44th Parl. 1st Sess.
March 28, 2022 11:00AM
- Mar/28/22 3:23:17 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I am proud to present, on behalf of Canadians from across the country, a petition that recognizes Russia's invasion of Ukraine, the human rights abuses taking place and the humanitarian situation that has evolved with the displaced people. There are 1.4 million Canadians of Ukrainian descent who would love to see more Ukrainian refugees come here.
They are calling on the government to expedite the process of bringing Ukrainian refugees to Canada by moving to a visa-free travel immigration system for Ukrainians rather than the current special visa system in place.
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- Mar/28/22 3:24:01 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I have a number of petitions to present this morning.
The first petition I have is from folks concerned about the expansion of physician-assisted dying here in Canada. They recognize that folks with mental illness should not be eligible for physician-assisted dying, and they are concerned also around the conscience rights of physicians who have to participate in this. There are over 24,000 physicians in Canada who are concerned about their charter rights and freedoms and their freedom of conscience. Therefore, the undersigned of this particular petition are calling on the Government of Canada to enshrine in the Criminal Code conscience rights' protections to ensure that physicians are not subject to coercion or intimidation in order to provide or refer for assisted suicide or euthanasia.
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- Mar/28/22 3:27:48 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, the next petition I have to present is on behalf of Canadians who are concerned about ALS treatments. The petitioners note that ALS currently has no cure and a diagnosis with the disease leads to an expected life span of two to five years. ALS impacts not only just the only one diagnosed but also their family and friends.
The petitioners are calling for the expedition of some ALS treatments and drugs that are available in other countries but Health Canada has been slow in approving. The petitioners are calling specifically for a swift approval of the drug AMX00355, or the creation of a pilot project to reduce delays so that folks can get this particular treatment.
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- Mar/28/22 3:27:48 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, the last petition I am presenting today is from Canadians from across the country who are concerned about the access of children on the Internet. They are calling on the government to implement age verification software and calling on folks who host images on the Internet to ensure that underage folks are not being depicted in those videos and that underage folks are not gaining access to explicit content. The petitioners note that age verification can determine the age and identity of users and prevent exploitation.
The petitioners are calling for commitments from Parliament to defend vulnerable people and calling on the government to implement meaningful age verification.
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- Mar/28/22 3:27:48 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, the next petition I have to present today is from folks from across Canada. They are concerned about their charitable status being revoked and their views being forced into a values test. The petitioners note that the Liberals have promised to deny charitable status to groups with views they call dishonest. This would jeopardize the charitable status of hospitals, houses of worship, schools, homeless shelters and other organizations. They also note that the Liberals have previously discriminated against folks who have applied for a Canadian summer jobs grant.
The petitioners are calling on the House of Commons to protect and preserve the application of charitable status rules on a political- and ideological-neutral basis without discrimination on the basis of political or religious values without imposing another values test.
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- Mar/28/22 3:27:48 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, the next petition I have is from folks from Fox Creek and Swan Hills in northern Alberta. These two remote communities in northern Alberta fall just below the line to get the northern living allowance tax benefits. They currently do not get any of the northern living allowance tax benefits, but they are only 12 kilometres short of the arbitrary line and they are distinctly remote communities. The intermediate prescribed zone in Alberta would allow the folks who live in this area to claim those tax credits.
The petitioners are calling for the government to recognize the hardships that come from living in Fox Creek and Swan Hills and to give them the tax benefits that are allowed to their neighbours.
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- Mar/28/22 3:27:53 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I am pleased to rise today to table a petition regarding public passenger transportation in our country. As everyone in this place knows, Greyhound's withdrawal of service last year has left Canadians, especially rural Canadians, with fewer transportation options than ever.
The petitioners are calling on the federal government to show real leadership on this issue by creating or empowering a national public corporation to connect communities within every province and territory via a safe, affordable, accessible and integrated bus and rail service.
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- Mar/28/22 3:28:30 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I have three petitions to present this afternoon all related to Vladimir Putin's illegal invasion of Ukraine and some of the economic sanctions and policies that this government could implement to respond to the situation.
The first petition calls on the government to impose Magnitsky sanctions on all Russian officials who have any involvement in the invasion of Ukraine. This would create a disincentive for Russian oligarchs to support the war effort and serve to isolate Vladimir Putin within Russian society.
The second petition calls on the Government of Canada to work with the international community to implement a complete economic embargo on Russia, which is a pretty good idea actually. I remember, in the early 1990s, when Saddam Hussein invaded Kuwait, the international community came together to impose an economic embargo on Iraq. For a few months I remember that nothing went in and nothing came out. It makes sense to do the same thing today with Russia.
Finally, the third petition calls on the Government of Canada to take steps to increase Canadian oil and gas exports to western Europe and to alleviate our allies' dependence on Russian oil. It really is a shame that the energy east pipeline never got built and that the Keystone XL pipeline never got built. If we can get Canadian oil and gas to our allies in western Europe, it would mean that much less money going towards Vladimir Putin's war machine.
All of these petitions have been signed by the Ukrainian community in Regina and southern Saskatchewan, and I am pleased to present them here today.
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- Mar/28/22 3:30:16 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, the third petition that I am tabling is in support of a private member's bill that started in the Senate and now stands in my name in this House. Bill S-223 is a bill that would make it a criminal offence for a person to go abroad and receive an organ taken without a person's consent. It also would create a mechanism by which a person could be deemed inadmissible to Canada if they have been involved in forced organ harvesting and trafficking.
This is important and common-sense, no-brainer human rights legislation that we have been working on, including various members of Parliament before me, for about 15 years. Hopefully, this Parliament will be the one that finally gets it done.
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- Mar/28/22 3:30:16 p.m.
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The next petition I am tabling, Madam Speaker, by popular demand, is with respect to a Liberal Party election commitment. The Liberal Party has committed to politicize the charitable status determination to apply a values test to restrict pro-life organizations from having access to charitable status on the same basis. I know this is of grave concern not just to people who have those convictions but to people across the charitable sector who do not want to see the politicization of charitable status in this country. Petitioners call on the government 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, and to affirm the right of Canadians' freedom of expression.
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- Mar/28/22 3:30:16 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, the next petition that I am tabling highlights the situation in Hong Kong, including concerns about ongoing human rights issues in Hong Kong and also some of the challenges with the immigration measures that the government has put in place with respect to Hong Kong. The petitioners note that the immigration measures that have been put in place do allow someone who has been charged under the national security law, which is a politicized prosecution, to still be able to come to Canada. However, they do not contain the same clarity around those who have been charged under other offences but still in a highly politicized way.
Petitioners want the government to recognize the politicization of the judiciary in Hong Kong and its impact on the legitimacy and validity of any criminal convictions; to affirm its commitment to render all national security law charges and convictions irrelevant and invalid in relation to paragraph 36(1)(c), but also to create a mechanism by which, for anybody charged in relation to a pro-democracy activity, those convictions would not be a barrier to their ability to come to Canada; and to work with other like-minded partners to waive criminal inadmissibility of Hong Kongers convicted for political purpose who otherwise have no criminal record.
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Madam Speaker, I am pleased to be able to present a number of petitions in the House today.
The first is a new petition in support of a private member's bill I have just recently tabled, Bill C-257. It is great to see people are already keen on bringing forward petitions on it. The petitioners point out that it is important in a democracy to protect public debate and the exchange of differing opinions, noting that this bill would protect Canadians against political discrimination by adding political belief and activity as prohibited grounds of discrimination in the Canadian Human Rights Act. Petitioners want to see the House support Bill C-257, which would ban discrimination on the basis of political belief or activity and would defend the right of Canadians to peacefully express their political opinions.
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- Mar/28/22 3:30:16 p.m.
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The next petition, Madam Speaker, is quite timely in light of new emerging concerns about the violation of the ceasefire between Azerbaijan and Armenia. Petitioners are, in this case, concerned about the ongoing detention of Armenian prisoners of war. Petitioners call for the immediate release of those prisoners.
They are hoping the Government of Canada is also urgently seized with the violations of the ceasefire agreement we have seen recently and is standing for peace in the region.
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- Mar/28/22 3:30:16 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, the second petition that I am tabling highlights the situation in Ukraine and the horrific ongoing invasion we are seeing of Ukraine, an invasion that really began in 2014 but that we have seen an escalation of in recent weeks. Petitioners are calling on the government to take a number of points of action, some of which, we are pleased to see, have already been taken. The petitioners identify a number of actions that have not been acted upon yet.
The petitioners want the government to stand with the people of Ukraine in the threat facing Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity. They call on the international community to take decisive action against the Putin regime and ban Russia from international organizations such as the UNSC, OSCE, etc.; to impose full and swift sanctions against the Putin regime, including the removal of Russia from the SWIFT payment system, boycotting Russian oil and gas imports in Canada and Europe and securing energy agreements with western partners; to increase the supply of military equipment and lethal defence weapons to protect the territory and human rights of the people of Ukraine; to provide urgent humanitarian assistance to the people of Ukraine; and to provide vital assistance to refugees impacted by the conflict in Ukraine. They want the government to allow Canadians with family members in Ukraine to urgently bring family members to Canada for as long as the conflict persists. Conservatives have been calling for visa-free travel in that vein.
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- Mar/28/22 3:37:00 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, the next petition I am tabling highlights the human rights situation facing the Hazara community in Afghanistan. There were grave concerns about the human rights situation facing the Hazara ethnic minority in Afghanistan prior to the Taliban takeover. Things have become a great deal worse, of course, since then for the Hazaras and other ethnic and religious minorities.
The petitioners are calling on the government to recognize that the Hazaras have been victims of genocide, to designate September 25 as Hazara genocide memorial day and to continue to be actively seized with the violation of human rights among the Hazaras and all communities in Afghanistan under the Taliban.
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- Mar/28/22 3:37:00 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, the final petition I am tabling today is with respect to the situation in Ethiopia. Some of the asks in the petition text itself are a bit dated, but the petitioners are concerned about what is still an ongoing conflict in the Tigray region of Ethiopia. They call for the government to be actively engaged in advocating for human rights in Ethiopia and an end to the conflict. I know there are growing concerns about food security in that region and throughout the world in light of concerns about food supply as a result of the conflict in Ukraine. The petitioners want the government to engage directly and consistently with the Ethiopian and Eritrean governments regarding this conflict and to call for credible, independent investigations into all human rights abuses that have taken place.
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- Mar/28/22 3:37:39 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, the second petition is with respect to conscience rights for physicians. Canadians are concerned about the potential that may exist regarding the coercion of health care providers and physicians. This petition, signed by many Canadians across the country, is to ensure that we have conscience rights for physicians and practitioners.
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