Debates of Dec. 14th, 1994

Committees Of The House

[Peter Milliken, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to Leader of the Government in the House of Commons]

Mr. Speaker, I have the honour to present the 55th report of the Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs regarding selection of votable items in accordance with Standing Order 92.

This report is deemed adopted on presentation.

Government Organization Act (Federal Agencies)

[The Hon. Marcel Massé (President of the Queen's Privy Council for Canada, Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs and Minister responsible for Public Service Renewal, Lib.)]

moved for leave to introduce Bill C-65, an act to reorganize and dissolve certain federal agencies.

(Motions deemed adopted, bill read the first time and printed.)

Income Tax Act

[Jake Hoeppner, Reform, Lisgar—Marquette, MB]

moved for leave to introduce Bill C-298, an act to amend the Income Tax Act (deduction of interest on mortgage loans).

Mr. Speaker, it is a pleasure to rise in the House today and introduce my private member's bill entitled an act to amend the Income Tax Act (deduction of interest on mortgage loans).

The bill proposes that subject to subsection (2) there may be deducted in computing a taxpayer's income for a taxation year an amount equal to the interest paid by the taxpayer in the year to a mortgage lender on the first $100,000 of a mortgage secured by an individual's qualifying home. Some conditions apply as outlined in this bill.

(Motions deemed adopted, bill read the first time and printed.)

Business Of The House

[Don Boudria, Liberal, Glengarry—Prescott—Russell, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I think you will find unanimous consent for the following motion. I move:

That no Private Members' Business shall be considered on Thursday, December 15, 1994, providing that the item set down for consideration that day shall retain its position first on the order of precedence.

In other words, in order to obtain unanimous consent for private members' hour not to be held tomorrow afternoon, the member in whose name the private member's item is on the order retains his place on the order of precedence when we come back in February.

(Motion agreed to.)

Petitions

[Benoît Sauvageau, Bloc, Terrebonne, QC]

Mr. Speaker, it is my pleasure to present this petition signed by 1,200 students of a secondary school in my riding. It asks one thing only: that the government keep its promise. And I am keeping my promise to the students of this school to present their petition in the House and to read it.

I will be brief. These students tell us that every day on earth 40,000 children die of starvation and illness, and that at the world summit for children the leaders of this country promised to reduce the number of children who leave this earth prematurely. These students also ask the government-

[The Deputy Speaker]

As the member knows I of course accept his good faith, but has the petition been deemed admissible?

[Benoît Sauvageau, Bloc, Terrebonne, QC]

It has been accepted and approved.

[The Deputy Speaker]

Fine.

[Benoît Sauvageau, Bloc, Terrebonne, QC]

Our whip taught us well Mr. Speaker, and we respect the rules on tabling documents in this House.

The students also told us that every year, on this planet earth, countless numbers of women die giving birth to children. The government undertook to reduce the number of such mortalities.

The government also undertook to help children in war-torn countries, to help children who wanted a normal education, and to respect the work done by children.

For all these promises made by the government, I present this petition, signed by 1,200 students of the École polyvalente Paul-Arseneau.

[Maurice Godin, Bloc, Châteauguay, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to table a first petition signed by 852 residents of the riding of Châteauguay, which I have the honour to represent. These petitioners from 28 organizations object to the use of voice mail in serving seniors. This much criticized technolohy is definitely not suited to seniors.

Indeed, seniors are entitled to proper service, especially when they have inquiries to make about income security. I agree with them and together, we call upon Parliament to kindly ask the government to abandon the plan to implement voice mail for seniors.

[Gilbert Fillion, Bloc, Chicoutimi, QC]

Mr. Speaker, pursuant to Standing Order 36, on behalf of over 10,000 residents of the riding of Chicoutimi, I would like to present a petition on the military base in Bagotville, which is one of the main employers

in the region, providing work to more than 1,500 military and 250 civilian employees. The strategic function of the base is air defence and airspace control in eastern Canada, international contingencies and support for land and sea forces.

The base's responsibilities extend beyond its confines, as it also provides support for local recruiting centres and militia units. Finally, over the summer, the base hosted the air cadet camp attended by some 3,000 young men and women. CFB Bagotville has been a major player in our region, both socially and economically, for over 50 years.

[Raymond Bonin, Liberal, Nickel Belt, ON]

Mr. Speaker, pursuant to Standing Order 36, I would like to present a petition in support of keeping mining in Canada.

In this age of technological transformation, we often forget that mining and natural resources are and continue to be some of the economic forces that sustain our great nation, a nation that is judged to be the best place in the world to live.

The petition asks the government to do all it can to improve the slumping mining investment climate in Canada so that mining will continue to provide jobs for Canadians, continue to be a significant exporter and continue to contribute to Canada's economic prosperity.

I fully concur with the petition.

[Walt Lastewka, Liberal, St. Catharines, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to place petitions before the House today on behalf of the member for Parliament for Welland-St. Catharines-Thorold.

The petitions are signed by residents of St. Catharines, Thorold, Welland, Niagara Falls and surrounding areas.

I join the petitioners in speaking out against the serial killer cards and call on Parliament to amend the laws of Canada to prohibit the importation, distribution, sale and manufacture of killer cards and to advise producers of killer cards that their products, if destined for Canada, will be seized and destroyed.

[Dan McTeague, Liberal, Ontario, ON]

Mr. Speaker, pursuant to Standing Order 36, I have the honour to present three petitions on behalf of my constituents from the Ontario riding.

The first petition calls on Parliament to act immediately to extend protection to the unborn child by amending the Criminal Code of Canada to extend the same protection already enjoyed by born human beings to unborn human beings.

[Dan McTeague, Liberal, Ontario, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the second petition requests Parliament to ensure that the present provisions of the Criminal Code of Canada prohibiting assisted suicide be enforced vigorously and that Parliament make no changes in the law which would sanction or allow the aiding or abetting of suicide or active or passive euthanasia.

[Dan McTeague, Liberal, Ontario, ON]

My final petition, Mr. Speaker, calls on Parliament not to amend the Canadian Human Rights Act or the Charter of Rights and Freedoms in any way which would tend to indicate societal approval of same sex relationships, including amending the Canadian Human Rights Act to include the prohibited ground of discrimination the undefined phrase sexual orientation, which I concur with.

[Ken Epp, Reform, Elk Island, AB]

Mr. Speaker, I am honoured today to rise, pursuant to Standing Order 36, to present three petitions from Elk Island and the surrounding area.

The first petition asks that the Young Offenders Act, because it is not stringent enough, be amended to lower the protected age to 12, to provide harsher penalties for those convicted of violent crimes and the release of the names of offenders.

The petition is signed by 1,296 petitioners.

[Ken Epp, Reform, Elk Island, AB]

Mr. Speaker, the next two petitions are essentially the same. They request that Parliament not amend the human rights code, the Canadian Human Rights Act or the Charter of Rights and Freedoms in any way which would tend to indicate societal approval of same sex relationships or homosexuality and not to amend the human rights code to include the undefined phrase sexual orientation.

Together the two petitions contain 1,058 signatures.

[Sharon Hayes, Reform, Port Moody—Coquitlam, BC]

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to present two petitions today. The first petition contains almost 200 signatures.

The petitioners request that Parliament refuse to accept the anti-firearms proposal of the Minister of Justice and insist that he brings forward legislation to convict and punish criminals rather than persecute the innocent. I gladly present that today.

[Sharon Hayes, Reform, Port Moody—Coquitlam, BC]

Mr. Speaker, the second petition is from residents of my riding of Port Moody-Coquitlam.

These residents of Canada request that Parliament ensure that the present provisions of the Criminal Code of Canada prohibiting assisted suicide be enforced vigorously.

I certainly support these petitions today.

[Dave Chatters, Reform, Athabasca, AB]

Mr. Speaker, in accordance with Standing Order 36, I would like to present a petition signed by the residents of the city of Fort McMurray in my riding of Athabasca.

The petition requests that Parliament not amend the human rights code, the Canadian Human Rights Act or the Charter of Rights and Freedoms in any way which would tend to indicate societal approval of same sex relationships or of homosexuality, including amending the human rights code to include in the prohibited grounds of discrimination the undefined phrase sexual orientation. I present and support the petitioners.

[Michel Guimond, Bloc, Beauport—Montmorency—Orléans, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to table a petition signed by 704 Canadians who want the government to continue subsidizing VIA Rail.

Grouped together in Rural Dignity of Canada, these residents of Canada and Quebec demand that the Government of Canada hold public hearings and consultations before making any decision on VIA Rail's proposed service cuts and line abandonments. The people of Quebec and Canada also call for an immediate one-year moratorium to be placed on any line closure.

[Richard Bélisle, Bloc, La Prairie, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I am tabling today a petition on the introduction of voice mail service at Income Security. This petition was signed by 157 residents of Brossard, Candiac and La Prairie and members of the following seniors' groups: AFEAS La Nativité de La Prairie, AFEAS Notre-Dame-du-Sacré-Coeur de Brossard, Club de l'âge d'or de La Prairie, Joie de vivre de l'âge d'or de Brossard.

Whereas seniors are naturally more at a loss when faced with voice mail technology; whereas seniors are entitled to adequate service, particularly with regard to their income security enquiries; therefore, your petitioners humbly pray and call upon Parliament to ask the government to abandon its plan to introduce voice mail systems for seniors.

[Barry Campbell, Liberal, St. Paul's, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to present two petitions today which have been signed by over 200 Canadians.

The petitioners draw the attention of the House to the fact that discrimination against lesbian, gay and bisexual Canadians is an everyday reality in all regions of the country. This kind of discrimination is unacceptable in a country known for its commitment to human rights, equality and dignity.

The petitioners call on Parliament to act quickly to amend the Canadian Human Rights Act to include sexual orientation as a prohibited ground of discrimination.

I am pleased to support these petitions.

[Gar Knutson, Liberal, Elgin—Norfolk, ON]

Mr. Speaker, pursuant to Standing Order 36 I am pleased to present three petitions signed by well over 100 people.

The first petition asks Parliament to act immediately to extend protection to the unborn child by amending the Criminal Code.