Debates of June 3rd, 2009

The Acting Speaker Barry Devolin

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

The Acting Speaker Barry Devolin

(Motion agreed to, bill read the second time, considered in committee of the whole, reported without amendment, concurred in, read the third time and passed)

The Acting Speaker Barry Devolin

Does the hon. chief government whip have the unanimous consent of the House to move the motion?

The Acting Speaker Barry Devolin

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

The Acting Speaker Barry Devolin

(Motion agreed to)

Judy Foote Random—Burin—St. George's, NL

Mr. Speaker, I am here today to present a petition on behalf of many people in Newfoundland and Labrador and from the riding of Random—Burin—St. George's that I represent.

It is a petition that calls on the government to acknowledge that we are in fact in a crisis in this country. The petitioners are looking for some measures that will see EI become much more accessible for those people who are losing their jobs.

The problem we have is that the country is in a recession. We are in a crisis. It is time that the government acknowledged that we really need to do something, especially when we have companies that are laying people off, sometimes through no fault of their own. We are finding a lot of people without employment. They need to be able to turn to EI.

This is a program that they have paid into. It is their money. They are asking to make that program much more available to them and for the government to recognize that this is a serious situation.

We all know that it should take 28 days to be able to access EI, once one has been laid off and had a two week waiting period. That is not happening.

In fact, in my riding we have people waiting as long as 70 days to access EI. In some cases, they then get a letter telling them that it is going to take even longer.

Then the government is telling us that it is putting in measures to try to make sure that this speeds up. That is not happening.

What we are asking for is the 360 hours to qualify and for eligibility to be standard in all regions of the country. We want to increase the benefit duration to at least 50 weeks in all regions. We want to eliminate the two week waiting period. We want to provide benefits that are at least 60% of normal earnings, use the worker's 12 best weeks, and suspend the allocation of severance pay.

The other thing that the signatories to this petition are asking is that there be more flexible, innovative use of EI work-sharing to keep people at work.

Merv Tweed Brandon—Souris, MB

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to present five petitions from Alberta, Ontario, Manitoba and New Brunswick in support of my private member's bill, Bill C-322, An Act to amend the Canada Post Corporation Act (library materials).

Chris Charlton Hamilton Mountain, ON

Mr. Speaker, I rise in the House today to present a petition that is signed by students at St. Thomas More High School in my riding of Hamilton Mountain. Twenty-seven of the students came to Ottawa to participate in the March for Life and used the opportunity to give my office their petition calling for a legislative reversal of the current law on abortion.

I want to commend these students for their engagement in the political process. They clearly understand that in a democratic country like Canada, it is their right to express their views directly to the House of Commons by petitioning Parliament.

While the rules of the House do not allow me to endorse or oppose the call for action in any petition, I think it is important for all constituents in my riding to know that as their member of Parliament I fully support the right of all citizens to have their voices heard in this chamber through the petition process, even in cases where I do not support the content of the petition itself.

For that reason, I am pleased to table this petition on behalf of the students of St. Thomas More, and look forward to working with them on the full spectrum of issues that confront us as elected members in the House.

Dean Allison Niagara West—Glanbrook, ON

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to present two petitions that have been submitted to me by concerned constituents.

The first petition was largely organized by Pastor Gill and it urges the Government of Canada to take action against the persecution of religious minorities around the world, especially in Christian communities in the Kandhamal district of India. This is an issue of great concern to a large number of my constituents, and I would hope that it is given due and careful consideration.

Dean Allison Niagara West—Glanbrook, ON

Mr. Speaker, the second petition calls for the government to respectfully recognize volunteer servicemen and women by means of the issuance of a new Canadian volunteer service medal. My constituents would like to see a solid recognition of volunteer servicemen and women who have done so much to build on the proud tradition of the Canadian Forces.