OFFICIAL REPORT (HANSARD)

House of Commons Debates Volume 151 No. 263 1st SESSION 44th PARLIAMENT Wednesday, December 6, 2023 Speaker: The Honourable Greg Fergus HOUSE OF COMMONS CANADA (Table of Contents appears at back of this issue.) COMMONS DEBATES December 6, 2023 DEBATES No. 263 No. 263 N o 263 Volume 151 263 06 12 2023 2023/12/06 14:05:00 Débats de la Chambre des communes House of Commons Debates House Of Commons 1 44

The House met at 2 p.m. Prayer

Statements by Members

(1405) [ English ]

The Deputy Speaker :

It being Wednesday, we will now have the singing of the national anthem. [ Members sang the national anthem ]

Statements by Members Statements by Members

[ English ] Ray Sawada

Mr. Parm Bains (Steveston—Richmond East, Lib.) :

Mr. Speaker, recently the Richmond Sockeyes Junior Hockey Club honoured a local hero as they retired the jersey of Ray Sawada, who passed away at the age of 38 while playing a recreational hockey game earlier this year. Ray Sawada played junior hockey for the Richmond Sockeyes from 2001 to 2003, and he was selected 52nd overall in the NHL draft by the Dallas Stars in 2004. Ray retired from professional hockey in 2016 and became a Burnaby firefighter. He lived with his wife, Nicole, and their two daughters in Richmond.

Richmond’s Minoru Arena was standing room only, with friends, family, the local hockey community and firefighters, as we all witnessed Ray's jersey raised to the rafters. The Burnaby Firefighters Charitable Society presented a donation for $27,000 in Ray Sawada's memory, to set up a bursary subsidizing hockey players, with $1,000 per year for 27 years. Firefighters also presented Ray's jersey from the World Police and Fire Games, held in Winnipeg this year, to Richmond native Doug Patterson, the first captain and current president of the Richmond Sockeyes.

The memory and legacy of Ray Sawada will continue forever in Richmond.

Season's Greetings

Ms. Lianne Rood (Lambton—Kent—Middlesex, CPC) :

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to share the joy and spirit of Christmas, which is deeply woven into the fabric of our communities in Lambton—Kent—Middlesex. In our communities, Christmas is more than a holiday. It is a celebration of Christ's birth. It is a season of unity and warmth that brings together families and neighbours, echoing the rich traditions and vibrant culture that define us. This year, I had the immense pleasure of attending Santa Claus parades in many of our communities. Each parade was a spectacular display of community spirit and festive cheer, showcasing the unique charm of each town.

The festive spirit is alive and well in our communities. In the coming days, I look forward to attending more celebrations throughout the region, where our sense of community and shared joy truly exemplifies the spirit of the season. As we come together to celebrate, let us continue to spread kindness, laughter and joy. After all, it is the most wonderful time of the year. I wish everyone a merry Christmas, a happy Hanukkah and a season filled with happiness, health and prosperity.

UNITE Network

Ms. Sonia Sidhu (Brampton South, Lib.) :

Mr. Speaker, parliamentarians can achieve a lot when they work together. When it comes to global public health, we can do exactly that through UNITE. This is an international interparliamentary network for global public health. UNITE members are committed to working towards the promotion of efficient and sustainable policies for improved global health systems in alignment with the United Nations' sustainable development goals. As the North American director, I worked with representatives from more than 100 countries, highlighted Canada's leadership and discussed best practices.

By working together, parliamentarians can play a key role in strengthening public health in Canada and around the world.

[ Translation ] École Polytechnique Tragedy

Mrs. Claude DeBellefeuille (Salaberry—Suroît, BQ) :

Mr. Speaker, we have a duty to remember the Polytechnique tragedy out of respect for the victims and their loved ones and to make sure that it never happens again. Since 14 women were slaughtered in 1989 by a fanatical misogynist, every year we say, “never again”. Nevertheless, we are seeing an ever-increasing number of femicides every year. We have an obligation to find a solution to put an end to this downward spiral.

We owe it to Geneviève Bergeron, Hélène Colgan, Nathalie Croteau, Barbara Daigneault, Anne-Marie Edward, Maud Haviernick, Barbara Klucznik-Widajewicz, Maryse Laganière, Maryse Leclair, Anne-Marie Lemay, Sonia Pelletier, Michèle Richard, Annie St-Arneault and Annie Turcotte. Thirty-four years later, now more than ever, we say, “never again”.

(1410) 25th Anniversary of Loisir sport Outaouais

Hon. Steven MacKinnon (Gatineau, Lib.) :

Mr. Speaker, today is the 25th anniversary of Loisir sport Outaouais. Its mission is truly commendable, because it enhances the vitality of our communities. For 25 years, Loisir sport Outaouais has made sure that youth, people with reduced mobility and seniors can enjoy quality recreational and outdoor activities. It supports municipalities' efforts to offer their citizens vibrant living environments. I sincerely thank the entire team for their commitment. I salute Loisir sport Outaouais's remarkable contribution to the Outaouais delegation's participation in the Quebec Games. The youth of our region will remember that forever. Happy 25th anniversary to Loisir sport Outaouais.

[ English ] Congress of Aboriginal Peoples

Mr. Jamie Schmale (Haliburton—Kawartha Lakes—Brock, CPC) :

Mr. Speaker, it is with great honour that I welcome the Congress of Aboriginal Peoples to Parliament Hill this week. The Congress of Aboriginal Peoples, or CAP, is one of five national indigenous representative organizations, and it advocates for over 800,000 Métis, status, non-status and southern Inuit indigenous people living off reserve in Canada. CAP National Chief Elmer St. Pierre emphasizes the pressing need for reconciliation to translate into action, as critical issues affecting indigenous peoples off reserve are often overlooked.

CAP's dedication to raising concerns, from housing to missing and murdered indigenous women and girls, health care and the overincarceration of indigenous individuals, underscores the gravity of the challenges indigenous peoples face daily. The reminder that the government must ensure equal opportunities and access to programs for all indigenous peoples is a call for justice and inclusivity. After over five decades of advocacy, CAP remains steadfast in its commitment to indigenous people and their needs. I welcome CAP to Parliament Hill.

Halifax Explosion

Mr. Andy Fillmore (Halifax, Lib.) :

Mr. Speaker, today in my home city of Halifax, we pause to acknowledge the 106th anniversary of the Halifax explosion. On December 6, 1917, as World War I raged on, the collision of the SS Mont-Blanc and SS Imo in the Halifax harbour resulted in the greatest human-made explosion to that point in history. Two thousand people were killed, 9,000 more were injured, hundreds of acres of our city were immediately erased, and our north end vanished from the map. In the immediate wake of the disaster, citizens rallied together. Neighbours became first responders, navigating the wreckage to aid those in need.

This collective response showcased the strength and unity embedded in the fabric of Halifax as we know it today. Our journey from tragedy to triumph is not just a historical

chapter we acknowledge on this day once a year; our ongoing resilience is a living testament to the enduring strength of our community, which was forged on that day. Today in Halifax, we pay our respects to those lost by building a city that honours their memory.

International Day of Persons with Disabilities

Mr. Sameer Zuberi (Pierrefonds—Dollard, Lib.) :

Mr. Speaker, Sunday marked the International Day of Persons with Disabilities. [ Translation ] The United Nations' theme for the International Day of Persons with Disabilities focuses on Sustainable Development Goals. [ English ] It is important that we make sustainable development a reality for persons with disabilities. The principle of “Nothing Without Us”, which means we work in partnership with the disability community, is what guides the government. It is what guides disability inclusion and helps us achieve our goal.

Recently we launched an online tool that will allow Canadians to give their input on how the regulations for the disability benefit will be implemented. The benefit is a cornerstone of our disability inclusion plan. It helps to reduce poverty. It will be a supplement to and will not replace existing supports. Together, we will do this. We need to do this.

(1415) Gender-Based Violence

Mrs. Karen Vecchio (Elgin—Middlesex—London, CPC) :

Mr. Speaker, on December 6, 1989, we lost 14 women in the Polytechnique massacre. These women lost their lives to violence, simply because they were women. This cowardly act violated our core values as Canadians and robbed these women of their freedom and lives. It is our duty to remember their memory, their loved ones and all victims of gender-based violence. This tragedy reminds us that, 34 years later, women continue to be the main victims of violence. We must continue to fight hatred and violence against women in all its forms, including harassment, sexual assault and intimate partner violence.

I stand up to declare loudly and clearly that we will never forget their names: Geneviève Bergeron, Hélène Colgan, Nathalie Croteau, Barbara Daigneault, Anne-Marie Edward, Maud Haviernick, Barbara Klucznik-Widajewicz, Maryse Laganière, Maryse Leclair, Anne-Marie Lemay, Sonia Pelletier, Michèle Richard, Annie St-Arneault and Annie Turcotte. In their memory, we will continue to fight to end violence against women.

[ Translation ] Gender‑Based Violence

Mrs. Élisabeth Brière (Sherbrooke, Lib.) :

Mr. Speaker, the attack at École Polytechnique on December 6, 1989, remains a tragedy forever etched in our memories. Fourteen smart, determined young women were killed simply because they were women. Today, we are still haunted by the pain, outrage and incomprehension we felt back then. Let us honour their memory by continuing to work together to eliminate all forms of gender‑based violence and create a safer environment by banning certain firearms. This touches us all, and we should all be involved. Every woman has the right to live and follow her dreams without fearing violence.

On this National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence Against Women, let us condemn this violence and reaffirm our commitment to making a Canada a place where the rights of women are fully respected, where everyone feels safe, and where diversity is celebrated in the spirit of mutual understanding and inclusion.

[ English ]

Mr. Michael Cooper :

Mr. Deputy Speaker, the Speaker has lost the moral authority to preside over this House. The role of Speaker requires impartiality and non-partisanship. The Speaker betrayed the trust of this House when he gave greetings at the Ontario Liberal convention—

The Deputy Speaker :

We do have a process which we are following about this particular issue. Talk of the Speaker in the chamber outside of within those rules cannot happen. We cannot talk about the Speaker during this time. I apologize to the hon. member, but I am going to have to call that out of order.

Carbon Tax

Mrs. Cathay Wagantall (Yorkton—Melville, CPC) :

Mr. Speaker, now that the environment minister ’s job is on the line, Liberals are increasingly more desperate to kill the carbon tax carve-out in Bill C-234 . Just in time for Christmas, this panicked Prime Minister ordered his hand-picked senators to exclude barn heating from any carbon tax relief in the bill. It is ideology above all else for the Liberal government. It would rather see millions of Canadians go hungry than provide farmers with carbon tax relief.

Bill told me that he paid $14,000 in carbon taxes this fall, and that in this environment of rising costs and declining revenues, it is a huge hit to his farm. The Prime Minister is not worth the cost. He is taxing farmers who grow our food, the truckers who ship the food and the stores that sell the food to everyday Canadians who are struggling to buy food. Liberals and their coalition allies are punishing Canadians by making everything more expensive. Enough is enough. Conservatives will grind their high-tax agenda to a halt until the Prime Minister removes the carbon tax on farmers, families and first nations.

[ Translation ] Students from John Abbott Cégep

Mr. Francis Scarpaleggia (Lac-Saint-Louis, Lib.) :

Mr. Speaker, I want to congratulate the nine students from Cégep John Abbott who have distinguished themselves by being the only students from North America to sit on the jury for the Prix Goncourt des lycéens. The Prix Goncourt des lycéens enables nearly 2,000 French students, with the exception of one cohort from abroad, to read and study a selection of novels that are in the running for the Goncourt award and to post their favourite. Inspired and guided by their teachers Ariane Bessette and Daniel Rondeau, these nine francophiles with a passion for literature volunteered to devour 16 books in eight weeks.

I am proud of them. With a large number of anglophones and allophones, this group truly reflects the great diversity of Montreal's West Island. Congratulations to Alexa Bowers, Kamila Michelle Contreras Zarate, Anna Molins, Nahid Nowrozi, Stefaniya Pilicheva, Jeremy Plante, Sophia Qiu, Andrea Sanchez Benitez and Magali Shimotakahara.

(1420) [ English ] Foreign Affairs

Ms. Niki Ashton (Churchill—Keewatinook Aski, NDP) :

Mr. Speaker, with the guns silenced, the bombs and missiles grounded, it was a ceasefire by any other name. For a few days, there was some sense of peace in Israel and Palestine, but now the killing has begun again in Gaza. Once again, innocent civilians, children and women are dying at a horrendous rate. Where is Canada? Where is the world? We now say we are concerned about the number of Palestinian civilians killed. We hear the talk again of a two-state solution. How much of it is talk when the Prime Minister of Israel is telling Israelis that he is the only thing standing between them and a two-state solution?

Canada must be an unequivocal voice for peace and diplomacy. It starts with ending our complicity in the arms trade and in providing ongoing diplomatic cover for those who have no intention of supporting peace, security and justice for Palestinians. Have we not learned from history? This is a conflict that will repeat itself over and over again, unless there is a political solution.

[ Translation ] 350th Anniversary of City of Terrebonne

Ms. Nathalie Sinclair-Desgagné (Terrebonne, BQ) :

Mr. Speaker, this year we are celebrating Terrebonne's 350th anniversary. The Corporation des fêtes du 350e anniversaire de la Ville de Terrebonne was tasked with organizing the festivities. The corporation organized nine Signatures events with a turnout of nearly 100,000 people, and it supported 20 or so community projects. In addition, the city also stepped up its event planning. I want to thank from the bottom of my heart the people who worked tirelessly for our city over the past few months and who are now here in Ottawa. I am talking about the mayor of Terrebonne, Mathieu Traversy.

I want to give special thanks to Céline Durand, the director general of the Corporation des fêtes du 350e anniversaire de la Ville de Terrebonne. I also want to acknowledge the presence and impressive work of Mr. Mayer, Mr. Dufresne and Mr. Lévesque. Thanks to them, their teams, the hundreds of volunteers and everyone who participated, we were able to celebrate the great pride we have for our city. Let me say 350 thank-yous to the organizers. We are looking forward to the 400th anniversary of Terrebonne, and for the last time in the House of Commons, I wish Terrebonne a happy 350th anniversary.

[ English ] Carbon Tax

Mr. Arpan Khanna (Oxford, CPC) :

Mr. Speaker, last night, the Liberal-appointed senators gutted Bill C-234 , which will cost our farmers nearly $1 billion in carbon tax by 2030. Farmer Gord in Oxford paid $50,000 for the carbon tax just to run his farm. Thanks to the Liberals, it is now cheaper to buy Mexican asparagus shipped from 3,800 kilometres away than it is to buy asparagus grown in Oxford. After eight years of this Prime Minister , Canadians are struggling to put food on their tables. We are facing a cost of living crisis like never seen before, with tent cities popping up across our communities and homelessness increasing.

More and more hard-working Canadians are now relying on food banks, but instead of axing the carbon tax to lower food prices, this panicking Prime Minister spent the weekend begging his senators to kill this bill. The Liberal government has ruined Christmas for our families and our farmers, but Conservatives will stand up, fight back against this radical Liberal agenda and axe the tax and make sure we have provided relief to our farmers, families and first nations.

Gender-Based Violence

Ms. Lisa Hepfner (Hamilton Mountain, Lib.) :

Mr. Speaker, on this day in 1989, a man entered a quiet university library in Montreal and deliberately murdered 14 women because they were women. Decades later, we are still holding vigils for women and girls murdered because of their gender. There were 184 femicides in Canada just last year. That is one woman or girl killed every 48 hours. My city of Hamilton, like more than 40 other Canadian cities, has declared gender-based violence an epidemic and not just physical violence, but psychological abuse and economic coercion.

These affect a woman's ability to provide for herself and care for her children, and they lead to more homelessness among women. Women's shelters in Canada are overfull. Our government's national action plan to end gender-based violence directly supports frontline organizations. We are making housing more affordable, and we are addressing mental health. We are bringing men's voices into the solution, because gender-based violence is not a women's issue.

ORAL QUESTIONS Oral Questions

(1425) [ Translation ] Carbon Pricing

Hon. Pierre Poilievre (Leader of the Opposition, CPC) :

Mr. Speaker, today we honour the victims of the Polytechnique shooting and dedicate ourselves to ending violence against women. Today, we are also thinking about those who will not have enough to eat this Christmas. There are reports of young people writing letters to Santa Claus not asking for presents, but for food. Some 25% of young Canadians and Quebeckers are telling pollsters that they cannot afford to eat. Why did the Prime Minister force his senators to maintain a tax on Canadians' food?

Right Hon. Justin Trudeau (Prime Minister, Lib.) :

Mr. Speaker, today we honour the memory of 14 young women who were murdered at École polytechnique de Montréal simply because they were women. We honour their memory by continuing to fight against inequality and gender-based violence. We all need to continue to pursue reforms against assault weapons, the implementation of red flag and yellow flag laws and the fight against femicide. We must make sure that a tragedy like the one at Polytechnique never happens again.

Housing

Hon. Pierre Poilievre (Leader of the Opposition, CPC) :

Mr. Speaker, this Prime Minister is not worth the cost of housing. He has doubled the cost of housing since he took office. Yesterday in the Senate, a senator asked the president of the federal government's housing agency if there was a plan for building the 3.5 million homes needed to make housing affordable. The answer is no. That did not come from me. It came from the president of the federal housing agency. When will the Prime Minister watch my brand new documentary to come up with a common sense plan and eliminate taxes and red tape so houses can be built?

Right Hon. Justin Trudeau (Prime Minister, Lib.) :

Mr. Speaker, Canadians are clearly not fooled by the Conservative Party's YouTube hashtag games. This Conservative leader has never seen a social program that he did not want to cut. He did not support Canadians and small businesses during the pandemic. He will have no credible plan to build housing or stabilize grocery prices. He does not even recognize that climate change is real. Maybe he thinks Canadians are fools, but we know who he really is.

[ English ]

Hon. Pierre Poilievre (Leader of the Opposition, CPC) :

Mr. Speaker, what Canadians know is that the Prime Minister has doubled the housing costs, doubled the rent, doubled mortgage payments and doubled the needed down payment. After eight years, our housing costs have worsened at a greater rate than all but one OECD country. Yesterday, a senator asked the head of the Prime Minister's own housing agency if there is a federal government plan to eliminate the 3.5 million home deficit that we have in Canada. The answer: No. It is not me saying that; it is his own housing agency.

Given that he does not have a plan, why does he not watch the common-sense housing documentary I put forward so that he can see a common-sense plan to cut bureaucracy and build homes?

Right Hon. Justin Trudeau (Prime Minister, Lib.) :

Mr. Speaker, it is shameful that the Conservative leader is exploiting the very real anxieties and fears of Canadians for clicks and views. The leader continues to demean co-ops as “Soviet-style” housing. He called a Niagara family's home a “shack”, and he keeps using homeless people as props. A responsible leader acts on the concerns of Canadians instead of exploiting them for political gain just so he can get his 15 minutes.

Carbon Pricing

Hon. Pierre Poilievre (Leader of the Opposition, CPC) :

Mr. Speaker, what is shameful is that this Prime Minister is causing homelessness in this country. He has caused the doubling of the number of people eating at a food bank in Toronto. One single mother in Sydney said, “Well, this month, I had to choose between eating and having heat. My kids are getting fed, but my house is freezing.” The Prime Minister's solution is to quadruple the carbon tax on that single mother and on seniors. We have a common-sense Conservative bill to take the carbon tax off farmers and food. Why did the Prime Minister manipulate and intimidate Liberal senators into blocking that bill? Why does he want to tax food right before Christmas?

(1430) Right Hon. Justin Trudeau (Prime Minister, Lib.) :

Mr. Speaker, after all of the intimidation and threats from the Conservatives towards parliamentarians concerning Bill C-234 , it turns out that the only farming the Conservative Party cares about is rage farming, because all of this was just an attempt to fundraise off the backs of farmers. Time and time again, the Conservative leader has shown that he wants to take Canadians back to the Stone Age instead of helping them get ahead. On this side of the House, the Liberal government will always be there to support farmers.

Hon. Pierre Poilievre (Leader of the Opposition, CPC) :

Mr. Speaker, as the Prime Minister raises taxes on food, brings back malnutrition and brings in record-smashing food bank use, the best he can come up with is a bunch of scripted talking points from junior staffers in the PMO. That is outrageous. Canadians are going hungry as Christmas is just around the corner. A common-sense Conservative bill to take the tax off farmers and food could have helped solve the problem. Why did the Prime Minister manipulate and intimidate senators to keep the tax on food and make our people go hungry right before Christmas?

Right Hon. Justin Trudeau (Prime Minister, Lib.) :

Mr. Speaker, we have an opposition leader who is so ideologically opposed to protecting the planet that he is willing to take Parliament hostage and stop Parliament from supporting workers, stop Parliament from supporting families and stop Parliament from supporting Ukraine as well. The Leader of the Opposition has threatened to ruin the holidays if his ideological demands are not met. Let us be clear. We will keep working for Canadians, while the Conservative leader is fuelled only by the sound of his own voice and has no real plan for this country. We will never back down from supporting Canadians.

[ Translation ] CBC/Radio-Canada

Mr. Yves-François Blanchet (Beloeil—Chambly, BQ) :

Mr. Speaker, while there are people who see themselves as prime minister but then have the crazy idea of grinding Parliament to a halt, there is work to be done. For example, the government appointed Catherine Tait as interim CEO of CBC/Radio-Canada. Her mandate is to fight against disinformation; fight against disinformation by cutting jobs in French in the regions. Does the Prime Minister agree with me that Ms. Tait should come to Parliament to explain her decisions, which are shocking, to say the least?

Right Hon. Justin Trudeau (Prime Minister, Lib.) :

Mr. Speaker, as a government, we have always supported CBC/Radio-Canada and the services it provides to local communities across the country. One of the first measures we took as government was to cancel the Harper government's cuts to our public broadcaster. Supporting local news and journalists during these difficult times for the industry is exactly why we introduced Bill C‑18 . While the Leader of the Opposition celebrates Canadian families being laid off, we will continue to support local journalists and local news in Canada. We are very open to working with the Bloc Québécois on this, as always.

Mr. Yves-François Blanchet (Beloeil—Chambly, BQ) :

Mr. Speaker, I hope we are not supposed to think that Liberal cuts are better than Conservative cuts. More people in Canada tune in to Radio-Canada than the CBC. Radio-Canada generates more advertising revenue in Canada than the CBC. In fact, French-language Radio-Canada subsidizes CBC's English-language services. Nevertheless, Ms. Tait is calling on French-language Radio-Canada to absorb half the cuts she is demanding, at the expense of French and at the expense of the regions. Should the Prime Minister not personally summon Ms. Tait to come and explain herself to francophone parliamentarians in the House of Commons?

(1435) Right Hon. Justin Trudeau (Prime Minister, Lib.) :

Mr. Speaker, as the leader of the Bloc Québécois knows full well, we will always be here to stand up for Canada's two official languages. We are going to focus special attention on protecting French, including French in Quebec. CBC/Radio-Canada has an important mandate in this area. We are concerned about the situation confronting all of our media outlets these days, what with digitization, web giants and the Conservatives' attacks on the media, especially on CBC/Radio-Canada. We will always be here to stand up for journalism as an essential pillar of our democracy.

[ English ] Gender-Based Violence

Ms. Lindsay Mathyssen (London—Fanshawe, NDP) :

Mr. Speaker, three women in London have been killed by their male partners over the past year. Our women's shelters are doing everything they can, but they just cannot keep up. Anova's women's shelter had to turn people away 2,400 times this year. This is an epidemic, but what are the Liberals doing? They are cutting funding to women's shelters when they need them the most. When will the Prime Minister reverse his $150-million cut to women's shelters?

Right Hon. Justin Trudeau (Prime Minister, Lib.) :

Mr. Speaker, today and every day, we reinforce that everyone has the right to live free from violence. We have made historic investments, including precedented investments during the pandemic, to support shelters, and we are taking real action to end gender-based violence in our communities. We are also working with provinces and territories to develop a national action plan to prevent gender-based violence and support survivors. We know there is an urgent need for more action, and we will not stop until gender-based violence comes to an end.

Housing

Ms. Lori Idlout (Nunavut, NDP) :

Uqaqtittiji , indigenous women and their children are forced to live in violent situations because of the lack of adequate housing. The Liberals are actively keeping indigenous people marginalized by delaying the release of housing investments promised. The NDP fought to secure $4 billion to help build homes indigenous people need, but the Liberals keep delaying these investments, keeping indigenous people out in the cold. When will the government help indigenous communities get the homes they so desperately need?

Right Hon. Justin Trudeau (Prime Minister, Lib.) :

Mr. Speaker, we are taking action to address housing gaps in indigenous communities swiftly, effectively and in equal partnership. Budget 2023 included an additional investment of $4 billion in the indigenous housing strategy on top of the $6.7 billion since 2015. In fact, since 2016, we have supported the construction and renovation of over 30,000 homes in first nations communities, and we continue to work with first nations partners to co-develop a 10-year housing infrastructure strategy. We will continue working with first nations, Inuit and Métis, along with all levels of government, to co-develop and implement community-based housing solutions because they are desperately needed.

Carbon Pricing

Ms. Melissa Lantsman (Thornhill, CPC) :

Mr. Speaker, a desperate and panicking Prime Minister spent the weekend calling Liberal senators, pleading with them to keep the carbon tax on farmers. The Conservatives' common-sense plan would take the tax off the people who grow the food, ship the food, and, as a result, off Canadians who buy the food. Yesterday, he got his Christmas wish. Liberal senators gutted Bill C-234 , a move that will keep food prices high while Canadians visit food banks in record numbers. Will the Prime Minister finally listen to the outcry? Will he listen to anyone but his globe-trotting activist environment minister and take the tax off so people can put food on their tables this Christmas?

Mr. Adam van Koeverden (Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Environment and Climate Change and to the Minister of Sport and Physical Activity, Lib.) :

Mr. Speaker, the only senators who sit in any caucus are Conservative senators, and I would note that up to one-third of those Conservative senators did not vote yesterday. Climate change, not pollution pricing, is driving food inflation. Farmers are on the front lines of climate change. They know about climate change. They experience the effects of droughts, floods and storms first-hand, and, unlike the Conservative Party, they have no problem saying “climate change”. The Conservative strategy is to ignore climate change and stay hiding in the pockets of big oil and gas. That is no strategy at all, and it is risky and reckless.

Ms. Melissa Lantsman (Thornhill, CPC) :

Mr. Speaker, every single senator who voted against the bill was a Liberal senator. The Prime Minister 's carbon tax has already ruined Christmas for millions of Canadian families, so Conservatives are going to ruin Christmas vacation for the Prime Minister and his Liberal MPs. We will stay here as long as it takes to force them to axe the tax so Canadians can afford gas, groceries and home heating. How long are we going to be here? Is it one week, two weeks or three weeks until the Prime Minister finally relents and cancels his carbon tax on farmers, families and first nations?

(1440) Hon. Karina Gould (Leader of the Government in the House of Commons, Lib.) :

Mr. Speaker, unlike the Conservatives, who had their senators bully independent senators in the other place, we will stand up to the bullies on the other side. We will continue to stand for Canadians every single day, and we know that when we put a price on pollution with the rebate, Canadians get more back than they pay. If the Conservatives cared about Canadians and their affordability challenges, they would support the price on pollution because it is putting money in their pockets, but in typical Conservative style, they take from the poor to give to the rich.

Ms. Marilyn Gladu (Sarnia—Lambton, CPC) :

Mr. Speaker, this weekend, it was the Prime Minister who was bullying the senators, calling them up and telling them to kill Bill C-234 , a common-sense bill to help farmers and families. The Senate listened to him; it gutted the bill. However, people are suffering. People are hungry. The food bank use in my riding is up over 100%, so will the Prime Minister finally listen to Canadians and take the carbon tax off farmers, first nations and families?

Hon. Karina Gould (Leader of the Government in the House of Commons, Lib.) :

Mr. Speaker, the other place actually found one of the Conservative senators in breach of privilege for the actions he took bullying independent senators. The member should be cognizant of the fact that independent senators can make their own decisions. When it comes to supporting Canadians, the current government has been there the entire time, whether it was through supporting millions of Canadians through the pandemic or whether it is supporting them through the social safety net the Conservatives are looking to gut with their cuts. In typical Conservative fashion, they are looking to take from the poor and give to the rich.

Ms. Marilyn Gladu (Sarnia—Lambton, CPC) :

Mr. Speaker, it is the Liberal government that is trying to make everybody poor. The Prime Minister is determined to ruin Christmas for Canadians, so Conservatives will ruin his vacation. We will stay here and we will fight until the Prime Minister decides to take the carbon tax off families, farmers and first nations. Will he do it?

Hon. Karina Gould (Leader of the Government in the House of Commons, Lib.) :

Mr. Speaker, the party opposite continues to spread information that is simply incorrect. When Conservatives are talking about the vote in the other place, they should really be asking the Conservative senators, who sit in caucus, why they did not show up to vote yesterday. If they truly cared about it, that would have been the question they were asking instead of posing this question to the government, which has nothing to do with the independent Senate. What we do on this side of the House is support farmers. We are going to be there for farmers. We are going to be there for all Canadians like we have been since 2015. We are going to keep delivering for them.

[ Translation ]

Mr. Gérard Deltell (Louis-Saint-Laurent, CPC) :

Mr. Speaker, after eight years of this Liberal government, everything costs more and, unfortunately, it is not over yet. As we know, the House passed Bill C-234 and even the Greens voted for this bill, which will give farmers a tax break. Then, on the weekend, the Prime Minister panicked. He picked up the phone and called the senators he appointed to make sure that Bill C-234 did not get passed. Unfortunately, it worked, and that is the problem. Why is the Prime Minister always so quick to take even more money out of the pockets of Canadian families?

Hon. Karina Gould (Leader of the Government in the House of Commons, Lib.) :

Mr. Speaker, I have a great deal of respect for my colleague opposite, but he knows full well that the only party in the House that is trying to take money out of Canadians' pockets is the Conservative Party. If the Conservatives cancel the price on pollution, most Canadians will be worse off than they are now. If there is anything that we should be asking senators, it is why the Conservative senators did not vote yesterday. We, on this side of the House, respect democratic institutions, but we know that the Conservatives do not.

Mr. Gérard Deltell (Louis-Saint-Laurent, CPC) :

Mr. Speaker, I have a great deal of respect for the minister too, but she is going to have to explain to me why, whenever there is a tax hike, it always means taking even more money out of the pockets of Canadian families. That is exactly what the government is doing. We had the solution with Bill C-234 . It would give farmers a break, it would mean less tax to pay, it would stop food prices from continuing to rise under this Liberal government. Sadly, the Liberals decided to once again use their senator friends, whom they themselves appointed, to attack the wallets of Canadian taxpayers. When will this government understand that it is costly to vote Liberal?

(1445) Hon. Karina Gould (Leader of the Government in the House of Commons, Lib.) :

Mr. Speaker, what is costly is taking money out of Canadians' pockets, which is what the Conservatives are doing. They voted against the Canada child benefit. They voted against increasing the guaranteed income supplement for seniors. They voted against the dental benefit for less affluent Canadians. On this side of the House, we understand that we have to be there to support Canadians. That is something I wish the party opposite could understand.

Oil and Gas Industry

Mr. Mario Simard (Jonquière, BQ) :

Mr. Speaker, the number to keep in mind this week is 2,000. That is the number of meetings there have been between the Liberals and fossil fuel lobbyists since last year; 2,000 meetings in two years. We know that numbers do not lie. When a Liberal offers a choice between listening to his or her speech or looking at the numbers, everyone should do what I did and look at the numbers. The Liberals keep telling us that they are green. I have a very simple question for them. Do they realize that the numbers suggest they are actually black as oil?

Hon. Jonathan Wilkinson (Minister of Energy and Natural Resources, Lib.) :

Mr. Speaker, it is important for us to have meetings with participants from every sector of the economy. That includes the oil sector of course, but also environmental groups. Two weeks ago, I had a meeting with people from Environmental Defence, CAN‑Rac and many other environmental groups to have these very important conversations.

Ms. Monique Pauzé (Repentigny, BQ) :

Mr. Speaker, the numbers do not lie: The Liberals have met with fossil fuel lobbyists 2,000 times since last year. The Prime Minister 's Office has met with oil and gas companies twice as often as environmental groups, and the Department of Finance has met with them four times as often. Is that having an impact on policy? Let us follow the money. The Liberals' flagship environmental measures in Bill C‑59 amount to $30.3 billion in subsidies for oil and gas companies. When will the Liberals finally base their policies on the climate crisis rather than the oil and gas companies' whining?

Hon. Jonathan Wilkinson (Minister of Energy and Natural Resources, Lib.) :

Mr. Speaker, as I have already said, it is important that we meet with people from all sectors of the economy. Of course, I have also met many times with the Bloc Québécois. This week, we announced new regulations to reduce methane emissions by 75%. We are the first country in the world to make this commitment. It is a very important step in fighting climate change, and we are very proud of it.

[ English ] Carbon Pricing

Mr. Chris Warkentin (Grande Prairie—Mackenzie, CPC) :

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister spent the weekend pressuring Liberal senators, demanding that they kill our Conservative bill that would axe the carbon tax for Canadian farmers. Yesterday, those senators bowed to their political master. They used every dirty trick in the book to gut the bill. The truth is that the Liberals are not hurting us. They are hurting hungry Canadians who cannot afford higher prices for their food. Why will the Prime Minister not park his ideological admiration for higher taxes for Canadians, give Canadians a Christmas miracle and finally axe the tax for farmers, first nations and families?

Mr. Adam van Koeverden (Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Environment and Climate Change and to the Minister of Sport and Physical Activity, Lib.) :

Mr. Speaker, there are no Liberal senators and the Conservative senators did not even vote. We already know the Conservatives do not believe in climate change, but it seems like they do not believe in math either. University of Calgary-based economists conducted a thorough review of our price on pollution and facts are facts: 94% of families that earn less than $50,000 receive more back through our price on pollution than they pay. In typical Conservative fashion, the member for Carleton and his merry band of climate change deniers want to steal from the poor and give to the rich. It is risky and reckless.

(1450) Mr. Chris Warkentin (Grande Prairie—Mackenzie, CPC) :

Mr. Speaker, that is the most ridiculous answer I have heard in the House today. There is only one group in the House trying to take away from those who are most vulnerable. When will the Liberals finally understand that if we tax the farmers who grow the food and the truckers who ship the food, it is eventually going to cost more for Canadians to buy the food? When will the Prime Minister set aside his ideological attachment to the carbon tax and finally give a break to farmers, first nations and Canadian families this Christmas?

Mr. Adam van Koeverden (Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Environment and Climate Change and to the Minister of Sport and Physical Activity, Lib.) :

Mr. Speaker, farmers are on the front lines of the climate crisis. They are the first to feel the effects of floods and droughts. Wheat yields are down 20% in 2023. Why is that? It is climate change, yet unlike the Conservatives, farmers have no problem identifying climate change as the culprit for the reduction in their yields. Speaking of wheat, if the Conservatives really want to support food security, they should support the breadbasket of Europe. That is Ukraine. Ukraine says it needs assistance in strengthening economic resilience, yet the Conservatives voted against the Canada-Ukraine free trade agreement. I urge them to reconsider that shameful vote at third reading.

Mr. Damien Kurek (Battle River—Crowfoot, CPC) :

Mr. Speaker, yesterday, Liberal-appointed senators voted to gut common-sense Conservative Bill C-234 , an action that betrays farmers. For the last decade, the Prime Minister has repeatedly made the claim that the Senate and those he appoints to it are independent, yet this weekend proved otherwise. He and his socialist environment minister were busy employing a campaign of bullying and pressure to force his senators to kill this needed carbon tax carve-out. The carbon tax is punishing the farmers who produce the food and the folks who need it. Will the Prime Minister finally just listen to Canadians and axe his carbon tax?

Hon. Lawrence MacAulay (Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food, Lib.) :

Mr. Speaker, my hon. colleague is well aware that the other place makes decisions on its own. The Conservative Party of Canada has senators in its caucus. The Conservative Party of Canada does not have a policy or a plan for the environment. I can assure my hon. colleague that we do have a plan for the environment. That is why we are able to make an investment of $1.5 billion to help farmers and processors reduce their environmental footprint. We have supported and will continue to support our farmers and ranchers in this country.

The Deputy Speaker :

The hon. minister sits right here and I can barely hear him. Let us try to keep the sound down a little. The hon. member for Battle River—Crowfoot.

Mr. Damien Kurek (Battle River—Crowfoot, CPC) :

Mr. Speaker, I know for a fact that farmers are asking the minister to axe the carbon tax. The Prime Minister promised that the Senate would be independent, but the actions this past week prove that that is a complete farce. We know he bullied his senators. The Prime Minister himself was on the phone over the weekend telling them they had to gut Bill C-234 . The Prime Minister lied and his minions continue to lie about—

Some hon. members: Oh, oh!

The Deputy Speaker :

Order. The hon. member, who got here at the same time I did, knows full well that he cannot use that word. The hon. member should retract it and apologize.

Mr. Damien Kurek :

Mr. Speaker, I will not apologize to the Prime Minister when he continues to lie—

Some hon. members: Oh, oh!

The Deputy Speaker :

I am asking the hon. member to apologize for the second time and retract that word. The hon. member knows full well he cannot use that word in this chamber. This is the last opportunity. Will the hon. member for Battle River—Crowfoot be retracting it?

Mr. Damien Kurek :

Mr. Speaker, it is the truth. I will not apologize to the Prime Minister .

Naming of Member

The Deputy Speaker :

Mr. Kurek, I have to name you for disregarding the authority of the Chair. Pursuant to the authority granted me under Standing Order 11, I order you to withdraw from the House and any participation by video conference for the remainder of this sitting day. [ And Mr. Kurek having withdrawn: ]

The Deputy Speaker: The hon. member for Port Moody—Coquitlam.

(1455) Persons with Disabilities

Ms. Bonita Zarrillo (Port Moody—Coquitlam, NDP) :

Mr. Speaker, in Canada, over half of women with disabilities are living on less than $10,000 a year. They cannot afford the medication they need, nutritious food or housing. Women with disabilities who are facing intimate partner violence cannot afford to get away or to move out of their homes. The Liberals have failed these women. Will the Prime Minister stop endangering women with disabilities by releasing the Canada disability benefit now?

Hon. Kamal Khera (Minister of Diversity, Inclusion and Persons with Disabilities, Lib.) :

Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the hon. member for that really important question. It gives me a chance to, first and foremost, acknowledge that this past Sunday was International Day for Persons with Disabilities, an opportunity for all of us to continue to do the hard work to create a barrier-free Canada and to ensure that we create equal opportunities for persons with disabilities. On Canada's disability benefit, the hon. member knows very well that we are absolutely committed to getting it right and getting it out as quickly as possible.

In the true spirit of “Nothing Without Us”, public consultations for regulations are fully accessible and available online. I hope that all Canadians will participate.

Foreign Affairs

Ms. Heather McPherson (Edmonton Strathcona, NDP) :

Mr. Speaker, this weekend, violence between Israel and Hamas resumed. More Palestinian children and humanitarian workers have been killed in Netanyahu's bombardment, and there are still many people being held hostage by Hamas. Doctors Without Borders convoys in Gaza were attacked and destroyed, and aid trucks have been blocked. This is not eliminating Hamas; this is destroying an entire population, yet the Liberals and the Conservatives refuse to call for a ceasefire. Why is the government's position so cowardly in the face of this humanitarian disaster?

Hon. Mélanie Joly (Minister of Foreign Affairs, Lib.) :

Mr. Speaker, we unequivocally condemn the terrorist attacks that happened on October 7 against innocent Israeli civilians, as we, of course, think that it is completely unacceptable that so many women and children, civilians, in Gaza have died in the context of this crisis. The cycle of violence will not ensure Israel's long-term security, and the price of justice cannot be the suffering of Palestinian people. The violence must stop.

Gender-Based Violence

Hon. Judy A. Sgro (Humber River—Black Creek, Lib.) :

Mr. Speaker, today, we remember the 14 young women who were killed during the École Polytechnique massacre. As the 16 days of activism against gender-based violence comes to an end, we are reminded that our work must continue until we achieve a Canada free of gender-based violence. Can the Minister for Women and Gender Equality and Youth update the House on how our government is addressing the prevention of gender-based violence?

Hon. Marci Ien (Minister for Women and Gender Equality and Youth, Lib.) :

Mr. Speaker, today, we remember the victims of the massacre at École Polytechnique. The brazen disregard of the safety of women and the clear intent to harm them cast a shadow on our hearts to this day. Even now, gender-based violence remains a real threat to women. Because of this, our commitment to end it has not changed. That is why we have signed 10 agreements, alongside provinces and territories, through the national action plan to end gender-based violence. This work will not stop until it ends.

Carbon Pricing

Mr. Michael Kram (Regina—Wascana, CPC) :

Mr. Speaker, today, Canadians across the country are feeling betrayed by the Prime Minister 's senators, who voted to gut Conservative Bill C-234 , a bill that would have provided carbon tax relief for Canadian farmers and for Canadian families who are just trying to put food on the table. After eight years, will the Prime Minister end his carbon tax obsession and provide relief for Canadians so they can stop turning to food banks?

(1500) Hon. Karina Gould (Leader of the Government in the House of Commons, Lib.) :

Mr. Speaker, as the member opposite knows, there are no senators on this side of the House. The only senators within a political party are Conservative. Perhaps the member opposite would like to ask why 13 Conservative senators did not show up to vote. Is it perhaps because they do not support the leader 's position on Ukraine and recognize that if the Conservatives truly cared about making food more affordable, they might support the Canada-Ukraine free trade agreement? The questions the member has to ask are for the Conservative senators who did not vote for the Conservatives' bill.

Mr. Arnold Viersen (Peace River—Westlock, CPC) :

Mr. Speaker, the member can say whatever she wants, but when the minister is phoning his Liberal-appointed senators and instructing them to gut the bill, it is pretty hard to believe the Liberals. Common-sense Conservatives would axe the tax, removing the tax from Canadian farmers and making food cheaper for all Canadians. The Prime Minister continues to stand in the way of Canadian farmers and punish them with this carbon tax. When will the Prime Minister set aside his ideological position on the carbon tax and remove it for all farmers, families and first nations?

Hon. Karina Gould (Leader of the Government in the House of Commons, Lib.) :

Mr. Speaker, once again, the member knows full well, although he is not sharing it with Canadians, that the only senators who sit in a political party are Conservative senators, and they did not show up to vote yesterday. The member should really ask why they did not do that. Perhaps they have an issue with some of the positions that his leader has taken.

If the member cares about the high cost of living and if he cares about food prices, then he should simply change his vote on the Canada-Ukraine free trade agreement, because that is causing the most significant inflation when it comes to food prices, as is climate change. The member should check his ideological opposition to fighting climate change.

[ Translation ]

Mr. Richard Lehoux (Beauce, CPC) :

Mr. Speaker, this desperate, panicked Prime Minister spent all weekend calling senators, begging them to kill Bill C-234 . Not surprisingly, last night, the Senate voted in favour of an amendment that will gut Bill C‑234. This will keep food prices high at a time when Canadians are struggling. Will this Prime Minister scrap his plans to radically increase the carbon tax on farmers and families?

Hon. Pablo Rodriguez (Minister of Transport, Lib.) :

Mr. Speaker, has the member been living under a rock? Where was he when there were forest fires this summer? Where was he when there was flooding? Where was he when people were being displaced? Where was he when everyone else was noticing the impact of climate change on our farmers and on our everyday lives? Where was he this morning? I was at our caucus meeting this morning, and there were no senators present, while he was surrounded by Conservative senators. He should speak the truth.

The Deputy Speaker :

The minister asked the member to tell the truth. I just asked a member to leave the House because he said something similar. I just want to make sure that no one is asking these questions. It amounts to almost the same thing. The hon. member for Beauce.

Mr. Richard Lehoux (Beauce, CPC) :

Mr. Speaker, I am on the ground,

whereas my colleague might not be. There are direct repercussions for farmers, even back home in Quebec. For those who may not know it, all the propane consumed in Quebec comes from outside, so we do pay the tax. We refuse to give a pass to the economic statement that was presented last week by the government and that has not even been called for debate yet. The word “agriculture” does not even appear in the bill, even though food bank use is at a record high. Do the Liberals really want to lower the price of food? I will repeat my question and hope that my colleague across the way will take the time to answer.

When will the Prime Minister give up his plan to radically increase the carbon tax?

Hon. Jean-Yves Duclos (Minister of Public Services and Procurement, Lib.) :

Mr. Speaker, let me set the record straight: The price on pollution reduces pollution and puts more money in the pockets of eight out of 10 families in provinces where pricing applies. The number of families in the riding of Beauce who receive the Canada child benefit is 9,470. Nine out of 10 families in the member's riding receive the Canada child benefit. Unfortunately, even though the member was not here at the time, the Conservative leader voted against the Canada child benefit and therefore against the interests of 9,470 families in the riding of Beauce.

(1505) Veterans Affairs

Mr. Luc Desilets (Rivière-des-Mille-Îles, BQ) :

Mr. Speaker, we now know that it was the Prime Minister who interfered in the public art competition for the monument commemorating the Afghanistan mission. We know that it was the Prime Minister who pulled some strings to overturn the decision so the Daoust team, the Quebec team, would lose. Yesterday, the House of Commons spoke. On the Bloc's initiative, the House denounced the government's about-face and its failure to play by its own rules. Will the Prime Minister acknowledge the House's anger and reverse his decision to cast aside Quebec's winning team?

Hon. Ginette Petitpas Taylor (Minister of Veterans Affairs and Associate Minister of National Defence, Lib.) :

Mr. Speaker, I want to be very clear: It was the Department of Veterans Affairs that made the decision to support the Stimson design. Why? Because we chose to listen to veterans. More than 12,000 Canadians responded to a questionnaire or survey, and the vast majority of them were veterans. They made it clear that, for them, the Stimson design best represented the bravery, sacrifice and loss of veterans. That is why we made this decision.

Mr. Luc Desilets (Rivière-des-Mille-Îles, BQ) :

Mr. Speaker, the Liberals are deliberately rejecting Quebec. There was a call for tenders for the monument. Quebec won, so the Prime Minister vetoed that decision. Quebec was therefore swept aside. In the Boeing versus Bombardier matter, the Liberals did not take any chances: They refused to issue a call for tenders. Quebec had no chance of winning because the Liberals had rejected it in advance. However, it still comes out to the same thing. In both cases, the Liberals went to great lengths to exclude Quebec so we would miss out on a federal contract. Why?

Hon. Ginette Petitpas Taylor (Minister of Veterans Affairs and Associate Minister of National Defence, Lib.) :

Mr. Speaker, once again, let me be very clear: The Department of Veterans Affairs made the final decision to support the Stimson design because, as I said, we chose to listen to veterans. We put together a survey or questionnaire. More than 12,000 Canadians responded to the survey, and the vast majority of them were veterans. I do not understand why my hon. colleague does not want to listen to veterans, because, once again, they made the ultimate sacrifice of reporting for duty on the mission in Afghanistan.

[ English ] Carbon Pricing

Mr. Pat Kelly (Calgary Rocky Ridge, CPC) :

Mr. Speaker, after eight years of the NDP-Liberal government, Canadians know the Prime Minister is not worth the cost. He spent the weekend making desperate and panic-stricken phone calls to senators, pleading with them kill Bill C-234 , and yesterday that is exactly what they did when they voted to gut the bill and keep food prices high for struggling Canadians. When will the Prime Minister listen to Canadians and take the carbon tax off farmers, first nations and families who just want to heat their homes?

Mr. Adam van Koeverden (Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Environment and Climate Change and to the Minister of Sport and Physical Activity, Lib.) :

Mr. Speaker, we do not need Conservatives to tell us how to help farmers. Farmers are the most impacted by climate change. The last season was one of the worst, with 20% lower wheat yields in the Prairies. The culprit was a hotter season. That is climate change. Now, we already know that Conservatives do not believe in climate change, but it seems like they do not believe in math either as 94% of families that earn less than $50,000 a year receive more back from the price on pollution than they spend. However, this is typical. It is an old story. These Conservatives just want to steal from the poor and give to the rich, with the leader from Carleton and his merry climate change deniers.

Mr. Terry Dowdall (Simcoe—Grey, CPC) :

Mr. Speaker, Liberal-appointed senators voted yesterday to keep the carbon tax pain on Canadian families and once again betray farmers by gutting Bill C-234 . With food bank usage at a record high, the Prime Minister should have the courage to explain why he instructed senators to keep food prices high for struggling Canadians. After eight years, the NDP-Liberal government is not worth the cost. Will the Prime Minister listen to Canadians and take the carbon tax off farmers, first nations and families who are struggling to get by?

Hon. Lawrence MacAulay (Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food, Lib.) :

Mr. Speaker, being a farmer, and meeting farmers right across the country, one of the first questions they ask me is, “How come the Conservative Party of Canada does not have a plan to deal with the environment when we look at all the fires, all the floods, all the destruction that's taking place?” I tell them that we do have a plan. We do have a plan and an example of that plan is what we have done with the minister of agriculture from Ontario. We were able to announce a $25-million program to make sure that farmers remain on the cutting edge and that farmers are able to produce crops that are strong in areas that have more moisture. As I said, we will continue—

(1510) The Deputy Speaker :

The hon. member for Edmonton West.

Mr. Kelly McCauley (Edmonton West, CPC) :

Mr. Speaker, it is clear that the Prime Minister is not worth the cost. Yesterday, the Prime Minister's hand-picked senators voted to keep the carbon tax on farmers and keep food costs high. In Edmonton, the veterans food bank is pleading for donations to help our veterans. That is the legacy of the Prime Minister: food banks for veterans begging for help. When will the Prime Minister listen to Canadians and take the carbon tax off farmers, first nations and families who are desperate to heat their homes?

Hon. Lawrence MacAulay (Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food, Lib.) :

Mr. Speaker, as I said previously, being a farmer and having talked to farmers, they cannot understand how the Conservative Party of Canada would not have a plan to deal with the environment. People have been in situations such as hurricane Fiona in Atlantic Canada, which totally destroyed properties, destroyed dairy barns and killed animals. In fact, that is part of the price on food. We have supported, and we will continue to support, farmers. For example, the hon. Minister Thompson in Ontario and I announced a $25-million program to make sure that farmers stay on the cutting edge. We have supported farmers, and we will continue to support farmers.

Health

Mr. Tim Louis (Kitchener—Conestoga, Lib.) :

Mr. Speaker, too often people in the Waterloo region and across Canada lose loved ones to overdoses caused by the increasingly toxic illegal drug supply. People who are struggling need all levels of government to work together, and a comprehensive and evidence-based substance use policy. We know that stigma and fear will not solve this crisis. Could the Minister of Mental Health and Addictions inform Canadians on the harm caused by stigmatizing the toxic drug and overdose crisis?

Hon. Ya'ara Saks (Minister of Mental Health and Addictions and Associate Minister of Health, Lib.) :

Mr. Speaker, common sense without science means loved ones lost. Raising stigma is killing people who need our help. I was shocked to learn that Conservatives kept interrupting experts at the health committee. If the overdose crisis were truly a priority, they would listen to experts and follow the facts. Our evidence-based plan includes prevention, harm reduction, treatment and law enforcement. We are not pitting one pillar against another. We are using all the tools needed to save lives. Reckless and risky games stoke fear. We need to work together, fight this crisis and save lives.

Carbon Pricing

Mr. Fraser Tolmie (Moose Jaw—Lake Centre—Lanigan, CPC) :

Mr. Speaker, a desperate, panicked Prime Minister spent this past weekend calling senators and pleading with them to kill Bill C-234 . Yesterday, his NDP-Liberal government got its wish when the senators betrayed farmers, gutting this important bill and keeping the carbon tax. This keeps food prices high and farmers struggling. Farmers across Canada buy the goods they need retail and sell what they produce wholesale. After eight long years, farmers know that the Prime Minister is just not worth the cost. If he will not help our farmers, when will he get out of the way so a Conservative government can?

Hon. Arif Virani (Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada, Lib.) :

Mr. Speaker, when I hear from everyday Canadians about affordability, and when I hear from people such as Lindsay in my riding and former classmates such as Stephanie, they say to me that the cost of food is going up, but they understand that it is a complex problem. Climate change feeds into the cost of food, and things such as instability overseas in Europe and an illegal war in Ukraine affect the price of food. Ergo, we wonder about the sincerity of the party opposite when it votes against instrumental measures, such as an affordability piece of legislation or legislation that would assist Ukraine and stop that illegal war.

Mr. Glen Motz (Medicine Hat—Cardston—Warner, CPC) :

Mr. Speaker, if one ate today, they can thank a farmer. If one could not afford to eat today, they can thank these Liberals. Our farmers spend their days working hard to ensure that Canadians have enough food. The NDP-Liberal government spends its days developing new ways to tax Canadians and drive up costs. The Conservatives proposed Bill C-234 to take the carbon tax off farmers, but this piece of work Prime Minister has pressured his appointed senators to block the bill. After eight years, will the Prime Minister finally get his hands out of the pockets of farmers, families and first nations and axe the carbon tax?

Hon. Jonathan Wilkinson (Minister of Energy and Natural Resources, Lib.) :

Mr. Speaker, I think it is time that the Conservative Party stopped misleading Canadians on these issues. I certainly would invite them to read the

article that the University of Calgary economist Trevor Tombe put out yesterday, which basically shows that 95% Canadians with low and moderate incomes get more money back. Rather than talking about axing the tax, Conservatives should be talking about axing the rebate and taking money out of the pockets of hard-working Canadians.

(1515) [ Translation ]

Mr. Bernard Généreux (Montmagny—L'Islet—Kamouraska—Rivière-du-Loup, CPC) :

Mr. Speaker, farmers wanted a break on the carbon tax. Unfortunately, the Senate voted in favour of an amendment that guts Bill C-234 of all substance. Food prices and prices overall are going to stay high even though Canadians are struggling. We certainly cannot count on the Bloc-Liberal coalition to help them. Will the Prime Minister finally abandon his plan to increase the carbon tax on farmers and families? They cannot take it anymore.

Hon. Pablo Rodriguez (Minister of Transport, Lib.) :

Mr. Speaker, I am trying to understand the Conservatives' obsession with battling the fight against climate change. I am certain they cannot even spell it, especially given that they do not acknowledge its existence. Right now, they are doing everything they can to make sure nothing is done about it. The other day, they told us to talk to senators. Now they are telling us not to talk to senators. We do not even have any senators. This morning, when we got to our caucus meeting, there were no senators. On their side, however, there is a whole group of senators talking to them. To top it off, their senators do not even show up to vote. That is their problem. Let them deal with it.

Gender-Based Violence

Ms. Viviane Lapointe (Sudbury, Lib.) :

Mr. Speaker, today we remember the 14 young women who were killed at École Polytechnique. On this day, we remember that we must keep working until Canada is free from gender-based violence. Could the Minister for Women and Gender Equality and Youth talk about the work that our government has done to guarantee that a massacre like this never happens again?

Hon. Anita Anand (President of the Treasury Board, Lib.) :

Mr. Speaker, I thank the hon. member for the question. Today we are taking the time to remember the mothers, sisters and daughters across the country who have lost their lives to senseless, preventable violence. Gender-based violence must not and will not be tolerated in Canada. Our government will always fight to end violence against women. This means having firearms legislation and a national action plan to end gender-based violence.

[ English ] Emergency Preparedness

Ms. Niki Ashton (Churchill—Keewatinook Aski, NDP) :

Mr. Speaker, this past summer was the worst wildfire season in Canada's history. Indigenous communities are on the front lines of the climate crisis and are disproportionately paying the price, yet Liberals are investing less than a third of all emergency preparedness money in prevention, choosing to be reactive. First nations like Bloodvein River First Nation, which has been evacuated because of wildfires, does not have a fire truck to this day. The AFN is asking for $30 billion in mitigation. The Liberals' spending on mitigation is a drop in the bucket. Why are the Liberals pretending this reality is acceptable for first nations and indigenous communities facing the climate crisis?

Hon. Harjit S. Sajjan (President of the King’s Privy Council for Canada, Minister of Emergency Preparedness and Minister responsible for the Pacific Economic Development Agency of Canada, Lib.) :

Mr. Speaker, our nation has been dealing with significant wildfire seasons because of climate change, and it is impacting the most vulnerable, especially when it comes to our indigenous communities. Every time I have gone to visit the disaster-affected areas, I do meet with the indigenous communities. One of the things that we are looking at is making sure that we use their knowledge, in terms of the mitigation, and making sure that we have the appropriate response force. We are going to get this right by making sure that the indigenous have the support to actually support us in our wildfire response.

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship

Mr. Mike Morrice (Kitchener Centre, GP) :

Mr. Speaker, Sudanese Canadians have been advocating since April for the government's definition of “immediate family member” to include siblings, parents and grandparents amidst escalating violence and reports of ethnic cleansing in Sudan. Now, Canadians with family in Gaza are living the same horror. While I appreciate that the minister has rightfully admitted at committee that the definition “probably should be expanded”, nothing has yet changed. When will the minister fix the definition so Sudanese and Palestinian Canadians can bring their families to safety?

Hon. Marc Miller (Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship, Lib.) :

Mr. Speaker, I cannot stress more to members of the House how difficult it is to actually get people out of Gaza, a war zone faced with a humanitarian disaster. Our priority remains permanent residents and Canadian families. We are looking at options to expand that to make sure that people connected to Canada can be afforded a safe haven, but again, it is a work in progress. It is extremely difficult to get people out at this time, but we will continue to work hard to do so.

(1520) Presence in Gallery

The Deputy Speaker :

I wish to draw the attention of members to the presence in the gallery of the Hon. Nils Clarke, Minister of Highways and Public Works, and Minister of Environment of the Yukon.

Some hon. members: Hear, hear!

École polytechnique de Montréal

The Deputy Speaker :

Following discussions among representatives of all parties of the House, I understand there is an agreement to observe a moment of silence. I would now invite the House to rise and observe a minute of silence in memory of the victims of the tragic event that happened 34 years ago at École polytechnique de Montréal. [ A moment of silence observed ]

Hon. Pierre Poilievre :

Mr. Speaker, I think if you seek it, you will find unanimous consent for the following motion: Given that the CBC announced it is cutting 600 jobs, and 250 of these jobs—

Some hon. members: No.

The Deputy Speaker :

I am already hearing a number of noes. We have changed things a bit, and when we hear a number of noes, we just move on to the next item. The hon. leader of the official opposition.

Hon. Pierre Poilievre :

Mr. Speaker, there must be a misunderstanding, because surely the Liberals do not want to give bonuses to the CBC executives while they are killing jobs of CBC workers. The problem is that they have not listened to the motion. Clearly, killing jobs of the people working for the CBC while giving bonuses to the executives is not what they are calling for.

Some hon. members: Oh, oh!

Hon. Pierre Poilievre: Oh, Mr. Speaker, that is what they are calling for. What a terrible shame.

Points of Order Oral Questions Points of Order

Mr. Kevin Lamoureux (Parliamentary Secretary to the Leader of the Government in the House of Commons, Lib.) :

Mr. Speaker, I rise on a point of order. Earlier today, during question period, it was very clear when the member for Battle River—Crowfoot used unparliamentary language, and it was very much appreciated that he was asked to leave the chamber. However, upon reflection, I would ask that you listen to all of the proceedings that took place during that commotion. I think you will find that some very outrageous things were said. We ask that you consider not acknowledging the member's right to speak until he formally apologizes to the House.

The Deputy Speaker :

Ultimately, we will go back and listen to the event. I can rule only on things that I heard on the microphone, and, of course, the hon. member was the one I was aware of who said it.

Orders of the Day Orders of the Day

[ English ] Committees of the House Public Accounts Motion for concurrence

The House resumed from November 30 consideration of the motion, and of the amendment.

The Deputy Speaker :

It being 3:24 p.m., the House will now proceed to the taking of the deferred recorded division on the amendment of the member for Edmonton West to the motion for concurrence in the 26th report of the Standing Committee on Public Accounts. Call in the members.

And the bells having rung:

The Deputy Speaker: The question is as follows. May I dispense?

Some hon. members: No. [ Chair read text of amendment to House ]

(1535) (The House divided on the amendment, which was negatived on the following division:)

(Division No. 475)

YEAS Members Aboultaif Aitchison Albas Allison Arnold Baldinelli Barrett Berthold Bezan Block Bragdon Brassard Brock Calkins Caputo Carrie Chambers Chong Cooper Dalton Davidson Doherty Dowdall Dreeshen Ellis Epp Falk (Battlefords—Lloydminster) Falk (Provencher) Fast Ferreri Findlay Gallant Généreux Genuis Gladu Godin Goodridge Gourde Gray Hallan Jeneroux Kelly Khanna Kitchen Kmiec Kram Kramp-Neuman Kusie Lake Lantsman Lawrence Lehoux Leslie Lewis (Essex) Lewis (Haldimand—Norfolk) Liepert Lloyd Lobb Maguire Majumdar Martel Mazier McCauley (Edmonton West) McLean Melillo Moore Morantz Morrison Motz Muys Nater Patzer Paul-Hus Perkins Poilievre Redekopp Reid Rempel Garner Richards Roberts Rood Ruff Scheer Schmale Seeback Shields Shipley Small Soroka Steinley Stewart Strahl Stubbs Thomas Tochor Tolmie Uppal Van Popta Vecchio Vidal Vien Viersen Vis Vuong Wagantall Warkentin Waugh Webber Williams Williamson Zimmer -- 111

NAYS Members Aldag Alghabra Ali Anand Anandasangaree Angus Arseneault Arya Ashton Atwin Bachrach Badawey Bains Baker Barron Barsalou-Duval Battiste Beaulieu Beech Bendayan Bennett Bergeron Bérubé Bibeau Bittle Blaikie Blair Blanchet Blanchette-Joncas Blaney Blois Boissonnault Boulerice Bradford Brière Brunelle-Duceppe Cannings Carr Casey Chabot Chagger Chahal Champoux Chatel Chen Chiang Collins (Hamilton East—Stoney Creek) Collins (Victoria) Cormier Coteau Dabrusin Davies DeBellefeuille Desbiens Desilets Desjarlais Dhaliwal Dhillon Diab Drouin Dubourg Duclos Duguid Ehsassi El-Khoury Erskine-Smith Fillmore Fisher Fonseca Fortier Fragiskatos Fraser Freeland Fry Gaheer Gainey Garon Garrison Gazan Gerretsen Gill Gould Green Hajdu Hanley Hardie Hepfner Holland Housefather Hughes Hussen Hutchings Iacono Idlout Ien Jaczek Johns Joly Jones Jowhari Julian Kayabaga Kelloway Khalid Khera Koutrakis Kusmierczyk Kwan Lalonde Lambropoulos Lametti Lamoureux Lapointe Larouche Lattanzio Lauzon LeBlanc Lebouthillier Lemire Lightbound Long Longfield Louis (Kitchener—Conestoga) MacAulay (Cardigan) MacDonald (Malpeque) MacGregor MacKinnon (Gatineau) Maloney Martinez Ferrada Masse Mathyssen May (Cambridge) McDonald (Avalon) McKay McKinnon (Coquitlam—Port Coquitlam) McLeod McPherson Mendès Mendicino Miao Miller Morrice Morrissey Murray Naqvi Ng Noormohamed O'Connell Oliphant O'Regan Pauzé Perron Petitpas Taylor Plamondon Powlowski Robillard Rogers Romanado Rota Sahota Sajjan Saks Samson Sarai Scarpaleggia Schiefke Serré Sgro Shanahan Sheehan Sidhu (Brampton East) Sidhu (Brampton South) Simard Sinclair-Desgagné Singh Sorbara Sousa Ste-Marie St-Onge Sudds Tassi Taylor Roy Thériault Therrien Thompson Trudeau Trudel Turnbull Valdez Van Bynen van Koeverden Vandal Vandenbeld Vignola Villemure Virani Weiler Wilkinson Yip Zahid Zarrillo Zuberi -- 202

PAIRED Members Champagne Chong Damoff Deltell Duncan (Stormont—Dundas—South Glengarry) Duncan (Etobicoke North) Dzerowicz Gaudreau Guilbeault McGuinty Michaud Normandin Qualtrough Savard-Tremblay -- 14

The Deputy Speaker :

I declare the amendment defeated. Amendment negatived The next question is on the main motion. [ Translation ] If a member participating in person wishes that the motion be carried or carried on division, or if a member of a recognized party participating in person wishes to request a recorded division, I would invite them to rise and indicate it to the Chair.

(1540) [ English ]

Mr. Kelly McCauley :

Mr. Speaker, I request a recorded vote.

(1550) [ Translation ]

(The House divided on the motion, which was agreed to on the following division:)

(Division No. 476)

YEAS Members Aldag Alghabra Ali Anand Anandasangaree Angus Arseneault Arya Ashton Atwin Bachrach Badawey Bains Baker Barron Barsalou-Duval Battiste Beaulieu Beech Bendayan Bennett Bergeron Bérubé Bibeau Bittle Blaikie Blair Blanchet Blanchette-Joncas Blaney Blois Boissonnault Boulerice Bradford Brière Brunelle-Duceppe Cannings Carr Casey Chabot Chagger Chahal Champoux Chatel Chen Chiang Collins (Hamilton East—Stoney Creek) Collins (Victoria) Cormier Coteau Dabrusin Davies DeBellefeuille Desbiens Desilets Desjarlais Dhaliwal Dhillon Diab Drouin Dubourg Duclos Duguid Ehsassi El-Khoury Erskine-Smith Fillmore Fisher Fonseca Fortier Fortin Fragiskatos Fraser Freeland Fry Gaheer Gainey Garon Garrison Gazan Gerretsen Gill Gould Green Hajdu Hanley Hardie Hepfner Holland Housefather Hughes Hussen Hutchings Iacono Idlout Ien Jaczek Johns Joly Jones Jowhari Julian Kayabaga Kelloway Khera Koutrakis Kusmierczyk Kwan Lalonde Lambropoulos Lametti Lamoureux Lapointe Larouche Lattanzio Lauzon LeBlanc Lebouthillier Lemire Lightbound Long Longfield Louis (Kitchener—Conestoga) MacAulay (Cardigan) MacDonald (Malpeque) MacGregor MacKinnon (Gatineau) Maloney Martinez Ferrada Masse Mathyssen May (Cambridge) McDonald (Avalon) McKay McLeod McPherson Mendès Mendicino Miao Miller Morrice Morrissey Murray Naqvi Ng Noormohamed O'Connell Oliphant O'Regan Pauzé Perron Petitpas Taylor Plamondon Powlowski Robillard Rodriguez Rogers Romanado Rota Sahota Sajjan Saks Samson Sarai Scarpaleggia Schiefke Serré Sgro Shanahan Sheehan Sidhu (Brampton East) Sidhu (Brampton South) Simard Sinclair-Desgagné Singh Sorbara Sousa Ste-Marie St-Onge Sudds Tassi Taylor Roy Thériault Therrien Thompson Trudeau Trudel Turnbull Valdez Van Bynen van Koeverden Vandal Vandenbeld Vignola Villemure Virani Weiler Wilkinson Yip Zahid Zarrillo Zuberi -- 202

NAYS Members Aboultaif Aitchison Albas Allison Arnold Baldinelli Barlow Barrett Berthold Bezan Block Bragdon Brassard Brock Calkins Caputo Carrie Chambers Chong Cooper Dalton Davidson Doherty Dowdall Dreeshen Ellis Epp Falk (Battlefords—Lloydminster) Falk (Provencher) Fast Ferreri Findlay Gallant Généreux Genuis Gladu Godin Goodridge Gourde Gray Hallan Jeneroux Kelly Khanna Kitchen Kmiec Kram Kramp-Neuman Kusie Lake Lantsman Lawrence Lehoux Leslie Lewis (Essex) Lewis (Haldimand—Norfolk) Liepert Lloyd Lobb Maguire Majumdar Martel Mazier McCauley (Edmonton West) McLean Melillo Moore Morantz Morrison Motz Muys Nater Patzer Paul-Hus Perkins Poilievre Redekopp Reid Rempel Garner Richards Roberts Rood Ruff Scheer Schmale Seeback Shields Shipley Small Soroka Steinley Stewart Strahl Stubbs Thomas Tochor Tolmie Uppal Van Popta Vecchio Vidal Vien Viersen Vis Vuong Wagantall Warkentin Waugh Webber Williams Williamson Zimmer -- 112

PAIRED Members Champagne Chong Damoff Deltell Duncan (Stormont—Dundas—South Glengarry) Duncan (Etobicoke North) Dzerowicz Gaudreau Guilbeault McGuinty Michaud Normandin Qualtrough Savard-Tremblay -- 14

The Deputy Speaker :

Motion agreed to I declare the motion carried.

[ English ] Privilege Reference to Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs Privilege

Motion The House resumed from December 5 consideration of the motion and of the amendment.

The Deputy Speaker :

The House will now proceed to the taking of the deferred recorded division on the amendment by the hon. member for Mégantic—L'Érable in relation to the privilege motion.

(1605) (The House divided on the amendment, which was agreed to on the following division:)

(Division No. 477)

YEAS Members Aboultaif Aitchison Albas Aldag Alghabra Ali Allison Anand Anandasangaree Angus Arnold Arseneault Arya Ashton Atwin Bachrach Badawey Bains Baker Baldinelli Barlow Barrett Barron Barsalou-Duval Battiste Beaulieu Beech Bendayan Bennett Bergeron Berthold Bérubé Bezan Bibeau Bittle Blaikie Blair Blanchet Blanchette-Joncas Blaney Block Blois Boissonnault Boulerice Bradford Bragdon Brassard Brière Brock Brunelle-Duceppe Calkins Cannings Caputo Carr Carrie Casey Chabot Chagger Chahal Chambers Champoux Chatel Chen Chiang Chong Collins (Hamilton East—Stoney Creek) Collins (Victoria) Cooper Cormier Coteau Dabrusin Dalton Davidson Davies DeBellefeuille Desbiens Desilets Desjarlais Dhaliwal Dhillon Diab Doherty Dowdall Dreeshen Drouin Dubourg Duclos Duguid Ehsassi El-Khoury Ellis Epp Erskine-Smith Falk (Battlefords—Lloydminster) Falk (Provencher) Fast Ferreri Fillmore Findlay Fisher Fonseca Fortier Fortin Fragiskatos Fraser Freeland Fry Gaheer Gallant Garon Garrison Gazan Généreux Genuis Gerretsen Gill Gladu Godin Goodridge Gould Gourde Gray Hajdu Hallan Hanley Hardie Hepfner Holland Housefather Hussen Hutchings Iacono Idlout Ien Jaczek Jeneroux Johns Jones Jowhari Julian Kayabaga Kelloway Kelly Khalid Khanna Khera Kitchen Kmiec Koutrakis Kram Kramp-Neuman Kusie Kusmierczyk Kwan Lake Lalonde Lambropoulos Lametti Lamoureux Lantsman Lapointe Larouche Lattanzio Lauzon Lawrence LeBlanc Lebouthillier Lehoux Lemire Leslie Lewis (Essex) Lewis (Haldimand—Norfolk) Liepert Lightbound Lloyd Lobb Long Longfield Louis (Kitchener—Conestoga) MacAulay (Cardigan) MacDonald (Malpeque) MacGregor MacKinnon (Gatineau) Maguire Majumdar Maloney Martel Martinez Ferrada Masse Mathyssen May (Cambridge) Mazier McCauley (Edmonton West) McDonald (Avalon) McKay McKinnon (Coquitlam—Port Coquitlam) McLean McLeod McPherson Melillo Mendicino Miao Miller Moore Morantz Morrice Morrison Morrissey Motz Murray Muys Naqvi Nater Ng Noormohamed O'Connell Oliphant O'Regan Patzer Paul-Hus Pauzé Perkins Perron Petitpas Taylor Plamondon Poilievre Powlowski Redekopp Reid Rempel Garner Richards Roberts Robillard Rodriguez Rogers Romanado Rood Rota Ruff Sahota Sajjan Saks Samson Sarai Scarpaleggia Scheer Schiefke Schmale Seeback Serré Sgro Shanahan Sheehan Shields Shipley Sidhu (Brampton East) Sidhu (Brampton South) Simard Sinclair-Desgagné Singh Small Sorbara Soroka Sousa Steinley Ste-Marie Stewart St-Onge Strahl Stubbs Sudds Tassi Taylor Roy Thériault Therrien Thomas Thompson Tochor Tolmie Trudel Turnbull Uppal Valdez Van Bynen van Koeverden Van Popta Vandal Vandenbeld Vecchio Vidal Vien Viersen Vignola Villemure Virani Vis Vuong Wagantall Warkentin Waugh Webber Weiler Wilkinson Williams Williamson Yip Zahid Zarrillo Zimmer Zuberi -- 310

NAYS Nil

PAIRED Members Champagne Chong Damoff Deltell Duncan (Stormont—Dundas—South Glengarry) Duncan (Etobicoke North) Dzerowicz Gaudreau Guilbeault McGuinty Michaud Normandin Qualtrough Savard-Tremblay -- 14

The Deputy Speaker :

Amendment agreed to I declare the amendment carried.

Private Members' Business Private Members' Business

[ English ] National Framework for a School Food Program Act

The House resumed from November 29 consideration of the motion that Bill C-322,

An Act to develop a national framework to establish a school food program , be read the second time and referred to a committee. Bill C-322. Second reading

The Deputy Speaker :

The House will now proceed to the taking of the deferred recorded division on the motion at second reading stage of Bill C-322 .

(1615) (The House divided on the motion, which was agreed to on the following division:)

(Division No. 478)

YEAS Members Aldag Alghabra Ali Anand Anandasangaree Angus Arseneault Arya Ashton Atwin Bachrach Badawey Bains Baker Barron Barsalou-Duval Battiste Beaulieu Beech Bendayan Bennett Bergeron Bérubé Bibeau Bittle Blaikie Blair Blanchet Blanchette-Joncas Blaney Blois Boissonnault Boulerice Bradford Brière Brunelle-Duceppe Cannings Carr Casey Chabot Chagger Chahal Champoux Chatel Chen Chiang Collins (Hamilton East—Stoney Creek) Cormier Coteau Dabrusin Davies DeBellefeuille Desbiens Desilets Desjarlais Dhaliwal Dhillon Diab Drouin Dubourg Duclos Duguid Ehsassi El-Khoury Erskine-Smith Fillmore Fisher Fonseca Fortier Fortin Fragiskatos Fraser Freeland Fry Gaheer Gainey Garon Garrison Gazan Gerretsen Gill Gould Green Hajdu Hanley Hardie Hepfner Holland Housefather Hughes Hussen Hutchings Iacono Idlout Ien Jaczek Johns Joly Jones Jowhari Julian Kayabaga Kelloway Khalid Khera Koutrakis Kusmierczyk Kwan Lalonde Lambropoulos Lametti Lamoureux Lapointe Larouche Lattanzio Lauzon LeBlanc Lebouthillier Lemire Lightbound Long Longfield Louis (Kitchener—Conestoga) MacAulay (Cardigan) MacDonald (Malpeque) MacGregor MacKinnon (Gatineau) Maloney Martinez Ferrada Masse Mathyssen May (Cambridge) McDonald (Avalon) McKay McKinnon (Coquitlam—Port Coquitlam) McLeod McPherson Mendès Mendicino Miao Miller Morrice Morrissey Murray Naqvi Ng Noormohamed O'Connell Oliphant O'Regan Pauzé Perron Petitpas Taylor Plamondon Powlowski Robillard Rodriguez Rogers Romanado Rota Sahota Sajjan Saks Samson Sarai Scarpaleggia Schiefke Serré Sgro Shanahan Sheehan Sidhu (Brampton East) Sidhu (Brampton South) Simard Sinclair-Desgagné Singh Sorbara Sousa Ste-Marie St-Onge Sudds Tassi Taylor Roy Thériault Therrien Thompson Trudeau Trudel Turnbull Valdez Van Bynen van Koeverden Vandal Vandenbeld Vignola Villemure Virani Vuong Weiler Wilkinson Yip Zahid Zarrillo Zuberi -- 204

NAYS Members Aboultaif Aitchison Albas Allison Arnold Baldinelli Barlow Barrett Berthold Bezan Block Bragdon Brassard Brock Calkins Caputo Carrie Chambers Chong Cooper Dalton Davidson Doherty Dowdall Dreeshen Ellis Epp Falk (Battlefords—Lloydminster) Falk (Provencher) Fast Ferreri Findlay Gallant Généreux Genuis Gladu Godin Goodridge Gourde Gray Hallan Jeneroux Kelly Khanna Kitchen Kmiec Kram Kramp-Neuman Kusie Lake Lantsman Lawrence Lehoux Leslie Lewis (Essex) Lewis (Haldimand—Norfolk) Liepert Lloyd Lobb Maguire Majumdar Martel Mazier McCauley (Edmonton West) McLean Melillo Moore Morantz Morrison Motz Muys Patzer Paul-Hus Perkins Poilievre Redekopp Reid Rempel Garner Richards Roberts Rood Ruff Scheer Schmale Seeback Shields Shipley Small Soroka Steinley Stewart Strahl Stubbs Thomas Tochor Tolmie Uppal Van Popta Vecchio Vidal Vien Viersen Vis Wagantall Warkentin Waugh Webber Williams Williamson Zimmer -- 110

PAIRED Members Champagne Chong Damoff Deltell Duncan (Stormont—Dundas—South Glengarry) Duncan (Etobicoke North) Dzerowicz Gaudreau Guilbeault McGuinty Michaud Normandin Qualtrough Savard-Tremblay -- 14

The Deputy Speaker :

Motion agreed to I declare the motion carried. Accordingly, the bill stands referred to the Standing Committee on Human Resources, Skills and Social Development and the Status of Persons with Disabilities. (Bill read the second time and referred to a committee)

(1620) [ Translation ] Criminal Code

The House resumed from December 4 consideration of the motion that Bill C‑295,

An Act to amend the Criminal Code , be read the third time and passed. Bill C‑295. Third reading

The Assistant Deputy Speaker (Mrs. Carol Hughes) :

The House will now proceed to the taking of the deferred recorded division on the motion at third reading stage of Bill C‑295 under Private Members' Business.

(1630) [ English ]

(The House divided on the motion, which was agreed to on the following division:)

(Division No. 479)

YEAS Members Aboultaif Aitchison Albas Aldag Alghabra Ali Allison Anand Anandasangaree Angus Arnold Arseneault Arya Ashton Atwin Bachrach Badawey Bains Baker Baldinelli Barlow Barrett Barron Barsalou-Duval Battiste Beaulieu Beech Bendayan Bennett Bergeron Berthold Bérubé Bezan Bibeau Bittle Blaikie Blair Blanchette-Joncas Blaney Block Blois Boissonnault Boulerice Bradford Bragdon Brassard Brière Brock Brunelle-Duceppe Calkins Cannings Caputo Carr Carrie Casey Chabot Chagger Chahal Chambers Champoux Chatel Chen Chiang Chong Collins (Hamilton East—Stoney Creek) Collins (Victoria) Cooper Cormier Coteau Dabrusin Dalton Davidson Davies DeBellefeuille Desbiens Desilets Desjarlais Dhaliwal Dhillon Diab Doherty Dowdall Dreeshen Drouin Dubourg Duclos Duguid Ehsassi El-Khoury Ellis Epp Erskine-Smith Falk (Battlefords—Lloydminster) Falk (Provencher) Fast Ferreri Findlay Fisher Fonseca Fortier Fortin Fragiskatos Fraser Freeland Fry Gaheer Gainey Gallant Garon Garrison Gazan Généreux Genuis Gerretsen Gill Gladu Godin Goodridge Gould Gourde Gray Green Hajdu Hallan Hanley Hardie Hepfner Holland Housefather Hussen Hutchings Iacono Idlout Ien Jaczek Jeneroux Johns Joly Jowhari Julian Kayabaga Kelloway Kelly Khalid Khanna Khera Kitchen Kmiec Koutrakis Kram Kramp-Neuman Kusie Kusmierczyk Kwan Lake Lalonde Lambropoulos Lametti Lamoureux Lantsman Lapointe Larouche Lattanzio Lauzon Lawrence LeBlanc Lebouthillier Lehoux Lemire Leslie Lewis (Essex) Lewis (Haldimand—Norfolk) Liepert Lightbound Lloyd Lobb Longfield Louis (Kitchener—Conestoga) MacAulay (Cardigan) MacDonald (Malpeque) MacGregor MacKinnon (Gatineau) Maguire Majumdar Maloney Martel Martinez Ferrada Masse Mathyssen May (Cambridge) Mazier McCauley (Edmonton West) McDonald (Avalon) McKay McKinnon (Coquitlam—Port Coquitlam) McLean McLeod McPherson Melillo Mendès Mendicino Miao Miller Moore Morantz Morrice Morrison Morrissey Motz Murray Muys Naqvi Nater Ng Noormohamed O'Connell Oliphant O'Regan Patzer Paul-Hus Pauzé Perkins Perron Petitpas Taylor Plamondon Poilievre Powlowski Redekopp Reid Rempel Garner Richards Roberts Robillard Rodriguez Rogers Romanado Rood Rota Ruff Sahota Sajjan Saks Samson Sarai Scarpaleggia Schiefke Schmale Seeback Serré Sgro Shanahan Sheehan Shields Shipley Sidhu (Brampton East) Sidhu (Brampton South) Simard Sinclair-Desgagné Singh Small Sorbara Soroka Sousa Steinley Ste-Marie Stewart St-Onge Strahl Stubbs Sudds Tassi Taylor Roy Thériault Therrien Thomas Thompson Tochor Tolmie Trudeau Trudel Turnbull Uppal Valdez Van Bynen van Koeverden Vandal Vandenbeld Vecchio Vidal Vien Viersen Vignola Villemure Virani Vis Vuong Wagantall Warkentin Waugh Webber Weiler Wilkinson Williams Williamson Yip Zahid Zarrillo Zimmer Zuberi -- 309

NAYS Nil

PAIRED Members Champagne Chong Damoff Deltell Duncan (Stormont—Dundas—South Glengarry) Duncan (Etobicoke North) Dzerowicz Gaudreau Guilbeault McGuinty Michaud Normandin Qualtrough Savard-Tremblay -- 14

The Assistant Deputy Speaker (Mrs. Carol Hughes) :

Motion agreed to I declare the motion carried. (Bill read the third time and passed)

[ Translation ] Canadian Environmental Bill of Rights

The House resumed from December 5 consideration of the motion that Bill C‑219,

An Act to enact the Canadian Environmental Bill of Rights and to make related amendments to other Acts , be read the second time and referred to a committee. Bill C‑219. Second reading

The Assistant Deputy Speaker (Mrs. Carol Hughes) :

The House will now proceed to the taking of the deferred recorded division on the motion at second reading stage of Bill C‑219 under Private Members' Business.

(1640) (The House divided on the motion, which was negatived on the following division:)

(Division No. 480)

YEAS Members Angus Ashton Bachrach Barron Barsalou-Duval Beaulieu Bergeron Bérubé Blaikie Blanchet Blanchette-Joncas Blaney Boulerice Brunelle-Duceppe Cannings Chabot Champoux Collins (Victoria) Davies DeBellefeuille Desbiens Desilets Desjarlais Fortin Garon Garrison Gazan Gerretsen Gill Green Idlout Johns Julian Kwan Larouche Lemire MacGregor Masse Mathyssen McPherson Morrice Pauzé Perron Plamondon Simard Sinclair-Desgagné Singh Ste-Marie Thériault Therrien Trudel Vignola Villemure Zarrillo -- 54

NAYS Members Aboultaif Aitchison Albas Aldag Alghabra Ali Allison Anand Anandasangaree Arnold Arseneault Arya Atwin Badawey Bains Baker Baldinelli Barlow Barrett Battiste Beech Bendayan Bennett Berthold Bezan Bibeau Bittle Blair Block Blois Boissonnault Bradford Bragdon Brassard Brière Brock Calkins Caputo Carr Carrie Casey Chagger Chahal Chambers Chatel Chen Chiang Chong Collins (Hamilton East—Stoney Creek) Cooper Cormier Coteau Dabrusin Dalton Davidson Dhaliwal Dhillon Diab Doherty Dowdall Dreeshen Drouin Dubourg Duclos Duguid Ehsassi El-Khoury Ellis Epp Falk (Battlefords—Lloydminster) Falk (Provencher) Fast Ferreri Fillmore Findlay Fisher Fonseca Fortier Fragiskatos Fraser Freeland Fry Gaheer Gainey Gallant Généreux Genuis Gladu Godin Goodridge Gould Gourde Gray Hajdu Hallan Hanley Hardie Hepfner Holland Housefather Hussen Hutchings Iacono Ien Jaczek Jeneroux Joly Jowhari Kayabaga Kelloway Kelly Khalid Khanna Khera Kitchen Kmiec Koutrakis Kram Kramp-Neuman Kusie Kusmierczyk Lake Lalonde Lambropoulos Lametti Lamoureux Lantsman Lapointe Lattanzio Lauzon Lawrence LeBlanc Lebouthillier Lehoux Leslie Lewis (Essex) Lewis (Haldimand—Norfolk) Liepert Lightbound Lloyd Lobb Long Longfield Louis (Kitchener—Conestoga) MacAulay (Cardigan) MacDonald (Malpeque) MacKinnon (Gatineau) Maguire Majumdar Maloney Martel Martinez Ferrada May (Cambridge) Mazier McCauley (Edmonton West) McDonald (Avalon) McKay McKinnon (Coquitlam—Port Coquitlam) McLean McLeod Melillo Mendès Mendicino Miao Miller Moore Morantz Morrison Morrissey Motz Murray Muys Naqvi Nater Ng Noormohamed O'Connell Oliphant O'Regan Patzer Paul-Hus Perkins Petitpas Taylor Poilievre Powlowski Redekopp Reid Rempel Garner Richards Roberts Robillard Rodriguez Rogers Romanado Rood Rota Ruff Sahota Sajjan Saks Samson Sarai Scarpaleggia Schiefke Schmale Seeback Serré Sgro Shanahan Sheehan Shields Shipley Sidhu (Brampton East) Sidhu (Brampton South) Small Sorbara Soroka Sousa Steinley Stewart St-Onge Strahl Stubbs Sudds Tassi Taylor Roy Thomas Thompson Tochor Tolmie Trudeau Turnbull Uppal Valdez Van Bynen van Koeverden Van Popta Vandal Vandenbeld Vecchio Vidal Vien Viersen Virani Vis Vuong Wagantall Warkentin Waugh Webber Wilkinson Williams Williamson Yip Zahid Zimmer Zuberi -- 257

PAIRED Members Champagne Chong Damoff Deltell Duncan (Stormont—Dundas—South Glengarry) Duncan (Etobicoke North) Dzerowicz Gaudreau Guilbeault McGuinty Michaud Normandin Qualtrough Savard-Tremblay -- 14

The Assistant Deputy Speaker (Mrs. Carol Hughes) :

Motion negatived I declare the motion lost. [ English ] I wish to inform the House that due to the deferred recorded divisions, Government Orders will be extended by 79 minutes. (1645) [ Translation ] It is my duty pursuant to Standing Order 38 to inform the House that the questions to be raised tonight at the time of adjournment are as follows: the hon. member for Mission—Matsqui—Fraser Canyon , Small Business; the hon. member for Port Moody—Coquitlam , Persons with Disabilities; the hon. member for Elmwood—Transcona , Housing.

Routine Proceedings Routine Proceedings

[ English ] Government Response to Petitions

Mr. Kevin Lamoureux (Parliamentary Secretary to the Leader of the Government in the House of Commons, Lib.) :

Madam Speaker, pursuant to Standing Order 36(8)(a), I have the honour to table, in both official languages, the government's responses to four petitions. These returns will be tabled in an electronic format.

École polytechnique de Montréal

Hon. Marci Ien (Minister for Women and Gender Equality and Youth, Lib.) :

Madam Speaker, 34 years ago, a horrific act of gender-based violence shocked and devastated our country.

On December 6, 1989, a man walked into a classroom at École polytechnique de Montréal, separated the women from the men and opened fire on the women. [ Translation ] Fourteen young women lost their lives that day, and 13 others were injured. [ English ] This is the National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence Against Women. [ Translation ] We remember the lives lost by saying their names: Geneviève Bergeron, Hélène Colgan, Nathalie Croteau, Barbara Daigneault, Anne-Marie Edward, Maud Haviernick, Maryse Laganière, Maryse Leclair, Anne-Marie Lemay, Sonia Pelletier, Michèle Richard, Annie St-Arneault, Annie Turcotte and Barbara Klucznik-Widajewicz. [ English ] These 14 brilliant lives were tragically cut short.

They were students, daughters, sisters and friends. One was an athlete, another a musician. One spoke five languages. Another wanted to be an engineer just like her dad. Who could they have become? How might they have changed the world? We will never know. This tragedy was a wake-up call when it happened and remains a reminder of the violent consequences of unchecked misogyny.

Today and throughout the 16 days of activism against gender-based violence, we acknowledge that the sexism and hatred that motivated the tragedy at Polytechnique Montréal remains a very real threat for women in Canada, with more than 6.2 million women in Canada age 15 and older having experienced some form of intimate partner violence in their lifetime. In 2021, 173 women and girls were killed violently in Canada. That is one woman every two days.

This violence has a direct impact on our health, social and justice systems. [ Translation ] It costs the Canadian economy billions of dollars every year. [ English ] While anyone can be impacted by this violence, we know that people with intersectional identities suffer the most. This includes indigenous peoples, Black and racialized women, immigrant and refugee women, 2SLGBTQI+ people, women living in northern, rural and remote communities and people with disabilities.

We know that this issue is deeply rooted in our society and requires a coordinated response, which is why I worked with governments from every province and every territory to launch the national action plan to end gender-based violence last year. Since the launch of the plan, we have been able to sign 10 agreements, alongside provinces and territories, to get this funding to people working on the front lines, to help women and children fleeing violence and to prevent violence from happening in the first place.

We have been able to get these agreements signed quickly because we are all unified and focused on eliminating gender-based violence from our communities, our schools, our workplaces and our country. (1650) [ Translation ] We must prevent tragedies like the one at Montreal's École Polytechnique by listening to survivors and experts. [ English ] We need to learn more about gender-based violence and take action to end it. That action must include men and boys as part of the solution and making sure that we break intergenerational cycles of violence. Gender-based violence is not a women's issue.

It is a societal issue that we must all stand against. I look forward to seeing members at the Centennial Flame for a moment of silence later today.

[ Translation ]

Mrs. Dominique Vien (Bellechasse—Les Etchemins—Lévis, CPC) :

Madam Speaker, I thank the minister for her inspiring speech. On December 6, 1989, 14 female students were killed at Montreal's École Polytechnique. As they were excitedly preparing for their final exams and the holiday celebrations that were fast approaching, the unthinkable happened. These women, Geneviève Bergeron, Hélène Colgan, Nathalie Croteau, Barbara Daigneault, Anne‑Marie Edward, Maud Haviernick, Barbara Klucznik‑Widajewicz, Maryse Laganière, Maryse Leclair, Anne‑Marie Lemay, Sonia Pelletier, Michèle Richard, Annie St‑Arneault and Annie Turcotte, were murdered because they were women.

How unspeakably cruel and horrible it is to think that a woman could suffer this fate just for being a woman. The murders shocked the nation and led Parliament to designate December 6, which we are marking today, as the National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence Against Women. I was especially shaken by this tragedy. Those women were the same age as me. They were at school. They had dreams. They had ambitions. All of that was destroyed forever. Their journey ended, and mine goes on. They are always in my thoughts. Today, we pay tribute to these women.

We also pay tribute to the women in Canada and around the world who have been, and continue to be, victims of hate and violence in all its forms. Thirty-four years later, this day is still necessary. Unfortunately, intimate partner violence, sexual assault and misogynistic rhetoric remain a fact of life. All of us have a role to play in eliminating these horrors. Everyone must work together, including the various police forces, municipalities, social services and, of course, all parliamentarians. I would like to acknowledge my colleagues on the Standing Committee on the Status of Women.

These members, several women and one man, are accomplishing amazing work. We are fortunate to have an outstanding chair in the member for Elgin—Middlesex—London . Together, we are pulling in the same direction, as we work for women. In committee, we have conducted difficult studies on violence against indigenous girls and women. Some courageous survivors came to share their painful experiences with us. Our various recommendations to the government reflect their moving pleas. We owe it to them to continue our work.

It is also important for people to be aware of the resources available to help victims escape violence. Help is out there. In Quebec, the toll-free hotline SOS Violence Conjugale receives more than 25,000 calls a year. Its staff are there to provide information, guidance and support to women who are victims of violence and, of course, to their loved ones. Hundreds of centres and shelters are ready to take in women. I would like to acknowledge two organizations in my community, the Centre-Femmes de Bellechasse and Jonction pour Elle. I want them to know that their work is very valuable.

As the minister pointed out, education is a key part of the solution. Respect must be integrated and learned from a very young age. Everyone must understand that violence is never the answer. In an ideal world, women would be completely free, free from all fear and free from all violence. Women should not have to walk the streets in a state of hyper-vigilance, as we all too often do. They should be able to trust people and develop healthy, respectful relationships. Today we remember the victims of École Polytechnique, but women are making progress.

Montreal's École Polytechnique got its very first female president in 2022, and two women have been appointed to lead two of McGill University's most prestigious faculties, specifically medicine and engineering.

(1655) In their minds, they hold the memory of the victims, of course, but they also have hope. We have come a long way since that fateful day in 1989, but let us be clear: We still have a long way to go. Let us keep on working for these 14 brilliant young women. We remember them.

Ms. Andréanne Larouche (Shefford, BQ) :

Madam Speaker, Geneviève Bergeron, Hélène Colgan, Nathalie Croteau, Barbara Daigneault, Anne‑Marie Edward, Maud Haviernick, Barbara Klucznik‑Widajewicz, Maryse Laganière, Maryse Leclair, Anne‑Marie Lemay, Sonia Pelletier, Michèle Richard, Annie St‑Arneault and Annie Turcotte. Year after year, we insist on repeating those names. We keep saying that we have not forgotten them, but that is not true. We have forgotten those women. The sound of the sirens on that December day has faded away, and with the passing of time, so have the faces of the Polytechnique women.

We rise in the House on December 6, and we are moved as we take turns delivering our liturgy of speeches. December 6 should not be a necessary step, speeches, a candlelight vigil and then nothing until next year comes. Time is a thief and we cannot mourn forever, keeping the sadness and anger inside. Time erases them. It rips them away from us, and we move on to something else. Would these women, who were murdered because they were women, be any safer today? Are the speeches we are giving right now helping to stop this from happening again, and is this helping give us peace of mind?

What have we done and what are we doing, as elected officials, to ensure that Polytechnique never happens again? A gun registry that was torn up at the first opportunity? A mandatory buyback program for assault weapons that is being postponed until 2025, when we know, or at least suspect, that the Conservatives will be the ones in charge of implementing it? We know what they will do with that program. The most beautiful speeches in the world will not have as much impact as real action.

We want to commemorate Polytechnique and push ourselves to remember the women we lost so cruelly on December 6, 1989, but what are we actually doing? What am I doing to honour their memory? Have we made the best use of the tools democracy has given us to better protect women? I am far from certain of it. There has been a sharp increase in femicide. In 2022, it was up 20% from the year before. A woman was killed every two days: 184 femicides. It is not slowing down. The Polytechnique tragedy continues. There is not just one killer, but many.

The victims are not grouped together, they are isolated, over and over again. What are we doing to stop the cycle of violence? Are we doing enough to ensure that a woman is not killed simply because she is a woman? The mandatory buyback of assault-style weapons is not a panacea and this Parliament cannot do everything. We must count on everyone. We must count on the federal government. We must count on the governments of Quebec, the provinces and the territories. We must count on the municipalities, community organizations, police, education in our families. We must count on women and we must count on men.

Whenever something can be done, we must do it. It takes a will and courage.

(1700) Today is December 6, 2023. Thirty-four years ago, a man walked into a school and entered a classroom. He lined women up against a wall and then shot them at point-blank range. He did this because they were women, women with ambitions, dreams and talents, women with lives. All of that was ripped away from them. They were ripped away from us. We will remember them. We say their names so that they will never truly die, so that we can keep them with us in our hearts.

They are Geneviève Bergeron, Hélène Colgan, Nathalie Croteau, Barbara Daigneault, Anne‑Marie Edward, Maud Haviernick, Barbara Klucznik‑Widajewicz, Maryse Laganière, Maryse Leclair, Anne‑Marie Lemay, Sonia Pelletier, Michèle Richard, Annie St‑Arneault and Annie Turcotte. This must never become a routine or a habit. These women do not deserve to die a second time. Let us keep their memory alive in our hearts. Let us keep the fires of their memory burning bright so that these women, their names and their deaths act as a catalyst, driving us to take action and to do more to combat violence against women.

If we succeed in making progress in the fight against violence, if misogyny subsides and if femicides go down, then we will also owe that to these women.

[ English ]

Ms. Lindsay Mathyssen (London—Fanshawe, NDP) :

Madam Speaker, I too would like to rise today and honour the memory of the 14 women who were murdered 34 years ago at École polytechnique de Montréal. These women, studying to become engineers, were trailblazers in a male-dominated field. They were going to change the world. They were going to build, create and inspire other women to follow in their footsteps, but they did not have the chance. Their lives were cut short by

an act of unspeakable misogynistic violence. I too want to say their names as my colleagues have here today, because this provides that memory with power in this place. Today we remember Geneviève Bergeron, Hélène Colgan, Nathalie Croteau, Barbara Daigneault, Anne‑Marie Edward, Maud Haviernick, Maryse Laganière, Maryse Leclair, Anne‑Marie Lemay, Sonia Pelletier, Michèle Richard, Annie St‑Arneault, Annie Turcotte and Barbara Klucznik‑Widajewicz. We will remember them. These women were killed because they were women. They were killed by a man who was consumed by hate.

He shouted, “You're all a bunch of feminists, and I hate feminists”. Then he opened fire in a classroom. It is just as true now as it was then that hate kills. Gendered violence is still a clear and present danger to the safety of women, girls and gender-diverse people; moreover, that violence is rising. In the last year alone, three women in my city of London, Ontario, have been killed by the men in their lives. We lost Carolyn Carter, Caitlin Jennings and Tiffany Gates to femicide. Across Ontario, 62 women and gender-diverse individuals were killed by a man in their life.

Anova's emergency shelter for abused women and their children in London has helped 342 women in our city this year, but the shelter was forced to turn people away more than 2,400 times because of a lack of beds. The experience is the same for so many organizations fighting on the front lines against gender-based violence. The London Abused Women's Centre, Le carrefour des femmes, Atlohsa and My Sister's Place are all seeing a rise in demand for the support and services they provide. The people who work in these organizations are incredible. They are doing everything they can to save people's lives.

Of course, that rise in demand is not just happening in London, Ontario. Across Canada, more than four in 10 women have experienced intimate partner violence and a woman or girl is killed every 48 hours. Yesterday, we received new numbers from Stats Can showing that more women have faced sexual violence and gender-based violence in the military. After years of repeated promises for systemic change and an overhaul of the toxic culture, after so many false starts from senior leadership in terms of making those reforms, the se