44th Parl. 1st Sess.
September 19, 2023 10:00AM
- Sep/19/23 10:10:35 a.m.
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- Re: Bill S-5
Mr. Speaker, it is an honour to rise today to present a petition that deals with the pressing issue of the climate crisis. Specifically, the petitioners zero in on the government's commitment to ban the export of thermal coal.
Coal, and particularly thermal coal, is the dirtiest of all fossil fuels. As Canada has, unfortunately, a sorry record of increasing greenhouse gases since we pledged to cut them, the petitioners call on the government to take the necessary measures to regulate the export of thermal coal under the existing legislation, the Canadian Environmental Protection Act.
Amendments that went through the House in Bill S-5 are not considered in the petitioners' motion here, which I will read. Petitioners wish that the government act expeditiously to put thermal coal on the priority substances list and then, as quickly as possible thereafter, to add it to the toxic substances list under the Canadian Environmental Protection Act, to allow the Minister of Environment to take the steps to regulate it and for the Minister of Health to also take steps under the Canadian Environmental Protection Act to stop the practice which has been continuing from the Port of Vancouver. As ports along the west coast of the United States ban the export of thermal coal, U.S. thermal coal is moving out of our Port of Vancouver.
The steps that the petitioners wish us to take would expedite the government's living up to a pledge the government made in 2021.
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- Sep/19/23 10:12:16 a.m.
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With the backlog having built up over the summer and quite a few people wanting to present petitions, I am going to ask everyone to be as concise as possible with their comments. It is about tabling a petition, not speaking to it.
We will continue with the hon. member for Mission—Matsqui—Fraser Canyon.
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- Sep/19/23 10:13:36 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, my thoughts and prayers go out to the soul of Mr. Hardeep Singh Nijjar, his family and his loved ones.
I rise today to present a petition brought forward by the leadership and sangat of Guru Nanak Sikh Gurdwara, Surrey-Delta, following the tragic killing of Mr. Hardeep Singh Nijjar. The petition calls upon the government to address concerns related to India's alleged involvement in the killing of a Canadian citizen on Canadian soil, while ensuring the safety of all Canadians.
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- Sep/19/23 10:14:23 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, I rise to present a petition brought forward by two university students, Bianca Mammarella and Mika'il Visanji, working with the Heart and Stroke Foundation and the Canadian Cancer Society regarding the usage of e-cigarettes, commonly known as vapes; the targeting of these products toward youth; and the negative short- and long-term consequences of the usage of these products.
The petition seeks to ensure that the proposed regulations would ban all vape flavours apart from tobacco and mint/menthol. However, this progress has been stalled. Additionally, these regulations exclude mint/menthol, which are two of the most popular flavours among youth. By introducing these regulations, we would aim to curb the harmful addiction that occurs with e-cigarettes.
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- Sep/19/23 10:16:12 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, I have two petitions to present today.
The first petition comes from the Falun Gong community. It specifically asks that a resolution be passed to establish measures to stop the Chinese Communist regime's crime of systematically murdering Falun Gong practitioners for their organs. Petitioners ask that there be an amendment to Canadian legislation to combat forced organ harvesting and that there be a public call for the end of the persecution of Falun Gong in China.
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- Sep/19/23 10:16:34 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, the second petition I have comes from residents in my community of Kingston and the Islands. It draws attention, once again, to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, which has warned us repeatedly that rising temperatures over the next two decades will bring widespread devastation and extreme weather.
Petitioners are calling on the government to move forward quickly and immediately with bold emissions caps for the oil and gas sector that are comprehensive in scope and realistic in achieving the necessary targets that Canada has set to reduce emissions by 2030.
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Madam Speaker, it is a pleasure to be back in the House. I hope the feeling is mutual for the members opposite.
The first petition I want to share is in support of my private member's bill, Bill C-257. This bill recognizes the growing problem of political discrimination, that is, people facing discrimination on the basis of their political views. While federal human rights legislation protects people from various kinds of discrimination, it does not include a situation in which, for instance, someone could be fired from their job, denied access to a bank account or denied equal access to government funding simply because of political opinions they hold and have expressed. My bill would change that by adding protections against political discrimination to the Canadian Human Rights Act.
The petitioners like the bill. They want the House to support the bill and defend the rights of Canadians to peacefully express their political opinions.
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Madam Speaker, the next petition I am presenting is on a private member's bill, Bill C-281, the international human rights act, from a colleague of mine. The petitioners highlight that Canada should be committed to upholding the protection of international human rights. Therefore, they call upon the House to pass Bill C-281 to add protections against human rights violations and to promote a stronger role for Parliament in responding to those violations.
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- Sep/19/23 10:18:55 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, the next petition I am presenting is with respect to the persecution of Falun Gong practitioners. It notes various violations of the fundamental human rights of Falun Gong practitioners; these violations include, but are not limited to, forced organ harvesting.
The petitioners are calling on the Government of Canada and the House to take stronger action to respond to the persecution of Falun Gong practitioners and to continue to be vocal about this issue.
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- Sep/19/23 10:19:29 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, the next petition I am presenting deals with the Canada summer jobs program.
Sadly, Ukrainian youth who have come to Canada as part of the authorization for emergency travel are not able to participate in the Government of Canada-funded summer jobs program. The petitioners believe, and rightly so, that this is an unfair exclusion and that youth coming here as refugees should not be prevented from accessing this very large number of summer jobs, which happen to be funded by the Canadian government. They are are looking to support themselves and their families. The petitioners note that youth from Ukraine are facing unique barriers and should not be barred from summer jobs in this arbitrary way. They call on the Government of Canada to allow Ukrainian youth under the Canada-Ukraine authorization for emergency travel to apply for jobs funded through the Canada summer jobs program. Sadly, it is too late for this summer, but there will be other summers in the future.
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- Sep/19/23 10:20:37 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, the next petition I am presenting opposes the changes the government has made to the Canadian passport. The petitioners note that the passport Canadians have used for a long time contains images significant to Canadian heritage, including the fathers of Confederation, the Vimy Ridge memorial and Terry Fox; the government plans to erase these images from it. Petitioners call upon the government to reverse its plan to erase these symbols of national heritage and identity from the Canadian passport.
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- Sep/19/23 10:23:32 a.m.
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Mr. Speaker, next, I am presenting a petition regarding our international development policy.
The petitioners note the success of the Muskoka Initiative, which was launched by the previous Conservative government. It involved historic investments in the well-being of women and girls around the world, emphasized value for money and ensured investments in priorities identified by local women.
The petitioners note that the Liberal approach to international development for women and girls has recently been criticized in an Auditor General report because it fails to measure results. They say that the government has shown a lack of respect for cultural values and autonomy of women in developing countries by supporting organizations that, in some cases, violate local laws at the expense of international development priorities, such as clean water, access to basic nutrition and economic development.
The petitioners call on the Government of Canada to align international development spending with the approach taken in the Muskoka Initiative, focusing international development dollars on meeting the basic needs of vulnerable women around the world.
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- Sep/19/23 10:24:35 a.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the final petition that I am presenting today refers to comments made by Louis Roy from the Quebec College of Physicians recommending the expansion of euthanasia to “babies from birth to one year of age who come into the world with severe deformities and very serious syndromes”.
The petitioners believe that this proposal for the legalized killing of infants in Canada is deeply disturbing and wrong. They call on the Government of Canada to block any attempt to legalize the killing of children.
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