SoVote

Nov/1/23 3:29:56 p.m.
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It is important for all members to respect not only the regulations but also the traditions of the House. There is certainly an understanding that, when the Speaker takes his or her feet, all members should sit down. I did not ask for a while, but when I asked, I would note that the members did all sit down. I appreciate that they followed this important tradition of the House. The hon. member for Lakeland has a point of order.

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Mrs. Shannon Stubbs (Lakeland, CPC)

Nov/1/23 3:31:00 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, certainly I would not be one to raise any issues about decorum, because I think it is fair to suggest that I am a fairly assertive advocate on behalf of the people of Lakeland after eight years in the House of Commons. I certainly would not want to be hypocritical. Mr. Speaker, you have noted the importance of decorum, of how we speak to each other and of ensuring that the temperature can remain low as we do our duty on behalf of Canadians in this place of democracy for the common people. However, given this, I would note that, during question period, the member for Ajax quite directly challenged whether our leader and Conservatives truly care about Canada, the future of this country and, ultimately, all constituents, as well as whether we are patriots. I can say not only on my own behalf and certainly that of the leader, but also on behalf of every single member of Parliament in the Conservative Party, and I would like to assume in every other party, that we care deeply about this country and Canadians. I hope I can be forgiven afterwards for doing so, because I did not ask for permission in advance. I just wanted to raise that for your consideration, Mr. Speaker.

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The Speaker

Nov/1/23 3:32:24 p.m.
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I would like to thank the member for Lakeland for bringing up the issue of decorum. I would also like to cut the member a bit of slack. All members, from time to time, can be very passionate about their debates, so they know that there will be interventions that are made. I made that clear in the statement about decorum, which I am glad the member supports. I am glad, listening to the applause from members in the House, that all members support improving decorum in this place and following the guidelines that have been set out from the Chair. I will certainly take a look at that issue. I was a little preoccupied today, trying to make sure all members were acting in a decorous manner. If I missed that, I certainly will look. However, raising the issue about any hon. member's commitment to their ridings, to their region or to their country is something we should all avoid. Every member here has taken the steps to represent their communities, and they do so with honour. We need to make sure we never question that, as we should also make sure we do not question members, as I indicated, about their courage, presence in the House and so on. I encourage all members to refer to the statement I made two weeks ago. I thank the member for Lakeland for that. I thank the members who supported her and applauded her for making that intervention, and I would truly hope that, for the rest of the day and going forward, we will all try to avoid what happened here today during Oral Questions. I thank all hon. members for that.

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The Speaker

Nov/1/23 3:36:21 p.m.
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It being 3:35 p.m., the House will now proceed to the taking of the deferred recorded division on the motion of the member for Saint-Jean relating to the business of supply. Call in the members.

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The Deputy Speaker

Nov/1/23 3:48:57 p.m.
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I declare the motion carried.

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The Deputy Speaker

Nov/1/23 3:49:05 p.m.
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Re: Bill S-205

The House will now proceed to the taking of the deferred recorded division on the motion at second reading stage of Bill S-205 under Private Members' Business.

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The Deputy Speaker

Nov/1/23 4:02:20 p.m.
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Re: Bill S-205

I declare the motion carried. Accordingly, the bill stands referred to the Standing Committee on the Status of Women. The Deputy Speaker: I wish to inform the House that because of the deferred recorded divisions, Government Orders will be extended by 25 minutes.

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Mr. Kevin Lamoureux (Parliamentary Secretary to the Leader of the Government in the House of Commons, Lib.)

Nov/1/23 4:02:27 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 11 petitions. These returns will be tabled in an electronic format.

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Mr. Peter Fonseca (Mississauga East—Cooksville, Lib.)

Nov/1/23 4:02:58 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I have the honour to present, in both official languages, the 12th report of the Standing Committee on Finance, entitled “Merger of Royal Bank of Canada and HSBC Bank Canada”.

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Mr. Peter Schiefke (Vaudreuil—Soulanges, Lib.)

Nov/1/23 4:03:22 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I have the honour to present, in both official languages, the 15th report of the Standing Committee on Transport, Infrastructure and Communities entitled “Building a More Climate Resilient Canada”. Pursuant to Standing Order 109, the committee requests that the government table a comprehensive response to this report. I want to thank our clerk, our analysts, the interpreters and the committee members for their usual amazing work.

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Mr. Dan Muys (Flamborough—Glanbrook, CPC)

Nov/1/23 4:04:00 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I rise today to table a supplemental report on behalf of my Conservative colleagues on the Standing Committee on Transport, Infrastructure and Communities. I echo the committee chair and express our gratitude to the witnesses, staff, analysts and clerk. While we support several recommendations in the report, we believe it is vital to highlight key concerns, including the widening infrastructure gap, largely due to Liberal bureaucracy and its failures, which is a pressing issue. Layering more red tape on this will not help fix that. Also, with the housing affordability crisis, we need to prioritize affordable energy-efficient homes. More bureaucracy, which is contained in the recommendations in this report, is not the answer. Common-sense Conservatives want to see results: more keys in doors and building homes, not bureaucracy. More details on this and other recommendations in our supplemental report are included.

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Hon. Bardish Chagger (Waterloo, Lib.)

Nov/1/23 4:05:00 p.m.
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Re: Bill C-339

Mr. Speaker, I have the honour to present, in both official languages, the 51st report of the Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs. Pursuant to Standing Order 92(3)(a), the committee reports that it has concurred in the first report of the Subcommittee on Private Members' Business advising that Bill C-339, an act to amend the Competition Act (efficiencies defence), should be designated non-votable.

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Hon. Judy A. Sgro (Humber River—Black Creek, Lib.)

Nov/1/23 4:05:36 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, pursuant to Standing Order 107(3), I have the honour to present, in both official language, the seventh report of the Liaison Committee, entitled “Committee Activities and Expenditures: April 1, 2023 - August 31, 2023”. This report highlights the work and accomplishments of each committee, as well as detailing the budgets that fund the activities approved by committee members.

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Mr. Yvan Baker (Etobicoke Centre, Lib.)

Nov/1/23 4:06:28 p.m.
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Re: Bill C-361

moved for leave to introduce Bill C-361, Albanian Heritage Month Act. He said: Mr. Speaker, I rise today to introduce a bill entitled the Albanian heritage month act. The bill, if passed, would designate the month of November every year as Albanian heritage month across Canada. I would like to thank the member for Toronto—Danforth for seconding this bill. I hope all members of the House will support it. Canada is home to many Canadians of Albanian heritage. Their contributions to our economic lives, our cultural lives, our social lives and much more span from coast to coast to coast. This bill, if passed, would give us another opportunity to celebrate Albanian heritage month. It would give us a chance to celebrate those contributions. It would also give Albanian Canadians and all Canadians another chance to say this: [Member spoke in Albanian] [English]

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Mr. Garnett Genuis (Sherwood Park—Fort Saskatchewan, CPC)

Nov/1/23 4:07:58 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I move that the 10th report of the Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Development, presented on Tuesday, February 14, be concurred in. I will be sharing my time with my great colleague from Yorkton—Melville. This is an important report from the foreign affairs committee that focuses on the many actions required from Canada to continue and strengthen our support for the people of Ukraine. This week, at the Subcommittee on International Human Rights, we had harrowing testimony noting that as part of its illegal, genocidal invasion of Ukraine, Russia is using child abduction. Children are being abducted from Ukraine and brought to Russia, and this is part of the genocidal campaign of the Putin regime. It was harrowing testimony, and we will be hearing directly from victims at next Tuesday's hearings. This underlines how critical it is that we stand with Ukraine, that we fight for freedom and that we stand for truth and justice. During yesterday's testimony, the point was made about Ukraine's territorial integrity that territorial integrity is not simply or primarily a matter of land. It is a matter of people. When Russia takes over or tries to take over territory, it is not just stealing land. The Russian regime is involved in a campaign of stealing people, of forcing people into its authoritarian orbit, of sexual violence and of stealing children from their families. Therefore, when Ukraine fights for territorial integrity, when it demands respect for territorial integrity, this is not just or primarily a matter of land; it is a matter of people and preventing the Putin regime from stealing people. This report, a unanimous report from the foreign affairs committee that we are seeking to concur in today, has many different recommendations, all of which are important and many of which speak to justice, to bringing the aggressor to justice and to the steps Canada can take to do this, including, for instance, supporting the special tribunal for the crime of aggression. Recommendation 4 speaks of expelling diplomats. The report includes some creative ways of getting information to the Russian people, such as “supporting a free and open internet in Russia through the use of technologies such as virtual private networks”. There are many recommendations that are valuable and would be relatively uncontroversial in this House. I want to focus my remarks on two recommendations. Those are recommendation 12 and recommendation 15. Recommendation 12 of this report says, “That the Government of Canada not grant a sanctions waiver to Siemens Energy Canada Limited for Nord Stream 1 pipeline turbines as long as sanctions remain in effect.” This was an important recommendation because last summer, instead of working to bring Canadian energy to Europe to displace Russian oil and gas exports and instead of trying to use Canadian energy as a tool to reduce European dependence on Russia, the government was granting an exception to sanctions to allow the export of turbines to facilitate Russian energy exports to Europe. Rather than helping to create jobs in Canada and supporting energy exports from Canada to Europe, the government was more interested in allowing turbines that would facilitate the export of energy from Russia to Europe. Russian energy exports have been critical for the Putin regime as it tries to maintain its war. Its selling of energy is fuelling the violence we are seeing. The area where the government has been the weakest when it comes to supporting our allies in their fight against the Putin regime is not understanding the importance of energy security and not understanding the crucial role that Canada could play there. It is a win-win-win. Exporting our energy, developing our energy sector and supporting the rapid export of energy resources to Europe are good for European security and good for our economy. Often we talk about energy as an economic issue only. It is an economic issue but also a global security issue, because most of the world's democracies are geographically small, densely populated nations that rely on energy imports. As long as those nations are buying gas from Russia, they are sending back money that is being used as part of this horrific campaign of genocidal violence against Ukraine. Canada, as a geographically large and sparsely populated country rich in natural resources, has a unique and special role to play if we develop our energy sector and we export that energy, displacing that dependence. Last summer, instead of thinking about this economic opportunity and security imperative, the government was granting a turbine to facilitate continuing exports of gas from Russia through the Nord Stream 1 pipeline. This was a massive betrayal of our allies in Ukraine. The ambassador from Ukraine came before the Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Development and was very clear that this was not at all what the Ukrainian government wanted. The Ukrainian government recognized the vital importance of allies standing united in opposing those sanctions, and the government failed. That is recommendation 12. It is important the House concur in that recommendation as a sign of support for Ukraine and to be clear that never again should we allow the kind of weakening of sanctions we saw last fall. Finally, after months, the government pulled back on that permit after sustained opposition pressure, but frankly it sent a very negative and counterproductive message at the time. Finally, I want to speak about recommendation 15. Recommendation 15 calls on the Government of Canada to list the Wagner Group, a Russian mercenary organization, as a terrorist group under the Criminal Code. This would be a critical step. The Wagner Group is responsible for horrific violence in Ukraine but also for violence in other parts of the world. The Wagner Group is notionally a private military organization with close affiliations with the Russian government. Historically, of course there have been some structural changes since the abortive coup and some further developments since this report was tabled, although it still makes good sense to list the Wagner Group as a terrorist organization as per this recommendation, as well as to look for the ways in which the institutional architecture of this oppression shifts as the Russian government responds to the abortive coup. The call for the listing of Wagner Group as a terrorist organization is important in terms of delivering justice for the people of Ukraine and holding these violent terrorists accountable. It is also important for people of many other countries. There are many countries in Africa where the Wagner Group has been operating and has been, in effect, stealing from the people of those countries and has been responsible for absolutely brutal campaigns of violence within those countries. We see the increasing deployment and use of the Wagner Group in particular in Africa responsible for so much death and destruction and a kind of neocolonial policy of the Russian government trying to subject African countries and deploying this violence against vulnerable people. The Liberal government has refused calls to list the Wagner Group as a terrorist organization. There was a unanimous consent motion in the House calling for that listing. There was this recommendation of the foreign affairs committee, a unanimous recommendation I believe, calling for the listing of Wagner as a terrorist organization. This is another way where we need to see the Liberal government step up in terms of its support for Ukraine. There are many different positive recommendations in terms of bringing the Putin regime to justice and providing military and humanitarian support for Ukraine. These are all recommendations Conservatives support. We strongly support the actions required for quickly delivering the support necessary to the people of Ukraine. Again, I want to particularly highlight these two recommendations, where the government has been unfortunately missing in action. Number 12 is on energy security. If Canada is going to support Ukraine effectively, we must attend to the energy security dimension of this conflict. We must attend to the reality that the Russian regime relies on energy exports in order to fund this aggressive war. Canada can provide an alternative for countries that have in the past been dependent on Russia. We must attend to the energy security dimension and we must recognize the terrorist groups like the Wagner Group that the Russian regime is using for violence in Ukraine, for violence at home and indeed for violence around the world. Concurring in this 10th report, including recognizing the importance of those particular recommendations, would go a long way. We are proud to propose that the House take these steps today to make these important acts of recognition.

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Mr. Randeep Sarai

Nov/1/23 4:18:20 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I rise on a point of order. I made an error in my vote on Bill S-205. I wish to vote yea. I ask for unanimous consent from this House to have that changed.

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The Deputy Speaker

Nov/1/23 4:18:39 p.m.
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Is it 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.)

Nov/1/23 4:18:52 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I am sure the House would agree with me that we are witnessing a certain level of hypocrisy today. On the one hand we have a Conservative Party that likes to pretend it is supporting what is taking place and Canada's position with the allied forces against what Russia is doing in Ukraine. Today, we were supposed to be debating Bill C-57, which plays a direct role with respect to Canada-Ukraine relations and what is taking place in Europe today. Instead of debating that bill, not only for the first time but now for the second time, the Conservatives are preventing it from being debated and being passed to go to committee. The question I have for the member is this. His colleague, the member for Cumberland—Colchester, said that Bill C-57, the Canada-Ukraine trade deal, is woke. He said that Canada is taking advantage of Ukraine at a time of war by bringing in the bill. Is that why the Conservative Party continues to play the game of preventing the debate on Bill C-57 and it going to committee?

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Mr. Garnett Genuis

Nov/1/23 4:20:19 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, it is clear the member does not want to talk about listing the Wagner Group as a terrorist organization. It is clear he does not want to talk about the important work that needs to be done around supporting European energy security. I can tell members that our party strongly supports free trade. We want to have strengthened trade on energy. We believe there is an urgent need for Canada to do more to engage in energy partnerships in co-operation with other countries. I think it is also clear that the government's priorities, when it comes to international engagement, have not actually been on leveraging the opportunity and importance of energy security. It likes to say the word “trade”, but it does not believe in the opportunities that come with trade in natural gas and other commodities that Canada is blessed with and has an opportunity to use to advance global security. Our party stands with Ukraine. We stand on the side of strong free trade that recognizes the opportunities and benefits to all countries. I think energy security is a key part that the government is missing, which is why this report is so important.

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Mrs. Julie Vignola (Beauport—Limoilou, BQ)

Nov/1/23 4:21:36 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, naturally, this is a very important report. I would have liked to talk about Bill C‑57, but this is an important report nonetheless. I would like my colleague to talk about recommendation 6. For a long time, the Prairies of western Canada were considered Canada's breadbasket, that is, the place to source wheat and other grains. Ukraine has taken on this role globally. What consequences does war have on the world's food supply? How can recommendation 6 help avoid food security problems around the world?

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