44th Parl. 1st Sess.
February 14, 2024 02:00PM
Madam Speaker, it is always an honour to present a petition on behalf of constituents in my riding of Barrie—Springwater—Oro-Medonte. These petitioners note that a significant proportion of the sexually explicit material accessed online is made available on the Internet for commercial purposes and is not protected by any effective age-verification method, and that the consumption of sexually explicit material by young persons is associated with a range of serious harms. Therefore, the petitioners call on the House of Commons to adopt Bill S-210, the protecting young persons from exposure to pornography act.
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Madam Speaker, I am pleased to present two petitions that have been certified by the House that call on the government to support Bill C-284. Given the fact that over eight million people are suffering from eye diseases and 1.2 million live with vision loss or blindness, 75% of vision-loss cases, if diagnosed and treated early, are preventable.
Historically, the federal government has lacked any substantive framework on the matter of public eye health care, and the current structure has created huge gaps in access to care. Therefore, the undersigned citizens and residents of Canada call upon the House of Commons to adopt Bill C-284, an act to establish a national strategy for eye care as soon as possible.
I can report to the House that they have done that, and the House has supported Bill C-284.
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- Feb/14/24 4:38:56 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, it is an honour to rise to present a petition that, first of all, notes that housing is a human right.
The petitioners go on to note that both the Government of Ontario and the Government of Canada have consistently failed to adequately fund social housing. They say that research, specific to the housing first model, notes housing formerly unsheltered folks consistently improves their health and quality of life, even to the point where these improved life outcomes lead to a reduction in costs in other areas of government. They also note a Scotiabank report found that even if Canada were to double its social housing stock, we would still be around the peer average for social housing in the OECD.
The petitioners go on to note that the lack of action by one level of government should not excuse the lack of action by another. As a result, the petitioners are calling on both the Government of Canada and the Government of Ontario to work together to double the current social housing stock in Ontario.
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- Feb/14/24 4:40:10 p.m.
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- Re: Bill C-5
Madam Speaker, it is always an honour to present a petition on behalf of constituents.
I rise for the 31st time on behalf of the people of Swan River, Manitoba, to present a petition on the rising rate of crime. The community of Swan River is consumed with unprecedented levels of crime because of the government's soft-on-crime laws, like Bill C-5 and Bill C-75. Bill C-5 allows criminals to serve their sentences from home, and Bill C-75 allows violent offenders to be in jail in the morning and back out on the street in the afternoon. The people of Swan River are calling for jail, not bail, for violent repeat offenders.
The people of Swan River demand that the Liberal government repeal its soft-on-crime policies that directly threaten their livelihoods and their community. I support the good people of Swan River.
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- Feb/14/24 4:41:00 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I have two petitions today.
The first is regarding float homes in Ontario and making sure they are classified the way they should be. I have presented similar petitions twice in the past. It is something that constituents within the riding of Waterloo and surrounding areas, depending on where they cottage and so forth, are very concerned with. It is a matter of great importance to them and if it matters to them, it clearly matters to me as the member of Parliament for Waterloo.
The petitioners look forward to a response from the Government of Canada on a way forward, and they are more than willing to work with the government to make this happen.
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- Feb/14/24 4:41:39 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, the second petition is with regard to the killing of Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old woman. Many people are raising their voices within my community of Waterloo, as her death sparked nationwide “Woman, Life, Freedom” protests, calling for democracy and equal rights.
The petitioners are asking the Government of Canada to appeal to the UN Security Council. It is important that these conversations be had. It is important that their voices be heard and as their representative, I am committed to making sure that their voices are heard in this chamber. They look forward to a response from the Government of Canada.
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Madam Speaker, I have two petitions to present today.
In the first petition, the petitioners are concerned about how easy it is for young people to access sexually explicit material online, including violent and degrading explicit material. They comment on how this access is an important public health and public safety concern. The petitioners note that a significant portion of commercially accessible sexually explicit material has no age verification software. Moreover, that age verification software can ascertain the age of users without breaching their privacy rights.
The petitioners note many serious harms associated with sexually explicit materials, including the development of addiction and attitudes favourable to sexual violence and harassment of women. As such, these petitioners call on the House of Commons to pass Bill S-210, the protecting young persons from exposure to pornography act.
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- Feb/14/24 4:43:27 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I also want to present a petition on behalf on many Canadians who are concerned about human rights protections in Turkey, Pakistan and Bahrain.
The petitioners say that Turkish, Pakistani and Bahraini officials committed gross human rights violations against thousands of Turks, including eight Turkish Canadians. Petitioners say that Turkish officials killed hundreds, including Gökhan Açikkollu. The petitioners say that the Turkish officials have wrongfully detained over 300,000 people without reason. The petitioners say that multiple international human rights groups have confirmed gross human rights violations in Turkey.
The petitioners ask that the government closely monitor human rights in Turkey, sanction the Turkish officials who committed gross human rights violations against eight Canadians and killed Gökhan, and call on Turkey's, Pakistan's and Bahrain's governments to end all human rights violations in their respective countries.
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- Feb/14/24 4:44:28 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, as always, it is an honour to be able to stand in this place to present a petition on behalf of the good people of Battle River—Crowfoot. Today, in particular I would like to present a petition that was presented to me, in person, by a group I met with in my constituency office, about concerns related to needing to have a conversation around electoral reform.
Although we certainly did not agree on everything, I value immensely the productive conversation I had with this group of constituents. On behalf of these constituents, I am proud to be able to stand on their behalf to present this petition that calls on the House of Commons to give voice to the subject of electoral reform and to make recommendations related to the motion that was brought forward. Although I did not vote it, again, there was productive conversation related to Motion No. 86.
As always, it is an honour to be able to stand on their behalf.
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- Feb/14/24 4:45:26 p.m.
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The hon. member knows full well he cannot indicate whether he supports a petition, so I would just ask members to please refrain from doing that. They should be reading what is in the petition and not giving their own personal point of view, saying how they are going to vote or how they voted.
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- Feb/14/24 4:45:56 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I rise on a point of order. My apologies for interrupting the business of the House. I am in Winnipeg, and I had some technical issues, which prevented me from voting—
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- Feb/14/24 4:46:05 p.m.
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The hon. member knows he needs to wear a jacket and a tie in order to speak, so I can come back to him if he wishes to make sure he has the proper attire on to be recognized.
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- Feb/14/24 4:46:34 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I will try to do this as well as the member for Winnipeg North. I ask that all questions be allowed to stand.
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- Feb/14/24 4:46:56 p.m.
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Is it agreed?
Some hon. members: Agreed.
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- Feb/14/24 4:47:13 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I ask that all notices of motion for the production of papers be allowed to stand.
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- Feb/14/24 4:47:46 p.m.
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Is it agreed?
Some hon. members: Agreed.
The Assistant Deputy Speaker (Mrs. Carol Hughes): Order. It is my duty pursuant to Standing Order 38 to inform the House that the questions to be raised tonight at the time of adjournment are as follows: the hon. member for Kitchener Centre, Foreign Affairs; the hon. member for Dauphin—Swan River—Neepawa, Carbon Pricing; the hon. member for Battle River—Crowfoot, Carbon Pricing.
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moved that the second reading of, and concurrence in, amendments made by the Senate to Bill C-35, An Act respecting early learning and child care in Canada.
She said: Madam Speaker, I will be splitting my time today with the member for Sherbrooke.
I am honoured to rise today to speak to Bill C-35 as amended by our hon. colleagues in the other House—
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- Feb/14/24 4:48:48 p.m.
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The hon. member asked to split her time; therefore, she does need unanimous consent.
Does the hon. minister have unanimous consent to share her time?
Some hon. members: Agreed.
The Assistant Deputy Speaker (Mrs. Carol Hughes): The hon. minister is splitting 20 minutes, which is no longer unlimited, and then there will be five minutes of questions and comments to the minister.
The hon. minister.
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Madam Speaker, as I mentioned, I am honoured today to rise to speak to Bill C-35 as amended by our hon. colleagues in the other House.
First, I would like to acknowledge the important work and the recommendations from the Senate as we look for ways to always improve on our policies and legislation to better the lives of families in Canada, and in this case, on such an important piece of legislation. In particular, I would like to recognize the Senate sponsor of Bill C-35, who worked tirelessly to ensure its passage, and also the government representative for the Senate for liaising with the senators throughout the bill and, finally, the senator from New Brunswick who put this amendment forward in the spirit of strong advocacy for his community and his region.
To better understand the amendment, it would be useful for me to recap for my hon. colleagues the important work that Bill C-35 would enshrine in law.
First, if passed, this historic legislation would cement the federal government's role as an enduring partner on early learning and child care. It would enshrine into law the federal vision and principles of a Canada-wide system, a system where families across Canada, no matter where they live, have access to affordable, inclusive and high-quality programs and services.
This is not to mention that, in this context, it would also represent a commitment to maintaining long-term federal funding for early learning and child care.
Second, this legislation would increase Parliament's accountability in terms of the progress being made in creating a Canada-wide early learning and child care system.
Finally, Bill C-35 would establish, in law, the national advisory council on early learning and child care.
This legislation is seeking to do a lot, so allow me to break it down. Let us go back to the key principles to be enshrined in the legislation: affordability, quality, access and inclusion. What does an enduring federal investment mean for each one?
On affordability, it means that we can continue to support our federal goal of making child care more affordable by reducing fees for regulated child care to an average of $10 a day, by March 2026, and ensure that it stays affordable well into the future.
That means that parents, usually mothers, will be able to go back to work or school and achieve their full economic potential. This not only supports families, but it also contributes to building a strong economy and better gender equality. This means that children in every family, regardless of their income, can have the best possible start in life because they will be able to benefit from high-quality child care programs and services.
For high-quality child care, it means that federal investments in early learning and child care services foster the social, emotional, physical and cognitive development of young children. This leads to positive outcomes for children's future academic success and long-lasting and far-reaching positive outcomes throughout a person's life.
It means continued investment in the child care workforce. These highly-skilled educators are responsible for helping shape our future leaders. Providing better support and work conditions for early childhood educators means better outcomes for recruitment and retention.
On the principle of access to early learning and child care, it means continuity of the important partnerships with provincial, territorial and indigenous partners, and that means availability of child care services no matter where families live for generations to come.
That brings me to the last principle of inclusivity, because when we say, “all children,” we truly mean all children, including those living in rural and remote communities; children from systematically marginalized groups, such as those from Black and racialized communities; children in lower-income families; and children with a disability or those needing enhanced or individualized supports.
Obviously, it also includes children from francophone and anglophone minority communities.
That is in addition to dedicated federal investments to support indigenous early learning and child care.
It is important to note that Bill C-35 acknowledges that first nations, Inuit and Métis families and children are best supported by early learning and child care services and programs led by indigenous people, and it reinforces the Government of Canada's commitment to work in collaboration with indigenous people to establish and maintain early learning and child care systems rooted in indigenous knowledge, culture and languages and guided by the codeveloped indigenous early learning and child care framework.
Here is another of this bill's major objectives: accountability. These are significant federal investments. Accountability and transparency are essential to ensure sound management of public funds.
That is why this bill requires the Minister of Families, Children and Social Development to report annually to Parliament on the progress being made on the Canada-wide early learning and child care system.
There is a long road ahead of us as we work with provincial, territorial and indigenous partners to build this Canada-wide system. There are and there will continue to be a range of issues and challenges facing families, operators and other stakeholders in the early learning and child care sector. That is why we have the National Advisory Council on Early Learning and Child Care, and it is so important. It serves as a key forum enabling us to hear from the sector as we implement this system, and its members provide expert advice needed to support continual improvement.
The Government of Canada acknowledges the successes of its provincial, territorial and indigenous partners. They are the ones responsible for designing and implementing child care services in their respective jurisdictions. They are in the best position to set their own priorities.
That said, provinces, territories and indigenous organizations clearly benefit from the greater predictability and assurance of a long-term federal commitment to early learning and child care.
Since we last examined this legislation, our hon. colleagues in the other chamber have amended clause 8 of the legislation. The legislation, as amended, and I am paraphrasing here, would acknowledge the government's commitment to providing long-term funding to early learning and child care programs and services across the country, including for indigenous people and for official language minority communities. The amended legislation continues to recognize that federal funding would be provided primarily through agreements with provinces, territories and indigenous governing bodies and other indigenous entities.
It is through the advocacy of our hon. colleagues in the other chamber that we have before us this amended legislation highlighting the commitment to long-term funding for early learning and child care programs and services, including for official language minority communities.
I would like to thank our hon. colleagues in the other place for their efforts to strengthen this legislation.
I would like to reiterate the government's commitment to supporting and maintaining Canada's linguistic duality. We will continue working with the provinces and territories to ensure that child care is fully inclusive of the needs of all children, including children of official language minority communities.
I recognize that my time is up. I look forward to questions.
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- Feb/14/24 4:59:16 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, my first question would be about what we are seeing now, which are the stats coming out that more families with lower incomes are not accessing this program. It is actually inequitable.
Higher-income families are accessing this program. Lower-income families are not. What is my colleague doing to fix that, and why is it happening?
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