Debates of June 5th, 1995

Young Offenders Act

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

Mr. Speaker, the hon. member knows as a member of the justice committee which considered Bill C-37 including these specific provisions that the proposal is that for 16 and 17 year olds transferred to adult court and convicted of first degree murder the period of parole ineligibility would be 10 years. That was arrived at, as the evidence before the committee demonstrated, because it was thought to be the appropriate balance between recognizing the age of the young person convicted of the offence and recognizing the need to protect society.

The provision in that bill which came out of committee has now been passed by the House.

Health Care

[Audrey McLaughlin, NDP, Yukon, YT]

Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Prime Minister.

Today the Canadian Hospital Association will be opening its annual meeting with a call to arms against the government's plan to dismantle the national health care system.

The plan to group funding for health, social assistance and education and to gradually deplete the cash portion of the transfer has been roundly denounced by the Canadian Medical Association, the Canadian Hospital Association, labour organizations, the provinces and territories. Even the nine Liberal members on the finance committee have said the cash portion must be retained.

Will the Prime Minister finally listen to Canadians and set out plans to ensure that the cash transfer portions for social and health programs will continue past the year 2000?

[Jean Chrétien, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, that is exactly what we are trying to achieve in the bill. If we do not pass the legislation, there would be no cash transfers for health purposes within two or three years in some provinces.

That is why we changed the system, so there would always be cash transfers and we can ensure that the five conditions the House supports for medicare is respected. The only way to achieve it is by making these changes.

If we were to follow the advice of the leader of the NDP, within a couple of years provinces like Quebec, for example, would not receive any cash payments and we would have absolutely no more influence.

[The Speaker]

Colleagues, that brings question period to a conclusion.

Presence In Gallery

[The Speaker]

I draw the attention of hon. members to the presence in the gallery of His Excellency, Dr. Tarmizi Taher, Indonesian Minister for Religious Affairs.

[Some hon. members]

Hear, hear.

Government Response To Petitions

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

Mr. Speaker, pursuant to Standing Order 36(8), I have the honour to table, in both official languages, the government's response to 22 petitions.

Petitions

[Jim Abbott, Reform, Kootenay East, BC]

Mr. Speaker, it is my privilege to present to the House a petition of 153 pages which was put together by the Fernie Resource Centre for Women. It is an interesting petition and I support it completely.

The final conclusion of the petition is that your petitioners pray and request that Parliament 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.

I concur totally with the petition.

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

Mr. Speaker, pursuant to Standing Order 36, it is my duty and honour to rise in the House to present a petition duly certified by the clerk of petitions on behalf of 60 individuals from the riding of Saanich-Gulf Islands and surrounding area.

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 by passing Bill C-240.

[Dick Harris, Reform, Prince George—Bulkley Valley, BC]

Mr. Speaker, pursuant to Standing Order 36, I am pleased to present a petition from Susan Sudernman of Prince George.

The petitioners humbly pray that section 718.2 not be passed and specifically that Bill C-41 not include the undefined phrase, sexual orientation.

[Dick Harris, Reform, Prince George—Bulkley Valley, BC]

Mr. Speaker, I have another petition from John Lombardi of Houston, B.C. in my riding. The petitioners pray that Bill C-68, concerning the registration of firearms by law-abiding firearms owners not be passed by the House.

[Dick Harris, Reform, Prince George—Bulkley Valley, BC]

Mr. Speaker, I have another petition from Northside Christian School in Vanderhoof, B.C.

The petitioners pray for Parliament to ensure that the present provisions of the Criminal Code of Canada prohibiting assisted

suicide be enforced vigorously and that Parliament make no changes in the law that would sanction assisted suicide.

[Dick Harris, Reform, Prince George—Bulkley Valley, BC]

Finally, Mr. Speaker, I have a petition from Prince George, B.C.

The petitioners 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 to recognize the Reform Party of Canada as the official opposition during the remainder of the 35th Parliament.

I personally support all of these petitions.

[Maria Minna, Liberal, Beaches—Woodbine, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I have five petitions with 188 signatures in which the petitioners call on the Parliament of Canada to act quickly to amend the Canadian Human Rights Act to prohibit discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and to adopt all necessary measures to recognize the full equality of same sex relationships in federal law.

[Bernie Collins, Liberal, Souris—Moose Mountain, SK]

Mr. Speaker, I have the privilege to rise this afternoon under Standing Order 36. I have 187 names concerning Bill C-41.

The petitioners pray and request that Parliament not amend the human rights code, the Canadian Human Rights Act, the charter of human rights and freedoms in any way with regard to this bill.

[Alex Shepherd, Liberal, Durham, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I am happy to present a petition from 51 of my constituents who request 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 tend to indicate societal approval of same sex relationships or homosexuality, including amending the human rights code to include in the prohibited grounds for discrimination the undefined phrase of sexual orientation.

[Keith Martin, Reform, Esquimalt—Juan de Fuca, BC]

Mr. Speaker, under Standing Order 36 it is a privilege to present this petition with 179 names plus that of Mr. Castet whose son was murdered in Victoria.

The petition calls for changes to the Young Offenders Act and calls for the government to enact legislation to reform the justice system and the Corrections and Conditional Release Act according to eight principles.

[Elwin Hermanson, Reform, Kindersley—Lloydminster, SK]

Mr. Speaker, I have three petitions to present under Standing Order 36. The first petition has 25 signatures and comes from the Elrose area of my constituency.

The petitioners pray that Parliament ensure that the present provisions of the Criminal Code of Canada prohibiting assisted suicide be enforced vigorously 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.

[Elwin Hermanson, Reform, Kindersley—Lloydminster, SK]

Mr. Speaker, I have a second petition with 43 signatures coming primarily from the Lloydminster area of my constituency.

It states that whereas Canadians are already overburdened with taxation due to a high spending government they pray and request that Parliament reduce government spending instead of increasing taxes and implement a taxpayer protection act to limit federal spending.

[Elwin Hermanson, Reform, Kindersley—Lloydminster, SK]

Mr. Speaker, the third petition has 36 signatures.

It states that Canada has enacted legislation providing for two official languages, English and French, in Canada and it calls on Parliament to provide for a referendum of the people, binding on Parliament to accept or reject two official languages, English and French, for the government and people of Canada, the acceptance or rejection of the proposed amendment to be determined by a majority vote of the total votes cast in the whole of Canada, together with a majority vote in the majority of provinces with the territories being given the status of one province.

[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. This particular portion of the petition comes from the Sarnia, Ontario region.

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

Questions Passed As Orders For Returns

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

Mr. Speaker, if question No. 135 could be made an order for return, that return would be tabled immediately.

[The Deputy Speaker]

Is it agreed?

[Some hon. members]

Agreed.

Question No. 135-

[Diane Ablonczy, Reform, Calgary North, AB]

With respect to all communications-related initiatives within the Department of Human Resources from January 1, 1994 to December 31, 1994 (a) how much money will be spent through public and private agencies, ( b ) what is the description of each project, ( c ) to whom were the contracts awarded and ( d ) what was the amount of each contract?

Return tabled.