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44th PARLIAMENT, 1st SESSION

Journals No. 308 Friday, May 3, 2024 10:00 a.m.

The clerk informed the House of the unavoidable absence of the Speaker.

Whereupon, Mr. d'Entremont (West Nova), Deputy Speaker and Chair of Committees of the Whole, took the chair, pursuant to subsection 43(1) of the Parliament of Canada Act.

Prayer

Government Orders

The order was read for the consideration at report stage of Bill C-20, An Act establishing the Public Complaints and Review Commission and amending certain Acts and statutory instruments, as reported by the Standing Committee on Public Safety and National Security with amendments.

Pursuant to Standing Order 76.1(5), the Speaker selected for debate Motion No. 1.

Mr. Lloyd (Sturgeon River—Parkland), seconded by Mr. Tolmie (Moose Jaw—Lake Centre—Lanigan), moved Motion No. 1, — That Bill C-20 be amended by deleting the short title.

Debate arose on Motion No. 1.

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

Presenting Reports from Committees

Mr. Williamson (New Brunswick Southwest), from the Standing Committee on Public Accounts, presented the 39th report of the committee, "Main Estimates 2024-25: Vote 1 under Office of the Auditor General". — Sessional Paper No. 8510-441-424.

A copy of the relevant Minutes of Proceedings (Meeting No. 115) was tabled.

Presenting Petitions

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

— by Mr. Cooper (St. Albert—Edmonton), one concerning justice (No. 441-02429);

— by Mr. Cannings (South Okanagan—West Kootenay), one concerning the environment (No. 441-02430);

— by Mr. Kurek (Battle River—Crowfoot), one concerning foreign affairs (No. 441-02431);

— by Ms. McPherson (Edmonton Strathcona), two concerning foreign affairs (Nos. 441-02432 and 441-02433);

— by Mr. Johns (Courtenay—Alberni), one concerning public safety (No. 441-02434);

— by Mr. Morrice (Kitchener Centre), one concerning the environment (No. 441-02435).

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-2440, Q-2442, Q-2443, Q-2446, Q-2450, Q-2451, Q-2453 and Q-2455 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-2438 — — With regard to expenditures on consultants by Environment and Climate Change Canada since November 4, 2015: (a) what is the total amount of expenditures incurred on consultants; and (b) what are the details of all such contracts under object codes 0431 (Scientific consultants), 0446 (Training consultants), 0473 (Information technology and telecommunications consultants), 0491 (Management consulting), 0422 (Engineering consultants – Construction), 0423 (Engineering consultants – Other), 0301 (Advertising services), 0351 (Communications professional services not elsewhere specified), and 0352 (Public relations services), including the (i) amount, (ii) vendor, (iii) date of the contract, (iv) duration of the contract, (v) description of the services provided, (vi) reason or purpose of the contract? — Sessional Paper No. 8555-441-2438.

Q-2439 — — With regard to the Memorial to the Victims of Communism project: (a) what specific work was done on the memorial between February 1, 2023 and March 18, 2024, broken down by month; (b) what is the current (i) targeted completion date, (ii) projected total budget; and (c) what are the details of all contracts over $1,000 entered into by the government related to the project since November 4, 2015, including, for each, the (i) date, (ii) vendor, (iii) amount, (iv) description of goods or services provided? — Sessional Paper No. 8555-441-2439.

Q-2441 — — With regard to contracts entered into by the Department of National Defence or the Canadian Armed Forces relating to diversity, equity and inclusion services, since November 4, 2015: (a) what is the total value of such contracts, broken down by year and by type of service provided (policy development, training, guest speaker, fee, etc.); and (b) what are the details of each such contract, including, for each, the (i) vendor, (ii) date, (iii) amount or value, (iv) description of goods or services, (v) manner in which the contract was awarded (sole-sourced versus competitive bid)? — Sessional Paper No. 8555-441-2441.

Q-2444 — — With regard to the Environment and Climate Change Canada's Holland Rock weather station near Prince Rupert: (a) how many unscheduled outages have occurred in the years 2015-2024; (b) what were the dates and durations of these outages; (c) what were the dates of visits to the weather station by the department or its contractors, (d) what maintenance and repair activities were performed during these visits; and (e) what were the costs of these visits and activities? — Sessional Paper No. 8555-441-2444.

Q-2445 — — With regard to Immigration and Refugee Board hearings on refugee claims, in 2023: (a) for written hearings, how many claims were (i) accepted, (ii) rejected, (iii) abandoned, (iv) withdrawn and other, in total and broken down by the country of origin of applicants; and (b) for oral hearings, how many claims were (i) accepted, (ii) rejected, (iii) abandoned, (iv) withdrawn or other, in total and broken down by the country of origin of applicants? — Sessional Paper No. 8555-441-2445.

Q-2447 — — With regard to the items listed in the Supplementary Estimates (C), 2023-24, under Department of Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs: what are the details of the $9 million listed under "Contributions to Promote Social and Political Development in the North and for northerners", including which organizations received funding, how much each organization received, what criteria were used to determine which organizations would receive funding, how the funds were used, and the details of each project funded with the money? — Sessional Paper No. 8555-441-2447.

Q-2448 — — With regard to the items listed in the Main Estimates, 2024-25, under Department of Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs: (a) of the $94,603,783 and the $4,151,000 respectively listed under "Contributions for promoting the safe use, development, conservation and protection of the North's natural resources, and promoting scientific development" and "Grants for promoting the safe use, development, conservation and protection of the North's natural resources, and promoting scientific development", what are the details of projects funded with this allocation, including, for each, the (i) name of the recipient, (ii) amount, (iii) purpose of the funding, (iv) project description, (v) location; and (b) what criteria were used to determine which projects would receive funding, and how much funding each project in (a) would receive? — Sessional Paper No. 8555-441-2448.

Q-2449 — — With regard to the Northern Responsible Energy Approach for Community Heat and Electricity program: (a) what is the government estimate of the total costs required to achieve the stated goal of reducing diesel consumption by 7 million litres; (b) how much has this program spent to date, and what amount and percentage of this were spent on administration expenses; (c) how many employees or Full Time Equivalent's have been hired for the program to date, in total, and broken down by year; and (d) what are the details of all projects funded to date, including, for each, the (i) recipient, (ii) location, (iii) amount of the funding, (iv) project description? — Sessional Paper No. 8555-441-2449.

Q-2452 — — With regard to nurses employed by Indigenous Services Canada (ISC) to provide health care to rural, remote and Northern communities, broken down by province or territory: (a) what is the current number of nurses employed by ISC who are (i) full-time, (ii) part-time; (b) what is the total number of new nurses hired since September 1, 2022; (c) what is the current number of vacant nursing positions; and (d) which nursing stations had their capacity reduced due to staffing shortages in other communities? — Sessional Paper No. 8555-441-2452.

Q-2454 — — With regard to funding programs managed by Indigenous Services Canada (ISC), and broken down by fiscal year since 2015-16: (a) what are the details of each funding program, broken down by (i) name of program, service, fund, or initiative, (ii) amount of funding allocated for funding program, (iii) amount of lapsed funding, (iv) number of applicants to program; (b) which of the funding programs in (a) have been identified by ISC as part of budget 2023’s commitment to refocus government spending; and (c) what is the total amount of funding reduction that each program or grant in (b) will experience? — Sessional Paper No. 8555-441-2454.

Government Orders

The House resumed consideration at report stage of Bill C-20, An Act establishing the Public Complaints and Review Commission and amending certain Acts and statutory instruments, as reported by the Standing Committee on Public Safety and National Security with amendments;

And of Motion No. 1.

The debate continued on Motion No. 1.

Private Members' Business

At 1:30 p.m., pursuant to Standing Order 30(6), the House proceeded to the consideration of Private Members' Business.

The House resumed consideration of the motion of Mr. Deltell (Louis-Saint-Laurent), seconded by Mr. Soroka (Yellowhead), — That Bill C-375, An Act to amend the Impact Assessment Act (federal-provincial agreements), be now read a second time and referred to the Standing Committee on Environment and Sustainable Development.

The debate continued.

Requests for extension of sitting hours

Pursuant to order made Wednesday, February 28, 2024, Mr. Guilbeault (Minister of Environment and Climate Change) requested that the ordinary hour of daily adjournment on Monday, May 6, 2024, be 12:00 a.m. and this request was deemed adopted.

Notices of Motions

Mr. Guilbeault (Minister of Environment and Climate Change) gave notice of the intention to move a motion at the next sitting of the House, pursuant to Standing Order 78(3), for the purpose of allotting a specified number of days or hours for the consideration and disposal of the second reading stage of Bill C-64, An Act respecting pharmacare.

Private Members' Business

The debate continued.

The question was put on the motion and, pursuant to Standing Order 93(1), the recorded division was deferred until Wednesday, May 8, 2024, at the expiry of the time provided for Oral Questions.

Motions

Pursuant to Standing Order 81(4)(a), the following motion, standing on the Order Paper in the name of Mr. Poilievre (Leader of the Opposition), was deemed adopted, — That, pursuant to Standing Order 81(4)(a), all votes under Department of Health and all votes under Department of Justice, in the Main Estimates for the fiscal year ending March 31, 2025, be referred to committees of the whole.

Accordingly, the said votes were deemed withdrawn from the standing committees to which they were originally referred.

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 before the House as follows:

— by the Prime Minister — Report on the activities of the Office of the Intelligence Commissioner for the year ended December 31, 2023, pursuant to the Intelligence Commissioner Act, S.C. 2019, c. 13, s. 50 "22(3)". — Sessional Paper No. 8560-441-1268-03. (Pursuant to Standing Order 32(5), permanently referred to the Standing Committee on Public Safety and National Security)

— by Mr. Duclos (Minister of Public Services and Procurement) — Report of the Canada Post Corporation, together with the Auditors' Report, for the year ended December 31, 2023, pursuant to the Financial Administration Act, R.S. 1985, c. F-11, sbs. 150(1). — Sessional Paper No. 8560-441-20-03. (Pursuant to Standing Order 32(5), permanently referred to the Standing Committee on Government Operations and Estimates)

— by Mr. Fraser (Minister of Housing, Infrastructure and Communities) — Report of the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation, together with the Auditor General's Report, for the year ended December 31, 2023, pursuant to the Financial Administration Act, R.S. 1985, c. F-11, sbs. 150(1). — Sessional Paper No. 8560-441-108-03. (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 Ms. Freeland (Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance) — Report of the Canada Development Investment Corporation (including Canada Enterprise Emergency Funding Corporation and Canada Growth Fund), together with the Auditor General's Report, for the year ended December 31, 2023, pursuant to the Financial Administration Act, R.S. 1985, c. F-11, sbs. 150(1). — Sessional Paper No. 8560-441-471-03. (Pursuant to Standing Order 32(5), permanently referred to the Standing Committee on Finance)

— by Mr. Rodriguez (Minister of Transport) — Report of VIA Rail Canada Inc., together with the Auditor General's Report, for the year ended December 31, 2023, pursuant to the Financial Administration Act, R.S. 1985, c. F-11, sbs. 150(1). — Sessional Paper No. 8560-441-128-03. (Pursuant to Standing Order 32(5), permanently referred to the Standing Committee on Transport, Infrastructure and Communities)

— by Mr. Rodriguez (Minister of Transport) — Report of the Atlantic Pilotage Authority, together with the Auditor General's Report, for the year ended December 31, 2023, pursuant to the Financial Administration Act, R.S. 1985, c. F-11, sbs. 150(1). — Sessional Paper No. 8560-441-415-03. (Pursuant to Standing Order 32(5), permanently referred to the Standing Committee on Transport, Infrastructure and Communities)

— by Mr. Rodriguez (Minister of Transport) — Report of the Laurentian Pilotage Authority, together with the Auditor General's Report, for the year ended December 31, 2023, pursuant to the Financial Administration Act, R.S. 1985, c. F-11, sbs. 150(1). — Sessional Paper No. 8560-441-416-03. (Pursuant to Standing Order 32(5), permanently referred to the Standing Committee on Transport, Infrastructure and Communities)

— by Mr. Rodriguez (Minister of Transport) — Report of the Great Lakes Pilotage Authority, together with the Auditor General's Report, for the year ended December 31, 2023, pursuant to the Financial Administration Act, R.S. 1985, c. F-11, sbs. 150(1). — Sessional Paper No. 8560-441-417-03. (Pursuant to Standing Order 32(5), permanently referred to the Standing Committee on Transport, Infrastructure and Communities)

— by Mr. Rodriguez (Minister of Transport) — Report of the Pacific Pilotage Authority, together with the Auditor General's Report, for the year ended December 31, 2023, pursuant to the Financial Administration Act, R.S. 1985, c. F-11, sbs. 150(1). — Sessional Paper No. 8560-441-418-03. (Pursuant to Standing Order 32(5), permanently referred to the Standing Committee on Transport, Infrastructure and Communities)

— by Mr. Wilkinson (Minister of Energy and Natural Resources) — Report on the administration of the Canada Petroleum Resources Act for the year 2023, pursuant to the Canada Petroleum Resources Act, R.S. 1985, c. 36 (2nd Supp.), s. 109. — Sessional Paper No. 8560-441-455-05. (Pursuant to Standing Order 32(5), permanently referred to the Standing Committee on Natural Resources)

— by Mr. Wilkinson (Minister of Energy and Natural Resources) — Report of the Nuclear Waste Management Organization, together with the Auditors' Report, for the year 2023, pursuant to the Nuclear Fuel Waste Act, S.C. 2002, c. 23, s. 19.1. — Sessional Paper No. 8560-441-808-03. (Pursuant to Standing Order 32(5), permanently referred to the Standing Committee on Natural Resources)

Petitions Filed with the Clerk of the House

Pursuant to Standing Order 36, a petition certified by the Clerk of Petitions was filed as follows:

— by Mrs. Vecchio (Elgin—Middlesex—London), one concerning the democratic process (No. 441-02436).

Adjournment

At 2:16 p.m., the Deputy Speaker adjourned the House until Monday at 11:00 a.m., pursuant to Standing Order 24(1).