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Decentralized Democracy

House Hansard - 210

44th Parl. 1st Sess.
June 9, 2023 10:00AM
  • 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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  • Jun/9/23 12:21:05 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the following questions will be answered today: Nos. 1435, 1436, 1441 and 1443.
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  • Jun/9/23 12:21:31 p.m.
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Question No. 1437—
Questioner: Brad Redekopp
With regard to government departments, except Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada: what is the spending on settlement services for immigrants by governmental and non-governmental organizations, broken down by the (i) organization, (ii) fiscal year since 2015-16, (iii) projected spending for the fiscal year 2023-24, (iv) province and territory, (v) program line?
Question No. 1438—
Questioner: Brad Redekopp
With regard to Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) and applications to the temporary resident to permanent resident pathway during the program's dates of May 6 to November 5, 2021, broken down by province and territory: (a) how many applications (i) were received, (ii) have been completed, (iii) were approved, (iv) have been refused, (v) are currently outstanding; (b) how many agents are working on the program; (c) on an average weekday, how many processing agents were working at the Whitehorse, Yukon, IRCC office on these files during this time; and (d) what was the budget for processing the applications?
Question No. 1439—
Questioner: Gerald Soroka
With regard to overpayments made by the Phoenix pay system, as of April 24, 2023: (a) what was the total amount of overpayments made by the system; (b) what was the number of employees who received overpayments; (c) what is the breakdown of (a) and (b) by department, agency, or other government entity that used the Phoenix pay system; (d) of the amount in (a), how much has (i) been recovered, (ii) not yet been recovered; (e) of the amount in (d)(ii), how much has been written off by the government; and (f) for each amount in (e), what was the reason for the write-off?
Question No. 1440—
Questioner: Gerald Soroka
With regard to the report released by the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) titled "What We Heard: Perspectives on Climate Change and Public Health in Canada": (a) what was the estimated cost of producing the report; (b) what is the itemized breakdown of all costs associated with the report; (c) what was the total number of PHAC and Health Canada employees who worked on the report; (d) what are the details of all contracts issued related to the report, including, for each (i) the vendor, (ii) the value, (iii) the description of goods or services provided, (iv) whether the contract was sole-sourced or awarded through a competitive bidding process; and (e) what was the total amount spent on (i) travel, (ii) hospitality, related to the report?
Question No. 1442—
Questioner: Adam Chambers
With regard to government expenditures related to the Prime Minister's town hall meetings that have occurred since January 1, 2023: (a) what are the total expenditures to date associated with the meetings; (b) what is the breakdown of expenditures by meeting, including the date and location of each meeting; (c) what is the itemized breakdown of (a) and (b); and (d) for each meeting in (b), which groups or organizations hosted the meeting?
Question No. 1444—
Questioner: Mike Lake
With regard to government funding of non-governmental organizations or groups, since November 4, 2015: (a) how much money has the government allocated to (i) Environmental Defense Canada, (ii) Climate Action Network Canada, (iii) Oil Change International, (iv) Canadian Climate Institute, (v) LeadNow Society, (vi) Centre for International Environmental Law, (vii) Climate Emergency Institute, (viii) International Institute for Sustainable Development, (ix) Canadian Institute for Climate Choices, (x) Canadian Labour Congress, (xi) Trottier Energy Institute, (xii) Friends of the Earth U.S.; (b) for each entity in (a), what are the details, including the (i) department, agency or other government entity, (ii) date of the funding, (iii) amount and deliverables expected; (c) of the allocations in (a), which ones were (i) sole-sourced, (ii) awarded through a competitive bidding process; (d) of the allocations in (c)(ii), what was the (i) duration of the competition, (ii) number of organizations that submitted bids for the required deliverables; and (e) what programs from each organization listed in (a) received government funding, broken down by year and deliverables expected?
Question No. 1445—
Questioner: Rachael Thomas
With regard to government requests to remove, edit, or alter information in the media, since January 1, 2016: (a) how many requests has the government made to social media companies, including for any article, post or reply; (b) what is the breakdown of (a) by social media platform, year, department, agency, Crown corporation or other government entity that made the request; (c) what are the details of each request to a social media company, including, for each (i) the date, (ii) the platform, (iii) the description of the post or reply, (iv) a summary of the request, (v) the reason for the request, (vi) whether the information was removed, edited, or altered, and if so, what changed, (vii) the title of the individual who made the request; (d) how many requests has the government made to traditional media companies; (e) what is the breakdown of (d) by media outlet, year, department, agency, Crown corporation, or other government entity that made the request; and (f) what are the details of each request in (d), including, for each, (i) the date, (ii) the media outlet, (iii) the title of the individual who made the request, (iv) the description of the content subject to the request, (v) whether the content was removed, edited, or altered, and if so, what changed?
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  • Jun/9/23 12:21:31 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, if the government's responses to Questions Nos. 1437 to 1440, 1442, 1444 and 1445 could be made orders for return, these returns would be tabled immediately.
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Question No. 1435—
Questioner: Brad Redekopp
With regard to Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada and the government's response to Order Paper question Q-1146: what are the details of the tables provided in Annex A, broken down by category and country of origin?
Question No. 1436—
Questioner: Brad Redekopp
With regard to Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada: what is the spending on settlement services for immigrants by governmental and non-governmental organizations, broken down by the (i) organization, (ii) fiscal year, since 2015-16, (iii) projected spending for the fiscal year 2023-24, (iv) province and territory, (v) program spending, including but not limited to, the Resettlement Assistance Program, the Interim Housing Assistance Program, the International Migration Capacity Building Program, and the Settlement Program?
Question No. 1441—
Questioner: Scott Aitchison
With regard to the Housing Accelerator Fund: (a) will having municipal regulations that encourage housing development be a pre-requisite for communities to receive money through the fund, and, if not, why not; (b) will communities who receive funding be required to avoid taking any action that makes the building of housing more difficult, such as restrictive zoning changes or by-laws; (c) what are the metrics that will be used by the government to monitor the effectiveness of this funding in each community; and (d) how does the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation currently track municipal housing policies, and does this tracking include whether or not a community's policies are consistent with the goals of the fund?
Question No. 1443—
Questioner: Michelle Ferreri
With regard to the government's response to the July 2018 report from the Senate Standing Committee on Social Affairs, Science, and Technology titled "The Shame is Ours: Forced Adoptions of the Babies of Unmarried Mothers in Post-war Canada": (a) why did the government not act on the first recommendation by issuing a formal apology; (b) does the government have any plans to issue a formal apology to the mothers and babies who were subject to forced adoptions, and, if so, what are the plans, including the time; (c) did the government create a fund to support training programs for professional counsellors that is appropriate for the needs of individuals affected by past adoption practices and the provision of counselling services by those professionals to mothers and adoptees affected by forced adoption practices, at no cost to them, and, if not, why not; and (d) does the government plan on setting up a fund similar to that contained in recommendation number three of the report, and, if so, what are the details?
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  • Jun/9/23 12:21:31 p.m.
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Is that agreed? Some hon. members: Agreed.
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  • Jun/9/23 12:21:45 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I ask that all remaining questions be allowed to stand. The Deputy Speaker: Is that agreed? Some hon. members: Agreed.
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