House of Commons Hansard #17 of the 36th Parliament, 2nd Session. (The original version is on Parliament's site.) The word of the day was children.
Colleen Beaumier Liberal Brampton West—Mississauga, ON
Mr. Speaker, last spring the trade subcommittee travelled across the country listening to the concerns of Canadians pertaining to the protection of our culture.
In the upcoming WTO negotiations in Seattle what action is the Canadian government taking to ensure our independence to determine and maintain our own cultural policy?
Mauril Bélanger LiberalParliamentary Secretary to Minister of Canadian Heritage
Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for her important question, particularly so on the eve of this round of negotiations at the World Trade Organization.
Canada has taken a leadership role in this. The Minister of Canadian Heritage is currently in Paris. With her French counterpart, under the aegis of UNESCO, she is chairing a round table on cultural diversity.
In addition, we are very proud to be associated with the Government of Quebec in launching the coalition for cultural diversity under Robert Pilon. We wish him both strength and success.
Presence In GalleryOral Question Period
The Speaker
We have a distinguished guest with us today and a distinguished group of people.
I draw the attention of hon. members to the presence in our gallery of His Excellency George A. Papandreou, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Hellenic Republic.
Presence In GalleryOral Question Period
The Speaker
Also today in the gallery we have a group of teachers from all parts of our country who are participating in the Fourth Annual Teachers' Institute on Canadian Parliamentary Democracy.
The objective of this forum is to promote better understanding of the Canadian political process.
Please welcome these teachers who are educating the next generations of Canadian citizens.
Presence In GalleryOral Question Period
The Speaker
Today we are going to hear tributes for a former New Democratic Party member of parliament, Alf Gleave.
Lorne Nystrom NDP Qu'Appelle, SK
Mr. Speaker, I would like to say a few words of tribute to a former colleague of ours, Alf Gleave, who at the age of 88 passed away in August of this year.
Alf Gleave was the member of parliament for what was known then as the riding of Saskatoon—Biggar. I had the honour in 1968 to be his seatmate. He was 58 years old. I thought that was pretty ancient at that time as I was 22. I am beginning to see that it is a lot younger now than it used to be. Alf Gleave was a wonderful person to have as a seatmate.
He was elected to parliament in 1968. He was re-elected in 1972 and sat in the House until 1974.
Before he entered politics Mr. Gleave was a farmer. He farmed near the town of Biggar, Saskatchewan from 1938 until 1972. When he was elected to parliament he immediately became very well known, partly because he was the former president of the National Farmers' Union of Canada. When he was elected in 1968 he was chosen immediately as the chairman of the New Democratic Party caucus and he served in that position for a number of years.
In 1968 and 1969 we had a debate which was a bit like the debate we are having now. It was a debate over a farm crisis, mainly over what we called in those days tough and damp wheat or tough and damp grain. He quickly became a national figure, leading that debate in the House of Commons at a time when debates on public policy centred much more so in this place than they do today. He was a leader in that capacity for a long time.
Alf Gleave was born in Ontario, but he moved to Saskatchewan when he was six years old. He farmed as a young man and he continued to farm until 1972. Before he entered politics he was the president of the National Farmers' Union of Canada, and before that he was the president of the Farmers' Union of Saskatchewan from 1949 until 1954. He was also a director of the Canadian Federation of Agriculture. In 1964 he was appointed as a member of the Economic Council of Canada. He was also a director of the Saskatchewan Power Corporation and a number of other organizations in the province of Saskatchewan.
Between 1959 and 1962 he served as an advisor to the federal government during the international wheat agreement negotiations in Geneva, Switzerland. Those were very important negotiations, which meant a lot to prairie farmers as they obtained an agreement for the export and sale of grain around the world.
He was also very active in the co-operative movement, the general co-op movement, the Saskatchewan Wheat Pool, the credit union movement in our province, and indeed across the country.
After his political career ended in 1974 he remained very active in many of the organizations that he had been active in before. He was also a regular columnist, having a bi-monthly column in The Saskatoon StarPhoenix on agricultural issues through much of the 1970s and 1980s. He was energetic. He was always involved. He always spoke with a great deal of compassion on issues concerning rural Canada, western Canada and agriculture in particular.
In 1991 he wrote a book called United We Stand . As Mr. Gleave passed away at the age of 88, he was up in years when he wrote this book. It is one of the more comprehensive histories that I have ever read of prairie farmers between 1901 and 1975.
Mr. Gleave was always very active. He was very effective in advancing the philosophy that when farm people and rural people are better off, the people in the cities and the towns across this country are also much better off, and that when the economy is strong on the farm, the economy of the country is also strong because agriculture indeed is the very foundation of our economy. I can remember him rising beside me through those six years, asking questions and making speeches which employed that philosophy time and time again.
I would like to express on behalf of myself, my party and I am sure all members of parliament who knew him, our great respect for a very decent human being and for a very intelligent human being. He was a very passionate advocate of the causes of the farmers of this country, both before he got into politics, when he was in politics and after he left politics.
I also want to extend our condolences to his wife Mary, who was always at his side, to his family and to his many friends, not only in Saskatchewan, but indeed right across Canada.
Ralph Goodale LiberalMinister of Natural Resources and Minister responsible for the Canadian Wheat Board
Mr. Speaker, it is with great respect that I rise in the House today to speak of the passing of a man who gave his life and his energy to the well-being of the people of Saskatchewan and the people of Canada, Mr. Alfred Pullen Gleave.
Though born in West Zorra Township in Ontario, Alf Gleave's heart and home were on the prairies. Living in Biggar, Saskatchewan, with his family from 1918, he was first and foremost a farmer and very proud of it. He built his life in this honourable profession, so inherently important to the province of Saskatchewan. The farming community, in turn, looked to him for leadership on many issues. He was a life member of the National Farmers' Union. In the first 20 years of his working life he served as a director and then president of the Saskatchewan Farmers' Union and then the National Farmers' Union respectively. His dedication to farming will be fondly remembered by the people of the Biggar district and indeed by farmers all across Canada.
His deep commitments carried Mr. Gleave into the political arena. From 1968 until 1974 he was the elected member of parliament for the constituency of Saskatoon—Biggar. A member of the New Democratic Party, Mr. Gleave earned the respect of members from all parties. He was chairman of the NDP caucus from 1968 until 1972 and served as the party's agricultural critic.
His priorities were always clear in his writing, in his speeches and in the issues that he chose to pursue locally, nationally and internationally. One could never have any doubt about where he stood.
It is fitting, I suppose, that we mark his passing at a time when a federal byelection is under way to fill a vacancy in the House for the very riding which he once represented. Always a competitor, Alf Gleave would be thoroughly enjoying the race.
On behalf of the Government of Canada, I want to join all hon. members in extending our sympathies to his wife and family, as well as his very broad circle of friends.
Roy H. Bailey Reform Souris—Moose Mountain, SK
Mr. Speaker, on behalf of the people of Saskatchewan, members of parliament from Saskatchewan and the party that I represent, I am pleased to pay tribute to a man who not only came from Saskatchewan and made Saskatchewan people proud of his efforts, but a man who, like so many people from my province, was proud to come from that province which often suffers great adversity.
As has already been mentioned, he was a grain farmer, but his interests, like so many grain farmers, went beyond the actual farm itself. Alf wanted to do something for all of Saskatchewan. His quest and his goal was to do just that.
He served as president of the Saskatchewan Farmers' Union as well as the National Farmers' Union. He gave much of his time and provided Canada with much insight into the agricultural situation in Saskatchewan. As my hon. colleague from Regina—Qu'Appelle mentioned, he also served on many boards, sometimes in an advisory capacity. He was indeed a credit to Saskatchewan.
I bring to the House a quote of Alf's. He wrote that each generation must fight for what it wants because good things do not just happen. That statement was never more true than it is today. That is exactly why we will find a real fight going on in all of Saskatchewan, in all of the west, in the hope of saving, in many cases, fifth generation farmers from complete disaster.
Farmers who lived through the thirties did not just complain about the living conditions; they went out and did something about them. Sometimes adversity brings about strong character. That is exactly what Alf Gleave gave to Canada, to the House and to the New Democratic Party.
I am proud to have lived very close for 12 years to the seat that Alf represented in the House.
It was Alf's sincerity, courage and dedication that has made a tremendous example for people to follow that goes beyond political parties.
On behalf of my party and on behalf of all of the people in the House, I want to extend our condolences to his family and to everyone everywhere in Canada who remembered him fondly.
Daniel Turp Bloc Beauharnois—Salaberry, QC
Mr. Speaker, on behalf of the Bloc Quebecois, I too wish to pay tribute to Alfred Pullen Gleave, who sat as a member of the New Democratic Party in the House of Commons from 1968 to 1974 and represented the riding of Saskatoon-Biggar.
A farm producer, grain farmer and seed grower by profession, he was a member of agricultural unions and, as the member for Regina—Qu'Appelle reminded us earlier, was president of the Saskatchewan Farmers Union and the National Farmers Union. As he wrote in the introduction to his autobiographical United We Stand—Prairie Farmers 1901-1975 :
“Political action was an extension of the farmer's movement. I used it as well as I could to advance western Canadians' interests in general and the farmer's movement in particular.”
During the six years he sat in the House, he was an ardent defender of farmers and a formidable member of the Standing Committee on Agriculture. He was a feisty MP, as my colleague and friend, the hon. member for Winnipeg-Transcona, just told me.
He was particularly interested in issues having to do with the price of wheat, farm marketing boards, price controls and inflation. He served as president of his party's caucus and also served a leader, David Lewis who, like his predecessor, Tommy Douglas, was, in his words, and I am again quoting from United We Stand , “an outstanding man”.
To a man whose efforts gave meaning to the slogan “Humanity first” of the CCF, the forerunner to the New Democratic Party, to the man who also toiled on behalf of his family, his constituents and his fellow citizens for
“a more secure and bountiful life for themselves by working together, by sharing the load”,
members of the Bloc Quebecois pay a final tribute, and to the family and friends of the late Alf Gleave, present their deepest condolences.
Rick Borotsik Progressive Conservative Brandon—Souris, MB
Mr. Speaker, it is with great honour that I rise on behalf of the Progressive Conservative Party to pay tribute to the New Democratic Party member of parliament who served his constituency of Saskatoon-Biggar with great dignity and professionalism.
I did not realize until today that the member we are paying tribute to, Mr. Gleave, was a seatmate of the member for Regina—Qu'Appelle. I suspect that Mr. Gleave had a great sense of humour. I suspect he had a great deal of endurance. I wish he had more years in the House so that he could have passed on some of his experience to the member for Regina—Qu'Appelle.
Mr. Gleave gave years of his life working for the people of Saskatchewan, whether it was through his involvement with co-operatives, as president of the Saskatchewan Farmers Union or as a member of this House.
I did not know Mr. Gleave personally but I know people like Mr. Gleave, an individual who took farming as a profession, an individual who had pride in what he did by working the land. He was a man who worked for his community, a man who worked for his neighbours and a man who worked for his profession, that of being a farmer. I know people, as do members of the opposition and the government, just like Mr. Gleave.
Mr. Gleave died this past summer at the age of 88. His words of advice during his tenure as member of parliament still ring true today. As was mentioned by the member of the Reform Party, and which is important to repeat, Mr. Gleave talked about how each generation must fight for what they want because good things do not just happen. Good things come to people through hard work, endurance and perseverance. I would have loved to have had the opportunity to work and to sit in the House with Mr. Gleave because what I read and hear of him is more of those traits that I wish more individuals in the House and certainly in this society would have.
I extend my condolences on behalf of the Progressive Conservative Party to the surviving members of the Gleave family. I would personally like to thank Mr. Gleave for all the years of his public service.
Wayne Easter Liberal Malpeque, PE
Mr. Speaker, I will say a few short words and add to what has already been said in terms of paying tribute to Alf Gleave.
I remember him very well as a friend and, to a certain extent, as a mentor. He was president of the National Farmers Union and worked in the House as a member of parliament. His interest was certainly the farm and he adopted the motto that people are important.
As a young individual in the farm movement in the early seventies, there were several people who inspired me to become involved in public life. Alf was one of those people to me.
I had many sessions with Alf over the years, but after coming here in 1993 as a member on the government side and as a member of the standing committee on agriculture, it was not unusual at all to see Alf in his older years sitting in the agricultural committee room listening to the hearings. He was interested in what all sides were saying. He gave some us on the government side a lot of criticism at times for some of the things we were doing, but his belief showed through in terms of how important it was that programs and benefits be applied to the farm sector.
I join with all others here today who have recognized Alf Gleave for his life's work. I also extend my condolences to his family.
Government Response To PetitionsRoutine Proceedings
Scarborough—Rouge River Ontario
Liberal
Derek Lee LiberalParliamentary 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 six petitions.
Colleen Beaumier Liberal Brampton West—Mississauga, ON
Mr. Speaker, I have the honour to present to the House, in both official languages, the report on the meeting of the Asia-Pacific Group of the Inter-Parliamentary Union held in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia from July 26 to July 31, 1999.
Derek Lee LiberalParliamentary Secretary to Leader of the Government in the House of Commons
Mr. Speaker, I have the honour to present the sixth report of the Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs regarding the selection of votable items for Private Members' Business in accordance with Standing Order 92.
Inky Mark Reform Dauphin—Swan River, MB
moved for leave to introduce Bill C-298, an act to amend the National Defence Act (Snowbirds).
Mr. Speaker, I would first like to thank the hon. member for Red Deer for supporting my bill.
Canada's air demonstration team, the Snowbirds, are a national symbol to all Canadians. Its mission is to demonstrate the skill, professionalism and teamwork of the Canadian forces to the public. The Snowbirds are without equal around the world and are great ambassadors of Canada.
Today I am pleased to introduce my private member's bill which amends the National Defence Act so that the Snowbirds will remain forever a part of Canada's armed forces and Canada's military heritage.
On behalf of all Canadians, I ask all members of the House to support the bill to protect the future of our Snowbirds.
(Motions deemed adopted, bill read the first time and printed)
Lorne Nystrom NDP Qu'Appelle, SK
moved for leave to introduce Bill C-299, an act to provide cost of production protection for the family farm.
Mr. Speaker, this is a very appropriate bill introduced on a day when we just paid tribute to Alf Gleave, who was the former agriculture critic of our party and the National Farmers Union president.
The bill provides a formula where farmers would be guaranteed their cost production, not just on crops that are produced in this country, but also livestock that are produced in this country. In other words, it would be a long range farm program where there would be stability for the farmers based on a formula that reflects their actual input costs.
(Motions deemed adopted, bill read the first time and printed)
Charles Caccia Liberal Davenport, ON
moved for leave to introduce Bill C-300, an act respecting the protection of wildlife species in Canada from extirpation or extinction.
Mr. Speaker, the committee on the status of endangered wildlife reports that in Canada 339 species are at risk of extinction and habitat loss is the number one cause. Yet there is no federal law protecting the habitat of Canada's endangered wildlife.
The bill aims at: first, protecting all endangered species and their habitat; second, identifying species at risk and the factors that threaten them and their habitat; third, making it an offence to harm, disturb or kill endangered species or their habitat; fourth, setting the stage for federal-provincial mirror legislation.
The bill serves as a benchmark for the government legislation soon to be introduced. Seven years ago, Canada signed in Rio the convention on biological diversity. In view of Canada's commitment to the world community and the fact that a recent poll found that eight Canadians out of ten are in favour of strong endangered species legislation, I urge the government to act without delay.
(Motions deemed adopted, bill read the first time and printed)
Ken Epp Reform Elk Island, AB
moved for leave to introduce Bill C-301, an act to amend the Income Tax Act (deduction of property taxes paid in respect of a principal residence).
Mr. Speaker, when homeowners pay their property tax they pay it with money on which they have paid income tax. For example, if they have a $2,400 property tax bill, they have to earn $4,000 in order to pay it.
We are opposed to double taxation and so I am introducing this private member's bill which would do away with that anomaly. It is based on the principle that Canadian taxpayers should not have to pay taxes on money that they earn for the sole purpose of paying taxes.
(Motions deemed adopted, bill read the first time and printed)
Jay Hill Reform Prince George—Peace River, BC
moved for leave to introduce Bill C-302, an act to amend the Criminal Code (conditional sentencing).
Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank my hon. colleague for Wild Rose for seconding my bill.
Conditional sentencing was introduced in the 35th parliament in the former Bill C-41. Since that time, tens of thousands of conditional sentences have been handed down. Most of these sentences are for petty crimes. However many have been handed down for crimes as serious as sexual assault, manslaughter, drunk driving and drug trafficking.
In 1997 the B.C. Court of Appeal stated in a decision regarding conditional sentencing that “if parliament had intended to exclude certain offences from consideration it should have done so in clear language”.
My bill does precisely that. It lists the offences to be excluded from any possibility of receiving a conditional sentence. The justice minister wants Canadians to wait for the supreme court to decide whether or not conditional sentences are appropriate. I believe these decisions are to be made in parliament with direction from Canadians, not the courts.
A recent national poll states that 84% of Canadians are in favour of this bill. I encourage all members of parliament to support the bill and the overwhelming view of the majority of Canadians.
Criminal CodeRoutine Proceedings
The Deputy Speaker
I commend the hon. member for the speed with which he moved through his remarks, but I remind all hon. members that the purpose of their speech on introduction is to give a brief explanation of the purpose of the bill, not to make a speech.
(Motions deemed adopted, bill read the first time and printed)
Jay Hill Reform Prince George—Peace River, BC
moved for leave to introduce Bill C-303, an act to amend the criminal code and the Young Offenders Act (capital punishment).
Criminal CodeRoutine Proceedings
The Deputy Speaker
The hon. member for Prince George—Peace River, on a succinct explanation.
Jay Hill Reform Prince George—Peace River, BC
Mr. Speaker, I was trying to be as succinct as the hon. member for Davenport earlier.
Again I would like to thank my hon. colleague from Wild Rose for seconding the bill. I believe that Canada should hold a binding referendum on capital punishment so Canadian people, and not political parties, can decide whether or not it should be reinstated.
A Reform government has pledged to do this. However the Liberals do not believe in allowing Canadians to exercise that much power. Today I am reintroducing my bill to reinstate the death penalty for adults convicted of first degree murder. In addition, the bill also imposes a range of stiff sentences for youths convicted of murder.
Not all murderers deserve the death penalty, but in most heinous cases such as Clifford Olson, Paul Bernardo and a Karla Homolka the punishment must fit the crime.
(Motions deemed adopted, bill read the first time and printed)