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Decentralized Democracy

House Hansard - 142

44th Parl. 1st Sess.
December 6, 2022 10:00AM
Context: House Hansard - 142 - Dec/6/22
Ms. Elizabeth May (Saanich—Gulf Islands, GP)
  • Dec/6/22 10:42:41 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, it is an honour to rise today to present this petition. From its very inception, Canada's electoral system has always been a first-past-the-post system. The petitioners point out that this first past the post system leads to distortions. The popular vote is not represented. In these seats in the chamber, we are not here in the proportions for which Canadians have voted. The petitioners call on the government to move toward a system of proportional representation, as recommended by the Special Committee on Electoral Reform in 2016, to bring credible representation to Canadians.
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Mrs. Anna Roberts (King—Vaughan, CPC)
  • Dec/6/22 10:43:36 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, I rise today to present a petition about our children. Children are our future and the killing of children is always wrong. Without our children, we have no future. I stand here on behalf of my constituents today to demand that we stop the killing of our children. It is always wrong.
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Mr. Kevin Lamoureux (Parliamentary Secretary to the Leader of the Government in the House of Commons, Lib.)
  • Dec/6/22 10:44:15 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, I ask that all questions be allowed to stand.
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The Assistant Deputy Speaker (Mrs. Alexandra Mendès)
  • Dec/6/22 10:44:21 a.m.
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Is that agreed? Some hon. members: Agreed.
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Hon. Mark Holland (Leader of the Government in the House of Commons, Lib.)
  • Dec/6/22 10:44:29 a.m.
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  • Re: Bill C-32 
Madam Speaker, I move: That in relation to Bill C-32, An Act to implement certain provisions of the fall economic statement tabled in Parliament on November 3, 2022 and certain provisions of the budget tabled in Parliament on April 7, 2022, not more than one further sitting day shall be allotted to the consideration of the report stage and not more than one sitting day shall be allotted to the consideration of the third reading stage of the said bill; and That fifteen minutes before the expiry of the time provided for Government Orders on the day allotted to the consideration at report stage and on the day allotted to the consideration at the third reading stage of the said bill, any proceedings before the House shall be interrupted, if required for the purpose of this order, and in turn every question necessary for the disposal of the stage of the bill then under consideration shall be put forthwith and successively without further debate or amendment.
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The Assistant Deputy Speaker (Mrs. Alexandra Mendès)
  • Dec/6/22 10:45:59 a.m.
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Pursuant to Standing Order 67(1), there will now be a 30-minute question period. I invite hon. members who wish to ask questions to rise in their places or use the “raise hand” function so the Chair has some idea of the number of members who wish to participate in the question period. The hon. member for Louis‑Saint‑Laurent.
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Mr. Gérard Deltell (Louis-Saint-Laurent, CPC)
  • Dec/6/22 10:47:42 a.m.
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  • Re: Bill C-32 
Madam Speaker, unfortunately, we must once again rise in the House to condemn the fact that the government is using a gag order to get its bills passed. This type of approach should be used only in extreme situations and as a last recourse. Gag orders should be used parsimoniously, but they have now become the government’s modus operandi. Unfortunately, we must acknowledge that, in the past seven years, it has used closure far too often, and that is an attack on democracy. We do not need gag orders, especially since this is a minority government. We should keep in mind that the government received fewer votes than the official opposition. We should keep in mind that we must all work together for the good of Canadians. We should keep in mind that we are 338 duly elected representatives and that we have the right to express our opinion about every bill introduced by the government. The government grants the right to speak to the same few individuals—with whom I always enjoy debating, incidentally. These few people have virtually a monopoly on the right to speak, but that is not how we work in the official opposition. Why is the government once again imposing closure on a bill that affects every Canadian’s wallet?
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Hon. Randy Boissonnault (Minister of Tourism and Associate Minister of Finance, Lib.)
  • Dec/6/22 10:48:52 a.m.
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  • Re: Bill C-32 
Madam Speaker, I have enormous respect for my hon. colleague. Before answering his question, I would like to mention that this is a sad day that marks a tragedy motivated by hate and misogyny. The École Polytechnique massacre will always be seared into our collective memory. My heart and my thoughts go out to the families of the victims who died 33 years ago, as well as to the families of all women who suffered a violent death. The minister and all of my colleagues in the House have my full support in the fight against misogyny. We need to put an end to violence against women and against those who identify as women. We know that times are hard for Canadians, and Bill C-32 will provide them with essential support. We will eliminate interest on student loans, help families purchase their first home and reduce income tax for growing small and medium-size businesses. These are concrete measures that form the basis of our bill. Rather than supporting Canadians who need the measures set out in Bill C-32, the Conservatives continue to vote against the bill and are now using delay tactics. I understand that there can be some back and forth in the House, but when the issue is the title of the bill, enough is enough, and we should move on to a vote.
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Mr. Alain Therrien (La Prairie, BQ)
  • Dec/6/22 10:50:35 a.m.
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  • Re: Bill C-32 
Madam Speaker, when I was a child, there were stories on TV. They all used to end with “they got married and had many children”. The NDP and the Liberals got married and had many closure motions. They impose closure on themselves. They impose closure on the House of Commons. We have never seen an opposition party so eager to keep quiet. Sometimes, when we hear them talk, we can understand them. Seriously, the government has negotiated 20 closure motions with the NDP. There was a motion that said the government could extend sittings until midnight up to June 23, if it so desired. Let us look at the legislative agenda: Today we are studying Bill C-32; tomorrow, Bill C-32; Thursday, Bill C-32; Friday, Bill C-32. That is what is on the agenda. They can extend the sittings until midnight, but that is not enough for them. They are in a hurry. Their bill is urgent. What do they do? They decide. My colleague, the Minister of Tourism, said that they are fed up. I would like to remind them that they are in Parliament. This is a democracy. I know that the Prime Minister once said he admired China and China’s dictatorship, but at some point he will have to learn to listen to the opposition, because the opposition parties often have important and relevant things to say. It might inspire them not to introduce bills like Bill C-31. That is why the NDP is on its knees licking the Liberals’ shoes; it is all for Bill C-31. I have been a member of the House for 10 years, and I have never seen such a rotten bill. It is not me saying that, it is Mario Dumont, when he wrote about dental insurance and Bill C-31 in his column. The bill was so badly put together that they must have been hanging their heads in shame as they drafted it. That is why the NDP supported 20 gag orders. It is a little embarrassing. My question is for the NDP. Are members of the NDP not ashamed of having supported 20 gag orders and not saying anything?
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Hon. Randy Boissonnault
  • Dec/6/22 10:52:50 a.m.
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  • Re: Bill C-32 
Madam Speaker, I have great respect for my colleague from La Prairie, and I know that— Mr. Alexandre Boulerice: That would be nice— Mr. Alain Therrien: Clown.
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The Assistant Deputy Speaker (Mrs. Alexandra Mendès)
  • Dec/6/22 10:52:59 a.m.
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Order. Can we please hear the minister's response?
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Hon. Randy Boissonnault
  • Dec/6/22 10:53:07 a.m.
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  • Re: Bill C-32 
Madam Speaker, in response to the question from the member for La Prairie, this is not a question of muzzling the House. It is a matter of delivering—
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The Assistant Deputy Speaker (Mrs. Alexandra Mendès)
  • Dec/6/22 10:53:15 a.m.
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The hon. member for Rosemont—La Petite-Patrie is rising on a point of order.
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Mr. Alexandre Boulerice
  • Dec/6/22 10:53:16 a.m.
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  • Re: Bill C-32 
Madam Speaker, it is unfortunate to hear such language in the House, but the member for La Prairie used unparliamentary and insulting language as a personal attack against me. I would very much like the member for La Prairie to apologize to the House.
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The Assistant Deputy Speaker (Mrs. Alexandra Mendès)
  • Dec/6/22 10:53:36 a.m.
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Noted.
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Hon. Randy Boissonnault
  • Dec/6/22 10:53:39 a.m.
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  • Re: Bill C-32 
Madam Speaker, the support measures in Bill C-32 will help Quebeckers and Canadians across the country. It is time that the government rolled out these support measures. We need to act and vote, because Canadians are counting on the measures in Bill C-32. These measures include strengthening our economy and positioning ourselves as the G7 country with the lowest deficit. Now is the time to act. That is why we are here today. We want to vote.
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Ms. Elizabeth May (Saanich—Gulf Islands, GP)
  • Dec/6/22 10:54:19 a.m.
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  • Re: Bill C-32 
Madam Speaker, it will not surprise anyone here to know that I cannot support a motion to have time allocation even on a bill on which I plan to vote yes. We are far too often, almost 100% of the time, falling into the practice of time allocating bills. The New Democrats and the Liberals decried it, just as much as much as I did, when it was happening to us under the previous Harper government. Now that it is happening to people we are prepared to support in general on bills sometimes, we somehow think it does not matter to have full debate in this place. Could we please revisit the traditions of this place to ensure time is not used in debate by members who read a speech aloud? If we were not reading speeches, we would have far fewer speakers. Returning to our rules in all things will help the House work better and help House leaders organize the work. I sympathize with the reasons, but we now seem to use time allocation every time. Two wrongs do not make a right.
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Hon. Randy Boissonnault
  • Dec/6/22 10:55:44 a.m.
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  • Re: Bill C-32 
Madam Speaker, I too would like to see this place be a place of fulsome and focused debate, but we are talking about an objection by the Conservatives, who are using the dilatory tactic of opposing the short title of the bill. That is like having a new medicine ready to go out to people and stopping production because they do not like the name of the medicine. It is absurd. We are talking about 27 hours of debate, 140 interventions and $1 billion that needs to get to Atlantic Canadians to help them recover from Fiona, on top of the $300 million already put into the system for Atlantic Canadians. I am for fulsome debate, but not for dilatory tactics. Canadians need these supports. That is why we need to get to a vote.
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Mr. Mark Gerretsen (Parliamentary Secretary to the Leader of the Government in the House of Commons (Senate), Lib.)
  • Dec/6/22 10:56:41 a.m.
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  • Re: Bill C-32 
Madam Speaker, I actually emphasize with the comments made by the leader of the Green Party, but the reality is that I am old enough to remember the last fall economic statement, which the Conservatives would not let us vote on until well into the spring, almost the summer of this year. It was the fall economic statement of 2021 that we could not get to vote on until almost the end of the session last spring. The reality is that we are seeing game after game being played by the Conservatives, and it is all being done at the expense not of members of the House who are sitting here having to debate them, but of those who will benefit the most, those who are struggling the most right now and who will benefit from these supports that will roll out. I am wondering if the minister could comment on who is really suffering the most due to the delay tactics that are being caused by the Conservatives.
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Hon. Randy Boissonnault
  • Dec/6/22 10:57:43 a.m.
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  • Re: Bill C-32 
Madam Speaker, quite frankly there are small businesses in the member's riding, in my riding and in the ridings of the Conservatives, the Bloc, the Greens and the New Democrats that want to keep growing and want to make sure they are going to get some tax relief when they do. There are families looking forward to saving money so they can put it into a new savings account for their first home, but they cannot do that unless we vote and pass this law on to the next stage, unless we get to vote on Bill C-32. We are talking about making sure that hydrogen investments, clean-tech investments and the good labour agreements we need to build the economy for the future get passed into law. We are talking about billions of dollars of investment into our country. That is what is at stake. That is why we need to get to a vote.
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