House of Commons Hansard #53 of the 38th Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament's site.) The word of the day was trade.

Topics

Equalization ProgramOral Question Period

3 p.m.

The Speaker

The member knows he must address his remarks to the Chair, who of course does not hand out anything.

The hon. Minister of National Revenue I believe is going to answer the question.

Equalization ProgramOral Question Period

3 p.m.

Markham—Unionville Ontario

Liberal

John McCallum LiberalMinister of National Revenue

Mr. Speaker, while I cannot match the eloquence of the Minister of Finance on the subject of Saskatchewan, I would remind the hon. members who seem to have forgotten that Saskatchewan has only recently achieved the status of a have province. Instead of being mired in the world of have not clamouring for subventions, members should take on the positive attitude of a have province forging forward, as is the attitude of this government.

AgricultureOral Question Period

3 p.m.

Conservative

Myron Thompson Conservative Wild Rose, AB

Mr. Speaker, it has come to my attention that Agriculture Canada together with Equine Canada has decided that it is urgent to register horses in Canada, thereby creating a sequel to the Liberal gun registry. The facts are that most horse owners do not know about this proposal, nor are they members of Equine Canada.

I am curious as to why the minister has committed $300,000 to this proposal. Could he enlighten the rest of Canada as to why he wants to register horses?

AgricultureOral Question Period

3 p.m.

Malpeque P.E.I.

Liberal

Wayne Easter LiberalParliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food (Rural Development)

Mr. Speaker, the Minister of Agriculture is always interested in positive change for the industry and moving it forward. If we are to continue programming for the industry, we need to work with the industry in terms of how it wants to move forward. That is exactly what the minister is doing in this regard.

Mathieu LafondOral Question Period

3 p.m.

Bloc

Benoît Sauvageau Bloc Repentigny, QC

Mr. Speaker, on December 26, 2004, Mathieu Lafond lost his life in the Asian tsunami. His body has been found but DNA evidence must be obtained before his body can be brought home. This procedure usually takes 48 hours. Forty-four days later, Mathieu Lafond's family is still waiting.

Is the government prepared to send a Canadian delegation, including a physician to Thailand to do the DNA test and speed up the repatriation of Mathieu Lafond's body?

Mathieu LafondOral Question Period

3 p.m.

Pickering—Scarborough East Ontario

Liberal

Dan McTeague LiberalParliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Foreign Affairs

Mr. Speaker, I thank the hon. member for raising this question about Mr. Lafond.

Out of respect for the privacy of the family, I cannot, unfortunately, discuss details of specific cases in public. I want to assure the hon. member that officials are indeed working with our officials both here in Ottawa and in Bangkok in order to ensure that the repatriation happens as soon as possible and is consistent, not only taking into account the privacy of the individual who is deceased, but also taking into account the importance of local laws as they relate to the matter.

National SecurityOral Question Period

3 p.m.

Liberal

Wajid Khan Liberal Mississauga—Streetsville, ON

Mr. Speaker, in a world where terrorism poses a threat, constituents in my riding understand we need security measures. However, they also expect the government to understand their concerns about the impact of policies and to ensure we get the balance right.

Earlier this year the government proposed a cross-cultural round table on security. Could the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness update the House on when this round table will be established?

National SecurityOral Question Period

3 p.m.

Etobicoke North Ontario

Liberal

Roy Cullen LiberalParliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness

Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank the hon. member for Mississauga—Streetsville for his continuing interest in this matter.

As the member knows, when our government introduced Canada's first national security policy, we committed to launch a cross-cultural round table on security. Yesterday the government announced the membership of that committee. Its first meeting will be in early March. The round table will serve as a forum to discuss the impact of national security policy on diverse communities. It is an important commitment as we move to safeguard Canada, and unlike the Leader of the Opposition, respect Canadian multiculturalism.

Interparliamentary DelegationsRoutine Proceedings

3:05 p.m.

Liberal

Bernard Patry Liberal Pierrefonds—Dollard, QC

Mr. Speaker, pursuant to Standing Order 34(1), I have the honour to present to the House, in both official languages, the report of the parliamentary delegation of the Canadian Branch of the Assemblée parlementaire de la Francophonie, the APF, on the 10th Summit of La Francophonie in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso from November 23 to 27, 2004.

Committees of the HouseRoutine Proceedings

3:05 p.m.

Liberal

Don Boudria Liberal Glengarry—Prescott—Russell, ON

Mr. Speaker, I have the honour to present the 26th report of the Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs on parliamentary reform concerning the electronic filing of notification.

If the House gives its consent, I intend to move concurrence in the 26th report later this day.

Canada Elections ActRoutine Proceedings

3:05 p.m.

Conservative

Dave Chatters Conservative Westlock—St. Paul, AB

moved for leave to introduce Bill C-324, an act to amend the Canada Elections Act (public information programs).

Mr. Speaker, my private member's bill is designed to address an issue which took place in the last federal election whereby Elections Canada decided to institute a public education program targeted at a limited number of ridings. I objected to Elections Canada. I was not happy with the answer and therefore we drafted the bill.

I think it is unacceptable during the writ period for Elections Canada to get involved in a process that could skew the outcome of the election in a riding.

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

Divorce ActRoutine Proceedings

3:05 p.m.

Conservative

Dave Chatters Conservative Westlock—St. Paul, AB

moved for leave to introduce Bill C-325, an act to amend the Divorce Act (right of spouses' parents to access to or custody of child).

Mr. Speaker, this private member's bill is designed to address an issue which I have been involved with for many years. It is the issue of grandparents' rights, grandparents' involvement with grandchildren in the case of divorce or separation.

Certainly from my experience and that of thousands of other grandparents across the country, grandparents work very hard to influence the lives of their grandchildren when a marriage falls apart and devastates the children. The bill is simply designed to recognize some rights for grandparents in the lives of their grandchildren when divorce happens.

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

Canada-Israel Free Trade Agreement Implementation ActRoutine Proceedings

3:10 p.m.

Bloc

Pierre Paquette Bloc Joliette, QC

moved for leave to introduce Bill C-326, an act to amend the Canada-Israel Free Trade Agreement Implementation Act.

Mr. Speaker, today I am tabling a bill to limit the application of the Canada-Israel Free Trade Agreement to goods produced in territories recognized by the international community and the United Nations. Products from territories occupied by Israel since 1967 would not benefit from the advantages provided in the agreement signed in the mid 1990s.

I am certain that passing this bill, in keeping with Canada's policy of equal treatment of the parties, will contribute to reopening the roadmap to peace and will ensure a lasting peace between Israel and Palestine.

In closing, I want to thank the hon. member for Trois-Rivières for seconding my bill.

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

Committees of the HouseRoutine Proceedings

3:10 p.m.

Liberal

Don Boudria Liberal Glengarry—Prescott—Russell, ON

Mr. Speaker, if the House agrees, I move that the 26th report of the Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs, presented to the House earlier this day, be concurred in. This report supports the electronic submission of notices.

Committees of the HouseRoutine Proceedings

3:10 p.m.

The Speaker

Does the hon. member for Glengarry—Prescott—Russell have the consent of the House to move the motion?

Committees of the HouseRoutine Proceedings

3:10 p.m.

Some hon. members

Agreed.

Committees of the HouseRoutine Proceedings

3:10 p.m.

The Speaker

The House has heard the terms of the motion. Is it the pleasure of the House to adopt the motion?

Committees of the HouseRoutine Proceedings

3:10 p.m.

Some hon. members

Agreed.

(Motion agreed to)

PetitionsRoutine Proceedings

February 9th, 2005 / 3:10 p.m.

Conservative

Chuck Strahl Conservative Chilliwack—Fraser Canyon, BC

Mr. Speaker, I have two petitions to present today on behalf of constituents of British Columbia.

The first petition has to do with supporters of children with autism. They point out that the only treatment at this time for autism is for intensive behaviour intervention based on the principles of applied behaviour analysis.

They have asked that the Canada Health Act and corresponding regulations recognize that and that we not only accept that in the Canada Health Act, but we also create academic chairs at the university level to deal with this terrible disease.

PetitionsRoutine Proceedings

3:10 p.m.

Conservative

Chuck Strahl Conservative Chilliwack—Fraser Canyon, BC

Mr. Speaker, the second petition is signed by people within my riding. It concerns the definition of marriage.

The petitioners believe that a marriage is a voluntary union of one man and one woman and they ask that Parliament use all possible legislative and administrative measures to preserve and protect that current definition of marriage.

PetitionsRoutine Proceedings

3:10 p.m.

Conservative

Mark Warawa Conservative Langley, BC

Mr. Speaker, I also have two petitions to present today.

The first petition is from hundreds of Langley residents also dealing with the issue of autism. They ask that the treatment of autism be considered a medically necessary treatment and require that all provinces provide this essential treatment. They also ask for the creation of academic chairs at universities in each province.

PetitionsRoutine Proceedings

3:10 p.m.

Conservative

Mark Warawa Conservative Langley, BC

Mr. Speaker, my second petition is on the definition of marriage. The petitioners call upon the House of Commons to enact legislation in support of the traditional definition of marriage being between a man and a woman.

PetitionsRoutine Proceedings

3:10 p.m.

Liberal

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

Mr. Speaker, I wish to present a petition on behalf of the Dresden Community Church members in the riding of Lambton—Kent—Middlesex who call upon Parliament to use all possible legislative and administrative measures, including invoking section 33 of the charter if necessary, to preserve and protect the current definition of marriage as between one man and one woman.

PetitionsRoutine Proceedings

3:15 p.m.

Liberal

Larry Bagnell Liberal Yukon, YT

Mr. Speaker, pursuant to Standing Order 36, I would like to table a petition from 29 Yukon residents who express their support for non-proliferation arms control and disarmament and reject any plans for weapons in space, including missile defence.

PetitionsRoutine Proceedings

3:15 p.m.

Liberal

Larry Bagnell Liberal Yukon, YT

Mr. Speaker, pursuant to Standing Order 36, the second petition, which was provided to me by the hon. member for Don Valley West, is from 26 people who, similar to a previous petition, want to amend the Canada Health Act and regulations to include intensive behavioural intervention therapy for children with autism as medically necessary treatment and to contribute to the creation of academic chairs to teach applied behavioural analysis and the resulting intensive behavioural intervention therapy for graduates and undergraduates in Canadian universities.