House of Commons Hansard #16 of the 40th Parliament, 3rd Session. (The original version is on Parliament's site.) The word of the day was bridge.

Topics

Le DevoirOral Questions

3:05 p.m.

Liberal

The Speaker Liberal Peter Milliken

I declare the motion carried.

(Motion agreed to)

Presence in GalleryOral Questions

3:10 p.m.

Liberal

The Speaker Liberal Peter Milliken

Over the past 100 years, Le Devoir has become a respected reference among political and cultural newspapers. As such, it is my great pleasure to draw the attention of members to the presence in our gallery of Mr. Bernard Descôteaux, publisher of this distinguished newspaper, and Ms. Josée Boileau, editor in chief. On behalf of all my fellow parliamentarians, I wish to congratulate you on this 100th anniversary.

I invite all hon. members to join me in Room 216, immediately following the taking of the divisions, to celebrate this most important anniversary. Keep up the good work.

Motion No. 8Ways and MeansOral Questions

March 24th, 2010 / 3:10 p.m.

Liberal

The Speaker Liberal Peter Milliken

Pursuant to order made on Tuesday, March 23, 2010, the House will now proceed to the putting of the question on Motion No. 8 under ways and means proceedings.

Motion No. 8Ways and MeansOral Questions

3:10 p.m.

Whitby—Oshawa Ontario

Conservative

Jim Flaherty ConservativeMinister of Finance

moved that a ways and means motion to implement certain provisions of the budget tabled in Parliament on March 4, 2010 and other measures be concurred in.

Motion No. 8Ways and MeansOral Questions

3:10 p.m.

Liberal

The Speaker Liberal Peter Milliken

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

Motion No. 8Ways and MeansOral Questions

3:10 p.m.

Some hon. members

Agreed.

No.

Motion No. 8Ways and MeansOral Questions

3:10 p.m.

Liberal

The Speaker Liberal Peter Milliken

All those in favour of the motion will please say yea.

Motion No. 8Ways and MeansOral Questions

3:10 p.m.

Some hon. members

Yea.

Motion No. 8Ways and MeansOral Questions

3:10 p.m.

Liberal

The Speaker Liberal Peter Milliken

All those opposed to the motion will please say nay.

Motion No. 8Ways and MeansOral Questions

3:10 p.m.

Some hon. members

Nay.

Motion No. 8Ways and MeansOral Questions

3:10 p.m.

Liberal

The Speaker Liberal Peter Milliken

In my opinion the yeas have it.

And five or more members having risen:

(The House divided on the motion, which was agreed to on the following division:)

Vote #17

Ways and MeansOral Questions

3:15 p.m.

Liberal

The Speaker Liberal Peter Milliken

I declare the motion carried.

The House resumed from March 23 consideration of the motion that Bill C-241, An Act to amend the Employment Insurance Act (removal of waiting period), as reported (without amendment) from committee, be concurred in.

Employment Insurance ActPrivate Members' Business

3:15 p.m.

Liberal

The Speaker Liberal Peter Milliken

Pursuant to order made on Tuesday, March 23, the House will now proceed to the taking of the deferred recorded division on the motion at report stage of Bill C-241, under private members' business.

(The House divided on the motion, which was agreed to on the following division:)

Vote #18

Employment Insurance ActPrivate Members' Business

3:25 p.m.

Liberal

The Speaker Liberal Peter Milliken

I declare the motion carried.

References to members or ministersPoints of OrderPrivate Members' Business

3:25 p.m.

Bloc

Pierre Paquette Bloc Joliette, QC

Mr. Speaker, there is a longstanding rule that during speeches, members may not allude to the presence or absence of another member or minister in the House. This rule can be found on page 614 of O'Brien and Bosc.

I would like to call your attention to a situation that has been troubling me a great deal for the past few days. It has been brought to my attention that on several occasions, namely, on March 11, 12, 18 and 19, 2010, the member for Ottawa—Orléans used the social networking site Twitter to report the exact number of members of each party present in the House, even mentioning the names of some members who were absent or present.

There is another longstanding rule that we cannot do indirectly what is not allowed directly. If a member is not allowed to make comments on the presence or absence of members in the House during speeches, this rule should also apply to new technology. In other words, when members are sitting in the House and therefore have access to privileged information, they should not be allowed to share that information outside the House.

I would therefore seek the unanimous consent of the House to table a copy of the comments published by the member for Ottawa—Orléans. I find this situation even more appalling considering the fact that the member for Ottawa—Orléans was once an occupant of the chair and, as such, he is very familiar with this rule.

Accordingly, Mr. Speaker, I would like you to rule on this matter and call the member to order.

References to members or ministersPoints of OrderPrivate Members' Business

3:30 p.m.

Liberal

The Speaker Liberal Peter Milliken

The matter raised by the hon. member for Joliette is certainly important. I will examine the facts he presented and come back to the House with my ruling in due course.

Canada-Jordan Free Trade ActRoutine Proceedings

3:30 p.m.

York—Simcoe Ontario

Conservative

Human Resources, Skills and Social Development and the Status of Persons with DisabilitiesCommittees of the HouseRoutine Proceedings

3:30 p.m.

Conservative

Candice Bergen Conservative Portage—Lisgar, MB

Mr. Speaker, I have the honour to present today, in both official languages, the first report of the Standing Committee on Human Resources, Skills and Social Development and the Status of Persons with Disabilities in relation to Bill C-304, An Act to ensure secure, adequate, accessible and affordable housing for Canadians. The committee has studied the bill and has decided to report the bill back to the House with amendments.

I wish to take this opportunity to thank all of the members of the committee for their hard work and collaboration.

Income Tax ActRoutine Proceedings

3:30 p.m.

Liberal

Dan McTeague Liberal Pickering—Scarborough East, ON

moved for leave to introduce Bill C-500, An Act to amend the Income Tax Act (deductibility of RESP contributions).

Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the House for allowing me to reintroduce a bill that two years ago passed this House and went to the Senate.

The bill is a reintroduction of the tax deductibility of RESPs, registered education savings plans. The contributions would give young people an opportunity to get access to and acquire higher education.

I want to thank my hon. colleague for Mississauga South for graciously accepting to second the motion. It is significant that he also supports the bill, given his background both in terms of finance as well as accounting. I am very pleased to receive his support.

In the last decade, the average yearly tuition for an undergraduate degree almost doubled, and the average debt load upon completion is now in excess of $20,000. With projections indicating that the cost of an undergraduate degree will reach $100,000 in the near future, families need assistance to help save money for post-secondary education. I am pleased to reintroduce this bill.

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

Bankruptcy and Insolvency ActRoutine Proceedings

3:30 p.m.

NDP

John Rafferty NDP Thunder Bay—Rainy River, ON

moved for leave to introduce Bill C-501, An Act to amend the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act and other Acts (pension protection).

Mr. Speaker, I am proud to introduce an act to amend the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act and other acts, on behalf of the active and retired forestry and manufacturing workers in the riding of Thunder Bay--Rainy River and Northern Ontario, and indeed other active and retired workers around the country who fear for the security of their hard-earned retirement income.

This legislation is long overdue and respects the right of hard-working Canadians to the pensions they have earned throughout their working lives. I would also like to thank the hon. member for Hamilton East—Stoney Creek for his strong leadership on this issue and his ongoing involvement in the promotion of this bill.

This bill should ensure that underfunded pension plans receive a greater share of the assets of bankrupt or restructuring companies. It would do so by moving pensions up the priority list in the bankruptcy and restructuring process, which requires no spending of revenue whatsoever by the federal government.

With this bill, it is clear that New Democrats stand once again with workers and their families. I hope that all members of this place will recognize the importance of this balanced bill and offer it their full support.

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

Human RightsRoutine Proceedings

3:35 p.m.

NDP

Bill Siksay NDP Burnaby—Douglas, BC

Mr. Speaker, there have been discussions among all parties and I believe you will find unanimous consent for the following motion. I move:

That this House commends the Government of Canada for the clear position it has taken against the Anti-Homosexuality Bill currently being debated in the Parliament of Uganda and encourages continued direct diplomatic efforts in conjunction with other countries and organizations to see the bill withdrawn, homosexuality fully decriminalized in Uganda, and the rights of gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender and transsexual Ugandans fully respected.

Human RightsRoutine Proceedings

3:35 p.m.

Liberal

The Speaker Liberal Peter Milliken

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