Debates of June 21st, 1995

Privilege

[Some hon. members]

Hear, hear.

[Michel Dupuy, Liberal, Minister of Canadian Heritage]

Mr. Speaker, at issue is not the respect I have as a Quebecer for all parts of Quebec, but a knowledge of how to speak the French language. I refer you to page 1632 of the Petit Robert , where reculé'' is defined aslointain, difficile d'accès, isolé'' (distant, hard to reach, isolated). I see nothing to offend people in this.

[Some hon. members]

Oh, oh!

[An hon. member]

This is unacceptable.

[Lucien Bouchard, Bloc, Leader of the Opposition]

I would like to go back, Mr. Speaker, to the words that the minister just said. The minister just demonstrated that he has an extremely poor image of those Quebecers who do not live in cities when he said that he finds it utterly normal, parliamentary, respectable and acceptable to say that these people live in isolated, hard to get to and distant regions. There are no distant regions in the province of Quebec. In fact, the minister was talking about people who live in vibrant and constructive communities which contribute to our society.

I would like to ask this minister, who has a very good knowledge of the French language, having used it on many different levels, to, very modestly, very simply, withdraw his unfortunate comments, and then we can put this whole incident behind us.

[Some hon. members]

Hear, hear.

[The Speaker]

Dear colleagues, I do not believe that this is a matter of privilege. This is a debate and, in this House, we have a lot of time for debates, therefore, I will let this issue rest here. There is no matter of privilege.

[Patrick Gagnon, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to Solicitor General of Canada]

I rise on a point of order, Mr. Speaker.

[The Speaker]

Does the hon. member wish to raise another point of order?

[Patrick Gagnon, Liberal, Bonaventure—Îles-De-La-Madeleine, QC]

Mr. Speaker, unfortunately, I will not be able to intervene; you have already settled the matter. However, talking about shrinking a country's boundaries, just look at the position of the Bloc Quebecois.

[Some hon. members]

Oh, oh!

[The Speaker]

Dear colleagues, I had hoped that you had forgotten that today is "wonderful Wednesday". Let us move on to Routine Proceedings.

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 48 petitions.

Committees Of The House

[John Godfrey, Liberal, Don Valley West, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I have the honour to present the third report of the Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage, on the future of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation in the multi-channel universe.

Pursuant to Standing Order 109, the committee requests that the government table a comprehensive response thereto within 150 days.

I also have the privilege to present the fourth report of the Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage on the government's proposed orders issuing directions to the CRTC respecting direct-to-home satellite distribution and pay-per-view programming undertakings.

[Rey D. Pagtakhan, Liberal, Winnipeg North, MB]

Mr. Speaker, pursuant to Standing Order 108(3), I have the honour to present, in both official languages, the second report of the Standing Committee on Human Rights and the Status of Disabled Persons entitled "Employment Equity: A Commitment to Merit".

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

Mr. Speaker, I would ask for the unanimous consent of the House to make a brief comment on the Reform Party's minority report, which is attached to the employment equity report from the government.

[The Speaker]

Is there unanimous consent?

[Some hon. members]

Agreed.

[Some hon. members]

No.

Income Tax Act

[Ted White, Reform, North Vancouver, BC]

moved for leave to introduce Bill C-338, an act to amend the Income Tax Act.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to introduce a bill to amend the Income Tax Act with respect to the political activities of charities receiving public funds.

I would like to thank the hon. member for Hamilton-Wentworth for seconding the bill.

The bill would allow the revenue minister to disqualify from charitable status corporations, trusts, and organizations that receive discretionary grants from the public money of Canada if they engage in public activity that goes beyond the direction of their charitable object.

I call upon members on all sides of the House to support the bill. I would remind them that our federal debt is now over $550 billion.

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

Intervenor Funding Act

[John Finlay, Liberal, Oxford, ON]

moved for leave to introduce Bill C-339, an act to provide for the funding for intervenors in hearings before certain boards and agencies.

Mr. Speaker, I am happy to present a private member's bill entitled an act to provide for funding for interveners in hearings before certain boards and agencies, which responds to concerns from constituents in my riding.

The bill establishes the principle that a proponent of a project that requires review and approval and that affects the public interest or the environment should assist with funding for interveners.

The bill will assist interveners with a record of responsible representation of a facet of the public interest to put their arguments respecting the project before the approving authority.

I look forward to the support of my colleagues when the bill comes forward.

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

Broadcasting Act

[Jan Brown, Reform, Calgary Southeast, AB]

moved for leave to introduce Bill C-340, an act to amend the Broadcasting Act (termination of CBC's television operations).

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to rise today to introduce these three private members' bills. The bills are part of our package to privatize the CBC.

One of the bills amends the Access to Information Act and would make the CBC more accessible to Canadians. Presently it is exempt from the Access to Information Act and the bill would end that exemption.

I would ask you, Mr. Speaker, to continue. The explanations as you read them are self-explanatory.

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

Financial Administration Act

[Jan Brown, Reform, Calgary Southeast, AB]

moved for leave to introduce Bill C-341, an act to amend the Financial Administration Act (Canada Council, Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, Canadian Film Development Corporation, National Arts Centre Corporation).

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

Access To Information Act

[Jan Brown, Reform, Calgary Southeast, AB]

moved for leave to introduce Bill C-342, an act to amend the Access to Information Act and the Privacy Act (Canadian Broadcasting Corporation and the National Arts Centre Corporation).

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

Criminal Code

[Myron Thompson, Reform, Wild Rose, AB]

moved for leave to introduce Bill C-343, an act to amend the Criminal Code (arrest without warrant).

Mr. Speaker, it gives me pleasure to introduce this private member's bill which I feel will have no difficulty finding support throughout the House.

The purpose of the bill is to give a peace officer the power to arrest without warrant a person who is in breach of a probation order binding the person.

We are thinking particularly of the number of reports that have come through the police commissions to my office of stalkers and other individuals who are out on parole, probation or found in areas where they have been told not to be. The police have no authority to do anything other than report. We feel they should have, for the safety of all Canadians, the power to arrest. We would seek support for the bill.

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