintain them in their homes. I believe if more members here understood this better, we could get the government to act on it. We did raise this at the earliest opportunity here in the House, but we also raised it at the earliest opportunity outside the House, at the beginning of August. We raised it in the election. We raised it subsequently in letters, phone calls and conversations with ministers in the government. Today is our first opportunity to raise it in the House, and we believe it would be appropriate to have an emergency debate, as these seniors are being taken out of their homes, so that we can stop this as soon as possible and help those who have already been evicted come back home.

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