Debates of April 10th, 2014

Northwest Territories Devolution

[Dennis Bevington, NDP, Western Arctic, NT]

Mr. Speaker, I wish to bring to the attention of the government a petition from the Gwich'in citizens of my riding in the Northwest Territories, who have put forward a petition to speak to the unfair provisions within Bill C-15, under the Mackenzie Valley Resource Management Act's sector.

Impaired Driving

[Mark Warawa, Conservative, Langley, BC]

Mr. Speaker, I have the honour to present two petitions.

The first petition is from Families for Justice, saying that the current impaired driving laws are much too lenient.

The petitioners are calling for new mandatory minimum sentencing for people who have been convicted of impaired driving causing death.

Sex Selection

[Mark Warawa, Conservative, Langley, BC]

Mr. Speaker, the second petition is from constituents who are very concerned that there is discrimination against girls occurring through sex selection.

The petitioners are calling upon Parliament to condemn that.

41st General Election

[Hélène Laverdière, NDP, Laurier—Sainte-Marie, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I rise to present a petition signed by hundreds of Canadians from across the country who wish to point out that the Federal Court found that unprecedented fraud took place during the last election, when voters who were known to be non-Conservative supporters were prevented from voting, and that the Conservative Party database was used. The petitioners are calling for a public inquiry into the matter.

[Elizabeth May, Green, Saanich—Gulf Islands, BC]

Mr. Speaker, I am presenting two petitions.

The first one is from citizens who call upon the current government to launch an inquiry into the attempts at voter fraud and suppression in the 2011 election's so-called robocall scandal.

Canadian Broadcasting Corporation

[Elizabeth May, Green, Saanich—Gulf Islands, BC]

Mr. Speaker, the second petition, which is very timely today, is from Canadians from coast to coast, who are calling for the protection of stable and secure funding for the public broadcaster, the CBC.

VIA Rail

[Philip Toone, NDP, Gaspésie—Îles-de-la-Madeleine, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I wish to present several petitions today, all on the same subject, specifically the deterioration of VIA Rail service in eastern Canada, especially in northern New Brunswick and eastern Quebec, including in my riding of Gaspésie—Îles-de-la-Madeleine.

The petitioners not only want better service, but they are also calling on the federal government to invest in a section of railway between Miramichi and Bathurst in order to keep the network running from coast to coast in Canada.

Asbestos

[Pat Martin, NDP, Winnipeg Centre, MB]

Mr. Speaker, I am proud to present a petition, signed by literally tens of thousands of Canadians, who call upon the House of Commons and Parliament here assembled to take note that asbestos is the greatest industrial killer that the world has ever known and that more Canadians now die from asbestos than all other industrial and occupational causes combined.

The petitioners call upon the Government of Canada to ban asbestos, in all of its forms, and to stop blocking international health and safety conventions designed to protect workers from asbestos, such as the Rotterdam Convention.

41st General Election

[Raymond Côté, NDP, Beauport—Limoilou, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I have four petitions to present.

The first petition calls on the Government of Canada to launch a public inquiry into the fraudulent use of the Conservative Party's database during the 41st general election.

VIA Rail

[Raymond Côté, NDP, Beauport—Limoilou, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the three other petitions have been signed by more than 200 people who are calling on the Government of Canada to contribute the funding necessary for the repair and maintenance of the rail lines between Bathurst and Miramichi.

Mining Industry

[Rosane Doré Lefebvre, NDP, Alfred-Pellan, QC]

Mr. Speaker, today I am presenting a petition signed by hundreds of people from Laval, Terrebonne, Mascouche and Longueuil. They are calling for the creation of an effective and independent legislated ombudsman mechanism for Canada's mining sector.

On that note, I would like to thank everyone who is working with Development and Peace, including the Saint-François-de-Sales parish, for their involvement in this issue.

Democratic Reform

[Matthew Kellway, NDP, Beaches—East York, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I am honoured to participate in the presentation of thousands of petitions, signed by Canadians from coast to coast to coast. It is the Council of Canadians' Democracy 24/7 petition. In part, it calls upon the Government of Canada to launch a public inquiry to find and bring to justice the person or persons responsible for accessing the Conservative Party of Canada CIMS database for the purpose of perpetrating election fraud in the 41st general election, and calls upon the government to table electoral reform legislation that will protect voters from being victimized by election fraud again.

41st General Election

[Marie-Claude Morin, NDP, Saint-Hyacinthe—Bagot, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I have the honour of presenting a petition signed by thousands of people who are calling for a public inquiry into alleged fraud during the 2011 election. They are also calling on the government to implement genuine electoral reform that would give everyone a vote.

Canada Post

[Guy Caron, NDP, Rimouski-Neigette—Témiscouata—Les Basques, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to present to the House a petition that has been signed by more than 1,500 people from my riding, Rimouski-Neigette—Témiscouata—Les Basques, and from Lower St. Lawrence and eastern Quebec. They are protesting Canada Post's decision to reduce service and eliminate home mail delivery. They are also protesting other measures such as the drastic increase in postage rates.

These 1,500 people are adding their names to the thousands that have already been collected and presented to the House to call on the Conservative government to take action and force Canada Post to continue serving the rural areas and regions that truly need it.

41st General Election

[Hélène LeBlanc, NDP, LaSalle—Émard, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I have the honour to present a petition signed by thousands of Canadians who are concerned about our democracy. They want to protect our Democracy 24/7. They are calling for a public inquiry into the fraud that occurred during the last election.

Democratic Reform

[Wayne Marston, NDP, Hamilton East—Stoney Creek, ON]

Mr. Speaker, in my nine years in this House, I have never before had a petition of this nature with this volume of signatures. Thousands upon thousands of people are concerned with the 41st general election campaign and the accusations of fraud. As well, they are concerned about Bill C-23 and they are petitioning this House to put in electoral reform that takes into account the recommendations of Elections Canada to establish enforceable standards. In my time here, I have not before seen anything like this.

[Andrew Cash, NDP, Davenport, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I too am proud to rise on behalf of the people of Davenport in the great city of Toronto who are among thousands who signed the Council of Canadians Democracy 24/7 petition. The petitioners are very concerned about the findings of the federal court, and they call on the government to launch an inquiry. They want real democratic electoral reform in this country.

[Jean Rousseau, NDP, Compton—Stanstead, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I have the honour to present a petition signed by hundreds if not thousands of people. The petition was initiated by the Canadian Council for Democracy and calls for the electoral reform to include the recommendations proposed by Elections Canada so that every vote counts and everyone can participate in Canada's democracy.

Canada Post

[Robert Chisholm, NDP, Dartmouth—Cole Harbour, NS]

Mr. Speaker, I have a number of petitions signed by constituents of mine from Dartmouth and surrounding areas. The petitioners are concerned about the cuts to Canada Post. They are concerned about postal services for themselves and for members of their community. They want to ensure those cut services are restored.

Questions on the Order Paper

[Tom Lukiwski, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Leader of the Government in the House of Commons]

Mr. Speaker, the following question will be answered today: Question No. 311.

Question No. 311

[Yvonne Jones, Liberal, Labrador, NL]

With regard to national parks, what is the detailed breakdown, by fiscal year and nature or purpose, of all expenditures related to the establishment of Mealy Mountains National Park, made pursuant to the $5.5 million in funding over five years referred to on page 115 of the 2011 budget plan tabled in the House of Commons on June 6, 2011?

[Leona Aglukkaq, Conservative, Minister of the Environment]

Mr. Speaker, budget 2011 stated that the next phase of Canada’s economic action plan would be “providing 5.5 million over 5 years to establish the Mealy Mountains National Park in Labrador”.

The proposed national park reserve in the Mealy Mountains region of Labrador has yet to be formally established. Parks Canada is working to conclude negotiations of the required establishment agreements with the province and aboriginal groups. It is therefore premature to speculate on budget 2011 breakdowns, as these funds will only start to be spent once establishment agreements have been negotiated.

Questions on the Order Paper

[Tom Lukiwski, Conservative, Regina—Lumsden—Lake Centre, SK]

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

[The Speaker, Conservative, Andrew Scheer]

Is that agreed?

[Some hon. members]

Agreed.