44th Parl. 1st Sess.
February 28, 2024 02:00PM
- Feb/28/24 5:25:28 p.m.
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On that point of order, Mr. Speaker, it is of public record how a member voted, whether in person or on the app. All the House leader did was reference that.
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- Feb/28/24 5:25:38 p.m.
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I think I have said on many occasions in the last few days that the record is fair game. If it is on the books, it is actually on the public record, but we just cannot say whether somebody is in the chamber or not.
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- Feb/28/24 5:25:59 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, when I look at what is being proposed by the government, one thing is the response to the need to have additional debate time on government legislation. That is really what this is all about, in addition to not having to sit or vote for 30 hours straight, including between midnight and 9 a.m.
This would be to enable members to address and debate more on government legislation. I would think that having more time would be a good thing that members opposite would want to support, because I often see them on the other side crying and saying they want more time. We would be giving them more time, and I would think they would support the motion to extend the time. Many Canadians from coast to coast to coast work into the evenings. There is nothing wrong with members of Parliament having to work a few extra hours in the evening to allow for more debate.
Could I get the government House leader's thoughts on that?
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- Feb/28/24 5:27:12 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, that is of course exactly why we reject the premise that this in any way would undermine the rights of parliamentarians; in fact, it would expand them. It would allow members more time and more opportunity, potentially, to debate bills that are contentious.
We hope the time available and afforded to the members of the official opposition would allow them to participate in debate a little more constructively rather than obstructively and putting up all of the fake roadblocks and obstacles they like to put up to toxify the environment here and have Canadians turn away from the proceedings of this institution and disengage from the public life of our country. We do not want that. We want members of the opposition to make positive, constructive interventions in the debate, and we would be allowing them the time to do that.
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- Feb/28/24 5:28:13 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, hopefully we will get an answer on this, because I know, working on the subcommittee and as the chair, that I saw a lot of cancellations of committee meetings due to the fact that resources were tight. Committees are where we find out about some of the horrible things that are happening, sometimes in the community and sometimes because of the government's actions.
I wonder how much time would be cancelled from committee work, where we are unfolding and finding out all of the information on government programs and scandals. How much would the government be taking away from committee work to be able to resource this?
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- Feb/28/24 5:28:45 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the answer is this: not nearly as much as was taken away by making interpreters work for 30 hours straight.
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- Feb/28/24 5:28:49 p.m.
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- Feb/28/24 5:28:57 p.m.
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Questions and comments, the hon. member for New Westminster—Burnaby.
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- Feb/28/24 5:29:04 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I have a rhetorical question for my colleague, which is simply this: What boss would force their employees, the interpreters, administrative assistants, clerks and parliamentary security staff, to work 30 hours straight, but would run off after one hour of voting? I am not pointing fingers at anybody in particular, like the member for Carleton, but it does seem to me that is an abusive boss.
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- Feb/28/24 5:29:37 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, to extend the hypothetical situation, what kind of boss says that he is not letting anyone leave the chamber until Christmas, that he is going to make sure that everyone stays in the House and votes until Christmas until he gets his way, then five minutes later, hypothetically, goes to a fundraiser on the Island of Montreal, and on his way back visits a McDonald's franchise and makes a big, gaudy spectacle of coming in here with bags of french fries and hamburgers for the skeleton crew that is left behind?
While 158 or so Liberal members and people from the Bloc Québécois and the New Democratic Party were here protecting the things Canadians hold dear, the guy who wanted to keep us here until Christmas and was not going to flinch flinched awfully fast.
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- Feb/28/24 5:31:01 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, we are the opposition. We are here to protect all Canadians. They talk about health. They talk about the fact that 3.17 million meals were served by a food bank in Toronto, and 3,000 deliveries made to seniors because they cannot afford to buy food because of the tax implications.
They have to axe the tax. If they care about health, then they should care about feeding the people who cannot afford to eat.
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- Feb/28/24 5:31:38 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, that member voted against the Canada child benefit or her party did. That member voted against dental care for our most vulnerable children and seniors. That member voted against child care. That member regularly obstructs and voted against 130 measures before Christmas that would have supported the very people she professes to want to help.
This will be a recurring debate in this chamber. These people like to talk in slogans with glib lines—
Some hon. members: Oh, oh!
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- Feb/28/24 5:32:24 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, on a point of order, first of all it is not “these people”—
Some hon. members: Oh, oh!
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- Feb/28/24 5:32:35 p.m.
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That is descending into debate.
Maybe just to finish up the thought, the hon. government House leader.
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- Feb/28/24 5:32:44 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, those members are good with the fake outrage, but they are also very good at blocking needed supports for the people they profess to care about, but do not. They are very good at obstructing all of the things that this government proposes that will help those very people.
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- Feb/28/24 5:33:08 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I rise on a point of order. The government is so concerned about this, yet have not asked for a body break. We should have a body break.
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- Feb/28/24 5:33:20 p.m.
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That is not a point of order, but I appreciate the thought.
Questions and comments, the hon. member for Red Deer—Lacombe.
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- Feb/28/24 5:33:29 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I just want to remind members of this House, many of whom, including the member for Courtenay—Alberni, were not here when I first learned about all-night voting. That was back when Stephen Harper was the prime minister and the NDP moved hundreds, if not thousands, of amendments to a piece of legislation to discuss Canada Post and forced all-night voting. As a matter of fact, if the record is checked, I believe that voting went on for in excess of 24 hours. I even believe the member for Saanich—Gulf Islands has moved a number of motions and amendments that created long-term marathon voting as well.
I just want to remind everybody that this is where we are actually at. The issue that the government House leader does not understand is that it is the agenda that it is trying to get passed that is actually causing the frustration in the House. The government can monkey around with all of the Standing Orders that they want, but it actually has to be an agenda that Canadians want. Canadians are rejecting the government's agenda right now. The polling numbers clearly indicate that the government and its coalition partners do not have the support of the Canadian public so everything it is doing is actually against where the Canadian public is at. If the government would just change its agenda, it would actually have the support of this House and the support of the Canadian public. If it has the support of the public, it will have the support in the House. It does not have the support of the House because the public does not support its agenda. The government can monkey with the Standing Orders all they want, but it is not going to change the fact that the government has bad ideas. That is why those ideas are not getting through the House.
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- Feb/28/24 5:35:06 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I want to thank my former counterpart, who was the chief opposition whip. I know of his very legitimate concerns for members and I thank him for pointing out that perhaps he too objects to all-night voting. I know that, in an honest moment, that member would probably agree that it is a very bad idea.
I will say this, though. I do reject the premise that giving that member and his colleagues more time to present their constructive ideas to Canadians is somehow a danger for the rules of this place. We are allowing time for more debate and allowing that member more time to put his ideas across.
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- Feb/28/24 5:35:53 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I rise on a point of order. I raise this as a technical concern in this place. A vote took place, and the timer associated with the app was not accurate. Those members may think it is user error. For those who do not understand the concept of blockchain technology, that is really rich.
Before we proceed to another vote, the timing issue on the app is of the utmost concern. I did vote early in the process to ensure that I would have time to verify my vote. The 10-minute voting period does indicate an allowance for votes to be cast later in that process. When I did look back at the app, there was 30 seconds left on the screen in the lobby, but three and a half minutes left on the voting app. To further emphasize the seriousness of this technical concern, it was about 20 minutes after the vote finished that I got the confirmation email that said my vote was, in fact, nay.
I raise serious concerns about the ability of members to fulfill their constitutional parliamentary functions in this place, especially on an issue as important as the future of our democracy, which the Liberals are certainly putting at—
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