House of Commons Hansard #128 of the 35th Parliament, 2nd Session. (The original version is on Parliament's site.) The word of the day was police.

Topics

Canada-Chile Free Trade Agreement Implementation ActRoutine Proceedings

3:15 p.m.

York Centre Ontario

Liberal

Art Eggleton LiberalMinister for International Trade

moved for leave to introduce Bill C-81, an act to implement the Canada-Chile free trade agreement and related agreements.

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

Department Of Justice ActRoutine Proceedings

3:15 p.m.

Reform

Jan Brown Reform Calgary Southeast, AB

moved for leave to introduce Bill C-371, an act to amend the Department of Justice Act.

Mr. Speaker, the bill so named calls for the establishment of an oversight committee to oversee all proposed legislation and policy and existing legislation and policy that has an actual or potential effect on children. The enactment makes the Department of Justice the central co-ordinating body of this committee.

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

Committees Of The HouseRoutine Proceedings

3:15 p.m.

Fundy Royal New Brunswick

Liberal

Paul Zed LiberalParliamentary Secretary to Leader of the Government in the House of Commons

Mr. Speaker, with leave of the House, I move that the 53rd report of the Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs tabled in the House today be concurred in.

Committees Of The HouseRoutine Proceedings

3:15 p.m.

The Acting Speaker (Mr. Milliken)

Does the hon. member have the unanimous consent of the House to move the motion?

Committees Of The HouseRoutine Proceedings

3:15 p.m.

Some hon. members

Agreed.

Committees Of The HouseRoutine Proceedings

3:15 p.m.

The Acting Speaker (Mr. Milliken)

The House has heard the terms of the motion. Is it the pleasure of the House to adopt the motion, including with the support of the independent members of the House?

Committees Of The HouseRoutine Proceedings

3:15 p.m.

Some hon. members

Agreed.

(Motion agreed to.)

PetitionsRoutine Proceedings

3:20 p.m.

Liberal

Tony Ianno Liberal Trinity—Spadina, ON

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to present three petitions on behalf of many of my constituents in Trinity-Spadina. The petitioners, Voice of Positive Women and AIDS Committee of Toronto, call upon the Government of Canada to ensure dedicated AIDS funding at least at current levels beyond March 1998 and to renew the national AIDS strategy.

On behalf of my constituents I humbly submit these petitions with my full support.

PetitionsRoutine Proceedings

3:20 p.m.

Bloc

Richard Bélisle Bloc La Prairie, QC

Mr. Speaker, today I have the honour of tabling in the House two petitions signed by residents of La Prairie, my riding, and various communities on Montreal's south shore.

The first petition calls upon Parliament to urge the federal government to co-operate with provincial governments on improving the national road network.

PetitionsRoutine Proceedings

3:20 p.m.

Bloc

Richard Bélisle Bloc La Prairie, QC

Mr. Speaker, I have a second petition which asks Parliament not to increase the federal excise tax on gasoline in the next federal budget that will be tabled by the Minister of Finance on February 18.

PetitionsRoutine Proceedings

3:20 p.m.

NDP

Audrey McLaughlin NDP Yukon, YT

Mr. Speaker, I am presenting petitions today from the Yukon from a number of people who are concerned about the recent case of Susan Klassen who was murdered by her husband.

As deeply concerned citizens, the petitioners believe that the provocation defence that is currently used in wife slaughter cases inappropriately and unjustly changes the focus of the criminal trial from the behaviour of the accused and his intention to murder to the behaviour of the victim. Therefore the petitioners are calling

upon Parliament to review and change relevant provisions of the Criminal Code to ensure that men take responsibility for their violent behaviour toward women.

PetitionsRoutine Proceedings

3:20 p.m.

Liberal

Ronald J. Duhamel Liberal St. Boniface, MB

Mr. Speaker, it is a pleasure to present this petition.

This petition is being presented on behalf of citizens who represent the views of many thousands of Canadians throughout the nation.

The petitioners request that Parliament eliminate or reduce the right of landing fee for immigrants. They also ask that Parliament relate the payment of the landing fee to the wealth of the applicant and that it be paid only upon acceptance of the visa.

I am pleased to give my support to this request.

PetitionsRoutine Proceedings

3:20 p.m.

Liberal

John Nunziata Liberal York South—Weston, ON

Mr. Speaker, I appreciate your kindness.

Over the last three years I have introduced petitions containing the names of tens of thousands of Canadians who have supported the repeal of section 745 of the Criminal Code, the provision that allows convicted killers to apply for early release or to have their parole ineligibility reduced.

Again, I would like to present petitions. I should note that I am flanked this afternoon by the hon. member from Trinity-Spadina and the hon. member for Calgary Southeast, both of whom support the repeal of section 745, together with the petitioners on this particular petition.

PetitionsRoutine Proceedings

3:20 p.m.

Liberal

John Nunziata Liberal York South—Weston, ON

Mr. Speaker, the second petition relates to the Young Offenders Act.

Mr. Speaker, as a lawyer and as a Speaker, you know that there is considerable concern in the country with respect to the provisions of the Young Offenders Act. It is felt that the Young Offenders Act does not adequately deal with crimes committed by people under the age of 18. Accordingly the petitioners call upon this Parliament, this government in the precious few days that remain before the next general election campaign, to bring in some meaningful amendments to the Young Offenders Act so that Canadians across the country can regain some of that lost respect and support for the criminal justice system.

PetitionsRoutine Proceedings

3:20 p.m.

Bloc

Jean-Paul Marchand Bloc Québec-Est, QC

Mr. Speaker, I have the honour to table a petition from my constituents in Quebec-Est in which they call upon Parliament to urge the federal government to co-operate with the provincial governments on improving the national road network.

PetitionsRoutine Proceedings

3:20 p.m.

NDP

Len Taylor NDP The Battlefords—Meadow Lake, SK

Mr. Speaker, I have the honour today to present, pursuant to Standing Order 36, a petition to the House of Commons signed by residents of my constituency from the city of North Battleford and other communities like St. Walburg, Cut Knife, Lashburn, Cochin, Wilkie and Marsden, Saskatchewan.

The petitioners note that 38 per cent of the national highway system in Canada is substandard. The national highway policy study identified job creation, economic development, national unity, saving lives and avoiding injury, lower congestion, lower vehicle operating costs and better international competitiveness as benefits of the proposed national highway program.

Therefore, the petitioners call upon Parliament to urge the federal government to join with provincial governments to make the national highway system upgrading possible.

PetitionsRoutine Proceedings

3:25 p.m.

Liberal

Paul Szabo Liberal Mississauga South, ON

Mr. Speaker, I have three petitions today. The first comes from Saskatoon, Saskatchewan.

The petitioners would like to draw to the attention of the House that our police and firefighters place their lives at risk on a daily basis as they serve the emergency needs of all Canadians. They also state that in many cases the families of officers who are killed in the line of duty are often left without sufficient financial means to meet their obligations.

The petitioners therefore pray and call upon Parliament to establish a public safety officers compensation fund to receive gifts and bequests for the benefit of families of police officers and firefighters who are killed in the line of duty.

PetitionsRoutine Proceedings

3:25 p.m.

Liberal

Paul Szabo Liberal Mississauga South, ON

Mr. Speaker, the second petition comes from Simcoe, Ontario.

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.

The petitioners therefore pray and call upon Parliament to pursue initiatives to assist families that choose to provide care in the home for preschool children, the chronically ill, the aged or the disabled.

PetitionsRoutine Proceedings

3:25 p.m.

Liberal

Paul Szabo Liberal Mississauga South, ON

Mr. Speaker, the final petition comes from Mulgrave, Nova Scotia.

The petitioners would like to draw to the attention of the House that the consumption of alcoholic beverages may cause health problems or impair one's ability and specifically, that fetal alcohol syndrome or other alcohol related birth defects are 100 per cent preventable by avoiding alcohol consumption during pregnancy.

The petitioners therefore pray and call upon Parliament to enact legislation to require health warning labels to be placed on the containers of all alcoholic beverages to caution expectant mothers and others of the risks associated with alcohol consumption.

PetitionsRoutine Proceedings

3:25 p.m.

NDP

Nelson Riis NDP Kamloops, BC

Mr. Speaker, it is my honour to present a petition pursuant to Standing Order 36. Thousands of Canadians have signed this petition. I suspect many of them are from Kingston, although I have not been able to identify them specifically.

The petitioners point out that corporate contributions to the public revenues of Canada are already the lowest among the seven major economies of the world. Whereas the corporations' share of that has fallen to less than 10 per cent, the share borne by individuals has skyrocketed. The petitioners also draw to our attention a number of problems with the existing tax system, including the GST.

The petitioners ask Parliament not to proceed with the GST scheme that is now before the House, or any other plan to further reduce the remaining corporate taxes at the expense of middle class working individuals and families in Canada, and to undertake fair tax reform of a comprehensive nature.

PetitionsRoutine Proceedings

3:25 p.m.

NDP

Nelson Riis NDP Kamloops, BC

Mr. Speaker, in this petition hundreds of students at the University College of the Cariboo point out that the House is considering the legalization of assisted suicides. They are calling upon Parliament to refrain from enacting any such legislation and to give priority toward making palliative care available to all residents of Canada.

PetitionsRoutine Proceedings

3:25 p.m.

NDP

Nelson Riis NDP Kamloops, BC

Mr. Speaker, again pursuant to Standing Order 36, the petitioners in this petition call upon Parliament to amend the Canadian Human Rights Act to prohibit discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and to adopt all the necessary measures to recognize the full equality of same sex relationships in federal law.

Again, these are primarily from students and faculty at the University College of the Cariboo in Kamloops.

Questions On The Order PaperRoutine Proceedings

3:25 p.m.

Fundy Royal New Brunswick

Liberal

Paul Zed LiberalParliamentary Secretary to Leader of the Government in the House of Commons

Mr. Speaker, the following questions will be answered today: Nos. 98 and 99.

Question No. 98-

Questions On The Order PaperRoutine Proceedings

February 12th, 1997 / 3:25 p.m.

Liberal

Roger Simmons Liberal Burin—St. George's, NL

Could the Minister of Health specify what initiatives will replace those funded under Phase II of Canada's drug strategy when it ends in March, 1997, and in particular, will there be an ongoing role for the Canadian Centre on Substance Abuse?

Questions On The Order PaperRoutine Proceedings

3:25 p.m.

Cape Breton—East Richmond Nova Scotia

Liberal

David Dingwall LiberalMinister of Health

The enforcement component of the strategy has been renewed. Health Canada will continue to provide leadership and undertake national co-ordination on substance abuse issues under the population health approach, working collaboratively with provincial agencies, non-governmental organizations, private sector, and multilateral organizations. Based on learnings and best practices developed during the second phase of Canada's drug strategy, Health Canada will focus its prevention efforts on the needs of youth, seniors and medication use, training needs of health professionals, transmission of HIV and overdose deaths among injection drug users, and impaired driving.

Recognizing the important contribution of the Canadian Centre on Substance Abuse, Health Canada will provide a grant of $500K for fiscal year 1997-98. The centre will continue to play a key role in developing and disseminating substance abuse expertise in Canada.

Question No. 99-