44th Parl. 1st Sess.
December 13, 2023 02:00PM
- Dec/13/23 3:27:28 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, on a point of order, I am sure that if you reflect on what took place over question period, and the amount of decorum, and this is something that is really important—
Some hon. members: Oh, oh!
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- Dec/13/23 3:27:42 p.m.
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I will just ask the hon. parliamentary secretary to please quote the standing order so the Speaker can hear.
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- Dec/13/23 3:27:51 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, a member of Ukrainian heritage, the member for Etobicoke Centre, on several occasions tried to get his question across—
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- Dec/13/23 3:27:59 p.m.
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I am just wondering whether the hon. parliamentary secretary would like to quote the standing order that he is referring to, so I could listen.
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- Dec/13/23 3:28:09 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, it is Standing Order 18, in reference to decorum. A member of Ukrainian heritage, the member for Etobicoke Centre, on several occasions attempted to get his question across.
Some hon. members: Oh, oh!
Mr. Kevin Lamoureux: Mr. Speaker, as I am right now, he was being shouted down as opposed to being allowed to be heard. We believe, Mr. Speaker, that you should look at those questions and report back, because we are starting to see the MAGA right from the Conservative Party in—
Some hon. members: Oh, oh!
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- Dec/13/23 3:29:22 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I rise on a point of order on the issue of decorum under Standing Order 18. The entire time I, a person of Ukrainian heritage, was giving my S. O. 31, I was heckled and yelled at by the Liberals.
When the member for Etobicoke Centre got up, he actually misinformed the House when he said that we were opposed to Ukraine. Actually, the Liberals voted against all the measures we took as a government, as Conservatives. The Liberals voted consecutively, in 2014 and 2015, against measures to support Ukraine, including Operation Unifier and Operation Reassurance.
Some hon. members: Oh, oh!
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- Dec/13/23 3:30:01 p.m.
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Colleagues, we are now moving into issues of debate.
The hon. member for Haldimand—Norfolk, on a point of order.
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Mr. Speaker, there have been discussions among the parties, and I am sure if you seek it, you will find that Bill C-234 would lower the cost—
Some hon. members: No.
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- Dec/13/23 3:30:48 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I am further contributing to the point of order raised by the member for Selkirk—Interlake—Eastman in regard to Standing Order 18 and decorum. I just wanted to point out for the member that there were only 34 Liberals here when, he claims, all these votes occurred. I would like to know whether the member wants to say which Liberals voted that way.
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It being 3:31 p.m., the House will now proceed to the taking of the deferred recorded on the motion at second reading stage of Bill S-210 under Private Members' Business.
Call in the members.
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- Dec/13/23 3:45:13 p.m.
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I declare the motion carried. Accordingly, the bill stands referred to the Standing Committee on Public Safety and National Security.
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- Dec/13/23 3:45:51 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I rise on a point of order. During the vote call in the House on a very important vote to protect young people from pornography, the member for Pontiac rose to vote in favour and then rose to vote against. I would like you to verify that she did indeed vote and I hope she voted in favour.
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- Dec/13/23 3:46:15 p.m.
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I thank the hon. member for Portneuf—Jacques‑Cartier for raising that question.
Upon further verification with the table officers, I can assure the member that the vote was recorded only once.
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- Dec/13/23 3:47:46 p.m.
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The House will now proceed to the taking of the deferred recorded division on Motion No. 96, under Private Members' Business.
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- Dec/13/23 4:00:20 p.m.
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I declare the motion carried.
I wish to inform the House that because of the deferred recorded divisions, Government Orders will be extended by 27 minutes.
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I have the honour to inform the House that a message has been received from the Senate informing this House that the Senate has passed the following bill, with amendments, to which the concurrence of the House is desired: Bill C‑234, an act to amend the Greenhouse Gas Pollution Pricing Act.
Copies of the amendments are available at the table.
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- Dec/13/23 4:01:36 p.m.
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I am now prepared to rule on the question of privilege raised on December 1, 2023, by the member for Saint-Hyacinthe─Bagot regarding allegedly misleading information shared by the Minister of Public Services and Procurement and the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of National Defence.
In his intervention, the member alleged that the House had been misled about the process to replace the Aurora aircraft. The member noted that, when the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of National Defence and the Minister of Public Services and Procurement were asked about this matter in the House on November 24 and 28, 2023, they both answered that the decision to award a sole-source contract to Boeing had not yet been made. Yet, according to the member, a newspaper article published on November 29 revealed that the government knew by then that the contract had been awarded. In the member's view, the government's answers were knowingly inaccurate and effectively misled the House.
However, the parliamentary secretary to the government House leader explained that the responses from the minister and the parliamentary secretary were accurate at the time they were provided, as the government’s final decision was not made until the evening of November 28. Given the circumstances, he concluded that the House could not have been misled and that there are no grounds to find a prima facie question of privilege.
The House is therefore faced with two versions of events. One is based on an article published in a newspaper. The other was provided by the parliamentary secretary to the government House leader; this version indicates that, based on the sequence of events, no misleading information was provided.
In cases such as this, the Chair’s role is strictly limited to determining whether a member deliberately misled the House during the proceedings.
In order to find a prima facie question of privilege, three criteria must be met. These criteria are set out in numerous decisions issued by previous Speakers, including one delivered by my predecessor on May 11, 2021, on page 7022 of the Debates, and I quote:
First, the statement must effectively be misleading or manifestly contradictory; second, the author of the statement must know, in making the statement, that it is false; third, the member intended to mislead the House.
As members can tell, the threshold for showing that the House was deliberately misled is very high. This is because the consequences of such allegations can be quite serious.
Accordingly, the Chair carefully reviewed the statements the minister and the parliamentary secretary made during Oral Questions.
The Chair understands how important it is for members to receive the most reliable and accurate information possible in order to carry out their duties. However, the Chair could not find evidence that the minister and the parliamentary secretary contradicted themselves or intended to hide information or mislead the House.
As a consequence and in keeping with the many precedents on such matters, I cannot in this case find a prima facie question of privilege.
I thank all members for their attention.
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- Dec/13/23 4:05:44 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 three petitions. These returns will be tabled in an electronic format.
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- Dec/13/23 4:06:11 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, pursuant to Standing Order 32(2) and in accordance with the enhanced transparency requirements relating to new free trade agreements introduced in the policy on tabling of treaties in Parliament in 2020, I am pleased to notify the House of Commons of the government's intent to initiate negotiations for a Canada-Ecuador free trade agreement. The Government of Canada intends to commence negotiations with Ecuador no earlier than 90 days from the date of this notice.
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- Dec/13/23 4:07:07 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, pursuant to Standing Order 34(1) I have the honour to present to the House, in both official languages, the report of the Canadian Group of the Inter-Parliamentary Union on its 145th assembly and related meetings in Kigali, Rwanda, from October 11 to 15, 2022.
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