Mr. Speaker, I have the honour to present this petition signed by people in the riding of Bourassa, which I represent. The petitioners are calling for the creation of a legal ombudsman mechanism for responsible mining and are recommending that the Government of Canada impose sanctions on any company that does not comply with standards.

Divorce ActPetitionsRoutine Proceedings

12:05 p.m.

Conservative

Maurice Vellacott Conservative Saskatoon—Wanuskewin, SK

Mr. Speaker, I rise to present a petition. The petitioners are drawing attention to the fact that children thrive best when raised by both parents, even in the course of a breakdown of the marriage. Therefore, the petitioners are calling on Parliament to amend the Divorce Act, as in my Bill C-560, to require that equal shared parenting be treated as the rebuttable presumption in custody decisions, except in cases of proven abuse or neglect.

Public Transit OperatorsPetitionsRoutine Proceedings

12:05 p.m.

NDP

Murray Rankin NDP Victoria, BC

Mr. Speaker, I rise to present a petition calling attention to the increasing violence against bus drivers that occurs every year. The number of assaults has gone up.

Bus drivers serve our public across this country. I have had meetings with bus drivers in my riding, who serve Victoria and Oak Bay, from Unifor Local 333.

This petitions calls for an amendment to the Criminal Code to create a distinct, specific offence to punish those who assault bus drivers and to establish more stringent penalties for those who commit those cowardly offences.

Impaired DrivingPetitionsRoutine Proceedings

12:05 p.m.

Conservative

Mark Warawa Conservative Langley, BC

Mr. Speaker, I am honoured to present two petitions.

The first recognizes and honours the death of 22-year-old Kassandra Kaulius, who was killed by a drunk driver. A group of people who have also lost loved ones due to impaired drivers, called the Families for Justice, says that the current impaired driving laws are too lenient. The petitioners would like to see new mandatory minimum sentencing for people who have been convicted of impaired driving causing death.

Sex SelectionPetitionsRoutine Proceedings

12:10 p.m.

Conservative

Mark Warawa Conservative Langley, BC

Mr. Speaker, the second petition highlights that there are over 200 million missing girls in the world right now due to sex selection.

The Society of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists of Canada vehemently opposes sex selection, as do 92% of Canadians. The petitioners are calling on Parliament to condemn the practice of discriminating against girls through sex selection.

VIA RailPetitionsRoutine Proceedings

12:10 p.m.

NDP

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

Mr. Speaker, I have the honour to rise today to present two petitions on the same subject.

The petitioners are calling for improved VIA Rail service in eastern Quebec and northern New Brunswick. The petitions I have here today are proof that despite the responses the government has given us in question period, the people of my region and northern New Brunswick believe that VIA Rail service must be improved and that the investments made so far are clearly not enough for eastern Canada.

SenatePetitionsRoutine Proceedings

12:10 p.m.

Liberal

Kevin Lamoureux Liberal Winnipeg North, MB

Mr. Speaker, I have petitions to table today from residents of Winnipeg North who are asking Parliament to look at ways in which we can make changes to the Senate.

The petitioners are calling on Parliament to look at ways to reform the Senate that would not require constitutional amendments.

Canada PostPetitionsRoutine Proceedings

April 4th, 2014 / 12:10 p.m.

NDP

Ève Péclet NDP La Pointe-de-l'Île, QC

Mr. Speaker, I have a petition signed by more than 100 people. They are asking the government to reject Canada Post's service reduction plan and explore other avenues for updating the crown corporation's business plan to consider seniors, people with reduced mobility, self-employed workers and small businesses, who will all suffer because of this reduction plan.

Rail TransportationPetitionsRoutine Proceedings

12:10 p.m.

NDP

Carol Hughes NDP Algoma—Manitoulin—Kapuskasing, ON

Mr. Speaker, I rise to table a few petitions.

The first petition is with respect to the hopes of many. It is signed by people from Sault Ste. Marie, from Goulais River, and from Wawa. The petitioners' hope is that the government will stop the derailment of their tourism economy. It is with respect to the fact that the ACR passenger service is about to terminate at the end of April. The petitioners are calling on the government to reinstate the funding. There has been no consultation with the stakeholders, and that needs to happen.

Genetically Modified AlfalfaPetitionsRoutine Proceedings

12:10 p.m.

NDP

Carol Hughes NDP Algoma—Manitoulin—Kapuskasing, ON

Mr. Speaker, the second petition I am tabling is calling for a moratorium on GM alfalfa.

I am rising to present this petition signed by people from Thessalon, Little Rapids, Bruce Mines, Chatham, and Grand Prairie. The petitioners are calling for a moratorium on GM alfalfa because of the possible adverse side effects on organic farming due to cross-contamination and the international trade of GM alfalfa.

Canada PostPetitionsRoutine Proceedings

12:10 p.m.

NDP

Carol Hughes NDP Algoma—Manitoulin—Kapuskasing, ON

My last petition concerns Canada Post and originates in Hearst, Mattice-Val Côté and Kapuskasing. The petitioners are asking the Government of Canada to cancel the service reductions announced by Canada Post and consider new ways to generate revenue. Canadians are very worried about this government's actions.

The EnvironmentPetitionsRoutine Proceedings

12:10 p.m.

NDP

Craig Scott NDP Toronto—Danforth, ON

Mr. Speaker, I have four petitions, but I will be quick. The first is from a variety of citizens, dozens in my riding, who request that the Government of Canada commit to attaining the greenhouse gas emission reduction goals it has supported internationally and contribute its fair share to filling the megatonne gap.

Public SafetyPetitionsRoutine Proceedings

12:10 p.m.

NDP

Craig Scott NDP Toronto—Danforth, ON

Mr. Speaker, the second petition is from many dozens of petitioners who are supporting what we called “Kempton's petition” in honour of Kempton Howard in our riding. The petitioners ask for a variety of measures, including a meaningful countrywide system of public support for the loved-ones of murder victims, as well as victims of crime more generally, and ensuring reliable, long-term funding for programs diverting youth away from gangs and crime.

Genetically Modified AlfalfaPetitionsRoutine Proceedings

12:10 p.m.

NDP

Craig Scott NDP Toronto—Danforth, ON

Mr. Speaker, the third petition calls for a moratorium on GM alfalfa. The petitioners are calling on Parliament to impose a moratorium on the release of genetically modified alfalfa in order to allow proper review of the impact on farmers and, I would say, especially organic farmers and family farms in Canada.

Don RiverPetitionsRoutine Proceedings

12:10 p.m.

NDP

Craig Scott NDP Toronto—Danforth, ON

Mr. Speaker, finally, I have two sets of petitions, totalling many dozens of petitioners, in favour of my Bill C-506, which would restore protection of the Don River, whose protection was stripped by the Navigable Waters Protection Act.

Citizenship and ImmigrationPetitionsRoutine Proceedings

12:10 p.m.

NDP

Irene Mathyssen NDP London—Fanshawe, ON

Mr. Speaker, I have a petition that is the result of a recent tragedy in London, Ontario. The point is to draw attention to the increasing wait times for people to attain permanent residency status. The petitioners ask the Government of Canada to ensure that the Department of Citizenship and Immigration is properly staffed and resourced in order to reach decisions on applications in a fair and timely manner and that the immigration officials consider all the factors in regard to individual applications, including humanitarian and compassionate grounds.

JusticePetitionsRoutine Proceedings

12:15 p.m.

NDP

Denis Blanchette NDP Louis-Hébert, QC

Mr. Speaker, petitioners from across Quebec want violence against bus drivers to stop. They want an amendment to the Criminal Code that would add a separate offence for this type of assault.

Questions on the Order PaperRoutine Proceedings

12:15 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

12:15 p.m.

Conservative

The Acting Speaker Conservative Barry Devolin

Is that agreed?

Questions on the Order PaperRoutine Proceedings

12:15 p.m.

Some hon. members

Agreed.

The House resumed consideration of the motion that Bill C-31, An Act to implement certain provisions of the budget tabled in Parliament on February 11, 2014 and other measures, be read the second time and referred to a committee, and of the amendment.

Economic Action Plan 2014 Act, No. 1Government Orders

12:15 p.m.

NDP

Mathieu Ravignat NDP Pontiac, QC

Mr. Speaker, I will be sharing my time with my dear colleague, the hon. member for Portneuf—Jacques-Cartier.

It is always an honour for me to rise in the House to represent my constituents in the great riding of Pontiac. However, today, I am speaking out against the fact that a bill with such a large scope is being examined in such a short period of time. This undermines Parliament's work by preventing members from thoroughly examining the bill and its impact. This is the fifth time that the Conservatives have tried to avoid parliamentary scrutiny of their regressive economic agenda by using an omnibus budget bill. The issues put forward in these bills are important and deserve serious consideration.

That is what my constituents expect from their MP and that is what Canadians expect from parliamentarians and from their democratic institutions. We are well aware that this is another budget implementation bill designed to sneak in hundreds of changes through the back door, without their being examined properly, for the very partisan and ideological purposes of the governing Conservative Party.

The bill is over 350 pages long and contains over 500 clauses. It changes dozens of laws and contains many measures that were not even mentioned in the budget statement. I would like to point out that, after only 25 minutes of debate, after only one person had a chance to speak, the Leader of the Government in the House of Commons decided to put an end to the debate by moving a closure motion. That is shameful. It is simply atrocious.

The decisions made in the budget and the budget implementation bill are meant to be made for Canadians. It is their money the government is spending, and it must do so wisely. However, the bill does not address the real concerns of Canadians. It sets out austerity measures that make life less affordable for Canadians. These measures are stifling Canada's economic growth at a time when wages are stagnant, jobs are less stable and household debt is rising and reaching record levels. What is worse, there is nothing in the budget or the budget bill to help the 300,000 additional Canadians who have become unemployed since the recession to find work or to replace the 400,000 jobs lost in the manufacturing sector under the Conservative government. The government needs to think about future generations when making budget decisions.

I came back to politics because my daughters, Sophia and Gabrielle, are now six and four. When I would look at them as babies in their cribs, I remember asking myself what kind of future we would be leaving them. My leader often likes to say that we will be the first generation to leave less to our children than what we ourselves received. We will be leaving them an economic, environmental and social deficit. He is right. The future must be different. In the future, we must live in greater harmony with our brothers and sisters from all countries and in greater harmony with the planet. We need to think about future generations and about preserving that harmony when we govern and make budget choices.

This bill does not do enough to preserve this harmony. We need to focus on new technologies to reduce our dependence on oil, which leads to global conflict and causes environmental degradation. That is why my party supports investing in a 21st century economy based on clean technology.

This could come in the form of the following measures: restore the eco-energy retrofit – homes program; support the renewable energy sector to help Canada grow and prosper in the new global economy; help the industry take advantage of clean technology markets by supporting research and development for these energies; adopt an action plan to abolish the $1.3 billion in subsidies being handed out to the fossil fuel industry; support specialized training to prepare workers for the green jobs of the future; carry out a study on ways to increase value-added domestic production in the clean energy sector; and lastly, increase access to information and transparency regarding the enforcement of and compliance with environmental legislation.

Furthermore, there is almost nothing in this bill to address the lack of infrastructure in our communities. This bill could have addressed Canada's serious infrastructure deficit by cancelling the $5.8 billion in cuts to local infrastructure set out in the last budget.

We need new infrastructure—roads especially—in Pontiac. We need to work with the provinces and territories to stop the erosion of the municipal tax base by developing a long-term infrastructure plan for cities, towns, suburbs and rural communities.

Why not invest part of the proceeds from the 700 MHz auction in developing broadband Internet infrastructure in remote rural parts of the country? That could stimulate an entire economy of online businesses. Access to high-speed Internet is critical to small and medium-sized businesses in my region.

The government could also have simplified the process rural communities have to go through to request and receive funding for infrastructure projects. It is not hard to take steps to improve Canada's productivity. The government should update our infrastructure by doubling the gas tax transfer to municipalities. That is a very simple and practical measure. However, in this bill, the government made choices that will benefit only the rich and the biggest corporations in the country. Why do the biggest ones always come out on top with this government?

As the Treasury Board critic, it is my job to criticize choices about services to Canadians. Canadians expect to get good services in exchange for their tax dollars, but the Conservatives are betraying them by making these cuts.

It is not overstating things to say that there is a crisis around access to health care services in the Pontiac. Even so, this government is determined to cut $36 billion from provincial health transfers.

In addition, the employment insurance reform was really hard on seasonal workers in my riding. We could also deal with the tax haven issue and find new sources of revenue for the government so that Canadians can get the services they are entitled to.

The last thing I want to say is that my children's future is the reason I am speaking today. We have to make different choices, choices that are more environmentally friendly, socially sound and responsible.