Private Members' Business
Madam Speaker, we have seen many initiatives before the House, including my friend's Motion No. 62, and these initiatives deal with different parts of the genocide: recognition, sanctions, immigration measures and forced labour. There are many different pieces to it that require a response. This bill seeks to combat forced organ harvesting and trafficking. We have been hearing more and more report…
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Mr. Speaker, I think there would be agreement for the motion to be carried unanimously.
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,seconded by the member for Pierrefonds—Dollard, moved that the bill be read the third time and passed. He said: Mr. Speaker, I am very pleased to be speaking today to Bill S-223, the next, and hopefully the last, in a long line of bills that have been proposed here and in the other place to begin the fight against the horrific practice of forced organ harvesting and trafficking. I want to thank t…
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,seconded by the member for Pierrefonds—Dollard, moved that the bill be concurred in.
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Madam Speaker, there are different kinds of cases of forced organ harvesting and trafficking. We often speak of the situation in China, where forced organ harvesting and trafficking are part of the persecution of dissidents or minorities. Falun Gong practitioners have been significantly targeted for decades. Now we are seeing an increase in the targeting of Uighurs as part of a state-directed and …
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Madam Speaker, this bill would create a mechanism by which those involved with forced organ harvesting and trafficking would be inadmissible to Canada. In terms of broader sanctions, Magnitsky-style sanctions, it is important that we also pass Bill C-281, which would create a mechanism through which a parliamentary committee could recommend people for Magnitsky sanctions. That would help us move f…
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Mr. Speaker, I have one petition to table today. The petitioners are deeply concerned about a proposal from Louis Roy of the Collège des médecins du Québec, who recommended expanding euthanasia to “babies from birth to one year of age who come into the world with severe deformities and very serious syndromes”. This proposal for the legalized killing of infants is deeply disturbing to many Canadian…
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Mr. Speaker, I invite that hon. member to read the NSICOP report that was tabled by a member of her own government, which was, in fact, scathing about the government's failure to respond to the persistent problem of foreign interference. We know that the Prime Minister's secrecy and refusal to answer basic questions about foreign interference is putting this debate on its back foot. He is putting …
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Mr. Speaker, it is a pleasure to rise today. I have a number of petitions to present to the House. The first petition comes from Canadians living with disabilities who have a number of asks regarding policies within the ambit of the federal government and Parliament that relate to Canadians with disabilities. The petitioners note that inflation has increased the cost of living and is having the gr…
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Mr. Speaker, the next petition is about Bill C-11, a bill currently before the Senate. The government has now admitted that it is seeking to give itself the power to regulate social media algorithms. The petitioners are opposed to that bill. They call on the Government of Canada to respect Canadians' fundamental right to freedom of expression and call on the government to prevent Internet censorsh…
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Mr. Speaker, the next petition I am tabling deals with the case of the ongoing arbitrary detention in China of Huseyin Celil, a Canadian citizen of Uighur origin. Mr. Celil is a Canadian Uighur rights activist. He was originally detained in Uzbekistan for supporting the political and religious rights of Uighurs and was then illegally rendered to China. The Chinese government continues to deny his …
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Mr. Speaker, the next petition deals with a proposal in the Liberals' 2021 election platform to politicize charitable status and make charitable status determinations not on the basis of the work that organizations do but on the basis of what their convictions happen to be with respect to the pro-life question. The proposal to exclude organizations with pro-life convictions from accessing charitab…
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Mr. Speaker, I would like to table a petition in support of Bill S-223, a bill that would make it a criminal offence for a person to go abroad and receive an organ taken without consent. This bill also has a provision whereby someone could be deemed inadmissible to Canada if they are involved in forced organ harvesting and trafficking. This bill has been before Parliament in various forms for the …
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Madam Speaker, the member is correct that this is not a new issue. That is precisely why I think the government is very late in coming to the table. The issue of foreign interference, which is part of the context of the cyber-threats we face, is also not a new issue. Again, we have been calling for action from the government, but we have not seen other action from it. The member says that the Libe…
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Madam Speaker, the member asked what we would do if we were in government. We would make the right decision on every one of those. With respect to the particulars the member raises with respect to what powers the federal government would have in intervening with provinces, this is an important issue for the committee to look at. I am supporting this legislation because we need to have a cybersecur…
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Madam Speaker, that is an excellent point. I did not have a chance in my remarks to talk specifically about the transparency issues. Again, we need to support this bill through the second reading stage out of agreement with the general principle that we need to do more on cybersecurity, recognizing how far behind the government has been. However, there are significant issues with respect to ensuri…
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Madam Speaker, I appreciate the opportunity to speak in the House today to a very serious subject, cybersecurity and the security of our country in general. I will say, on a lighter note, that my friend from Peace River—Westlock spoke about snowmobiling companies and cyber-attacks. I have some personal experience with snowmobiling at his house, and I would say that the government's approach to sec…
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Mr. Speaker, the next petition also deals with an issue of freedom of speech and expression. It is a petition raising a grievous concern about a commitment in the Liberal Party's election platform to deny charitable status to organizations that take positions the Liberals disagree with, particularly on the issue of abortion. Petitioners note that this commitment to deny charitable status on the ba…
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Mr. Speaker, the first petition I am tabling today is in support of an excellent private member's bill that I presented in the House. We have a parallel version of that bill that was tabled just yesterday in the Senate. These bills are Bill C-257 and Bill S-257. Conveniently, they have the same number. Petitioners are calling on the House to recognize the problem of political discrimination and ho…
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Mr. Speaker, the next petition I am tabling speaks to concerns about the situation in the Tigray region of Ethiopia. Notably, this petition came in prior to the signing of the recent peace deal. I know now there is a great deal of hope that the deal will be fully and quickly implemented and will lead to lasting peace, justice and reconciliation. However, I still want to put this petition on the re…
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Mr. Speaker, the next petition I am tabling deals with concerns raised by constituents about the Minister of National Defence's Advisory Panel on Systemic Racism and Discrimination in its final report, published in 2022. The report includes a recommendation that religious clergy who come from denominations and faiths that have particular views on gender and sexuality should be excluded from being …
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Mr. Speaker, the next petition that I am tabling deals with the human rights situation of Hazaras in Afghanistan. Petitioners note various campaigns of genocide that have targeted the Hazara community in the last 100 years and state that the situation has only gotten worse since the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan. Petitioners call on the government to recognize the 1891 to 1893 ethnic cleansing p…
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Mr. Speaker, next I am tabling a petition that draws attention to the situation of Huseyin Celil. Huseyin Celil has been detained in China for over 5,000 days. Petitioners note that they were very pleased to see the release of the two Michaels from unjust and arbitrary detention in China. They would like to see the Government of Canada make similar efforts to secure the release of Huseyin Celil. T…
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Mr. Speaker, I am tabling a petition that highlights the ongoing persecution of Falun Gong practitioners in China. The petitioners note various reports that have identified this persecution, and that the persecution of Falun Gong practitioners includes organ harvesting, killing people for their organs and transplanting those to others, obviously without the consent of the person being killed. The …
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Mr. Speaker, the next petition I am tabling is similar but somewhat more specific. It also deals with the issue of organ harvesting and trafficking broadly, and calls on this House to adopt legislation to combat forced organ harvesting and trafficking. The petitioners note a number of bills that have been brought forward on this topic. Most recently we have Bill S-223, which has just come out of c…
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Mr. Speaker, the next petition that I am tabling highlights the plight of the Sikh and Hindu minority in Afghanistan. It calls on the government to take action to support that minority by having a special program to allow persecuted minorities from Afghanistan to come to Canada. Many of these signatures were gathered prior to the Taliban takeover, and petitioners no doubt were expressing their wil…
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Mr. Speaker, the final petition that I am tabling in the House deals with the issue of conscience rights. It notes that the COVID-19 pandemic exposed serious gaps in support and services available to seniors and those who were dying. The forced closure of care homes and hospices which do not wish to participate in or facilitate the killing of their patients risks exacerbating the crisis in availab…
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Madam Speaker, my question tonight is about the IRGC. The IRGC is the Iranian regime's tool of terror at home in Iran, its tool of terror in the wider region and its tool of terror around the world, including here in Canada. We know that Canadian citizens and people with close connections to Canada have been killed by the IRGC, most notably when the IRGC shot down flight PS752, murdering dozens of…
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Madam Speaker, that response in this whole situation is a sad demonstration of the farce that is the government's approach to human rights. We have a parliamentary secretary reading out his lines that, yes, the government stands with the people of Iran, that it wants them to know it stands with them, but, substantively, the government refuses to do the core thing that the Iranian community is aski…
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Mr. Speaker, Conservatives believe passionately in the value and potential of immigration. Immigration allows us to fill skill gaps in our economy, to incubate movements for freedom and justice, and to pollinate our national conversation with the good and beautiful from all over the world. Unfortunately, Liberals are undermining support for immigration by piling on silly red tape, extending wait t…
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Mr. Speaker, on the same point of order, there may have been a particular problem with the audio, because the question from the member for Edmonton Strathcona was intended to be heard in the legislature in Alberta and the—
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Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to present a number of petitions in the House today. The first petition is raising concern about a commitment made in the Liberals' last election platform. They said that they plan to politicize charitable status determination, effectively denying charitable status to organizations that do not share the Liberal Party's views on abortion. This politicization of the charita…
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Mr. Speaker, the next petition I am tabling highlights the continuing detention and human rights abuses faced by Huseyin Celil. Mr. Celil is a Canadian citizen. He has been detained in China for well over a decade, and the Chinese government has not recognized his Canadian citizenship. At times, sadly, there have even been mixed messages on that here in this place, but I think we have gotten that …
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Mr. Speaker, the next petition I am tabling raises concerns about Bill C-21. This is a bill that would make things much more difficult for law-abiding firearms owners, and it would not effectively tackle the real problems of crime in this country. Petitioners are concerned that the government is moving forward with amendments that would, in effect, ban hunting rifles and about the extreme overreac…
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Mr. Speaker, next I am tabling a petition in support of Bill S-223, a bill that would make it a criminal offence for a person to go abroad and receive an organ taken without consent. It also would create a mechanism by which a person could be deemed inadmissible to Canada if they are involved in forced organ harvesting and trafficking. I believe the bill will be automatically reported to the House…
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Mr. Speaker, alongside other issues of human rights abuses we see in China, this petition raises concerns about escalating violations of the fundamental human rights in China of Chinese Christians. Petitioners highlight the persecution we have seen of Christians in China and how that is increasing, and they call on the government to prioritize the advancement of human rights in its relationship wi…
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Madam Speaker, I think that is a problem. Mine is kind of a mixed suburban-rural riding that is relatively close to the city of Edmonton compared to some areas. However, there are still some issues in terms of coverage in my riding, and it is very important for a whole host of reasons: access to justice, access to government services, the ability to participate in the digital economy—
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Madam Speaker, I will be taking the unprecedented step of sharing my time with the member for Vaughan—Woodbridge. I hope it will be some encouragement for him to see the light on some issues. We are co-chairs of the Canada-Holy See parliamentary friendship group, and I would invite members of the House to watch their inboxes for upcoming events. My remarks will be a bit more abbreviated than usual…
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Madam Speaker, I support the legislation. I think the mechanisms that it provides for are worthwhile, at least at this stage. I think it needs to be looked at further at committee. Our party will be coming forward with some constructive proposals for strengthening it. Fundamentally, it is also important to acknowledge the context. Canadians are seeing, for a variety of reasons across the board, de…
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Madam Speaker, I agree with the sentiment of my colleague, that the government is broken. We have significant problems and delays in the justice system. I think that, as he is from the Bloc, he will particularly appreciate the point that it is the federal government that has presided over a significant increase in crime, yet it is the provinces that are left holding the bag in terms of paying the …
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Mr. Speaker, 55 Canadians were murdered when the Iranian regime's IRGC shot down flight PS752. After that, the Iranian government bulldozed the site, destroyed the evidence, and threatened and harassed family members of victims. Now we have learned that Canada's spy agency is actively investigating credible death threats from this same regime against more Canadian citizens. When is enough going to…
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Madam Speaker, I was just saying that on Saturday I brought my five kids with me to a rally in solidarity with the people of Iran. We were making signs in the morning. It was a great family experience, engaging my kids in important social justice activism. However, as I was preparing for this and thinking about what I was going to say at that rally, I was looking at the latest news from Iran and i…
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Madam Speaker, it is sadly typical of the responses we get from this government to read pre-prepared scripts that do not actually answer the question. The question for the parliamentary secretary and for the government was this: Why has the government chosen not to list the IRGC as a terrorist organization? We had a vote in the House, which I believe the parliamentary secretary participated in as …
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Mr. Speaker, I have a number of petitions to present today. The first petition deals with the ongoing genocide of Uighurs and other Turkic Muslims in China at the hands of the Chinese Community Party. The petitioners note various reports showing, for instance, forced sterilization, forced abortion and a campaign of systematic sexual violence targeting Uighur women, as well as political and anti-re…
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Mr. Speaker, the next petition I am tabling deals with legislation to combat forced organ harvesting and trafficking. Bill S-223 is currently before the foreign affairs committee. The petitioners want the government to recognize the problem of forced organ harvesting and trafficking and to support the rapid passage of Bill S-223. This bill has been before this Parliament and previous Parliaments f…
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Mr. Speaker, the next petition I am tabling highlights the persecution of Falun Gong practitioners in China. Falun Gong practitioners have been victims of forced organ harvesting and trafficking, as well as various other forms of persecution. The petitioners note the reports done by David Kilgour and David Matas, for example, that reveal this horrific, ongoing campaign whereby people are killed fo…
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Mr. Speaker, the final petition I am going to table today raises concern about a report from the Minister of National Defence's advisory panel on systemic racism and discrimination, which produced its final report in early 2022. It is an ironically named panel, because some of its recommendations, in fact, involve discrimination against religious clergy who have views that the government deems pol…
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Madam Speaker, it is always interesting to engage in debate about the criminal justice situation. I know the member serves on the public safety committee, as he spoke about it. It seems to me that, with the government, failure never leads to course correction. Rather, it always leads to a doubling down. What we see with criminal justice is a clear failure. Crime rates are up. Violent crime rates a…
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Madam Speaker, I have many things to say about Bill C-20, but I cannot follow the member for Winnipeg North without offering some response to the absurdities contained within his remarks, something we have come to expect from my friend from Winnipeg North. In particular, the member spoke for about 20 minutes about how people should not be speaking to the legislation, and about how instead we shoul…
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Madam Speaker, if I could respond here, there is nothing wrong with speaking in the House, but—
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