Debates of March 10th, 2011
House of Commons Hansard #143 of the 40th Parliament, 3rd Session. (The original version is on Parliament's site.) The word of the day was conservative.
Topics
- Question Period
- Government Response to Petitions
- Interparliamentary Delegations
- Committees of the House
- Canada Post-Secondary Education Act
- Marine Mammal Regulations
- Public Transit Operators Protection Act (Bregg's Law)
- Information Commissioner
- Business of the House
- Petitions
- Questions on the Order Paper
- Request for Emergency Debate
- Freezing Assets of Corrupt Foreign Officials Act
- Business of Supply
- International Women's Week
- Pickering
- Canadian Jewish Congress
- Official Languages
- Citizen Awards
- Egypt
- Anti-Semitism
- Tibet
- Israeli Apartheid Week
- Canadian Jewish Congress
- The Budget
- Liberal Party of Canada
- Canadian Jewish Congress
- Quebec's Anglophone Minority
- Conduct of the Government
- Canadian Jewish Congress
- Government Accountability
- National Defence
- International Co-operation
- Political Financing
- Government Accountability
- Government Spending
- Former Public Sector Integrity Commissioner
- Canada Revenue Agency
- Citizenship and Immigration
- Political Financing
- The Economy
- National Defence
- Employment Insurance
- Forestry Industry
- International Co-operation
- Natural Resources
- Pensions
- Government Communications
- Public Safety
- Official Languages
- Government Priorities
- Access to Information
- Presence in Gallery
- Business of the House
- Privilege
- Points of Order
- Business of Supply
- Message from the Senate
- Competition Act
- Privilege
- Competition Act
7:10 p.m.
Regina—Lumsden—Lake Centre
Saskatchewan
Conservative
Tom Lukiwski Parliamentary Secretary to the Leader of the Government in the House of Commons
Mr. Speaker, I always find it somewhat strange whenever I hear a member of the Bloc Québécois stand and criticize a parliamentary institution like the Senate because as we know, the Bloc does not believe in the Senate. In fact, the Bloc does not believe in Parliament. In fact, the Bloc does not believe in Canada, at least the Canada as I know it, a Canada that includes Quebec, because the Bloc, as we all know, wants Quebec to separate from Canada.
So, on one hand, to complain about a parliamentary institution while in the same breath arguing against Parliament seems to be, at best, a slight bit hypocritical.
However, I would suggest that if he does truly have a concern about the Senate and perhaps, as he thinks, the Senate's abuse of power, he should join with us and our government in our attempts to reform the Senate.
We believe that the Senate, as we know it now, the status quo, is not an option. We believe there needs to be some democratic reform initiatives brought into the Senate. Specifically, we have a couple of initiatives before us, one emanating out of the Senate, called the senatorial selection act, which is an attempt to allow Canadians to voice their opinion on who they would like to see represent them in the Senate. The second, of course, is Senate term limits, an act that we have here in Parliament which would restrict the length of time that senators could spend in the Senate. Our term limit is suggested as eight years, as opposed to the current 45 year maximum.
Those two reform initiatives alone would go a long way toward ensuring that the Senate of Canada is a better place, a more functioning place, and represents Canadians better.
I encourage the member opposite to join us with those initiatives.
March 10th, 2011 / 7:15 p.m.
Bloc
Richard Nadeau Gatineau, QC
Mr. Speaker, the parliamentary secretary may better understand this point of Bill C-232, which would require Supreme Court justices to be bilingual. Graham Fraser, the Commissioner of Official Languages, had this to say:
Every Canadian's right to use English or French in Canadian courts is one of the basic language rights set out in our constitutional framework.
Perhaps he should re-examine the reality of what he is attacking by not accepting the principle that Supreme Court justices must be bilingual.
Thus, the Reform Conservative government must stop blocking passage of Bill C-232 by the Senate out of concern for democracy.
7:15 p.m.
Conservative
Tom Lukiwski Regina—Lumsden—Lake Centre, SK
Mr. Speaker, once again, I merely suggest to my hon. colleague across the floor, a member of the Bloc Québécois, if he truly wants to reform the Senate, if he truly wants to see improvements in the Senate, he should join with our government in our efforts to make meaningful reforms.
I know this is not something that the Bloc Québécois usually concerns itself with, but it is something I am suggesting it should be involved with because all members of Parliament, whether they believe in a united Canada or a divided Canada, as the Bloc does, should join with all parliamentarians to try to make this institution better.
7:15 p.m.
Conservative
The Deputy Speaker Andrew Scheer
The motion that the House do now adjourn is deemed to have been adopted. Accordingly the House stands adjourned until tomorrow at 10 a.m. pursuant to Standing Order 24(1).
(The House adjourned at 7:18 p.m.)