Debates of Sept. 18th, 1996

Petitions

[Maurizio Bevilacqua, Liberal, York North, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the second petition draws to the attention of the House the important role small businesses play in our economy. The petitioners call upon Parliament to continue to create a healthy environment for small businesses to ensure they have access to the financing they need and to help them explore and capitalize on new opportunities.

[Bill Blaikie, NDP, Winnipeg—Transcona, MB]

Mr. Speaker, I have the honour to present a petition signed by many Manitobans. They are concerned that the Liberal government is on the verge of drastically reducing coast guard services on the major lakes in Manitoba, with Lake Winnipeg being the 10th largest lake in the world. They are concerned this reduction plan includes decommissioning the Namao and Avocet , the only two coast guard ships on the lake.

They call on Parliament to direct the Government of Canada, especially the Ministers of Transport and Fisheries and Oceans, to reaffirm the preservation and maintenance of coast guard services on the lakes in the province of Manitoba so as to ensure that public safety and protection will remain a top priority.

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

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased and honoured to rise today to draw the attention of the House on behalf of many of the constituents in my own riding and around the lower mainland to the following: That, Canadian law does not prohibit convicted criminals from profiting financially by writing books, setting up 1-900 lines, producing videos.

The petitioners pray that Parliament enact Bill C-205, introduced by the hon. member for Scarborough West, at the earliest opportunity so as to provide in Canadian law that no criminal profits from committing a crime.

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

Mr. Speaker, I have a petition on the Young Offenders Act that is signed by 440 constituents in my area.

This is based on an incident where two young alleged thieves were caught breaking into cars in a parking lot. They tried to run down a witness. They did not conceal their names from the police. They were quite free to give them because they knew they could not be prosecuted because of their ages. Because of this, the petitioners request that the Young Offenders Act either be abolished or revised so that the rights of ordinary citizens come ahead of the rights of young offenders of this sort.

[Joe McGuire, Liberal, Egmont, PE]

Mr. Speaker, it is my duty to present a petition from 60 citizens in my riding, mainly from the villages of O'Leary, Bloomfield, Ellerslie and Alberton.

These 60 petitioners are very concerned with the inadequacies of the sentencing practices concerning individuals convicted of impaired driving charges. They are also concerned that Canada must embrace a philosophy of zero tolerance toward individuals who drive while impaired by alcohol or drugs.

These petitioners would like that very serious consideration be given to the bill that is coming up shortly for a vote.

[Roseanne Skoke, Liberal, Central Nova, NS]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to present a petition from my constituents which draws the attention of the House to the following: That there are profound inadequacies in the sentencing practices concerning individuals convicted of impaired driving charges; and that Canada must embrace a philosophy of zero tolerance toward individuals who drive while impaired by alcohol or drugs.

Therefore, the petitioners pray and request that Parliament 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 zero tolerance by Canada toward this crime.

[Paul Steckle, Liberal, Huron—Bruce, ON]

Mr. Speaker, pursuant to Standing Order 36, I have two different petitions to present today, the first one dealing with criminals benefiting from criminal activity.

The petitioners are petitioning that Parliament enact Bill C-205, introduced by the hon. member for Scarborough West, at the earliest opportunity so as to provide in Canadian law that no criminal profits from committing a crime.

[Paul Steckle, Liberal, Huron—Bruce, ON]

Mr. Speaker, my second petition has to do with drunk drivers. The petitioners pray and request that Parliament proceed immediately with amendments to the Criminal Code that would ensure 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 zero tolerance by Canada toward this crime.

[Deborah Grey, Reform, Beaver River, AB]

Mr. Speaker, pursuant to Standing Order 36, I too would like to table a petition with several hundred names on it, most of them from the constituency of Beaver River but some from Edmonton and perhaps Edmonton Southeast and other cities.

Resulting from a murder this spring in the town of Bonnyville, these people are very concerned that there be stricter penalties for young offenders who commit crimes causing bodily harm or death. These individuals should be held in custody pending their court hearing. Young offenders 16 years and older who take the law into their own hands and cause death should be charged and treated as adults and tried in adult court without the consent of judges.

Therefore these petitioners pray and request that Parliament please make amendments and stiffer penalties to the Young Offenders Act.

[Ian McClelland, Reform, Edmonton Southwest, AB]

Mr. Speaker, it is my honour and privilege to present three petitions to the House today, two on behalf of the esteemed member for Edmonton Southeast.

The first petition is signed by 33 petitioners who pray and request that Parliament oppose any amendments to the Canadian Human Rights Act or any other federal legislation that will provide for the inclusion of the phrase sexual orientation.

[Ian McClelland, Reform, Edmonton Southwest, AB]

Mr. Speaker, the second petition signed by 47 petitioners asks and prays that we conduct a full public inquiry into the relationship between lending institutions and the judiciary and to enact legislation restricting the appointment of judges with ties to credit granting institutions. The idea is that there is some sort of collusion between the judiciary and credit granting institutions which has resulted in the fact that credit granting institutions are never ever taken to task.

[Ian McClelland, Reform, Edmonton Southwest, AB]

Mr. Speaker, the third petition is signed by 80 petitioners mostly from Edmonton Southwest, many of whom are associated with CARP, the Canadian Association of Retired Persons. The petitioners bring to the attention of this House and request that Parliament take the necessary measures to ensure that Canadian citizens who are recipients of American pensions are not penalized. This flows from the change in legislation in the United States whereby recipients of U.S. pensions in Canada have 25 per cent of the money that is due to them held back.

[Paul Szabo, Liberal, Mississauga South, ON]

Mr. Speaker, my first petition comes from Nepean, Ontario.

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.

The petitioners therefore pray and call upon Parliament to pursue initiatives to eliminate tax discrimination against families who choose to provide care in the home for preschool children, the chronically ill, the disabled, or the aged.

[Paul Szabo, Liberal, Mississauga South, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the second petition comes from Simcoe, Ontario.

The petitioners would like to draw to the attention of the House that consumption of alcoholic beverages may cause health problems or impair one's ability and specifically, that 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 alcoholic beverages to caution expectant mothers and others of the risks associated with alcohol consumption.

[Ovid Jackson, Liberal, Bruce—Grey, ON]

Mr. Speaker, it is my pleasure under Standing Order 36 to table a petition on behalf of my constituents of Bruce-Grey.

This summer I received several thousand signatures with regard to gas pricing. The petitioners feel that gas pricing practices by petroleum companies rob communities of economic activity and tourism.

The operative clause in this petition states: "Be it resolved that we request the federal government to require the fuel industry to become accountable for the prices charged for their products and if price gouging or policies against the public interest are discovered, that the companies be required to roll back prices to a justifiable level".

[Pat O'Brien, Liberal, London—Middlesex, ON]

Mr. Speaker, pursuant to Standing Order 36, it is my pleasure to present a petition from my constituents of London-Middlesex.

Relative to the possible taxation of dental benefits, these petitioners note that this has been a topic of discussion for the past two or three years. They are pleased that the government has seen fit not to tax such dental benefits. They call on Parliament and this government to forgo such consideration on a permanent basis and that we do not tax dental benefits.

[Marlene Catterall, Liberal, Ottawa West, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I have two petitions to present today. The first is from constituents who draw to the attention of Parliament that there is currently no legislation prohibiting a convicted criminal from profiting from his crime through the publication of books, articles, videos or the establishment of a 1-900 number. They call upon Parliament to approve Bill C-205 now before the House which would enact such legislation.

[Marlene Catterall, Liberal, Ottawa West, ON]

The second petition, Mr. Speaker, draws to the attention of Parliament that industrial quality hemp is not a psychoactive product and therefore should be transferred from the jurisdiction of the health minister to the minister of agriculture.

[Chuck Strahl, Reform, Fraser Valley East, BC]

Mr. Speaker, I have three petitions here today. One of them is a sanctity of human life petition. The petitioners pray and call on Parliament to ensure that assisted suicide or euthanasia is not allowed in our country and should not be allowed in the future.

[Chuck Strahl, Reform, Fraser Valley East, BC]

The second petition, Mr. Speaker, has to do with the merchant marine. The petitioners call upon Parliament to consider the advisability of extending benefits or compensation to veterans of the wartime merchant navy equal to those enjoyed by veterans of Canada's World War II armed services. I am sure many of us have had to deal with those veterans in our offices.

[Chuck Strahl, Reform, Fraser Valley East, BC]

Mr. Speaker, the third petition is another sanctity of life petition. It says that whereas human life at the preborn stage is not protected in Canadian society, the petitioners pray that Parliament act immediately to extend protection to the unborn child by amending the Criminal Code. Mr. Speaker, there have been many cases in the news that have highlighted that issue over the summer.

Questions On The Order Paper

[Garry Breitkreuz, Reform, Yorkton—Melville, SK]

Mr. Speaker, I rise today on a very important matter to ask the government House leader when I can expect an answer to my question on the order paper No. Q-4.

A little bit of history is in order here. The question was first placed on notice on February 27, 1996 and I requested an answer

from the government within 45 days. As of today, 204 days have passed. This same question was on the order paper for 71 days before the government prorogued the House in the last session. This has become a very serious matter. It is a total of 275 days that the government has had to prepare a response.

The answer to this question is a matter of public safety, specifically regarding the unsafe storage and theft of firearms from police and military armouries.

On May 29, 1996 the parliamentary secretary to the government House leader responded to my previous point of order saying we could expect him to provide us with the information very soon. Mr. Speaker, 104 days have passed since the parliamentary secretary promised the information very soon. This is now bordering on the absurd. My question is: How long do my constituents and I still have to wait?

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

Mr. Speaker, my hon. friend is right. There has not been an answer yet to his question.

I think he would recognize that the question which was asked was one that required some detailed information from a wide variety of sources. I am sorry to say that we do not have the question available. We will have it as soon as it is available. I am sure he would realize that the very scarce resources available in the departments for these kinds of matters involving very specific questions, which is what in fact has been raised by my colleague, just do not make it possible to make the information as forthcoming as he would like it to be. In order to make it accurate, we are doing the very best we can.

I know that does not satisfy him in terms of an answer but that is the best answer I can offer my colleague.

[The Deputy Speaker]

Would the parliamentary secretary please indicate what he is going to do with the other questions on the order paper.

[Paul Zed, Liberal, Fundy Royal, NB]

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