Debates of June 8th, 1995

Government Response To Petitions

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

Mr. Speaker, pursuant to Standing Order 38, I have the honour to table, in both official languages, the government's response to four petitions.

Railway Safety Act

[Joe Fontana, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to Minister of Transport]

Mr. Speaker, pursuant to Standing Order 32(2), I have the honour to table, in both official languages, the government's response to the report of the Railway Safety Act review committee.

Committees Of The House

[Geoff Regan, Liberal, Halifax West, NS]

Mr. Speaker, I have the honour to table, in both official languages, the fifth report of the Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Trade concerning Bill C-87, an act to implement the Convention on the Prohibition of the Development, Production, Stockpiling and Use of Chemical Weapons and on their Destruction.

The committee has considered this bill and presents it without amendment.

Conference On Hiv-Aids

[Alfonso Gagliano, Liberal, Secretary of State (Parliamentary Affairs) and Deputy Leader of the Government in the House of Commons]

Mr. Speaker, pursuant to Standing Order 56(1), I move:

That the Subcommittee on HIV-AIDS be authorized to send a member of its research staff to the annual Conference on HIV-AIDS Research to be held in Winnipeg, Manitoba, June 8 to 11, 1995.

[The Speaker]

Will those members who object to the motion please rise in their places?

And fewer than 25 members having risen:

[The Speaker]

Pursuant to Standing Order 56.1.(3), the motion is adopted.

(Motion agreed to.)

Committees Of The House

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

Mr. Speaker, yesterday I tabled the 81st report of the Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs regarding Private Members' Business. I know all hon. members will have had an opportunity to read the report.

Accordingly, at this time I wonder if there would be unanimous consent of the House to move concurrence in that report without debate. If so, I move that the 81st report of the Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs presented to the House on Wednesday, June 7, 1995 be concurred in.

(Motion agreed to.)

Petitions

[Morris Bodnar, Liberal, Saskatoon—Dundurn, SK]

Mr. Speaker, I have a petition from the residents of Saskatoon who request that Parliament desist from passing legislation legalizing the use of BST.

They further request that legislation be passed requiring mandatory disclosure on all imports produced from BST treated cows.

[Jack Frazer, Reform, Saanich—Gulf Islands, BC]

Mr. Speaker, pursuant to Standing Order 36, it is my duty and honour to rise in the House to present a petition, duly certified by the clerk of petitions, on behalf of 30 individuals from the riding of Saanich-Gulf Islands and surrounding areas.

The petitioners pray and call on the House to enact legislation to reform the justice system for a more just and safe society, increasing recognition and protection for the rights of victims.

[Nelson Riis, NDP, Kamloops, BC]

Mr. Speaker, it is my honour to present a petition on behalf of a number of residents of Barrière, British Columbia. This brings the total to almost 80,000 signatures.

The petitioners call on the Government of Canada, and particularly the Minister of Justice, to take whatever steps are necessary to amend the Criminal Code and parole system to ensure safety and peace in Canadian neighbourhoods.

[Ronald J. Duhamel, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to President of the Treasury Board]

Mr. Speaker, concerning small and medium size businesses, these petitioners point out the following:

They point out that while there has been more access to capital for small and medium sized businesses and while there has been a reduction in red tape in dealing with government that still a great deal more needs to be done.

They also emphasize that the GST is still a problem in terms of overhead. They want the government to address these problems because they point out that they contribute to 85 per cent of the new jobs to the Canadian economy.

[Paul Szabo, Liberal, Mississauga South, ON]

Mr. Speaker, pursuant to Standing Order 36, I wish to present a petition that has been circulating across Canada. This petition comes from my riding of Mississauga South.

The petitioners would like to draw to the attention of the House that managing the family home and caring for preschool children is an honourable profession which has not been recognized for its value to our society.

They also state that the Income Tax Act discriminates against families who make the choice to provide care in the home to preschool children, the disabled, the chronically ill and the aged.

The petitioners therefore pray and call on Parliament to pursue initiatives to eliminate tax discrimination against families that decide to provide care in the home preschool children, the disabled, the chronically ill or the aged.

[John Duncan, Reform, North Island—Powell River, BC]

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to present two separate petitions.

The first petition is signed by 675 individuals who call on Parliament to halt native land claim negotiations in British Columbia and turn Indian reserves over to the bands, fee simple, and that the land and the natives fall under the same laws as the rest of Canada.

[John Duncan, Reform, North Island—Powell River, BC]

Mr. Speaker, the second petition is signed by 46 individuals who call on Parliament to recognize the Reform Party of Canada as the official opposition.

[Judy Bethel, Liberal, Edmonton East, AB]

Mr. Speaker, pursuant to Standing Order 36, I am pleased to present several petitions signed by residents of my riding of Edmonton East.

The first petition calls on Parliament to maintain and enhance social programs for every Canadian.

[Judy Bethel, Liberal, Edmonton East, AB]

Mr. Speaker, I present a second petition from a group of Canadians who believe that Parliament should protect all individuals from discrimination based on sexual orientation by including the term, sexual orientation, in the Canadian Human Rights Act.

[Judy Bethel, Liberal, Edmonton East, AB]

Mr. Speaker, the third petition deals with euthanasia. The petitioners ask Parliament to reject euthanasia and physician assisted suicide in Canada and to expand palliative care that would be accessible to all dying Canadians.

[Elwin Hermanson, Reform, Kindersley—Lloydminster, SK]

Mr. Speaker, I have a petition from the Langham area in the Kindersley-Lloydminister constituency.

The petition, duly certified by the clerk of petitions, states that the existing controls on law-abiding, responsible firearms' owners are more than enough to ensure public safety.

It goes on to say that the target of all gun control laws in the Criminal Code of Canada must be criminals who are either a danger to the safety of the public or those who have criminal intent, not law-abiding citizens.

No amount of gun control has ever succeeded in preventing criminals from acquiring guns. Therefore, the petitioners request three things of Parliament. First, that we support laws which would severely punish all violent criminals who use weapons in the commission of crimes. Second, that we support new Criminal Code firearms control provisions which recognize and protect the right of law-abiding citizens to own and use recreational firearms. Third, the petitioners support legislation which will repeal and modify existing gun control laws which have not improved public safety or have proven not to be cost effective.

[Peter Adams, Liberal, Peterborough, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I have a petition from residents of the city and county of Peterborough.

Whereas the name of our Lord, Jesus Christ, in the Lord's Prayer has been included in the historic parliamentary prayer of the House of Commons since 1867, and whereas Canada was founded and built on the principles of Christianity and the large majority of Canadians profess the Christian faith, therefore the petitioners call on the House of Commons to close the parliamentary prayer with the words: "Through Jesus Christ our Lord, Amen", and reinstate the Lord's Prayer at the conclusion of the opening prayer.

[Rose-Marie Ur, Liberal, Lambton—Middlesex, ON]

Mr. Speaker, pursuant to Standing Order 36, I wish to present a petition.

The petitioners call on Parliament to pursue initiatives to eliminate tax discrimination against families who decide to provide care in the home for preschool children as well as for the disabled, the chronically ill and the aged.

[John O'Reilly, Liberal, Victoria—Haliburton, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to present a petition signed by constituents of Victoria-Haliburton from such places as Bobcaygeon, Lindsay, Woodville, Dunsford and Downeyville.

The petitioners call on Parliament to request the CBC to withdraw its coverage of the Paul Bernardo trail.

[Audrey McLaughlin, NDP, Yukon, YT]

Mr. Speaker, I have two petitions.

The first is from petitioners in the Yukon territory who find it unacceptable that individuals die while in the custody of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. Each incident of death while in custody undermines public confidence.

The petitioners therefore call on Parliament to review RCMP procedures for dealing with individuals in custody who are known to have medical conditions.

[Audrey McLaughlin, NDP, Yukon, YT]

Mr. Speaker, the second petition is from residents of the Yukon territory, from Dawson City, Yukon, who draw to the attention of the House that the use of firearms by criminals cannot be affected by a computerized firearms control system.

The petitioners request that Parliament support only that legislation which severely punishes any violent criminal who uses a weapon and protects the rights and freedoms of the law-abiding recreational firearms community.

[Jim Jordan, Liberal, Leeds—Grenville, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I have two petitions from people in my riding objecting to the generic manipulation of dairy cows through the injection of BST. Their argument seems to be that if Canada is not short of milk why would we unnecessarily risk health hazards that may go with this drug and if we need more milk, why not get more cows.

Questions On The Order Paper

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

Mr. Speaker, I ask that all questions be allowed to stand.