House of Commons Hansard #95 of the 35th Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament's site.) The word of the day was crime.

Topics

Canada Grain Act

10 a.m.

Regina—Wascana Saskatchewan

Liberal

Ralph Goodale LiberalMinister of Agriculture and Agri-Food

moved for leave to introduce Bill C-51, an act to amend the Canada Grain Act and respecting certain regulations made pursuant to that act.

(Motions deemed adopted, bill read the first time and printed.)

Department Of Public Works And Government Services Act

10 a.m.

Windsor West Ontario

Liberal

Herb Gray Liberalfor the Minister of Public Works and Government Services and Minister for the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency

moved for leave to introduce Bill C-52, an act to establish the Department of Public Works and Government Services and to amend and repeal certain acts.

(Motions deemed adopted, bill read the first time and printed.)

Criminal Code

10 a.m.

Reform

Jay Hill Reform Prince George—Peace River, BC

moved for leave to introduce Bill C-272, an act to amend the Criminal Code (gun control).

Mr. Speaker, today it is my pleasure to introduce a private member's bill to amend some of the more contentious clauses in the Criminal Code pertaining to gun control.

This bill decriminalizes offences against regulations respecting storage, display, handling and transportation of firearms. It simplifies the FAC renewal process and allows previous law-abiding gun owners to acquire an FAC without going through the course and test.

It allows gun owners to bequeath grandfathered restricted guns. It clarifies the legal obligation of this government to provide compensation for confiscated firearms. It makes all future and existing regulations subject to review by the House of Commons.

Canadians are demanding crime control, not gun control. It is time for the government to get tough on criminals, not create more red tape for legitimate gun owners.

(Motions deemed adopted, bill read the first time and printed.)

Petitions

10:05 a.m.

Liberal

Tom Wappel Liberal Scarborough West, ON

Mr. Speaker, I have three petitions this morning. The first one is from petitioners in and around metropolitan Toronto and concerns the Young Offenders Act.

It calls on Parliament to provide for heavier penalties for those convicted of violent crime and to provide more funds to police departments. I want to remind these petitioners that Bill C-37 is currently before the House of Commons and will address some of those concerns.

Petitions

10:05 a.m.

Liberal

Tom Wappel Liberal Scarborough West, ON

Mr. Speaker, the second petition is from 52 people in my riding of Scarborough West.

They call on Parliament to immediately extend protection to the unborn child by amending the Criminal Code to extend the same protection enjoyed by born human beings to unborn human beings.

Petitions

10:05 a.m.

Liberal

Tom Wappel Liberal Scarborough West, ON

Mr. Speaker, my third petition is from quite a number of the good citizens of Belleville, Ontario.

They have asked me to present a petition calling on Parliament not to amend the Human Rights Act or the Charter of Rights and Freedoms in any way to indicate societal approval of same sex relationships or to use the undefined phrase sexual orientation in any legislation.

Petitions

10:05 a.m.

Reform

Jim Hart Reform Okanagan—Similkameen—Merritt, BC

Mr. Speaker, pursuant to Standing Order 36, I present a petition of 74 people from the areas of Osoyoos, Oliver, Okanagan Falls, Penticton of my riding of Okanagan-Similkameen-Merritt.

The petitioners say that the majority of Canadians believe the privileges that society accords to heterosexual couples should not be extended to same sex relationships.

Therefore the petitioners pray and request that Parliament not amend the human rights code, the Canadian Human Rights Act or the Charter of Rights and Freedoms in any way that would tend to indicate societal approval of same sex relationships.

Petitions

10:05 a.m.

Liberal

Réginald Bélair Liberal Cochrane—Superior, ON

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to present a petition this morning on behalf of the Catholic Women's League from Kapuskasing.

Its members would like Parliament to review and revise our laws concerning young offenders by empowering the courts to prosecute and punish the young law breakers who are terrorizing our society by releasing their names and lowering the age limit to allow prosecution to meet the severity of the crime.

Petitions

10:05 a.m.

Liberal

Paul Devillers Liberal Simcoe North, ON

Mr. Speaker, I feel compelled to present every petition from my constituents that conforms with Standing Order 36 regardless of my personal views.

I therefore present a petition requesting that this Parliament maintain the status quo regarding the Charter of Rights and Freedoms and the Canadian Human Rights Act to avoid any semblance of societal approval for same sex relationships.

The petition, which erroneously states that Canada has a human rights code, is identical to many petitions that have been presented in this Parliament over the past several months. I suspect they are part of an organized campaign to deny a significant group of Canadians equal rights.

I do not believe that we as parliamentarians have the authority to extend or deny any person's right on the basis of petitioners' personal convictions or beliefs. We have the important responsibility of ensuring that all Canadians have the same rights. Without this none of us has any true guarantees.

Petitions

10:05 a.m.

Liberal

Peter Milliken Liberal Kingston and the Islands, ON

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to rise to present a petition signed by numerous residents of the city of Kingston and the surrounding area.

These residents are concerned about injuries occurring to young children in school buses. They call upon Parliament to enact legislation that will require that all buses used to transport children be equipped with individual seat belts, one for each child, in accordance with normal practice in vehicles.

Petitions

10:10 a.m.

Liberal

Charles Hubbard Liberal Miramichi, NB

Mr. Speaker, I have a petition from more than 300 workers at Heath steel mines and Brunswick mines in New Brunswick.

These petitioners want to draw the attention of the House to the fact that Canada's investment climate is forcing its mineral industry to look for new opportunities elsewhere. The Canadian Mineral Industry Federation has prepared a 10 point program of action to be addressed by both the mineral industry and the Government of Canada to keep mining in Canada.

It urges Parliament to take action to increase employment in the mining sector, promote exploration, rebuild Canada's mineral reserves, sustain mining and keep mining in Canada.

Petitions

10:10 a.m.

The Deputy Speaker

I believe a member of the Official Opposition wishes to present a bill on behalf of another member. Since we forgot to recognize the member earlier, I will ask for unanimous consent to give him an opportunity to present this bill now.

Is there unanimous consent?

Petitions

10:10 a.m.

Some hon. members

Agreed.

Interest Act

10:10 a.m.

Bloc

Ghislain Lebel Bloc Chambly, QC

moved for leave to introduce Bill C-273, an Act to amend the Interest Act.

Mr. Speaker, I welcome this opportunity to introduce a private members' bill whose purpose is to reduce the fees or penalties for renegotiating a mortgage for a period of less than five years. There was considerable debate on the subject in 1983, just after the recession in the early eighties. I therefore table this bill.

(Motions deemed adopted, bill read the first time and printed.)

Questions On The Order Paper

10:10 a.m.

Kingston and the Islands Ontario

Liberal

Peter Milliken LiberalParliamentary Secretary to Leader of the Government in the House of Commons

Mr. Speaker, Question No. 62 will be answered today.

Question No. 62-

Questions On The Order Paper

10:10 a.m.

Bloc

Pierre De Savoye Bloc Portneuf, QC

In the Department of Health estimates, has the government provided for an amount of money for Canada's anti-drug strategy and, if so, ( a ) what is that amount; ( b ) what proportion of that amount is allocated to alcoholism problems; and ( c ) what proportion of that amount is allocated to problems involving drugs other than alcohol and tobacco?

Questions On The Order Paper

10:10 a.m.

Sudbury Ontario

Liberal

Diane Marleau LiberalMinister of Health

(a) $21.5 million. (b) and (c) Health Canada's role in canada's drug strategy, CDS lies in the areas of prevention and control. For many years prevention activities have been directed toward alcohol whereas in the past 10 to 15 years studies show Canadians to be poly drug users. Consequently, Health Canada's prevention programming aims to address the factors associated with drug taking behaviour in general without differentiating by drug such as alcohol, benzodiazepene, cannabis, cocaine et cetera. In addition, programming tends to be target group specific where different combinations of drugs use affects women, seniors, youth and natives differently.

Below is a detailed breakdown of Health Canada programs funded by CDS.

INSERT TABLE INSERT TABLE INSERT TABLE INSERT TABLE INSERT TABLE INSERT TABLE INSERT TABLE INSERT TABLE INSERT TABLE INSERT TABLE INSERT TABLE INSERT TABLE INSERT TABLE INSERT TABLE INSERT TABLE INSERT TABLE INSERT TABLE INSERT TABLE INSERT TABLE INSERT T

INSERT TABLE INSERT TABLE INSERT TABLE

Questions On The Order Paper

10:10 a.m.

The Deputy Speaker

The question as enumerated by the parliamentary secretary has been answered.

Questions On The Order Paper

10:10 a.m.

Liberal

Peter Milliken Liberal Kingston and the Islands, ON

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

Questions On The Order Paper

10:10 a.m.

The Deputy Speaker

Shall the remaining questions stand?

Questions On The Order Paper

10:10 a.m.

Some hon. members

Agreed.

The House resumed from September 19 consideration of the motion that Bill C-44, an act to amend the Immigration Act and the Citizenship Act and to make a consequential amendment to the Customs Act, be read the second time and referred to a committee; and the amendment.

Immigration ActGovernment Orders

10:10 a.m.

The Deputy Speaker

Is the House ready for the question?

Immigration ActGovernment Orders

10:10 a.m.

Some hon. members

Question.

Immigration ActGovernment Orders

10:10 a.m.

Reform

Jim Silye Reform Calgary Centre, AB

Are we voting on the whole bill or just on the amendment?