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43rd PARLIAMENT, 2nd SESSION

Journals No. 1 Wednesday, September 23, 2020 2:00 p.m.

Parliament having been convoked by proclamation of the Governor General for the despatch of business, the members of the House assembled.

Prayer

National Anthem

Motions

By unanimous consent, it was ordered, — That, notwithstanding any standing order, special order or usual practice of the House, until Friday, December 11, 2020:

(a) members may participate in proceedings of the House either in person or by videoconference;

(b) members who participate remotely in a sitting of the House are counted for the purpose of quorum;

(c) any reference in the Standing Orders to the need for members to rise or to be in their place, as well as any reference to the chair, the table or the chamber shall be interpreted in a manner consistent with the virtual nature of the proceedings;

(d) the application of Standing Order 17 shall be suspended;

(e) the application of Standing Order 62 shall be suspended for any member participating remotely;

(f) in Standing Orders 26(2), 53(4), 56.1(3), and 56.2(2), the reference to the number of members required to rise be replaced with the word “five”;

(g) documents may be laid before the House or presented to the House electronically, provided that:

(i) documents deposited pursuant to Standing Order 32(1) shall be deposited with the Clerk of the House electronically,

(ii) during Routine Proceedings, members who participate remotely may table documents or present petitions or reports to the House electronically, provided that the documents are transmitted to the clerk prior to their intervention,

(iii) any petition presented pursuant to Standing Order 36(5) may be filed with the clerk electronically;

(h) should the House resolve itself in a committee of the whole, the Chair may preside from the Speaker’s chair;

(i) when a question that could lead to a recorded division is put to the House, in lieu of calling for the yeas and nays, one representative of a recognized party can rise to request a recorded vote;

(j) when a recorded division is requested in respect of a debatable motion, including any division arising as a consequence of the application of Standing Order 61(2) or Standing Order 78, but excluding any division in relation to motions relating to the Address in Reply to the Speech from the Throne or the business of supply occurring on the last supply day of a period, other than as provided in Standing Order 81(18)(b), or arising as a consequence of an order made pursuant to Standing Order 57,

(i) before 2:00 p.m. on a Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday, it shall stand deferred until the conclusion of Oral Questions at that day’s sitting, or

(ii) after 2:00 p.m. on a Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday, or at any time on a Friday, it shall stand deferred until the conclusion of Oral Questions at the next sitting day that is not a Friday, provided that, if a recorded division on the previous question is deferred and the motion is subsequently adopted, the recorded division on the original question shall not be deferred;

provided that any extension of time pursuant to Standing Order 45(7.1) shall not exceed 90 minutes;

(k) when a recorded division, which would have ordinarily been deemed deferred to immediately before the time provided for Private Members’ Business on a Wednesday governed by this order, is requested, the said division is deemed to have been deferred until the conclusion of Oral Questions on the same Wednesday;

(l) for greater certainty, this order shall not limit the application of Standing Order 45(7);

(m) when a recorded division is to be held, except recorded divisions deferred to the conclusion of Oral Questions, the bells to call in the members shall be sounded for not more than 30 minutes;

(n) recorded divisions shall take place by electronic means, provided that:

(i) the House Administration be directed to develop and test a secure remote voting application that would include a visual component to authenticate members’ identities and a notification to all members’ House-managed mobile devices,

(ii) until such time as a remote voting application is ready for use, recorded divisions shall take place in the usual way for members participating in person and by roll call for members participating by videoconference, provided that members participating by videoconference must have their camera on for the duration of the vote,

(iii) when testing on the remote voting application has been completed and feedback received from members, if the Speaker has received a notice from the House leaders of all recognized parties in the House stating that they are satisfied that it is ready to be used, he shall so inform the House and, until Friday, December 11, 2020, all subsequent recorded divisions shall be taken using the remote voting application and be governed by the provisions in subparagraphs (iv) to (vii),

(iv) before a recorded division is held by remote voting application, the Speaker shall announce the period of time allotted for members to cast their vote electronically provided that, if two or more votes are to be held successively without intervening debate, members may vote on more than one question during the time allotted if these questions are not dependent on another motion or proceeding,

(v) 30 minutes shall be allotted for a maximum of 10 votes occurring using the remote voting application and when necessary, three minutes shall be allotted for each additional vote,

(vi) the result of each vote occurring using the remote voting application is announced at the end of the time provided for voting,

(vii) when the question is dependent on another motion or proceeding, the Speaker announces each result and 10 minutes are allotted to vote using the remote voting application on each subsequent question necessary to dispose of the item,

(viii) in the event of technical issues with either electronic voting system, the Speaker be empowered to take all necessary steps to ensure the integrity of the voting process;

(o) during meetings of standing, special and legislative committees and the Liaison Committee, as well as their subcommittees, where applicable, members may participate either in person or by videoconference and witnesses shall participate remotely, except for the first meeting to elect a chair, which shall be held virtually, provided that priority use of House resources for meetings shall be established by an agreement of the whips and, for virtual or hybrid meetings, the following provisions shall apply:

(i) members who participate remotely shall be counted for the purpose of quorum,

(ii) except for those decided unanimously or on division, all questions shall be decided by a recorded vote,

(iii) when more than one motion is proposed for the election of a chair or a vice-chair of a committee, any motion received after the initial one shall be taken as a notice of motion and such motions shall be put to the committee seriatim until one is adopted,

(iv) public proceedings shall be made available to the public via the House of Commons website,

(v) in camera proceedings may be conducted in a manner that takes into account the potential risks to confidentiality inherent in meetings with remote participants,

(vi) notices of membership substitutions pursuant to Standing Order 114(2) and requests pursuant to Standing Order 106(4) may be filed with the clerk of each committee by email;

(p) the membership of the standing committees, other than the Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs, be constituted by each recognized party's whip depositing with the Clerk of the House the list of their members to serve on the committees no later than Tuesday, October 6, 2020, provided that the chief government whip shall name five members of the committees with a total membership of 11 and six members of the committees with a total membership of 12, the chief opposition whip shall name four members of each committee, the whip of the Bloc Québécois shall name one member of each committee, and the whip of the New Democratic Party shall name one member of each committee;

(q) the House re-establish the Special Committee on Canada-China Relations, created on Tuesday, December 10, 2019, with the same mandate and provisions, provided that (i) the whips of recognized parties shall deposit with the Clerk of the House the list of their members to serve on the committee no later than Tuesday, October 6, 2020, (ii) the evidence and documentation received by the Special Committee on Canada-China Relations during the First Session of the 43rd Parliament be referred to this committee and taken into consideration in this session; and

(r) the Clerk of the House shall convene organizational meetings of every committee whose membership is named under paragraph (p) and subparagraph (q)(i), no later than Monday, October 19, 2020, including, as necessary, during the period of adjournment beginning Friday, October 9, 2020, provided that the organizational meetings for the following committees shall be held no later than Friday, October 9, but no earlier than Thursday, October 8, 2020, and may be convened with 24 hours' notice: (i) the Standing Committee on Health, (ii) the Standing Committee on Finance, (iii) the Standing Committee on Access to Information, Privacy and Ethics, (iv) the Standing Committee on Human Resources, Skills and Social Development and the Status of Persons with Disabilities, (v) the Standing Committee on Agriculture and Agri-Food, (vi) the Standing Committee on Environment and Sustainable Development, (vii) the Standing Committee on Government Operations and Estimates, (viii) the Standing Committee on Public Safety and National Security, (ix) the Special Committee on Canada-China Relations.

Vacancies

The Speaker informed the House that a vacancy had occurred in the representation in the House of Commons, for the Electoral District of Toronto Centre, in the Province of Ontario, by reason of the resignation of Mr. Bill Morneau, and that, pursuant to paragraph 25(1)(b) of the Parliament of Canada Act, he had addressed, on Friday, August 21, 2020, his warrant to the Chief Electoral Officer for the issue of a writ for the election of a member to fill the vacancy.

The Speaker informed the House that a vacancy had occurred in the representation in the House of Commons, for the Electoral District of York Centre, in the Province of Ontario, by reason of the resignation of Mr. Michael Levitt, and that, pursuant to paragraph 25(1)(b) of the Parliament of Canada Act, he had addressed, on Tuesday, September 1, 2020, his warrant to the Chief Electoral Officer for the issue of a writ for the election of a member to fill the vacancy.

Board of Internal Economy

The Speaker informed the House that, pursuant to the Parliament of Canada Act, Mr. Deltell has been appointed a member of the Board of Internal Economy to replace Ms. Bergen, and Mr. Richards to replace Mr. Strahl.

Statement by the Speaker

Pursuant to Standing Order 86.1, all items of Private Members’ Business originating in the House of Commons that were listed on the Order Paper at prorogation, on Tuesday, August 18, 2020, are deemed to have been considered and approved at all stages completed at the time of prorogation and shall stand on the Order Paper.

Opening of the session

The Speaker informed the House that Her Excellency, the Governor General will arrive at the Senate building at 2:10 p.m., and, when it has been indicated that all is in readiness, Her Excellency will proceed to the chamber of the Senate to formally open the Second Session of the 43rd Parliament.

A message was received from Her Excellency the Governor General desiring the immediate attendance of the House in the Senate.

Accordingly, the Speaker, with the Commons, proceeded to the Senate.

The Commons returned to the chamber.

Tabling of Documents

The Speaker informed the House that, in accordance with the representation made by the government under the provisions of Standing Order 55(1), he had caused to be published a special Order Paper giving notice of two government bills.

The Speaker laid upon the table, — Letter from the government House leader, dated September 22, 2020, concerning notice of two government bills. — Sessional Paper No. 8527-432-1.

Pro Forma Bill

Pursuant to Standing Orders 68(2) and 69(1), on motion of Mr. Trudeau (Prime Minister), seconded by Mr. Rodriguez (Leader of the Government in the House of Commons), Bill C-1, An Act respecting the administration of oaths of office, was introduced, and read the first time.

Speech from the Throne

The Speaker reported that when the Commons were in the Senate, Her Excellency the Governor General was pleased to make a speech to both Houses of Parliament.

The Speaker laid upon the table, — Copy of the Speech from the Throne. — Sessional Paper No. 8525-432-1.

Mr. Trudeau (Prime Minister), seconded by Mr. Rodriguez (Leader of the Government in the House of Commons), moved, — That the Speech from the Throne delivered this day by Her Excellency the Governor General to both Houses of Parliament be taken into consideration later this day.

The question was put on the motion and it was agreed to.

Business of Supply

Pursuant to Standing Order 81, Mr. Duclos (President of the Treasury Board), seconded by Mr. Blair (Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness), moved, — That the business of supply be considered at the next sitting of the House.

The question was put on the motion and it was agreed to.

The Speaker informed the House that, pursuant to order made on Monday, April 20, 2020, a total of nine days will be allotted for the supply period ending December 10, 2020.

Assistant Deputy Speaker and Deputy Chair of Committees of the Whole

Pursuant to Standing Order 8(1), the Speaker proposed that Mrs. Hughes (Algoma—Manitoulin—Kapuskasing) be appointed Assistant Deputy Speaker and Deputy Chair of Committees of the Whole.

Pursuant to Standing Order 8(2), the motion “That Mrs. Hughes (Algoma—Manitoulin—Kapuskasing) be appointed Assistant Deputy Speaker and Deputy Chair of Committees of the Whole” was deemed to have been moved and seconded.

The question was put on the motion and it was agreed to.

Assistant Deputy Speaker and Assistant Deputy Chair of Committees of the Whole

Pursuant to Standing Order 8(1), the Speaker proposed that Mrs. Mendès (Brossard—Saint-Lambert) be appointed Assistant Deputy Speaker and Assistant Deputy Chair of Committees of the Whole.

Pursuant to Standing Order 8(2), the motion “That Mrs. Mendès (Brossard—Saint-Lambert) be appointed Assistant Deputy Speaker and Assistant Deputy Chair of Committees of the Whole” was deemed to have been moved and seconded.

The question was put on the motion and it was agreed to.

Address in Reply to the Speech from the Throne

The order for the consideration of the Speech from the Throne delivered by Her Excellency the Governor General to both Houses of Parliament was read.

, seconded by , moved, — That the following address be presented to Her Excellency the Governor General:

To Her Excellency the Right Honourable Julie Payette, Chancellor and Principal Companion of the Order of Canada, Chancellor and Commander of the Order of Military Merit, Chancellor and Commander of the Order of Merit of the Police Forces, Governor General and Commander-in-Chief of Canada.

MAY IT PLEASE YOUR EXCELLENCY:

We, Her Majesty's most loyal and dutiful subjects, the House of Commons of Canada, in Parliament assembled, beg leave to offer our humble thanks to Your Excellency for the gracious Speech which Your Excellency has addressed to both Houses of Parliament.

Debate arose thereon.

Ms. Bergen (Portage—Lisgar), seconded by Mr. Deltell (Louis-Saint-Laurent), moved, — That the debate be now adjourned.

The question was put on the motion and it was agreed to.

Motions

Mr. Rodriguez (Leader of the Government in the House of Commons), seconded by Ms. McKenna (Minister of Infrastructure and Communities), moved, — That this House do now adjourn.

The question was put on the motion and it was agreed to.

Returns and Reports Deposited with the Clerk of the House

Pursuant to Standing Order 32(1), papers deposited with the Clerk of the House were laid upon the table as follows:

— by the Speaker — Report of the Parliamentary Budget Officer entitled "Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy (CEWS) – 40-week program", pursuant to the Parliament of Canada Act, R.S. 1985, c. P-1, sbs. 79.2(2). — Sessional Paper No. 8560-432-1119-01. (Pursuant to Standing Order 32(5), permanently referred to the Standing Committee on Finance)

— by the Speaker — Report of the Parliamentary Budget Officer entitled "COVID-19: Special payment to individuals receiving disability supports", pursuant to the Parliament of Canada Act, R.S. 1985, c. P-1, sbs. 79.2(2). — Sessional Paper No. 8560-432-1119-02. (Pursuant to Standing Order 32(5), permanently referred to the Standing Committee on Finance)

— by the Speaker — Report of the Parliamentary Budget Officer entitled "COVID-19: Canada Emergency Commercial Rent Assistance (CECRA) – As extended to August 2020", pursuant to the Parliament of Canada Act, R.S. 1985, c. P-1, sbs. 79.2(2). — Sessional Paper No. 8560-432-1119-03. (Pursuant to Standing Order 32(5), permanently referred to the Standing Committee on Finance)

— by the Speaker — Report of the Parliamentary Budget Officer entitled "Federal Support through Major Transfers to Provincial and Territorial Governments", pursuant to the Parliament of Canada Act, R.S. 1985, c. P-1, sbs. 79.2(2). — Sessional Paper No. 8560-432-1119-04. (Pursuant to Standing Order 32(5), permanently referred to the Standing Committee on Finance)

— by the Speaker — Report of the Parliamentary Budget Officer entitled "Personnel Expenditure Analysis Tool: Key Insights", pursuant to the Parliament of Canada Act, R.S. 1985, c. P-1, sbs. 79.2(2). — Sessional Paper No. 8560-432-1119-05. (Pursuant to Standing Order 32(5), permanently referred to the Standing Committee on Government Operations and Estimates)

— by the Speaker — Report of the Parliamentary Budget Officer entitled "Costing Election Proposals for the 44th Canadian Federal Election", pursuant to the Parliament of Canada Act, R.S. 1985, c. P-1, sbs. 79.2(2). — Sessional Paper No. 8560-432-1119-06. (Pursuant to Standing Order 32(5), permanently referred to the Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs)

— by Ms. Hajdu (Minister of Health) — Copies of Orders in Council P.C. 2020-565, P.C. 2020-588 and P.C. 2020-589 concerning minimizing the risk of exposure to COVID-19 in Canada, pursuant to the Quarantine Act, S.C. 2005, c. 20, sbs. 61(2). — Sessional Paper No. 8560-432-1079-01. (Pursuant to Standing Order 32(5), permanently referred to the Standing Committee on Health)

— by Mrs. Lebouthillier (Minister of National Revenue) — Order respecting other time limits and periods relating to an act or regulation for which the Minister of National Revenue is responsible, pursuant to the Time Limits and Other Periods Act (COVID-19), S.C. 2020, c. 11, s. 11, ss. 11(1). — Sessional Paper No. 8560-432-1241-01. (Pursuant to Standing Order 32(5), permanently referred to the Standing Committee on Finance)

— by Ms. Tassi (Minister of Labour) — Orders respecting other time limits and periods relating to an act or regulation for which the Minister of Labour is responsible (81000-2-4216 and 81000-2-4219), dated September 11, 2020, pursuant to the Time Limits and Other Periods Act (COVID-19), S.C. 2020, c. 11, s. 11, ss. 11(1). — Sessional Paper No. 8560-432-1240-01. (Pursuant to Standing Order 32(5), permanently referred to the Standing Committee on Human Resources, Skills and Social Development and the Status of Persons with Disabilities)

— by Mr. Vandal (Minister of Northern Affairs) — Canada Petroleum Resources Act for the year 2019, pursuant to the Canada Petroleum Resources Act, R.S. 1985, c. 36 (2nd Supp.), s. 109. — Sessional Paper No. 8560-432-455-01. (Pursuant to Standing Order 32(5), permanently referred to the Standing Committee on Indigenous and Northern Affairs)

Adjournment

Accordingly, at 5:44 p.m., the Speaker adjourned the House until tomorrow at 10:00 a.m., pursuant to Standing Order 24(1).