House of Commons Hansard #146 of the 35th Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament's site.) The word of the day was c-44.

Topics

PetitionsRoutine Proceedings

3:20 p.m.

Reform

Jim Silye Reform Calgary Centre, AB

Madam Speaker, as part of my parliamentary duties I rise today to present four petitions to the House.

The first is on behalf of Mr. Michael Dobbin and T.S. Symington who along with 82 other Calgarians call on Parliament to amend the Canadian Human Rights Act to protect individuals from discrimination based on sexual orientation.

The second petition is on behalf of Mr. Robert McNutt who along with 36 other Canadians calls on Parliament to prohibit discrimination the basis of sexual orientation and to adopt all necessary measures to recognize the full equality of same sex relationships in federal law.

PetitionsRoutine Proceedings

3:20 p.m.

Reform

Jim Silye Reform Calgary Centre, AB

The third petition, Madam Speaker, represents the opposing view on sexual orientation as 55 Albertans call on Parliament to oppose any legislation that would directly or indirectly redefine the family.

The fourth and final petition also relates to the subject of families, as 34 Calgary and area residents call on the government to amend the Income Tax Act to provide a child care expense deduction to all families and not just those using outside receipted child care.

I will continue to present all petitions that are sent to me by constituents of Calgary Centre regardless of my personal or political views on the subject.

PetitionsRoutine Proceedings

3:25 p.m.

Reform

Bob Ringma Reform Nanaimo—Cowichan, BC

Madam Speaker, pursuant to Standing Order 36 I am pleased to present a petition with 16,300 signatures.

This petition was collected by a constituent, Mr. Bernard Castet, whose son was murdered by two young offenders. The petition asks for amendments to the Young Offenders Act stating anyone committing a crime of violence will be tried in adult court if he or she is 14 years of age or older.

PetitionsRoutine Proceedings

3:25 p.m.

Reform

Bob Ringma Reform Nanaimo—Cowichan, BC

Madam Speaker, the second petition is much smaller. It calls on Parliament to not enact any further firearms legislation.

PetitionsRoutine Proceedings

3:25 p.m.

Liberal

Jesse Flis Liberal Parkdale—High Park, ON

Madam Speaker, I have three petitions to table today. The first two pertain to the prohibition of discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation.

The petitioners call on Parliament to put an end to discriminatory treatment in Canada of gay and lesbian citizens and their familial relationships by amending federal legislation that currently allows unequal treatment, including an amendment to the Canadian Human Rights Act to prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation.

I have explained to the petitioners my disagreement with sections of their petition, but I feel it is their right to have me table it in the House on their behalf.

PetitionsRoutine Proceedings

3:25 p.m.

Liberal

Jesse Flis Liberal Parkdale—High Park, ON

Madam Speaker, the third petition is a little more complicated. I will not go through the whole petition itself.

The petitioners claim it is clear that in the languages of Parliament and Canada there is evidence that the unborn human foetus from fertilization onward has recognition as an individual and also is included in "everyone"; whereas the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms applies to the Parliament and Government of Canada and article VII guarantees to everyone the right to life and security of the person and article XV(1) states that every individual is equal before and under the law and has the right to equal protection and equal benefit of the law.

The petitioners call on Parliament to urge the government to recognize the unborn foetus from fertilization onward as an entity separate from the mother and to prepare a response to this petition which identifies the formal parliamentary process which selected the response of Petition No. 3510130, which I tabled last year, as the sole basis for the government's position

and provide dismissive argument for each issue raised in this petition.

PetitionsRoutine Proceedings

3:25 p.m.

Reform

Philip Mayfield Reform Cariboo—Chilcotin, BC

Madam Speaker, I am pleased to rise to present three petitions signed by almost 300 people from several communities in my Cariboo-Chilcotin constituency.

My constituents are convinced that existing gun controls are sufficient. Therefore they call on Parliament to support laws that will severely punish all violent criminals who use weapons in the commission of a crime, support new Criminal Code firearms control provisions which recognize and protect the right of law-abiding citizens to own and use recreational firearms, and support legislation that will repeal or modify existing gun control laws that have not improved public safety or have proven not to be cost effective or proven to be overly complex so as to be ineffective or inefficient.

These petitions are presented with my concurrence.

PetitionsRoutine Proceedings

3:25 p.m.

Liberal

John Maloney Liberal Erie, ON

Madam Speaker, pursuant to Standing Order 36 I have two petitions, representing the views of over 163 Erie constituents which I wish to present to the House today.

The first petition calls on the government to enforce the existing provisions in the Criminal Code prohibiting assisted suicide. It also asks that no further changes be made in the law that would sanction the aiding or abetting of suicide or active or passive euthanasia.

PetitionsRoutine Proceedings

3:30 p.m.

Liberal

John Maloney Liberal Erie, ON

Madam Speaker, the second petition is on the issue of same sex benefits.

The petitioners request the government not to consider any amendments to the human rights act or the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms to include in the prohibited grounds of discrimination the phrase "sexual orientation".

PetitionsRoutine Proceedings

3:30 p.m.

NDP

Svend Robinson NDP Burnaby—Kingsway, BC

Madam Speaker, I have the honour to present a petition signed by hundreds of residents of my constituency of Burnaby-Kingsway.

They point out that the current provisions of the Criminal Code deny people who are suffering from terminal or irreversible and debilitating illness the right to choose freely and voluntarily to end their lives with the assistance of a physician. Therefore they call upon Parliament to amend the Criminal Code to ensure the right of all Canadians to die with dignity by allowing people with terminal or irreversible and debilitating illness the right to the assistance of a physician in ending their lives at a time of their choice, subject to strict safeguards to prevent abuse and to ensure that the decision is free, informed, competent and voluntary.

PetitionsRoutine Proceedings

3:30 p.m.

Reform

Art Hanger Reform Calgary Northeast, AB

Madam Speaker, I have three petitions to table.

In the first the petitioners request that Parliament recognize that those who commit murder should never be released from prison. To that end, we ask that capital punishment be reinstated for those offenders.

The petition bears over 2,200 names.

PetitionsRoutine Proceedings

3:30 p.m.

Reform

Art Hanger Reform Calgary Northeast, AB

Madam Speaker, in the second petition the petitioners, residents of communities in Alberta, in memory of Ryan and in support of Stu and Marg Garrioch and their family request that Parliament recognize that crimes of violence are serious and out of control, putting our society at risk.

They ask that the House amend the Young Offenders Act to give society the protection it deserves. There are over 2,500 signatures.

PetitionsRoutine Proceedings

3:30 p.m.

Reform

Art Hanger Reform Calgary Northeast, AB

Madam Speaker, the third petition bears 1,655 signatures and requests that Parliament recognize that crimes of violence are serious and out of control, putting all of society at risk and that life should be life with no parole for violent offenders convicted of first degree murder and a minimum of 25 years without parole for those convicted of second degree murder.

I concur with the contents of each petition.

PetitionsRoutine Proceedings

3:30 p.m.

Liberal

Harold Culbert Liberal Carleton—Charlotte, NB

Madam Speaker, I have two petitions that have been duly certified by the clerk of petitions.

The first petition is to the House of Commons assembled and requests Parliament to ensure that the present provisions of the Criminal Code of Canada prohibiting assisted suicide be enforced vigorously and that in addition, Parliament make no changes in the law that would sanction or allow the aiding or abetting of suicide or any activity designed to terminate human life.

PetitionsRoutine Proceedings

3:30 p.m.

Liberal

Harold Culbert Liberal Carleton—Charlotte, NB

Madam Speaker, in the second petition the petitioners are asking Parliament to ensure not to amend the human rights code, the human rights act or the charter of rights and freedoms in any way that would indicate societal approval of same sex relationships or homosexuality.

PetitionsRoutine Proceedings

3:30 p.m.

Reform

Dick Harris Reform Prince George—Bulkley Valley, BC

Madam Speaker, pursuant to Standing Order 36 I am proud to present four petitions dealing with the issue of euthanasia,

assisted suicide from the people of the three towns of Prince George, Vanderhoof and Burns Lake in the great riding of Prince George-Bulkley Valley.

The petitioners humbly pray that Parliament not repeal or amend section 241 of the Criminal Code in any way and not allow the Supreme Court of Canada's decision of September 30 to disallow assisted suicide, euthanasia.

I am pleased to say that I concur in every respect with these four petitions.

PetitionsRoutine Proceedings

3:30 p.m.

Reform

Chuck Strahl Reform Fraser Valley East, BC

Madam Speaker, I have several petitions to present today.

In the first one the petitioners request that Parliament not change any legislation that would indicate societal approval of same sex relationships or of homosexuality, including amending the human rights code. They will be pleased that the minister has agreed to delay the introduction of that legislation.

PetitionsRoutine Proceedings

3:30 p.m.

Reform

Chuck Strahl Reform Fraser Valley East, BC

Madam Speaker, the second petition requests 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.

PetitionsRoutine Proceedings

3:30 p.m.

Reform

Chuck Strahl Reform Fraser Valley East, BC

Madam Speaker, in the third petition the petitioners pray that Parliament act immediately to 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.

PetitionsRoutine Proceedings

3:35 p.m.

NDP

Vic Althouse NDP Mackenzie, SK

Madam Speaker, I have a petition from residents of my constituency who point out that a very vocal minority of citizens are requesting Parliament to institute a dual marketing system for wheat and barley for export.

The petitioners humbly request that Parliament continue the wheat board monopoly powers for marketing wheat and barley and that it extend them to include all grains and oilseeds.

Questions On The Order PaperRoutine Proceedings

February 6th, 1995 / 3:35 p.m.

Kingston and the Islands Ontario

Liberal

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

Madam Speaker, the following questions will be answered today: Nos. 76, 88 and 108.

Question No. 76-

Questions On The Order PaperRoutine Proceedings

3:35 p.m.

Liberal

Janko Peric Liberal Cambridge, ON

Regarding the decision to proceed with construction of the Kitchener prison for women, ( a ) how much money has been spent to date on the prison project, ( b ) how were those funds allocated, ( c ) was consideration given to relocating the prison to the Maple Grove road site? If yes, why was the site found to be unsuitable, ( d ) has any consideration been given to the recent offer by the warden of the Oxford Regional Centre in which a portion of that prison was offered to Correctional Service Canada, as an alternative to building the prison for women in Kitchener? If not, why not and ( e ) what would the anticipated cost of relocating the prison to an alternate site be and what types of expenditures would be included in that cost?

Questions On The Order PaperRoutine Proceedings

3:35 p.m.

Windsor West Ontario

Liberal

Herb Gray LiberalLeader of the Government in the House of Commons and Solicitor General of Canada

In so far as Correctional Service Canada is concerned, the answer is as follows:

(a) Money spent to date: Approximately $3.11 million has been spent to date.

(b) Allocation of funds: $1.61 million for acquisition of site, including legal fees; $1.5 million for two environmental studies, architectural design drawings, salary and operating cost for the Kitchener federally sentenced women office to house the warden, the deputy warden and support staff.

(c) In November 1993 the Maple Grove site was given consideration as a possible site for the prison. However, the location was found to be unsuitable for the following reasons:

(1) There are only two possible locations at the Maple Grove site which are sufficiently level to permit construction of the new women's prison. Neither is large enough to build on.

(2) Making the site larger to accommodate the needs of a women's prison would entail removing an esker. This would require provincial environmental approval and such a process would be both costly and time consuming. Meeting the anticipated environmental concerns would significantly increase the cost of the prison. Also, an agreement would have to be negotiated with the province of Ontario concerning the role of Correctional Service Canada in sharing the costs arising from this process.

(3) There would be significant additional costs of bringing storm and sanitary sewers to the Maple Grove site.

(4) The minimum travel time required for services such as ambulance, police and fire to reach the location in the event of an emergency is exceeded because it is not close enough to these services.

(5) The Maple Grove site is not within a maximum 15-minute walk to available public transit services.

(6) Alternative sites would only have been considered if the Solicitor General had decided to reopen the site selection process. This is not the case.

On June 6, 1994, the Solicitor General issued a news release announcing the decision to proceed with the site already purchased on Homer Watson Boulevard and describing the reasons not to reopen the site selection process. This decision was based on an extensive review of all aspects of the Kitchener project and confirmed that the site on Homer Watson Boulevard was the best of the 21 sites originally proposed by the city of Kitchener. The review did not include consideration of sites not on the original list.

(d) The Oxford Regional Centre does not have design features that are consistent with the principles established by the task force on federally sentenced women, such as a home-like atmosphere with small cottage units to promote independent living in small groups, building structures that have natural light and good air ventilation, a size that would allow an interactive atmosphere, and non-intrusive security measures, in order to reflect the low risk to the community presented by most inmates. For these reasons further consideration was not given to the Oxford Regional Centre.

(e) The cost of relocating the facility to another site is estimated at $5.2 million, which consists of an estimated $2.8 million to acquire a new serviced property, conduct environmental studies and modify the architectural drawings to the new site. The remaining $2.4 million represents the cost of operating the prison for women in Kingston, Ontario, for an additional year. As for federally sentenced women, the construction of the other facilities is planned to be completed in late fall 1995.

Question No. 88-

Questions On The Order PaperRoutine Proceedings

3:35 p.m.

Reform

Jan Brown Reform Calgary Southeast, AB

For 1992 and 1993 what were the car leases for the CBC, who had a lease, what were the make, model, year and detailed costs of each lease?

Questions On The Order PaperRoutine Proceedings

3:35 p.m.

Laval West Québec

Liberal

Michel Dupuy LiberalMinister of Canadian Heritage

For the years 1992 and 1993 the CBC's total number of car leases, which includes leases starting or ending within the two-year period, was 78 and 64 respectively.

All those leases were for general use vehicles for the purpose of corporate business, except for the following which were assigned to specific individuals and were leased under the name of the CBC: (1) 1989 Buick Lesabre at $560 per month; lease expired April 23, 1992; (2) 1988 Buick Lesabre at $450 per month; lease expired June 30, 1992; and (3) 1993 Buick Lesabre at $529 per month; lease expires May 4, 1996.

Question No. 108-