44th Parl. 1st Sess.
October 24, 2022 11:00AM
- Oct/24/22 1:18:14 p.m.
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- Re: Bill S-5
Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague, the member for Avignon—La Mitis—Matane—Matapédia, who always works hard for the environment. She is an absolutely wonderful member of Parliament.
My question is about the right to a healthy environment. During today's debate, I noticed that some members found it odd to have a right to a healthy environment.
At present, 150 countries have enshrined the protection of the right to a healthy environment into their constitutions, regulations or bills.
Is the member aware of the decision of the United Nations Human Rights Council, which recently recognized the right to a healthy environment?
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- Oct/24/22 3:57:51 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, we may have an opportunity in future to debate in greater depth the particulars of the issues the hon. member raised. I agree that Canada needs to stand strong on issues of human rights. I agree that Canada needs to resist the potential threat of foreign interference. Respectfully, I do not think her characterization of that agreement is accurate. There have been and there should be good-faith efforts to protect human rights through dialogue. Obviously, those good-faith efforts have not borne much fruit in recent years in the context of dialogue with the Chinese leadership. I may agree with the principle behind what she is saying, but I do not think it accords with the particulars of the agreement she is speaking about.
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- Oct/24/22 7:08:02 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, with all due respect, I have to disagree with my colleague about the timing of this discussion. As I listened to him, I wondered how many more people have to be raped and abused in concentration camps and how many more organs have to be stolen before we realize it is time to adopt this motion so that 10,000 to 15,000 people can have the rights enshrined in our Charter of Rights and Freedoms and see their children grow up and live with hope.
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- Oct/24/22 8:07:19 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I agree with what my colleague is saying about human rights. Indeed, human rights are the rights of all humans, not just those we feel like having as friends.
When my colleague was speaking, I was thinking about Sun Tzu and his treatise, The Art of War. I do not know it by heart, but I know some passages, including the one where Sun Tzu suggests to the great and powerful that they not rely too much on their great power because they might be surprised and this could end up working against them. It seems that everyone fears China, the great superpower.
How can we convince others that, in spite of everything, the overreach of a superpower can work against it and we really have to help people in a tangible way?
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- Oct/24/22 8:10:00 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the member's speech was incredibly thoughtful. As we are having these discussions, I would like to give her an opportunity to talk about how important it is to not pick and choose when it comes to human rights.
A lot of devastating things are happening in many countries, and all of us who live in safe countries, where we largely have a good life and are not worried about genocide day to day, need to stand up to voice those things so we can encourage other countries to step up and do the same. I am wondering if this member could speak a bit about this.
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- Oct/24/22 8:21:58 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, it has been a pleasure working with my friend opposite on the Tibet friendship group, and I thank him for speaking to the motion today.
The motion identifies the fact that Uighurs and other Turkic Muslims face an ongoing genocide. The member quite eloquently, especially in the final minutes of his speech, made precisely the case for that genocide recognition. There was a motion in this House a year and a half ago on which the government, speaking not of the entire Liberal caucus but the government, chose to abstain. At the time, the government said it was studying the issue.
A lot has happened in the last year and a half. The member mentioned the UN human rights commissioner's report as well, which is new since the House of Commons motion. Could he clarify, if he is able to, the position of his government on this motion and, flowing from that, whether the position of the Government of Canada today is that Uighurs are subject to an ongoing genocide?
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- Oct/24/22 9:06:53 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, my colleague spoke about the importance of not recognizing lesser humans. He spoke of lesser humans, how there is this hierarchy and how dangerous that is.
One of the concerns I have, as I have mentioned in this place, is that we pick and choose which human rights to protect. Children are, of course, innocent regardless of the circumstances they find themselves in.
I wonder if my colleague is supportive of the notion that children need to be protected regardless. Would he stand with the NDP in calling for a special envoy for children in Palestine who are the victims of violence in Palestine?
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- Oct/24/22 9:07:44 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I want to go back to the basic idea of human rights. What are human rights? Do all human beings get human rights? Those are my questions. For me, human rights come to us because we are created in the image of God. Therefore, all of humanity is equal and worthy of dignity and respect.
Particularly when it comes to children, that is definitely the case. Regardless, innocent human life should not be taken. I do not know much about the specific thing the member is referencing, but those are my views on human life and human rights, and I defend human life and human rights wherever I can.
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- Oct/24/22 6:07:46 p.m.
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- Re: Bill S-5
Madam Speaker, the member mentioned the right to a healthy environment. I know she talked about some of the changes that the Senate made. However, I find it really important. The member mentioned that it should be clear what the rules are. When we use the term “right” in this place, we could open up the Constitution Act, 1982, and see the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, where they are very clear and they are laid out.
I would just like to find out if the NDP member would agree that what the government has put in Bill S-5 and is billing as a “right to a healthy environment” is a fraud. Again, a right is something that is enforceable. This is something that, through the CEPA process, a bureaucrat would determine, through other socio-economic factors, this so-called “right to a healthy environment.” A right is either a right or it is something else.
Would the member stand in her place and tell us whether she agrees it is an actual right or an outright fraud?
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- Oct/24/22 6:09:03 p.m.
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- Re: Bill S-5
Madam Speaker, I just want to remind the House. I know it has been a long time, but back in 2016, I put forward a private member's bill that was on the right to housing, which I wanted added to the bill of rights in Canada. What we are looking at right now, of course, is so many people unhoused across this country and no accountability on a federal level. There is no mechanism for people to step up and say that this is not being done.
Do I think the Liberals could do better on this language? Absolutely, I do. Will our party amend that? Absolutely, we will. Do I think that Canadians deserve a right to a healthy environment? I absolutely do, and I am willing to stand in the House and vote for that any day of the week.
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