Debates of June 21st, 1995

Public Harbours And Port Facilities Act

[Paul Crête, Bloc, Kamouraska—Rivière-Du-Loup, QC]

moved for leave to introduce Bill C-344, an act to amend the Public harbours and Port Facilities Act.

Mr. Speaker, the purpose of this bill is to change a time-honoured practice under the Public harbours and Port Facilities Act by which harbour masters and wharfingers are appointed at the discretion of the minister, often as a political favour.

The purpose of the bill is to ensure that appointments are made on the basis of individual qualifications. The decision will still be up to the minister, but he will have to designate appointees who have shown they are capable of performing the duties involved, all of which would be part of the current review of Canada's marine policy. I think the House would have no trouble passing this bill.

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

Procedure And House Affairs

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

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

That the Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs be designated as the committee of the House of Commons to which any matters shall stand referred pursuant to the Referendum Act.

[The Speaker]

Does the hon. parliamentary secretary have the unanimous consent of the House to move the motion?

[Some hon. members]

Agreed.

(Motion agreed to.)

Ways And Means

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

Mr. Speaker, when Government Orders are reached later this day I think you would find unanimous consent that notice of ways and means motion No. 28, standing in the name of the Secretary of State for International Financial Institutions, will be deemed carried on division when it is put to the House.

Notice of ways and means motion No. 29, standing in the name of the Minister of National Revenue, will be put to the House, a division will have been deemed to have been demanded, and the same will be deferred until 11.30 tonight.

[The Speaker]

Is that agreed?

[Some hon. members]

Agreed.

Petitions

[Paul Szabo, Liberal, Mississauga South, ON]

Mr. Speaker, pursuant to Standing Order 36 I wish to present a petition that has been circulating across Canada. The particular petition comes from Leamington, Ontario.

The petitioners 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 that make the choice to provide care in the home for 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 or the aged.

[Gérard Asselin, Bloc, Charlevoix, QC]

Mr. Speaker, pursuant to Standing Order 36, it is my privilege to table in the House a petition signed by more than 850 residents of the riding of Charlevoix.

Your petitioners call on the government to make zone 16 in the central northern region part of zone 25 in Northern Quebec, in the case of municipalities included in the MRCs of Charlevoix-est and Charlevoix-ouest, for the purposes of eligibility for unemployment insurance.

Since most of the jobs available in zone 16 are seasonal, your petitioners want to be part of zone 25, which better reflects the kind of jobs they have.

[Sharon Hayes, Reform, Port Moody—Coquitlam, BC]

Mr. Speaker, it is my pleasure to present several petitions today.

The first is from 120 constituents of my riding as well as other parts of British Columbia. They call upon the government to reduce its spending and instead implement a taxpayer protection act to limit federal spending.

I am pleased to present the petition today.

[Sharon Hayes, Reform, Port Moody—Coquitlam, BC]

Mr. Speaker, as well there is a petition that once again reflects the concerns of Canadians about the Young Offenders Act.

The petition has almost 200 signatures from all parts of British Columbia including my riding. They call upon Parliament to review the Young Offenders Act in an open and accountable process which addresses the following principles: deterrence of the offender, accountability of the offender, and the rights of the victim.

[Sharon Hayes, Reform, Port Moody—Coquitlam, BC]

As well, Mr. Speaker, I have one small petition with which I disagree relating to the Canadian Human Rights Act.

The petitioners call upon Parliament to amend the Canadian Human Rights Act to protect individuals from discrimination based on sexual orientation.

[Sharon Hayes, Reform, Port Moody—Coquitlam, BC]

Mr. Speaker, as well, I have a petition that calls for stiffer treatment of criminals and to return rights to law-abiding citizens. It is from approximately 150 petitioners, 25 from British Columbia and others from across Canada.

The petitioners call upon Parliament to return rights to the citizens of Canada from the criminals and request that Parliament honour these requests.

[Peter Adams, Liberal, Peterborough, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I have three petitions asking Parliament to lobby on behalf of Leonard Peltier.

[Peter Adams, Liberal, Peterborough, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I have two petitions urging Parliament to amend the human rights act to protect individuals from discrimination based on sexual orientation.

I have two other petitions asking Parliament not to amend the human rights act in any way that would indicate approval of same sex relationships.

[Peter Adams, Liberal, Peterborough, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I have a petition calling for stiffer sentences and mandatory treatment for all child abusers.

[Peter Adams, Liberal, Peterborough, ON]

Mr. Speaker, my last petition today is on the matter of breast cancer in Canada.

The petitioners call for Parliament to support centres of excellence for breast cancer research, a national toll free information and support system for breast cancer research, and core funding for that research. They call upon Parliament to spearhead federal and provincial action on breast cancer.

[Hugh Hanrahan, Reform, Edmonton Strathcona, AB]

Mr. Speaker, I have the privilege to present a petition on behalf of approximately 300 constituents of my riding of Edmonton-Strathcona.

The constituents request that the human rights act not be amended to include the term sexual orientation in order that no Canadian receives special rights or privileges based solely on sexual behaviour.

It is my pleasure to submit the petition and to inform my constituents that I concur.

[The Speaker]

Colleagues, it is not necessary to agree or disagree with petitions. We ask you not to.

I will get you all in. How many of you have to catch a plane? I will get you in, I promise.

[Sue Barnes, Liberal, London West, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I present a petition from my riding and parts of the city of London, Ontario which contains four pages of signatures.

This is a petition calling on Parliament to act quickly to amend the Canadian Human Rights Act to prohibit discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation.

It notes acts of discrimination against lesbian, gay and bisexual Canadians are an every day reality in all regions of Canada and that this type of discrimination is unacceptable in a country known for its commitment to human rights, equality and dignity for all citizens.

[Deborah Grey, Reform, Beaver River, AB]

Mr. Speaker, I have several petitions from Lac-la-Biche, Alberta in the constituency of Beaver River.

Pursuant to Standing Order 36, they are saying whereas the majority of Canadians are law-abiding citizens and respect the law, whereas the majority of Canadians respect the sanctity of human life, and whereas the majority of Canadians believe physicians in Canada should be working to save lives, not to end them, they are praying that Parliament ensures present provisions of the Criminal Code of Canada prohibiting assisted suicide be enforced vigorously.

They pray that Parliament make no changes in the law which would sanction or allow the aiding or abetting of suicide or active or passive euthanasia.

Also pursuant to Standing Order 36, I present a petition on behalf of constituents from Bonnyville, again in Beaver River. Whereas decriminalizing assisted suicide or legalizing euthanasia could lead to a reduction in patient-physician trust and respect, the degrading of the value of human life and the erosion of moral and ethical values, and whereas palliative care is active and compassionate care which can relieve the pain and suffering of terminally ill persons and families without the dangers of suicide, these petitioners pray that Parliament continue to reject euthanasia and physician assisted suicide.

They also request present provisions of section 241 of the Criminal Code of Canada which forbids the counselling, procuring, aiding or abetting of a person to commit suicide be enforced vigorously and that Parliament consider expanding palliative care that would be accessible to all dying persons in Canada.

[Ronald J. Duhamel, Liberal, St. Boniface, MB]

Mr. Speaker, this petition may be one of the most important petitions tabled in the House of Commons. It was signed by students at Lavallée, Windsor Park Collegiate and Nelson McIntyre, all schools in my riding, and concerns national unity.

These petitioners point out that:

Quebec has been a founding partner of Canada and its richness and uniqueness in terms of language and culture, its population, its size and its position have enriched the entire nation.

In spite of differences we have had over time, we have been able to reach accommodation to the benefit of all parties and certainly to the benefit of the entire nation. These students believe separation would jeopardize the quality of life of all Canadians, particularly young people. They insist we all work very diligently and responsibly as adults toward national unity; a stronger country for ourselves but let us not forget them.

[Jim Abbott, Reform, Kootenay East, BC]

Mr. Speaker, I have five petitions to present. The first deals with our financial condition. The petitioners pray and request that Parliament reduce government spending instead of increasing taxes and implement a taxpayer protection act to limit federal funding.

[Jim Abbott, Reform, Kootenay East, BC]

Mr. Speaker, the second petition unfortunately arrives too late because Parliament rushed through Bill C-68.

I have 250 signatures from my constituents asking more attention be paid to people who are breaking the laws with respect to guns as opposed to law-abiding citizens who came under the gun as a result of that act.

The third petition with 151 signatures draws to the attention of the House that public safety is the number one priority of the criminal justice system.

The petitioners want Parliament to support laws that will severely punish all violent criminals who use weapons in the commission of crime and support new Criminal Code firearms control provisions which recognize and protect law-abiding citizens to own and use recreational firearms.

[Jim Abbott, Reform, Kootenay East, BC]

Mr. Speaker, for the interest of the House, the last two petitions have had the greatest number of petitioners coming to my office. The first one specifically refers the bill of my colleague from Surrey-White Rock-South Langley, Bill C-240. The petitioners call on Parliament to enact legislation against serious personal injury crimes being committed by high risk offenders by permitting the use of post-sentence detention orders and specifically passing Bill C-240.

A related petition with 686 signatures calls for keeping dangerous offenders and paedophiles locked up for life, eliminating statutory release and posing stiffer sentences for violent offenders. There is a whole list here.

This issue has prompted the greatest number of signatures in my constituency. Although I do not have any obligation to comment on it, I will say that I do concur.