Debates of March 29th, 1995

Points Of Order

[Allan Rock, Liberal, Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada]

Mr. Speaker, I wish to correct a mistake which I made in response to a question put on March 23 by the hon. member for Yorkton-Melville.

The hon. member asked me about the registration of firearms. In response, I referred to Statistics Canada numbers. I said that in Saskatchewan the fatality rate from firearms is 50 per cent higher than the national average and the suicide rate from firearms is twice the national average. I was wrong.

The statistics are, when correctly stated, that the firearms suicide rate is one-third higher than the national average in Saskatchewan. It is the rate of death from accidents with firearms that is twice the national average. Overall, firearms fatalities in Saskatchewan are 25 per cent higher than the national average. I shall furnish the hon. member with a copy of these statistics which bear out those numbers.

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 31 petitions.

Committees Of The House

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

Mr. Speaker, I have the honour to present the 70th report of the Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs regarding the selection of votable items in accordance with Standing Order 92. This report is deemed adopted on presentation.

Business Of The House

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

Mr. Speaker, I think you will find unanimous consent for the following motion. I move:

That, notwithstanding any Standing Order, immediately following the completion of Private Members' Business on Wednesday, March 29, 1995, the House shall continue to sit for not more than three hours for the purpose of considering a motion "That this House, in light of the UN Security Council consideration of renewed mandates for UN forces in the former Yugoslavia, take note of the rotation of Canadian forces serving with UNPROFOR in Bosnia-Hercegovina and Croatia".

That the first three speakers during debate thereon shall not speak for more than twenty minutes and no speaker thereafter shall speak for more than ten minutes;

That, during debate thereon, the Chair shall not accept any dilatory motions or quorum calls; and

That, at the end of three hours' consideration of the said motion, or when no further Members wish to speak, whichever is earlier, the Speaker shall adjourn the House until the next sitting day.

[The Deputy Speaker]

The House has heard the terms of the motion. Does the House give unanimous consent to introduce this motion?

[Some hon. members]

Agreed.

[The Deputy Speaker]

Is it the pleasure of the House to adopt the motion?

[Some hon. members]

Agreed.

(Motion agreed to).

Petitions

[Andy Scott, Liberal, Fredericton—York—Sunbury, NB]

Mr. Speaker, pursuant to Standing Order 36, I rise today to present two petitions on behalf of constituents. The first is on behalf of 63 constituents of Fredericton-York-Sunbury who request Parliament to amend the Divorce Act to offer protection to grandparents in the case of a divorce action.

[Andy Scott, Liberal, Fredericton—York—Sunbury, NB]

The second petition, Mr. Speaker, requests that changes be made to the charter of rights to enable residents to be notified when repeat sex offenders are released into our communities in order to protect the safety of children. This petition was signed by 500 constituents.

[Paul Szabo, Liberal, Mississauga South, ON]

Mr. Speaker, pursuant to Standing 36, I wish to present a petition signed by a number of petitioners from the national capital region.

They 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 who 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 who decide to provide care in the home for preschool children, the disabled, the chronically ill and the aged.

[Susan Whelan, Liberal, Essex—Windsor, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I hold over 6,000 signatures from the residents of Windsor and Essex county asking Parliament to repeal the Supreme Court of Canada's decision to include extreme drunkenness or incapacity as a defence to indictable offences.

These petitions, launched by the Victims for Justice Coalition of Windsor-Essex County, further request that Parliament recognize that society is obligated to punish those who of their own free will render themselves intoxicated and harm others.

I want to commend the coalition for its efforts in this regard. I am pleased to present these petitions. I am also pleased that this government has responded to the concerns of all Canadians on this issue with the introduction of Bill C-72, which is moving swiftly through the House.

[Dan McTeague, Liberal, Ontario, ON]

Mr. Speaker, pursuant to Standing Order 36, I am pleased to present 667 signatures from Calgary, Toronto, Ottawa, Ajax, Pickering and Whitby.

These petitioners call upon the CRTC to review the entire matter in which the cable TV companies introduced the new specialty channel service.

[Herb Grubel, Reform, Capilano—Howe Sound, BC]

Mr. Speaker, I wish to present four different petitions signed by constituents of Capilano-Howe Sound.

The first group of petitioners request that this House oppose amendments to the Canadian Human Rights Act or the charter of the rights and freedoms which provide for the inclusion of the phrase of sexual orientation.

[Herb Grubel, Reform, Capilano—Howe Sound, BC]

Mr. Speaker, the second group of petitions signed by constituents of mine call upon Parliament to oppose the passage of section 718.2 of Bill C-41.

[Herb Grubel, Reform, Capilano—Howe Sound, BC]

Mr. Speaker, the third group of petitions signed by constituents of Capilano-Howe Sound request that Parliament reduce government spending instead of increasing taxes and that it implement a taxpayer protection act to limit federal government spending in the future. It is my pleasure to support this request.

[Herb Grubel, Reform, Capilano—Howe Sound, BC]

Mr. Speaker, the fourth group of petitions signed by residents of Bowen Island in my constituency call upon Parliament to amend the Canadian Human Rights Act to protect individuals from discrimination based on sexual orientation.

[Ed Harper, Reform, Simcoe Centre, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I have three sets of petitions to present today on behalf of the constituents of Simcoe Centre.

The first group of petitioners request that the Government of Canada not amend the human rights act to include the phrase sexual orientation. The petitioners fear that such an inclusion could lead to homosexuals receiving the same benefits and societal privileges as married couples.

[Ed Harper, Reform, Simcoe Centre, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the second petition involves section 718.2 of Bill C-41. The petitioners are concerned that naming some groups in legislation will exclude other groups from protection and that sentencing based on the concept of hatred is very subjective and will undermine our justice system.

[Ed Harper, Reform, Simcoe Centre, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the third and final petition from my riding contains 474 signatures. It was collected by small businessmen from my riding including Mr. Garry Valley, Mr. John Ough, Mr. Barry Bertram, Dr. Devon Smith, Mr. Bryan Greig, Mrs. Jean Baker Pearce, and Mr. Paul Jamieson.

The petitioners request that with Canadians already overburdened with taxation due to high government spending, Parliament reduce government spending instead of increasing taxes.

[Jag Bhaduria, Liberal, Markham—Whitchurch-Stouffville, ON]

Mr. Speaker, pursuant to Standing Order 36 I am presenting a petition signed by petitioners in the Markham-Whitchurch-Stouffville area.

These petitioners call on Parliament to reduce the deficit by cutting wastage and reduce the overall expenses in every government department by at least 5 per cent.

[Len Hopkins, Liberal, Renfrew—Nipissing—Pembroke, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I have a petition signed by approximately 200 people. They are concerned about the morale in the Canadian forces.

The decision to disband the Canadian airborne regiment brought the forces under intense media and public scrutiny.

They would like a thorough and fully disclosed investigation. They feel that this would result in the public being better informed about the Canadian military's condition and contribution to our country's internal and external stature and well-being.

They petition Parliament to initiate at the earliest time a wide ranging public inquiry into the problems facing the Canadian forces today.

[Sarkis Assadourian, Liberal, Don Valley North, ON]

Mr. Speaker, pursuant to Standing Order 36, it is my pleasure to present to this House petitions signed by 100 Canadians living in North York, Scarborough, Richmond Hill, in the metro Toronto area.

These petitioners ask the House to recognize and condemn the Turkish genocide of the Armenians. This year they will be commemorating the 80th anniversary of the genocide and they ask this House for similar recognition as was done by the Israel, Russia, France and Uruguay parliaments. As well, the parliaments of Quebec and Ontario recognize this crime against humanity.

[Jan Brown, Reform, Calgary Southeast, AB]

Mr. Speaker, I rise again to present another petition in this course of action I have 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. They are opposed to the current practice of early release of violent offenders prior to them serving the full extent of their sentences.

The petitioners pray that our streets will be made safer for law-abiding citizens, their families and the families of the victims of crime.

[Charlie Penson, Reform, Peace River, AB]

Mr. Speaker, I have two petitions I would like to present today.

The first petition is signed by 788 people and deals with the subject of young offenders. Canadian citizens from coast to coast are calling for changes to the Young Offenders Act. They want an act that is serious enough to deter young people from committing crimes and tough enough to provide real justice.

Therefore, the petitioners request that Parliament undertake a complete and thorough review of existing legislation to address their concerns.