Debates of May 12th, 1995

Committees Of The House

[Mark Assad, Liberal, Gatineau—La Lièvre, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I have the honour to present the sixth report of the Standing Committee on Agriculture and Agri-food which deals with Bill C-75, an act to amend the Farm Improvement and Marketing Co-operatives Loans Act.

It is reported with no amendments.

[David Walker, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to Minister of Finance]

Mr. Speaker, I have the honour to present, in both official languages, the 14th report of the Standing Committee on Finance relating to Bill C-70, an act to amend the Income tax Act, the Income Tax Application Rules and related acts.

Excise Tax Act

[Marcel Massé, Liberal, on behalf of the Minister of Finance and Minister responsible for the Federal Office of Regional Development-Quebec]

moved for leave to introduce Bill C-90, an act to amend the Excise Tax Act and the Excise Act.

(Motions deemed adopted, bill read the first time and printed.)

Petitions

[Paul Szabo, Liberal, Mississauga South, ON]

Mr. Speaker, pursuant to Standing Order 36, I wish to present a petition which has been circulating across Canada. The petition has been signed by a number of petitioners from the Calgary, Alberta area.

The petitioners draw to the attention of the House that managing the family home and caring for pre-school children is an honourable profession that 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 for pre-school children, the disabled, the chronically ill and the aged.

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

[Geoff Regan, Liberal, Halifax West, NS]

Mr. Speaker, in accordance with Standing Order 36, I rise to present a petition signed by 144 petitioners, calling on the government to act quickly to amend the Canadian Human Rights Act to prohibit discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation.

[Andrew Telegdi, Liberal, Waterloo, ON]

Mr. Speaker, pursuant to Standing Order 36, I have a number of petitions to present on the issue of sexual orientation and Bill C-41.

One petition is signed by 69 people proposing the inclusion of sexual orientation. Two other petitions with 88 signatures and 379 signatures respectively request the deletion of section 718(2) from Bill C-41.

[Andrew Telegdi, Liberal, Waterloo, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I have a petition bearing 38 signatures against assisted suicide.

[Andrew Telegdi, Liberal, Waterloo, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I have a petition bearing 54 signatures from the campaign for equal families and religious faiths. It calls for an end to discrimination of gay and lesbian people with the inclusion of protection in the Canadian Human Rights Act.

[Michel Daviault, Bloc, Ahuntsic, QC]

Mr. Speaker, pursuant to Standing Order 36, I have the pleasure to table a petition signed by 1,700 petitioners and young students from the Montreal area concerning funding for post-secondary education.

These petitioners pray and call upon Parliament to ask the government to review the whole reform proposal so that education can be regarded as an investment in the future rather than a financial burden to the government.

[Jan Brown, Reform, Calgary Southeast, AB]

Mr. Speaker, I rise again to present a petition to the House in this effort to keep Robert Paul Thompson behind bars.

These petitioners are attempting to bring attention to the government to make our streets safer for law-abiding citizens. They are encouraging the government to enact legislation in order to do the following: One, allow reclassification of offenders as dangerous after sentencing; two, allow the indefinite detention of dangerous offenders after warrant expiry; and three, allow violent offenders to be ineligible for parole until the full sentence has been served.

[Elijah Harper, Liberal, Churchill, MB]

Mr. Speaker, last year Sarah Kelly, a constituent of mine, was brutally murdered by Robert Bliss Arthurson, a known sex offender in The Pas, Manitoba.

Arthurson had been previously convicted for sexual offences involving children. He was known to police and social service agencies as a potential threat to children, but they felt under the current laws of Canada and Manitoba that they could not legally warn the community of the threat he posed.

Today I present to the House a petition with signatures from over 2,000 residents of The Pas and other communities. They pray that this Parliament enact legislation to enable courts to notify residents when sex offenders and murderers are released into the community.

I call on the hon. Minister of Justice and my fellow members to join me in finding ways to achieve this.

[Ken Epp, Reform, Elk Island, AB]

Mr. Speaker, I have three petitions today pursuant to Standing Order 36.

The first one bears 39 signatures. It indicates that since Canadians believe that all Canadians should enjoy the same protection in law by virtue of being Canadians, the petitioners pray that Parliament not amend the Criminal Code in such a way that sentencing be less severe for crimes against persons who are not in an especially protected category.

Mr. Speaker, the second petition bears 280 signatures. It is similar to the other but is more specific.

The petitioners pray that Parliament not amend the human rights code, the Canadian Human Rights Act or the charter of rights and freedoms in any way which would indicate societal approval of same sex relationships or of homosexuality, including amending the human rights code to include the phrase of sexual orientation and including amending the Criminal Code in such a way that sentencing would be less severe for crimes against persons who are not homosexuals.

[Ken Epp, Reform, Elk Island, AB]

Mr. Speaker, the third and last petition I would like to present today bears 373 signatures, mostly of Elk Island constituents.

It is one in which the petitioners say they are already overburdened by taxes. They do not believe the expensive procedure of registering firearms will have any substantial effect on the reduction of the criminal use of firearms. They ask that Parliament not enact any laws which would require the registration of all firearms.

[John Duncan, Reform, North Island—Powell River, BC]

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to present petitions on a number of issues.

My first petition is signed by over 10,200 people from the west coast. They call upon Parliament to revoke the directive issued by the government to destaff lightstations. The petitioners call for a full public inquiry into the need for staffed lightstations and an acknowledgement of the safety they provide.

[John Duncan, Reform, North Island—Powell River, BC]

Mr. Speaker, the second petition is signed by 200 of my constituents who pray and request that Parliament reduce government spending instead of increasing taxes.

[John Duncan, Reform, North Island—Powell River, BC]

Mr. Speaker, I also have five separate petitions, one signed by 130 constituents, another by 61, the third by 54, the fourth by 91 and the last by 283 requesting that government not enact any further firearms control for responsible gun owners, shooting clubs and firearms collectors and that legislation be changed to penalize those who use firearms in any crime.

[John Duncan, Reform, North Island—Powell River, BC]

Mr. Speaker, the eighth petition is signed by 163 of my constituents requesting Parliament to review the Young Offenders Act in an open and accountable process which addresses the following

principles: deterrents to the offender; accountability of the offender; and rights of the victim.

[John Duncan, Reform, North Island—Powell River, BC]

Mr. Speaker, the ninth petition is signed by over 130 people, most of whom live in my constituency. They request that Parliament amend the Corrections and Conditional Release Act and the Criminal Code to allow dangerous offender applications to be made just prior to the expiration of the offender's sentence.

The 10th petition is signed by 50 of my constituents. They request radical changes in the present laws to take direct action to impose upon such offenders more severe penalties, especially repeat offenders.

[John Duncan, Reform, North Island—Powell River, BC]

The 11th petition is signed by 150 of my constituents. They request that Parliament not pass Bill C-41 with section 718.2 as presently written and in any event not to include the undefined phrase of sexual orientation, as the behaviour that people engage in does not warrant special consideration in Canadian law.

[John Duncan, Reform, North Island—Powell River, BC]

The last petition is signed by 27 of my constituents. They pray that Parliament ensure that the present provisions of the Criminal Code of Canada prohibiting assisted suicide be vigorously enforced 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.

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

Mr. Speaker, I have a petition signed by many people from all parts of Canada. It deals with one of the greatest assets that this country has namely, the Canadian Armed Forces.

In recent months the Canadian forces have come under intense media and public scrutiny, some of it very unfairly. Therefore the petitioners request that Parliament at the earliest possible time initiate a wide ranging public inquiry, replacing many which are being convened piecemeal, into the Canadian Armed Forces, including reserves, which will investigate, report and make recommendations on all matters affecting its operations, tasking, resources, effectiveness, morale and welfare.

I want to say that the Canadian Armed Forces is one of the proudest elements we have in this country today. We should all be supporting our forces very strongly.

[Lee Morrison, Reform, Swift Current—Maple Creek—Assiniboia, SK]

Mr. Speaker, pursuant to Standing Order 36, it is my honour and pleasure to table three petitions identical in form and content. The total number of signatures on these petitions is 719 Canadians. They are mostly residents of the Coronach, Swift Current and Bengough districts in my riding.

The petitioners state that the Bloc Quebecois party is composed solely of members from one province. They also state that the Reform Party of Canada has only one less member in the House and represents constituencies in five provinces and is organized throughout Canada. They state that the rights of people residing in nine provinces and two territories cannot be adequately protected by the disloyal, one province Bloc Quebecois as Her Majesty's Loyal Opposition and that this is a travesty on the institution of Parliament.

The petitioners therefore call upon Parliament, in the interests of Canadian unity and parliamentary tradition and to protect the rights of all the people of Canada, to prevail upon the Speaker of the House of Commons to recognize the Reform Party of Canada as the Official Opposition during the remainder of the 35th Parliament.

Question Passed As Order For Return

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

Mr. Speaker, if Question No. 177 could be made an order for return, that return would be tabled immediately.

[The Deputy Speaker]

Is that agreed?

[Some hon. members]

Agreed.

Question No. 177-