House of Commons Hansard #163 of the 35th Parliament, 2nd Session. (The original version is on Parliament's site.) The word of the day was federal.

Topics

PetitionsRoutine Proceedings

10:35 a.m.

Reform

Monte Solberg Reform Medicine Hat, AB

Mr. Speaker, pursuant to Standing Order 36, I have two petitions to present on behalf of people from my riding of Medicine Hat.

The petitioners pray that Parliament will enact legislation to establish a pedophile registry.

PetitionsRoutine Proceedings

10:35 a.m.

Reform

Monte Solberg Reform Medicine Hat, AB

Mr. Speaker, the second petition is on behalf of Canadians across the country.

The petitioners pray that Parliament will enact legislation to wind down the CPP while protecting the pensions of current seniors, and that Canadians contribute to mandatory RRSPs of their own choosing.

PetitionsRoutine Proceedings

10:35 a.m.

Reform

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 three petitions duly certified by the clerk of petitions.

I am honoured to present the first petition on behalf of 75 individuals residing in beautiful British Columbia calling on Parliament to remove GST from books, magazines and newspapers.

PetitionsRoutine Proceedings

10:35 a.m.

Reform

Jack Frazer Reform Saanich—Gulf Islands, BC

Mr. Speaker, the second petition is presented on behalf of 27 British Columbians asking that Parliament urge the federal government to join with provincial governments to make upgrading of the national highway system possible.

PetitionsRoutine Proceedings

10:35 a.m.

Reform

Jack Frazer Reform Saanich—Gulf Islands, BC

Mr. Speaker, the final petition is presented on behalf of 38 westerners requesting that Parliament not increase the federal excise tax on gasoline.

PetitionsRoutine Proceedings

10:35 a.m.

Liberal

Rex Crawford Liberal Kent, ON

Mr. Speaker, it is my honour and pleasure once again to rise in the House pursuant to Standing Order 36 and present these petitions.

The petitioners state that Canada was founded on principles which recognize the importance of marriage and family to society. The petitioners request the House of Commons to enact legislation or amend existing legislation to define marriage as a voluntary union for life of one woman and one man to each other to the exclusion of all others.

This petition is from residents of London and area.

PetitionsRoutine Proceedings

10:35 a.m.

Liberal

Rex Crawford Liberal Kent, ON

Mr. Speaker, in the second petition, the petitioners draw to the attention of the House that 38 per cent of the national highway system is substandard and that Mexico and the United States are upgrading their national highway systems. The national highway policy study identified job creation, economic development, national unity, saving lives and avoiding injuries, 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 the provincial governments to make the national highway system upgrading possible.

PetitionsRoutine Proceedings

10:35 a.m.

Liberal

Jim Peterson Liberal Willowdale, ON

Mr. Speaker, I have two petitions. The first petition is from residents of North York which was presented to the Minister for International Trade. Because the minister cannot table these petitions, he has asked me to do so on his behalf. Many of these residents are also from Willowdale.

The petitioners ask that tax dollars be allowed to be earmarked for non-military purposes.

PetitionsRoutine Proceedings

10:35 a.m.

Liberal

Jim Peterson Liberal Willowdale, ON

Mr. Speaker, the second petition is from residents of the Burlington area. On behalf of the member for Burlington, I wish to present this petition asking that the pensions of senior citizens be protected.

PetitionsRoutine Proceedings

10:35 a.m.

Bloc

Osvaldo Nunez Bloc Bourassa, QC

Mr. Speaker, I have the pleasure of submitting two petitions. The first one is signed by 915 people and deals with the preventative withdrawal of women working in areas under federal jurisdiction.

The Canada Labour Code does not provide adequate protection to female workers who are pregnant or breastfeeding. Unions, particularly the FTQ, the CLC and the Public Service Alliance of Canada, have been asking for a solution to this problem for a long time. It is time for society to take its responsibilities in this area.

PetitionsRoutine Proceedings

10:35 a.m.

Bloc

Osvaldo Nunez Bloc Bourassa, QC

The second petition is signed by a large number of people, most of whom are Quebecers of Colombian heritage.

The petitioners are asking the federal government to undertake negotiations with Colombia, so as to reach a social security agreement. Several thousands of Colombians moved to Canada and to Quebec, and they are seeking social security protection for the time they worked in Colombia and in Canada.

PetitionsRoutine Proceedings

10:40 a.m.

Reform

Philip Mayfield Reform Cariboo—Chilcotin, BC

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to present petitions from my constituents in Cariboo-Chilcotin.

The first petition is signed by 259 residents of Williams Lake and other areas of British Columbia. The petitioners draw to the attention of the House that regarding Clifford Olson's right to appeal for early parole, they feel that family and friends of the victims are once again made to relive the horror of losing a loved one.

My constituents request that Parliament take action in not allowing mass murderer Clifford Olson to use the faint hope clause to apply for early parole.

PetitionsRoutine Proceedings

10:40 a.m.

Reform

Philip Mayfield Reform Cariboo—Chilcotin, BC

Mr. Speaker, the next two petitions contain a total of 338 signatures of residents of Williams Lake and other areas. They feel that the GST on reading materials is unfair and wrong as education and literacy are crucial to the development of the country.

The petitioners call upon Parliament to remove the GST from books, magazines and newspapers. They ask that the Prime Minister carry out his party's repeated promise to remove federal sales tax from reading materials.

PetitionsRoutine Proceedings

10:40 a.m.

Reform

Randy White Reform Fraser Valley West, BC

Mr. Speaker, in addition to the previous petitions, I have another one bearing more than 7,000 names drawing the attention of the House to the following:

On November 12, 1996 in British Columbia the hon. Judge Harry Boyle sentenced Darren Adam Ursel to two years less a day to be served in the community under section 742 of the Criminal Code. Mr. Ursel was convicted of a very violent sexual assault.

Therefore, the petitioners request that Parliament exempt all physical and sexual offenders from the provisions of section 742 of the Criminal Code.

PetitionsRoutine Proceedings

10:40 a.m.

Reform

Randy White Reform Fraser Valley West, BC

Mr. Speaker, I also have two other petitions that request the House as follows:

In June 1996 the Prime Minister of Canada announced that he would work toward diverting the Sable Island gas pipeline to Quebec City. It is unacceptable for the Prime Minister to decide the destination of Nova Scotia's natural gas without consulting Nova Scotians. Therefore, Nova Scotians assert their right to control the destination of Sable Island gas and demand that the federal government cease tampering with this issue.

PetitionsRoutine Proceedings

10:40 a.m.

Reform

Randy White Reform Fraser Valley West, BC

Mr. Speaker, I have a final petition which urges Parliament to remove the GST from books, magazines and newspapers. The petitioners ask the Prime Minister to carry out his party's repeated promise to remove the federal sales tax from reading materials.

PetitionsRoutine Proceedings

10:40 a.m.

Liberal

Larry McCormick Liberal Hastings—Frontenac—Lennox And Addington, ON

Mr. Speaker, I have the honour to present a petition on behalf of the Friends of the Rideau Canal and residents of greater Kingston and Frontenac county. They are very concerned about the damage to the property in Pittsburgh township where a large construction company without permit or licence is operating on land belonging to the Rideau Canal at the expense of taxpayers.

The petitioners respectfully request the Parliament of Canada to ask the authorities to take responsible action.

PetitionsRoutine Proceedings

10:40 a.m.

Liberal

Anna Terrana Liberal Vancouver East, BC

Mr. Speaker, I have two sets of petitions which are signed by residents of

Vancouver East and of the lower mainland regarding the high rates charged on credit cards by banks and retailers.

The petitioners ask that Parliament enact Bill C-351 as introduced by the hon. member for Davenport which would limit the interest rate charged on consumer credit cards.

PetitionsRoutine Proceedings

10:40 a.m.

Liberal

Paul Szabo Liberal Mississauga South, ON

Mr. Speaker, I have three petitions from my riding of Mississauga South, supported by hundreds of Canadians from across the country.

In the first one the petitioners draw to the attention of the House that our police officers 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 police officers and firefighters 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 killed in the line of duty.

PetitionsRoutine Proceedings

10:40 a.m.

Liberal

Paul Szabo Liberal Mississauga South, ON

Mr. Speaker, in the second petition, the petitioners 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 who choose to provide care in the home for preschool children, the chronically ill, the aged or the disabled.

PetitionsRoutine Proceedings

10:40 a.m.

Liberal

Paul Szabo Liberal Mississauga South, ON

Mr. Speaker, the final petition concerns the labelling of alcoholic beverages. The petitioners 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

10:45 a.m.

Reform

Chuck Strahl Reform Fraser Valley East, BC

Mr. Speaker, I have several petitions which it is my pleasure to table on behalf of constituents in my area.

The first petition concerns an issue of increasing concern to people in my area, the freedom of choice in health care.

They are quite concerned that the government not interfere with their choice of dietary supplements and foods for special health uses. They would like to make sure that foods do not get reclassified as drugs.

PetitionsRoutine Proceedings

10:45 a.m.

Reform

Chuck Strahl Reform Fraser Valley East, BC

Mr. Speaker, the second petition contains 50 names of people who continue to be very upset about the closure of CFB Chilliwack in my riding and the fact that British Columbia no longer has a land forces base.

PetitionsRoutine Proceedings

10:45 a.m.

Reform

Chuck Strahl Reform Fraser Valley East, BC

Mr. Speaker, the third petition is about joy riding. The incidence of joy riding or car theft in my constituency has gone up by 80 per cent in the last two years.

It has been a big concern in Chilliwack and Abbotsford. Another 230 people are asking Parliament to amend the Criminal Code to increase the minimum and maximum penalties for the offence of joy riding and to impose financial responsibility, especially on the parents of young offenders.

PetitionsRoutine Proceedings

10:45 a.m.

Reform

Chuck Strahl Reform Fraser Valley East, BC

Mr. Speaker, the last petition contains 572 names, which brings the total to 33,500 names that I have tabled of people mostly in my area.

They are concerned about sexual predators. This came about because of the Bobby Oatway case. People are very upset and concerned that personal injury crimes and sexual offences involving children are not treated with the necessary seriousness.

They ask the government to do a series of things including notification in the community; taking finger prints, DNA samples and so on; making sure pardons are never given to this kind of person; and finding some way to prohibit sexual predators from working with children in our community or in any community.