Derek Lee, "Government Response To Petitions" on June 15th, 2000

Points Of Order

9 a.m.

The Deputy Speaker

The Chair is ready to rule on the point of order raised on June 5, 2000 by the hon. opposition House leader concerning Bill C-201, formerly known as an act to amend the Competition Act (protection of those who purchase products from vertically integrated suppliers who compete with them at retail) in the name of the hon. member for Pickering—Ajax—Uxbridge, which is presently on the order of precedence.

At the outset, I would like to thank the opposition House leader, the leader of the government in the House of Commons and the hon. member for Pickering—Ajax—Uxbridge for their contributions in this matter.

Standing Order 86(1) allows a private member's bill considered in a previous session to be reinstated at the same stage at which it stood at the time of prorogation. At the time of prorogation the bill in question, previously Bill C-235, had been reported from the Standing Committee on Industry with amendments that deleted the title and all the clauses of the bill and it was set down for consideration at report stage.

When the hon. member for Pickering—Ajax—Uxbridge introduced his bill on October 14, 1999, pursuant to Standing Order 86(1), it was again placed on the order of precedence at the report stage with its title and clauses deleted.

On a number of occasions during the present session, the hon. member for Pickering—Ajax—Uxbridge has given notice that he could not be present in the House to go forward with his bill.

Most of the time it was possible to arrange an exchange of positions on the order of precedence with another member. However, on two occasions, on February 15 and on June 2, the House was informed that it had not been possible to arrange an exchange of positions on the order of precedence for Private Members' Business Hour for the following sitting day.

Consequently, Private Members' Business Hour had to be cancelled and the hon. member's bill was dropped to the bottom of the order of precedence.

On June 5 the opposition House leader expressed concern about the number of times exchanges had been arranged for Bill C-201, and the fact that when no exchange of items on the order of precedence was possible, Private Members' Business could not take place.

On June 7 the hon. member for Pickering—Ajax—Uxbridge responded to the point of order raised by the opposition House leader, and the Speaker undertook to return to the House with a ruling, which I am now providing.

Bill C-201 is once again working its way up the order of precedence, while the hon. member for Pickering—Ajax—Uxbridge seeks a way to restore, through amendments, the effect of Bill C-201. However, the hon. member will agree that the situation is unfair to other hon. members who have items in the list outside the order of precedence that they consider of equal importance but which are unable to advance.

Standing Order 94(1)(a) allows the Speaker to ensure the orderly conduct of Private Members' Business and, with that in mind, the Chair has decided to allow the hon. member for Pickering—Ajax—Uxbridge a further 48 hours to place on the notice paper motions in amendment to restore the title and clauses.

At the expiration of the 48 hours, if no motions in amendment are placed on notice, I hereby instruct the clerk to remove Bill C-201 from the order of precedence, the order for concurrence at report stage to be discharged and the bill withdrawn.

As I stated the other day, I would encourage the Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs to consider this specific issue and to provide the House with some guidance as to how it should proceed in the future with similar cases

The Chair would like to take this opportunity to thank all hon. members for their patience in awaiting this decision.

Business Of The House

9:05 a.m.

Glengarry—Prescott—Russell
Ontario

Liberal

Don Boudria Leader of the Government in the House of Commons

Mr. Speaker, there have been the usual consultations with House leaders, and I believe you would find unanimous consent for the following motion. I move:

That, when the House adjourns this day, it shall stand adjourned until Monday, September 18, 2000, provided that the provisions of Standing Order 28(4) shall apply as if the House had been adjourned pursuant to Standing Order 28(2).

Business Of The House

9:05 a.m.

The Deputy Speaker

Does the hon. government House leader have the unanimous consent of the House to propose the motion?

Business Of The House

9:05 a.m.

Some hon. members

Agreed.

Business Of The House

9:05 a.m.

The Deputy Speaker

Is it the pleasure of the House to adopt the motion?

Business Of The House

9:05 a.m.

Some hon. members

Agreed.

(Motion agreed to)

Individual Members' Expenditures For 1999-2000
Routine Proceedings

9:05 a.m.

The Deputy Speaker

I have the honour to lay upon the table a document entitled “Individual Members' Expenditures for the Fiscal Year 1999-2000”.

Government Response To Petitions
Routine Proceedings

June 15th, 2000 / 9:05 a.m.

Scarborough—Rouge River
Ontario

Liberal

Derek Lee Parliamentary Secretary to Leader of the Government in the House of Commons

Mr. Speaker, pursuant to the standing orders, I have the honour to table, in both official languages, the government's response to 23 petitions.

Canadian Security Intelligence Service Report
Routine Proceedings

9:05 a.m.

Cardigan
P.E.I.

Liberal

Lawrence MacAulay Solicitor General of Canada

Mr. Speaker, I have the honour to table, in both official languages, under Standing 32(2) of the House of Commons, copies of the Canadian Security Intelligence Service, 1999 public report.

Committees Of The House
Routine Proceedings

9:10 a.m.

Liberal

Joe Fontana London North Centre, ON

Mr. Speaker, I wish to present the fourth report of the Standing Committee on Citizenship and Immigration requesting authorization to travel in the fall of 2000 to hear from Canadians on Bill C-32, Canada's most important new immigration bill.

Committees Of The House
Routine Proceedings

9:10 a.m.

Liberal

Clifford Lincoln Lac-Saint-Louis, QC

Mr. Speaker, I would like to present, in both official languages, the second report of the Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage. Pursuant to Standing Order 108(2), the committee considered the Canadian book industry and reports its findings and recommendations.

The book publishing industry is important to Canada. We therefore hope our recommendations can help reinforce that industry.

I thank the members of all parties, the witnesses and all those who submitted briefs, as well as the committee staff for their support.

Mr. Speaker, I also have the honour to present, in both official languages, the third report of the Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage.

Pursuant to its order of reference dated Tuesday, November 30, 1999, the committee has considered the subject matter of Bill C-224, an act to establish, by the beginning of the 21st century, an exhibit in the Canadian Museum of Civilization to recognize crimes against humanity, as defined by the United Nations, that have been perpetrated during the 20th century, and has agreed to report its findings and recommendations.

A number of the witnesses expressed appreciation of Bill C-224, seeing it as an excellent starting point.

To that end, the committee offers some directions with the potential of providing respectful follow-up to the pursuit of the objectives set out in this bill, which are research, education and honouring the memory of the victims of genocide and crimes against humanity.

The committee expressed its thanks to the hon. member for Brampton Centre for bringing this matter to its attention.

Committees Of The House
Routine Proceedings

9:10 a.m.

Liberal

Maurizio Bevilacqua Vaughan—King—Aurora, ON

Mr. Speaker, I have the honour to present the ninth report of the Standing Committee on Finance entitled “Challenge of Change: A Study of Cost Recovery”.

The finance committee has been very much focused on getting government right. Whether it be the structure of the tax system or the regulation of the financial institutions, the committee has sought to ensure that government initiatives are delivered efficiently and provide a real net worth to Canadians.

Public policy has an economy wide impact on our productivity and our standard of living. However, to be good, policy must not only be right, it must be properly implemented. This is the message the committee received during its hearings on the federal government's user charge and cost recovery policy.

As chair, I would like to thank the members of the committee for their work and commitment to this study, a commitment evidenced by their unanimous support for its recommendations. I would also like to thank the many witnesses who took the time to prepare briefs and appear before the committee. A very special thanks to the clerk, the researchers and the entire committee staff for their excellent work.

Finally, I would like to note that pursuant to Standing Order 109, the committee is requesting a comprehensive government response to this report.

Committees Of The House
Routine Proceedings

9:10 a.m.

Egmont
P.E.I.

Liberal

Joe McGuire Parliamentary Secretary to Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food

Mr. Speaker, pursuant to Standing Order 109, I am pleased to table, in both official languages, the government's response to the first report of the Standing Committee on Agriculture and Agri-food entitled “Making the Farm Income Safety Net Stronger and More Responsive to Farmers' Needs”, which was tabled in the House of Commons on February 22, 2000.

Committees Of The House
Routine Proceedings

9:10 a.m.

The Deputy Speaker

We have moved past tabling of documents. Does the House give its consent to the hon. parliamentary secretary to table this document?

Committees Of The House
Routine Proceedings

9:10 a.m.

Some hon. members

Agreed.

Debates of June 15th, 2000

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