Debates of Feb. 22nd, 1995

Private Members' Business

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

Mr. Speaker, there is a slight difficulty on the Order Paper for Private Members' Business since tomorrow is not a normal sitting day and there will be no private members' hour.

The hon. member for St. Albert has graciously agreed to allow his item, No. 2 on today's Order Paper, to be dropped to the bottom of the order of precedence. Therefore, the private members' hour will proceed as usual today and on Friday, No. 3 on today's Order Paper, in the name of the hon. member for Skeena, would be the item for discussion in private members' hour.

I would like to thank the hon. member for St. Albert for agreeing to do this. It is very kind of him. I think there would be consent in the House to allow that item to be dropped to the bottom in accordance with his wishes and to preserve the order of the other private members' hours for the next couple of weeks.

[The Acting Speaker (Mr. Kilger)]

Is it agreed?

[Some hon. members]

Agreed.

(Motion agreed to.)

Petitions

[Réginald Bélair, Liberal, Cochrane—Superior, ON]

Mr. Speaker, on behalf of a group of fellow citizens, I want to table a petition regarding euthanasia. The petitioners would like Parliament to ask Canadian doctors to continue saving lives instead of ending them.

They would also like Parliament to implement an act prohibiting assisted suicide in Canada. In addition, they ask that this legislation not be amended to make active or passive euthanasia legal.

[George S. Rideout, Liberal, Moncton, NB]

Mr. Speaker, I have a number of petitions. The first is on behalf of the Minister of Natural Resources, a petition from Edmonton calling upon Parliament to amend the Canadian Human Rights Act to protect individuals from discrimination based on sexual orientation.

[George S. Rideout, Liberal, Moncton, NB]

Mr. Speaker, from my own riding I have a petition in which the petitioners pray that Parliament ensure that the provisions in the Criminal Code prohibiting assisted suicide be enforced vigorously and that no change be made in the law.

[George S. Rideout, Liberal, Moncton, NB]

Mr. Speaker, another petition from my riding requests that Parliament not amend the human rights code dealing with sexual orientation.

[George S. Rideout, Liberal, Moncton, NB]

Mr. Speaker, another petition concerns changing the Criminal Code to prohibit assisted suicides. The petitioners are opposed to that.

[George S. Rideout, Liberal, Moncton, NB]

Mr. Speaker, I have a petition making the safety of our children a priority. The

petitioners request that changes be made to the charter of rights to enable residents to be notified when repeat sex offenders are released into the community.

[Colleen Beaumier, Liberal, Brampton, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I wish to table a petition with over 1,000 signatures calling on the government to introduce legislation that will ensure that individuals cannot use the intoxication defence to avoid prosecution for the commission of a crime.

My constituents are sending the message loud and clear. It is time for a change in the law. I wholly agree with my constituents.

[Marlene Catterall, Liberal, Ottawa West, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I have a petition signed by residents of Ottawa, Nepean, Gloucester and Bristol, Quebec reminding the House that 38 per cent of the national highway system has fallen below accepted standards. Mexico and the United States are upgrading their national highway systems. The national highway policy study identified job creation, economic development, national unity, saving lives, avoiding injuries, lower congestion, lower costs and better international competitiveness as benefits of the national highway program.

They call upon Parliament to urge the government to support all measures that will make the national highway system upgrading possible.

[Dan McTeague, Liberal, Ontario, ON]

Mr. Speaker, today I have the honour of tabling in the House two petitions asking the government to look into intoxication as a defence in rape cases.

The petitioners representing the areas of Pickering, Ajax and Whitby call upon Parliament to amend the Criminal Code to ensure the excuse of extreme intoxication is never again used.

I support this petition.

[Tom Wappel, Liberal, Scarborough West, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I have three petitions. The first is from the Toronto area and calls on Parliament to amend the Criminal Code of Canada and the Young Offenders Act to provide for heavier penalties for those convicted of violent crime, specifically young offenders.

I am glad to note that our government is doing something about that.

[Tom Wappel, Liberal, Scarborough West, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the second petition prays and requests that Parliament not amend the Human Rights Act or the Charter of Rights and Freedoms in any way that would tend to indicate societal approval of same sex relationships or of homosexuality, including amending the Human Rights Act to include in the prohibited grounds of discrimination the undefined phrase sexual orientation.

This is signed by quite a number of people from in and around my riding in Scarborough.

[Tom Wappel, Liberal, Scarborough West, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the final petition is also from in and around my riding in Scarborough, praying that Parliament ensure that the present provisions of the Criminal Code of Canada prohibiting assisted suicide be enforced vigorously and that Parliament make no changes in the law that would sanction or allow the aiding or abetting of suicide or active or passive euthanasia.

It goes without saying I agree with all three petitions.

[Jack Frazer, Reform, Saanich—Gulf Islands, BC]

Mr. Speaker, pursuant to Standing Order 36, it is my duty and honour to rise in the House to present a petition duly certified by the Clerk of Petitions on behalf of 171 constituents of Saanich-Gulf Islands, specifically North and South Pender Islands.

The petitioners humbly pray and request that Parliament reduce government spending instead of increasing taxes, and implement a taxpayer protection act to limit federal spending.

[Paul Forseth, Reform, New Westminster—Burnaby, BC]

Mr. Speaker, I present two petitions on behalf of my constituents from New Westminster-Burnaby and other residents of the greater Vancouver area.

In the first petition, 80 want it to be known that physicians in Canada should be kept working to save lives, not end them. They pray that Parliament ensure that the present provisions of the Criminal Code prohibiting assisted suicide be enforced vigorously, and that Parliament make no changes in the law that would sanction or allow the aiding or abetting of suicide or active or passive euthanasia.

[Paul Forseth, Reform, New Westminster—Burnaby, BC]

Mr. Speaker, in the second petition the signators call upon Parliament to immediately add sexual orientation to the list of grounds protected under the Canadian Human Rights Act, and further amend the Canadian Human Rights Act to ensure that the legislation protects our relationships and our families.

[Jay Hill, Reform, Prince George—Peace River, BC]

Mr. Speaker, pursuant to Standing Order 36, I am presenting today two petitions signed by 193 of the constituents of Prince George-Peace River.

They feel that no amount of gun control has ever succeeded in preventing criminals from acquiring guns for illegal means. Therefore, they ask Parliament to support laws that punish criminals using firearms and to support, recognize and protect the rights of law-abiding citizens to own and use recreational firearms and abolish any existing gun control laws that have proven to be ineffective.

I fully endorse these petitions.

[Ted White, Reform, North Vancouver, BC]

Mr. Speaker, I have a few petitions to present today. The first one is from Helene Windship of North Vancouver and 115 others requesting that Parliament reduce government spending instead of increasing taxes and implement a taxpayer protection act.

The second petition is signed by Rene Kosak of North Vancouver and 25 others asking that Parliament reduce government spending instead of increasing taxes and limit federal spending with a taxpayer protection act.

The third petition is signed by D. A. Reece of North Vancouver and 30 others requesting that the government reduce spending instead of increasing taxes.

[Ted White, Reform, North Vancouver, BC]

Mr. Speaker, the fourth petition is signed by Sheila Thompson of North Vancouver and 25 others asking that Parliament amend the Human Rights Act to protect individuals from discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation.

The fifth petition is signed by Margaret Dale of North Vancouver and 60 others requesting that Parliament not pass Bill C-41 with section 718.2 as presently written and in any event not to include the undefined phrase sexual orientation, as the behaviour people engage in does not warrant special considerations in Canadian law.

[Ted White, Reform, North Vancouver, BC]

Mr. Speaker, the final petition has 198 signatures, starting with Ronald Wells of Burnaby, and most of the others also live in Burnaby, asking that the government not increase taxes but reduce government spending and implement a taxpayer protection act to limit federal spending.

Furthermore, the Deputy Prime Minister promised to resign if the GST had not been abolished within one year and she has not yet done so.

[Paul Crête, Bloc, Kamouraska—Rivière-Du-Loup, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I have the pleasure of tabling several petitions signed by people from four municipalities in my riding. The petitioners humbly pray and call upon Parliament to ask the government to abandon its plan to introduce voice mail systems for seniors, given that seniors are naturally more at a loss when faced with voice mail technology.

These people are from Saint-Mathieu, Saint-Cyprien, Trois-Pistoles and Saint-Jean-de-Dieu. I extend my sympathy to the citizens of Saint-Jean-de-Dieu, who lost their mayor, Mrs. Rioux, this week, and to the Rioux family.

[Jan Brown, Reform, Calgary Southeast, AB]

Mr. Speaker, I have two petitions to present today. The first is part of my initiative on day 13 to present petition 13 which is the desire of constituents to halt the early release from prison of Robert Paul Thompson. April 11, 1995 is the date set for the parole hearing.

The petitioners I represent are concerned about making our streets safer for our citizens. They are opposed to the current practice of early release of violent offenders prior to serving the full extent of their sentences.

The petitioners pray that our streets will be made safer for law abiding citizens and the families of the victims of convicted murderers.

[Jan Brown, Reform, Calgary Southeast, AB]

Mr. Speaker, my second petition is signed by 106 people living in Alberta. These people are against the taxation of dental plan benefits.

These petitioners believe that such a taxation will prove to be a discouragement to those seeking preventative dental treatment. They pray that Parliament not betray their trust by taxing health.