44th Parl. 1st Sess.
October 5, 2022 02:00PM
Pursuant to order made Thursday, June 23, the House will now proceed to the taking of the deferred recorded division on the motion at second reading stage of Bill C-230 under Private Members' Business.
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I declare the motion defeated.
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Pursuant to order made on Thursday, June 23, the House will now proceed to the taking of the deferred record division on the motion at second reading stage of Bill C-244 under Private Members' Business.
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I declare the motion carried.
Accordingly, the bill stands referred to the Standing Committee on Industry and Technology.
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- Oct/5/22 4:14:16 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, pursuant to Standing Order 34(1), I have the honour to present to the House, in both official languages, a report of the Canada-Europe Parliamentary Association respecting its participation at the meeting with the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, OECD, and the third part of the 2022 ordinary session of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, from June 20 to June 24, 2022.
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- Oct/5/22 4:15:14 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the petitioners for whom I am honoured to stand to present a petition are calling for gender parity, particularly in this place, the House of Commons. Since 50% of our population is female but only 30% of MPs are women, obviously we are not properly represented in the House. We are a long way from the top of the list of parliaments around the world that properly reflect the participation of women.
The sustainable development goals, which Canada has signed onto, specifically call for, in goal 5, gender parity and empowerment of all women and girls.
The petitioners have a novel approach. They think, and propose to the House of Commons for our consideration, that only parties that have recognized the importance of full gender parity and have gender parity reflected in their slate of candidates in the upcoming election should be able to receive official party status. By tying electoral success to the representation of women in this place, the petitioners believe we can finally confirm publicly, and make steps toward, reaching the goal of gender parity in the House of Commons by the year 2030.
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Mr. Speaker, I have a petition today from many Canadians who are concerned about the lack of conscience rights for medical professionals. They strongly support the aim of Bill C-230, so it is truly disappointing that the Liberal government does not respect the rights of many.
As I said in my speech on this matter last week, I truly believe that as a society we must find a way to give Canadians something without taking something away from others. The protection of conscience rights does just this by ensuring lawmakers can, in good conscience, give access to certain medical procedures without unjustly compromising the existing freedoms exercised by others.
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- Oct/5/22 4:17:28 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I too rise today to present a petition calling on the Parliament of Canada to enshrine in the Criminal Code the protection of conscience rights for physicians and other medical professionals.
Of course, Canadians are calling for protection because there are incidents of coercion or intimidation with regard to medical assistance in dying and making sure that those services are provided. Not every practitioner should be obliged or forced to make this recommendation, so Canadians are calling for their protection going forward.
The petitioners are asking that subsection 2(a) of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, which protects freedom of conscience, be respected in this regard.
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- Oct/5/22 4:18:16 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I have two petitions to present today.
The first is a petition calling on the Parliament of Canada to enshrine in the Criminal Code the protection of conscience rights for physicians and other medical professionals regarding coercion or intimidation over participating in medical assistance in dying.
The petitioners note that coercion, intimidation or other forms of pressure intended to force physicians and health care workers to become parties in assistance in dying is a violation of the fundamental freedom of conscience, and that subsection 2(a) of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms protects freedom of conscience.
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- Oct/5/22 4:19:19 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the second petition is from constituents who are concerned about the number of gophers or Richardson's ground squirrels that are devastating agricultural lands.
The petitioners are petitioning Health Canada to review the fact that it is banning the use of strychnine, especially while there is no suitable replacement for this important tool that farmers have for controlling the population of Richardson's ground squirrels. When it is used properly, strychnine is the most effective, efficient and economical means to deal with this particular issue.
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- Oct/5/22 4:19:26 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, it is difficult to follow gophers, but I rise today to present a petition on behalf of 90 Canadians calling on the Government of Canada to enshrine in the Criminal Code the protection of conscience rights, for physicians and other medical professionals, from coercion or intimidation to participate in euthanasia.
Petitioners note that coercion, intimidation and other forms of pressure intended to force physicians and health care workers to become parties in euthanasia are a violation of their fundamental freedom of conscience. They also note that section 2(a) of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms protects freedom of conscience.
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- Oct/5/22 4:20:07 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I wish to present two petitions today.
With the first petition the petitioners are expressing concern with the recent Supreme Court decision of Bissonnette, in which the court struck down consecutive parole ineligibility periods, a law passed by the previous Harper Conservative government to ensure that the worst of the worst killers never see the light of day. They note that the government has tools at its disposal and are calling on the government to use those tools, most specifically the invocation of the notwithstanding clause, to override what they consider to be an unjust decision.
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- Oct/5/22 4:21:33 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the second petition I wish to present is one in which petitioners are calling on the Parliament of Canada to enshrine in the Criminal Code the protection of conscience rights for physicians and other medical professionals who are being subjected to coercion and intimidation to participate in medical assistance in dying. Such a law would be consistent with protecting the fundamental rights and freedoms guaranteed to all Canadians under section 2(a) of the charter, that being freedom of conscience, which is being infringed upon. It is disappointing that just a few moments ago the government voted down a bill that would have protected those rights in law.
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Mr. Speaker, today I table a petition on behalf of constituents of mine from Courtenay. They are stating that over 30,000 Canadians have died since 2016 due to preventable drug poisoning resulting from a toxic drug supply. They say that those who died as a result of the preventable drug toxicity crisis were loved and valued citizens of this country. They were children, siblings, spouses, parents, family members, clients and friends. They state that our current drug policy has proven to be ineffective in the prevention of substance use and exacerbates its harmful effects. They say that the war on drugs has resulted in widespread stigma toward those who use controlled substances, that the war on drugs has allowed organized crime to be the sole provider of substances, and that problematic substance use is a health issue and is not resolved through criminalizing personal possession and consumption.
They call on the government to reform drug policy, to decriminalize simple possession and to provide a path for the expungement of conviction records for those convicted of simple possession. They ask the government, with urgency, to implement a health-based national strategy for providing access to a regulated and safer supply of drugs and to expand trauma-informed treatment, recovery and harm-reduction services and public education and awareness campaigns throughout Canada.
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Mr. Speaker, I have a petition in support of Bill C-230.
The petitioners, who come from across Canada, are concerned about doctors and health care professionals who might be coerced into engaging or supporting euthanasia against their conscience. They want these conscience rights and second options to be protected. The petitioners note that doctors deserve freedom of conscience and that the Canadian Medical Association has confirmed that conscience protection would not be a limit to their use. The petitioners also describe how, during the Special Joint Committee on Physician-Assisted Dying, witnesses stated that conscience rights should be protected by the government in the response to the Carter decision.
The petitioners are calling on Parliament to enshrine in the Criminal Code protection of conscience rights for physicians and health care workers from coercion or intimidation, so that they would not have to provide or refer for assisted suicide or euthanasia.
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- Oct/5/22 4:24:03 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I have only one petition to present today.
I am pleased to be presenting a petition in support of an initiative from my colleague that we just voted on. Unfortunately it was voted down, but I was pleased that all Conservative members stood strong in support of protecting conscience rights.
This petition recognizes conscience protections that exist in our charter and, at the same time, the reality that in certain provinces, substantively, conscience is not actually protected, in that physicians may be forced to refer for or provide services that go against their deeply held conscientious beliefs. Whether those beliefs have their origin in a faith tradition or they do not have their origin in a faith tradition, protection of conscience should be available for all, regardless of the origin or philosophical basis of those beliefs.
Petitioners want to call on Parliament to enshrine in the Criminal Code the protection of conscience for physicians and health care workers from coercion or intimidation to refer for or provide assisted suicide or euthanasia.
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- Oct/5/22 4:25:24 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I would ask that all questions be allowed to stand at this time.
The Speaker: Is that agreed?
Some hon. members: Agreed.
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- Oct/5/22 4:25:36 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I would ask that all notices of motions for the production of papers be allowed to stand at this time.
The Speaker: Is that agreed?
Some hon. members: Agreed.
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- Oct/5/22 4:25:55 p.m.
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The Chair has notice of a request for an emergency debate from the hon. member for Courtenay—Alberni.
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- Oct/5/22 4:25:55 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I have given notice, under Standing Order 52(2), seeking leave today, Wednesday, October 5, to request an emergency debate on the mental health and substance use crisis in Canada.
Yesterday, the Mental Health Commission of Canada and the Canadian Centre on Substance Use and Addiction released a joint report on the continuing impacts of the COVID–19 pandemic on the mental health of Canadians, which detailed some alarming findings.
According to polling conducted for the report, 35% of respondents reported moderate to severe mental health concerns. It also found that fewer than one in three people with current mental health concerns and fewer than one in four with problematic substance use are accessing services. The report identified the key barriers to accessing services: financial constraints, not having readily available help, not knowing how and where to get help, and long wait lists.
The report identified financial concerns as a top stressor during the pandemic and discussed the links of income and unemployment with mental health concerns. With the rapidly rising cost of living and speculation of an impending recession, there is a real risk that the mental health and substance use crisis will worsen in the months ahead.
We also know that medical professionals have been raising the alarm for months that our health care system is on the brink of collapse. As we head into colder months, when the burden on hospitals and health care workers is expected to increase, a worsening mental health and substance use crisis will only push our health care system closer to the edge.
The mental health crisis has been referred to as a “parallel pandemic”, but Parliament has not had a debate on how to respond. As such, I believe an urgent debate by parliamentarians is warranted on the steps that should be taken to support the mental health of Canadians and reduce the social and economic impacts of this crisis.
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