House of Commons Hansard #111 of the 40th Parliament, 2nd Session. (The original version is on Parliament's site.) The word of the day was colombian.

Topics

Privacy CommissionerRoutine Proceedings

10:05 a.m.

Liberal

The Speaker Liberal Peter Milliken

I have the honour to lay upon the table the report of the Privacy Commissioner concerning the Privacy Act for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2009.

Pursuant to Standing Order 108(3)(h), this report is deemed permanently referred to the Standing Committee on Access to Information, Privacy and Ethics.

Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis CentreRoutine Proceedings

10:05 a.m.

Liberal

The Speaker Liberal Peter Milliken

I also have the honour to lay upon the table the audit report of the Privacy Commissioner concerning the Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre.

Pursuant to Standing Order 108(3)(h), this document is deemed to have been referred permanently to the Standing Committee on Access to Information, Privacy and Ethics.

Canada-Jordan Free Trade ActRoutine Proceedings

10:05 a.m.

Conservative

Interparliamentary DelegationsRoutine Proceedings

10:05 a.m.

Conservative

Gord Brown Conservative Leeds—Grenville, ON

Mr. Speaker, pursuant to Standing Order 34(1), I have the honour to present to the House, in both official languages, the reports of the Canadian delegations of the Canada-United States Inter-Parliamentary Group concerning its participation in the Pacific NorthWest Economic Region's 19th annual summit in Boise, Idaho, from July 12 to 16, 2009.

Justice and Human RightsCommittees of the HouseRoutine Proceedings

10:05 a.m.

Conservative

Ed Fast Conservative Abbotsford, BC

Mr. Speaker, I have the honour to present, in both official languages, the 13th report of the Standing Committee on Justice and Human Rights.

In accordance with the order of reference of Thursday, June 18, the committee has considered Bill C-36, An Act to amend the Criminal Code, and agreed on Monday, November 16, to report it with amendment.

International TradeCommittees of the HouseRoutine Proceedings

10:05 a.m.

Conservative

Lee Richardson Conservative Calgary Centre, AB

Mr. Speaker, I have the honour to present, in both official languages, the sixth report of the Standing Committee on International Trade, entitled “Defending Supply Management at the WTO”.

Radiocommunication ActRoutine Proceedings

10:10 a.m.

Liberal

Scott Simms Liberal Bonavista—Gander—Grand Falls—Windsor, NL

moved for leave to introduce Bill C-482, An Act to amend the Radiocommunication Act (voluntary organizations that provide emergency services).

Mr. Speaker, it is indeed my honour to bring to this House today, and for debate in the future, an act that will provide some financial assistance to thousands of volunteer organizations, across this country, that provide their services in emergencies.

By emergency services that we talk about in this bill, we mean fire, ambulance, search and rescue, and other related services provided in an emergency situation. What this bill will mean for the voluntary organizations is that they will not be charged a fee to be issued a radio licence. Again I remind the House that this could save these volunteer organizations, that have so little to rely upon as it is, a lot of money.

I would like to personally thank Chief Vince MacKenzie of Grand Falls-Windsor Fire Department, who is also the president of the Association of Fire Services in Newfoundland and Labrador, for his assistance on this bill.

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

Chalk River LaboratoriesPetitionsRoutine Proceedings

10:10 a.m.

Conservative

Cheryl Gallant Conservative Renfrew—Nipissing—Pembroke, ON

Mr. Speaker, I have a petition signed by people from as far away as Waterloo as well as within the region of Deep River. They are calling upon Parliament to restore the Chalk River Laboratories facility to its former status as a national laboratory and, in so doing, to replace the NRU with a new reactor that will build on the successes of the 52-year-old NRU.

Canada PostPetitionsRoutine Proceedings

10:10 a.m.

Bloc

France Bonsant Bloc Compton—Stanstead, QC

Madam Speaker, I wish to present to the House a petition calling on the government to continue the moratorium on rural post office closures. These signatures show that the people of Stanstead and Beebe, two municipalities in my riding, are concerned about the phasing out of public services in rural areas. They have every reason to be frustrated. They know that the survival of their towns is dependent on the availability of basic services, and a post office is part of that.

These 200 signatures are in addition to the ones already presented by my Bloc Québécois colleagues. The government must pay attention to these voices.

ColombiaPetitionsRoutine Proceedings

10:10 a.m.

NDP

Peter Julian NDP Burnaby—New Westminster, BC

Madam Speaker, I have the honour to present a list of more than one hundred names of people from the “republic of Madawaska”, from the communities of Saint-Basile, Saint-Joseph, Edmundston, and others in this beautiful region in northwestern New Brunswick. All of these names are in addition to the tens of thousands of Canadians who have already called on Parliament to reject the free trade agreement with Colombia, a country whose regime has blood on its hands.

A number of petitions have been presented here, and they all urge the government to reject this agreement and to conduct an independent assessment of its impact on the human rights of the Colombian people.

I am pleased to present these names today.

Animal WelfarePetitionsRoutine Proceedings

10:10 a.m.

NDP

Megan Leslie NDP Halifax, NS

Madam Speaker, I have the honour to present a petition signed by people from across Nova Scotia in support of a universal declaration on animal welfare. The petitioners state that the universal declaration would consider the prevention of cruelty to animals. They also note that people rely on animals for their livelihood. A universal declaration would also take animals into consideration during relief efforts and emergency planning.

Canada PostPetitionsRoutine Proceedings

10:10 a.m.

Bloc

Michel Guimond Bloc Montmorency—Charlevoix—Haute-Côte-Nord, QC

Madam Speaker, I am pleased to present, on behalf of the citizens my riding, a petition containing 5,412 signatures demanding that postal services be maintained in rural areas. These signatures were collected primarily in the municipalities of Charlevoix and Côte-de-Beaupré.

This petition calls upon the federal government to maintain the moratorium on post office closures, given that these post offices play a key role in our economic and social lives by providing the infrastructure that rural communities and the businesses within them need to prosper and grow.

We are calling on the federal government to maintain the services of Canada Post, especially in rural areas.

Adoptive Parents BenefitsPetitionsRoutine Proceedings

10:15 a.m.

NDP

Jim Maloway NDP Elmwood—Transcona, MB

Madam Speaker, my petition calls for equal employment insurance benefits for adoptive parents. Adoption is an important and essential act in a compassionate, caring and just society. Under the current EI program, adoptive parents are given 35 weeks of paid leave followed by a further 15 weeks of unpaid leave. Under the law, a biological mother is given both the first 35 weeks and the latter 15 as paid leave.

In Canada adoptions are often expensive. They are lengthy and stressful to the adoptive parents. Studies have shown that an additional 15 weeks of paid leave would help parents better support their adoptive children and handle many of the specific issues that they must face.

The petitioners call on the Government of Canada to support Bill C-413, which would amend the Employment Insurance Act and the Canada Labour Code to ensure that an adoptive parent would be entitled to the same number of weeks of paid leave as would the biological mother of a newborn child.

Questions Passed as Orders for ReturnsRoutine Proceedings

10:15 a.m.

Regina—Lumsden—Lake Centre Saskatchewan

Conservative

Tom Lukiwski ConservativeParliamentary Secretary to the Leader of the Government in the House of Commons

Madam Speaker, if Questions Nos. 446, 447 and 448 could be made orders for returns, these returns would be tabled immediately.

Questions Passed as Orders for ReturnsRoutine Proceedings

10:15 a.m.

The Acting Speaker Ms. Denise Savoie

Is that agreed?

Questions Passed as Orders for ReturnsRoutine Proceedings

10:15 a.m.

Some hon. members

Agreed.

Question No. 446Questions Passed as Orders for ReturnsRoutine Proceedings

10:15 a.m.

Liberal

Kirsty Duncan Liberal Etobicoke North, ON

With respect to the current pandemic of new influenza A (H1N1): (a) what is the key leadership shown by the organizational reporting chart, from the two lead ministries, the Public Health Agency of Canada and Public Safety Canada, through to the deputy ministers; (b) what is the decision-making process to determine which of the two ministries leads on issues; (c) what, if any, funding requests have been made by government departments for pandemic planning since the beginning of the pandemic in Canada; (d) what, if any, additional funding is required to ensure all government departments have tested their H1N1 plans and rolled them out to their employees; (e) what, if any, specific agreements have been signed with the provinces and territories, and which, if any, agreements still need to be signed; (f) what are the government’s identified critical services, what is the decision-making process to reduce services if required, and who has responsibility for these decisions; (g) how will the government acquire and distribute medical countermeasures if required; (h) what guidance is being provided to foreign missions, including consulates, embassies, high commissions and trade offices, and what is the decision-making process to reduce services, or repatriate staff; (i) what guidance is being provided to the Canadian Forces, including the army, the air force and the navy, and what recommendations are being made for military personnel; (j) with regard to recommendations being made to the Canadian Forces and military personnel concerning vaccinations, what processes are in place to (i) re-evaluate policies as required, (ii) ensure legal compliance and respect ethical considerations, (iii) ensure protection of our troops in Afghanistan; (k) on what date was the pandemic vaccine ordered, and what, if any, effect did having only one supplier, or the decision to use adjuvant, had on the delivery date for the H1N1 vaccine; (l) what, if any, actions is the government taking to investigate claims of unpublished Canadian data regarding vaccination, and what updates are available in Canada and internationally; (m) what, if any, recommendations will the government make in terms of timing of seasonal and H1N1 vaccines, why was priority setting or sequencing different from that of the World Health Organization, and what considerations have been given to possible impacts of varying provincial and territorial vaccination plans on short-term and long-term trust in public health officials and vaccination rates; (n) what, if any, oversight exists to ensure Canadian communities have H1N1 pandemic plans in place, and what specific recommendations are being made for those who live in poverty or in crowded housing conditions, including prisons and shelters; (o) what, if any, gaps exist in medical surge capacity; (p) what, if any, monitoring is being undertaken for influenza-like illness in daycares, schools, colleges, and universities, and, if so, what patterns are occurring; (q) what percentage of people who died of H1N1 during the last four months had secondary bacterial infection, and what, if any, underlying health conditions did they have, and how might possible secondary bacterial infections be reduced in at-risk populations; (r) what, if any, ethical guidelines are in place to allow for consistent decision-making regarding ventilators; (s) what research, if any, has been undertaken to determine what percentage of healthcare workers might be concerned to work during a possible second wave, and what mitigating efforts have been taken to address this possible challenge; (t) what, if any, recommendations exist regarding “duty to care” and institutional supports to healthcare workers during a pandemic; (u) what efforts are being taken to boost vaccination rates among pregnant women, and how is this information being conveyed to medical practitioners and expectant mothers; (v) what, if any, consideration has been given to the construction of field hospitals in remote and isolated areas; (w) with historical hindsight, and knowledge of increased vulnerability to H1N1 of Aboriginal communities due to underlying health conditions and socio-economic problems, what, if any, containment measures were taken to slow the spread of the H1N1 virus in the spring; (x) what preventive and treatment measures are being implemented to reduce the percentage of Aboriginal people who will be hospitalized, who will stay in intensive care units, and who will die, compared to the whole of the Canadian population; and (y) what, if any, consideration has been given to share a portion of Canada’s antiviral medication, vaccine allotments, and flu management kits with developing countries?

(Return tabled)

Question No. 447Questions Passed as Orders for ReturnsRoutine Proceedings

10:15 a.m.

Liberal

Rob Oliphant Liberal Don Valley West, ON

With regard to the government’s Economic Action Plan, for each announcement in the electoral district of Don Valley West: (a) what was (i) the date of announcement, (ii) the amount of stimulus spending announced, (iii) the department which announced it; and (b) was there a public event associated with the announcement and, if so, what was the cost of that event and which elected officials, if any, were invited to appear?

(Return tabled)

Question No. 448Questions Passed as Orders for ReturnsRoutine Proceedings

10:15 a.m.

Liberal

Rob Oliphant Liberal Don Valley West, ON

Concerning the Akwesasne Mohawk border dispute: (a) what discussions, if any, were held about alternatives for a solution to the Akwesasne border dispute; (b) what negotiations, if any, were held with the United States about relocating the Canadian border post to American soil, similar to the current agreement to allow U.S. Customs to operate inside some major Canadian airports; (c) what is the anticipated cost of relocating the border post to its new location; (d) what is the assessed cost to cross-border trade during the closure of the Cornwall Island border crossing; and (e) what is the assessed cost to tourism during the closure of the Cornwall Island border crossing?

(Return tabled)

Questions Passed as Orders for ReturnsRoutine Proceedings

10:15 a.m.

Conservative

Tom Lukiwski Conservative Regina—Lumsden—Lake Centre, SK

Madam Speaker, I ask that the remaining questions be allowed to stand.

Questions Passed as Orders for ReturnsRoutine Proceedings

10:15 a.m.

The Acting Speaker Ms. Denise Savoie

Is that agreed?

Questions Passed as Orders for ReturnsRoutine Proceedings

10:15 a.m.

Some hon. members

Agreed.