44th Parl. 1st Sess.
September 19, 2024 10:00AM
- Sep/19/24 1:05:47 p.m.
- Watch
- Re: Bill C-5
Madam Speaker, it is an honour to present a petition for the first time in the fall on behalf of constituents.
I rise for the 44th time on behalf of the people of Swan River, Manitoba, to present a petition on the rising rate of crime. The rural region of 4,000 is overwhelmed by the out-of-control crime caused by the Liberal government's soft-on-crime laws, such as Bill C-5 and Bill C-75. Jail has become a revolving door for repeat offenders as Bill C-75 allows violent offenders to be in jail in the morning and back on the street the same day. Bill C-5 allows criminals to serve their sentences from home.
The people of Swan River are calling for jail, not bail, for repeat violent offenders. They demand that the Liberal government repeal its soft-on-crime policies, which directly threaten their livelihoods and their community. I support the good people of Swan River.
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- Sep/19/24 1:06:49 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, it is an honour to rise today and present a petition from constituents concerned about the question of how people who are dealing with addiction, in need of rehabilitation and treatment, are handled by society. The petitioners note that there is a policy of treating those who suffer from drug abuse as criminals. That policy has proven ineffective in alleviating the burden of drug abuse on our society; instead, it has driven those with a potential to be rehabilitated into the streets and exacerbated issues of mental health and homelessness.
The petitioners call for the government to cease incarceration of those who suffer from drug abuse and rehabilitate them as quickly as possible with wraparound treatment programs. They cite Portugal as an example.
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- Sep/19/24 1:07:47 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I would like to table a petition about international flights signed by a number of my constituents. They are looking to encourage airlines or different levels of government, those who have an impact on flights, to ensure that we see more direct international flights, ideally between Canada and India and particularly from my home city of Winnipeg. There is a growing population and a growing demand to go to India.
Failing that, petitioners would like see more direct flights to Europe, just more international flights, particularly out of Winnipeg.
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Madam Speaker, it is always a pleasure to rise on behalf of the people from Kamloops—Thompson—Cariboo. I have a petition to present today.
It is respecting the general thrust of Bill S-210, which looks at the pernicious effects of the consumption of pornography, particularly for young people who have not yet reached adulthood. The petitioners advocate for online age verification.
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- Sep/19/24 1:09:13 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I have here an important petition signed by thousands of people who are telling us that the state of Palestine, governed by the Palestinian National Authority, currently does not have membership in the United Nations.
Since the State of Israel currently has illegal settlements in the West Bank, there are concerns regarding potential illegal occupation of Gaza. As of 2024, the state of Palestine is recognized by 75% of the United Nations member states, which amounts to 145 out of the 193 member states, recently joined by Spain, Norway, Ireland and Slovenia.
These people are calling on the Government of Canada to formally recognize the state of Palestine as a full member of the United Nations.
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- Sep/19/24 1:09:54 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I have four petitions to table today.
My first petition relates to one of my favourite issues.
The Calgary Co-op is unable to use plastic compostable bags. The petitioners want to draw the attention of the Government of Canada to the following points. The Calgary Co-op has successfully kept over 100 million plastic bags out of landfills with the use of its compostable shopping bags. The City of Calgary supports the use of the Calgary Co-op's compostable bags, stating that they do fully break down in their composting facilities. Further, the federal ban, as it stands now, allows for Calgary Co-op to sell its compostable bags on store shelves but prevents it from selling these same bags a few feet away at the checkout. This makes little sense and does very little to limit their actual use.
The Calgary Co-op says the unnecessary ban could send signals that would stifle the adoption and development of environmentally responsible products. Petitioners call on the Government of Canada to recognize that compostable bags do not constitute single-use plastics and are therefore worthy of an exemption to the upcoming ban.
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- Sep/19/24 1:11:08 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, the next petition, e-4937, has over 15,000 petitioners, who note the following for the government.
The permanent residence pathway for Hong Kong residents took effect on June 1, 2021, and expires on August 31, 2026. The petition draws the attention of the House to the fact that more than 8,000 Hong Kong citizens are in Canada and are awaiting PR processing as of April 2024. The target number for permanent residents based on humanitarian and compassionate grounds will be reduced by the Government of Canada to 13,750 in 2024 and then lowered to 8,000 in 2025. This reduction raises a significant questions about whether Hong Kong citizens would still be accommodated.
Petitioners call for the Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship to accelerate processing, ensure that Hong Kong citizens' applications for PR will not be rejected due to target restrictions and will be considered on a case-by-case basis, and renew stream A and stream B applicants as they apply if they are found to meet the criteria eligibility.
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- Sep/19/24 1:12:18 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, my third petition is on medical assistance in dying. There is now a delay on this but not a complete ban.
The petitioners are asking for Parliament to reconsider it as a priority issue and to ensure that there are supports for people with mental health illnesses for everyone in Canada. They are calling on the Government of Canada to definitively stop the expansion of medical assistance in dying for those who solely have a mental illness as an underlying condition.
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- Sep/19/24 1:12:49 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, this final petition is signed by petitioners I met at their doors.
The petitioners are calling on the House of Commons to have a vote of non-confidence and a federal election within 45 days of that successful vote.
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- Sep/19/24 1:13:04 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, the first petition that I am tabling today is in support of the recognition of the universal dignity of the human person.
The petitioners contend that it is always wrong to will the death of a child. Regardless of age, stage or circumstances, it is always wrong to intentionally kill a child. That basic moral proposition did not used to be controversial, and petitioners were horrified to hear a proposal from Dr. Louis Roy of 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”.
This proposal for the, in effect, legalized intentional killing of children is deeply disturbing, and petitioners call on the Government of Canada to block any attempt to allow the killing of children in Canada.
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Madam Speaker, the next petition is in support of Bill S-210, a common-sense bill that would protect very young children from exposure to violent sexual images online.
Petitioners recognize that exposing young people to violent sexual images is a form of abuse, yet we know that the average age of exposure to pornography in Canada is 11. It is very common for very young children to access this material because there are no meaningful checks on that access.
Petitioners note that Parliament should recognize the harmful effects associated with exposure to pornography at a very young age, including the development of pornography addiction, the reinforcement of gender stereotypes, the development of attitudes favourable to harassment and violence, including sexual harassment and violence, and particularly an increase in violence against women. Petitioners further note that online age verification technology is increasingly sophisticated and can effectively ascertain the age of the user without creating concerns for privacy rights.
Anyone making sexually explicit material available on the Internet for commercial purposes should have a responsibility to ensure that that material is not accessed by young persons, and this is precisely what Bill S-210 would do. Online age verification was the primary recommendation made by stakeholders during a 2017 study by the Standing Committee on Health. The issue has been extensively studied before. The bill has also been extensively studied, particularly by multiple committees in the Senate.
Therefore, petitioners are calling upon the House of Commons to adopt Bill S-210,, the protecting young persons from exposure to pornography act.
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Madam Speaker, the next petition I am tabling is in support of the people of Ukraine in their struggle against the illegal, genocidal invasion of their territory by the Russian Federation. In particular, petitioners are in support of Bill C-388, my private member's bill, which would advance a number of measures aimed at giving Ukraine the support that it needs, particularly in the area of weapons.
Petitioners note that the government has previously rejected Conservative proposals that would have expedited the delivery of urgently needed military equipment to Ukraine.
Petitioners call upon the government to immediately follow through on long-delayed promises regarding military support for Ukraine, to send any surplus military equipment to Ukraine on an urgent basis and to support the passage of Bill C-388, which I have tabled in the House.
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- Sep/19/24 1:17:05 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, the next petition deals issues in Venezuela. The petition does predate the most recent events in Venezuela, and I know petitioners would strongly support the people of Venezuela in their struggle for freedom and democracy, and for the recognition of the real results of the election. Sadly, the government has thus far failed to recognize the opposition victory in Venezuela, and we continue to call on them to do so.
This petition, though, predates those most recent events and deals particularly with political prisoners. It calls on the Government of Canada to include political prisoners with close ties to Canada, particularly Ígbert José Marín Chaparro and Oswaldo Valentín García Palomo in any discussions or negotiations regarding diplomatic ties and to advocate for the unconditional release of the prisoners of conscience, Ígbert José Marín Chaparro and Oswaldo Valentín García Palomo, due to their strong family ties in Canada.
The petitioners seek the release of all political prisoners in Venezuela before any concessions are given to the Venezuelan government, request the release and permission to come to Canada of these political prisoners and request that no further strengthening of the relationship take place unless and until all of these political prisoners are released.
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- Sep/19/24 1:18:41 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, the next petition I would like to table deals with natural health products. The petitioners are deeply troubled by the fact that the Liberal government has threatened access to natural health products through new rules that would mean higher costs and fewer products available on store shelves. They note that new so-called cost recovery provisions would impose massive costs on all consumers of natural health products and undermine access for Canadians who rely on these products. They note how provisions in a previous Liberal omnibus budget, supported by the NDP, have given the government substantial new arbitrary powers around the regulation of natural health products.
There is a private member's bill from my colleague from Red Deer—Lacombe that seeks to remedy these changes. I should clarify that it is from my Conservative colleague from Red Deer. If anyone has any doubts about Red Deer, it is certainly a strong Conservative place.
Therefore, the undersigned call on the Government of Canada to reverse the changes made in the last Liberal budget regarding natural health products. I am pleased to table this petition.
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- Sep/19/24 1:20:00 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, in the time I have left I would like to table a petition about Canadian identity and heritage, an issue that has not been discussed in this place for some time, but remains very important to many of my constituents.
The petitioners note how the Canadian passport has long had images significant to Canadian heritage, including the Fathers of Confederation, the Vimy Memorial and Terry Fox. The government made a series of outrageous changes to the images on the passport, erasing these images.
The undersigned petitioners call upon the government to reverse this plan that erased these symbols of national heritage and identity and to restore the celebration and appreciation that we should have for these great heroes of Canadian history and the reverence for these important monuments and memorials of our proud shared history.
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- Sep/19/24 1:21:03 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I ask that all questions be allowed to stand at this time.
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- Sep/19/24 1:21:07 p.m.
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Is that agreed?
Some hon. members: Agreed.
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Madam Speaker, today is an important day for many survivors. I want to begin by recognizing the women and men who are watching this debate on the bill today. There are generations of survivors of military sexual trauma who will be closely following the debate on the legislation. I have heard from many of them. They told me about how they felt invisible. Some have felt invisible to the institution they committed their lives to in the Canadian Armed Forces. Some have felt invisible to the senior leadership of the military they served. Some have felt invisible to the greater public, who do not know all the complex layers of their experiences. Some have felt invisible to us, the few hundred Canadians with the rare privilege to serve in the House of Commons, who hold a sacred obligation as decision-makers to protect those who protect us.
Every day these survivors are working for change. They build resilience by supporting and holding each other up when the institutions will not. They empower each other and assist with making claims when institutions will not. They organize and demand reforms to politicians when our priorities do not meet them where they are at. They come together to support each other when they choose to make the impossible decision to share and reshare their trauma to the media or to parliamentary committees.
Today is another chapter in their fight. I want to highlight this to the women and men watching, to those brave survivors. This piece of legislation is not the last chapter, but one step in a large list of changes that are needed, and I am with them. We will not stop until there is justice for survivors and until everyone who steps up to serve their country can do so in a safe environment. I want them to know they are not invisible. They are remarkable, and they are not alone.
Today, I am pleased to speak to Bill C-66, the military justice system modernization act, which, among other things, is legislating Justice Arbour's fifth recommendation of the independent external review to remove criminal sexual offences from the military justice system. This will give exclusive jurisdiction to the civilian justice system.
This legislation also works to implement some of the recommendations by Justice Fish's third independent review of the National Defence Act, expanding the eligibility criteria to be appointed as a military judge to allow non-commissioned members to become judges, not just military officers. This legislation removes the minister's power of appointing and removing the director of military prosecutions—
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- Sep/19/24 1:24:02 p.m.
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Point of order. There seems to be a problem with interpretation. Is that the issue?
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- Sep/19/24 1:24:09 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, the interpreters are saying that there is a phone on vibrate near a microphone, so they are having difficulty doing their job.
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