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| 43rd PARLIAMENT, 1st SESSION | |
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JournalsNo. 34 Monday, April 20, 2020 11:00 a.m. |
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| Prayer |
| Motions |
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By unanimous consent, it was ordered, — That, notwithstanding any standing order, special order or usual practice of the House, the application of Standing Orders 15, 17 and 56.1 be suspended for the current sitting. |
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By unanimous consent, it was ordered, — That, notwithstanding any standing order, special order or usual practice of the House, during today’s sitting, a minister of the Crown be authorized to move, without notice, a motion concerning the proceedings of the House and its committees. |
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| Government Orders |
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Pursuant to order made earlier today, Mr. Rodriguez (Leader of the Government in the House of Commons), seconded by Mr. Duclos (President of the Treasury Board), moved, — That, notwithstanding any standing order, special order or usual practice of the House: |
(a) today shall not be considered as a sitting day for the purposes of Standing Orders 34(1), 37(3), 51(1) and 110 and subsection 28(12) of the Conflict of Interest Code for Members of the House of Commons;
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(b) the government responses to petitions 431-00125, 431-00129, 431-00134, 431-00136 and 431-00139 be tabled immediately and that the responses to questions on the Order Paper numbered Q-369 to Q-379 and a supplementary response to Q-330 be made into orders for return and that the said returns be tabled immediately;
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(c) Statements by Ministers be taken up immediately following the adoption of this order, that a member of the Green Party also be permitted to reply to the statement and that the time allocated for replies be not less than 10 minutes per party;
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(d) following the responses to the ministerial statement, the House shall resolve itself into a committee of the whole to consider matters related to the COVID-19 pandemic provided that, during the proceedings of the committee,
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(i) the Speaker may preside,
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(ii) the Chair may preside from the Speaker’s chair,
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(iii) the Chair shall call members from all recognized parties and one member who does not belong to a recognized party in a fashion consistent with the proportions observed during Oral Questions,
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(iv) no member shall be recognized for more than five minutes at a time which may be used for posing questions to a minister of the Crown or a parliamentary secretary acting on behalf of the minister,
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(v) members may be permitted to split their time with one or more members by so indicating to the Chair; and
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at the conclusion of 27 five-minute interventions, or when no member rises to speak, whichever is earlier, the committee shall rise;
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(e) when the committee of the whole rises, a motion “That the House take note of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic” shall be deemed proposed and a member of each recognized party and a member of the Green Party may speak to the said motion for not more than 10 minutes, followed by five minutes for questions and comments, provided that members may be permitted to split their time with another member; and, at the conclusion of the time provided for the debate or when no member rises to speak, whichever is earlier, the House shall adjourn until Monday, May 25, 2020, provided that, for the purposes of any standing order, it shall be deemed adjourned pursuant to Standing Order 28, and, if the Speaker receives a notice from the House leaders of all four recognized parties indicating that it is in the public interest that the House remain adjourned until a future date or until future notice is given to the Speaker, the House will remain adjourned accordingly;
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(f) for greater certainty, the following provisions remain in effect:
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(i) paragraphs (m) to (p) of the order adopted on Friday, March 13, 2020,
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(ii) paragraphs (i) to (m) of the order adopted on Tuesday, March 24, 2020, provided that
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(A) in paragraph (i), the words “paragraph (f)” shall be deemed to refer to paragraph (e) of this order,
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(B) in paragraph (l), the words “paragraphs (e) or (f) of this order” shall be deemed to refer to paragraph (e) of this order,
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(iii) paragraphs (k) to (n) and (p) to (t) of the order adopted on Saturday, April 11, 2020, provided that the Standing Committee on Indigenous and Northern Affairs be added to the list of committees in paragraph (l) of that order;
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(g) during the period the House stands adjourned pursuant to this order, any petition certified by the Clerk of Petitions may be filed electronically with the Clerk of the House on any Wednesday and shall be deemed for all purposes to have been presented to the House on that date;
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(h) a special committee on the COVID-19 pandemic shall be established, composed of all members of the House, and which shall meet for the purposes of
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(i) considering ministerial announcements,
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(ii) allowing members to present petitions,
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(iii) questioning ministers of the Crown, including the Prime Minister, in respect of the COVID-19 pandemic, provided that
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(iv) during the period the House stands adjourned pursuant to this order and commencing on Tuesday, April 28, 2020, the committee shall meet at noon every Tuesday and Wednesday and, commencing on Thursday, May 7, 2020, the committee shall also meet at noon every Thursday, provided that the committee shall not meet on a day referred to in Standing Order 28(1),
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(v) on Tuesdays and Thursdays, the committee shall meet by videoconference and members shall participate by videoconference and on Wednesdays, the committee shall meet in the chamber and members shall participate in person, provided that meetings by videoconference shall be subject by such limits as the House Administration may indicate are necessary,
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(vi) the Speaker shall be the chair of the committee,
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(vii) seven members shall constitute a quorum,
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(viii) ministerial announcements shall be considered at the opening of the meeting and the proceedings shall be conducted in the same manner as Statements by Ministers under Standing Order 33(1), provided that a member of the Green Party also be permitted to reply to the statement,
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(ix) after any ministerial announcements, any member desiring to present a petition may do so during a period not exceeding 15 minutes, provided that the provisions of Standing Order 36 shall apply, except for Standing Order 36(5), and any petition presented shall be deemed for all purposes to have been presented to the House,
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(x) after any ministerial announcements and the presentation of petitions, proceedings on questioning ministers shall be conducted, for not more than 90 minutes on a Tuesday or a Thursday and for not more than two hours and 15 minutes on a Wednesday, in the same manner as provided for in paragraph (d), provided that questions shall be answered by ministers,
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(xi) upon the conclusion of proceedings on questioning ministers on Tuesdays and Thursdays, the committee shall adjourn to the next day provided for in subparagraph (iv),
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(xii) upon the conclusion of proceedings on questioning ministers on Wednesdays, the committee shall consider a motion “That the committee take note of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic” for not more than two hours and 10 minutes, provided that each recognized party shall be allotted 30 minutes for debate which may be shared among members of that party and a total of 10 minutes shall be allotted for debate by members who do not belong to a recognized party and at the conclusion of the time provided or when no member wishes to speak, whichever is earlier, the committee shall adjourn to the next day provided for in subparagraph (iv), provided that, if the House sits on a Wednesday pursuant to paragraph (i) of this order, the committee shall adjourn upon the conclusion of proceedings on questioning ministers,
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(xiii) if the Speaker receives a notice from the House leaders of all four recognized parties indicating that it is in the public interest that the committee remain adjourned until a future date or until future notice is given to the Speaker, the committee will remain adjourned accordingly,
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(xiv) meetings of the committee shall be televised, following the usual practices observed for sittings of the House,
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(xv) any document may be presented by a minister of the Crown, or a parliamentary secretary acting on behalf of a minister, at any time during a meeting of the committee and shall be deemed for all purposes to have been presented to or laid before the House,
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(xvi) the committee shall have the power to sit while the House stands adjourned and to print, from day to day, such papers and evidence as may be ordered by them,
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(xvii) upon the resumption of regular sittings of the House, the committee shall cease to exist,
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(xviii) following the report of the Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs pursuant to its order of reference of Saturday, April 11, 2020, the House leaders of all four recognized parties may indicate to the Speaker that there is an agreement among the parties to implement one or several of the recommendations of the committee and the Speaker shall give effect to that agreement;
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(i) during the period the House stands adjourned pursuant to this order, and without limiting the application of Standing Order 28(3), if the Speaker is satisfied, after consultation with the government, that the public interest requires that the House should meet in order to consider measures to address the impacts of COVID-19 on the lives of Canadians, the Speaker may give notice that being so satisfied the House shall meet, and thereupon the House shall meet to transact its business as if it had been duly adjourned to that time, provided that, in respect of a sitting convened under this paragraph,
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(i) the House shall meet on a Wednesday, at the later of 2:30 p.m. and the conclusion of the proceedings of the Special Committee on the COVID-19 Pandemic,
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(ii) notice of the sitting shall be given no later than 6:00 p.m. on the preceding Monday,
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(iii) notices may be filed with the clerk no later than 6:00 p.m. on the preceding Monday and shall be printed in the Notice Paper to be published for that sitting,
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(iv) the application of Standing Orders 15, 17, 36(8)(b) and 39(5)(b) shall be suspended,
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(v) the order of business shall be Introduction of Government Bills, followed by Government Orders,
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(vi) the only orders of the day which may be considered under Government Orders shall relate to the COVID-19 pandemic and measures necessary to respond to it,
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(vii) an embargoed copy of any measure to be considered shall be provided to the House leaders of the recognized parties no later than 6:00 p.m. on the preceding Saturday,
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(viii) before any measure is considered, a minister of the Crown must state that there is agreement among the representatives of all recognized parties to govern the proceedings in relation to the said measure and the minister may propose a motion, without notice, setting forth the terms of such agreement and every such motion shall be decided forthwith,
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(ix) no motions may be received or considered under Standing Orders 26, 38, 52, 53, 56.1, 57, 78(2) or (3), 81 or 84,
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(x) any day the House sits pursuant to this paragraph shall not be considered as a sitting day for the purposes of Standing Orders 34(1), 37(3), 51(1) and 110 and subsection 28(12) of the Conflict of Interest Code for Members of the House of Commons,
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(xi) when the proceedings governed by the motion described in subparagraph (viii) have been completed, or if that motion is negatived or a minister does not state that there is an agreement, the Speaker shall adjourn the House to the date fixed under paragraph (e), and the House shall be deemed, for the purposes of any order, to stand adjourned pursuant to this order;
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(j) for the purposes of committee meetings convened under paragraph (h) of this order and paragraphs (l) and (m) of the order adopted on Saturday, April 11, 2020, priority for the use of House resources shall be given, in the following order, to
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(i) meetings of the Special Committee on the COVID-19 Pandemic,
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(ii) meetings of the Standing Committee on Health,
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(iii) meetings of the Standing Committee on Finance,
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(iv) meetings which are specified by the agreement of the whips of all recognized parties,
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(v) all other meetings, in the order in which the meetings were convened;
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(k) the House, recalling the untimely death of Michael Ferguson on February 2, 2019, call upon the government to propose the nomination of a permanent Auditor General of Canada, pursuant to subsection 3(1) of the Auditor General Act and Standing Order 111.1, provided that
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(i) the government consult with opposition parties within 30 days of the adoption of this order,
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(ii) the certificate of nomination may be tabled pursuant to paragraph (k) of the order adopted on Saturday, April 11, 2020, as renewed by subparagraph (f)(iii) of this order,
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(iii) the Standing Committee on Public Accounts shall meet within seven days of the tabling of the certificate of nomination and, if the House stands adjourned pursuant to this order, the provisions applying to committees enumerated in paragraphs (l) and (n) of the order adopted on Saturday, April 11, 2020, as renewed by subparagraph (f)(iii) of this order, shall apply to the committee for the purposes of this study, however the committee may consider motions related to the adoption of a draft report in relation to this study,
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(iv) the committee be instructed to present a report within seven days of first meeting on this order of reference,
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(v) the question on the motion to ratify the appointment shall be put, without debate or amendment, after a report has been presented under subparagraph (iv), at the earlier of the next following regular sitting of the House, during Routine Proceedings, or the next following sitting of the House convened under paragraph (i), at the opening of the sitting;
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(l) Standing Order 81 shall, for the calendar year 2020, be amended as follows:
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(i) in section (4), by replacing
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(A) “May 31”, wherever it appears, with “November 27”,
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(B) “May 1” with “October 30”,
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(ii) in section (8), by replacing “June” with “December”,
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(iii) in paragraph (10)(a), by replacing all the words before the word “provided” with the following: “In the calendar year 2020, eight sitting days shall be allotted to the business of supply for the period ending not later than March 13; five additional days shall be allotted to the business of supply in the period ending not later than June 23; and nine additional days shall be allotted to the business of supply in the period ending not later than December 10;”,
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(iv) in paragraph (10)(b), by adding the following: “and that, in making this determination, the Speaker shall include in the period ending not later than December 10 the two allotted days which had not yet been designated pursuant to the order adopted on Monday, March 9, 2020.”,
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(v) in section (12), by replacing “June 23” with “December 10”,
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(vi) in paragraph (14)(a), by replacing “June 23” with “December 10”,
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(vii) in section (17), by replacing
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(A) “periods ending December 10 and March 26” with “period ending June 23”,
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(B) “each of the said periods” with “the said period”,
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(viii) in section (18), by replacing “June 23” with “December 10”,
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provided that, for greater certainty, a motion to concur in additional interim supply for the fiscal year ending March 31, 2021, may be considered on the last allotted day in the supply period ending June 23, 2020; and
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(m) in the event of the Speaker being unable to act for any purpose required by this order, owing to illness or other cause, the Deputy Speaker or either of the Assistant Deputy Speakers shall act in the Speaker’s stead for any such purpose. (Government Business No. 3)
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Debate arose thereon. |
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Mr. Scheer (Regina—Qu'Appelle), seconded by Ms. Alleslev (Aurora—Oak Ridges—Richmond Hill), moved the following amendment, — That the motion be amended, in paragraph (h), |
(a) by replacing subparagraphs (iv) and (v) with the following: “(iv) during the period the House stands adjourned pursuant to this order, the committee shall meet in the chamber at noon every Tuesday and Wednesday, provided that the committee shall not meet on a day referred to in Standing Order 28(1),”;
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(b) by deleting, in subparagraph (x), the words “or a Thursday”;
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(c) by deleting, in subparagraph (xi), the words “and Thursdays”; and
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(d) by replacing subparagraphs (xviii) with the following: “(xviii) following the report of the Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs pursuant to its order of reference of Saturday, April 11, 2020, if that committee recommends the implementation of virtual sittings and if the Clerk of the House indicates that they are technologically feasible, the House leaders of all four recognized parties may indicate to the Speaker that there is an agreement among the parties to hold one additional meeting of the committee each week by videoconference, notwithstanding subparagraph (iv), with members participating by videoconference, and the Speaker shall give effect to that agreement;”.
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Debate arose thereon. |
| Statements By Members |
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Pursuant to Standing Order 31, members made statements. |
| Oral Questions |
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Pursuant to Standing Order 30(5), the House proceeded to Oral Questions. |
| Daily Routine Of Business |
Statements by Ministers |
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Pursuant to Standing Order 33(1), Mr. Trudeau (Prime Minister) made a statement. |
Introduction of Private Members' Bills |
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Pursuant to Standing Orders 68(2) and 69(1), on motion of Mrs. DeBellefeuille (Salaberry—Suroît), seconded by Ms. Larouche (Shefford), Bill C-242, An Act to amend the Employment Insurance Act (illness, injury or quarantine), was introduced, read the first time, ordered to be printed and ordered for a second reading at the next sitting of the House. |
| Government Orders |
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The House resumed consideration of the motion of Mr. Rodriguez (Leader of the Government in the House of Commons), seconded by Mr. Duclos (President of the Treasury Board), — That, notwithstanding any standing order, special order or usual practice of the House: |
(a) today shall not be considered as a sitting day for the purposes of Standing Orders 34(1), 37(3), 51(1) and 110 and subsection 28(12) of the Conflict of Interest Code for Members of the House of Commons;
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(b) the government responses to petitions 431-00125, 431-00129, 431-00134, 431-00136 and 431-00139 be tabled immediately and that the responses to questions on the Order Paper numbered Q-369 to Q-379 and a supplementary response to Q-330 be made into orders for return and that the said returns be tabled immediately;
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(c) Statements by Ministers be taken up immediately following the adoption of this order, that a member of the Green Party also be permitted to reply to the statement and that the time allocated for replies be not less than 10 minutes per party;
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(d) following the responses to the ministerial statement, the House shall resolve itself into a committee of the whole to consider matters related to the COVID-19 pandemic provided that, during the proceedings of the committee,
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(i) the Speaker may preside,
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(ii) the Chair may preside from the Speaker’s chair,
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(iii) the Chair shall call members from all recognized parties and one member who does not belong to a recognized party in a fashion consistent with the proportions observed during Oral Questions,
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(iv) no member shall be recognized for more than five minutes at a time which may be used for posing questions to a minister of the Crown or a parliamentary secretary acting on behalf of the minister,
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(v) members may be permitted to split their time with one or more members by so indicating to the Chair; and
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at the conclusion of 27 five-minute interventions, or when no member rises to speak, whichever is earlier, the committee shall rise;
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(e) when the committee of the whole rises, a motion “That the House take note of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic” shall be deemed proposed and a member of each recognized party and a member of the Green Party may speak to the said motion for not more than 10 minutes, followed by five minutes for questions and comments, provided that members may be permitted to split their time with another member; and, at the conclusion of the time provided for the debate or when no member rises to speak, whichever is earlier, the House shall adjourn until Monday, May 25, 2020, provided that, for the purposes of any standing order, it shall be deemed adjourned pursuant to Standing Order 28, and, if the Speaker receives a notice from the House leaders of all four recognized parties indicating that it is in the public interest that the House remain adjourned until a future date or until future notice is given to the Speaker, the House will remain adjourned accordingly;
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(f) for greater certainty, the following provisions remain in effect:
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(i) paragraphs (m) to (p) of the order adopted on Friday, March 13, 2020,
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(ii) paragraphs (i) to (m) of the order adopted on Tuesday, March 24, 2020, provided that
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(A) in paragraph (i), the words “paragraph (f)” shall be deemed to refer to paragraph (e) of this order,
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(B) in paragraph (l), the words “paragraphs (e) or (f) of this order” shall be deemed to refer to paragraph (e) of this order,
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(iii) paragraphs (k) to (n) and (p) to (t) of the order adopted on Saturday, April 11, 2020, provided that the Standing Committee on Indigenous and Northern Affairs be added to the list of committees in paragraph (l) of that order;
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(g) during the period the House stands adjourned pursuant to this order, any petition certified by the Clerk of Petitions may be filed electronically with the Clerk of the House on any Wednesday and shall be deemed for all purposes to have been presented to the House on that date;
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(h) a special committee on the COVID-19 pandemic shall be established, composed of all members of the House, and which shall meet for the purposes of
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(i) considering ministerial announcements,
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(ii) allowing members to present petitions,
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(iii) questioning ministers of the Crown, including the Prime Minister, in respect of the COVID-19 pandemic, provided that
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(iv) during the period the House stands adjourned pursuant to this order and commencing on Tuesday, April 28, 2020, the committee shall meet at noon every Tuesday and Wednesday and, commencing on Thursday, May 7, 2020, the committee shall also meet at noon every Thursday, provided that the committee shall not meet on a day referred to in Standing Order 28(1),
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(v) on Tuesdays and Thursdays, the committee shall meet by videoconference and members shall participate by videoconference and on Wednesdays, the committee shall meet in the chamber and members shall participate in person, provided that meetings by videoconference shall be subject by such limits as the House Administration may indicate are necessary,
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(vi) the Speaker shall be the chair of the committee,
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(vii) seven members shall constitute a quorum,
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(viii) ministerial announcements shall be considered at the opening of the meeting and the proceedings shall be conducted in the same manner as Statements by Ministers under Standing Order 33(1), provided that a member of the Green Party also be permitted to reply to the statement,
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(ix) after any ministerial announcements, any member desiring to present a petition may do so during a period not exceeding 15 minutes, provided that the provisions of Standing Order 36 shall apply, except for Standing Order 36(5), and any petition presented shall be deemed for all purposes to have been presented to the House,
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(x) after any ministerial announcements and the presentation of petitions, proceedings on questioning ministers shall be conducted, for not more than 90 minutes on a Tuesday or a Thursday and for not more than two hours and 15 minutes on a Wednesday, in the same manner as provided for in paragraph (d), provided that questions shall be answered by ministers,
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(xi) upon the conclusion of proceedings on questioning ministers on Tuesdays and Thursdays, the committee shall adjourn to the next day provided for in subparagraph (iv),
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(xii) upon the conclusion of proceedings on questioning ministers on Wednesdays, the committee shall consider a motion “That the committee take note of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic” for not more than two hours and 10 minutes, provided that each recognized party shall be allotted 30 minutes for debate which may be shared among members of that party and a total of 10 minutes shall be allotted for debate by members who do not belong to a recognized party and at the conclusion of the time provided or when no member wishes to speak, whichever is earlier, the committee shall adjourn to the next day provided for in subparagraph (iv), provided that, if the House sits on a Wednesday pursuant to paragraph (i) of this order, the committee shall adjourn upon the conclusion of proceedings on questioning ministers,
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(xiii) if the Speaker receives a notice from the House leaders of all four recognized parties indicating that it is in the public interest that the committee remain adjourned until a future date or until future notice is given to the Speaker, the committee will remain adjourned accordingly,
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(xiv) meetings of the committee shall be televised, following the usual practices observed for sittings of the House,
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(xv) any document may be presented by a minister of the Crown, or a parliamentary secretary acting on behalf of a minister, at any time during a meeting of the committee and shall be deemed for all purposes to have been presented to or laid before the House,
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(xvi) the committee shall have the power to sit while the House stands adjourned and to print, from day to day, such papers and evidence as may be ordered by them,
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(xvii) upon the resumption of regular sittings of the House, the committee shall cease to exist,
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(xviii) following the report of the Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs pursuant to its order of reference of Saturday, April 11, 2020, the House leaders of all four recognized parties may indicate to the Speaker that there is an agreement among the parties to implement one or several of the recommendations of the committee and the Speaker shall give effect to that agreement;
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(i) during the period the House stands adjourned pursuant to this order, and without limiting the application of Standing Order 28(3), if the Speaker is satisfied, after consultation with the government, that the public interest requires that the House should meet in order to consider measures to address the impacts of COVID-19 on the lives of Canadians, the Speaker may give notice that being so satisfied the House shall meet, and thereupon the House shall meet to transact its business as if it had been duly adjourned to that time, provided that, in respect of a sitting convened under this paragraph,
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(i) the House shall meet on a Wednesday, at the later of 2:30 p.m. and the conclusion of the proceedings of the Special Committee on the COVID-19 Pandemic,
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(ii) notice of the sitting shall be given no later than 6:00 p.m. on the preceding Monday,
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(iii) notices may be filed with the clerk no later than 6:00 p.m. on the preceding Monday and shall be printed in the Notice Paper to be published for that sitting,
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(iv) the application of Standing Orders 15, 17, 36(8)(b) and 39(5)(b) shall be suspended,
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(v) the order of business shall be Introduction of Government Bills, followed by Government Orders,
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(vi) the only orders of the day which may be considered under Government Orders shall relate to the COVID-19 pandemic and measures necessary to respond to it,
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(vii) an embargoed copy of any measure to be considered shall be provided to the House leaders of the recognized parties no later than 6:00 p.m. on the preceding Saturday,
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(viii) before any measure is considered, a minister of the Crown must state that there is agreement among the representatives of all recognized parties to govern the proceedings in relation to the said measure and the minister may propose a motion, without notice, setting forth the terms of such agreement and every such motion shall be decided forthwith,
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(ix) no motions may be received or considered under Standing Orders 26, 38, 52, 53, 56.1, 57, 78(2) or (3), 81 or 84,
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(x) any day the House sits pursuant to this paragraph shall not be considered as a sitting day for the purposes of Standing Orders 34(1), 37(3), 51(1) and 110 and subsection 28(12) of the Conflict of Interest Code for Members of the House of Commons,
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(xi) when the proceedings governed by the motion described in subparagraph (viii) have been completed, or if that motion is negatived or a minister does not state that there is an agreement, the Speaker shall adjourn the House to the date fixed under paragraph (e), and the House shall be deemed, for the purposes of any order, to stand adjourned pursuant to this order;
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(j) for the purposes of committee meetings convened under paragraph (h) of this order and paragraphs (l) and (m) of the order adopted on Saturday, April 11, 2020, priority for the use of House resources shall be given, in the following order, to
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(i) meetings of the Special Committee on the COVID-19 Pandemic,
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(ii) meetings of the Standing Committee on Health,
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(iii) meetings of the Standing Committee on Finance,
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(iv) meetings which are specified by the agreement of the whips of all recognized parties,
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(v) all other meetings, in the order in which the meetings were convened;
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(k) the House, recalling the untimely death of Michael Ferguson on February 2, 2019, call upon the government to propose the nomination of a permanent Auditor General of Canada, pursuant to subsection 3(1) of the Auditor General Act and Standing Order 111.1, provided that
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(i) the government consult with opposition parties within 30 days of the adoption of this order,
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(ii) the certificate of nomination may be tabled pursuant to paragraph (k) of the order adopted on Saturday, April 11, 2020, as renewed by subparagraph (f)(iii) of this order,
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(iii) the Standing Committee on Public Accounts shall meet within seven days of the tabling of the certificate of nomination and, if the House stands adjourned pursuant to this order, the provisions applying to committees enumerated in paragraphs (l) and (n) of the order adopted on Saturday, April 11, 2020, as renewed by subparagraph (f)(iii) of this order, shall apply to the committee for the purposes of this study, however the committee may consider motions related to the adoption of a draft report in relation to this study,
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(iv) the committee be instructed to present a report within seven days of first meeting on this order of reference,
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(v) the question on the motion to ratify the appointment shall be put, without debate or amendment, after a report has been presented under subparagraph (iv), at the earlier of the next following regular sitting of the House, during Routine Proceedings, or the next following sitting of the House convened under paragraph (i), at the opening of the sitting;
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(l) Standing Order 81 shall, for the calendar year 2020, be amended as follows:
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(i) in section (4), by replacing
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(A) “May 31”, wherever it appears, with “November 27”,
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(B) “May 1” with “October 30”,
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(ii) in section (8), by replacing “June” with “December”,
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(iii) in paragraph (10)(a), by replacing all the words before the word “provided” with the following: “In the calendar year 2020, eight sitting days shall be allotted to the business of supply for the period ending not later than March 13; five additional days shall be allotted to the business of supply in the period ending not later than June 23; and nine additional days shall be allotted to the business of supply in the period ending not later than December 10;”,
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(iv) in paragraph (10)(b), by adding the following: “and that, in making this determination, the Speaker shall include in the period ending not later than December 10 the two allotted days which had not yet been designated pursuant to the order adopted on Monday, March 9, 2020.”,
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(v) in section (12), by replacing “June 23” with “December 10”,
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(vi) in paragraph (14)(a), by replacing “June 23” with “December 10”,
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(vii) in section (17), by replacing
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(A) “periods ending December 10 and March 26” with “period ending June 23”,
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(B) “each of the said periods” with “the said period”,
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(viii) in section (18), by replacing “June 23” with “December 10”,
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provided that, for greater certainty, a motion to concur in additional interim supply for the fiscal year ending March 31, 2021, may be considered on the last allotted day in the supply period ending June 23, 2020; and
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(m) in the event of the Speaker being unable to act for any purpose required by this order, owing to illness or other cause, the Deputy Speaker or either of the Assistant Deputy Speakers shall act in the Speaker’s stead for any such purpose; (Government Business No. 3)
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And of the amendment of Mr. Scheer (Regina—Qu'Appelle), seconded by Ms. Alleslev (Aurora—Oak Ridges—Richmond Hill), — That the motion be amended, in paragraph (h),
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(a) by replacing subparagraphs (iv) and (v) with the following: “(iv) during the period the House stands adjourned pursuant to this order, the committee shall meet in the chamber at noon every Tuesday and Wednesday, provided that the committee shall not meet on a day referred to in Standing Order 28(1),”;
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(b) by deleting, in subparagraph (x), the words “or a Thursday”;
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(c) by deleting, in subparagraph (xi), the words “and Thursdays”; and
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(d) by replacing subparagraphs (xviii) with the following: “(xviii) following the report of the Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs pursuant to its order of reference of Saturday, April 11, 2020, if that committee recommends the implementation of virtual sittings and if the Clerk of the House indicates that they are technologically feasible, the House leaders of all four recognized parties may indicate to the Speaker that there is an agreement among the parties to hold one additional meeting of the committee each week by videoconference, notwithstanding subparagraph (iv), with members participating by videoconference, and the Speaker shall give effect to that agreement;”.
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The question was put on the amendment and it was negatived on the following division: |
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| (Division No. 21 -- Vote no 21) | |
| YEAS: 15, NAYS: 22 |
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YEAS -- POUR Alleslev Godin Patzer Shipley Total: -- 15 |
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NAYS -- CONTRE Bibeau Guilbeault MacKinnon (Gatineau) Rodriguez Total: -- 22 |
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PAIRED -- PAIRÉS Nil--Aucun |
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The House resumed consideration of the motion of Mr. Rodriguez (Leader of the Government in the House of Commons), seconded by Mr. Duclos (President of the Treasury Board). (Government Business No. 3) |
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The question was put on the motion and it was agreed to on the following division: |
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| (Division No. 22 -- Vote no 22) | |
| YEAS: 22, NAYS: 15 |
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YEAS -- POUR Bibeau Guilbeault MacKinnon (Gatineau) Rodriguez Total: -- 22 |
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NAYS -- CONTRE Alleslev Godin Patzer Shipley Total: -- 15 |
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PAIRED -- PAIRÉS Nil--Aucun |
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| Tabling of Documents |
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Pursuant to order made earlier today and to Standing Order 32(2), Mr. Rodriguez (Leader of the Government in the House of Commons) laid upon the table, — Government responses, pursuant to Standing Order 36(8), to the following petitions: |
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— No. 431-00125 concerning health; |
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— No. 431-00129 concerning foreign affairs; |
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— No. 431-00134 concerning Indigenous affairs; |
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— No. 431-00136 concerning the environment; |
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— No. 431-00139 concerning social affairs and equality. |
| Questions on the Order Paper |
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Pursuant to order made earlier today and to Standing Order 39(7), Mr. Rodriguez (Leader of the Government in the House of Commons) presented the returns to the following questions made into orders for return: |
Q-369 — Mr. Blaikie (Elmwood—Transcona) — With regard to the Offshore Compliance Division of the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA), since April 1, 2006: (a) how many employees have been assigned to the division, broken down by fiscal year; (b) what is its operating budget, broken down by fiscal year; (c) how many audits have been conducted; (d) how many audits in (c) have been referred to the CRA's Criminal Investigations Program; (e) how many investigations in (d) have been referred to the Public Prosecution Service of Canada; (f) how many prosecutions in (e) have led to convictions; and (g) what sentences were imposed for each conviction in (f)? — Sessional Paper No. 8555-431-369.
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Q-370 — Mr. Blaikie (Elmwood—Transcona) — With regard to call centres across the government, broken down by fiscal year from 2011-12 to 2018-19, by department and by call centre: (a) what is the rate of inaccurate information provided by call agents; (b) what is the annual funding allocated; (c) how many full-time call agents have been allocated; (d) how many calls couId not be directed to a call agent; (e) what is the wait time target set; (f) what is the actual performance against the wait time target; (g) what is the average wait time to speak to a call agent; (h) what is the established call volume threshold above which callers are referred to the automated system; and (i) what is the method used to test the accuracy of responses given by call agents to callers? — Sessional Paper No. 8555-431-370.
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Q-371 — Mr. Blaikie (Elmwood—Transcona) — With regard to recommendations from the Office of the Auditor General of Canada to federal organizations, between 2011 and 2019, broken down by year and by federal organization, for each recommendation: (a) was it accepted, rejected or partially accepted; (b) what is the rationale for acceptance or rejection; and (c) for each recommendation in (a) that was accepted, either fully or partially, was it implemented fully, partially or not at all? — Sessional Paper No. 8555-431-371.
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Q-372 — Mr. Chiu (Steveston—Richmond East) — With regard to government action in relation to the Frontier project by Teck Resources Limited: (a) who in the government communicated with Teck Resources about the project between January 1, 2020, and February 23, 2020; and (b) what are the details of each communication, including (i) name and title of government representatives, (ii) date, (iii) title of Teck Resources representatives, (iv) information or advice provided to Teck Resources by the government, (v) summary or description of communication? — Sessional Paper No. 8555-431-372.
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Q-373 — Mr. Shields (Bow River) — With regard to plans by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency and Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada to deal with African swine fever: (a) what specific contingency plans are in place to deal with an outbreak; (b) who is in charge of preparing for and dealing with an outbreak; and (c) when were the plans in (a) finalized? — Sessional Paper No. 8555-431-373.
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Q-374 — Mr. Shields (Bow River) — With regard to the mandate letter of the Minister of Canadian Heritage and the section directing the minister to “[c]o-develop, with Indigenous Peoples, a framework for repatriating Indigenous cultural property and ancestral remains”: (a) what specific action has the minister taken to date in order to complete the directive; (b) on what date was each action in (a) taken; (c) what is the government’s estimate of the amount of Indigenous cultural property currently in foreign countries, broken down by country; and (d) what percentage of the amount in (c) does the government anticipate repatriating by the end of (i) 2020, (ii) 2021, (iii) 2022? — Sessional Paper No. 8555-431-374.
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Q-375 — Mr. Van Popta (Langley—Aldergrove) — With regard to federal funding for the SkyTrain to Langley: (a) what is the total amount of federal funding for the project committed to date; (b) has any of the funding in (a) actually been delivered to date, and, if so, what are the details, including (i) amount, (ii) date of payment; and (c) what is the timeline for the project, including (i) construction start date, (ii) projected completion date? — Sessional Paper No. 8555-431-375.
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Q-376 — Mr. Van Popta (Langley—Aldergrove) — With regard to federal funding for the George Massey Tunnel Replacement Project: (a) what is the total amount of federal funding for the project committed to date; (b) has any of the funding in (a) actually been delivered to date, and, if so, what are the details, including (i) amount, (ii) date of payment; (c) what are the project details; and (d) what is the timeline for the project, including (i) construction start date, (ii) projected completion date? — Sessional Paper No. 8555-431-376.
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Q-377 — Mrs. Gallant (Renfrew—Nipissing—Pembroke) — With regard to the first round of funding to dairy farmers as a result of the Canada-European Union Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement: (a) what type of funding program was used to allocate the funding; (b) how were potential recipients notified; (c) how were successful recipients chosen; (d) what was the maximum allowable grant to farmers; (e) how much money was paid to Canadian farmers; and (f) for all the money paid in (e), who were the recipients of the funding, broken down by (i) name of recipient, (ii) city, (iii) province, (iv) date of payment, (v) amount requested, (vi) amount received? — Sessional Paper No. 8555-431-377.
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Q-378 — Mrs. Gallant (Renfrew—Nipissing—Pembroke) — With regard to Health Canada: (a) what is the department’s official position on the health risks and increased health-care costs associated with (i) 5G wireless technology, (ii) exposure to radio frequency radiation (RF or RFR), (iii) exposure to electromagnetic fields (EMF); (b) for each official position in (a), when was the position last updated and what was the position previous to the last update; (c) has the department ever funded studies on the health risks or increased health-care costs associated with (i) 5G wireless technology, (ii) exposure to RF or RFR, (iii) exposure to EMF; (d) if the answer to (c) is affirmative, what are the details of the studies, broken down by (i) title, (ii) author, (iii) date published, (iv), findings, (v) amount spent on funding; (e) has the department ever published a report on the health risks or increased health-care costs associated with (i) 5G wireless technology, (ii) exposure to RF or RFR, (iii) exposure to EMF; (f) if the answer to (e) is affirmative, what are the details of the report, broken down by (i) title, (ii) author, (iii) date published, (iv) findings, (v) internal tracking number; (g) have any briefing materials been produced on the health risks or increased health-care costs associated with (i) 5G wireless technology, (ii) exposure to RF or RFR, (iii) exposure to EMF; and (h) if the answer to (g) is affirmative, what are the details, broken down by (i) title, (ii) author, (iii) recipient, (iv) date prepared, (v) internal tracking number? — Sessional Paper No. 8555-431-378.
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Q-379 — Mr. Duvall (Hamilton Mountain) — With regard to the compliance activities of the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) for fiscal years 2017-18 and 2018-19: (a) what is the total amount of interest and penalties waived or cancelled proactively by the CRA, broken down by category of taxpayer; (b) what is the total amount of interest and penalties waived or cancelled by the CRA at the request of the taxpayer, broken down by category of taxpayer; (c) what is the estimated amount of interest and penalties that the CRA has not waived or cancelled, even though the CRA is responsible for it, broken down by category of taxpayer; (d) what is the definition of "undue delay" used to justify proactive interest and penalty relief; (e) what are the criteria used to determine what the CRA considers to be "undue delay"; (f) what details does the CRA have in place to clarify what is considered an agency-attributable delay, and what is considered a taxpayer-attributable delay; (g) what is the average time the CRA takes to respond to its requests for information, broken down by category of taxpayers; and (h) what is the average time to close audit files, broken down by category of taxpayers? — Sessional Paper No. 8555-431-379.
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Pursuant to order made earlier today and to Standing Order 39(7), Mr. Rodriguez (Leader of the Government in the House of Commons) presented the supplementary return to the following question made into an order for return: |
Q-330 — Mr. Angus (Timmins—James Bay) — With regard to data, information or privacy breaches in ministers' offices and the Office of the Prime Minister (PMO), since November 2015: (a) how many breaches have occurred in total, broken down by (i) minister's office, including the PMO, (ii) number of individuals affected by the breach, (iii) year; (b) of those breaches identified in (a), how many have been reported to the Office of the Privacy Commissioner, broken down by (i) minister's office, including the PMO, (ii) number of individuals affected by the breach, (iii) year; and (c) how many breaches are known to have led to criminal activity such as fraud or identity theft, broken down by (i) minister's office, including the PMO, (ii) year? — Sessional Paper No. 8555-431-330-01.
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| Statements by Ministers |
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Pursuant to order made earlier today, Ms. Hajdu (Minister of Health) made a statement. |
| Government Orders |
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At 4:28 p.m., pursuant to order made earlier today, the House resolved itself into a committee of the whole in order to consider matters related to the COVID-19 pandemic. |
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At 6:58 p.m., the committee rose. |
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At 7:00 p.m., pursuant to order made earlier today, the following motion was deemed to have been moved, — That the House take note of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. (Government Business No. 4) |
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Debate arose thereon. |
| Adjournment |
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At 8:18 p.m., pursuant to order made earlier today, the Speaker adjourned the House until Monday, May 25, 2020, at 11:00 a.m., pursuant to Standing Orders 28(2) and 24(1). |