Debates of June 21st, 1995

Petitions

[The Speaker]

I prefer you did not.

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

Mr. Speaker, I have two petitions signed by many residents across my constituency which deal directly with national unity in Canada.

They state that whereas the hon. Leader of the Opposition has travelled to other parts of the world to promote the separation of Quebec from Canada, and whereas the majority of residents of Renfrew-Nipissing-Pembroke wish to promote Quebec's continued participation in the Confederation of Canada, therefore the undersigned petitioners humbly pray and call on Parliament to inform the Leader of the Opposition he is not supporting the majority view of the residents of Renfrew-Nipissing-Pembroke when he is travelling to promote the separation of Quebec form Canada.

They want national unity in Canada.

[Raymond Bonin, Liberal, Nickel Belt, ON]

Mr. Speaker, pursuant to Standing Order 36, I am pleased to present a petition signed by my constituents.

The petitioners, most of whom are concerned parents, have expressed grave concerns of the arrival in Canada of new phone sex services that originate from foreign countries. These services are classified as standard overseas calls and their advertising and access are not regulated, as are domestic services of the same nature.

Unlike -900 and -976 calls which parents can block, these -011 numbers cannot be blocked. The petitioners believe children's access to these services should be curtailed and they request Parliament to enact a publication ban on foreign sex line numbers and to regulate foreign sex lines and restrict publication of the numbers to adult subscriptions to be accompanied by a warning as to their graphic nature.

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

Mr. Speaker, pursuant to Standing Order 36, it is my duty and honour to present a petition on behalf of 100 constituents of Saanich-Gulf Islands and surrounding area.

The petitioners humbly pray and call on Parliament to enact legislation providing for a referendum of the people, binding on Parliament, to accept or reject two official languages, English and French, for the government and the people of Canada.

[Dan McTeague, Liberal, Ontario, ON]

Mr. Speaker, pursuant to Standing Order 36, I am pleased to present a petition with the signatures of 7,582 residents of southeastern and central Ontario. This was presented to me by Tracey Bridgeman of the Durham region.

It calls on Parliament to recognize that crimes and violence against persons are serious and abhorrent to society. It also requests we amend the Criminal Code, the Bail Reform Act of 1972 and the Parole Act accordingly.

[Ted McWhinney, Liberal, Vancouver Quadra, BC]

Mr. Speaker, I have the honour to present a petition signed by 1,950 residents mainly of the Victoria, British Columbia region, asking that Canada Post cease to deliver junk mail.

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

Mr. Speaker, it is my duty and pleasure to present a number of petitions which I have grouped into six topics in order to facilitate their presentation.

The first is signed by 83 responsible firearms owners from Alberta, Manitoba and Saskatchewan who use firearms for their livelihood, sport and industry. They call on Parliament to recognize Canada already has the toughest gun control in North America with strong regulations regarding usage and storage, and to further recognize there is no relationship between responsible gun ownership and the use of firearms in crime.

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

Mr. Speaker, the next group of petitions is signed by 47 constituents of Saskatchewan, not in my riding, who call on Parliament to preserve Canadian unity, parliamentary tradition and to protect the rights of all the people of Canada by prevailing on 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.

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

Mr. Speaker, I am also pleased to present a petition signed by 195 school teachers from my riding regarding the status of the Young Offenders Act.

The petitioners call on Parliament to change the legislation to make young offenders more responsible for their actions, to make the names of young offenders public and to increase the severity of consequences for repeat offenders.

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

Mr. Speaker, the next group is petitions is with respect to the elimination of the Crow benefit.

The petitioners call on Parliament to eliminate the debt incurred by CN Rail and get the CN empire, government owned grain hopper rail cars and the Port of Churchill to western Canadian farmers operated in conjunction with the Canadian Wheat Board, thus allowing effective competition within rail transportation.

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

Mr. Speaker, the next petition is from 25 residents of Saskatchewan who are greatly concerned that under section 745 of the Criminal Code convicted murderers sentenced to life imprisonment without chance of parole for 25 years are able to apply for review after 15 years. The petitioners request the repeal of section 745 of the Criminal Code of Canada.

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

Mr. Speaker, the last group of petitions which I have the honour and privilege to present today is signed by 425 concerned Canadians, primarily from Saskatchewan and British Columbia, who request that Parliament support the existing laws which severely punish all violent criminals who use weapons in crime, support new Criminal Code firearms control provisions which recognize the rights of law-abiding citizens to own and use recreational firearms, and support legislation which will repeal and modify existing gun control laws which have not improved public safety or have proven to not be cost effective or have proven to be overly complex so as to be ineffective or unenforceable.

[The Speaker]

Is there unanimous consent for me to recognize the last three members for petitions today?

[Some hon. members]

Agreed.

[Jim Jordan, Liberal, Leeds—Grenville, ON]

Mr. Speaker, it is a pleasure to present yet another petition from citizens in my riding who are opposed to the approval of BST, the drug injected into cows to increase milk production.

A recent Angus Reid poll suggested 74 per cent of Canadians are concerned about BST and would pay more for milk from cows not injected with it.

There is no shortage of milk in the country. If there should ever become a shortage of milk the solution would be to get more cows.

[Gary Pillitteri, Liberal, Niagara Falls, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I rise to present a petition on behalf of the federal representative for the riding of Welland-St. Catharines.

The petitioners oppose any amendments to the Canadian Human Rights Act or the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms which would tend to indicate societal approval of same sex relationships or of homosexuality, including amendments to the human rights code to include in the prohibited grounds of discrimination the undefined phrase sexual orientation.

The petition contains 38 signatures.

[Chuck Strahl, Reform, Fraser Valley East, BC]

Mr. Speaker, citizens from across British Columbia have given me several petitions which cover a variety of topics.

In the first petitioners are concerned that the definition of marriage remain the legal union of a man and a woman.

[Chuck Strahl, Reform, Fraser Valley East, BC]

Mr. Speaker, in the second petition the petitioners request that assisted suicide and euthanasia not be allowed in Canada.

[Chuck Strahl, Reform, Fraser Valley East, BC]

Mr. Speaker, in the third petition the petitioners request that protection enjoyed by born human beings be extended to unborn human beings.

[Chuck Strahl, Reform, Fraser Valley East, BC]

Mr. Speaker, in the fourth petition the petitioners request that firearms legislation target the criminal misuse of firearms and not law-abiding citizens.

[Chuck Strahl, Reform, Fraser Valley East, BC]

Mr. Speaker, perhaps readying Parliament for the next federal budget, in the final petition the petitioners request that Parliament reduce government spending instead of increasing taxes.

[Jim Hart, Reform, Okanagan—Similkameen—Merritt, BC]

Mr. Speaker, it is always an honour and a privilege to rise on behalf of my constituents of Okanagan-Similkameen-Merritt to present petitions. I have three petitions to present today.

The first petition was initiated in the memory of Mindy Tran, an eight-year old who was abducted and tragically murdered in her home town of Kelowna, British Columbia. The 248 signatories request that Parliament impose maximum existing legislation, deny eligibility for parole, bring in new legislation and hold a binding national referendum on the issue of capital punishment as a deterrent to these social predators victimizing our children.

[Jim Hart, Reform, Okanagan—Similkameen—Merritt, BC]

Mr. Speaker, the second petition also deals with the criminal justice system. Outraged citizens are concerned with sexual assaults on women.

The petitioners call on Parliament to amend section 271 of the Criminal Code to include a minimum sentence of five years where a person pleads guilty to or is found guilty of level one sexual assault.

[Jim Hart, Reform, Okanagan—Similkameen—Merritt, BC]

Mr. Speaker the third petition, bearing 71 signatures, is in regard to the bovine growth hormone that is injected into dairy cows.

The petitioners request the Government of Canada to protect our health and food supply by disallowing the unnecessary genetic manipulation of dairy cows through the injection of bovine growth hormones.

[Nelson Riis, NDP, Kamloops, BC]

Mr. Speaker, pursuant to Standing Order 36, I have the honour to present a petition on behalf of a number of Canadians from Merritt, Kamloops, Oliver, Langley and Surrey, British Columbia.

The petitioners point out that Canadians, particularly women and children, are becoming increasingly fearful of walking on the streets in their communities. They ask the House of Commons and the Minister of Justice to take whatever steps are necessary to amend the Criminal Code and parole system to ensure that safety and peace return to our neighbourhoods.