Mr. Speaker, I rise on a point of order. As you know, presenting petitions is about presenting them based on what is written in the petitions. For a member to follow up the presentation by saying he or she fully supports it is definitely against the rules.

In the interest of time, I will take that under advisement. I will look at it and come back with the rule that we are supposed to be following when it comes to the presenting of petitions.

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to table today a petition signed by many concerned Canadians about immigration from Hong Kong. The petitioners note the various circumstances that have unfortunately contributed to the decline of the rule of law in Hong Kong, as well as threats to previous promises that had been made about democracy. The petitioners describe some of those events. They also raise concerns about the impact on the ability of those involved in the democracy movement to come to Canada. The petitioners believe rightly that those who are involved in the democracy movement and have had unjust charges applied to them as a result of their democracy advocacy and involvement in protests should not be prevented from coming to Canada on that basis. There have been various prominent cases of well-known Hong Kongers like Phin Lao and Ray Wong who have experienced challenges coming to Canada as a result of an expectation that they present to police a certificate. There are many other cases from those who are not able to share their names. The petitioners of various backgrounds stand in solidarity with Hong Kongers and others who are concerned about how Canadian immigration needs to not discriminate against those who have been involved in the democracy movement. The petitioners call on the Government of Canada to recognize the politicization of the judiciary in Hong Kong and its impact on the legitimacy and validity of criminal convictions, to affirm its commitment to render all national security law charges and convictions irrelevant and invalid in relation to inadmissibility provisions, to create a mechanism by which Hong Kong people with pro-democracy-related convictions may provide an explanation for such convictions on the basis of which government officials can grant exemptions to Hong Kong people who would otherwise be deemed admissible and to work with other allies, such as the U.K., the U.S., France, Australia and New Zealand, to waive criminal inadmissibility of Hong Kong people who have been convicted for political purposes and who otherwise do not have a criminal record.

Mr. Speaker, the next petition that I am tabling expresses the opinion of petitioners that strong medical evidence exists that access to psychedelic-assisted therapy can effectively treat existential suffering in dying, depression, anxiety, addiction, PTSD and other mental health conditions and improve quality of life. The petitioners believe that psilocybin required for psilocybin-assisted therapy is currently only available in clinical trials and by special individual permission from Health Canada, despite its low potential for harm. Further, the petitioners argue that it is paradoxical and unethical to allow MAID in these cases while preventing the same physicians from using this kind of psychedelic-assisted therapy for those in this situation. The petitioners call on the government to allow Canadians to have timely, unrestricted access to therapeutic psilocybin in any form, as needed, to alleviate their suffering via section 56 exemptions.

Mr. Speaker, the next petition that I am tabling is with regard to the persecution of Falun Gong practitioners in the People's Republic of China. The petitioners highlight the history of that persecution, which has now been going on for decades, as well as the work of David Matas and the late great David Kilgour in exposing the issue of forced organ harvesting and trafficking targeting Falun Gong practitioners. The petitioners are calling on Canada's Parliament and the government to do everything they can to combat forced organ harvesting and trafficking and to call for an end to the persecution of Falun Gong practitioners in China.

Mr. Speaker, the next petition I am tabling is in support of Bill C-257. This is a private member's bill that I have put before the House. The petitioners highlight the importance of protecting Canadians from discrimination on the basis of their political beliefs. They recognize it is the fundamental right of all Canadians to be politically active and vocal, and that it is in the best interests of Canadian democracy to protect public debate and the exchange of differing ideas. Bill C-257 seeks to add protection against political discrimination to the Canadian Human Rights Act by adding political activity or belief as prohibited grounds of discrimination. The petitioners call on the House to support Bill C-257 and to defend the rights of Canadians to peacefully express their political opinions.

Mr. Speaker, the next petition I would like to table today deals with another issue of political discrimination. It notes that the Liberal Party of Canada, in its 2021 election platform, put forward a proposal to discriminate against organizations in the application of charitable status if those organizations have views that are different from those of the Liberal Party on the issue of abortion. Charitable status rules already prohibit dishonest conduct and do so on a neutral basis, but the Liberal Party proposal would be to apply another values test, effectively discriminating on the basis of opinions on other issues and preventing organizations such as hospitals, houses of worship, schools, homeless shelters and other charitable organizations from being able to access charitable status on an equal basis. This is opposed by the full charitable sector. A broad range of charitable organizations oppose this proposal from the Liberal Party. The petitioners call upon the House of Commons to protect and preserve the application of charitable status rules on a politically and ideologically neutral basis without discrimination on the basis of political and religious values and without the imposition of another values test, and to affirm the right of all Canadians to freedom of expression.

Mr. Speaker, the final petition I want to table in the House— An hon. member: Oh, oh! Mr. Garnett Genuis: Mr. Speaker, I am actually going to table one more just to honour the member across the way, who I know appreciates this so much. The second last petition I am going to be tabling raises concerns about proposals put forward for the euthanasia of infants. It notes that Louis Roy of the Collège des médecins du Québec recommended expanding euthanasia to “babies from birth to one year of age who come into the world with severe deformities and very serious syndromes”. The petitioners are horrified by this proposal. They believe that infanticide is always wrong, that killing children is always wrong and that proposals for legalizing the killing of infants are deeply out of step with the recognition of universal human dignity that should define our criminal law. The petitioners therefore call on the Government of Canada to block any attempt to legalize the killing of children in Canada.

Mr. Speaker, the final petition highlights a proposal by the Minister of National Defence's advisory panel on systemic racism and discrimination from 2022. It was a proposal to, ironically, discriminate against chaplains from certain faith backgrounds whose faith traditions do not share the presumed progressive direction of the government. The petitioners call on the House of Commons to reject the recommendations on chaplaincy for the Canadian Armed Forces in the final report of the Minister of National Defence's advisory panel on systemic racism and discrimination, and to affirm the right of all Canadians, including Canadian Armed Forces chaplains, to freedom of religion.

Before proceeding, I thought I would dispense with the point of order the hon. member brought up. House of Commons Procedure and Practice, third edition, 2017, at page 1,192, chapter 22, under “Public Petitions”, says, “No debate is permitted during the presentation of petitions.” If we go to Standing Order 36(7), it also says, “Any comment on the merits of a petition—even a Member’s personal agreement or disagreement with the petitioners—has been deemed to constitute a form of debate and is therefore out of order. Members are permitted a brief factual statement”. This is just a reminder to members who will be presenting petitions at a later date.

Mr. Speaker, on a point of order, you reading the ruling made me think of something. When you say that a petition is supposed to be brief, is that per petition or per presenter?

It is per petition. Once members have the floor, they can, apparently, present as many as they want in the 15 minutes allotted for petitions.

Mr. Speaker, the following questions will be answered today: Nos. 1362 to 1367, 1369, 1370 and 1384.

With regard to the defence policy review of “Strong, Secure, Engaged”, announced in budget 2022: (a) what is the total number of contracts signed for professional and management services with third-party service providers; (b) what are the details of all contracts in (a), including the (i) company the contract was awarded to, (ii) value of the contract, (iii) date the contract was awarded, (iv) expected deliverables; and (c) reflected as a number and a percentage, what is the total number of contracts in (a) that were (i) sole-sourced, (ii) awarded through a competitive bidding process? With regard to the government’s maximum financial contribution of $260 million through the new Building Canada Fund, under the Provincial-Territorial Infrastructure Component, for the project to extend Highway 19 between Laval and Bois-des-Filion, in collaboration with the Government of Quebec: (a) what is the total amount allocated by the government as part of the agreement for this project; and (b) what are the terms and conditions of the funding agreement for this project? With regard to the Canada Deposit Insurance Corporation (CIDC) insurance amount of $100,000: (a) since November 4, 2015, have there been any (i) meetings, (ii) reports, (iii) policy briefs, (iv) recommendations proposed, for raising the insurable amount, and, if so, what are the details of each, including the date and summary; (b) through what processes is the CDIC insurable amount determined; and (c) through what processes can the CDIC insurable amount be amended? With regard to government assessments comparing different procurement options for the proposed High Frequency Rail project: has the government conducted any assessments, and, if so, (i) which external professionals or consultants, if any, were used in conducting the assessments, (ii) which procurement approaches did the assessments consider, (iii) what were determined to be the advantages and disadvantages of each procurement approach considered, (iv) which other transportation projects or jurisdictions were analyzed as part of the assessments? With regard to Transport Canada's (TC) Small Vessel Compliance Program (SVCP): (a) how many vessels have owners registered with the SVCP since its inception, broken down by year; (b) how many vessels were denied certification after having applied for registration, broken down by postal code and reason for denial; (c) how many vessels registered in each year did not register in the subsequent year; (d) how many small vessels does TC estimate are currently eligible for the SVCP; and (e) how many of the vessels currently certified by the SVCP are commercial towing vessels? With regard to emission reduction objectives established by the government, per the requirement of the Canadian Net-Zero Emissions Accountability Act: (a) what is the 2026 objective; (b) on what evidence or modelling was the objective based; (c) does the government anticipate Canada will surpass or fall short of its 2026 objective; and (d) what does it estimate the difference of (c) will be, in tons of CO² equivalent emissions? With regard to Transport Canada's (TC) response to flight delays caused by air traffic controller (ATC) shortages at the Toronto (YYZ), Montreal (YUL) and Vancouver (YVR) airports: (a) what are TC's estimates related to shortages of operational ATCs in (i) 2023, (ii) 2024, (iii) 2025; (b) how many times were ground delays, programs or operational reductions put in place due to a lack of required amount of ATCs, broken down by month and airport; (c) what is the total number of flights that have been impacted in relation to shortages of operational ATCs, broken down by month for the last five years; (d) what was the average length of the delay for the flights impacted; and (e) what is the breakdown of (c) by (i) commercial passenger, (ii) cargo, (iii) private, aircraft? With regard to the information leaks about the contents of the budget by senior government sources to multiple media outlets on March 27, 2023, prior to the budget being released on March 28, 2023: (a) did the government launch an investigation to uncover the identity of those who leaked budget information, and, if so, what are the details of the investigation; (b) if no investigation was launched, why not; and (c) does the government have a double standard on investigating leaks based on whether or not the leak is part of a communications strategy initiated or approved by the Office of the Prime Minister? With regard to the government's net debt to gross domestic product (GDP) ratio calculation: does the government include the Canadian Pension Plan (CPP) assets as part of its net debt calculation, and, if so, what is Canada's net debt-to-GDP ratio without using CPP assets as part of its calculation?

Mr. Speaker, if the government's responses to Questions Nos. 1361, 1368, 1371 to 1383 and 1385 could be made orders for return, these returns would be tabled immediately. The Deputy Speaker: Is that agreed? Some hon. members: Agreed.

With regard to the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) reconstitution measures, since October 6, 2022: (a) what is the total number of contracts signed for professional and management services with third-party service providers; (b) what are the details of all contracts in (a), including the (i) company the contract was awarded to, (ii) value of the contract, (iii) date the contract was awarded, (iv) expected deliverables; and (c) reflected as a number and a percentage, what is the total number of contracts in (a) that were (i) sole-sourced, (ii) awarded through a competitive bidding process? With regard to homeowner applications received by the Greener Homes program since its inception: (a) what is the breakdown of applications by postal code; (b) what percentage of applications have been (i) approved, (ii) denied, and, for each category, in which postal codes; (c) how many of the applications in (b)(ii) have involved heat pump installations and in which postal codes; (c) what is the average length of time between the submission of an application and reimbursement; and (d) what targets has the department set for the (i) number of completed projects, (ii) number of heat pump installations, (iii) total emissions reductions achieved by the program? With regard to the government's decision to ban TikTok from government devices: (a) what threat or risk assessments were done by the government that led to the decision, and what were the findings of each assessment; (b) what is the government's specific rationale for banning TikTok; (c) why did the government not issue a directive to stop spending on advertising through TikTok at the same time that it banned TikTok; and (d) what are the details of all memorandums or briefing notes received by ministers or their staff about TikTok since November 4, 2015, including, for each, the (i) sender, (ii) recipient, (iii) date, (iv) title, (v) summary of the contents, (vi) file number? With regard to the Minister of Fisheries and Oceans’ February 2023 decision to not renew salmon farming licenses in the Discovery Islands of British Columbia: (a) what evidence was considered in making the decision to phase out Atlantic salmon farming; (b) what evidence was rejected by the Department of Fisheries and Oceans in determining the decision to phase out salmon farming; (c) what is the expected impact on food prices and availability for Canadian consumers due to this decision; (d) what is the expected impact on jobs and the economy due to this decision; (e) what is the expected impact on the jobs and economies of those Indigenous communities impacted by this decision; (f) what consultations were conducted to reach this decision, including the (i) date of the engagement, (ii) communities engaged, (iii) community's feedback regarding the impact on their way of life and economic prosperity; (g) which standard consultation processes were ignored or expedited in any way; (h) what is the climate change impact of this decision, including through food importation to replace Canadian production; and (i) what are the details of all memoranda or briefing notes prepared to support the 2023 decision to not renew these licenses, including, for each, the (i) date, (ii) sender, (iii) recipient, (iv) title, (v) subject matter, (vi) summary of contents, (vii) file number? With regard to the Canadian Forces Housing Differential (CFHD) set to come into effect on July 1, 2023, broken down by Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) base: (a) what is the projected number of CAF service members or veterans expected to qualify for the CFHD who were previously eligible for the current Post Living Differential (PLD) allowance; (b) of the projections in (a), how many service members or veterans will see a reduction in their housing allowance by (i) the full amount, (ii) more than 75 percent, (iii) more than 50 percent; (c) what is the projected number of CAF service members or veterans expected to qualify under the new differential who were not previously eligible under the current PLD; and (d) what is the projected number of CAF service members or veterans not expected to qualify under the new differential who were also not previously eligible under the current PLD? With regard to Veterans Affairs Canada health care service providers that were available prior to the start of the outsourced contract with Partners in Canadian Veterans Rehabilitation Services, broken down by province or territory: (a) what is the total number of health care service providers available to veterans who are not enrolled in the rehabilitation program that offer services in (i) English only, (ii) French only, (iii) both official languages, (iv) Indigenous languages; and (b) what is the total number of health care service providers available to veterans who are enrolled in the rehabilitation program that offer services in (i) English only, (ii) French only, (iii) both official languages, (iv) Indigenous languages? With regard to retirement policies for firefighters employed by the Department of National Defence (DND): (a) what are the specific differences in pension eligibility requirements between firefighters employed directly by DND compared to those employed by the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF); (b) what is the rationale for the differences; and (c) is the government planning on reducing the pension eligibility requirements for firefighters employed by DND, and, if so, (i) when will this change be made, (ii) will the change involve aligning the requirements with CAF requirements? With regard to social media advertising by the Canada Infrastructure Bank, for each of the last three years: what was the total amount spent on advertising, broken down by social media company or platform? With regard to the Canadian Forces School of Communications and Electronics at Canadian Forces Base Kingston: (a) what is the number of beds required for training objectives; (b) what are the number of beds currently available; (c) what is the current known infrastructure deficiencies at the school; and (d) for each deficiency in (c), what is the timeline for when the repairs will be completed? With regard to government funding for new recreation centres and swimming pool facilities, since 2016: what are the details of all projects funded, including, for each, the (i) location, (ii) name of the facility, (iii) description of the facility, (iv) date the construction began, (v) date of completion, (vi) total cost of the project, (vii) amount of federal contribution, (viii) program under which the funding was provided? With regard to privacy breaches that occurred since January 1, 2022, broken down by department, agency, or other government entity: (a) how many breaches have occurred; and (b) what are the details of each breach, including (i) the date, (ii) the number of individuals whose information was involved, (iii) the summary or description of the incident, (iv) the government program or service that was impacted by the breach, (v) whether or not the individuals whose information was involved were contacted, (vi) the date and method of how the individuals were contacted, (vii) whether or not the Privacy Commissioner was notified, (viii) the description of any measures provided to individuals impacted, such as free credit monitoring services? With regard to clothing allowances and expenditures on clothing for use by the Prime Minister, the Governor General or other ministers, since January 1, 2017, broken down by year: (a) which individuals have received a clothing allowance and, for each, how much was the allowance; and (b) what are the details of all expenditures by the government on clothing or outerwear which was provided to any of the individuals in (a), including, for each, the (i) date, (ii) amount spent and value of the item, (iii) description of the item, (iv) title of the individual? With regard to the Canada Digital Adoption Program: (a) how many and which vendors applied to administer the (i) "Grow Your Business", (ii) "Boost Your Business Technology", stream; (b) what metrics and criteria were used by the department when determining which applicants in (a) would become administrators, broken down by stream; (c) what is the dollar value of the contracts provided to Magnet to administer the "Boost Your Business Technology" stream; (d) which vendors were awarded the contracts to administer the "Grow Your Business" stream; (e) what is the dollar value of the contracts provided to each of the vendors in (d); (f) what is the number of students hired, as of March 29, 2023, via the (i) "Grow Your Business", (ii) "Boost Your Business Technology", stream; and (g) what is the number of businesses which have applied, as of March 29, 2023, to the (i) "Grow Your Business", (ii) "Boost Your Business Technology", stream? With regard to the Ocean Lady and Sun Sea ships refugees, broken down by age and gender: how many people (i) remain in immigration detention, (ii) were identified as having security concerns, (iii) were granted permanent residence status, (iv) had their application for permanent residence status rejected? With regard to costs related to the United States President Joseph R. Biden Jr.'s visit to Ottawa in March 2023: (a) what is the total estimated cost; and (b) what is the itemized breakdown of the estimated costs? With regard to the granting of government security clearances since 2016, broken down by year: (a) how many individuals (i) applied for, (ii) were denied (not as a result of retirement or resignation), security clearances; (b) of the denials in (a), how many were due to the individual spying or otherwise acting on behalf of a foreign government; and (c) what is the breakdown of (a) and (b) by department, agency, Crown corporation, or other government entity and level of clearance applied (secret or top secret)?

Mr. Speaker, I ask that all remaining questions be allowed to stand. The Deputy Speaker: Is that agreed? Some hon. members: Agreed.

It is my duty pursuant to Standing Order 38 to inform the House that the questions to be raised tonight at the time of adjournment are as follows: the hon. member for Skeena—Bulkley Valley, Air Transportation; the hon. member for South Okanagan—West Kootenay, Innovation, Science and Industry; and the hon. member for Nunavut, Northern Affairs.

Mr. Speaker, I left off in my speech talking about a number of areas where this legislation could have gone even further to make it better. I am talking about mandatory ambient air quality measures and making sure we are protecting the right to a healthy environment. The last area I want to mention is that, while important advances were made in this legislation to create the ability of the government to label products containing toxic substances, it falls short of the recommendation in the 2017 Standing Committee on Environment and Sustainable Development's report that proposed providing mandatory labelling on all products containing toxic substances. I note that a consultation was launched last year to bring in new measures to have labelling. I hope this leads to more robust measures that would give individuals access to all the information they need when exposing themselves to any substance that may be toxic. While this bill is not perfect, it makes some very important advances in the field of toxic substance management and environmental protection that are long overdue. I agree with both industry and the non-profit sector that we need to pass it as quickly as possible, since it has now been over a year since the bill was originally tabled in the Senate. Although the thought of it is giving me some PTSD, having worked on the bill for so long at committee, we should swiftly pass this legislation so we can get to the new round of amendments that our government has promised on CEPA that are long overdue for reform. This includes the issue of ocean dumping and the rest of part 7. When the Conservatives shut down the Kitsilano Coast Guard base, it put the waters around the busiest port in the city of Vancouver at risk. That vulnerability led to a major oil spill in English Bay not getting noticed for almost 24 hours, back in 2015. While the Liberal government reopened the Kitsilano Coast Guard base to protect the waters and prevent this type of event from happening again, because of the wording of CEPA right now, the shipowner who spilled all of the bunker oil was not held liable for the damage caused. This is a clear violation of the polluter pays principle that needs to be fixed. Most importantly, I note the environmental protection actions. Under section 22, there is the possibility of bringing in environmental protection actions to allow the public to hold the government to account for not properly investigating or responding to an alleged offence under the act. However, because of how this provision is currently written, it is not practical. This needs to be changed in future iterations of the bill. With that, as I see my time is running out, I look forward to questions from my colleagues.