Debates of March 11th, 1998

Regional Development

[Martin Cauchon, Liberal, Secretary of State (Federal Office of Regional Development—Quebec)]

Mr. Speaker, as you are well aware, this government plays a role in regional economic development. It does so through Canada Economic Development, with the emphasis on assistance to small and medium-size businesses. It helps regions take advantage of the era of globalization.

The question raised by the opposition member has to do with the acquisition of businesses or essentially transactions in which the government cannot intervene, particularly through Canada Economic Development.

Obviously, we are concerned about the situation, but the fact remains that Canada Economic Development cannot intervene. We will, however, be following developments closely.

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 12 petitions.

[Leon Benoit, Reform, Lakeland, AB]

Mr. Speaker, I rise on a point of order to ask for unanimous consent of the House to table a copy of the letter I referred to in question period.

The minister questioned the facts surrounding the case. I want him to have a look at it so he can deal with it.

[The Speaker]

Is there unanimous consent?

[Some hon. members]

Agreed.

[An hon. member]

No.

[The Speaker]

There is not consent.

Criminal Code

[Tony Ianno, Liberal, Trinity—Spadina, ON]

moved for leave to introduce Bill C-368, an act to amend the Criminal Code and the Department of Health Act (security of the child).

Mr. Speaker, it gives me great pleasure and is an honour to introduce this enactment which removes the justification in the Criminal Code available to school teachers, parents and persons standing in the place of parents, of using force as a means of correction toward a pupil or child under their care.

It also clarifies the mandate of the Department of Health by specifying that the power to promote and preserve the physical, mental and social well-being of the people of Canada, includes the power to educate Canadians about the health and social risks associated with the corporal punishment of children, the alternative to its use, and the health and social benefit of respecting the right to security of children.

It further clarifies the mandate of the Department of Health respecting the co-ordination of efforts with provincial authorities to establish guidelines relating to the protection of children and law enforcement services for children.

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

Holidays Act

[Bryon Wilfert, Liberal, Oak Ridges, ON]

moved for leave to introduce Bill C-369, an act to amend the Holidays Act (Sir Wilfrid Laurier Day) and to make consequential amendments to other acts.

Mr. Speaker, I have the honour to present to the House two private members bills, both seconded by the member for Brossard—La Prairie.

The first one is an act to amend the Holidays Act to declare November 20 a national holiday recognizing the birthday of a true nation builder, Sir Wilfrid Laurier.

The purpose is to declare this day as a national holiday, as a tribute to one of modern Canada's builders.

Laurier was our first French speaking prime minister. It is important for Canadians to recognize the contributions that Laurier made to the country.

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

[Bryon Wilfert, Liberal, Oak Ridges, ON]

moved for leave to introduce Bill 370, an act to amend the Holidays Act (Sir John A. Macdonald Day) and to make consequential amendments to other acts.

Mr. Speaker, the second one is an act to amend the Holidays Act to declare January 11 a national holiday recognizing the birthday of Sir John A. MacDonald, our first prime minister.

It is important for Canadians to recognize their political leaders and I so present the bill to the House today.

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

Recall Act

[Ted White, Reform, North Vancouver, BC]

moved for leave to introduce Bill C-371, an act to establish the right of electors to recall members of Parliament.

Mr. Speaker, in the interests of democratic reform I am pleased to introduce a bill which when passed will allow for the recall of a member of Parliament for good reason.

The signature threshold requirement and the general mechanics of the bill are modelled after recall legislation which has been in place in some of the United States for more than 75 years and has been modified to fit our parliamentary system.

Almost three years of research and preparation went into this bill because of the serious nature of the subject.

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

Constitution Act, 1997 (Representation)

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

moved for leave to introduce Bill C-372, an act to amend the Constitution Act, 1867.

Mr. Speaker, I introduced toward the end of the last parliament a private member's bill, Bill C-385. The election took place before the bill was called.

Today I keep the commitment I made publicly to my constituents to reintroduce the bill in the 36th Parliament if re-elected. The bill is seconded by my colleague, the hon. member for Victoria—Haliburton.

The purpose of the bill is to cap the size of the House of Commons at the current 301 members. Obviously redistribution would still occur but within that cap. The bill would replace subsection 51(1), rule 2 of the Constitution Act, 1867, which would see the size of the House increase indefinitely.

One only has to do the math to realize that if we had a population the size of the U.S.A., under our current rules some day we would have 3,000 members of Parliament. Clearly that is not an acceptable number of MPs.

The bill seeks to cap the size of the House and to respect that most basic and fundamental rule of representation by population.

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

Petitions

[Mark Muise, Progressive Conservative, West Nova, NS]

Mr. Speaker, pursuant to Standing Order 36 I wish to present a petition signed by 819 constituents from my riding of West Nova.

The Government of Canada officially refers to the 1991 gulf war as special duty area Persian Gulf whereas many government officials including veterans affairs through press releases and internal memos use the term gulf war when making reference to this conflict.

The petitioners request that the Government of Canada officially recognize this conflict as the gulf war, thus resolving confusion leading to the proper recognition of the valiant efforts of its approximate 4,000 military members who served in this conflict.

[Philip Mayfield, Reform, Cariboo—Chilcotin, BC]

Mr. Speaker, I am honoured to rise in the House of Commons today to present a petition from 35 residents of Williams Lake in the constituency of Cariboo—Chilcotin.

The petitioners request that Parliament impose a moratorium on ratification of the MAI until full public hearings on the proposed treaty are held across the country so that all Canadians can have an opportunity to express their opinions on it.

[Monte Solberg, Reform, Medicine Hat, AB]

Mr. Speaker, pursuant to Standing Order 36 it is my pleasure to present a petition on behalf of a number of people from the Toronto area.

The petitioners pray that Parliament will enact legislation to wind down the CPP while protecting the pensions of current seniors so that Canadians can contribute to mandatory RRSPs of their own choosing.

[Réginald Bélair, Liberal, Timmins—James Bay, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I have the pleasure of submitting three petitions, two of which are from several constituents of mine who oppose public nudity.

[Réginald Bélair, Liberal, Timmins—James Bay, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the third petition is to oppose nuclear weapons in Canada and anywhere in the world.

[Rick Casson, Reform, Lethbridge, AB]

Mr. Speaker, pursuant to Standing Order 36 I am pleased to rise to present the following petition which comes from concerned citizens in my riding of Lethbridge and contains 364 signatures.

These citizens and many more have expressed their concern and questioned the CRTC granting rights to a pornographic television channel while refusing religious television broadcasters.

The petitioners call upon Parliament to review the mandate of the CRTC and direct the CRTC to administer a new policy which will encourage the licensing of religious broadcasters.

[John O'Reilly, Liberal, Victoria—Haliburton, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I have two petitions to present today.

The first petition deals with public nudity.

[John O'Reilly, Liberal, Victoria—Haliburton, ON]

Mr. Speaker, in the second petition the petitioners pray and request that Parliament support the immediate initiation and conclusion by the year 2000 of an international convention which will set out a binding timetable for the abolition of all nuclear weapons.

[Nelson Riis, NDP, Kamloops, BC]

Mr. Speaker, it is an honour to rise pursuant to Standing Order 36 to present a petition on behalf of a few hundred of my constituents from Kamloops, British Columbia, who are concerned about the government's plans to radically change the retirement income system of Canada, the seniors' benefit package.

They have heard all kinds of rumours and they are asking the Government of Canada to ensure that sufficient hearings are held across the country to ensure that all Canadians have an opportunity to indicate their response to the recommendations.

[Nelson Riis, NDP, Kamloops, BC]

Mr. Speaker, I have another petition which deals with our unfair tax system.

The petitioners point out that our tax system is biased, unfair and unjust, that it is biased in favour of large corporations over small businesses and that it is biased in favour of upper income earners as opposed to average working Canadians.

They are asking the Government of Canada to undertake fair tax reform in such a fashion that every tax exemption is considered under a cost benefit to Canada and that those which clearly do not benefit Canada and Canadians should be eliminated.

[Karen Redman, Liberal, Kitchener Centre, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to present a petition signed by a number of Canadians, including many from my riding of Kitchener Centre.

The petitioners would like to draw to the attention of the House that as we near the 21st century it is ever more important that Canada take advantage of the inspiring recommendations made in the final report of the Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples, released in the fall of 1996, to further the process of reconciliation between Canada and its aboriginal inhabitants.

The petitioners therefore ask Parliament to continue its political dialogue in a negotiation process with First Nations to address the royal commission's report and recommendations in a spirit of goodwill, with justice and fairness as its guide.

[Peter MacKay, Progressive Conservative, Pictou—Antigonish—Guysborough, NS]

Mr. Speaker, it is with great honour that I rise, pursuant to Standing Order 36, to table a petition from the right-minded constituents of Pictou—Antigonish—Guysborough.

The petitioners urge the federal government and, in particular, the Minister of Justice to bring about necessary changes to the Young Offenders Act that would include lowering the age of identifying perpetrators and seeing that perpetrators who are deserving of transfer to adult court are transferred.

This petition contains hundreds of names and I table it on behalf of those people in Pictou—Antigonish—Guysborough.

[Paul Szabo, Liberal, Mississauga South, ON]

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

The petitioners would like to draw to the attention of the House that police officers and firefighters are required to place their lives at risk on a daily basis as they discharge their duties and that if they lose their lives while on duty the employment benefits often do not provide sufficient compensation to their families. The petitioners note that public mourns the loss of police officers and firefighters who are killed in the line of duty and wish to support in a tangible way the surviving families in their time of need.

The petitioners therefore pray and call upon Parliament to establish a public safety officers compensation fund for the benefit of families of public safety officers who are killed in the line of duty.