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41st PARLIAMENT, 2nd SESSION

Journals No. 53 Thursday, February 27, 2014 2:00 p.m.

Prayers

Statements By Members

Pursuant to Standing Order 31, Members made statements.

Oral Questions

Pursuant to Standing Order 30(5), the House proceeded to Oral Questions.

Daily Routine Of Business

Tabling of Documents

Pursuant to Standing Order 79(3), the Speaker read the following Message from His Excellency the Governor General, presented by Mr. Clement (President of the Treasury Board):

Message on Estimates

His Excellency the Governor General transmits to the House of Commons the Main Estimates of sums required to defray expenses of the federal public administration for the fiscal year ending on March 31, 2015, and in accordance with section 54 of the Constitution Act, 1867, recommends these Estimates to the House of Commons.

Mr. Clement (President of the Treasury Board) laid upon the Table, — Document entitled "Main Estimates for the year 2014-15" (USB key included). — Sessional Paper No. 8520-412-3.

Pursuant to Standing Order 81(4), the Main Estimates for the fiscal year ending March 31, 2015, were deemed referred to the several standing committees of the House as follows:

(1) To the Standing Committee on Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development

Canadian Northern Economic Development Agency, Votes 1 and 5

Canadian Polar Commission, Vote 1

Indian Affairs and Northern Development, Votes 1, 5, 10 and L15

Indian Residential Schools Truth and Reconciliation Commission, Vote 1

Registry of the Specific Claims Tribunal, Vote 1

(2) To the Standing Committee on Access to Information, Privacy and Ethics

Office of the Commissioner of Lobbying, Vote 1

Office of the Conflict of Interest and Ethics Commissioner, Vote 1

Offices of the Information and Privacy Commissioners of Canada, Votes 1 and 5

Senate Ethics Officer, Vote 1

(3) To the Standing Committee on Agriculture and Agri-Food

Agriculture and Agri-Food, Votes 1, 5 and 10

Canadian Dairy Commission, Vote 1

Canadian Food Inspection Agency, Votes 1 and 5

Canadian Grain Commission, Vote 1

(4) To the Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage

Canada Council for the Arts, Vote 1

Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, Votes 1, 5 and 10

Canadian Heritage, Votes 1 and 5

Canadian Museum for Human Rights, Vote 1

Canadian Museum of History, Vote 1

Canadian Museum of Immigration at Pier 21, Vote 1

Canadian Museum of Nature, Vote 1

Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission, Vote 1

Library and Archives of Canada, Vote 1

National Arts Centre Corporation, Vote 1

National Battlefields Commission, Vote 1

National Film Board, Vote 1

National Gallery of Canada, Votes 1 and 5

National Museum of Science and Technology, Vote 1

Telefilm Canada, Vote 1

(5) To the Standing Committee on Citizenship and Immigration

Citizenship and Immigration, Votes 1 and 5

Immigration and Refugee Board, Vote 1

(6) To the Standing Committee on Environment and Sustainable Development

Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency, Vote 1

Environment, Votes 1, 5 and 10

Parks Canada Agency, Votes 1 and 5

(7) To the Standing Committee on Finance

Canada Revenue Agency, Votes 1 and 5

Canadian International Trade Tribunal, Vote 1

Finance, Votes 1, 5 and L10

Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre of Canada, Vote 1

Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions, Vote 1

PPP Canada Inc., Vote 1

(8) To the Standing Committee on Fisheries and Oceans

Fisheries and Oceans, Votes 1, 5 and 10

(9) To the Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Development

Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development, Votes 1, 5, 10, 15, L20 and L25

International Development Research Centre, Vote 1

International Joint Commission (Canadian Section), Vote 1

(10) To the Standing Committee on Government Operations and Estimates

Canada School of Public Service, Vote 1

Canadian Intergovernmental Conference Secretariat, Vote 1

Canadian Transportation Accident Investigation and Safety Board, Vote 1

Governor General, Vote 1

Office of the Public Sector Integrity Commissioner, Vote 1

Privy Council, Vote 1

Public Service Commission, Vote 1

Public Service Labour Relations Board, Vote 1

Public Service Staffing Tribunal, Vote 1

Public Works and Government Services, Votes 1 and 5

Registry of the Public Servants Disclosure Protection Tribunal, Vote 1

Shared Services Canada, Votes 1 and 5

The Senate, Vote 1

Treasury Board Secretariat, Votes 1, 5, 10, 20, 25, 30 and 33

(11) To the Standing Committee on Health

Canadian Institutes of Health Research, Votes 1 and 5

Health, Votes 1, 5 and 10

Patented Medicine Prices Review Board, Vote 1

Public Health Agency of Canada, Votes 1, 5 and 10

(12) To the Standing Committee on Human Resources, Skills and Social Development and the Status of Persons with Disabilities

Canada Industrial Relations Board, Vote 1

Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation, Vote 1

Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety, Vote 1

Employment and Social Development, Votes 1 and 5

(13) To the Standing Committee on Industry, Science and Technology

Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency, Votes 1 and 5

Canadian Space Agency, Votes 1, 5 and 10

Canadian Tourism Commission, Vote 1

Economic Development Agency of Canada for the Regions of Quebec, Votes 1 and 5

Enterprise Cape Breton Corporation, Vote 1

Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario, Votes 1 and 5

Industry, Votes 1, 5, 10, L15 and L20

National Research Council of Canada, Votes 1, 5 and 10

Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council, Votes 1 and 5

Registry of the Competition Tribunal, Vote 1

Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council, Votes 1 and 5

Standards Council of Canada, Vote 1

Statistics Canada, Vote 1

Western Economic Diversification, Votes 1 and 5

(14) To the Standing Committee on International Trade

Canadian Commercial Corporation, Vote 1

(15) To the Standing Committee on Justice and Human Rights

Canadian Human Rights Commission, Vote 1

Canadian Human Rights Tribunal, Vote 1

Commissioner for Federal Judicial Affairs, Votes 1 and 5

Courts Administration Service, Vote 1

Justice, Votes 1 and 5

Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions, Vote 1

Supreme Court of Canada, Vote 1

(16) To the Standing Joint Committee on the Library of Parliament

Library of Parliament, Vote 1

(17) To the Standing Committee on National Defence

Communications Security Establishment, Vote 1

Military Grievances External Review Committee, Vote 1

Military Police Complaints Commission, Vote 1

National Defence, Votes 1, 5 and 10

Office of the Communications Security Establishment Commissioner, Vote 1

(18) To the Standing Committee on Natural Resources

Atomic Energy of Canada Limited, Vote 1

Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission, Vote 1

National Energy Board, Vote 1

Natural Resources, Votes 1, 5 and 10

Northern Pipeline Agency, Vote 1

(19) To the Standing Committee on Official Languages

Office of the Commissioner of Official Languages, Vote 1

(20) To the Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs

Chief Electoral Officer, Vote 1

House of Commons, Vote 1

(21) To the Standing Committee on Public Accounts

Auditor General, Vote 1

(22) To the Standing Committee on Public Safety and National Security

Canada Border Services Agency, Votes 1 and 5

Canadian Security Intelligence Service, Vote 1

Correctional Service of Canada, Votes 1 and 5

Office of the Correctional Investigator, Vote 1

Parole Board of Canada, Vote 1

Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness, Votes 1 and 5

Royal Canadian Mounted Police, Votes 1, 5 and 10

Royal Canadian Mounted Police External Review Committee, Vote 1

Royal Canadian Mounted Police Public Complaints Commission, Vote 1

Security Intelligence Review Committee, Vote 1

(23) To the Standing Committee on the Status of Women

Office of the Co-ordinator, Status of Women, Votes 1 and 5

(24) To the Standing Committee on Transport, Infrastructure and Communities

Canada Post Corporation, Vote 1

Canadian Air Transport Security Authority, Vote 1

Canadian Transportation Agency, Vote 1

Marine Atlantic Inc., Vote 1

National Capital Commission, Votes 1 and 5

Office of Infrastructure of Canada, Votes 1 and 5

The Federal Bridge Corporation Limited, Vote 1

The Jacques-Cartier and Champlain Bridges Inc., Vote 1

Transport, Votes 1, 5 and 10

Transportation Appeal Tribunal of Canada, Vote 1

VIA Rail Canada Inc., Vote 1

(25) To the Standing Committee on Veterans Affairs

Veterans Affairs, Votes 1 and 5

Veterans Review and Appeal Board, Vote 1

Presenting Reports from Committees

Mr. Chong (Wellington—Halton Hills), from the Standing Committee on Official Languages, presented the First Report of the Committee, "The State of French Second-Language Education Programs in Canada". — Sessional Paper No. 8510-412-46.

Pursuant to Standing Order 109, the Committee requested that the government table a comprehensive response.

A copy of the relevant Minutes of Proceedings (Meetings Nos. 5, 7, 8, 10 and 11) was tabled.

Presenting Petitions

Pursuant to Standing Order 36, petitions certified correct by the Clerk of Petitions were presented as follows:

— by , one concerning the Canada Post Corporation (No. 412-1769);

— by , one concerning the Criminal Code of Canada (No. 412-1770);

— by , one concerning the situation in Syria (No. 412-1771) and one concerning the electoral system (No. 412-1772);

— by , two concerning VIA Rail (Nos. 412-1773 and 412-1774);

— by , one concerning the Canada Post Corporation (No. 412-1775) and one concerning Old Age Security benefits (No. 412-1776);

— by , one concerning the situation in Syria (No. 412-1777) and one concerning certain diseases (No. 412-1778).

Government Orders

The Order was read for the second reading and reference to the Standing Committee on Citizenship and Immigration of Bill C-24, An Act to amend the Citizenship Act and to make consequential amendments to other Acts.

Mr. Alexander (Minister of Citizenship and Immigration), seconded by Mr. Duncan (Minister of State), moved, — That the Bill be now read a second time and referred to the Standing Committee on Citizenship and Immigration.

Debate arose thereon.

Ms. Blanchette-Lamothe (Pierrefonds—Dollard), seconded by Mr. Scott (Toronto—Danforth), moved the following amendment, — That the motion be amended by deleting all the words after the word “That” and substituting the following:

“this House decline to give second reading to Bill C-24, An Act to amend the Citizenship Act and to make consequential amendments to other Acts, because it:

(a) does not provide an adequate solution for reducing citizenship application processing times, which have been steadily increasing;

(b) puts significant new powers in the hands of the Minister that will allow this government to politicize the granting of Canadian citizenship;

(c) gives the Minister the power to revoke citizenship, which will deny some Canadians access to a fair trial in Canada and will raise serious questions since Canadian law already includes mechanisms to punish those who engage in unlawful acts; and

(d) includes a declaration of intent to reside provision, which in fact gives officials the power to speculate on the intent of a citizenship applicant and then potentially deny citizenship based on this conjecture.”.

Debate arose thereon.

Private Members' Business

At 5:30 p.m., pursuant to Standing Order 30(6), the House proceeded to the consideration of Private Members' Business.

Mr. Dionne Labelle (Rivière-du-Nord), seconded by Ms. LeBlanc (LaSalle—Émard), moved, — That, in the opinion of the House, the government should: (a) study and measure Canadian tax losses to international tax havens and tax evasion, in order to determine the Canadian federal “tax gap”; (b) order the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) to provide the Parliamentary Budget Officer (PBO) with the information necessary to provide an independent estimate of the Canadian federal tax gap arising from tax evasion and tax avoidance through the use of tax havens; (c) mandate the Auditor General or the PBO to provide estimates of the marginal revenue of additional CRA resources (i.e. auditors) in the areas of tax evasion and tax avoidance; and (d) mandate the Auditor General to evaluate, on a regular basis, the success of the CRA in prosecuting and settling cases of tax evasion. (Private Members' Business M-485)

Debate arose thereon.

Pursuant to Standing Order 93(1), the Order was dropped to the bottom of the order of precedence on the Order Paper.

Concurrence in Committee Reports

At 6:30 p.m., pursuant to Standing Order 66(2), the House resumed the adjourned debate on the motion of Mr. Julian (Burnaby—New Westminster), seconded by Ms. Turmel (Hull—Aylmer), — That the Third Report of the Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs, presented on Monday, December 2, 2013, be concurred in. (Concurrence in Committee Reports No. 1).

The question was put on the motion and, pursuant to Standing Order 66(2), the recorded division was deferred until Wednesday, March 5, 2014, at the expiry of the time provided for Government Orders.

Adjournment Proceedings

At 6:30 p.m., pursuant to Standing Order 38(1), the question “That this House do now adjourn” was deemed to have been proposed.

After debate, the question was deemed to have been adopted.

Accordingly, at 6:48 p.m., the Speaker adjourned the House until tomorrow at 10:00 a.m., pursuant to Standing Order 24(1).