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House Hansard - 221

44th Parl. 1st Sess.
September 20, 2023 02:00PM
Context: House Hansard - 221 - Sep/20/23
Ms. Elizabeth May (Saanich—Gulf Islands, GP)
  • Sep/20/23 3:49:04 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, it is an honour to rise virtually today on behalf of petitioners in Saanich—Gulf Islands who are concerned with the fate of old-growth forests. The petitioners have identified and raised to the House assembled the need to pay attention to a risk to a specific endangered species of plant, specifically of lichen that is found only in the old-growth forest of yellow and red cedars. It is down to a very small remaining population on Vancouver Island. It is the old-growth specklebelly lichen. The petitioners call on the federal and provincial governments, of course in this case, the federal government, to pay attention to this threat under the Species at Risk Act, and for the Minister of Environment to take steps to preserve this very endangered, rare old-growth forest lichen.
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Mrs. Karen Vecchio (Elgin—Middlesex—London, CPC)
  • Sep/20/23 3:50:15 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, this petition is calling on the Government of Canada to use all of its tools to respond to the Bissonnette decision, including invoking the notwithstanding clause. One of the most important things to Canadians is that when the justice system does not work, it fails Canadian people. We are seeing this time and time again. We want to ensure that there are consecutive sentences going forward. We are asking that the Minister of Justice look at invoking the notwithstanding clause and override the Bissonnette ruling.
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Mr. Jeremy Patzer (Cypress Hills—Grasslands, CPC)
  • Sep/20/23 3:50:52 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I am honoured to present a petition signed by the great people of Cypress Hills—Grasslands, who have been facing consecutive years of drought. One of the many ways the Liberal government has made life difficult for farmers is that it banned strychnine for dealing with out-of-control gopher populations. The petitioners are calling on Health Canada to reverse the decision and support the province of Saskatchewan and the province of Alberta, which have both spoken against this, because there is already sound scientific evidence proving that strychnine is effective and also safe to use when used properly.
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Mr. Blaine Calkins (Red Deer—Lacombe, CPC)
  • Sep/20/23 3:51:30 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, it is an honour for me to rise today to present a petition on behalf of Canadians from coast to coast asking the government to use all the tools it has at its disposal to respond to R v. Bissonnette, including invoking the notwithstanding clause. The Bissonnette case overruled section 745.51 of the Criminal Code, making it easier for those who commit murder to get parole. This flies in the face of the will of the House and, of course, the common sense of the common people, the Canadians who signed this petition. They ask the government to correct this injustice.
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Mr. Kevin Lamoureux (Winnipeg North, Lib.)
  • Sep/20/23 3:52:11 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, it is with pleasure that I table today a petition dealing with members of, in particular, our Indo-Canadian community who have recognized the growth in that community here in Canada and want to see more direct flights from Canada going into, ideally, India. I know that many of my constituents would like to see a direct flight going from Winnipeg to India. The petitioners want to make sure the House is aware of that and to pass on their concerns to airlines and international airports here in Canada.
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Mr. Mike Morrice (Kitchener Centre, GP)
  • Sep/20/23 3:53:01 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, it is an honour to rise to present a petition on behalf of those who recognize that we are in a climate crisis. They recognize we are spending at least $4.8 billion a year on fossil fuel subsidies. Recent estimates actually have it much higher, at more like upwards of $20 billion a year. The petitioners recognize that by subsidizing fossil fuels, we are making it cheaper to produce and consume more fossil fuels. As a result, the petitioners call for the Government of Canada to immediately end all fossil fuel subsidies, both international and domestic, to all corporations, buyers, sellers and users of fossil fuels.
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Mr. Damien Kurek (Battle River—Crowfoot, CPC)
  • Sep/20/23 3:53:45 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I rise today to present a petition signed by various Canadians from across the Prairies who would like to highlight one of the decisions Health Canada has made that puts the livelihood of livestock farmers at risk in our country, and that is the banning of strychnine. Strychnine, when used properly, is not something that puts wildlife populations at risk. However, this ban is leading to an out-of-control, year-over-year increase in the population of gophers. The petitioners are asking for the government to use common sense to trust farmers and ranchers with the safe usage of strychnine, and restore the ability for farmers across the Prairies to properly use this chemical for the management of gopher populations.
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Mr. Dan Mazier (Dauphin—Swan River—Neepawa, CPC)
  • Sep/20/23 3:54:44 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I rise for the 10th time on behalf of the people of Swan River, Manitoba to present a petition with respect to the rising rate of crime. The people of Swan River are fed up with the Liberals' soft-on-crime policies that have allowed crime to haunt the community. Folks are forced to increase their security by barring the windows and installing alarms on their doors. Business owners are forced to ask themselves whether they can even afford to stay in business among the crime and chaos. We cannot expect rural communities to thrive when the local economy is held hostage by the same repeat offenders. The people of Swan River demand that the Liberal government repeal its soft-on-crime policies that directly threaten their livelihoods and their community. I support the good people of Swan River.
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Mr. Garnett Genuis (Sherwood Park—Fort Saskatchewan, CPC)
  • Sep/20/23 3:55:38 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the opportunity to table a number of petitions on behalf of my constituents and other concerned Canadians. The first petition deals with the issue of political discrimination and the growing fear some Canadians have that they will face discrimination in the workplace, including, perhaps, bullying, risk of employment consequences, etc., on the basis of their political views. While the Canadian Human Rights Act provides protection for Canadians against certain kinds of discrimination, there is not protection against discrimination on the basis of political views. That is why I have tabled Bill C-257, a bill that would add political belief and activity as prohibited grounds of discrimination to the Canadian Human Rights Act. Petitioners support Bill C-257, which is great, and they have prepared this petition, which I am, on their behalf, presenting to the House. The petition asks the House to support Bill C-257, which would ban discrimination on the basis of political belief or activity and defend the rights of Canadians to peacefully express their political opinions. I will refrain from expressing a personal view on that petition at all. I just wanted to share the views of petitioners. I know my friend from Winnipeg North is watching closely to ensure that the rules are observed.
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Mr. Garnett Genuis (Sherwood Park—Fort Saskatchewan, CPC)
  • Sep/20/23 3:57:10 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the second petition is from constituents concerned about proposals to legalize the killing of children in Canada under the so-called MAID regime. They note in particular that one of the witnesses at a previous committee was calling for the legalization of euthanasia for babies. The petitioners call on the government and the House to strongly oppose any effort to legalize the killing of children in Canada.
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Mr. Garnett Genuis (Sherwood Park—Fort Saskatchewan, CPC)
  • Sep/20/23 3:57:47 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the third petition deals, similarly, with an issue involving discrimination on the basis of political views. It references a 2021 platform commitment from the Liberal Party of Canada to politicize charitable status determination, that is, to deny charitable status for certain pro-life organizations. The petitioners note this would jeopardize the charitable status of hospitals, houses of worship, schools, homeless shelters and other charitable organizations that do not agree with the Liberal Party on matters of conscience. The petitioners note this would apply a values test for charitable status, similar to what we saw with the Canada summer jobs program, and jeopardize the good work of organizations that are not doing anything controversial but simply wish to be sincere about the private convictions of those involved in the organization. The petitioners call on the House to protect and preserve the application of charitable status rules on a politically and ideologically neutral basis, without discrimination on the basis of political or religious values and without the imposition of another values test, as well as to affirm the right of Canadians to freedom of expression.
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Mr. Garnett Genuis (Sherwood Park—Fort Saskatchewan, CPC)
  • Sep/20/23 3:59:05 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the final petition today concerns the discrimination against and persecution of Falun Gong practitioners in the People's Republic of China. The petitioners note that 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. The petitioners go on to explain a decades-long campaign of violence and persecution that has targeted Falun Gong practitioners. They also note the work of David Matas and the late, great David Kilgour on uncovering the campaign of forced organ harvesting targeting Falun Gong practitioners. The petitioners call on the government to strengthen its response to the persecution of Falun Gong practitioners, to do more and to stand with them and other victims of violence at the hands of the Communist regime in Beijing. I commend these petitions to the consideration of my colleagues.
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Mr. Kevin Lamoureux (Parliamentary Secretary to the Leader of the Government in the House of Commons, Lib.)
  • Sep/20/23 4:00:23 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, if the revised response to Question No. 1621, originally tabled on September 18, could be made an order for return, this return would be tabled in electronic format immediately.
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The Deputy Speaker
  • Sep/20/23 4:00:48 p.m.
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Is that agreed? Some hon. members: Agreed.
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  • Sep/20/23 4:00:59 p.m.
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Question No. 1621—
Questioner: Philip Lawrence
With regard to wrapping or other advertising expenditures for the exteriors of buildings since April 1, 2019, broken down by department, agency, Crown corporation, or other government entity: (a) what is the total amount spent on wrapping or advertising, broken down by individual building; and (b) what are the details of all wrapping, tarp, or similar type of advertising on government buildings, broken down by individual building, including the (i) vendor, (ii) description of good or services provided, (iii) date, (iv) amount, (v) file number, (vi) address of the building, (vii) message on the wrapping or the summary of advertising campaign?
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Mr. Kevin Lamoureux
  • Sep/20/23 4:01:06 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I ask that all questions be allowed to stand.
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The Deputy Speaker
  • Sep/20/23 4:01:06 p.m.
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Is that agreed? Some hon. members: Agreed.
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Mr. Kevin Lamoureux (Parliamentary Secretary to the Leader of the Government in the House of Commons, Lib.)
  • Sep/20/23 4:01:14 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I ask that all notices of motions for the production of papers also be allowed to stand at this time please.
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The Deputy Speaker
  • Sep/20/23 4:01:23 p.m.
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Is that agreed? Some hon. members: Agreed
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Mr. Jasraj Singh Hallan (Calgary Forest Lawn, CPC)
  • Sep/20/23 4:01:29 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I rise today to request an emergency debate, following yesterday's news that Canada's CPI inflation is once again on the rise. It has increased 43% in the last two months to reach 4%, double the Bank of Canada's target rate. This is at a time when Canadians are already suffering the cost of living crisis following two years of inflation brought on by the Liberal government's inflationary deficits. As former Liberal finance minister John Manley has said, that is like pushing on the gas while the Bank of Canada slams on the brakes as it raises interest rates to levels not seen in over 20 years. Insolvencies, bankruptcies and mortgage delinquencies are on the rise. A quarter of mortgage holders say they are struggling to pay their monthly mortgage bill, and food banks estimate they will see a 60% increase in usage this year. Canadians can no longer afford basic necessities, the cost of rent or a mortgage. According to the IMF, our country is the most at risk in the G7 for a mortgage default crisis. The pain felt by Canadians is real, and the risk for even more serious economic problems is very real. Therefore, I request an emergency debate to address this crisis.
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