Debates of Nov. 4th, 1999

A message from Her Excellency the Governor General transmitting Supplementary Estimates (A) of the sums required for the fiscal year ending March 31, 2000 was presented by the Hon. President of Treasury Board and read by the Speaker of the House.

Committees Of The House

[Mauril Bélanger, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to Minister of Canadian Heritage]

Mr. Speaker, pursuant to Standing Order 109, I have the honour to table, in both official languages, the government's response to the ninth report of the Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage entitledA Sense of Place, A Sense of Being: The Evolving Role of the Federal Government in Support of Culture in Canada

I would like to apologize to the members of this House for the fact that this document was leaked to the press. This was in no way intentional and we sincerely apologize; I trust that my hon. colleagues will accept that it was in no way the government's intention that this should occur.

Government Response To Petitions

[Derek Lee, 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 four petitions.

Interparliamentary Delegations

[George Proud, Liberal, Hillsborough, PE]

Mr. Speaker, pursuant to Standing Order 34(1), I have the honour to present to the House, in both official languages, the second report of the Canadian NATO Parliamentary Association which represented Canada at a meeting of the subcommittee on the future of the armed forces held in Turkey on June 27 to 30, 1999.

Canadian Institutes Of Health Research Act

[Allan Rock, Liberal, Minister of Health]

moved for leave to introduce Bill C-13, an act to establish the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, to repeal the Medical Research Council Act and to make consequential amendments to other acts.

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

Divorce Act

[Jay Hill, Reform, Prince George—Peace River, BC]

moved for leave to introduce Bill C-304, an act to amend the Divorce Act (joint custody).

Mr. Speaker, I appreciate my colleague from Crowfoot seconding this bill this morning.

I note that I have introduced this bill a couple of times in the past.

The purpose of the bill is to ensure the courts grant custody of a child to both parents unless there exists evidence that to do so would not be in the best interests of the child. Automatic joint custody could reduce the number of parents forced to go to court to gain access to their children, increase the likelihood of support payment compliance and reduce the likelihood of one parent denying the other's right to see the children. Statistics from the U.S. indicate financial compliance increases in direct relation to access.

The recent report of the Special Joint Committee on Child Custody and Access recommended that joint parenting be included in new legislation. However, the justice minister has announced there would be no new legislation from her before 2001. Children simply cannot wait that long.

I would hope that members from all parties would support this important bill for the sake of the children.

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

Criminal Code

[Randy White, Reform, Langley—Abbotsford, BC]

moved for leave to introduce Bill C-305, an act to amend the Criminal Code (prohibiting certain offenders from changing their name).

Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank my colleague from Dewdney—Alouette for seconding this bill.

Given the current revelation of Karla Homolka changing her name to another name and attempting to move to a community release facility, I am once again encouraged to resubmit this bill that was submitted some time ago under different concerns.

The concern still remains the same. Violent offenders are changing their names while in prison. The consequences of that, from my research across the country, is that many people do not know these individuals once they are out of prison and living under other names. Under new names, they are indeed committing more offences.

I ask the House to consider this which speaks for itself. There has to be some responsibility on our system of governance today to ensure that violent offenders are not changing their names and moving into our society subsequent to release or even on parole with a new driver's licence, new identification and continuing on with other crime sprees.

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

Debt Servicing And Reduction Account Act

[Ted White, Reform, North Vancouver, BC]

moved for leave to introduce Bill C-306, an act to amend the Debt Servicing and Reduction Account Act (gifts to the Crown).

Mr. Speaker, this bill when passed by the House will ensure that anyone who gives a gift to the crown for the purposes of debt reduction is assured that money is actually used for debt reduction and does not disappear into the general revenue fund.

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

Broadcasting Act

[Ted White, Reform, North Vancouver, BC]

moved for leave to introduce Bill C-307, an act to amend the Broadcasting Act (designation of cable channels).

Mr. Speaker, this bill once passed will amend the Broadcasting Act to put an end to the practice of the CRTC directing that cable companies must provide specific channels in the range of 2 to 13 which causes constant disruption to people's cable ranges in the major cities. It would end the political correctness once and for all and allow the cable companies to provide channels in that range based on market demand and viewer preference.

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

Income Tax Act

[Peter Stoffer, NDP, Sackville—Eastern Shore, NS]

moved for leave to introduce Bill C-308, an act to amend the Income Tax Act.

Mr. Speaker, I wish to thank my seconder, the hon. member for Winnipeg—Transcona, for supporting this very important bill.

I am sure that after careful consideration this bill will sweep the nation and the House of Commons like no other private member's bill ever has.

The basic purpose of the bill is to allow members of community service groups a tax credit in respect of their annual membership dues. I am thinking in terms of Lions Clubs, Rotary Clubs, Kinsmen Clubs, et cetera, that now face pressure because of government downloading from all federal, provincial and municipal governments.

The pressure on volunteer and service groups is ever-mounting. Many of these volunteers have volunteer burnout. Enrolment is down in a lot of the service groups across the country because of the burnout. This bill shows the volunteers of this great country of ours that parliament does care and that their membership dues should be fully tax deductible.

I am thankful for the opportunity to present the finest bill the House of Commons has ever seen.

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

Food And Drugs Act

[Hélène Alarie, Bloc, Louis-Hébert, QC]

moved for leave to introduce Bill C-309, an act to amend the Food and Drugs Act (mandatory labelling for genetically modified foods).

Mr. Speaker, the genetically modified food industry is growing rapidly. More and more such products are turning up in our shopping baskets. I would humbly submit that consumers are entitled to know the contents of the food on their plates.

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

Supplementary Estimates (A), 1999-2000

[Lucienne Robillard, Liberal, President of the Treasury Board and Minister responsible for Infrastructure]

Mr. Speaker, pursuant to Standing Orders 81(5) and 81(6), I wish to move a motion concerning referral of the supplementary estimates to the standing committees of the House.

There is a lengthy list of these committees associated with the motion. If it is agreeable to the House, I would ask that the list be printed in

Hansard

as if it had been read.

[The Speaker]

Is that agreed?

[Some hon. members]

Agreed.

[Lucienne Robillard, Liberal, Westmount—Ville-Marie, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I move:

That the Supplementary Estimates (A) for the fiscal year ending March 31, 2000, laid upon the Table November 4, 1999, be referred to the several standing committees of the House in accordance with the detailed allocation attached.

Editor's Note: List referred to above is as follows:

To the Standing Committee on Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development

Indian Affairs and Northern Development, Votes 1a, 5a, 6a, 10a, 15a, 35a and 50a

To the Standing Committee on Agriculture and Agri-Food

Agriculture and Agri-Food, Votes 1a, 5a, 10a, 15a, 20a and 25a

To the Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage

Canadian Heritage, Votes 1a, 5a, 50a, 60a, 65a, 70a, 75a, 80a, 90a, 110a, 115a and 130a Privy Council, Vote 30a

To the Standing Committee on Citizenship and Immigration

Citizenship and Immigration, Votes 1a and 10a

To the Standing Committee on Environment and Sustainable Development

Environment, Votes 1a, 5a, 10a and 15a

To the Standing Committee on Finance

Canada Customs and Revenue, Vote 1a Finance, Votes 1a and 6a

To the Standing Committee on Fisheries and Oceans

Fisheries and Oceans, Votes 1a, 5a and 10a

To the Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Trade

Foreign Affairs, Votes 1a, 5a, 10a, 11a, 20a, 25a, 30a, 41a, 45a and 50a

To the Standing Committee on Health

Health, Votes 1a, 5a, 10a, 15a, 20a and 25a

To the Standing Committee on Human Resources Development and the Status of Persons with Disabilities

Human Resources Development, Votes 1a, 5a, 10a, 15a, 20a, 25a and 35a

To the Standing Committee on Industry

Industry, Votes 1a, 5a, 20a, 25a, 30a, 35a, 40a, 45a, 50a, 55a, 70a, 75a, 85a, 90a, 95a, 100a, 110a, 115a and 120a

To the Standing Committee on Justice and Human Rights

Justice, Votes 1a, 5a, 10a, 15a, 30a, 40a, 45a and 50a Solicitor General, Votes 1a, 10a, 15a, 25a, 35a, 40a and 50a

To the Standing Committee on National Defence and Veterans Affairs

National Defence, Votes 1a, 5a, 10a and L11a Veterans Affairs, Votes 1a, 5a and 10a

To the Standing Committee on Natural Resources and Government Operations

Canadian Heritage, Vote 125a Governor General, Vote 1a Natural Resources, Votes 1a, 5a, 15a, 20a, 22a and 25a Privy Council, Votes 1a, 5a, 10a and 55a Public Works and Government Services, Votes 1a and 10a Treasury Board, Votes 1a, 10a and 15a

To the Standing Committee on Public Accounts

Finance, Vote 25a

To the Standing Committee on Transport

Privy Council, Vote 15a

To the Standing Joint Committee on Library of Parliament

Parliament, Vote 10a

To the Standing Joint Committee on Official Languages

Privy Council, Vote 25a

(Motion agreed to)

Petitions

[Peter Adams, Liberal, Peterborough, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I have now been contacted by hundreds of people who are concerned about the fact that there are families in Peterborough County that lack telephone service. I am pleased to present the petition.

The petitioners say that whereas Canada is the most connected country in the world and whereas Canadians in Canada pioneered telephones and telephone service, it is extraordinary that there are homes in southern Ontario today, specifically on Peterborough County Road 40, that do not have telephone service.

A short drive from the city of Peterborough there are families with children without telephones. They have telephone poles at their gates. There are homes with phones within a few kilometres.

Therefore the petitioners call upon parliament to intervene on their behalf through relevant federal departments, the CRTC and Bell Canada.

[Jay Hill, Reform, Prince George—Peace River, BC]

Mr. Speaker, I have the honour to present two petitions today on behalf of the residents of Prince George—Peace River.

The first petition deals with concerns about the old Bill C-41, the federal child support guidelines. In it the petitioners note that this act severely restricts a non-custodial parent's ability to meet the responsibilities as a parent.

They call upon parliament to amend the new federal child support guidelines to address their concerns. They ask that provisions contained in the old Bill C-41 be repealed and replaced by an act that is more fair, equitable and sensible to parents and children.

[Jay Hill, Reform, Prince George—Peace River, BC]

Mr. Speaker, the second petition deals with concerns about child pornography, specifically in British Columbia, and the fact that the B.C. Court of Appeal has struck down subsection 163(1)(4) of the criminal code that makes possession of child pornography a criminal offence and that the court decision is therefore placing children in British Columbia at risk.

They call upon parliament to take all necessary measures up to and including the use of the notwithstanding clause to ensure that possession of child pornography remains a serious criminal offence and that police forces be directed to give priority to enforcing this law for the protection of our children.

[Randy White, Reform, Langley—Abbotsford, BC]

Mr. Speaker, I have a petition to submit to the House from concerned citizens throughout my riding.

They say that section 43 of the criminal code recognizes the primary role of parents in the raising and disciplining of their children and that the removal of section 43 of the criminal code would strengthen the role of bureaucrats while weakening the role of parents in determining what is in the best interest of children, and therefore would be a major and unjustified intrusion by the state into the realm of parental rights and responsibilities.

Therefore the petitioners request parliament to affirm the duty of parents to responsibly raise their children according to their own conscience and beliefs and to retain section 43 of the Criminal Code of Canada as it is currently worded.

Questions On The Order Paper

[Derek Lee, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to Leader of the Government in the House of Commons]

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

[The Speaker]

Is that agreed?

[Some hon. members]

Agreed.

Request For Emergency Debate

[The Speaker]

I have received a notice of motion under Standing Order 52 from the hon. member for Jonquière.

[Jocelyne Girard-Bujold, Bloc, Jonquière, QC]

Mr. Speaker, pursuant to Standing Order 52, I call on the House to hold an emergency debate on the importing of mixed oxide fuel, MOx, containing military plutonium.

As members know, the government has unilaterally agreed to transport a small quantity of MOx from American and Russian nuclear arms for trials on its use as a fuel in Canadian nuclear reactors. The government will thus act contrary to a unanimous recommendation by the Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs, which rejected the idea of importing MOx.

Right from the start, the Bloc Quebecois opposed the idea of importing plutonium and asked the ministers of foreign affairs and natural resources to drop the idea.

The ever thorny issue of residual waste management, the lack of cost effectiveness, the clear opposition by a growing number of citizens, resolutions by a number of municipalities preventing the passage of such a convoy through their territory and the risk of terrorism involved in the movement of this substance seriously reduce the credibility of the importation proposal.

For all these reasons and because the MOx could be transported as early as November 15, with the Russians' share potentially having already left the port of St. Petersburg, we think an emergency debate is necessary.

The government must justify its decision, which runs totally contrary to what the people want and what was recommended by the Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs, and allow parliamentarians to debate this question of importing plutonium, even before trials are permitted on Canadian soil.

Accordingly, I ask you to consider my request for an emergency debate favourably.

[The Speaker]

My dear colleague, I read the hon. member's letter before entering the House and I have listened attentively to her explanation, but, in my opinion, her arguments do not meet the specific requirements at the moment.