House of Commons Hansard #29 of the 36th Parliament, 2nd Session. (The original version is on Parliament's site.) The word of the day was industry.

Topics

Canada Pension PlanRoutine Proceedings

12:25 p.m.

Liberal

Mac Harb Liberal Ottawa Centre, ON

moved for leave to introduce Bill C-377, an act to amend the Canada pension plan (definition of “child”).

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

Divorce ActRoutine Proceedings

12:25 p.m.

Liberal

Mac Harb Liberal Ottawa Centre, ON

moved for leave to introduce Bill C-378, an act to amend the Divorce Act (definition of “child”).

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

Canada Business Corporations ActRoutine Proceedings

12:25 p.m.

Liberal

Mac Harb Liberal Ottawa Centre, ON

moved for leave to introduce Bill C-379, an act to amend the Canada Business Corporations Act (definitions of “infant” and “minor”).

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

Bills Of Exchange ActRoutine Proceedings

12:25 p.m.

Liberal

Mac Harb Liberal Ottawa Centre, ON

moved for leave to introduce Bill C-380, an act to amend the Bills of Exchange Act (definitions of “infant” and “minor”).

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

Canadian Bill Of RightsRoutine Proceedings

12:25 p.m.

Liberal

Mac Harb Liberal Ottawa Centre, ON

moved for leave to introduce Bill C-381, an act to amend the Canadian Bill of Rights (right to housing).

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

National Standards For Education ActRoutine Proceedings

12:25 p.m.

Liberal

Mac Harb Liberal Ottawa Centre, ON

moved for leave to introduce Bill C-382, an act to establish national standards across Canada for education provided by the provinces.

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

National Literacy Standards ActRoutine Proceedings

12:25 p.m.

Liberal

Mac Harb Liberal Ottawa Centre, ON

moved for leave to introduce Bill C-383, an act to establish national literacy standards across Canada.

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

Canadian Bill Of RightsRoutine Proceedings

12:25 p.m.

Liberal

Mac Harb Liberal Ottawa Centre, ON

moved for leave to introduce Bill C-384, an act to amend the Canadian Bill of Rights (right to literacy).

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

Canadian Bill Of RightsRoutine Proceedings

12:25 p.m.

Liberal

Mac Harb Liberal Ottawa Centre, ON

moved for leave to introduce Bill C-385, an act to amend the Canadian Bill of Rights (right to education).

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

Immigration ActRoutine Proceedings

12:25 p.m.

Reform

Keith Martin Reform Esquimalt—Juan de Fuca, BC

moved for leave to introduce Bill C-386, an act to amend the Immigration Act (requirement to show evidence of identity).

Mr. Speaker, we have a problem in our immigration system. It is simply not working. The bill I am introducing today is an attempt to fix it.

In British Columbia we have had hundreds of false refugees come to our shores. This represents only 5% of the people who are coming to our shores illegally. Ninety-five per cent come by plane. This situation is not fair to true refugees. It is not fair to immigrants. It is not fair to people trying to get into the country. It is not fair to the taxpayer. It is not fair to the hardworking people in our immigration system. The current system supports the government which is actually trying to support human trafficking which is taking place.

This bill will enable the government to differentiate between true and false refugees. It puts the onus and responsibility of identification upon the person claiming refugee status as opposed to the Canadian authority.

I hope this bill passes as soon as possible so that the minister can have a stronger immigration policy for immigrants and Canadians.

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

Committees Of The HouseRoutine Proceedings

12:30 p.m.

Scarborough—Rouge River Ontario

Liberal

Derek Lee LiberalParliamentary Secretary to Leader of the Government in the House of Commons

Mr. Speaker, if the House gives its consent, I move that the 11th report of the Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs presented to the House earlier this day be concurred in.

(Motion agreed to)

PetitionsRoutine Proceedings

12:30 p.m.

Reform

Eric C. Lowther Reform Calgary Centre, AB

Mr. Speaker, I have the honour to present a petition with thousands of signatures on the issue of child pornography.

The petitioners are calling on the House to ensure that every law is upheld that would continue to make child pornography a serious offence in this country. Literally hundreds of thousands of signatures have come to my office on this. I am glad to present the petition to the House today.

I encourage all members to take note that this is clearly the single largest petition. I think it is four times larger than any other petition the House has received this session. I will leave it with the House officers.

PetitionsRoutine Proceedings

12:30 p.m.

Reform

Chuck Cadman Reform Surrey North, BC

Mr. Speaker, pursuant to Standing Order 36 I have the honour to present a petition containing the names of 25 members of my constituency. They call on parliament to amend the Young Offenders Act with respect to, among other things, lowering the age of application and the publishing of names of violent offenders.

PetitionsRoutine Proceedings

12:30 p.m.

Reform

Dick Harris Reform Prince George—Bulkley Valley, BC

Mr. Speaker, I have the honour to present two separate petitions today from the riding of Prince George—Bulkley Valley.

The first petition requests that parliament enact legislation such as 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.

PetitionsRoutine Proceedings

12:30 p.m.

Reform

Dick Harris Reform Prince George—Bulkley Valley, BC

Mr. Speaker, the second petition contains several hundred signatures, I believe.

The petitioners are concerned about the proliferation of abortion and the low value that society seems to be giving to prenatal life. The petition calls upon parliament to enact legislation against causing the death of an unborn human by abortion at any stage along the continuum of prenatal life.

I am pleased to present the petition on behalf of the people of Prince George—Bulkley Valley.

PetitionsRoutine Proceedings

12:30 p.m.

Reform

Philip Mayfield Reform Cariboo—Chilcotin, BC

Mr. Speaker, I have the honour to present some petitions. The first two petitions are from citizens of Williams Lake and Quesnel, British Columbia. They call upon parliament to enact immediate changes to Canada's immigration laws governing refugees to allow for the deportation of obvious and blatant abusers of the system.

PetitionsRoutine Proceedings

12:30 p.m.

Reform

Philip Mayfield Reform Cariboo—Chilcotin, BC

Mr. Speaker, I also have petitions from citizens of Cariboo—Chilcotin, namely from 70 Mile House and Williams Lake. They are calling upon the government to give Canadian taxpayers a break by instituting tax relief of at least 25% in federal taxes over the next three years starting with the next federal budget.

PetitionsRoutine Proceedings

12:35 p.m.

Reform

Philip Mayfield Reform Cariboo—Chilcotin, BC

Mr. Speaker, I would also like to present petitions from the citizens of Williams Lake who call upon parliament to refrain from enacting legislation to remove references to the name of God or to the supremacy of God from the Canadian constitution or the charter of rights.

PetitionsRoutine Proceedings

12:35 p.m.

Reform

Philip Mayfield Reform Cariboo—Chilcotin, BC

Mr. Speaker, I have one more petition from the citizens of the Williams Lake area. They call upon parliament at the earliest possible opportunity to invoke section 33 of the charter of rights and freedoms, the notwithstanding clause, to override the B.C. court of appeal decision and to reinstate subsection 4 of section 163.1 of the criminal code making possession of child pornography in B.C. illegal and by so doing reinforce and reaffirm our objection to the B.C. court of appeal decision.

Questions On The Order PaperRoutine Proceedings

12:35 p.m.

Scarborough—Rouge River Ontario

Liberal

Derek Lee LiberalParliamentary Secretary to Leader of the Government in the House of Commons

Mr. Speaker, Question No. 8 will be answered today. .[Text]

Question No. 8—

Questions On The Order PaperRoutine Proceedings

12:35 p.m.

Progressive Conservative

Peter MacKay Progressive Conservative Pictou—Antigonish—Guysborough, NS

With respect to the United Nations 1994 recommendation that Canada appoint a monitor to ensure that all provinces folowed the terms of the UN Rights of the Child, what actions has the federal government taken to proceed with this recommendation?

Questions On The Order PaperRoutine Proceedings

12:35 p.m.

Erie—Lincoln Ontario

Liberal

John Maloney LiberalParliamentary Secretary to Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada

The UN Committee on the Rights of the Child, in its 1995 concluding observations to Canada's first report under the Convention on the Rights of the Child expressed its concern that sufficient attention had not been paid to the establishment of a permanent monitoring mechanism that would enable an effective system of implementation of the convention in all parts of the country. Since that time the Government of Canada has funded the development of a monitoring mechanism by the Canadian Coalition for the Rights of Children. Since the monitoring project began in February 1996 a growing number of organizations and individuals have contributed their knowledge and ideas. As a result the monitoring framework continues to evolve.

The mandate of the coalition is to ensure a collective voice for Canadian organizations and youth concerned with the rights of children as described in the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child and the World Summit for Children Declaration. Information on this project can be found at the following website: http://www.cfc-efc.ca/ccrc/monitor.htm

The Canadian Coalition for the Rights of Children may also be reached at Suite 339, 180 Argyle Avenue, Ottawa, Ontario, K2P 1B7, or at telephone number (613) 788-5085.

Questions On The Order PaperRoutine Proceedings

12:35 p.m.

Liberal

Derek Lee Liberal Scarborough—Rouge River, ON

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

Questions On The Order PaperRoutine Proceedings

12:35 p.m.

The Deputy Speaker

Is that agreed?

Questions On The Order PaperRoutine Proceedings

12:35 p.m.

Some hon. members

Agreed.