44th Parl. 1st Sess.
February 10, 2023 10:00AM
- Feb/10/23 12:05:52 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, the minister is telling the people of Cornwall that there is absolutely no problem when it comes to his failed, broken system in this processing centre. Do not take my word for it; take the words of the mayor of Cornwall, who said this week, “The IRCC is not on site, they’re not here. They’re in Ottawa managing this file from an arm’s-length distance…to make decisions about it without consulting with us or hearing our side, that’s not effective”. I could not agree more.
For the minister to paint such a rosy picture, when there is so much chaos happening in Cornwall because of his poor leadership, is tone deaf and out of touch. When will he fix the problem—
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- Feb/10/23 12:06:29 p.m.
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The hon. Minister of Immigration.
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- Feb/10/23 12:06:31 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I am beginning to feel tired of the way the Conservatives begin their questions by talking down Canada. I am proud to be from this country. There is not a country I would rather call home. Are there challenges with communities that are welcoming asylum seekers right now? Absolutely there are. We have worked with members of the community in Cornwall in the past, and we will work with them in the future. The reality is that difficult decisions come across governments' desks, and it depends on how governments deal with them.
We will continue to support communities that are trying to do their best to deal with an influx of people who are seeking a safe haven in this country. It is a proud tradition in Canada that we support some of the world's most vulnerable. We will not fail in our duties as the Conservatives would have us do.
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- Feb/10/23 12:07:13 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, Canopy Growth, which is the largest private-sector employer in my riding, announced it is laying off half of its workforce. This is why: Canada's legal cannabis sector functions under crushing federal taxes and insanely high regulatory compliance costs. The result is that for consumers, legal cannabis costs about twice the price of illegal product. The government has made it impossible for legal producers to be competitive by closing this price gap.
Having created this problem and a robust criminal sector while the legal sector languishes, how will the Liberals fix their own problem?
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- Feb/10/23 12:07:54 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, of course many industries are experiencing supply chain disruptions. However, I want the member to know that we recognize the challenges and opportunities facing Canada's legal cannabis industry, and we continue to engage with stakeholders on a regular basis.
We also understand that this news brings uncertainty for employees. Budget 2022 committed to launching a new cannabis strategy table that will support dialogue with businesses and stakeholders in the sector. This will provide an opportunity for the government to hear from industry leaders and to identify ways we can work together to grow that sector in Canada.
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- Feb/10/23 12:08:31 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, connection to community is a critical element of aging well and aging with dignity, but a shortage of long-term care facilities on reserves leaves many people socially isolated and socially disconnected.
Could the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Indigenous Services update the House on what the government is doing to support our indigenous elders in need of long-term care?
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- Feb/10/23 12:08:58 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, Chief Maracle of the Mohawks of the Bay of Quinte said it best, “the strength of a nation is [best] determined by how...[we]...care [for our] most vulnerable”.
Two weeks ago, along with Chief Maracle, I announced just over $30 million for the construction of a new elder care home in their community. It is an example of working together with indigenous communities to ensure indigenous elders are able to age in their communities and be surrounded by their language, culture and tradition.
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- Feb/10/23 12:09:31 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, people on Vancouver Island have been left wondering whether the government deems public rail worth saving. A deadline was set by the B.C. Court of Appeal for the government to decide if the island rail corridor should continue to exist. That deadline is next month, and the government has not conducted consultation with the first nations whose territories the rail line runs through. Being unable to keep trains running on time is one thing, but sitting by while infrastructure falls into disrepair is another.
Why have the Liberals been asleep at the switch, and why have they failed to conduct appropriate consultation?
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- Feb/10/23 12:10:10 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, the hon. member on the opposite side is raising a very important issue. Canadians from coast to coast to coast deserve to have reliable infrastructure and to be able to commute from anywhere they live across this beautiful country. I look forward to working with him across the aisle to make sure that Canadians always receive the services that they deserve and need.
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Madam Speaker, after denying the decline of French in Canada, the Liberal member for Saint-Laurent doubled down by making misleading and unacceptable comments about Bill C-13 at the Standing Committee on Official Languages.
She is going against her own minister for the sole purpose of derailing this long-awaited bill that will better protect the French language across the country. Out of respect for all francophones, will the Prime Minister or the minister show some leadership and ask the member for Saint-Laurent to withdraw her remarks and provide an official apology in the House?
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Madam Speaker, I thank my colleague for his question, but what he said is not true. We are the first government to recognize the decline of French across the country and throughout Quebec. That is why it is important that we continue to move forward with this ambitious bill, which has teeth and will make a difference. It will give us the tools to address the decline of French across the country.
Once again, we call on all members of the House to work together to ensure that Bill C-13 is passed as soon as possible. This is important for minority communities across the country.
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- Feb/10/23 12:12:16 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I rise on a point of order concerning decorum in the House. Like many members, you may have noticed a new behaviour that has crept into the House in the 44th Parliament that was previously not present to my notice.
Madam Speaker, as you well know, members may rise to their feet to speak in the House when you recognize them and, conversely, members who have not been recognized should remain in their seat. Of course, the Speaker recognizes only one speaker at a time, and therefore only one member should be standing at a time.
Lately, mostly during question period but not only during question period, some members, when they are asking multiple questions in a row, remain standing while the member to whom they have posed their questions has been recognized by the Speaker and is standing to answer the question. In other words, two members are standing at the same time, when only one has been recognized. At a minimum, this new behaviour is tantamount to interrupting the recognized speaker, but at worst, it has, at times, risen to the level of attempting to intimidate the recognized speaker.
Another increasingly common variant of this behaviour is when a member, understandably eager to ask their question or to share their S.O. 31, is rising to their feet far too early, sometimes 30 to 60 seconds before being recognized to do so. This, too, is tantamount to interrupting the recognized member.
This is a question of decorum in the House, as remaining standing while another member has been recognized is plainly disrespectful to the recognized member. I am asking for a ruling on the permissibility of two members standing while only one has been recognized and for appropriate direction to all members to rise to their feet only when recognized by the Speaker.
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- Feb/10/23 12:13:45 p.m.
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This will be taken under advisement, but it is something that has been seen on both sides of the House.
The hon. member for New Westminster—Burnaby is rising on a point of order.
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- Feb/10/23 12:13:57 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, this is relatively on the same point of order, although I would suggest that a member rising early prior to their statement or prior to their question is reasonable. I do believe, and this applies to all parties, that if a caucus is being disruptive, you, Madam Speaker, have the right to dock the question in question period. In fact, that applies to all caucuses.
Second, I would suggest that you remind all parties that during question period, points of order are only allowed on a technical basis, such as problems with interpretation, and not procedurally. If you could remind all members, that would be welcomed.
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- Feb/10/23 12:14:42 p.m.
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Nobody raised a point of order during this question period, and this matter will be taken under advisement.
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- Feb/10/23 12:15:01 p.m.
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It is my duty to lay upon the table, pursuant to subsection 21(1) of the Electoral Boundaries Readjustment Act, a certified copy of the report of the Federal Electoral Boundaries Commission for the Province of Ontario.
Pursuant to Standing Order 32(5), this report is deemed permanently referred to the Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs.
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moved for leave to introduce Bill C-314, An Act to amend the Criminal Code (medical assistance in dying).
He said: Madam Speaker, I am pleased to table today the mental health protection act. As members know, medically assisted suicide was legalized in Canada in 2016. Under Bill C-14, medical assistance was expressly limited to capable adults who have an irremediable disease that causes enduring and intolerable suffering that cannot be alleviated, and when their natural death is reasonably foreseeable.
At the time, the government and its supportive stakeholders assured Canadians that this would not lead to a slippery slope on which the scope of MAID would be continually be expanded to include other Canadians. Not surprisingly, in the intervening seven years, the government has expanded the scope of MAID by de facto extending its scope to those who are not dying, but who are living with disabilities.
More recently, the government expanded MAID to include mentally ill persons and also signalled its intention to extend this right to mature minor children. Clearly, we are on the slippery slope many of us had warned about, and Canadians have a right to ask who is next. Will it be the drug addicted, the indigent, the homeless, or needy veterans? What about willing seniors who are tired of life? Where does it end?
My bill would reverse this momentum and repeal the government's decision to extend MAID to the mentally ill. The evidence from mental health experts is very clear. There is no consensus in Canada that the mentally ill should be covered by Canada's medically assisted death regime. Issues of irremediability, competency and suicidality are not anywhere close enough to being resolved to justify this major policy shift in favour of death.
Let me be clear: My bill does not, in any way, reverse the rest of Canada's MAID regime. Instead, it arrests Canada's slide down the slippery slope of assisted suicide, which so many of us had predicted would happen. I would respectfully ask that all of my parliamentary colleagues give thoughtful consideration to my bill, and join me in protecting and supporting the most vulnerable in our society.
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- Feb/10/23 12:19:30 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, on behalf of my constituents, I am tabling a petition on the immigration backlog. Petitioners are reminding the government that the backlog is over two million applications. They are specifically drawing the attention of the Government of Canada to seven immigration programs. I will not read them all, but I will draw members to some that are effecting my riding specifically.
The service standard for international experience Canada class was 56 service days. Only 24% of applications met that standard. For the skilled trades program applications via express entry, at the time of the petition, 80% of those were supposed to be processed in 180 days. Only 8% overall met that standard. The third I will mention is the new parent and grandparent super visa applications have an 80% goal of meeting the service standard in 112 days, but only 41% of them met that standard.
The petitioners are asking that the Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship update the immigration system to pave the way for efficient and streamlined processes to address Canada's ongoing needs.
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- Feb/10/23 12:20:44 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I am pleased to present a petition on behalf of folks across the Prairies, particularly in Alberta, who have had bad dealings with oil companies. Oil companies have abandoned their contaminated assets and have left vulnerable families, like the Jessa family in my home province of Alberta, with the bill. The companies are not cleaning it up. This petition calls for companies to be held accountable, but is also calling on the government to support those families in ensuring that the assets are cleaned up.
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- Feb/10/23 12:21:15 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I rise to present a petition on behalf of the good people of Winnipegosis, who are forced to drive 40 minutes to pick up their mail after Canada Post closed its local post office multiple times. These rural residents are feeling punished for simply living in rural Canada. These valid concerns are amplified for seniors, persons with disabilities and those who do not have the ability to travel.
They are calling on the Liberal government to provide a detailed explanation of why this essential service was closed, despite anticipated staffing shortages. They are calling on the government to work with Canada Post and the Minister of Rural Economic Development to ensure that these temporary post office closures in rural areas are not normalized. I support the people of Winnipegosis.
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