Debates of March 1st, 1995

Petitions

[John Richardson, Liberal, Perth—Wellington—Waterloo, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I have a series of petitions. I will name them off by title only. The first petition supports the government to overturn the intoxication defence for sexual assault.

[John Richardson, Liberal, Perth—Wellington—Waterloo, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the second petition is against assisted suicide or euthanasia.

[John Richardson, Liberal, Perth—Wellington—Waterloo, ON]

Mr. Speaker, this petition supports the ban of BST.

[John Richardson, Liberal, Perth—Wellington—Waterloo, ON]

Mr. Speaker, this petition is in support of child care expenses for stay at home mothers.

[John Richardson, Liberal, Perth—Wellington—Waterloo, ON]

Mr. Speaker, this petition is against lap dancing.

[John Richardson, Liberal, Perth—Wellington—Waterloo, ON]

Mr. Speaker, this petition is for the protection of the unborn child.

[John Richardson, Liberal, Perth—Wellington—Waterloo, ON]

Mr. Speaker, this final petition is against same sex relationships.

[Karen Kraft Sloan, Liberal, York—Simcoe, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I have a petition from my constituents. They request that Parliament consider their plea to enact such amendments to the Criminal Code of Canada or such other legislation as necessary to permit local municipal councils to define their own community standards and thereby to permit municipal councils to pass bylaws to prohibit the establishment of adult entertainment parlours within their municipalities.

[Walt Lastewka, Liberal, St. Catharines, ON]

Mr. Speaker, once again I table hundreds of petitions to the House of Commons concerning the CBC.

The petitioners state that the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation is Canada's national public broadcasting service and an agent of Her Majesty. The CBC is funded by the federal government with taxpayers' dollars. The CBC has applied to televise the proceedings of the Paul Bernardo trial. Therefore, the petitioners call upon Parliament to condemn the actions of the CBC and to request that in accordance with its responsibilities as a national broadcaster that the CBC withdraw its application to televise the Paul Bernardo trial.

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

Mr. Speaker, pursuant to Standing Order 36, I have the pleasure to present a petition on behalf of the Minister of Natural Resources dealing with discrimination based on sexual orientation.

[Garry Breitkreuz, Reform, Yorkton—Melville, SK]

Mr. Speaker, I have several petitions.

The first one is from the men and women of Saskatchewan. They wish to draw to the attention of the House of Commons that the Canadian Wheat Board is vitally important to the grain producers of western Canada. A large majority want to maintain the powers of the Canadian Wheat Board, despite a vocal minority. They therefore request that Parliament continue to give the Canadian Wheat Board monopoly powers in the marketing and export of wheat and barley.

[Garry Breitkreuz, Reform, Yorkton—Melville, SK]

Mr. Speaker, the second petition is also from various people in and around Saskatchewan. It asks 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 which would sanction or allow the aiding or abetting of suicide or active or passive euthanasia.

I concur with these petitioners.

[Garry Breitkreuz, Reform, Yorkton—Melville, SK]

Mr. Speaker, finally, these 44 or 45 petitions are all rather similar. They come from residents in southern Ontario, the Toronto area and areas surrounding Ottawa.

The petitioners ask that Parliament support laws which severely punish all violent criminals who use weapons in the commission of a crime. They support new Criminal Code firearms control provisions which recognize and protect the right of law-abiding citizens to own and use recreational firearms. Lastly they support legislation which will repeal and modify existing gun control laws which have not improved public safety, have not proven to be cost effective or are overly complex.

I concur with these petitioners.

[Michel Bellehumeur, Bloc, Berthier—Montcalm, QC]

Mr. Speaker, pursuant to Standing Order 36, it is my pleasure to table a petition signed by members of seniors' clubs or AFEAS and by other constituents from the municipalities of Saint-Ambroise-de-Kildare, Sainte-Julienne, Saint-Jacques, Saint-Jean-de-Matha, Maskinongé, Rawdon, Saint-Barthélemy, Saint-Édouard, Berthierville, Saint-Esprit-de-Montcalm, Saint-Thomas-de-Joliette and Lanoraie. The petitioners humbly pray and call upon Parliament to abandon its plan to introduce voice mail systems.

Given that seniors are naturally more at a loss when faced with voice mail technology and that it is unconscionable that they be forced to use this communication medium, as you can understand, Mr. Speaker, I unconditionally support the request contained in this petition, which it is my pleasure to table.

[Paul Steckle, Liberal, Huron—Bruce, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to present this afternoon a number of petitions, pursuant to Standing Order 36.

The first has to do with the societal disapproval of same sex orientation. The petitioners pray and request that Parliament not amend the human rights code and not give approval to same sex relationships or of homosexuality, including amending the human rights code to include in the prohibited grounds of discrimination the undefined phrase of sexual orientation.

The next petition has to do with same sex relationships. The petitioners pray that Parliament not amend the Canadian human rights code.

[Paul Steckle, Liberal, Huron—Bruce, ON]

Mr. Speaker, in this petition the petitioners pray 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 which would sanction or allow the abetting or aiding of suicide or active or passive euthanasia.

[Paul Steckle, Liberal, Huron—Bruce, ON]

Mr. Speaker, in another 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.

[Paul Steckle, Liberal, Huron—Bruce, ON]

Mr. Speaker, this petition relates to the gun control issue.

The petitioners pray and call upon Parliament to refrain from making further changes to existing firearm control legislation and direct the judicial system to enforce existing penalties more stringently in the effort to deliver effective crime deterrents.

I support these petitions.

[Paul Steckle, Liberal, Huron—Bruce, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I have one further petition in which the petitioners call upon Parliament to amend the Canadian Human Rights Act to protect individuals from discrimination based on sexual orientation.

[Anna Terrana, Liberal, Vancouver East, BC]

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to rise to present five petitions from the Vancouver area. The first one signed by 288 members of the community deals with the practice of female circumcision.

The petitioners feel that education is a priority for those who practice female circumcision and for those unaware of its prevalence. They therefore request that the Criminal Code of Canada be amended to penalize those involved in the practice.

[Anna Terrana, Liberal, Vancouver East, BC]

Mr. Speaker, the second petition, signed by 54 people, is on the subject of euthanasia. The petitioners say that the majority of Canadians respect the law and the sanctity of human life and believe that doctors should try to save lives, not end them.

The petitioners also ask Parliament to ensure that the provisions in the Criminal Code of Canada prohibiting assisted suicide be rigorously upheld, that Parliament not amend the current laws and that assisted suicide and active or passive euthanasia remain illegal.

[Anna Terrana, Liberal, Vancouver East, BC]

Mr. Speaker, the third fourth and final petitions, containing 72, 25, and 462 signatures respectively, deal with the issue of sexual orientation.

They state that one of the core values of Canadian society is the strong belief in equality, that equality for all Canadians includes freedom from hatred, harassment and discrimination, that all Canadians regardless of race, religion, gender or sexual orientation must be treated equitably under the same circumstances and that great misunderstandings still exist in Canada resulting in discrimination.

The final petition also requests that Parliament amend the Canadian Human Rights Act to include sexual orientation as a basis for protection against discrimination.

[Jan Brown, Reform, Calgary Southeast, AB]

Mr. Speaker, I rise in the House again today to present petition No. 18. This course of action is undertaken on behalf of constituents who wish to halt the early release from prison of Robert Paul Thompson.

The petitioners I represent are concerned about making our streets safer for our citizens and 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 murders.

I have another petition to present. I am honoured to do this on behalf of Albertans. I understand that there are several petitions being presented that equal approximately 64,000 names.

These petitioners pray that the Criminal Code of Canada and the Young Offenders Act of 1992 be amended to allow for tougher sentences to deter people from committing crimes and tough enough to provide real justice.

I am pleased to state that I endorse the contents of this petition.

[John Williams, Reform, St. Albert, AB]

Mr. Speaker, I am honoured to present a petition on behalf of 2,359 Albertans. I understand that there are several petitions being presented that equal approximately 64,000 names.

These petitioners pray that the Criminal Code of Canada and the Young Offenders Act of 1992 be amended to allow for tougher sentences to deter people from committing crimes and tough enough to provide real justice.

I am pleased to state that I endorse the contents of this petition.

[Ken Epp, Reform, Elk Island, AB]

Mr. Speaker, pursuant to Standing Order 36, I am presenting a petition signed by approximately 3,400 people, mostly from the riding of Elk Island.

I understand that this is part of a larger petition which will total some 64,000 names.

The petitioners express a serious concern about and call for changes to the Criminal Code and the Young Offenders Act to make them serious enough to deter young people from committing crimes and tough enough to provide for real justice.