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Wednesday, February 24, 2016 (No. 24)

Orders of the Day

Government Orders

Business of Supply

December 4, 2015 — — Consideration of the Business of Supply.

Supply period ending March 26, 2016 — maximum of 7 allotted days, pursuant to Standing Order 81(10)(a).

Thursday, February 25, 2016 — 5th allotted day.

Opposition Motions

December 8, 2015 — — That the House call on the government to ratify the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement, given its importance to the Canadian economy and the reliance of one in five Canadian jobs on export markets.

December 8, 2015 — — That, in the opinion of the House, in order to support jobs and economic security in the oil sector, and in light of the fact that the government has indicated that it will be enacting new approval processes for pipelines, the government should grandfather all pipeline proposals already in the environmental-approval process instead of requiring new applications under yet-to-be disclosed new processes.

December 8, 2015 — — That the House: (a) acknowledge the government's neglect even to mention farmers, ranchers, and the Canadian agricultural sector in the recent Speech from the Throne; and (b) call upon the government to make agriculture a priority henceforth, and to use every mechanism available to resolve the issue of Country of Origin Labelling practices by the United States.

December 8, 2015 — — That, given that minority groups in Iraq and Syria are facing rape, kidnapping, death, and sexual slavery at the hands of the self-styled Islamic State, this House: (a) condemn the violence and atrocities committed against religious minorities, women, members of the LGBTQ community, and those who do not subscribe to the laws of the self-styled Islamic State; (b) recognize that the self-styled Islamic State has committed genocide against persecuted religious minorities in the region such as Christians, Yezidis, and Shia Muslims, in Iraq and Syria; (c) acknowledge that many of the members of these groups cannot flee to refugee camps because they face persecution in those places; (d) reaffirm Canada’s support of religious freedom around the world; and (e) call upon the government to acknowledge that individuals from these groups are facing immediate death or bodily harm at the hands of the self-styled Islamic State, and should be prioritized as refugees to Canada as part of the government’s Syrian refugee plan.

January 29, 2016 — — That the House (a) recognize that the government must take action to close the unacceptable gap in pay between men and women which contributes to income inequality and discriminates against women; (b) recognize pay equity as a right; (c) call on the government to implement the recommendations of the 2004 Pay Equity Task Force Report and restore the right to pay equity in the public service which was eliminated by the previous Conservative government in 2009; and (d) appoint a special committee with the mandate to conduct hearings on the matter of pay equity and to propose a plan to adopt a proactive federal pay equity regime, both legislative and otherwise, and (i) that this committee consist of 10 members which shall include six members from the Liberal Party, three members from the Conservative Party, and one member from the New Democratic Party, provided that the Chair is from the government party, (ii) that in addition to the Chair, there be one Vice-Chair from each of the recognized opposition parties, (iii) that the committee have all of the powers of a standing committee as provided in the Standing Orders, as well as the power to travel, accompanied by the necessary staff, subject to the usual authorization from the House, (iv) that the members to serve on the said committee be appointed by the Whip of each party depositing with the Acting Clerk of the House a list of his or her party’s members of the committee no later than February 17, 2016, (v) that the quorum of the committee be as provided for in Standing Order 118, provided that at least one member of each recognized party be present, (vi) that membership substitutions be permitted from time to time, if required, in the manner provided for in Standing Order 114(2), (vii) that the committee report to the House no later than June 10, 2016.

January 29, 2016 — — That, in the opinion of the House, (a) no one should have to grow old in poverty, insecurity, or isolation; (b) all Canadians deserve a dignified retirement; (c) it is a national shame that 600,000 Canadian seniors currently live in poverty; (d) it is unacceptable that senior women are twice as likely to live in poverty as senior men; and (e) the government should honour its overdue promise to immediately increase the Guaranteed Income Supplement to help raise low-income seniors out of poverty.

January 29, 2016 — — That, in the opinion of the House, the government should take immediate action in response to the growing affordable housing crisis and rampant income inequality which makes it harder for Canadians to afford rent or mortgage payments, by (a) preserving the financing of the social agreements that have not yet expired; (b) restoring the funding from expired long-term operating agreements to social housing programs; (c) funding, in Budget 2016, the immediate construction of new affordable housing, the renovation of existing social housing, and the expansion of rent supplements.

January 29, 2016 — — That, in the opinion of the House, (a) retirement security is one of the most pressing economic and inequality issues facing Canadian families today; (b) the previous government let down Canadian seniors by raising the age of Old Age Security (OAS) from 65 to 67 without consultation and without stating their intention to do so in the previous election; (c) OAS and the Guaranteed Income Supplement (GIS) provide crucial support to Canada’s most vulnerable seniors; and (d) the government should immediately restore the age of eligibility for OAS and GIS to 65, reversing the legislative changes of the previous Conservative government that raised it to 67.

February 2, 2016 — — That the House (a) recognize the good work being done by Canada’s Office of Religious Freedom, in particular its work within the Department of Global Affairs to build the Department's capacity to address threats to religious freedom, and to directly promote peace, freedom, tolerance, and communal harmony; and, as a consequence, (b) call on the government to renew the current mandate of the Office, since the continuation of its vital work is needed now more than ever.

February 2, 2016 — — That, given this time of economic uncertainty, the House: (a) recognize the importance of internal trade which generates $366 billion in economic activity; (b) acknowledge that no Cabinet Minister has internal trade referenced in a mandate letter; (c) acknowledge that, through consultations at the Council of the Federation conference, Canadian Premiers have agreed to negotiate and conclude a new Agreement on Internal Trade by March 2016; and (d) express its hope that this timeline will be honoured in order to help grow the Canadian economy through increased internal trade and the further elimination of interprovincial trade barriers.

February 2, 2016 — — That the House: (a) thank the independent non-partisan officials from the Department of Finance for their hard work and evidence-based analysis; (b) acknowledge their most recent Fiscal Monitor which informed Members and Canadians that, for the period from April to November 2015 of the 2015-2016 fiscal year, the previous government posted a budgetary surplus of $1.0 billion; and (c) concur in its conclusions and express its confidence in the Deputy Minister and his team.

February 16, 2016 — — That, given Canada and Israel share a long history of friendship as well as economic and diplomatic relations, the House reject the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement, which promotes the demonization and delegitimization of the State of Israel, and call upon the government to condemn any and all attempts by Canadian organizations, groups or individuals to promote the BDS movement, both here at home and abroad.

Ways and Means

Government Bills (Commons)

C-2^R — February 1, 2016 — Resuming consideration of the motion of , seconded by , — That Bill C-2, An Act to amend the Income Tax Act, be now read a second time and referred to the Standing Committee on Finance;

And of the amendment of , seconded by , — That the motion be amended by deleting all the words after the word “That” and substituting the following:

“the House decline to give second reading to Bill C-2, An Act to amend the Income Tax Act, since the principle of the Bill: (a) fails to address the fact, as stated by the Office of the Parliamentary Budget Officer, that the proposals contained therein will not be revenue-neutral, as promised by the government; (b) will drastically impede the ability of Canadians to save, by reducing contribution limits for Tax-Free Savings Accounts; (c) will plunge the country further into deficit than what was originally accounted for; (d) will not sufficiently stimulate the economy; (e) lacks concrete, targeted plans to stimulate economic innovation; and (f) will have a negative impact on Canadians across the socioeconomic spectrum.”.

C-4 — February 16, 2016 — Resuming consideration of the motion of , seconded by , — That Bill C-4, An Act to amend the Canada Labour Code, the Parliamentary Employment and Staff Relations Act, the Public Service Labour Relations Act and the Income Tax Act, be now read a second time and referred to the Standing Committee on Human Resources, Skills and Social Development and the Status of Persons with Disabilities;

And of the amendment of , seconded by , — That the motion be amended by deleting all the words after the word “That” and substituting the following:

“the House decline to give second reading to Bill C-4, An Act to amend the Canada Labour Code, the Parliamentary Employment and Staff Relations Act, the Public Service Labour Relations Act and the Income Tax Act, since the bill violates a fundamental principle of democracy by abolishing the provision that the certification and decertification of a bargaining agent must be achieved by a secret ballot vote-based majority.”.

C-5 — February 5, 2016 — The President of the Treasury Board — Second reading and reference to the Standing Committee on Human Resources, Skills and Social Development and the Status of Persons with Disabilities of Bill C-5, An Act to repeal Division 20 of Part 3 of the Economic Action Plan 2015 Act, No. 1.

Government Bills (Senate)

Government Business

No. 1 — December 7, 2015 — — That the House consider the current state of the Canadian economy as set out in the Update of Economic and Fiscal Projections 2015 that was released on November 20, 2015, and was tabled in the House on December 7, 2015.

No. 2 — February 23, 2016 — Resuming consideration of the motion of , seconded by , — That the House support the government’s decision to broaden, improve, and redefine our contribution to the effort to combat ISIL by better leveraging Canadian expertise while complementing the work of our coalition partners to ensure maximum effect, including:

(a) refocusing our military contribution by expanding the advise and assist mission of the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) in Iraq, significantly increasing intelligence capabilities in Iraq and theatre-wide, deploying CAF medical personnel, offering to provide the Government of Iraq ministerial liaison personnel to the Ministries of Defence and the Interior, enhancing capacity-building efforts with our defence partners in Jordan and Lebanon to advance regional stability, and withdrawing our CF-18s while maintaining air force surveillance and refuelling capability;

(b) improving the living conditions of conflict-affected populations and helping to build the foundations for long-term regional stability of host communities, including Lebanon and Jordan;

(c) investing significantly in humanitarian assistance while working with experienced humanitarian partners to support the basic needs of conflict-affected populations, including children and victims of sexual and gender-based violence;

(d) engaging more effectively with political leaders throughout the region, increasing Canada’s contribution to international efforts aimed at finding political solutions to the crises affecting the region and reinforcing our diplomatic presence to facilitate the delivery of enhanced programming, supporting increased CAF deployments, strengthening dialogue with local and international partners on the ground and generally giving Canada a stronger voice in the region;

(e) welcoming tens of thousands of Syrian refugees to Canada;

that the House express its appreciation and pride to the members of the CAF, diplomatic and intelligence personnel for their participation in the fight against terrorism, to Canadian humanitarian workers for their efforts to provide critical support to conflict-affected populations, and reconfirm our commitment to our allies in the coalition against ISIL; and

that the House note the government’s resolve to return to the House within two years with a new motion on Canada’s contribution to the region;

And of the amendment of , seconded by , — That the motion be amended by replacing all the words after the words “That the House” with the following:

“(a) urge the government to re-establish Canada's influence within the international decision-making process in the fight against terrorism and rebuild the trust Canada has lost with its allies by reversing its decision to withdraw CF-18s from the air combat mission, which essentially removes Canada from any combat role; (b) ensure Canadian humanitarian relief does not directly or indirectly support jihadi terrorism; and (c) express its appreciation and pride to all members of the Canadian Armed Forces, and in particular, Special Operation Forces and the RCAF members in the Air Task Force, including CF-18 pilots, and thank them for their extraordinary efforts in the fight against terrorism and for protecting Canadians at home.”.

Subject to Special Order — see Journals of Tuesday, February 23, 2016.

No. 3 — February 11, 2016 — — That the House support the government’s decision to broaden, improve, and redefine our contribution to the effort to combat ISIL by better leveraging Canadian expertise while complementing the work of our coalition partners to ensure maximum effect, including:

(b) improving the living conditions of conflict-affected populations and helping to build the foundations for long-term regional stability of host communities, including Lebanon and Jordan;

(e) welcoming tens of thousands of Syrian refugees to Canada;

that the House note the government’s resolve to return to the House within two years with a new motion on Canada’s contribution to the region.


^R Recommended by the Governor General

House Publications

Orders of the Day

Government Orders

Business of Supply

Ways and Means

Government Bills (Commons)

Government Bills (Senate)

Government Business