Debates of Nov. 2nd, 1995

The House resumed from November 1 consideration of the motion that Bill C-61, an act to establish a system of administrative monetary penalties for the enforcement of the Canada Agricultural Products Act, the Feeds Act, the Fertilizers Act, the Health of Animals Act, the Meat Inspection Act, the Pest Control Products Act, the Plant Protection Act and the Seeds Act be read the third time and passed.

Agriculture And Agri-Food Administrative Monetary Penalties Act

[The Speaker]

It being 10 a.m., pursuant to Standing Order 45, the House will now proceed to the taking of the deferred division at third reading stage of Bill C-61, an act to establish a system of administrative monetary penalties for the enforcement of the Canada Agricultural Products Act, the Feeds Act, the Fertilizers Act, the Health of Animals Act, the Meat Inspection Act, the Pest Control Products Act, the Plant Protection Act and the Seeds Act.

Call in the members.

(The House divided on the motion, which was agreed to on the following division:)

[The Speaker]

I declare the motion carried.

(Bill read a third time and passed.)

[Raymond Chan, Liberal, Richmond, BC]

Mr. Speaker, if my plane had been on time I would have voted with the government.

Government Response To Petitions

[Peter Milliken, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to Leader of the Government in the House of Commons]

Mr. Speaker, pursuant to Standing Order 36(8), I have the honour to table, in both official languages, the government's response to two petitions.

Private Members' Business-Motion M-473

[Réal Ménard, Bloc, Hochelaga—Maisonneuve, QC]

Madam Speaker, I would like to seek the House's assent to change Motion No. 473 for Motion No. 474 on the order of priorities for private members' business. I seek the consent of the House in this.

[The Acting Speaker (Mrs. Maheu)]

Does the House give its unanimous consent?

[Some hon. members]

Agreed.

[Some hon. members]

No.

[The Acting Speaker (Mrs. Maheu)]

The hon. member for Calgary West has the floor on a point of order.

[Stephen Harper, Reform, Calgary West, AB]

Madam Speaker, I rise on a point of order. If I understand the motion correctly, it is to not debate the issue of the international laws that pertain to the recognition of Quebec's right to self-determination. As it is obvious from the statements from the Bloc that we will be debating this in the future, we in the Reform Party believe it is important that Parliament, which is representative of all of Canada, have a chance to debate this issue. Therefore we will not agree to dropping this off the Order Paper.

[The Acting Speaker (Mrs. Maheu)]

We do not have unanimous consent, therefore.

Petitions

[Ronald J. Duhamel, Liberal, St. Boniface, MB]

Madam Speaker, I have the honour of presenting this petition on small and medium size businesses.

Almost everyone knows that small and medium size businesses in Canada are important to job creation and are important to the quality of life of Canadians. These petitioners are simply requesting that whenever governments make decisions that could impact on small and medium size businesses they recognize the importance they have for Canada in terms of jobs and in terms of adding to the quality of life.

[Lyle Vanclief, Liberal, Prince Edward—Hastings, ON]

Madam Speaker, I would like to table a petition from 33 Canadians in the Prince Edward-Hastings area calling on Parliament to take steps to keep the bovine growth hormone out of Canada by legislating a moratorium on the use and sale of the bovine growth hormone until the year 2000 and examining the outstanding health and economic questions through an independent and transparent review.

[Réal Ménard, Bloc, Hochelaga—Maisonneuve, QC]

Madam Speaker, I have the honour to present a petition from several hundred persons, young people who are demanding that the Canadian government amend the Canadian Human Rights Act to include sexual orientation as the tenth illegal reason for discrimination.

I enthusiastically support this petition and trust that the government will act it on expeditiously.

[Paul Szabo, Liberal, Mississauga South, ON]

Madam Speaker, pursuant to Standing Order 36, I wish to present a petition that has been circulating all across Canada. This portion of the petition has been signed by a number of Canadians from Stratford, Ontario.

The petitioners would like to draw to the attention of the House that managing the family home and caring for preschool children is an honourable profession, which has not been recognized for its value to our society. They also state that the Income Tax Act discriminates against families that make the choice to provide care in the home to preschool children, the disabled, the chronically ill or the aged.

The petitioners therefore pray and call upon Parliament to pursue initiatives to eliminate tax discrimination against families that decide to provide care in the home for preschool children, the disabled, the chronically ill or the aged.

[Peter Adams, Liberal, Peterborough, ON]

Madam Speaker, I have a petition from citizens of the city and county of Peterborough. The petitioners state that whereas the name of Our Lord Jesus Christ and the Lord's Prayer have been included in the historic parliamentary prayer of the House of Commons since 1867; and whereas Canada was founded and built upon the principles of Christianity and a large majority of Canadians profess the Christian faith; therefore they call on the House of Commons to close the parliamentary prayer with the words "through Jesus Christ our Lord, Amen" and reinstate the Lord's Prayer at the conclusion of the opening prayer.

[Peter Adams, Liberal, Peterborough, ON]

Madam Speaker, I have another petition from numerous citizens in eastern Ontario.

The petitioners point out that acts of discrimination against lesbian, gay and bisexual Canadians are an everyday reality in all regions of Canada and that this kind of discrimination is unacceptable in a country known for its commitment to human rights, equality and dignity for all citizens.

Therefore these petitioners call upon Parliament to act quickly to amend the Canadian Human Rights Act to prohibit discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and to adapt all necessary measures to recognize the full equality of same sex relationships in federal law.

[Robert Bertrand, Liberal, Pontiac—Gatineau—Labelle, QC]

Madam Speaker, pursuant to Standing Order 36, it is my pleasure today to present a petition signed by 111 residents of Labelle County in my riding.

The petition is about an issue that concerns many Canadians. It asks Parliament to amend the Divorce Act by including a provision identical to section 611 of the Quebec Civil Code, which provides that parents cannot, without serious grounds, interfere with a child's personal relationship with its grandparents and that if no agreement can be reached by the parties, the terms of this relationship shall be determined by the court.

Questions On The Order Paper

[Peter Milliken, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to Leader of the Government in the House of Commons]

Madam Speaker, Question No. 239 will be answered today.

Question No. 239-

[Randy White, Reform, Fraser Valley West, BC]

Concerning CPC, for the most recent available 12-month period, ( a ) what was the detailed cost breakdown of all expenditures on hospitality for customers and other business clients, with particular reference to private boxes and season tickets at professional sports stadiums and arenas, including expenditures paid out through employee expense claims, and (b) what were the expense claims for the top four Canada post executives in Vancouver, Calgary, Edmonton, Regina, Winnipeg, Toronto, Ottawa and Montreal?

[David Dingwall, Liberal, Minister of Public Works and Government Services and Minister for the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency]

As a commercial crown corporation, Canada Post is not subject to the Access to Information Act. The government made the decision to exempt crown corporations such as Canada Post, in recognition of the requirement that they operate in a competitive environment. The Privacy Act also protects personal information from third party access, these are deemed as commercially confidential.

[Peter Milliken, Liberal, Kingston and the Islands, ON]

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

[The Acting Speaker (Mrs. Maheu)]

Is that agreed?

[Some hon. members]

Agreed.