The House has heard the terms of the motion. Is it the pleasure of the House to adopt the motion?
House of Commons Hansard #156 of the 41st Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament's site.) The word of the day was workers.
House of Commons Hansard #156 of the 41st Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament's site.) The word of the day was workers.
Procedure and House AffairsCommittees of the HouseRoutine Proceedings
3:05 p.m.
Conservative
The Speaker Conservative Andrew Scheer
The House has heard the terms of the motion. Is it the pleasure of the House to adopt the motion?
Procedure and House AffairsCommittees of the HouseRoutine Proceedings
3:05 p.m.
Some hon. members
Agreed.
Procedure and House AffairsCommittees of the HouseRoutine Proceedings
3:05 p.m.
Conservative
Business of SupplyRoutine Proceedings
3:05 p.m.
NDP
Nycole Turmel NDP Hull—Aylmer, QC
Mr. Speaker, there have been discussions among the parties and I believe if you sought it you would find unanimous consent for the following motion:
That, at the conclusion of today's debate on the opposition motion in the name of the member for Charlesbourg-Haute-Saint-Charles, all questions necessary to dispose of the motion be deemed put and a recorded division deemed requested and deferred to Tuesday, October 2, 2012, at the expiry of the time provided for Government Orders.
Business of SupplyRoutine Proceedings
3:05 p.m.
Conservative
The Speaker Conservative Andrew Scheer
Does the hon. member for Hull—Aylmer have the unanimous consent of the House to propose the motion?
Business of SupplyRoutine Proceedings
3:05 p.m.
Some hon. members
Agreed.
Business of SupplyRoutine Proceedings
3:05 p.m.
Conservative
The Speaker Conservative Andrew Scheer
The House has heard the terms of the motion. Is it the pleasure of the House to adopt the motion?
Business of SupplyRoutine Proceedings
3:05 p.m.
Some hon. members
Agreed
Business of SupplyRoutine Proceedings
3:05 p.m.
Conservative
Articles for the BlindPetitionsRoutine Proceedings
3:05 p.m.
NDP
Kennedy Stewart NDP Burnaby—Douglas, BC
Mr. Speaker, I have two petitions to present today. The first petition has been signed by many constituents concerning the supply of articles for blind individuals.
E-PetitionsPetitionsRoutine Proceedings
3:05 p.m.
NDP
Kennedy Stewart NDP Burnaby—Douglas, BC
Mr. Speaker, the second petition is in support of a motion I have currently tabled before the House concerning e-petitions. The e-petitions motion sets out to increase democratic participation across Canada, which is currently at an all-time low, by giving Canadians better access to the petitioning process. Of course, if 50,000 signatures were gained on an electronic petition, it would trigger an automatic debate in the House of one hour.
41st General ElectionPetitionsRoutine Proceedings
3:05 p.m.
Green
Elizabeth May Green Saanich—Gulf Islands, BC
Mr. Speaker, I rise to present four petitions.
The first petition deals with the issue of alleged election fraud in an effort to mislead voters through robocalls. The petitioners mostly come from within my riding from the community of Mayne Island and they call for a public inquiry.
The EnvironmentPetitionsRoutine Proceedings
3:10 p.m.
Green
Elizabeth May Green Saanich—Gulf Islands, BC
Mr. Speaker, the second petition comes from residents of the Vancouver area calling for a legislated tanker ban to protect the coast of British Columbia from bitumen and crude spills.
The third petition is related to the northern gateway pipeline project and it comes from residents of British Columbia, Alberta and Quebec. The petitioners urge the government to drop its lopsided approach to this and actually have full hearings.
Elections CanadaPetitionsRoutine Proceedings
3:10 p.m.
Green
Elizabeth May Green Saanich—Gulf Islands, BC
Mr. Speaker, the fourth petition is from residents of my communities of Saanich—Gulf Islands. The petitioners call for the reform of our first past the post voting system to one that will ensure that every Canadian's vote counts.
Visitor VisasPetitionsRoutine Proceedings
3:10 p.m.
Liberal
Kevin Lamoureux Liberal Winnipeg North, MB
Mr. Speaker, it is with pleasure that I bring forward a petition in regard to visitor visas where individuals are asking for the government to recognize the importance of weddings, graduations, birthdays, funerals and other types of family gatherings, and that we need to do more to allow for family members to visit with their families during these special celebrations and beyond.
Public TransitPetitionsRoutine Proceedings
3:10 p.m.
NDP
Fin Donnelly NDP New Westminster—Coquitlam, BC
Mr. Speaker, I rise to present signatures from hundreds of people calling upon the Government of Canada to enact a Canada public transit strategy that seeks to provide a permanent investment plan to support public transit; to establish federal funding mechanisms for public transit; to work together with all levels of government to provide sustainable, predictable, long-term and adequate funding; and establish accountability measures to ensure that all governments work together to increase access to public transit.
Experimental Lakes AreaPetitionsRoutine Proceedings
3:10 p.m.
Liberal
Ted Hsu Liberal Kingston and the Islands, ON
Mr. Speaker, I rise today to present a petition signed by Canadians who are calling on the Government of Canada to recognize the importance of the Experimental Lakes Area and to reverse its decision to close the research station, a unique, internationally renowned infrastructure designed to protect our fresh water.
Rights of the UnbornPetitionsRoutine Proceedings
3:10 p.m.
Conservative
Randy Kamp Conservative Pitt Meadows—Maple Ridge—Mission, BC
Mr. Speaker, it is a privilege to present a petition from constituents of mine who believe that the current 400-year-old definition of a human being is contrary to 21st century medical evidence.
The petitioners call upon the House of Commons and Parliament to confirm that every human being is recognized in Canadian law by amending section 223 of our Criminal Code.
Questions on the Order PaperRoutine Proceedings
3:10 p.m.
Regina—Lumsden—Lake Centre Saskatchewan
Conservative
Tom Lukiwski ConservativeParliamentary Secretary to the Leader of the Government in the House of Commons
Mr. Speaker, I ask that all questions be allowed to stand.
Questions on the Order PaperRoutine Proceedings
3:10 p.m.
Conservative
Questions on the Order PaperRoutine Proceedings
3:10 p.m.
Some hon. members
Agreed.
Foreign InvestmentRequest for Emergency DebateRoutine Proceedings
October 1st, 2012 / 3:10 p.m.
Conservative
The Speaker Conservative Andrew Scheer
The Chair has notice of an application for an emergency debate from the hon. member for Saanich—Gulf Islands.
Foreign InvestmentRequest for Emergency DebateRoutine Proceedings
3:10 p.m.
Green
Elizabeth May Green Saanich—Gulf Islands, BC
Mr. Speaker, I rise today to request an emergency debate on an issue of great importance to the future of Canada.
During the Prime Minister's visit to China in February 2012, we learned of the existence of the Agreement between the Government of Canada and the Government of the People's Republic of China for the Promotion and Reciprocal Protection of Investments, an agreement with far-reaching implications for Canada's sovereignty, security and democracy.
This agreement that we first learned of in February was then signed by the Prime Minister in Vladivostok at the APEC summit on September 9 but tabled before the House on September 26, the first time any parliamentarians had the chance to see the text.
A 21-day clock is running on sitting days, which means we are now down to 18 sitting days before, as a matter of automatic decision-making within the Governor in Council, an agreement with far-reaching implications for the sovereignty of the country will become law. It is a treaty with the effect of legal force for a minimum of 15 years. If any future government wishes to get out of the onerous terms of this agreement with China, it would take a written notice of one year. It is not reciprocal but lopsided in the interests of Chinese rights to overturn and challenge Canadian laws and to seek damages from us. If any future government serves a one-year notice to get out of the agreement, any existing Chinese investments at the point of that notice would be further protected for another 15 years.
The agreement is sweeping. I know that with 18 days remaining one might say where is the urgency. The urgency is that the governing party plans no debate in the House. There will be no vote in the House. I note that the official opposition has an opposition day motion tomorrow touching on one specific deal, the proposed takeover of Nexen by CNOOC, but that will not touch at all, in pith nor in substance, the far-reaching implications of a mandate for the Government of Canada to encourage Chinese investments in Canada. It is a mandate for the Canadian government to give national state-owned enterprises of Communist China equal treatment to any Canadian enterprises, but to give Chinese state-owned enterprises superior rights to any Canadian corporation in the case of any laws passed in our country and to have arbitration over claims for damages that will remain secret. The Canadian public will not know of them.
I am shaken to my core by the depth and breadth of this motion that will not come before this House but merely before cabinet, and bind Canadians, municipal governments, provincial governments and federal governments for 15 years,
Mr. Speaker, I beg of you to allow an emergency debate in the House.
Speaker's RulingRequest for Emergency DebateRoutine Proceedings
3:15 p.m.
Conservative
The Speaker Conservative Andrew Scheer
I thank the hon. member for raising this issue. I appreciate the importance she attaches to the issue, but I do not find that it meets the test set out for emergency debates.
Orders of the day.
The House resumed consideration of the motion.