Debates of April 24th, 1996

Government Response To Petitions

[Paul Zed, 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 16 petitions.

Committees Of The House

[Ghislain Lebel, Bloc, Chambly, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I have the honour to table, in both official languages, the first report of the Standing Joint Committee on Scrutiny of Regulations.

Criminal Code

[Art Hanger, Reform, Calgary Northeast, AB]

moved for leave to introduce Bill C-272, an act to amend the Criminal Code (no parole when imprisoned for life).

Mr. Speaker, this bill amends certain provisions of the Criminal Code of Canada relating to prison sentences of life imprisonment. In effect this bill would eliminate any provision for early release or parole eligibility of any criminal serving a life sentence.

This private member's reflects the view that justice will be served when murderers sentenced to life imprisonment serve their full court ordered life sentence. For families of victims a true life sentence is an issue of closure. It is also a matter of fairness.

My bill sends a clear message to child killers like Clifford Olson. If an individual takes the life of another, that offender will spend the rest of his natural life locked away: no parole; life means life.

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

[Art Hanger, Reform, Calgary Northeast, AB]

moved for leave to introduce Bill C-273, an act to amend the Criminal Code (violent crimes).

Mr. Speaker, this bill can properly be characterized as two violent strikes legislation. For anyone who is convicted for the second time of a violent offence, that criminal shall be sentenced to life imprisonment.

For those who wish to rape, maim, conspire, corrupt and commit all manner of violent acts, this private member's initiative is bad news to them.

For victims and their families this bill represents a return to the principles of fundamental justice. It means those who repeatedly hurt and prey on the young, innocent the law-abiding will spend the rest of their natural lives in prison.

Let there be no mistake about the intent of this bill: two violent strikes and the criminal is out for life.

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

Employment Insurance Act

[Douglas Young, Liberal, Minister of Human Resources Development]

Mr. Speaker, I must inform the House that we have been unable to reach an agreement under Standing Order 78(1) or 78(2) regarding consideration at committee stage of Bill C-12, an act respecting employment insurance in Canada.

Therefore, I give notice that, pursuant to Standing Order 78(3), I will be moving at the next sitting of the House a motion on time allocation to allot a specified number of days or hours to the consideration of this stage and to the decisions required to dispose of it.

[Bob Ringma, Reform, Nanaimo—Cowichan, BC]

Mr. Speaker, I rise on a point of order. It was my understanding that when the minister made the motion for closure of debate on Bill C-12-

[An hon. member]

It was a notice of motion.

[The Acting Speaker (Mr. Kilger)]

The Minister of Human Resources Development, under the provisions of Standing Order 78(3), gave notice of his intention to propose at the next sitting of the House a motion.

Petitions

[Lee Morrison, Reform, Swift Current—Maple Creek—Assiniboia, SK]

Mr. Speaker, pursuant to Standing Order 36, I present two petitions duly certified by the clerk of petitions.

The first one is unfortunately redundant. It deals with budgetary matters, but I will table it anyway and count on it for next year.

The petitioners beg Parliament that there be no further increases in the tax on gasoline. These are signatures primarily from the community of Frontier in my riding.

[Lee Morrison, Reform, Swift Current—Maple Creek—Assiniboia, SK]

Mr. Speaker, the second petition deals with the Canadian Wheat Board.

The petitioners respectfully call on Parliament to maintain the single desk selling monopoly of the Canadian Wheat Board and request that steps be taken to expand the powers of the Canadian Wheat Board so that more grains and oilseeds will be placed under the monopoly control of the wheat board.

This is also signed by residents of my constituency.

[Myron Thompson, Reform, Wild Rose, AB]

Mr. Speaker, on behalf of constituents of Wild Rose, from the communities of Hussar, Standard, Rockyford, Gleichen and Cluny, I am pleased to present this petition today. The petitioners are asking Parliament not to increase the federal excise tax on gasoline at any time, as they recognize it can be done any day.

I am pleased to offer that on their behalf.

[Elsie Wayne, Progressive Conservative, Saint John, NB]

Mr. Speaker, I rise pursuant to Standing Order 36 to present a petition signed by people from Alberta, Ontario and Quebec.

The undersigned residents of Canada draw to attention of the House that whereas this nation is in danger of being torn apart by regional factions, they pray that the Prime Minister and the Parliament of Canada declare and confirm immediately that Canada is indivisible, and that the boundaries of Canada, its provinces, territories and territorial waters may be modified only by a free vote of all Canadian citizens, as guaranteed by the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, and through the amending formula as stipulated in the Canadian Constitution.

[Bob Ringma, Reform, Nanaimo—Cowichan, BC]

Mr. Speaker, I rise to present a similar petition from constituents of Nanaimo-Cowichan and from constituents from all parts of Canada asking that Parliament declare and confirm immediately that Canada is indivisible and that the boundaries of Canada, its provinces and territories may be modified only by a free vote of all Canadian citizens and/or the amending formula as stipulated in the Canadian Constitution.

[Philippe Paré, Bloc, Louis-Hébert, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I have the honour of presenting a petition concerning the sad fate of a constituent of mine, Tran Trieu Quan, who has been imprisoned in Vietnam for over two years now.

Mr. Tran's fate generates a great deal of sympathy in the Quebec City region, and also throughout the province. The 5,200 petitioners are asking Parliament to ensure the safety and release of Mr. Tran at the earliest opportunity.

[Roseanne Skoke, Liberal, Central Nova, NS]

Mr. Speaker, pursuant to Standing Order 36, the petitioners call 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.

[John Murphy, Liberal, Annapolis Valley—Hants, NS]

Mr. Speaker, I have the honour of presenting a petition that has been signed by 2,000 constituents of Annapolis Valley-Hants.

The petitioners call on Parliament to amend the Criminal Code of Canada to ensure that the sentence given to anyone convicted of driving while impaired or causing death or injury while impaired reflects the severity of that crime.

Questions On The Order Paper

[Paul Zed, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to Leader of the Government in the House of Commons]

Mr. Speaker, Question No. 15 will be answered today.

Question No. 15-

[Herb Grubel, Reform, Capilano—Howe Sound, BC]

How does the Minister of Human Resources Development explain the increases in the value of fraudulent claims between 1993/94 and 1994/95 for old age security, from $256,140 to $1,076,882, and CPP, from $244,571 to $554,947, as reported in the Public Accounts of Canada, Volume ll, Part ll for these two years?

[Bob Nault, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Human Resources Development]

The figures quoted from public accounts represent the value of overpayments established during the reporting year related to suspected offenses. The reported increases from 1993/94 to 1994/95 for both old age security and the Canada pension plan are due to the following factors:

Increased awareness of the potential for fraud and its subsequent detection by regional and headquarters program integrity officers-there were 11 more cases of suspected fraud found in each program in 1994/95 than had been found in 1993/94, a total of 22 more cases than were found the previous year; detection of some older cases, which tend to have higher values because benefits have been in pay for an extended period; detailed review of benefit files in preparation for the conversion to income security program, ISP, redesign system, which revealed eight cases of suspected fraud with an associated value of $154,000; enhanced reassessment activities related to CPP disability which resulted in an increase in the number of cases detected in which fraud was suspected.

To maintain the integrity of the OAS and CPP programs, many methods are used for the detection of abuse: quarterly fraud profiles, random and directed samples, disability reassessment, third party complaints, computer matching with Revenue Canada and with the unemployment insurance program, and the vigilance of income security programs staff. Increases in the value of overpayments related to suspected offenses reflect enhanced detection, not necessarily an increase in the overall incidence of fraud.

[The Acting Speaker (Mr. Kilger)]

The question as enumerated by the parliamentary secretary has been answered.

[Paul Zed, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to Leader of the Government in the House of Commons]

Mr. Speaker, I ask that the remaining questions be allowed to stand.

[The Acting Speaker (Mr. Kilger)]

Is that agreed?

[Some hon. members]

Agreed.

Motions For Papers

[Paul Zed, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to Leader of the Government in the House of Commons]

Mr. Speaker, I ask that all Notices of Motions for the Production of Papers be allowed to stand.

[The Acting Speaker (Mr. Kilger)]

Is that agreed?