House Publications

The Debates are the report—transcribed, edited, and corrected—of what is said in the House. The Journals are the official record of the decisions and other transactions of the House. The Order Paper and Notice Paper contains the listing of all items that may be brought forward on a particular sitting day, and notices for upcoming items.

For an advanced search, use Publication Search tool.

If you have any questions or comments regarding the accessibility of this publication, please contact us at accessible@parl.gc.ca.

Previous day publication Next day publication

Bilingual view PDF

44th PARLIAMENT, 1st SESSION

Journals No. 147 Tuesday, December 13, 2022 10:00 a.m.

Prayer

Vacancies

The Speaker informed the House that a vacancy had occurred in the representation in the House of Commons, for the electoral district of Winnipeg South Centre, in the Province of Manitoba, by reason of the death of the Hon. Jim Carr, and that, pursuant to subsection 28(1) of the Parliament of Canada Act, he had addressed, on Monday, December 12, 2022, a warrant to the Chief Electoral Officer for the issue of a writ for the election of a member to fill the vacancy.

Daily Routine Of Business

Tabling of Documents

Pursuant to Standing Order 32(2), Ms. Anand (Minister of National Defence) laid upon the table, — Document entitled "Minister of National Defence's Report to Parliament on Culture Change Reforms in Response to Former Supreme Court Justice Arbour's Recommendations". — Sessional Paper No. 8525-441-21.

Pursuant to Standing Order 32(2), Mrs. Fortier (President of the Treasury Board) laid upon the table, — Access to Information Review, pursuant to the Access to Information Act, R.S. 1985, c. A-1, sbs. 93(1). — Sessional Paper No. 8560-441-1304-01. (Pursuant to Standing Order 108(3)(h)(v), permanently referred to the Standing Committee on Access to Information, Privacy and Ethics)

Pursuant to Standing Order 32(2), Mr. Fragiskatos (Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of National Revenue) laid upon the table, — Report of the Taxpayers' Ombudsman for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2022. — Sessional Paper No. 8525-441-22.

Pursuant to Standing Order 32(2), Mr. Lamoureux (Parliamentary Secretary to the Leader of the Government in the House of Commons) laid upon the table, — Government responses, pursuant to Standing Order 36(8), to the following petitions:

— No. 441-00818 concerning taxation;

— No. 441-00819 concerning employment and labour;

— Nos. 441-00820 and 441-00824 concerning the environment;

— No. 441-00821 concerning health;

— No. 441-00822 concerning social affairs and equality;

— No. 441-00823 concerning public safety.

Presenting Reports from Committees

Mr. Sarai (Surrey Centre), from the Standing Committee on Justice and Human Rights, presented the ninth report of the committee (Bill S-4, An Act to amend the Criminal Code and the Identification of Criminals Act and to make related amendments to other Acts (COVID-19 response and other measures), without amendment). — Sessional Paper No. 8510-441-176.

A copy of the relevant Minutes of Proceedings (Meeting No. 44) was tabled.

Mr. Sarai (Surrey Centre), from the Standing Committee on Justice and Human Rights, presented the 10th report of the committee, "The Defence of Extreme Intoxication Akin to Automatism: A Study of the Legislative Response to the Supreme Court of Canada Decision R v. Brown". — Sessional Paper No. 8510-441-177.

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. 32 to 36, 43 and 44) was tabled.

Motions

Mr. Genuis (Sherwood Park—Fort Saskatchewan), seconded by Mr. Scheer (Regina—Qu'Appelle), moved, — That the second report of the Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Development, presented on Tuesday, May 10, 2022, be concurred in.

Debate arose thereon.

The question was put on the motion and, by unanimous consent, the recorded division was deferred until Wednesday, December 14, 2022, at the expiry of the time provided for Oral Questions.

By unanimous consent, it was ordered, — That, in relation to its study of the situation at the Russia-Ukraine border and implications for peace and security, seven members of the Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Development be authorized to travel to Brussels, Belgium; Helsinki, Finland; Stockholm, Sweden; and Warsaw, Poland, in the winter of 2023, during an adjournment period, and that the necessary staff accompany the committee.

By unanimous consent, it was ordered, — That, in relation to its study of Arctic sovereignty, security and emergency preparedness of Indigenous Peoples, seven members of the Standing Committee on Indigenous and Northern Affairs be authorized to travel to Yellowknife, Northwest Territories; Kugluktuk and Cambridge Bay, Nunavut, in the winter of 2023, during an adjournment period, and that the necessary staff accompany the committee.

By unanimous consent, it was ordered, — That, in relation to its study of large port infrastructure expansion projects in Canada, seven members of the Standing Committee on Transport, Infrastructure and Communities be authorized to travel to St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador; Halifax, Nova Scotia; Montréal, Quebec; Toronto and the Hamilton-Niagara region, Ontario; Vancouver and Prince Rupert, British Columbia, in the winter of 2023, during an adjournment period, and that the necessary staff accompany the committee.

Presenting Petitions

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

— by , one concerning citizenship and immigration (No. 441-00953);

— by , two concerning justice (Nos. 441-00954 and 441-00955);

— by , one concerning employment and labour (No. 441-00956).

Questions on the Order Paper

Mr. Lamoureux (Parliamentary Secretary to the Leader of the Government in the House of Commons) presented the answers to questions Q-926, Q-927, Q-929, Q-930, Q-935 and Q-940 on the Order Paper.

Pursuant to Standing Order 39(7), Mr. Lamoureux (Parliamentary Secretary to the Leader of the Government in the House of Commons) presented the returns to the following questions made into orders for return:

Q-918 — — With regard to the Specific Claims Research, Development and Submission Program for fiscal years 2020-21, 2021-22, and 2022-23, broken down by fiscal year: (a) how many applications for funding were received from (i) claims research units, (ii) bands and First Nations, (iii) Indigenous representative organizations; (b) how much funding was requested by each applicant type in (a); and (c) how much funding has been delivered to each applicant type in (a)? — Sessional Paper No. 8555-441-918.

Q-919 — — With regard to requests made under the Access to Information Act and the Privacy Act to Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC), since January 1, 2020, broken down by year: (a) how many requests were received by IRCC; (b) of the requests in (a), in how many instances was (i) the information provided to the requestor within 30 days, (ii) an extension required; and (c) of the extensions in (b)(ii), how many were for a period of over (i) 30 days, (ii) six months, (iii) one year? — Sessional Paper No. 8555-441-919.

Q-920 — — With regard to Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC): (a) how many IRCC employees or full-time equivalents are currently on “Other Leave With Pay” (code 699); (b) what is the breakdown of (a) by continent and region of the world that the employee works from; (c) how many IRCC employees are currently working from home as opposed to working from an IRCC office location; and (d) what is the breakdown of (c) by continent and region of the world? — Sessional Paper No. 8555-441-920.

Q-921 — — With regard to deportation orders issued by Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada or the Canada Border Services Agency, since January 1, 2016, broken down by year the order was issued: (a) how many deportation orders were issued; (b) of the orders in (a), how many (i) resulted in the individual being deported, (ii) have since been rescinded, (iii) are still awaiting enforcement; and (c) what is the average and median amount time between the issuing of a deportation order and the individual being deported? — Sessional Paper No. 8555-441-921.

Q-922 — — With regard to the Tourism Relief Fund (TRF): (a) how much of the $500-million fund has been disbursed to the tourism sector as of October 25, 2022; (b) what are the details of all funding provided through the TRF, including the (i) recipient, (ii) location, (iii) amount provided; (c) how much funding has been distributed, broken down by province or territory and by type of tourism related business; (d) how many applications have been received, broken down by month since the TRF became available; (e) how many applications have been rejected or denied; (f) how many applications are currently being reviewed and finalized; and (g) how much money remains available in the TRF for eligible tourism applicants? — Sessional Paper No. 8555-441-922.

Q-923 — — With regard to the current backlog of applications received by Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada, broken down by immigration stream and type of application: (a) what is the length of the backlog; and (b) what is the number of backlogged applications? — Sessional Paper No. 8555-441-923.

Q-924 — — With regard to contracts provided by the government to McKinsey & Company since March 1, 2021, broken down by department, agency, Crown corporation, or other government entity: (a) what is the total amount spent on contracts; and (b) what are the details of all such contracts, including (i) the amount, (ii) the vendor, (iii) the date and duration, (iv) the description of goods or services provided, (v) the topics related to the goods or services, (vi) the specific goals or objectives related to the contract, (vii) whether or not the goals or objectives were met, (viii) whether the contract was sole-sourced or awarded through a competitive bidding process? — Sessional Paper No. 8555-441-924.

Q-925 — — With regard to the Connecting Families initiative announced in budget 2017 and the Connecting Families 2.0 program announced on April 4, 2022, broken down by fiscal year and by province or territory: (a) what was the total number of households deemed eligible for these initiatives; (b) of the households in (a), how many are eligible because they receive (i) the maximum Canada Child Benefit, (ii) the maximum Guaranteed Income Supplement; (c) how many households were advised that they were eligible for this program; and (d) what is the total number of households enrolled in these programs? — Sessional Paper No. 8555-441-925.

Q-928 — — With regard to all the communications and correspondence (emails, letters, text messages, Teams messages, etc.) related to the leases and contracts awarded by the federal government in connection with the Roxham Road crisis, since December 1, 2021, broken down by date: (a) what communications and correspondence were exchanged between Pierre Guay, the company Importations Guay Ltée and the company Groupe I.G.L. Inc. and (i) the Department of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship, (ii) the Canada Border Services Agency, (iii) the Department of Public Safety, (iv) the RCMP, (v) Public Services and Procurement Canada, (vi) the Office of the Prime Minister; (b) what communications and correspondence were exchanged between Public Services and Procurement Canada and the (i) Department of Public Safety, (ii) Department of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship, (iii) Canada Border Services Agency; and (c) what communications and correspondence were exchanged between the Office of the Prime Minister and (i) Public Services and Procurement Canada, (ii) the Department of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship, (iii) the Department of Public Safety, (iv) the Canada Border Services Agency? — Sessional Paper No. 8555-441-928.

Q-931 — — With regard to the Canada-wide Early Learning and Child Care Plan, broken down by province and territory, since their respective agreements were announced: (a) how many new childcare spaces have been created; (b) how many early childhood educator jobs have been created; (c) how much of the federal investment has been delivered; (d) to date, what is the average savings per child (i) with a 50 percent average fee reduction, (ii) at $10 per day; and (e) which jurisdictions have submitted annual progress reports and have made these reports available to the public? — Sessional Paper No. 8555-441-931.

Q-932 — — With regard to the sales of surplus Crown assets (Treasury Board code 4843, or similar), since January 1, 2019: (a) what are the details of all assets sold, including, for each sale, the (i) price or amount sold for, (ii) description of goods, including the volume, (iii) date of the sale; and (b) for each asset in (a), (i) on what date, (ii) at what price, was it originally purchased by the government? — Sessional Paper No. 8555-441-932.

Q-933 — — With regard to purchases of vehicles by the government since January 1, 2020, excluding vehicles used by either the RCMP or the Canadian Armed Forces: (a) what was the total number and value of vehicles purchased; and (b) what are the details of each purchase, including (i) the make, (ii) the model, (iii) the price, (iv) the number of vehicles, (v) whether the vehicle was a traditional, hybrid, or electric? — Sessional Paper No. 8555-441-933.

Q-934 — — With regard to collective agreements of the public service signed by the government since January 1, 2019, broken down by each collective agreement and by year between 2020 and 2023: what is the (i) detailed cost breakdown, (ii) overall cost increase for the government, of each added benefit or pay increase included in the agreement? — Sessional Paper No. 8555-441-934.

Q-936 — — With regard to Indigenous Services Canada and long-term drinking water advisories: (a) of the 136 advisories lifted between November 2015 and October 2022, how many have been re-issued, and what are the locations of the advisories that were re-issued; (b) have any advisories been lifted and later re-issued multiple times, and, if so, what are the details of each, including the (i) location, (ii) dates lifted, (iii) dates issued or re-issued; (c) on what date was each advisory in (a) (i) lifted, (ii) re-issued; (d) of the 67 drinking water advisories issued between November 2015 and October 2022, what are the details of each, including the (i) location, (ii) date added, (iii) reason for the advisory, (iv) date the advisory was lifted, if applicable; and (e) of the 31 advisories still in effect, what are the locations of each and on what date is each advisory expected to be lifted? — Sessional Paper No. 8555-441-936.

Q-937 — — With regard to government interactions with and expenditures related to Canada 2020, since January 1, 2019, broken down by department, agency, Crown corporation, or other government entity: (a) what are the details of all expenditures, including, for each, the (i) date, (ii) amount, (iii) description of goods or services, including the volume, (iv) details of related events, if applicable, including the dates, locations, and the title of events; (b) what are the details of all sponsorships the government has provided to Canada 2020, including the event (i) date, (ii) location, (iii) sponsorship amount, (iv) title, and the purpose of sponsoring the event; and (c) what are the details of all gifts, including free event tickets, received by ministers, ministerial staff or other government officials from Canada 2020, including the (i) date, (ii) recipient, (iii) value, (iv) description of the gift, including the volume and the event date, if applicable? — Sessional Paper No. 8555-441-937.

Q-938 — — With regard to the government's approach to the transferring of prospective technology from Canada to the People's Republic of China: (a) what assessments has the government made of the possibility that technologies developed in Canada in partnership with Huawei could be used to aid human rights violations in China or anywhere else, and what were the results of such assessments; (b) what plans does the government have to ensure that technologies being developed in Canada will not be used by the People's Republic of China for surveillance purposes that would hinder the fundamental freedoms of the citizens of Hong Kong; (c) what assessments has the government made of Huawei's ability to gain access to Canada's technology through joint ventures and labs located in Canada; (d) what assessments has the government made of the possibility of unwarranted cross-border data transfer to the People's Republic of China through products and services provided by firms like Hikvision, Huawei and other Chinese companies, and what were the results of such assessments; (e) what assessments has the government made of the possibility of the People's Republic of China arbitrarily cutting off access to technology required to maintain systems in Canada, and what was the result of that assessment; (f) what assessments has the government made of the possibility of Chinese companies changing routing conditions or using network shaping tactics to increase the likelihood that traffic will move across connections where China has the ability to monitor it, and what were the results of such assessments; (g) what assessments has the government made of the risk to national security associated with hosting one of the stations of the Beidou satellite, and what were the results of such assessments; and (h) what policies and plans does the government have in place for the protection of data transferred via the subsea systems connecting Canada, the east coast of the United States, and England that was updated by Huawei in 2007? — Sessional Paper No. 8555-441-938.

Q-939 — — With regard to the details of certain contracts being withheld from disclosure, since January 1, 2016: (a) what was the total (i) number, (ii) value, of contracts which had their details withheld due a national security exemption, broken down by year; (b) what is the total (i) number, (ii) value, of contracts which had their details withheld for a reason other than national security, broken down by year and reason for withholding the details; and (c) what is the total (i) number, (ii) value, of contracts related to the government's response to COVID-19 which had their details withheld, broken down by year and reason for withholding the details? — Sessional Paper No. 8555-441-939.

Q-941 — — With regard to the Tourism Relief Fund (TRF): (a) how much of the minimum $50 million of the TRF's regional priorities funding has been disbursed to the indigenous tourism sector as of October 26 and 27, 2022; (b) what are the details of all funding provided through the TRF for indigenous tourism initiatives, including, for each instance, the (i) indigenous ownership status of each recipient, (ii) recipient, (iii) location, (iv) amount provided; (c) how did the federal government verify applicants who claimed indigenous ownership; (d) how much indigenous funding has been distributed in each province or territory, in total, and broken down by type of indigenous tourism related business; (e) how many total indigenous applications have been received by the federal government; (f) how many indigenous applications did the federal government receive for each month since the TRF became available; (g) how many indigenous applications have been rejected or denied by the federal government; (h) how many indigenous applications are still being reviewed; and (i) how much money remains available in the TRF for eligible indigenous tourism applicants? — Sessional Paper No. 8555-441-941.

Government Orders

The order was read for the consideration at report stage of Bill C-18, An Act respecting online communications platforms that make news content available to persons in Canada, as reported by the Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage with amendments.

Mr. Rodriguez (Minister of Canadian Heritage), seconded by Mrs. St-Onge (Minister of Sport and Minister responsible for the Economic Development Agency of Canada for the Regions of Quebec), moved, — That the bill, as amended, be concurred in at report stage.

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

Accordingly, the bill, as amended, was concurred in at report stage.

Pursuant to Standing Order 76.1(11), Mr. Rodriguez (Minister of Canadian Heritage), seconded by Mrs. St-Onge (Minister of Sport and Minister responsible for the Economic Development Agency of Canada for the Regions of Quebec), moved, — That the bill be now read a third time and do pass.

Debate arose thereon.

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.

Government Orders

The House resumed consideration of the motion of Mr. Rodriguez (Minister of Canadian Heritage), seconded by Mrs. St-Onge (Minister of Sport and Minister responsible for the Economic Development Agency of Canada for the Regions of Quebec), — That Bill C-18, An Act respecting online communications platforms that make news content available to persons in Canada, be now read a third time and do pass.

The debate continued.

Motions

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

(a) Bill C-278, An Act to prevent the imposition by the federal government of vaccination mandates for employment and travel, standing on the Order Paper in the name of the member for Carleton, shall now stand in the name of the member for Niagara West and be placed in the order of precedence at the same place and stage as Bill C-285, An Act to amend the Canadian Human Rights Act, the Canada Labour Code and the Employment Insurance Act, and be deemed to have been reported to the House pursuant to Standing Order 91.1 recommending it not be designated non-votable, and the order for the second reading of Bill C-285 shall be discharged and the bill withdrawn;

(b) Bill S-202, An Act to amend the Parliament of Canada Act (Parliamentary Visual Artist Laureate), standing on the Order Paper in the name of the member for Bow River, shall now stand in the name of the member for Cloverdale—Langley City; and

(c) Bill S-4, An Act to amend the Criminal Code and the Identification of Criminals Act and to make related amendments to other Acts (COVID-19 response and other measures), be deemed concurred in at report stage on division and deemed read a third time and passed on division.

Government Orders

The debate continued.

The question was put on the motion and, pursuant to order made Thursday, June 23, 2022, the recorded division was deferred until Wednesday, December 14, 2022, at the expiry of the time provided for Oral Questions.

Private Members' Business

At 5:33 p.m., pursuant to Standing Order 30(7), the House proceeded to the consideration of Private Members' Business.

The order was read for the consideration at report stage of Bill C-291, An Act to amend the Criminal Code and to make consequential amendments to other Acts (child sexual abuse material), as reported by the Standing Committee on Justice and Human Rights with amendments.

Mr. Arnold (North Okanagan—Shuswap), seconded by Mr. Caputo (Kamloops—Thompson—Cariboo), moved, — That the bill, as amended, be concurred in at report stage.

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

Accordingly, the bill, as amended, was concurred in at report stage.

Pursuant to Standing Order 76.1(11), Mr. Arnold (North Okanagan—Shuswap), seconded by Mr. Caputo (Kamloops—Thompson—Cariboo), moved, — That the bill be now read a third time and do pass.

Debate arose thereon.

Pursuant to Standing Order 98(2), the order was dropped to the bottom of the order of precedence on the Order Paper.

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 Mr. Blair (President of the King’s Privy Council for Canada and Minister of Emergency Preparedness) — Report of the Public Service Commission for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2022, pursuant to the Public Service Employment Act, S.C. 2003, c. 22, ss. 12 "23(2)" and 13. — Sessional Paper No. 8560-441-908-02. (Pursuant to Standing Order 108(3)(c)(vi), permanently referred to the Standing Committee on Government Operations and Estimates)

— by Mr. Lametti (Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada) — Charter Statement — Bill C-36, An Act for granting to His Majesty certain sums of money for the federal public administration for the fiscal year ending March 31, 2023, pursuant to the Department of Justice Act, R.S.C., 1985, c. J-2, sbs. 4.2(1). — Sessional Paper No. 8560-441-1232-31. (Pursuant to Standing Order 32(5), permanently referred to the Standing Committee on Finance)

— by Mr. Rodriguez (Minister of Canadian Heritage) — Report of the National Arts Centre, together with the Auditor General's Report, for the fiscal year ended August 31, 2022, pursuant to the National Arts Centre Act, R.S. 1985, c. N-3, sbs. 17(2). — Sessional Paper No. 8560-441-179-02. (Pursuant to Standing Order 32(5), permanently referred to the Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage)

Adjournment Proceedings

At 6:33 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 7:03 p.m., the Speaker adjourned the House until tomorrow at 2:00 p.m., pursuant to Standing Order 24(1).