Debates of Dec. 16th, 1999

Petitions

[The Deputy Speaker]

I want to say to hon. members that we have 15 minutes for petitions and there are many members who wish to present, so I know they will want to make their presentations succinct in accordance with the rules.

[Gary Lunn, Reform, Saanich—Gulf Islands, BC]

Mr. Speaker, I have a number of petitions, but they are only on three subjects. The first petition contains tens of thousands of signatures with respect to the law on child pornography.

The petitioners call on the Government of Canada to invoke the notwithstanding clause to protect children and to make this a priority in British Columbia and other parts of the country. It has gone to the court of appeal in British Columbia. There is no valid law for the possession of child pornography. It is legal to use it in British Columbia and the residents of Canada are absolutely appalled.

The petitioners want the Government of Canada to do something about it now.

[Gary Lunn, Reform, Saanich—Gulf Islands, BC]

Mr. Speaker, my next petition is with regard to immigration. I have a number of them which adds to the thousands and thousands of signatures already.

The petitioners call on the Government of Canada to immediately change the law so that people who are not genuine refugees would be sent home without delay. We saw this last summer with boat people arriving on our shores. This problem continues every single day in our airports.

The petitioners want the Government of Canada to do something immediately.

[Gary Lunn, Reform, Saanich—Gulf Islands, BC]

Mr. Speaker, I have a number of petitions with respect to our taxes.

The petitioners are absolutely sick to death with the billions of dollars the government is collecting in taxes. They are calling for immediate tax relief.

The petitioners are absolutely demanding that the government give them immediate tax relief that they can see. They are tired of the promises that are unclear while their take home pay goes down and their taxes go up.

They are calling on the government to do something immediately.

[Hélène Alarie, Bloc, Louis-Hébert, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to present a petition signed by 5,972 people from my riding who are calling on the government to legislate on the mandatory monitoring of genetically modified organisms.

These are just some of the people who signed this petition. I would like to name them all, but others will join them since the petition is still circulating.

[Svend Robinson, NDP, Burnaby—Douglas, BC]

Mr. Speaker, I have a petition signed by hundreds of thousands and perhaps millions of Canadians.

The petition notes that the United States Army School of the Americas in Fort Benning, Georgia has, for many years, been training military personnel from Central and South America. They note that a number of perpetrators of very serious human rights abuses, including the death of Archbishop Romero, a number of U.S. church women and the El Mosote massacre of 900 people, were graduates of the school, and that at least 13 of the Mexican military officers who were involved in the massacre of dozens of people in Chiapas, Mexico were trained in their tactics at the U.S. school of the Americas.

Therefore, they pray that parliament support negotiations and diplomatic measures to ensure the abolition of the U.S. Army School of the Americas and encourage improvement in the human and democratic rights of our fellow citizens of the Americas.

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

Mr. Speaker, pursuant to Standing Order 36, I am honoured to present two petitions signed by residents of Seaforth, Goderich and Grand Bend who urge the government to support the auto industry in its clean fuel program and implement new fuel standards for gasoline with zero MMT.

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

The third petition, signed by residents of Forest and Thedford, urges the government to defend section 43 of the criminal code and affirm the duty of parents to raise their children appropriately.

[Monte Solberg, Reform, Medicine Hat, AB]

Mr. Speaker, I have three petitions to present today.

The first petition is on behalf of the people of Medicine Hat who are calling on parliament to commit to a triple-E senate immediately and to permit the election of senators in our province of Alberta.

[Monte Solberg, Reform, Medicine Hat, AB]

Mr. Speaker, the second petition calls on parliament to retain the supremacy of God within the charter of rights and freedoms. It was signed by several hundred people from the riding of Medicine Hat.

[Monte Solberg, Reform, Medicine Hat, AB]

Mr. Speaker, the final petition I present today contains the names of hundreds of thousands of people from across the country calling on the government to immediately cut taxes by at least 25%. The petition actually contains one million names.

[Peter Adams, Liberal, Peterborough, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I rise to present another petition on behalf of people who support research on the bio-artificial kidney. These people point out that kidney dialysis and transplants are successful for some people, but the bio-artificial kidney offers great hope for many others.

The petitioners call on parliament to work toward and support the bio-artificial kidney which will eventually eliminate the need for dialysis or transplantation for those suffering from kidney disease.

[Peter Adams, Liberal, Peterborough, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I have another petition to present on behalf of people who are concerned about the children in Iraq.

They call on parliament to strongly appeal to the United Nations, the United States and Britain to reject any further military action. They ask Canada to work toward the elimination of sanctions and the establishment of reasonable relations with Iraq.

[Louis Plamondon, Bloc, Richelieu, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to table a petition from citizens of my riding who are calling upon parliament to repeal paragraph 13(5) of the Canada Post Corporation Act.

[Susan Whelan, Liberal, Essex, ON]

Mr. Speaker, pursuant to Standing Order 36, I am pleased to present petitions signed by hundreds of constituents in Windsor West.

The first petition calls on parliament to halt the plan to appropriate public pension funds.

[Susan Whelan, Liberal, Essex, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the second petition asks parliament to define in statute the definition of marriage.

[Grant McNally, Reform, Dewdney—Alouette, BC]

Mr. Speaker, I have a petition from many of my own residents and others from British Columbia who call on the finance minister to reduce taxes by at least 25%. They pray that the minister will consider that in the next budget.

[John Harvard, Liberal, Charleswood—Assiniboine, MB]

Mr. Speaker, pursuant to Standing Order 36, I have the pleasure of presenting a petition from constituents who want to bring to the attention of the House that one in five Canadian children live in poverty. They would also like to remind parliamentarians that on November 24, 1989, the House of Commons unanimously resolved to end child poverty in Canada by the year 2000. Since 1989, the number of poor children in Canada has increased by 60%.

Therefore, the petitioners call on parliament to use federal budget 2000 to introduce a multi-year plan to improve the well-being of Canada's children.

[Garry Breitkreuz, Reform, Yorkton—Melville, SK]

Mr. Speaker, I rise on a point of order. At the beginning you said there would be 15 minutes for petitions. I think if you seek it from all sides, you will find unanimous consent to extend the time for petitions for this morning only.

[The Deputy Speaker]

Is there agreement to extend the time?

[Some hon. members]

Agreed.

[An hon. member]

No.

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

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to table a petition signed by 157 students from the Quatre Vents school in Beauport, during a class of teacher Léo-Paul Thomassin, where the issue of democracy and respect for the rights of children was raised.

The petitioners are asking the House of Commons to promote the respect of children's rights, as recognized in the Convention on the Rights of the Child, which urges participating states to ensure the implementation of certain articles, including articles 27.1, 27.3, 34 and 35, and to ask the United States to ratify that convention.

[Roger Gallaway, Liberal, Sarnia—Lambton, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased this morning to present identical petitions containing about 10,000 signatures. They call on the federal government to not impose a tax on video rentals.

[Leon Benoit, Reform, Lakeland, AB]

Mr. Speaker, it is my privilege to table two petitions on behalf of my constituents.

The first petition requests that parliament pass legislation recognizing human fetuses as persons.