44th Parl. 1st Sess.
October 5, 2023 10:00AM
Madam Speaker, I am pleased to present a number of petitions to the House today.
The first petition is in support of an excellent private member's bill, Bill C-257. This bill seeks to protect Canadians from discrimination on the basis of political views or activity. It would add political belief and activity as prohibited grounds of discrimination within the Canadian Human Rights Act. The bill recognizes, fundamentally, according to petitioners, that political discrimination is wrong, as well as that it is in the interests of our democracy to have a dynamic in which people can express their political opinions freely without fear of employment-related or other kinds of personal repercussions for taking political positions that reflect their sincerely held convictions.
Petitioners are asking the House to support Bill C-257, and in other areas, to defend the right of Canadians to peacefully express their political opinions.
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- Oct/5/23 10:19:43 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, the next petition I would like to present is regarding the ongoing persecution of Falun Gong practitioners in China. The petitioners note that Falun Gong is a traditional Chinese spiritual discipline that consists of meditation, exercises and moral teachings based on the principles of truthfulness, tolerance and compassion. The petitioners reflect on the horrific campaign of persecution of Falun Gong practitioners, which goes back a number of decades, as well as the work done by David Matas and David Kilgour in uncovering forced organ harvesting.
Petitioners want to see Canada do more to combat these acts of violence and to stand up for Falun Gong practitioners and other victims, including Uyghurs, Christians, democracy activists and other victims of violence perpetrated by the CCP regime.
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- Oct/5/23 10:20:35 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, the third petition I am presenting deals with proposals for the politicization of charitable status determinations. The petitioners note a past Liberal Party platform commitment aimed at politicizing charitable status and denying charitable status to organizations that happen to reflect a set of values that is different from that of the Liberal Party.
The petitioners note that this could jeopardize the charitable status and the ability to fundraise of organizations such as hospitals, houses of worship, schools, homeless shelters and other charitable organizations that are simply trying to serve the communities in which they find themselves but would not want to pass a Liberal values test.
If the member is suggesting that—
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- Oct/5/23 10:22:33 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, I appreciate that the member for Winnipeg North is concerned about the politicization of the House of Commons. We certainly would not want to see that happening.
The petitioners say:
The government has previously used a "values test" to discriminate against worthy applicants to the Canada Summer Jobs Program, denying funding to any organization which was not willing to check a box endorsing political positions of the governing party;
Charities and other non-profit organizations should not be discriminated against on the basis of their political views or religious values and should not be subject to a politicized "values test"; and
All Canadians have a right under the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms to freedom of expression without discrimination.
I am happy to reflect those concerns of petitioners without, in any way, commenting on my personal views on the matter, in order to satisfy the member for Winnipeg North.
Petitioners call on all members to protect and preserve the application of charitable status on a politically and ideologically neutral basis, without discrimination, and to affirm the right of all Canadians to freedom of expression. That is the view of some very wise petitioners.
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- Oct/5/23 10:24:00 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, the fourth and final petition I will table for today is from petitioners who are deeply concerned about proposals to legalize the killing of children under the rubric of so-called medical assistance in dying. The petitioners find these proposals deeply disturbing, and they call on the Government of Canada to block any attempt to allow the killing of children in Canada.
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Madam Speaker, my colleague made an important distinction in the Conservative approach to housing: We are not going to dictate municipal decisions around zoning and around the mechanics of where housing goes, but we are going to set targets and clear expectations. I think this is consistent with both the urgency of the housing crisis we see and the important principle of subsidiarity, which is that decisions should be worked out at the local level with precise details.
We can see across the board right now that not enough is being built. We can use the federal spending power to require that when federal dollars are going in for major infrastructure projects, there is an alignment with targets to grow the supply of housing in this country.
I wonder if the member can share further about how the Conservative principles operating here can really harness growth in the housing supply both by setting national targets in our national interest and by allowing local decision-making to continue.
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