1st Parliament, 4th Session, 7th Sitting

The seventh sitting of the fourth session of the first Parliament tied the record for most MPs in attendance. It saw three motions passed, one of which was an amendment.

House Motion #014
House Motion  was sponsored by NDP Prime Minister William Cooper in response to the discovery of the bodies of 215 Indigenous children on the former premises of Kamloops Residential School in a mass grave. It stipulated that if adopted, the House would agree to draft and enact legislation to commence an investigation into further potential mass graves at other residential schools. It passed unanimously. Text Whereas 215 bodies of Indigenous children have been found on the site of Kamloops residential school in a mass grave;

Whereas no concrete action has been taken by any previous government to investigate such mass graves;

Whereas the existence of residential schools is a shameful blot on our nation's history;

This House of Commons, today convened, in this present Parliament assembled, hereby agree to enact and draft legislation to further investigate the sites of residential schools for further mass graves such as the one that has been the source of such national mourning.

House Motion #015
House Motion #015 was an opposition motion sponsored by Conservative MP for Carleton, Brentan Lam. It initially sought to completely outlaw trophy hunting in Canada. However, following an amendment sponsored by William Cooper, the ban for which it was asking the government to implement only applied to animals classified as near threatened, vulnerable, endangered, and critically endangered.

Text Pre-Amendment
I beg to move, Mr. Deputy Speaker That this House urges the Government to commit to implementing a robust, comprehensive and world-leading ban on trophy hunting imports; agrees that the trophy hunting of animals, in particular those at risk of extinction, is morally reprehensible; notes the strong support for such a ban among the general public, recognizes that more conservation funding is needed to impose hunting regulations; notes in particular that most states the United States still permit wildlife killing contests, urges the Government to review legislation concerning exporting of trophies out from Canada.

Text Post-Amendment
I beg to move, Mr. Deputy Speaker That this House urges the Government to commit to implementing a robust, comprehensive and world-leading ban on trophy hunting imports; agrees that the trophy hunting of animals, in particular those at risk of extinction, is morally reprehensible; notes the strong support for such a ban among the general public, recognizes that more conservation funding is needed to impose hunting regulations; notes in particular that most states the United States still permit wildlife killing contests, urges the Government to review legislation concerning exporting of trophies out from Canada.

Such a ban would only affect the hunting of animals classified as near threatened, vulnerable, endangered, and critically endangered.

House Motion #016
House Motion  was an amending motion that sought to amend House Motion #015 to only ban the hunting of animals classified as near threatened, vulnerable, endangered, and critically endangered. It was sponsored by Prime Minister William Cooper.

Text
Motion to amend the motion to append it with "Such a ban would only affect the hunting of animals classified as near threatened, vulnerable, endangered, and critically endangered."

Question Period
Question Period during this sitting saw one question asked of the Prime Minister.

US-Canada Economic Relations
Brentan Lam asked the Prime Minister what he was doing to protect the Canadian softwood lumber industry, to which the Prime Minister responded that every avenue was being explored, and that the government was working closely with its American counterparts to ensure that tariffs on Canadian softwood lumber do not go forward.

COVID Reopening - Rt. Hon. William Cooper PC MP
"Thank you, Mr. Speaker constant vigilance! This is what all Canadians should be practicing. As many provinces begin to reopen and COVID restrictions start to lift across the country. We as a nation are beginning to return to assemblance of normalcy. But we're not out of the woods yet. Mr. Speaker, Canadians must continue to, as they have been throughout this pandemic, to diligently follow COVID protocol and to abide by any additional restrictions that may be imposed by their municipal, provincial, or federal governments. Mr. Speaker, this government has never once forgotten who it serves, that being the people of Canada, and we will always continue to put their health and safety first."

Pride Month - Rt. Hon. William Cooper PC MP
"Thank you, Mr. Speaker And let me just say what a unique privilege it is to stand for all today. As not only the first, openly bisexual, openly autistic Member of Parliament, but the first openly bisexual, openly autistic Prime Minister of Canada as well. Mr. Speaker, June is pride month. A month where Canadians and people across the globe, reflect on both the historic, and modern injustices that face, and indeed still face the LGBTQ2+ community. This government has always been and indeed firmly believes in the principle of equity for those that have suffered, in the past and present, historic oppression. Mr. Speaker, Canada's position as a world leader in human rights will not falter under this government and we will remain committed to ensuring a safe and respectful Society for all."

Pandemic Mental Health Epidemic - Hon. Brentan Lam MP
"In light of the province of Ontario's decision to not allow students to return to school before summer, I want to express my grave concern over the mental illness epidemic that is impacting communities, all across this country, especially children's students who desperately need that human to human connection and interaction which is so important to development. And I also want to quote a survey carried out by the Canadian Mental Health Association, which found that 40% of Canadians are in the worst mental state than they were in the beginning of the pandemic. And so that's really worrying and that should be seriously looked at. I want to call on Canadians to help raise awareness and we move stigma around mental illnesses, because mental illnesses are real things. It's the same as it should be treated as same as physical disabilities, and and we should do more for support those around us who need our help and support for them. And I also want to commend the important work that mental health workers, social workers in all across, this country are doing to help Canadians. Therefore, I also want to urge the government in the most urgent terms and also community or anyone else, to try to support Mental Health Services, donate to them and maybe volunteer at youth centres, call centres which really do make a huge difference to people's lives."

Guest Speaker
This sitting also saw MHoC's first guest speaker appearance, with 2019 NDP candidate for Ottawa South, President of the Ottawa South NDP Electoral District Association, and National Negotiator for the Public Service Alliance of Canada Morgan Gay. Mr. Gay made a few remarks about his time as an NDP candidate, what compelled him to run, and some of the challenges of campaigning. He then answered questions from William Cooper, Brentan Lam, Simon Mezo, and Adrian Nitu.