44th Parl. 1st Sess.
June 9, 2023 10:00AM
- Jun/9/23 12:07:29 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, Albertans have made it very clear that they do not want coal mining in the Rocky Mountains. Coal mining in the eastern slopes threatens our land and our water, it is not good for our planet and it is not good for Albertans, yet the minister is fine with an Australian coal mining company carving out more than 500 hectares of Grand Mountain.
Based on my private member's bill, this government promised that all coal mining would trigger a federal environmental impact assessment. Albertans want it. First nations want it. So, where is the impact assessment on the Grand Cache Mine?
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- Jun/9/23 12:08:11 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, we have a commitment to end the export of thermal coal, and we are working across all sectors of our economy to make sure that we are reducing emissions.
We put in place a robust impact assessment system that is there to make sure that there are regional assessments and impact assessments to take into account environmental concerns. We have a very objective system. I am sure that the member opposite can look at the improvements that we have made towards those policies.
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- Jun/9/23 12:08:46 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, in May 2022, an IRCC committee tabled a report that noted overt and subtle racism at its offices abroad, especially at posts where visa decisions were delegated to locally engaged staff, such as in South Africa. It has come to my attention that an unofficial filter system has been incorporated in that country. White local staff are overwhelmingly refusing visa applications from predominantly Black South Africans. Indeed, white visa applications are being placed in one pile and non-white in another. This is unconscionable.
Can the minister confirm or deny if Canada is running an apartheid-era visa selection process in South Africa?
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- Jun/9/23 12:09:29 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, let me be very clear that we have zero tolerance for racism or discrimination of any kind. That is why we are already hard at work to address racism and create real, lasting change.
We created the anti-racism task force. We continue to provide training to address unconscious bias for all of our employees. Also, IRCC has released our new anti-racism strategy 2.0. However, we know that there is more to do, and we will keep working hard to fight all discrimination and build on our findings.
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- Jun/9/23 12:10:22 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I request that the ordinary hour of daily adjournment of the June 12, June 13, June 14 and June 15 sittings be 12 midnight, pursuant to order made Tuesday, November 15, 2022.
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- Jun/9/23 12:10:39 p.m.
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First of all, I thank the minister on behalf of chair occupants, as we can get that schedule done. Pursuant to order made Tuesday, November 15, 2022, the minister's request to extend the said sittings is deemed adopted.
Are there any other points of order?
The hon. member for Calgary Midnapore.
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- Jun/9/23 12:11:03 p.m.
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We will need unanimous consent. All those opposed to the motion, please say nay.
Some hon. members: Nay.
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- Jun/9/23 12:11:03 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I am representing Calgary, the best place on earth.
The Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Finance said that Conservatives shut down witness testimony of finance. In fact, it was the Liberal committee chair who skipped over 10 hours of committee testimony. The Liberals did not want to hear from Canadians who are saying that their—
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- Jun/9/23 12:11:03 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, can I table this document?
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- Jun/9/23 12:11:03 p.m.
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I believe that is descending into debate.
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- Jun/9/23 12:11:59 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, pursuant to Standing Order 83(1), I have the honour to lay upon the table a notice of ways and means motion to introduce an act to give effect to the self-government treaty recognizing the Whitecap Dakota Nation/Wapaha Ska Dakota Oyate and to make consequential amendments to other acts.
Pursuant to Standing Order 83(2), I request that an order of the day be designated for consideration of the motion of the notice of ways and means.
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- Jun/9/23 12:12:48 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, pursuant to Standing Order 32(2), I have the honour to table, in both official languages, the document entitled “A Self-Government Treaty Recognizing the Whitecap Dakota Nation / Wapaha Ska Dakota Oyate”.
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- Jun/9/23 12:12:53 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, pursuant to Standing Order 36(8)(a), I have the honour to table, in both official languages, the government's response to 16 petitions. These returns will be tabled in an electronic format.
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- Jun/9/23 12:13:36 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I am proud and honoured to present petition 441-01522. This petition has been signed by 238 signatories from the County of Essex and city of Windsor area.
The petitioners are calling on the government to rewrite the tax laws of Canada and renegotiate any tax treaties with the United States to recognize 401(k) contributions and social security and medicare payroll taxes as foreign tax credits in Canada for Canadian residents.
Further, the petitioners are calling to reinstate the temporary waiver with respect to 401(k) contributions and FICA payroll taxes, retroactive to January 1, 2022, until such time as the tax laws of Canada and tax treaties with the United States have been updated.
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- Jun/9/23 12:14:38 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I have four petitions to table today on behalf of my constituents.
The first one is on foreign interference. Specifically, petitioners are drawing attention of the House and the government to the fact that, so far, there has not been a public inquiry called. The petitioners are very concerned about the special rapporteur's conflict of interest with the Prime Minister and those who have been hired by him and assigned by him to work on his report. They are calling on the government to conduct a full, open, independent public inquiry into Beijing's election interference to give Canadians the transparency they need in order to restore their trust in Canada's civic and parliamentary institutions.
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- Jun/9/23 12:15:21 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, my second petition is from Hong Kongers and those with heritage from Hong Kong.
The petitioners are drawing the attention of the House to the following: On February 6, 2023, Canada announced that it would extend and expand the Hong Kong pathway open work permit program for eligible Hong Kongers by extending the open work permit scheme for an additional two years and making additional changes to it in pathway stream B. However, those changes are not sufficient to save more pro-democracy movement Hong Kongers.
The petitioners want the following to be changed: They want the requirement for an obtention of a police certificate from Hong Kongers to be annulled and not a requirement; they want eligible open work permit holders in Canada not to have to submit it; and they want it to apply when they apply for permanent residency in Canada through Hong Kong pathway stream B. They believe that the police certificate requirement and making Hong Kongers seek that from the constabulary in Hong Kong puts them all in danger.
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- Jun/9/23 12:16:23 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the third petition is from petitioners from the riding of Calgary Shepard, my constituents. They are drawing the attention of the House to the fact that there are over 53,000 internationally trained nurses, doctors and physicians in Canada. They say that we should copy what we do for skilled trades in the Red Seal program and create a blue seal program that would make the processes simpler for the recognition of international credentials within a 60-day standard. That way, more doctors and nurses would be licensed; streamlining the process would also help us fill the shortages of workers in health care.
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- Jun/9/23 12:16:58 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, my final petition comes from Venezuelans both in my riding and all across Canada who are calling the attention of the House to the disaster that is the Maduro Communist regime in Venezuela. I have very little affection for the regime, but I have a lot of affection for the people of Venezuela.
Petitioners are drawing the attention of the House to some important numbers. As per the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees' figures in 2022, more than 6.1 million Venezuelans have left Venezuela since 2015. Canada promised to welcome an additional 4,000 migrants from the Latin American region by 2028. Moreover, Canada announced at the Summit of the Americas in Los Angeles, in June 2022, that it also planned to bring in 50,000 more agricultural workers from Mexico, Guatemala and the Caribbean.
Petitioners are calling for the following two things: to create a Canada-Venezuela humanitarian visa program to help Venezuelans and the family members of Canadian Venezuelans with permanent residency to come to Canada, providing them with the ability to work and study while in Canada; and to provide those Venezuelans who are already in Canada the option to extend their visitor status, work permits and study permits, so they can continue to live and work here in Canada temporarily and not be sent back to that awful Communist regime.
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- Jun/9/23 12:18:14 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, it is an honour today to rise to present a petition on behalf of petitioners who, first of all, note that the Canadian Food Inspection Agency, the CFIA, announced in September of last year a new policy that prohibits the entry of commercial dogs from specific countries that are at high risk for rabies. This includes adoption and fostering. There are over 100 countries listed from which these dogs are prohibited from entering Canada, including Ukraine and Afghanistan, where humanitarian crises are occurring, and the Philippines and China, where rescuers are saving animals from the dog meat trade.
Animal advocacy groups have said they were not consulted on this plan. It came as a shock to them. The petitioners recognize that there are other measures that could ensure public safety, such as adequate vaccinations or blood-antibody testing. They note that no other western jurisdiction has banned international dog rescue entirely and that many Canadians adopt and rescue dogs from overseas. Petitioners note that this change could lead to more dogs in shelters or on the street globally, and it could exacerbate Canada's puppy mill crisis. They also note that they feel it is important for Canadians and their pets to be safe and that working with rescues and advocates is important.
They call on the Government of Canada to work with affected dog rescues and animal rights advocates to ensure that government policy on dog importations keeps Canadians safe without increasing the number of animals in shelters or on the street globally.
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- Jun/9/23 12:19:55 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, it is a pleasure to present a petition today that has been signed by the members of the Falun Gong, who have been very proactive on a number of different issues. Falun Gong is a traditional Chinese spiritual discipline that consists of meditation, exercise and moral teachings based on the principles of truthfulness, compassion and tolerance.
In July 1999, the Chinese Communist Party launched an intensive nationwide persecution campaign to eradicate Falun Gong. Hundreds of thousands of Falun Gong practitioners have been detained in forced labour camps, brainwashing centres and prisons, where torture and abuse are routine. Thousands have died as a direct result of this.
I am sure members can imagine the passion in those individuals involved in the petition campaign. What they are really doing is calling for the government, and all parliamentarians, to do more in terms of raising the profile of this particular issue and taking actions where we can.
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