Debates of Dec. 2nd, 1998

Ways And Means

[Jim Peterson, Liberal, Secretary of State (International Financial Institutions)]

Mr. Speaker, pursuant to Standing Order 83(1), I wish to table a notice of ways and means motion to amend the Income Tax Act, along with some explanatory notes.

This measure is not a levy. It will make room for aboriginal governments to levy their own income taxes. I ask that an order of the day be designated for consideration of this motion.

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 eight petitions.

Committees Of The House

[Raymond Bonin, Liberal, Nickel Belt, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I have the honour to present in both official languages the fifth report of the Standing Committee on Transport with respect to Bill C-58, an act to amend the Railway Safety Act and to make consequential amendments to another act.

[Sarmite Bulte, Liberal, Parkdale—High Park, ON]

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

Pursuant to its order of reference dated Tuesday, November 3, 1998, your committee has adopted Bill C-55, an act respecting advertising services supplied by foreign periodical publishers and has agreed to report it with amendments.

War Veterans Allowance Act

[Fred Mifflin, Liberal, Minister of Veterans Affairs and Secretary of State (Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency)]

moved for leave to introduce Bill C-61, an act to amend the War Veterans Allowance Act, the Pension Act, the Merchant Navy Veteran and Civilian War-related Benefits Act, the Department of Veterans Affairs Act, the Veterans Review and Appeal Board Act and the Halifax Relief Commission Pension Continuation Act and to amend certain others acts in consequence thereof.

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

Pension Ombudsman Act

[Lorne Nystrom, NDP, Qu'Appelle, SK]

moved for leave to introduce Bill C-460, an act to establish the office of Pension Ombudsman to investigate administrative difficulties encountered by persons in their dealings with government in respect of benefits under the Canada Pension Plan or the Old Age Security Act or tax liability on such benefits and to review the policies and practices applied in the administration and adjudication of such benefits and liabilities.

Mr. Speaker, I think you have summed it up very well. It is a bill that I am sure all of us in the House can support. It opens up the office of a superintendent of pensions for the Canada pension plan and old age pensions. It will deal with complaints. It will assist Canadians from coast to coast with those complaints and will help facilitate them for ordinary people in the country.

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

Criminal Code

[Maurice Vellacott, Reform, Wanuskewin, SK]

, seconded by the hon. member for Saint John, moved for leave to introduce Bill C-461, an act to amend the Criminal Code to prohibit coercion in medical procedures that offend a person's religion or belief that human life is inviolable.

Mr. Speaker, I am very pleased to introduce this bill to amend the Criminal Code to prohibit coercion in medical procedures that offend a person's religious beliefs that human life is inviolable.

The purpose of this bill is to ensure that health care providers working in medical facilities of various kinds will never be forced to participate against their will in procedures such as abortions or acts of euthanasia. The bill itself does not proscribe abortion or euthanasia but makes it illegal to force another person to participate in an abortion procedure or an act of euthanasia.

Incredibly there are medical personnel in Canada who have been fired because the law is not explicit enough in spelling out their conscience rights. This bill will make those rights explicit. It is my privilege to introduce it on behalf of all health care workers in Canada today.

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

Farm Income Protection Act

[Leon Benoit, Reform, Lakeland, AB]

moved for leave to introduce Bill C-462, an act to amend the Farm Income Protection Act (crop damage by gophers).

Mr. Speaker, I noticed a couple of chuckles on this bill. In fact it is an extremely important bill for farmers who are having crops damaged and acres and acres of crops completely destroyed by gophers. My bill calls for compensation to be paid through the crops protection act for farmers who have had damage done to their crops because the proper concentration of strychnine is no longer being allowed and they have no access to it. Farmers have had thousands and thousands of dollars of crops destroyed due to this lack of control.

This bill will allow for compensation for that if the government will not change its mind and decide that the proper concentration of gopher poison will be reintroduced.

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

[The Deputy Speaker]

I want the hon. member for Lakeland to know how seriously the Chair regarded his gopher bill.

Petitions

[Paul Szabo, Liberal, Mississauga South, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to present a petition signed by a number of Canadians, including from my own riding of Mississauga South.

The petitioners would like to bring to the attention of the House that human rights violations continue in many countries around the world, such as Indonesia. They also point out that Canada continues to be respected for its defence of universal human rights. Therefore they call upon the government to continue its efforts to speak out against countries that tolerate human rights violations and to do whatever is possible to bring to justice those responsible for such abuses.

[Scott Brison, Progressive Conservative, Kings—Hants, NS]

Mr. Speaker, I submit to the House a petition signed by many of my constituents. My constituents are asking that the government immediately comply with the orders of the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal in the matter of pay equity.

[Maurice Vellacott, Reform, Wanuskewin, SK]

Mr. Speaker, it is my privilege to present in the House today a hefty stack of petitions. These citizens of Canada are drawing the attention of the House to the fact that a majority of Canadians understand the concept of marriage as only the voluntary union of a single, that is unmarried, male and a single, that is unmarried, female and that it is the duty of parliament to ensure that marriage as it has been known and understood in Canada be preserved and protected.

These petitioners ask that parliament enact Bill C-225 so as to define in statute that a marriage can only be entered into between a single male and a single female.

[Maurice Vellacott, Reform, Wanuskewin, SK]

Mr. Speaker, I also present a petition to the House of Commons and parliament regarding the MacKay task force recommendations. These petitioners strongly urge parliamentarians to not give in to the pressure of the banks on the matter of retail, property and casualty insurance.

[Alex Shepherd, Liberal, Durham, ON]

Mr. Speaker, it is my pleasure to present a petition signed by 117 of my constituents. They request that a national referendum be held at the time of the next election to ask voters whether or not they are in favour of government funding for medically unnecessary abortions.

[Leon Benoit, Reform, Lakeland, AB]

Mr. Speaker, it is my honour to present this petition on behalf constituents mostly from Cold Lake dealing with marriage.

The petitioners pray that parliament enact legislation similar to Bill C-225 which would define marriage and that marriage can only be entered into between a single male and a single female.

[Peter Adams, Liberal, Peterborough, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to present another petition from citizens in the Peterborough area concerned about the threat of nuclear weapons.

They point out that Canada, although it has the capacity to build nuclear weapons, has rejected that option and in so doing recognizes the military futility of nuclear weapons. They pray that parliament support the goal of the abolition of nuclear weapons on Earth by Canada, advocating the immediate de-alerting of all nuclear devices, and that Canada join the nations of the New Agenda Coalition, and that Canada advocate within NATO that nuclear weapons have no militarily useful role.

[Peter Adams, Liberal, Peterborough, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to present a petition from citizens in the Peterborough area who are concerned about deaths from drinking and driving.

They point out that on average 4.5 Canadians are killed every day as a result of alcohol related vehicle accidents. The statistics for Canadians killed or injured as a result of impaired driving have not changed for over a decade.

The petitioners pray that parliament immediately amend the Criminal Code so that any crash resulting in injury constitutes reasonable and probable grounds for blood or breath testing on drivers. They urge the federal government to provide strong support and encouragement to jurisdictions to continue to introduce administrative sanctions that are user pay.

Questions On The Order Paper

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

Mr. Speaker, Question No. 158 will be answered today. .[Text]

Question No. 158—

[Jason Kenney, Reform, Calgary Southeast, AB]

For the most recent taxation year data is available: ( a ) what is the percentage of federal income tax collected from the highest 1% of income earners: ( b ) what is the percentage of federal income tax collected from the highest 10% of income earners: and ( c ) what percentage of individuals did not pay any income tax?

[Herb Dhaliwal, Liberal, Minister of National Revenue]

The 1996 taxation year is the most recent year for which data are available. (a) In that taxation year, 13.99% of the total net federal income tax was payable by the highest 1% of income earners; (b) 49.05% of total net federal income tax was payable by the highest 10% of income earners; (c) 31.95% of individuals did not have any income tax to pay.

[Peter Adams, Liberal, Peterborough, ON]

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

[The Deputy Speaker]

Is that agreed?

[Some hon. members]

Agreed.

Motions For Papers

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

Mr. Speaker, would you be so kind as to call Notice of Motion for the Production of Papers No. P-45 in the name of the hon. member for Calgary Centre.

Motion P-45

That an Order of the House do issue for copies of all studies and/or reports since September 1993 of the operational and regulatory costs of the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommucations Commission (CRTC) to Canadian industry and/or consumers.

[Peter Adams, Liberal, Peterborough, ON]

Mr. Speaker, with respect to this Notice of Motion for the Production of Papers, the information requested is made public each year in the estimates, reports on planning and priorities, also known as part III. I therefore ask the hon. member to withdraw his motion.