Debates of May 6th, 2024

Justice and Human Rights

[The Assistant Deputy Speaker (Mrs. Alexandra Mendès), Liberal, Alexandra Mendes]

It being 10:10 p.m., it is my duty to interrupt the proceedings at this time and put forthwith every question necessary to dispose of the motion now before the House.

The question is on the motion.

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.

[Garnett Genuis, Conservative, Sherwood Park—Fort Saskatchewan, AB]

Madam Speaker, I would like to request a recorded division on this motion.

[The Assistant Deputy Speaker (Mrs. Alexandra Mendès), Liberal, Alexandra Mendes]

Pursuant to Standing Order 66, the recorded division stands deferred until Wednesday, May 8, at the expiry of the time provided for Oral Questions.

A motion to adjourn the House under Standing Order 38 deemed to have been moved.

Sport

[Sébastien Lemire, Bloc, Abitibi—Témiscamingue, QC]

Madam Speaker, I have the opportunity to question the Minister of Sport again and I am grateful.

It is a disappointing and undeniable conclusion: The government failed in its mission to protect athletes over the past decade. Since the revelations of alleged sexual assault committed by members of Canada's national junior hockey team in London in June 2018, the inaction of government authorities has been glaring and disappointing.

[The Assistant Deputy Speaker (Mrs. Alexandra Mendès), Liberal, Alexandra Mendes]

I must interrupt the member for a few seconds to ask that there be less noise in the lobbies. Suddenly there is a lot of noise.

The hon. member for Abitibi-Témiscamingue.

[Sébastien Lemire, Bloc, Abitibi—Témiscamingue, QC]

Madam Speaker, despite the promises made by the previous minister of sport in May 2023—a year ago almost to the day—about establishing an independent public inquiry as everyone has been demanding, months have passed without any significant progress being made. Worse still, with the change of minister, the hope those promises created is fading.

The measures put in place so far, while laudable in their intent, are proving insufficient. The code of silence still reigns supreme in sport, and the entire ecosystem forces many athletes to remain silent, depriving them of the opportunity to speak freely about the abuses they have suffered. Independent third parties, so-called ITPs, represent a deterrent to disclosing any wrongdoing against people in the world of sport.

One of the root causes is the frenzied rush to perform well, which is dictated by the funding and pressure of marketing bodies like the Canadian Olympic Committee or the International Olympic Committee, which interfere shamelessly in our sport system in Canada. Sports federations, under increasing financial pressure, exert intense pressure on coaches, who in turn pass this pressure on to the athletes. This excessive pressure compromises the mental and physical well-being of athletes, compromising their passion for their chosen sport.

The Canadian sport system, which is mainly run by dedicated volunteers, deserves careful attention from governments. It is vital that they be given the means to prevent abuse and protect current and future athletes. The many scandals involving abusive coaches, including Bob Birarda, Bertrand Charest, Dave Brubaker and many others, underscore the urgent need to act. Their predatory behaviour has caused irreparable harm to young athletes and has tarnished the reputation of Canadian sport.

The Liberals, the leaders of the current government, have failed in their duty to be vigilant and to protect our athletes. It is time to recognize the flaws in the system and undertake serious reforms to ensure that every athlete can grow in a sport environment free from pressure and abuse. Our athletes deserve better. It is our collective responsibility to make that happen. When will there be a public inquiry into abuse and mistreatment in sport?

I will add that the current Minister of Sport committed, last December, to striking a voluntary commission. Although imperfect, such a commission would have allowed the matter to come before the public again. Victims could have testified about the harm and suffering they endured and they could have denounced the abuse. It has been six months. This commission was supposed to be launched a month later. We are still waiting, just as we are still waiting for the previous minister's commitment regarding a public and independent inquiry. When will the government take action on the public inquiry into sport?

[Adam van Koeverden, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Environment and Climate Change and to the Minister of Sport and Physical Activity]

Madam Speaker, I am pleased to have this opportunity to address the House of Commons on this very important matter. I thank my colleague for his work on this very relevant issue.

Our government firmly believes that Canadians deserve a sport system that reflects and celebrates the values of equity and inclusiveness. Over the past few years, we have made significant progress. Credit is owed to the athlete survivors who courageously shared their stories with the media and with House of Commons and government committees. Although it should not have been necessary, their advocacy turned this conversation into a national priority.

We very clearly heard the call for systemic change in sport. Sport systems in Canada and around the world are going through a period of upheaval. Trust in our sports organizations and leaders has crumbled. Since June 2022, two parliamentary committees have studied maltreatment in Canada's sport system.

We announced the launch of an independent and impartial commission on the future of sport in Canada. The commission will provide a forum to shed some light on the experiences of survivors, to support healing and to explore how to improve the sport system in Canada. The commission will be trauma-informed. It will be centred on survivors and based on human rights.

The commission will consist of three individuals and will be headed by an independent legal expert, who will be appointed commissioner. This person will be independent of both the government and the sports system. The commissioner will be supported by two special advisers, one with lived experience or expertise in victims' rights, child protection or trauma-informed processes. The other advisor will have expertise and experience in sports.

The commission will report publicly on its findings and make recommendations in two specific areas. The first will outline action that can be taken to improve the safety of sport in Canada, including trauma-informed approaches, to help athletes heal from maltreatment in sport. The second area will include action that can be taken to improve the sport system in Canada as a whole, including issues related to policy, funding, structures, governance, reporting, accountability, conflicts of interest, system alignment, culture and legal considerations.

Following public engagement and a preliminary public report, the commission will hold a national summit where participants can deliberate on the commission's preliminary findings and recommendations to inform its final recommendations.

[Sébastien Lemire, Bloc, Abitibi—Témiscamingue, QC]

Madam Speaker, I thank my colleague from Milton. I think that was a genuine response that I got here in the House of Commons, which is quite rare. That being said, it is not the step towards an independent public inquiry that I had hoped for.

We believe that an inquiry is a necessary step towards structural reform. An independent public inquiry would identify the shortcomings in the current system and propose concrete solutions for guaranteeing a safe and healthy sporting environment. It is shocking that, two years after the Hockey Canada scandal, the minister has not supported survivors' and advocates' calls for a national inquiry that meets judicial standards, with the power to compel documents and subpoena testimony from organizations, including the current Minister of Sport and Physical Activity for her role over the decades at all levels of this ecosystem.

In that context, I would like the minister to explain how she intends to handle this conflict, given that she is, after all, judge and jury of her voluntary commission. These questions remain unanswered.

[Adam van Koeverden, Liberal, Milton, ON]

Madam Speaker, I want to once again thank my colleague for his interest in this file, which is very timely and very important to me. It is possible for us to want the same positive results while disagreeing somewhat on how to implement the change.

The member and I will have to have some conversations during the process. I think that the mechanism that we have chosen is more suitable for what we are trying to accomplish. The commission will adopt a forward-looking approach that is carefully designed so as not to retraumatize victims and survivors. This approach will also offer more flexibility than a public inquiry, while demonstrating the government's support and the importance of this issue. This approach will also enable the provinces and territories to participate in a flexible, asymmetrical way, given the nature of the sport system, which encompasses many different organizations.

Foreign Affairs

[Mike Morrice, Green, Kitchener Centre, ON]

Madam Speaker, as we speak tonight, Israel is launching its long-threatened ground invasion of densely populated Rafah in southern Gaza, and 1.4 million civilians are braced for what the United Nations warned could lead to a bloodbath. Meanwhile, Netanyahu's government has rejected the terms of a ceasefire agreement, 132 hostages remain held by Hamas, and the UN World Food Programme says that northern Gaza has entered full-blown famine.

Even before tonight, over 35,000 Palestinians had already been killed in Gaza over the past seven months, including more than 15,000 children. This is all happening two months after the International Court of Justice called on the State of Israel to take six immediate steps to prevent genocide. The Canadian government must press Israel and the Netanyahu government to follow the ICJ ruling and avoid further civilian loss of life.

I should not have to call for this. We already did it. In mid-March, Parliament passed a motion that called on the Government of Canada to take 10 actions. The terms of the motion are the will of Canadians as represented by a large majority of MPs in the House, and the parliamentary secretary and all but three of his Liberal colleagues supported the motion.

We have now given the government plenty of time to demonstrate that it deserves the trust of Canadians in following through on the critical terms of the motion One of the actions, restoring funding to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency, UNRWA, was followed. Disappointingly, however, many actions seem to have been ignored, including ending arms exports to Israel and placing sanctions on extremist settlers. Another action that seems to have been ignored was supporting the work of the International Court of Justice, and to support the ICJ, the Government of Canada must press the State of Israel to follow its ruling.

One of the ICJ's six provisional measures issued in late January called for humanitarian aid to be allowed into Gaza, yet just over a month after the ruling, on February 29, we learned of the Flour Massacre, in which 118 Palestinians were killed and 760 were injured after Israeli forces opened fire on civilians seeking food from aid trucks in Gaza City. At the time, I had risen to press the Minister of Foreign Affairs for the ICJ measures to be followed, yet it got worse.

Just over a month later, Israel said it mistakenly struck a World Central Kitchen convoy, killing seven aid workers, including dual Canada-U.S. citizen Jacob Flickinger. Two weeks later, a Canadian humanitarian aid organization, the International Development and Relief Foundation, IDRF, had its water truck bombed. The water truck was paid for entirely by Canadian donors, and thousands of people have been without water as a result of the bombing. No humanitarian aid worker should be killed in a conflict zone, yet according to the UN, more than 200 workers have died since October 7, 2023, in Gaza.

Ensuring that humanitarian aid flows in Gaza is just one of six measures. As Greens, we continue to call for the government to press for all six measures to be followed by the State of Israel to prevent acts of genocide; for a ceasefire, as we have called for since October 8, 2023; for all hostages to be released by Hamas; for a two-way embargo on military equipment to Israel; and for sanctions on extremist settlers.

The government should be doing everything possible to protect innocent civilians, including aid workers and the hostages, yet with the ground invasion of Rafah now under way, the humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza has become all the more dire. Urgent action is needed from the Canadian government.

Therefore, my question to the parliamentary secretary is this: What is his government doing in response to the invasion of Rafah, and what specifically is the government doing to call on the State of Israel to follow the ICJ ruling to prevent acts of genocide?

[Adam van Koeverden, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Environment and Climate Change and to the Minister of Sport and Physical Activity]

Madam Speaker, it goes without saying that this is an extremely difficult topic to discuss in the House of Commons.

The member opposite and I have spent some time together discussing this, and our personal views are very well aligned. I would actually say that we are not members opposite, particularly on this issue, but on many issues, we see eye to eye. Together, I know that we share an immense grief, and our hearts break for the loss of civilian life that the world has witnessed over the last more than six months now.

Those impacted are at the front of our minds, including all families and communities affected by this violence, but children in particular have been disproportionately affected by the ongoing hostilities, and that is not right. The horrific attacks by Hamas against Israeli civilians still shock us all. Hamas is a terrorist organization, and we are unequivocal in our condemnation of Hamas' terrorist attacks against Israel, the appalling loss of life and the heinous acts of violence perpetrated in those attacks. Canada condemns Hamas' unacceptable treatment of hostages and calls for the immediate and unconditional release of all remaining hostages.

What has been happening in Gaza since October 7 is absolutely catastrophic. The humanitarian situation in Gaza was already dire. The impacts of an expanded military operation in Rafah would be devastating for Palestinian civilians as well as for foreign nationals who are seeking refuge. They simply have nowhere else to go. As the minister has said, asking them to move again is unacceptable.

I have been to Rafah. I have visited UNRWA schools in Palestine. I have been to Gaza, and I have done humanitarian aid work in those communities. When I visited eight years ago, that was the toughest part of the world that I have ever seen. I am fortunate enough to have travelled with multiple NGOs. I have seen some of the toughest, most war-affected, poorest places in the world. Gaza, eight years ago, was the toughest place I have ever seen, that I have ever witnessed. It is way worse today.

Canada has been calling for an immediate, sustainable ceasefire for months now. The violence must stop. This cannot be one-sided. Hamas must release all hostages and lay down its arms. Humanitarian aid must be urgently increased and sustained. The need for humanitarian assistance in Gaza has never been greater. Rapid, safe and unimpeded humanitarian relief must be provided to civilians.

Canada was the first G7 country to act. We led the way, and we will continue to work with partners toward ensuring the sustained access of humanitarian assistance for civilians, including food, water, medical care, fuel, shelter and access for humanitarian workers.

The member from the Green Party, my colleague from Kitchener Centre, referenced the IDRF water truck that was bombed. The CEO, the chief executive officer, of IDRF, lives in my riding. We speak frequently, and I want to thank Mahmood for his ongoing hard work, advocacy and extremely challenging efforts over his entire career.

To date, Canada has announced $100 million in humanitarian assistance to address the urgent needs of vulnerable civilians in this crisis. More aid must get into Gaza. We must continue to support trusted UN agencies and humanitarian actors to provide this assistance. When it comes to UNRWA, we understand the vital role it plays in delivering aid to Palestinian civilians. UNRWA needed to undertake some reform efforts, and the Secretary-General of the United Nations has taken steps to enhance oversight and accountability within UNRWA, alongside the ongoing investigation and review.

I have more to say, and I will do so after my colleague's rebuttal.

[Mike Morrice, Green, Kitchener Centre, ON]

Madam Speaker, I want to start by agreeing with my friend from Milton. Yes, we condemn Hamas. Yes, Hamas must release all hostages. Yes, from his own personal experience, he knows better than most, having seen from his time in Gaza, that things have only gotten worse there in the time since.

It is also true that it has been six weeks now since this Parliament passed a motion calling on the government that he is a part of to take further action. It has been three months since the International Court of Justice called on the State of Israel to take six immediate steps to prevent acts of genocide.

It is critical that the Liberal government call on Israel to follow through on that ICJ ruling. Can the member speak, particularly on this night, as we know the invasion of Rafah has begun, to what can and will be done by the current government to call for the ICJ ruling to be followed?

[Adam van Koeverden, Liberal, Milton, ON]

Madam Speaker, when it comes to South Africa's case at the International Court of Justice, the court has been clear on provisional measures. Israel must ensure the delivery of basic services and essential humanitarian assistance, and it must protect civilians. The court's decisions on provisional measures are binding. We will continue to respond to the urgent needs of this crisis. Canada is clear that a sustainable ceasefire is absolutely critical to finding a path towards securing lasting peace for Israelis and Palestinians alike.

With respect to UNRWA, I do not think I finished my thought earlier. Canada continues to hold UNRWA to the highest standards. Its credibility and ability to continue its life-saving work absolutely depends on that, and it also depends on our support, which has not wavered. It was important that we took some time, as the other funding countries did, but no less funding went to that organization as a result of that. We continue to work closely with the UN, with UNRWA and with other donor countries to ensure that UNRWA meets its obligations and continues its efforts.

Carbon Pricing

[Michelle Rempel, Conservative, Calgary Nose Hill, AB]

Madam Speaker, earlier in the session, I raised the issue of the ineffectuality of the carbon tax.

Climate change is a very serious issue, and I find that the Liberal government's approach to this policy has made it very difficult for Canada to achieve any sort of gains in making progress on our targets. Moreover, the carbon tax has made it a lot harder for people to afford to live.

In my riding of Calgary Nose Hill, I feel that the government should have done things such as invest in public transit and worked with our municipalities to build out LRTs. However, instead, we see an increased cost of living.

We need to axe the tax. Why has the government not done this?

[Adam van Koeverden, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Environment and Climate Change and to the Minister of Sport and Physical Activity]

Madam Speaker, there is a common misconception about carbon pollution pricing and, quite frankly, I am surprised to be having this conversation with the member, who is extremely reasonable and generally quite fact-based and believes in science.

Three hundred top economists from Canada have all written a letter pointed squarely at the Conservatives and their rhetoric around carbon pricing, urging them to look at the facts. A couple of things are true. One, our price on pollution is not having a negative impact on the very real challenges with respect to affordability that Canadians are facing. Inflation is the number one cause of the challenges that Canadians are facing when it comes to paying their bills, but there are other factors as well, like corporate profits and climate change itself, which is having an outsized impact on the price of food, particularly produce and meat, in all provinces and everywhere around the world, not just in Canada.

This idea, referenced by my colleague, that carbon pollution pricing is the root of the affordability challenges is absolutely not founded in truth. It is this approach that the Conservatives have taken, which is a fact-free freelance on evidence and science. They seem to be ignoring all these economists who are basically urging the Conservatives to take a different approach. They have not, unfortunately. Even the most progressive and reasonable members of the Conservative caucus need to sing for their lunch and repeat the phrase over and over again, repeating the slogan.

Slogans are not progress. Slogans are not policy. Slogans are not going to solve an existential threat like climate change. When somebody wins a Nobel Prize in economics for a concept, and then relates that to Canada's approach to carbon pricing, as William Nordhaus has done, who won a Nobel Prize for carbon pricing and said recently that Canada is getting it right, it demonstrates to the world exactly how carbon pricing should be done. It is because it is having a positive impact on the finances of families who are on the lower-income scale. I think back to how my mom's finances would have been supported with a $1,000 cheque, and now it is a $1,120 cheque for a family of four in Ontario.

We need to rely on facts and evidence to get our emissions down in this country. Canada is one of the highest-emitting countries per capita, and a lot of that is coming from the province of my colleague, which is our largest oil and gas-producing province by far. Almost 40% of Canada's emissions are coming from Alberta and the oil sands there. Alberta has about 13% of Canada's population, so that is an outsized footprint that we need to address.

It is unfortunate that we are here late into the night repeating slogans and catchphrases, but catchphrases and slogans are not policy. They are not going to help solve an existential threat like climate change. Carbon pricing is just one of a suite of measures that is lowering our emissions. In 2015, our emissions were going up. It is now 2024 and our emissions are coming down markedly. Finally, we will achieve our 2026 targets. That is really remarkable.

We were on the wrong path in 2015, and we have changed course. We have turned around and lowered our emissions in Canada. This is a team effort. It does not have to be a partisan thing. It is not a Liberal approach to solving climate change or a Conservative one. It is Canada's approach to solving climate change and lowering our emissions, and I wish the Conservatives would come up with some solutions.

[Michelle Rempel, Conservative, Calgary Nose Hill, AB]

Madam Speaker, the reality is that even internationally renowned scientists like Jane Goodall have said that the carbon tax will not address greenhouse gas emissions in Canada. Even the member opposite has made statements that I think stifle innovation, such as that “building highways is not a way to fight climate change.”

The reality is that we need to find a solution in Canada that will reduce greenhouse gas emissions while encouraging economic growth and also addressing the needs of Canadians, like driving to work, which the member would know, especially in his riding, is a bit of a problem. What I think Dr. Goodall was saying in her remarks was that when we have a policy that is not working and is making life less affordable, we need to innovate. We need to think of other ways to address the problem.

I think everybody agrees that the carbon tax is not working to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in Canada. What would my colleague opposite say we should be doing instead?

[Adam van Koeverden, Liberal, Milton, ON]

Madam Speaker, that is false. Economists from across the country, the climate change report, the commissioner of climate change and the environment for Canada, and all the climate action organizations are urging the Conservatives to please stop it with these slogans. It is only the Conservatives. There are zero economists in Canada suggesting that a price on pollution does not lower emissions.

Our emissions are coming down. Our plan is working, and it is not resulting in hardship for families. Families are experiencing financial hardship right now, but pointing to pricing pollution is a false narrative.

I note that the Conservative member did not mention that Danielle Smith, the Premier of Alberta, jacked up the price of fuel by four cents on April 1. Meanwhile, her whole caucus and the Conservatives in Alberta were screaming and yelling about a three-cent increase. It is just—

[The Assistant Deputy Speaker (Mrs. Alexandra Mendès), Liberal, Alexandra Mendes]

We are done.

The motion that the House do now adjourn is deemed to have been adopted. This House stands adjourned until tomorrow at 10 a.m. pursuant to Standing Order 24(1).

(The House adjourned at 10:38 p.m.)