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Decentralized Democracy

House Hansard - 198

44th Parl. 1st Sess.
May 16, 2023 10:00AM
Context: House Hansard - 198 - May/16/23
Mr. Kevin Lamoureux (Parliamentary Secretary to the Leader of the Government in the House of Commons, Lib.)
  • May/16/23 6:34:10 p.m.
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  • Re: Bill C-21 
Mr. Speaker, talk about conspiracy theories. Over the weekend, the leader of the Conservative Party was talking about passports. Colleagues would not believe how weird that discussion got. The more I listened to him, the more I wondered if this guy is real. Can the leader of the official opposition really be that much of a conspiracist? Then I hear one of his inner circle members of Parliament deliver a speech that kind of blew me away. If one wants to motivate people to ensure that the Conservatives never get into government, one can have them listen to the tweet from the leader of the Conservative Party and this member's speech. Can the member indicate how she can justify this when the Conservative Party of Canada is espousing all sorts of misinformation, almost on a daily basis, not only on this legislation? How does she justify saying that we are spreading misinformation when the degree to which the Conservatives are using this legislation to raise money is fairly well documented? It is not about concern over Canadians' safety.
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Mrs. Cheryl Gallant
  • May/16/23 6:35:20 p.m.
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  • Re: Bill C-21 
Mr. Speaker, the member opposite talked about raising conspiracy theories. They called it a conspiracy theory when we said they were including hunting rifles on the list of firearms that would be banned. They said it was misinformation and disinformation, but when it came down to it and the definitions crystallized, they did include hunting rifles. They call it a conspiracy theory until it is proven to be fact.
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Ms. Kristina Michaud (Avignon—La Mitis—Matane—Matapédia, BQ)
  • May/16/23 6:36:02 p.m.
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  • Re: Bill C-21 
Mr. Speaker, the amount of disinformation in this speech was mind-boggling. I can accept that the government is not perfect, but calling it totalitarian is a bit too far. The Conservative Party keeps telling hunters that Bill C‑21 will cover their hunting rifles. This is not so. I think the Conservative Party is the one guilty of disinformation. The Conservatives also claim to be standing up for sport shooters and say that they should not be subject to a handgun freeze. Today, however, in the Notice Paper, the Conservative Party is moving a motion to delete the only clause of the bill that exempts certain persons from the handgun freeze. I wonder where the truth really lies.
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Mrs. Cheryl Gallant
  • May/16/23 6:36:57 p.m.
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  • Re: Bill C-21 
Mr. Speaker, farmers who are defending their livestock and hunters who are trying to obtain food for the season do not think of or refer to their firearms as weapons. Police do. The military does. However, for sport shooters, hunters and farmers, their firearms are simply sports equipment or tools they need to do their job.
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Mr. Daniel Blaikie (Elmwood—Transcona, NDP)
  • May/16/23 6:37:34 p.m.
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  • Re: Bill C-21 
Mr. Speaker, I did not hear it in her speech specifically, but I know Conservatives have expressed concern about clause 43 and moved to take it out of the bill. Can she affirm her support for removing clause 43 and explain to the House why she thinks that is so important?
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Mrs. Cheryl Gallant
  • May/16/23 6:37:52 p.m.
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  • Re: Bill C-21 
Mr. Speaker, I do not have clause 43 in front of me, so I am not going to disagree or agree with something I cannot specifically refer to at the moment.
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Mr. Daniel Blaikie
  • May/16/23 6:38:08 p.m.
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  • Re: Bill C-21 
Mr. Speaker, I will remind the member that removing clause 43 is one of the Conservative amendments at report stage, so I would encourage her to do her homework on her party's own amendments. If she does want to take a little time to let us know whether she is in favour of or opposed to a Conservative Party amendment, I think we would all appreciate knowing whether she supports her party's amendments or not.
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Mrs. Cheryl Gallant
  • May/16/23 6:38:30 p.m.
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  • Re: Bill C-21 
Mr. Speaker, again, I have not memorized the numbers and the amendments, so I would have to look it up to make sure I am agreeing or disagreeing with whatever the amendment says.
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Mr. Tom Kmiec (Calgary Shepard, CPC)
  • May/16/23 6:38:48 p.m.
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  • Re: Bill C-21 
Mr. Speaker, I would like to ask the member in my caucus if she could perhaps expand on how we got to the point where Bill C-21 is now being debated today. It started with the OIC, the initial version of Bill C-21, which provided complete misinformation by the minister and made wild accusations against firearms owners. I would like to hear her talk about the journey it took to get to this point, in May 2023, where we are still debating this bill and it still has very deep flaws in it.
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Mrs. Cheryl Gallant
  • May/16/23 6:39:18 p.m.
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  • Re: Bill C-21 
Mr. Speaker, the beginning of this bill really started with Polytechnique, and that was when the Liberals, the socialists and a whole bunch of them decided to wage war. It was Bill C-68 at the time. They wanted to start a gun registry, which failed miserably because the fact that someone is registering a firearm did not do anything to prevent crime. Then we fast-forward to the tragedy in Nova Scotia. On the heels of that, and in trying to interfere in the investigation into the tragedy, the Liberals were trying to get the RCMP commissioner to find out what the list of guns was so they could justify their order in council gun ban.
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Mr. Dan Mazier (Dauphin—Swan River—Neepawa, CPC)
  • May/16/23 6:40:39 p.m.
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  • Re: Bill C-21 
Mr. Speaker, I rise today to speak to Bill C-21. It has never been more clear how disconnected the current Liberal government is from rural Canadians. Firearms are tools for millions of Canadians, especially those who call rural Canada their home. I am a law-abiding firearms owner myself, just like millions of other Canadians across this country. I represent a region in this House of Commons that comprises rural communities and rural Canadians. The largest community I represent is smaller than 10,000 people. I am also a farmer who, just like thousands of other farmers, uses a firearm, not as a weapon but as a tool to protect my farm. When I speak to Bill C-21, I speak from an understanding of what a firearm means to the rural way of life. Rural Canadians share the understanding that the firearm is a tool. It is an understanding shared by first nations, hunters and law-abiding firearms owners all across this nation. Unfortunately, the current Liberal government has few members in rural regions and, therefore, little representation from rural Canada. When I see the government display such a blatant disregard for the rural way of life, I fear it has made a calculated political decision to write off the views of rural Canada for its own political gain. After all, rural Canadians did send the Liberals a strong message at the ballot box in the last election. The government has no regard for the concerns, the priorities or the way of life of rural Canadians. The cost of the neglect displayed by the government toward rural Canadians is a direct reflection of an increasing urban-rural divide, and it is a divide that I fear will only grow larger the longer the Prime Minister remains in power. This is a very important matter, and I draw to the Speaker's attention that quorum is not present in this chamber.
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The Deputy Speaker
  • May/16/23 6:42:48 p.m.
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I appreciate the quorum call, but the order that was passed earlier does not allow for quorum calls after 6:30 p.m. The hon. member for Dauphin—Swan River—Neepawa.
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Mr. Dan Mazier
  • May/16/23 6:42:58 p.m.
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  • Re: Bill C-21 
Mr. Speaker, I am aware of the special order. I just want the record to show that we are considering Bill C-21 at report stage without the constitutional requirement of quorum. I point out that the special order under which we are operating also provides for third reading to be—
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The Deputy Speaker
  • May/16/23 6:43:13 p.m.
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There is a point of order from the hon. parliamentary secretary to the government House leader.
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Mr. Kevin Lamoureux
  • May/16/23 6:43:17 p.m.
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  • Re: Bill C-21 
Mr. Speaker, the rule is that quorum cannot be called. It does not say how many members are in the chamber or in the MPs' lounges. It could be a large number, or it could be a smaller number. It is just that we cannot call quorum.
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The Deputy Speaker
  • May/16/23 6:43:35 p.m.
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It also devolves into the issue of underlining who is in the chamber and who is not in the chamber. It does get into that. There is a point of order by the hon. member for York—Simcoe.
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Mr. Scot Davidson
  • May/16/23 6:43:47 p.m.
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  • Re: Bill C-21 
Mr. Speaker, I have a point of order on that point of order. Those numbers are part of the member's speech.
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The Deputy Speaker
  • May/16/23 6:43:52 p.m.
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Let me deal with the point of order issue. Before members go any further with their points of order, I would remind them that on May 9, the House duly adopted an order prescribing that the Chair not receive any quorum calls after 6:30 p.m. It is after 6:30 p.m. Let us not talk about it because it is part of the order that we are working under. The hon. member for Dauphin—Swan River—Neepawa.
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Mr. Dan Mazier
  • May/16/23 6:44:13 p.m.
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  • Re: Bill C-21 
Mr. Speaker, debate at second reading also took place without quorum on June 9, June 21 and June 22, 2022. That means that Bill C-21 will have been considered without the constitutional requirement of quorum for every stage of the legislative process in this House. The Supreme Court of Canada ruled in 1985—
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The Deputy Speaker
  • May/16/23 6:44:35 p.m.
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I need to interrupt the hon. member. Bringing up quorum is sort of calling for quorum. Members need to be careful in what they are calling for. The hon. member for Dauphin—Swan River—Neepawa.
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