House of Commons Hansard #18 of the 36th Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament's site.) The word of the day was co-operatives.

Topics

Oral Question PeriodOral Question Period

3:10 p.m.

Liberal

Stéphane Dion Liberal Saint-Laurent—Cartierville, QC

Yes, Mr. Speaker, I withdraw all these words.

Oral Question PeriodOral Question Period

3:10 p.m.

The Speaker

I think we have invested enough of the time of the House in this interchange.

Does the hon. member have another point of order which does not deal with this one?

Oral Question PeriodOral Question Period

3:10 p.m.

Bloc

Gilles Duceppe Bloc Laurier—Sainte-Marie, QC

Mr. Speaker, generally speaking, when someone from the government side utters words he must withdraw, I think it would be a much better idea if he were asked to withdraw them immediately. Otherwise, we lose questions on this side of the House.

Oral Question PeriodOral Question Period

3:10 p.m.

The Speaker

Your Speaker always takes advice from his colleagues. I will weigh all the advice that will be given to me today.

I would now like to proceed to a question of privilege from the hon. member for Yorkton—Melville.

PrivilegeOral Question Period

3:15 p.m.

Reform

Garry Breitkreuz Reform Yorkton—Melville, SK

Mr. Speaker, I rise again on three separate questions of privilege arising from the question of privilege that I raised yesterday.

Yesterday when I raised my question of privilege the table officers failed to follow the procedure of the House according to Beauchesne's. Citation 116 of Beauchesne's Parliamentary Rules and Forms , sixth edition, states:

Should a question of privilege be based on published material, the article in question must be submitted and read at the Table.

Yesterday I asked: “I have a copy of this memorandum for the Speaker. Does he want the article read now?”

Mr. Speaker, I am quoting from the blues because the official Hansard record does not record my asking you this question or your response. You responded, and again I quote from the blues, “I would like to have the article brought to”, and so on. Neither my question nor your response were included in the Commons Debates for October 21, 1997.

My first question of privilege is to ask that the official record of this House be amended to include my question and your response. I cannot defend my rights and privileges as a member in this House if the record does not accurately reflect what both you and I said in the House.

My second question of privilege relates to the fact that the memorandum which was delivered to you was not read as the procedures of this House say it must be done. I will not go into all the details here. I can explain it to you later. The record shows that you accepted that my question was in fact a question of privilege and only your ruling was held in abeyance.

PrivilegeOral Question Period

3:15 p.m.

The Speaker

I will review the blues and Hansard . I will review all of the tapes and the television.

I did not say that you had a question of privilege, nor did I intend to convey that. Because of what went on yesterday I asked—and you seem to agree—that I would hold in abeyance any action on this particular point of privilege until I had more information which was going to be forthcoming from the Board of Internal Economy.

On the points that you have brought up I will review Hansard and the tapes, and if corrections are necessary I will look into it.

As far as having a point of privilege at this point, I have not made a decision as yet. I will make my decision when I get more information. With respect to what you are bringing up now, if you want me to rule on those points, being points of privilege, I will do so.

Do you want me to rule now on whether those are points of privilege or not?

PrivilegeOral Question Period

3:15 p.m.

Reform

Garry Breitkreuz Reform Yorkton—Melville, SK

Mr. Speaker, I would seek your wisdom on that. I can wait. I have not introduced my third point.

PrivilegeOral Question Period

3:15 p.m.

The Speaker

I thank you. If you will wait until I get more information, I will come back to the hon. member and he will have a chance, if it is necessary, to bring forward any other point that he wants. Does he agree to that?

PrivilegeOral Question Period

3:15 p.m.

Reform

Garry Breitkreuz Reform Yorkton—Melville, SK

Mr. Speaker, I feel that my rights and privileges need to be addressed as soon as possible.

With respect to the Board of Internal Economy, I do not think it is their responsibility. It is your responsibility—

PrivilegeOral Question Period

3:15 p.m.

The Speaker

It is of course the responsibility of the House in total to protect all the rights of members but it falls to your Speaker to do that. I have undertaken to get back to you at another time.

I will not rule on the point of privilege that you put before me now. I would like you to hold off until we can come back.

Order In Council AppointmentsRoutine Proceedings

3:20 p.m.

Liberal

Marlene Catterall Liberal Ottawa West—Nepean, ON

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to table, in both official languages, a number of Order in Council appointments which were made by the government.

Pursuant to the provisions of Standing Order 110(1) these are deemed referred to the appropriate standing committees, a list of which is attached.

Committees Of The HouseRoutine Proceedings

3:20 p.m.

Peterborough Ontario

Liberal

Peter Adams LiberalParliamentary Secretary to Leader of the Government in the House of Commons

Mr. Speaker, I have the honour to present the fourth report of the Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs regarding the selection of votable items in accordance with Standing Order 92.

Access To Information ActRoutine Proceedings

3:20 p.m.

Reform

Inky Mark Reform Dauphin—Swan River, MB

moved for leave to introduce Bill C-253, an act to amend the Access to Information Act (disclosure of results of public opinion polls).

Mr. Speaker, it is my privilege to introduce a bill entitled an act to amend the Access to Information Act (disclosure of results of public opinion polls). This bill requires the government to make public any public opinion poll commissioned by any department, branch, office, board, agency, commission, corporation or other body established by Parliament or by the governor in council.

Public opinion polls paid for with public money should be made public. Governments in Canada have had a bad habit of being secretive about the wrong things. Mr. Speaker, you will know that it was not until the 1980s that Canada even had an access to—

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

Immigration ActRoutine Proceedings

3:20 p.m.

Liberal

Stan Dromisky Liberal Thunder Bay—Atikokan, ON

moved for leave to introduce Bill C-254, an act to amend the Immigration Act (reimbursement).

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to introduce my private member's bill entitled an act to amend the Immigration Act regarding reimbursement.

The bill provides that a person is entitled to reimbursement of the right of landing fee if the Minister of Citizenship and Immigration is satisfied that the person resided elsewhere in Canada than in a specified census metropolitan area between the day the person was granted landing and the day the person received a certificate of citizenship.

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

Criminal CodeRoutine Proceedings

3:20 p.m.

Reform

Art Hanger Reform Calgary Northeast, AB

moved for leave to introduce Bill C-255, an act to amend the Criminal Code (prohibited sexual acts).

Mr. Speaker, it is my pleasure to reintroduce this private member's bill in the House today. The bill would amend the section of the Criminal Code dealing with prohibited sexual acts with children under the age of 14 or in the presence of children under the age of 14.

If implemented the bill would raise the age of a child as defined for this purpose from the current age of 14 to 16 years of age. In effect, the bill would allow for criminal charges to be brought against any adult who engages in sexual relations with a person younger than age 16.

I urge all members of the House to seriously consider this bill, its intent and purpose and to lend their support accordingly.

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

Statutory Instruments ActRoutine Proceedings

October 22nd, 1997 / 3:25 p.m.

Reform

Ted White Reform North Vancouver, BC

moved for leave to introduce Bill C-256, an act to amend the Statutory Instruments Act (disallowance procedure for statutory instruments).

Mr. Speaker, this bill would establish a statutory disallowance procedure which does not exist at the moment. It would allow for instruments subject to review and scrutiny by the joint Standing Committee for the Scrutiny of Regulations to be subject to legislative disallowance if the committee rules that they should be disallowed.

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

Employment Equity ActRoutine Proceedings

3:25 p.m.

Reform

Ted White Reform North Vancouver, BC

moved for leave to introduce Bill C-257, an act to amend the Employment Equity Act (elimination of designated groups and numerical goals) and the Canadian Human Rights Act.

Mr. Speaker, this bill amends the Employment Equity Act, chapter 44 of 1995, to do as proposition 209 did recently in California; that is, to remove the misguided Liberal concept of state sanctioned and enforced employment based on race or gender instead of qualifications for the job.

The people of Canada are way ahead of the House in recognizing that the Employment Equity Act is undesirable and they want rid of it.

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

Criminal CodeRoutine Proceedings

3:25 p.m.

Reform

Paul Forseth Reform New Westminster—Coquitlam—Burnaby, BC

moved for leave to introduce Bill C-258, an act to amend the Criminal Code (judicial review).

Mr. Speaker, yesterday the member for York South—Weston introduced a private member's bill which would repeal section 745 of the Criminal Code dealing with judicial reviews of a life sentence for murder.

Today I have the privilege of introducing a similar bill with one exception. It reads: “That the repeal of section 745 will not be retroactive”. Previous attempts at repealing this section raised constitutional argument. I think only bleeding hearts and murderers want this clause.

An original advocate of the clause no longer has a seat in this House. Warren Allmand is gone and so should section 745 of the Criminal Code.

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

Criminal CodeRoutine Proceedings

3:25 p.m.

The Acting Speaker (Mr. McClelland)

Before we get into the next private member's bill, I would ask members, when they are introducing their bills, to restrict their comments to the content of the bill itself and leave any editorial comments for debate.

Criminal CodeRoutine Proceedings

3:25 p.m.

Reform

Myron Thompson Reform Wild Rose, AB

moved for leave to introduce Bill C-259, an act to amend the Criminal Code (arrest without warrant).

Mr. Speaker, it gives me pleasure to reintroduce this bill as I had done so in the last session.

This bill basically is put together to give police the power that they presently do not have to arrest a parolee who is in obvious violation of his restrictions.

In other words, the police are telling me that when these parolees are breaking their parole rules, the police have no ability to prevent anything from happening because they do not have that power. This bill will give them that power, a much needed bill.

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

Young Offenders ActRoutine Proceedings

3:30 p.m.

Reform

Chuck Cadman Reform Surrey North, BC

moved for leave to introduce Bill C-260, an act to amend the Young Offenders Act.

Mr. Speaker, I would first like to thank my colleague from Wild Rose for seconding this bill. I am privileged to introduce a private member's bill which will amend the Young Offenders Act to provide for a crown procedural option for anyone who wilfully fails to comply with section 7 or with an undertaking entered into pursuant to subsection 7.1(2).

At present, the punishment under section 7.2 of the Young Offenders Act is limited to a range for summary conviction. This bill will make the section a hybrid offence with imprisonment not exceeding two years or punishable by summary conviction.

This minor amendment will place significantly more responsibility on those persons who agree to ensure that young offenders will abide with specific court conditions.

I look forward to debating this proposal in this place in the very near future and I urge all members to give careful consideration and support to this initiative.

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

Immigration ActRoutine Proceedings

3:30 p.m.

Reform

John Reynolds Reform West Vancouver—Sunshine Coast, BC

moved for leave to introduce Bill C-261, an act to amend the Immigration Act and the Criminal Code (refugee or immigrant applicants convicted of an offence on indictment).

Mr. Speaker, the enactment deals with persons who commit offences in Canada while applying to remain in Canada as refugees, or to come into or remain in Canada as immigrants.

It provides that a court that sentences such a person for an indictable offence is empowered to order the person removed from Canada. Such a person is not thereafter entitled to bail pending an appeal or to be released in Canada by any form of early release or unescorted temporary absence but may only be released outside Canada.

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

Criminal CodeRoutine Proceedings

3:30 p.m.

Reform

Jim Abbott Reform Kootenay—Columbia, BC

moved for leave to introduce Bill C-262, an act to amend the Criminal Code (probation order).

Mr. Speaker, this bill comes as a result of some comments by a judge in my constituency. This judge is concerned about the fact that he did not have any way of influencing probation in future.

In other words, if the judge at the time of conviction believes there should be certain terms and conditions applied to potential parole, those should be taken into account at the time that parole is considered.

In this way, the judgments of the court today will be taken into account in the future and we will not end up with people feeling that the courts are not really responsible. In fact, the probation system is responsible for the ultimate disposition of the criminal.

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

Holidays ActRoutine Proceedings

3:35 p.m.

Reform

Jim Abbott Reform Kootenay—Columbia, BC

moved for leave to introduce Bill C-263, an act to amend the Holidays Act.

Mr. Speaker, the purpose of the bill is to bring back to Canada its original name, that being the Dominion of Canada. We have lost too much of our heritage. The least we can do is to return Canada Day to Dominion Day. Dominion Day is an entity of Canada. Let us go back to our roots of the Dominion of Canada.

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

PetitionsRoutine Proceedings

3:35 p.m.

Liberal

John Cannis Liberal Scarborough Centre, ON

Mr. Speaker, pursuant to Standing Order 36, I have the honour to present a petition signed by 1,114 constituents and residents of the surrounding areas.

These concerned individuals call on Parliament to enact legislation in order to amend the Criminal Code, specifically sections 173 (indecent acts) and section 174 (nudity) to clearly state that a woman appearing topless in public places is an indecent act.