House of Commons Hansard #3 of the 35th Parliament, 2nd Session. (The original version is on Parliament's site.) The word of the day was quebec.
Order In Council AppointmentsRoutine Proceedings
Fundy Royal New Brunswick
Liberal
Paul Zed LiberalParliamentary Secretary to Leader of the Government in the House of Commons
Mr. Speaker, pursuant to Standing Order 32(2), I wish to table, in both official languages, copies of Order in Council appointments made by the government.
I also have the honour to table, in both official languages, a nomination made recently by the government.
Paul Zed LiberalParliamentary 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 10 petitions presented during the first session.
Report Of Chief Electoral Officer Of CanadaRoutine Proceedings
The Deputy Speaker
Dear colleagues, I have the honour of tabling an annex to the Chief Electoral Officer of Canada's report on the 35th general election, entitled "Canada's Electoral System: Strengthening the Foundation".
This document is deemed permanently referred to the Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs.
Bernard Patry LiberalParliamentary Secretary to Minister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development
Mr. Speaker, pursuant to Standing Order 34, I have the honour to present to the House, in both official languages, the report of the Canadian chapter of the International Assembly of French-Speaking Parliamentarians, as well as the financial report of the meeting of the IAFSP office held in Hanoi, Vietnam on February 4 and 5, 1996.
Allan Rock LiberalMinister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada
moved for leave to introduce Bill C-2, an act to amend the Judges Act.
(Motions deemed adopted, bill read the first time and printed.)
Dick Harris Reform Prince George—Bulkley Valley, BC
moved for leave to introduce Bill C-201, an act to amend the Criminal Code (operation while impaired).
Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to rise in the House today to introduce this private member's bill which would see the Criminal Code amended to provide for a minimum sentence of seven years for convictions of impaired driving causing death.
At present the Criminal Code provides a 14-year maximum sentence for this conviction. However, statistics show that sentences range in the average of only one to four years for this serious crime. In a recent case in my riding involving the death of three family members, the convicted person, who had two prior impaired charges and convictions, received only a three and a half year sentence, hardly consistent with the tragic consequences of this crime.
The amendment I propose will ensure that sentencing reflects the severity of the crime and sends out a strong message of deterrence.
I am pleased to advise the House that this measure has received the support of many of my fellow MPs-
Criminal CodeRoutine Proceedings
The Deputy Speaker
I would ask all members please to be brief when they are making their introduction of bills. I know we could all speak for a long time about our bills.
(Motions deemed adopted, bill read the first time and printed.)
Dan McTeague Liberal Ontario, ON
moved for leave to introduce Bill C-202, an act respecting a national organ donor day in Canada.
Mr. Speaker, I am reintroducing this private member's bill which was previously introduced in the House on October 19, 1995.
The bill recognizes the efforts of a constituent of mine, Mrs. Linda Rumble of Whitby, Ontario and the ultimate gift her nephew, two-year-old Stuart Alan Herriott, gave to others whom he never knew.
This bill assists in providing more public education and awareness in organ donation by making every April 21 known as national organ donor day across Canada. April 21 marks the anniversary of young Stuart's death.
By establishing a national organ donor day it is hoped that more Canadians will be encouraged to make a pledge to organ donation. In doing so, Stuart's supreme gift will be remembered so that his act of kindness can be repeated by many other Canadians.
(Motions deemed adopted, bill read the first time and printed.)
Réal Ménard Bloc Hochelaga—Maisonneuve, QC
moved for leave to introduce Bill C-202, an act to amend the Criminal Code (criminal organization).
Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to table a bill to amend the Criminal Code, which will essentially provide Canada with anti-gang legislation. The main purpose of this bill is to set a new policy condemning those who live off the proceeds of crime.
(Motions deemed adopted, bill read the first time and printed.)
Paul Szabo Liberal Mississauga South, ON
moved for leave to introduce Bill C-203, an act to amend the Canada Business Corporations Act (qualifications of directors).
Mr. Speaker, I would like to reintroduce this bill concerning an amendment to the Canada Business Corporations Act, specifically to do with limiting the number of concurrent corporate directorships that anyone can hold where that person holds less than 5 per cent of the voting shares of the corporation.
The nature of the bill has to do with the importance of directors' liability and that there is a point at which one person could hold more directorships than they could discharge their responsibilities fully.
Therefore, this bill seeks to limit the number of directorships so that the interests of shareholders, the employees and the corporation can be safeguarded.
(Motions deemed adopted, bill read the first time and printed.)
Tom Wappel Liberal Scarborough West, ON
moved for leave to introduce Bill C-205, an act to amend the Criminal Code and the Copyright Act (profit from authorship respecting a crime).
Mr. Speaker, my reintroduced bill would amend the Criminal Code and the Copyright Act to prohibit a criminal from profiting by selling, authorizing or authoring the story of a crime. If a person is convicted of an indictable offence under the Criminal Code, any moneys he or she may have made or may make in the future from the creation of a work based on the crime would be deemed proceeds of crime subject to seizure by the crown.
The bill further amends the Copyright Act to provide that the copyright in any work principally based on the crime, where the work is created, prepared or published by or in collaboration with the convicted person, becomes the property of the crown. This would permit Canada, in countries which have signed the Berne Copyright Convention, to enforce its copyright.
The bottom line is that no one should receive a dime for committing a crime.
(Motions deemed adopted, bill read the first time and printed.)
Tom Wappel Liberal Scarborough West, ON
moved for leave to introduce Bill C-206, an act to amend the Criminal Code (offence committed outside Canada).
Mr. Speaker, section 6.2 of the Criminal Code specifies that persons are not to be convicted of offences committed outside Canada. However, there are a few exceptions such as war crimes, hostage taking, hijacking, international terrorism, et cetera.
My bill amends section 7 of the Criminal Code and provides that everyone who commits an act or omission outside Canada that, if committed in Canada, would constitute an offence under the Criminal Code, shall be deemed to have committed the act in Canada, if he or she is a Canadian citizen, a permanent resident, or present in Canada after the commission of the act.
The tragic inspiration for this bill is the true case of two Canadians who sexually assaulted a Canadian child while on holiday in the Caribbean. At present, there is no way of prosecuting those criminals in Canada. My bill would close this loophole and allow us to bring people like them to justice.
(Motions deemed adopted, bill read the first time and printed.)
Tom Wappel Liberal Scarborough West, ON
moved for leave to introduce Bill C-207, an act to amend the Canadian Security Intelligence Service Act (recommendations of the Review Committee).
Mr. Speaker, this is a very specific bill that I am reintroducing to amend a particular section, section 52 of the Canadian Intelligence Service Act.
It would provide that recommendations of the Security Intelligence Review Committee are to be implemented unless overruled by the minister concerned. In that event the minister would be required to report to Parliament the reasons for overruling the decision of the committee. If the reasons were secret the minister would be required to report to Parliament why they were deemed to be secret.
The principle of this bill has been recommended to successive governments by the Security Intelligence Review Committee.
(Motions deemed adopted, bill read the first time and printed.)
Tom Wappel Liberal Scarborough West, ON
moved for leave to introduce Bill C-208, an act to amend the Criminal Code (human being).
Mr. Speaker, the purpose of this bill is to add a definition of the term human being to the Criminal Code. The purpose of the definition is to extend the same protection to the unborn child as we extend currently to the born child and to focus the debate on the vexing issue of abortion and the question that has heretofore not been addressed, whether society wishes to extend protection to the unborn child.
(Motions deemed adopted, bill read the first time and printed.)
Tom Wappel Liberal Scarborough West, ON
moved for leave to introduce Bill C-209, an act to amend the Consumer Packaging and Labelling Act (nutritional value of food).
Mr. Speaker, the purpose this bill which is being reintroduced is to amend the Consumer Packaging and Labelling Act to provide that foods sold to consumers across Canada have certain nutritional information stated on the label, including the vitamin content, carbohydrate content, fat content and the caloric amount per portion. This information is very common in the United States but is voluntary in Canada. This bill would make it mandatory.
(Motions deemed adopted, bill read the first time and printed.)
Tom Wappel Liberal Scarborough West, ON
moved for leave to introduce Bill C-210, an act to amend the Canada Elections Act (review of nomination papers).
Mr. Speaker, section 82.1 of the Canada Elections Act requires that each person seeking election have their nomination papers signed by 100 electors resident in the riding in which they seek to be elected. We all know this.
In the last federal election, in my riding of Scarborough West there were eight people on the ballot. At least four of those people had not complied with section 82.1 and had not had their nomination papers signed by 100 electors resident in the riding of Scarborough West. There was absolutely no mechanism to deal with this flagrant abuse of the Canada Elections Act.
Accordingly, I have proposed a bill which would amend the Canada Elections Act. It would allow an elector of an electoral district to request the review of a nomination paper when the elector has reasonable grounds to believe that one or more persons who signed the nomination paper are not qualified electors resident in the electoral district. A nomination paper that had not been signed by the required number of electors resident in the electoral district provided for by the Canada Elections Act would be declared invalid.
(Motions deemed adopted, bill read the first time and printed.)
Mac Harb Liberal Ottawa Centre, ON
Mr. Speaker, I have a petition to introduce in the House concerning gasoline prices and the concern about the possibility of introducing a gasoline tax. My constituents are concerned about this possibility and they wanted the House of Commons to ask the government to ensure that a gasoline tax would not be introduced.
Réal Ménard Bloc Hochelaga—Maisonneuve, QC
Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to present a petition that reads as follows: "We citizens residing in Quebec wish to point out to the House of Commons:
That it is innocent and defenceless people who pay the price, like 11-year old Daniel Desrochers who died in Montreal on August 13, 1995 as a result of a bombing in the Hochelaga-Maisonneuve area, an attack aimed specifically at an alleged member of a criminal organization. That police forces do not have the tools and legislation they need to fight organized crime. That the Communauté urbaine de Montréal, the city of Montreal and the Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police, among others, have called for the urgent adoption of anti-gang legislation by Canada. That organized crime threatens democracy, our individual freedoms and the safety of the population, including innocent people, as demonstrated in the August 9 attack. The petitioners therefore pray and call upon Parliament to adopt anti-gang legislation and agree to this demand".
This petition is signed by 60,000 people, and I support it.
Dick Harris Reform Prince George—Bulkley Valley, BC
Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to introduce this petition signed by hundreds of members from my riding of Prince George-Bulkley Valley. They wish to draw the attention of the House to the fact that there are profound inadequacies in the sentencing practices concerning individuals convicted of impaired driving, also that Canada must embrace a philosophy of zero tolerance toward individuals who drive while impaired by alcohol or drugs.
Therefore, the petitioners humbly pray that the Parliament of Canada proceed immediately with amendments to the Criminal Code that will ensure that the sentence given to anyone convicted of driving while impaired or causing injury or death while impaired does reflect both the severity of the crime and the zero tolerance by Canada toward this crime.
Paul Szabo Liberal Mississauga South, ON
Mr. Speaker, pursuant to Standing Order 36, I would like to present three petitions.
The first has been signed by a number of Canadians from Petawawa, 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 who 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.
Paul Szabo Liberal Mississauga South, ON
Mr. Speaker, the second petition deals with the labelling of alcoholic beverages.
The petitioners who are from Sarnia, Ontario would like to bring to the attention of the House that the consumption of alcoholic beverages may cause health problems or impair ones ability to operate machinery and/or equipment. Specifically, fetal alcohol syndrome and other alcohol related birth defects are 100 per cent preventable by avoiding alcohol consumption during pregnancy.
The petitioners therefore pray and call upon Parliament to enact legislation to require health warning labels to be placed on the containers of all alcoholic beverages and to caution expectant mothers and others of the risks associated with alcohol consumption.
Paul Szabo Liberal Mississauga South, ON
Mr. Speaker, the final petition has to do with the rights of the unborn.
The petitioners from Bancroft state that whereas the majority of Canadians respect the sanctity of human life and that human life at the preborn stage is not protected in Canadian society, they pray and call upon Parliament to act immediately to extend protection to the unborn child by amending the Criminal Code to extend the
same protection enjoyed by born human beings to unborn human beings.
Bob Ringma Reform Nanaimo—Cowichan, BC
Mr. Speaker, I would like to present a petition with 777 signatures asking for legislation from this House to reform the justice system and the Corrections and Conditional Release Act. The principles to be observed here are: to have a just and safe society; to protect victims and not criminals; to eliminate drunk and drug defences; and in the case of third time young offenders, to give consideration to a military style bootcamp as suggested by the member for Nanaimo-Cowichan.
Deborah Grey Reform Beaver River, AB
Mr. Speaker, it is nice to see you in the chair again.
I would like to present, pursuant to Standing Order 36, a petition signed by several members of the constituency of Beaver River and the Grand Centre and Cold Lake area. Knowing of course that the budget is coming down very soon, they want to make sure that the government knows that any ill-advised tax on health and dental benefits would have an adverse effect on the oral health and overall health of Canadians.
The petitioners point out that dental care in Canada has been focused on prevention and family affordability for a generation. They also state that Canada's prevention directed system of oral health care combined with a tax free status and a past Parliament granted dental premiums have contributed to Canadians enjoying one of the highest standards of oral health in the world.
The petitioners also state that-and this is the important one-Canadians are taxed to the limit. Canadians find any new tax embarrassing and offensive and they just simply cannot afford it any more. They are calling on Parliament to refrain from implementing a tax on health and dental benefits and to put on hold any future consideration of such a tax until a complete review of the tax system and how it impacts on the health of Canadians has been undertaken.
Tom Wappel Liberal Scarborough West, ON
Mr. Speaker, I have a petition signed primarily by residents of the city of Calgary, Alberta praying that Parliament ensure that the present provisions of the Criminal Code of Canada prohibiting assisted suicide be enforced vigorously and that Parliament make no change in the law which would sanction or allow the aiding or abetting of suicide or active or passive euthanasia.