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Hon. Ahmed Hussen (Minister of Housing and Diversity and Inclusion, Lib.)

May/9/22 3:09:43 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, of course, we condemn all forms of hate, racism and discrimination against all Canadians from coast to coast to coast. We have recently seen a disturbing rise in anti-Asian hate and discrimination, and we stand strongly in solidarity, shoulder to shoulder, with Asian Canadians. We have invested and we will continue to invest in community programs and organizations that are fighting hate and discrimination on the ground, including against Asian Canadians. Today marks 20 years since the introduction of Asian Heritage Month, so I wish a happy Asian Heritage Month to all my colleagues.

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The Deputy Speaker

May/9/22 3:10:23 p.m.
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That is all the time we have for question period.

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Period

The Deputy Speaker

May/9/22 3:10:59 p.m.
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I'd like to draw the attention of the hon. members to some visitors we have in the gallery today. We have a parliamentary delegation from the Kingdom of Sweden. Accompanying them is His Excellency Dr. Andreas Norlén, Speaker of the Parliament of the Kingdom of Sweden. Some hon. members: Hear, hear!

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The Deputy Speaker

May/9/22 3:12:17 p.m.
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I would like to return to the question of privilege raised earlier today by the House leader of the official opposition. I thank the member for raising this matter. All members, individually and collectively, are responsible for maintaining the dignity of the House. In light of the, I believe, sincere apology from the member for Brampton Centre, I consider the matter closed. With that said, as the Assistant Deputy Speaker stated earlier in response to the question of privilege, I too take this opportunity to again encourage all members to always be vigilant when participating remotely in proceedings of the House. If members do not have to have the camera on, turn it off. If they do not have to be in voting, turn it off.

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Mr. Damien Kurek

May/9/22 3:12:22 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I rise on a point of order. Today in question period, I asked a very specific question of the Minister of Agriculture, to which the response was wholly unrelated to the question that was asked. I believe it is standard practice of the House that responses to members' questions have to be related, and there have been opportunities when members have been able to re-ask questions. I would ask for the Speaker's indulgence as this is an incredibly important issue that my constituents certainly deserve an answer to.

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The Deputy Speaker

May/9/22 3:12:53 p.m.
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A question has to be in order, but unfortunately the Chair is not the arbiter of whether it is a good question or bad question, nor whether it is a good answer or a bad answer. I appreciate the frustration, and I encourage the member to take it up with the minister in person.

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

May/9/22 3:13:25 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 16 petitions. These returns will be tabled in an electronic format.

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

May/9/22 3:14:11 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I have a number of petitions to present today. I am not sure of the exact number. The first petition deals with a commitment that was in the Liberals' 2021 election platform. It was a commitment to essentially politicize the application of charitable status. The petitioners, including a broad range of stakeholders, are opposed to the politicization of charitable status, the adding of another values test to the charitable status test. The petitioners express concern that a similar effort was made with respect to the Canada summer jobs program. They do not want to see that happen again. The 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 being in possession of another values test and to affirm the rights of Canadians to protection in terms of their freedom of expression.

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

May/9/22 3:17:21 p.m.
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Re: Bill S-223

Mr. Speaker, the next petition I am tabling is in support of Bill S-223, a bill that will be debated on Friday. It is a bill that would make it a criminal offence for a person to go abroad and receive an organ taken without consent. It would also create a mechanism by which someone could be deemed inadmissible to Canada if they were involved in forced organ harvesting and trafficking. Bills on this issue have been before the House for about 15 years and have always had broad support, but never made it all the way. The petitioners are hopeful that this Parliament will be the one that finally gets it done.

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

May/9/22 3:17:21 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the next petition I am tabling highlights the human rights situation in the Tigray region of Ethiopia. The petitioners are very concerned about the ongoing conflict, as well as the humanitarian challenges that have been unfolding, and they call for greater engagement by the Government of Canada in the context of this situation. They want to see the government engaging with the Government of Ethiopia, as well as the neighbouring Government of Eritrea, and encourage them to not be—

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The Deputy Speaker

May/9/22 3:17:21 p.m.
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I know there is a lot of pent-up demand today, so I am just reminding the member that there are even members of his own caucus who would like to present some petitions. The hon. member for Sherwood Park—Fort Saskatchewan.

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

May/9/22 3:17:21 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, in a similar vein, this is a petition that highlights the persecution of Falun Gong practitioners, in particular, in China. They note that it has been decades since the Chinese Communist regime began its campaign, attempting to eradicate Falun Gong as a spiritual practice that simply centres on advancing the ideas of truthfulness, compassion and forbearance. Many resolutions have been adopted in parliaments around the world and it is relevant to the previous petition because we know that Falun Gong practitioners, as well as Uighurs and others in China, have been victims of forced organ harvesting and trafficking. The petitioners urge the government and Parliament to establish measures to stop the murder of Falun Gong practitioners, including organ harvesting and trafficking, to take every opportunity to call for an end to the persecution of Falun Gong practitioners and also to bring former leader Jiang Zemin and his cohorts to justice for their involvement in what took place.

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

May/9/22 3:17:30 p.m.
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Re: Bill C-257

Mr. Speaker, they normally call me last, so I thought I was the only one when I was called. I will table one more for now, and if members agree I will return at the end of other members' presentations. For now, I will table one more petition respecting Bill C-257: a private member's bill I have also put forward in the House. The petition recognizes concerns about increasing political discrimination against Canadians based on their political views. This bill would seek to add political belief and activity as prohibited grounds for discrimination in the Canadian Human Rights Act. Petitioners are calling on the House to support Bill C-257, which would ban this discrimination and defend the rights of Canadians to peacefully express their political opinions.

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Ms. Lisa Marie Barron (Nanaimo—Ladysmith, NDP)

May/9/22 3:18:32 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I am rising today to table this petition on behalf of constituents in my riding of Nanaimo—Ladysmith. They recently signed a petition calling on the federal government to take concrete action to ensure Canadian companies operating abroad adopt stronger human rights and environmental standards. They are calling on the federal government to implement stronger legislation to prevent human rights abuses through global supply chains and ensure Canadian companies are held fully accountable for their actions around the world in Canadian courts. I want to thank the members of the All Saints Catholic Parish for bringing this petition forward and for its work to bring light to human rights and sustainable development.

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Mr. Mike Morrice (Kitchener Centre, GP)

May/9/22 3:19:17 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, it is an honour to rise today to present a petition initiated by a constituent and friend of mine, Zoe. Zoe initiated this petition calling on the government to follow through on the calls to action of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, specifically focusing on those with respect to health: calls to action 18 through to 21. Petitioners, of which there are 713, call on the government to put calls to action 18 to 21 at the forefront of its agenda.

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Mr. Brad Vis (Mission—Matsqui—Fraser Canyon, CPC)

May/9/22 3:19:54 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I am presenting a petition on behalf of my constituent, the chief of the Sts'ailes first nation. In 2006, Ralph Leon Jr. and 12 other individuals were charged after a 15-month investigation into alleged eagle poaching. This legal action languished in the courts for nine years and included a mistrial, a fraud conviction against a senior conservation officer in charge of the investigation, calls from local Sts'ailes to drop the case and accusations of highly unethical and disrespectful behaviour on the part of the B.C. Conservation Officer Service. After charges were laid, 3,422 days later, Ralph Leon Jr. and other individuals were acquitted after Crown council directed a stay in proceedings. Those wrongfully charged have gathered sufficient evidence showcasing conspiracy to prosecute innocent people, a defamatory media release vilifying indigenous peoples and cultures, fabrication of evidence and concealment of evidence including perjury, commission of fraud against the federal and provincial governments, counselling and aiding indigenous people to commit offences, trespassing on indigenous reserve lands, conferring of a corrupt benefit on a foreign official, and violation of the privacy of indigenous people on and off reserve lands. The continued denial of what happened to these indigenous Canadians taints Canadian history and leads to mistrust in our institution and justice system. Therefore, these citizens of Canada call upon the Minister of Justice to conduct a public inquiry into the injustices committed by the B.C. Conservation Officer Service and the BC Prosecution Service against Chief Ralph Leon Jr. and the 12 other individuals, because of their race and culture, with the express purpose of reconciling these injustices through a reversal of all convictions, return of property seized and appropriate compensation.

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Mr. Daniel Blaikie (Elmwood—Transcona, NDP)

May/9/22 3:22:01 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to rise to present a petition signed by many people in Winnipeg calling on the government to enact “just transition” legislation. Among other things, it calls for far more ambitious emissions reduction targets, getting rid of fossil fuel subsidies, creating new public economic institutions to assist in the transition toward the decarbonized economy, ensuring we are creating good jobs for workers in the context of that transition, protecting and strengthening human rights and indigenous rights in that effort while expanding our social safety net with new income supports and decarbonizing public housing, and paying for this transition by increasing taxes on the wealthiest and corporations and financing through a public national bank.

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Hon. Bardish Chagger (Waterloo, Lib.)

May/9/22 3:22:56 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I rise today to present petition e-3821, titled “National Defence and Military Operations”. The initiator of this petition and a few supporters from the riding of Waterloo shared concerns directly with me. They also shared the importance of the emissions reduction plan, fighting climate change and their hope for transition toward a green care economy and future.

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Mr. Clifford Small (Coast of Bays—Central—Notre Dame, CPC)

May/9/22 3:23:27 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I am presenting this petition from my constituents and Canadians across the country who want an end to the vaccine mandates, especially for domestic travel, which is federally regulated. The petitioners note that several reviews and studies have revealed nearly non-existent transmission rates on airplanes. WestJet's chief medical officer said that there were no known records of transmission. Also, the petitioners note that countries around the world have removed their vaccine mandates and restrictions. Finally, petitioners state that the vaccine mandate imposed on Canadians taking domestic flights, trains and ferries is an unreasonable infringement on their rights and freedoms. The petitioners ask the government to abolish the domestic vaccine passport requirement for Canadian citizens and permanent residents taking domestic flights, and they ask for an end to all federally regulated COVID-19 vaccine mandates and restrictions.

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Mr. Damien Kurek (Battle River—Crowfoot, CPC)

May/9/22 3:24:32 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I rise today to present a petition signed by a host of Canadians who have expressed grave concern about how the Liberals are willing to politicize things like charitable status within this country. These petitioners from across Canada call upon the House of Commons to, one, 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 without the imposition of another values test; and two, affirm the right of Canadians to freedom of expression in Canada. It is an honour to stand with these Canadians and present this petition in the House today.

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