Debates of Nov. 26th, 2004

Judy Sgro Minister of Citizenship and Immigration

Mr. Speaker, I would like to table in the House the document that I made reference to regarding the website.

Jean-Claude D'Amours Madawaska—Restigouche, NB

Mr. Speaker, I have the honour to table, in both official languages, the first report of the Standing Committee on Human Resources Development, Skills Development, Social Development and the Status of Persons with Disabilities on Bill C-5, an act to provide financial assistance for post-secondary education savings.

Don Boudria Glengarry—Prescott—Russell, ON

Mr. Speaker, I have the honour to present the 16th report of the Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs. Pursuant to provisional Standing Order 92.3, the committee recommends that Bill C-268, an act to confirm the definition of marriage and to preserve ceremonial rights, be designated non votable.

Alan Tonks York South—Weston, ON

Mr. Speaker, I have the honour to present, in both official languages, the second report of the Standing Committee on Environment and Sustainable Development entitled “The Great Lakes Charter Annex 2001 Implementing Agreements”.

In accordance with its order of reference under Standing Order 108(2) and the motion adopted by the committee on October 21, 2004, the committee has considered and held hearings on the subject matter of the Great Lakes Charter Annex 2001 Implementing Agreements and agreed to it on Thursday, November 25, 2004.

I would like to express appreciation to the members of the committee and those who made deputations as witnesses.

The subject matter deals with Annex 2001, which is an initiative dealing with the diversion of waters within the Great Lakes basin. This is a matter that has been of great urgency. In fact, the history of protecting boundary waters goes back to 1909 with the establishment of the International Joint Commission.

This is a consensus document. I would invite all members to read the document carefully. If there are questions of either the committee or individuals on the committee, I would certainly volunteer as chair of the committee to undertake to get responses to those questions. I thank the members of the House for their attention to this committee.

Jay Hill Prince George—Peace River, BC

Mr. Speaker it is indeed a pleasure for me to rise yet again to present another petition. This one is again on behalf of the citizens of Windsor, Ontario, who wish to draw to the attention of the House that the Canadian Forces Housing Agency provides on base housing for some of our military families and serves a valuable purpose by doing so; however, many of those homes are substandard to acceptable living conditions and suffer from annual rent increases despite their unsuitability for our military families.

Therefore, the petitioners call upon Parliament to immediately suspend any future rent increases for accommodation provided by the Canadian Forces Housing Agency until such time as the Government of Canada makes substantive improvements to the living conditions of housing provided for our military families.

Gary Schellenberger Perth—Wellington, ON

Mr. Speaker, I would like to present a petition on behalf of some of my constituents to draw the attention of the House to the following. Marriage defined as a lifelong union between one man and one woman is the best foundation for families and the raising of children. This definition of marriage is being changed by the courts. It is the exclusive jurisdiction of Parliament to define marriage. The petitioners pray that Parliament define marriage in federal law as being a lifelong union of one man and one woman to the exclusion of all others.

Scott Reid Lanark—Frontenac—Lennox and Addington, ON

Mr. Speaker, I am honoured today to present a petition on the subject of autism spectrum disorder. This terrible and life destroying condition affects one Canadian child in 195, and it is because of the grave importance of this issue that hon. members from all parties have been presenting petitions on this subject over the course of the past week.

This petition draws the attention of the House to the length of waiting lists for intensive behaviour intervention therapy. This therapy can be life changing, but it only works if it is done early. In some provinces parents face waiting lists of a year or more and therefore must purchase the therapy privately or lose their children to autism.

As a concluding remark, I note that in addition to the petition I am presenting today, which went through the proper channels, I am in possession of an online petition containing several thousand additional names. This second petition is not admissible under House rules, but if there were unanimous consent, I would like to introduce this as well.