House of Commons Hansard #137 of the 35th Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament's site.) The word of the day was amendment.

Topics

Canada Grain ActGovernment Orders

1:20 p.m.

The Deputy Speaker

A recorded division on the motion stands deferred.

Canada Grain ActGovernment Orders

1:20 p.m.

NDP

Vic Althouse NDP Mackenzie, SK

moved:

Motion No. 6

That Bill C-51, in Clause 25, be amended

(a) by replacing line 16, on page 12, with the following:

"84. (1) Except with the written permission of";

(b) by adding after line 24, on page 12, the following:

"(2) Except with the written permission of the Commission or in accordance with prescribed terms and conditions, no public carrier shall transport grain unless it has first been weighed, the dockage established and the quality designated."

Mr. Speaker, technically this motion divides what is now section 84 in the act. The bill we have in front of us proposes to amend section 84 in the act into subsections (1) and (2). In clause 25 of the bill before us now it would become subsection 84(1) and we would add a subsection (2) which would read:

(2) Except with the written permission of the commission or in accordance with the prescribed terms and conditions, no public carrier shall transport grain unless it has first been weighed, the dockage established and the quality designated.

There are two reasons for this. One is to make it easier to track grains that might be subject to bankruptcy procedure and as well to look forward to the new technology which is now being introduced into western Canada. It is the portable elevator which is a very large tandem truck with two units behind it. It has the ability to weigh grain as it goes in. The truck driver does the dockage testing and provides a grade. It makes certain that particular process which some companies are now engaged in is done in a way that provides the kind of paperwork transactions that will protect the producer.

The prospect of watching 2,000 bushels of flax or peas walk off the farm maybe to disappear without the proper paperwork in the event that particular grain dealer turns out to not have been properly bonded is not one a farmer looks forward to. This attempts to address that by requiring these kinds of operations to do the same paperwork as elevators do.

Canada Grain ActGovernment Orders

1:20 p.m.

Reform

Leon Benoit Reform Vegreville, AB

Mr. Speaker, I would like to make a few comments on Motion No. 6. The purpose of this motion is to add to transportation requirements for grain being shipped out of Canada the stipulation that unless an exemption has been provided for under the act which is already available, that the seller of the grain, the farmers in most cases, be provided with documentation stating the weight, dockage and quality of the grain. That is the intent.

There is a concern no doubt that when farmers load their trucks, as the hon. member just explained, not knowing the grade, the weight and the dockage then they are trusting that the people at the other end will give the proper payment for the commodity. That is a concern. Who would like to see a truckload containing $10,000 or $20,000 worth of commodity in extreme cases going out of the yard and not knowing exactly what they are going to be paid for?

However, I believe this amendment does not provide a solution. Instead, for farmers and businesses that are operating in this way with pickups on the farm or by producer cars, dealer cars, rail cars, it would make it very difficult if not virtually impossible for them to operate.

While I would like to know that every time farmers are shipping a load of grain off the farm they know they are getting paid for it, if we look at the practicalities it just is not possible. We have to recognize that. For that reason I oppose the amendment.

Canada Grain ActGovernment Orders

1:25 p.m.

Bloc

Jean-Guy Chrétien Bloc Frontenac, QC

Mr. Speaker, the purpose of the motion standing in the name of the hon. member for Mackenzie is to add standards for public carriers. It would prescribe that grain carried by a public carrier must first have been weighed and cleaned and its quality designated.

According to the Canadian Grain Commission, no amendment is necessary since this is already being done in most cases and always when grain is destined for human consumption.

As a result of the proposed amendment, smaller producers who ship feed grain would see their costs increase unnecessarily. If there had been complaints that the quality of feed grain was below acceptable levels, the motion would be justified. Since that is not the case, at least as far as I know, I do not think it would be useful to oblige producers to spend more on precautions that are absolutely unnecessary. If most of these producers happen to use private carriers and the motion therefore does not affect them, it will then have no effect at all, since public carriers would only carry grain for human consumption.

According to the Canadian Grain Commission, this grain is already cleaned and weighed and its quality designated. So we have their guarantee that grain for our own consumption is

being handled in the way specified by the hon. member for the New Democratic Party.

Furthermore, if small producers also have to conform to these procedures, their costs will go up, although we have no reason to believe they should be more regulated than they already are. And if they use private carriers, they will not be affected.

I therefore fail to see the relevance of the motion presented by the hon. member for Mackenzie. That is why the Bloc Quebecois will not support the motion, since all wheat for human consumption is very well regulated and perfectly safe.

Canada Grain ActGovernment Orders

1:30 p.m.

Prince Edward—Hastings Ontario

Liberal

Lyle Vanclief LiberalParliamentary Secretary to Minister of Agriculture and Agri-food

Mr. Speaker, I will say at the outset that the government does not have any intention of supporting the motion. I will give a few of the reasons for it. There is no question in my mind that what is said in the motion is a bit confusing versus what may or may not be its intent.

It would have a definite impact in the industry of slowing down the movement of grain whether transported by truck, producer car or dealer car. Therefore it would increase the cost to producers, which is certainly not the intention of the government.

At the present time the weight, the grade and the dockage content of grain delivered by a producer or dealer car are immediately determined at the unload. That is the system. To have to do that as the car or truck is being unloaded would certainly slow things up and add a cost. It would also put an additional obligation on the public carriers to have with them at all times the documentation on the grade and dockage. It would shift some of the responsibility to public carriers for having the documentation available at all times.

In practical terms, the motion would mean that when a truckload of grain to be delivered to a local feed mill was loaded by the producer on the farm it would have to be graded. The dockage, the weight and everything would have to be with it to take a load of grain to a local feed mill. That would be absolutely unnecessary. It would be cumbersome. It would slow everything up and be expensive.

We do not intend to support the motion.

Canada Grain ActGovernment Orders

1:30 p.m.

The Deputy Speaker

Is the House ready for the question?

Canada Grain ActGovernment Orders

1:30 p.m.

Some hon. members

Question.

Canada Grain ActGovernment Orders

1:30 p.m.

The Deputy Speaker

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

Canada Grain ActGovernment Orders

1:30 p.m.

Some hon. members

Agreed.

Canada Grain ActGovernment Orders

1:30 p.m.

Some hon. members

No.

Canada Grain ActGovernment Orders

1:30 p.m.

The Deputy Speaker

All those in favour will please say yea.

Canada Grain ActGovernment Orders

1:30 p.m.

Some hon. members

Yea.

Canada Grain ActGovernment Orders

1:30 p.m.

The Deputy Speaker

All those opposed will please say nay.

Canada Grain ActGovernment Orders

1:30 p.m.

Some hon. members

Nay.

Canada Grain ActGovernment Orders

1:30 p.m.

The Deputy Speaker

In my opinion the nays have it.

Canada Grain ActGovernment Orders

1:30 p.m.

Some hon. members

On division.

(Motion negatived.)

Canada Grain ActGovernment Orders

1:30 p.m.

The Deputy Speaker

The House will now proceed to the taking of the deferred division at the report stage of the bill now before the House.

Call in the members. And the bells having rung :

Canada Grain ActGovernment Orders

1:30 p.m.

The Deputy Speaker

Pursuant to Standing Order 45(5) (a) , I have been requested by the chief government whip to defer the division until a later time.

Accordingly, pursuant to Standing Order 45(5)(a), a recorded division on the motion stands deferred until tomorrow at 5.30, at which time the bells to call in the members will be sounded for not more than 15 minutes.

Canada Grain ActGovernment Orders

1:30 p.m.

Liberal

Don Boudria Liberal Glengarry—Prescott—Russell, ON

Mr. Speaker, I rise on a point of order. I seek unanimous consent to suspend the sitting of the House until 2 p.m.

Canada Grain ActGovernment Orders

1:30 p.m.

The Deputy Speaker

Is there unanimous consent to suspend the sitting of the House until 2 p.m.?

Canada Grain ActGovernment Orders

1:30 p.m.

Some hon. members

Agreed.

(The sitting of the House was suspended at 1.35 p.m.)

The House resumed at 2 p.m.

SeniorsStatements By Members

1:30 p.m.

Liberal

Brenda Chamberlain Liberal Guelph—Wellington, ON

Mr. Speaker, Guelph-Wellington is enriched daily by the contributions of our seniors. We can all learn from their experience and are fortunate to have many seniors as important members of our communities.

Unfortunately as time passes, it becomes more and more difficult for some seniors to care for themselves and each other

in their homes. I congratulate organizations like Meals-on-Wheels, the Victoria Order of Nurses and Life Line that are active throughout Guelph-Wellington and that help our seniors stay in their homes for as long as possible.

Growing old should not mean having to leave the family home. Governments at all levels should encourage our seniors to remain in the family home where memories and stability provide comfort and support. We owe them no less than this.

Sexual HarrassmentStatements By Members

1:30 p.m.

Bloc

Maud Debien Bloc Laval East, QC

Mr. Speaker, an Ontario judge has ruled that General Motors Corp. did not act properly when it fired a supervisor for using offensive language and making sexual innuendos in the presence of five subordinate female employees. According to the judge, sexually explicit language was the norm in the GM security service.

Members of the Bloc Quebecois are concerned about the implications of such a decision on present and future cases when they go to trial. This decision implies that sexual harassment cannot be invoked when the culture of a given service or company allows this type of behaviour.

In 1987, the Supreme Court of Canada clearly established, in the Robichaud case, that employers are responsible for sexual harassment in the work place. The decision of this Ontario judge reduces the scope of the Supreme Court decision, and we find that regrettable.

This decision is a step backward in our fight for zero tolerance of sexual assault against women. We must oppose it.

Leader Of The OppositionStatements By Members

December 5th, 1994 / 1:30 p.m.

Reform

Deborah Grey Reform Beaver River, AB

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to the hon. member for Lac-Saint-Jean and to say on behalf of my caucus how pleased we are that he is recuperating.

When I arrived at Edmonton International Airport on Thursday evening I received the news of his frightening illness. I was stunned, as were all Canadians. I lay awake almost all night thinking of him, praying that he would live through the night and that the doctors treating him would have real wisdom.

I will always remember the years that the Leader of the Opposition and I sat side by side in the House, from the summer of 1990 until the election of 1993. We talked about the birth of his two sons, Alexandre and Simon. His eyes would light up when he spoke of them, of the incredible joy they have brought to him and his wife, Audrey.

This disease ravages those whom it affects. Mr. Bouchard's life has been spared and it seems nothing short of miraculous.

Good luck, Lucien. We continue to pray for your recovery. God bless you.