Debates of Dec. 3rd, 1997

Points Of Order

[The Speaker]

Dear colleagues, I will read the blues again.

The hon. member for Abitibi has said that he apologized not only to members in the gallery but also to the House.

[An hon. member]

No, he didn't.

[The Speaker]

I beg you, my colleagues, that I am not in a debate with you. I am here to hopefully see to it that there is normal discourse in the House. We cannot have that when we are shouting in the House.

The hon. member has apologized to whoever was in the gallery. The hon. member has apologized in my view to whoever in the House has taken offence. I take that as an apology.

I will revisit the blues and, if necessary, I will come back to the House, but at this time this point of order is over.

[Grant McNally, Reform, Dewdney—Alouette, BC]

Mr. Speaker, my point of order arises out of comments made by the Minister of Natural Resources in question period. She seemed to be unaware of spending details with reference to Mr. Kenneth Vollman, vice-chair of the National Energy Board.

It is important to get this information into the public arena as it is taxpayers' dollars that are being spent on these expenditures. I would like to table the document that details the information for the minister.

[The Speaker]

The hon. member can deposit the document with the unanimous consent of the House. He wants to table a document. Does he have unanimous consent of the House?

[Some hon. members]

No.

[The Speaker]

There is not unanimous consent.

[Stéphane Bergeron, Bloc, Verchères, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I rise on the same point of order raised by my colleague from Témiscamingue. I wonder if it might not have been appropriate under the circumstances to immediately call to order the hon. member for Abitibi for pulling off his jacket. That in itself constitutes a breach of the proper dress code for this House—

[The Speaker]

My colleague, sometimes things happen pretty fast in this place, in the House of Commons. I do not know what I would have done, but one of my colleagues was in the Chair and did for the best in the circumstances.

I would ask all hon. members to conduct themselves honorably. After all, we are the parliamentarians of Canada. As the hon. member said, this kind of attitude is not acceptable in the House of Commons, and all members are requested to refrain from doing such things. We should not even exchange certain words, which are a tad too strong.

I would ask that the hon. members please choose their words more carefully. And the same goes for their actions. I would like to leave it at that. I think the point has been discussed enough, my colleague.

[Louis Plamondon, Bloc, Richelieu, QC]

On a point of order, Mr. Speaker.

[The Speaker]

Does it pertain to another matter? Is it a new point of order? I am putting the question directly to the hon. member for Richelieu. In a word: is this a new point of order?

[Louis Plamondon, Bloc, Richelieu, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the matter can be settled easily. In all good faith I would just like to tell the Chair that I believe the hon. member for Abitibi, by nodding, in fact apologized. This confirms that he apologized to the House. The hon. member could now nod to confirm and that would settle the matter.

Is the member apologizing? Yes?

[Bob Kilger, Liberal, Stormont—Dundas, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the longstanding traditions of this House call for, perhaps demand, but at the very least call for respect for the Chair in refraining from questioning a decision by the Speaker once one has been made. I trust members will adhere to this parliamentary tradition, which is worthy of all those who are part of it.

[The Speaker]

Is there another point of order?

[Stéphane Bergeron, Bloc, Verchères, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I rise on a point of order concerning the hon. government whip's intervention.

[The Speaker]

Come now, this is turning into a debate. I will allow the hon. whip to say a few words but I want that to be the end of it. We have work to do here.

[Stéphane Bergeron, Bloc, Verchères, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the hon. government whip has referred to the long British parliamentary tradition in this House, and rightly so. That tradition calls for respect of the Speaker's decisions, and I agree.

That tradition does, however, also call for decorum in this House. We are here to exchange ideas, but when a member invites someone else to come to blows—

[The Speaker]

Point made and accepted. It is not acceptable to see these little squabbles between anybody. Now, that is that for the moment.

[Yvan Bernier, Bloc, Bonaventure—Gaspé—Îles-De-La-Madeleine—Pabok, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I thank the Chair for recognizing me. It is not about the points just raised, but about the point raised by the member for Burin—St. George's.

I realize that the Chair has made its decision, but for the information of the House and of the public, the question raised by the Conservative member for Burin-St. George's concerned allegations by the Minister of Fisheries and Oceans regarding the work of the standing committee, and the fact that this could hamper us in our parliamentary work.

I would like the Chair to remind the House and the listening public that the House of Commons Standing Committee on Fisheries and Oceans is a body duly created by the House, by you, Mr. Speaker. The Standing Committee on Fisheries and Oceans is accordingly completely free to do the work it wishes. At no time may allegations by ministers made in or outside the House influence this work. Am I correct?

[The Speaker]

The short answer is yes.

Order In Council Appointments

[Peter Adams, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to Leader of the Government in the House of Commons]

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.

Government Response To Petitions

[Peter Adams, 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 10 petitions.

Committees Of The House

[Clifford Lincoln, Liberal, Lac-Saint-Louis, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I have the honour to present, in both official languages, the second report of the Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage.

Pursuant to its mandate under Standing Order 108(2), our committee studied the topic of the Canadian television and cable production fund.

On the strength of these and other observations, the committee recommends as follows:

That the Government of Canada maintain its level of funding for the Canada Television and Cable Production Fund at least at the 1997 level.

Petitions

[Paul Szabo, Liberal, Mississauga South, ON]

Mr. Speaker, pursuant to Standing Order 36 I am pleased to present a petition from a number of Canadians, including some from my own riding of Mississauga South.

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 society.

The petitioners would also like to point out that they concur with the report of the National Forum on Health in terms of its recommendation that we should be investing more in our children, particularly since the Income Tax Act does not fairly take into account the real costs of raising children.

The petitioners therefore pray and call upon parliament to pursue tax initiatives to assist families that choose to provide direct parental care to preschool children.

[Judy Wasylycia-Leis, NDP, Winnipeg North Centre, MB]

Mr. Speaker, pursuant to Standing Order 36 I am pleased and honoured to present a petition on behalf of constituents of Winnipeg North Centre and other Manitobans who are very concerned about Canada's retirement system.

They are worried about changes in the works that are being discussed. They petition the government to rescind Bill C-2 and to establish a national review of the retirement income system in Canada to ensure the adequacy of Canada's retirement system today and tomorrow.