Debates of Dec. 1st, 1999

Petitions

[Nelson Riis, NDP, Kamloops, BC]

Mr. Speaker, pursuant to Standing Order 36 I have the honour to present a petition with a long list of rationale.

The petitioners call upon the Government of Canada to take whatever action is necessary to see that the Senate of Canada is abolished once and for all.

[Nelson Riis, NDP, Kamloops, BC]

Mr. Speaker, I also have the honour to present another petition signed by quite a few petitioners from Kamloops.

Our founding fathers depended upon God and exhibited faith in God for wisdom and guidance as they established this dominion. To exempt one of the greatest resources of our founding fathers who possessed faith in God is a disaster they personally want to avoid.

Therefore they call upon the Parliament of Canada to do whatever is necessary to keep our heritage intact, which includes the reference of our founding fathers to the supremacy of God in the constitution.

[Hec Clouthier, Liberal, Renfrew—Nipissing—Pembroke, ON]

Mr. Speaker, on behalf of some of the constituents in the great riding of Renfrew—Nipissing—Pembroke I present a petition that reads in part that parliament take necessary measures to ensure that—

[The Deputy Speaker]

The hon. member knows that he cannot read the petition. He will want to comply with the rules and give the House a brief summary.

[Hec Clouthier, Liberal, Renfrew—Nipissing—Pembroke, ON]

It will be a very brief summary.

[The Deputy Speaker]

It had better be a brief summary and not a reading of part of the petition.

[Hec Clouthier, Liberal, Renfrew—Nipissing—Pembroke, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I beg your indulgence on this matter. The petitioners request that the federal government take all necessary measures to eradicate child pornography.

[Darrel Stinson, Reform, Okanagan—Shuswap, BC]

Mr. Speaker, I have the pleasure today to table four petitions.

The first petition contains 134 signatures of people mostly from the Vernon and Armstrong areas of my riding. They are asking parliament to reject the Nisga'a treaty because it may divide Canadians forever.

[Darrel Stinson, Reform, Okanagan—Shuswap, BC]

Mr. Speaker, the second petition is signed by 249 persons from the riding of Okanagan—Shuswap.

They ask for tax relief of 25% over the next three years, leading the way to job creation, economic growth and the reduction of poverty.

[Darrel Stinson, Reform, Okanagan—Shuswap, BC]

Mr. Speaker, the third petition I am pleased to table today is signed by 278 people from the riding of Okanagan—Shuswap.

They ask parliament to change Canada's immigration laws to quickly separate genuine refugees from those trying to take advantage of our system.

[Darrel Stinson, Reform, Okanagan—Shuswap, BC]

Mr. Speaker, the fourth petition I wish to table today is from more than 1,000 people from the riding of Okanagan—Shuswap.

They are concerned about the environmental effects of the Canadian Coast Guard authorizing the sale of gasoline through a gas station floating in the narrows of the Shuswap Lake. They ask parliament to ban floating gas stations on Shuswap Lake.

[Gurbax Malhi, Liberal, Bramalea—Gore—Malton, ON]

Mr. Speaker, pursuant to Standing Order 36 I have the honour to present the following petition signed by 26 interested Canadians.

The petitioners pray and request that parliament support Taiwan's membership in the World Health Organization. Taiwan has been unfairly barred from any participation in World Health Organization activity since 1972.

Taiwan's membership in the World Health Organization is a basic human right for all Taiwanese people. Last year this basic human right was denied again. This is the third year in a row that the Taiwanese bid was rejected, disregarding the basic health rights of the 22 million people of Taiwan.

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

Mr. Speaker, they just keep rolling in. I have a petition signed by many people who say that the Senate is undemocratic, unelected, unaccountable and costs us about $50 million plus a year and that it usurps the role of ordinary members of parliament elected to the House of Commons.

Therefore the petitioners want steps taken now to abolish the Senate.

[Peter Goldring, Reform, Edmonton East, AB]

Mr. Speaker, today I take great pride in presenting a petition put forth by over 1,200 concerned Canadians mostly from the province of Quebec.

The petitioners ask our government to affirm that all Canadians are equal under all circumstances and without exception in the province of Quebec and throughout Canada.

They wish to remind the government to enact only legislation that affirms the equality of each and every individual under the laws of Canada.

[Wendy Lill, NDP, Dartmouth, NS]

Mr. Speaker, it is my pleasure to introduce a petition today signed by several dozen people from Dartmouth who would like to see the Senate of Canada abolished.

They believe that it is undemocratic, unaccountable to the people and a colossal waste of money to the taxpayer.

[Myron Thompson, Reform, Wild Rose, AB]

Mr. Speaker, it gives me pleasure to table two petitions today. The first one is from Victoria in the province of British Columbia.

Several hundred people ask that parliament respect the facts of history and refrain from passing any act or bill that seeks to rewrite history regarding Louis Riel.

[Myron Thompson, Reform, Wild Rose, AB]

Mr. Speaker, the second petition is from people in my riding. It pertains to the Divorce Act and asks parliament to take into consideration immediately the recommendations of the Special Joint Committee on Child Custody and Access of December 8, 1998.

[Dick Proctor, NDP, Palliser, SK]

Mr. Speaker, I have the pleasure to present a petition to the House on behalf of residents largely from Moose Jaw but also from other communities in Saskatchewan.

They ask that the government take all necessary action to ensure that the continued and stable funding of the 431 air demonstration squadron Snowbirds remains a priority.

[Dave Chatters, Reform, Athabasca, AB]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to table two petitions today signed by people mostly from the community of Westlock in my riding.

The petitioners object to the deplorable failure of the government to protect children from the exploitation and abuse of those who produce child pornography and to introduce the notwithstanding clause to bring back subparagraph 163.1(4) of the criminal code.

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

Mr. Speaker, I guess this is a case where you have saved the best for last.

Pursuant to Standing Order 36 it gives me great pleasure to present again a wave of signatures from across the country, this time from Niagara Falls and Port Colborne, Ontario.

These very informed people wish to inform the House that the disease of hepatitis affects over 600,000 Canadians. They pray that parliament support Bill C-232, surprisingly one of my own, to make the month of May hepatitis awareness month.

Questions On The Order Paper

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

Mr. Speaker, Question No. 7 will be answered today. .[Text]

Question No. 7—

Mr. Peter MacKay:

With respect to RCMP officers of civilians classified under the person year exemption status: ( a ) how many are there; ( b ) how were they appointed; ( c ) where are they located; ( d ) what are their job descriptions; ( e ) what are their responsibilities; ( f ) what is the cost to the Canadian government of these officers' expenses and salaries; ( g ) who assigns their project and on what projects are these officers currently working; and ( h ) to whom and how often do these officers report their work?

[Lawrence MacAulay, Liberal, Solicitor General of Canada]

With respect to the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, RCMP, officers or civilians classified under the person year exemption status, the information is as follows:

(a) There are currently 156 regular and 5 civilian members occupying full time equivalent exempt from classification, FTEEC, positions for a total of 161 members.

(b) RCMP members currently occupying a FTEEC position are selected on the basis of their qualifications and/or experience in a field specific to one of the various assignments in the FTEEC program.

(c) Of the 161 RCMP regular and civilian members currently occupying FTEEC positions, four of the five civilian members are located at headquarters in Ottawa and one is located in Vancouver, B.C. Of the 156 regular members occupying FTEEC positions, a total of 31 are currently posted in foreign countries as liaison officers. The remaining 125 regular members are distributed throughout Canada.

Liaison Officers in Foreign Countries:

United States—4 France—3 Italy—2 Austria—1 Spain—1 Germany—1 India—1 Thailand—2 Switzerland—1 England—3 Pakistan—1 Russia—1 Indonisia—1 Netherlands—1 Bogota—3 Mexico—1 Jamaica—1 Peru—1 China—2

Regular Members in RCMP Divisions:

Headquarters—53 A Division, NCR Ottawa, Ontario—2 B Division, Newfoundland—4 C Division, Québec—4 D Division, Manitoba—7 E Division, British Columbia—21 F Division, Saskatchewan—5 G Division, Northwest Territories—2 H Division, Nova Scotia—7 J Division, New Brunswick—8L< K Division, Alberta—8 L Division, Prince Edward Island—1 M Division, Yukon—2 Depot, Regina, Saskatchewan—1

(d) FTEEC positions do not have a job description per se. A job description will only be required if and when a decision is made to classify such a position, which occurs occasionally.

(e) The responsibilities of the RCMP members holding a person year exemption status differ from one assignment to the other. The following are the various FTEEC responsibilities to which the 161 RCMP members are currently assigned.

Secondment Assignment:

This is an assignment of duties outside the RCMP for a maximum period of two years. These types of assignments enable the RCMP to develop a certain expertise and provide a link for the RCMP with other organizations at the federal, provincial and municipal levels.

Special Project Assignment:

This is an assignment to duties within the RCMP for a maximum period of two years. Such an assignment enables a member to conduct or participate in a specific project which does not form part of the RCMP continuing function.

Training and Development Assignment:

An assignment to provide or develop knowledge, skills and expertise in job related technical areas through on the job training and/or attendance at technical institutions.

Division Staff Relations Representatives Assignment:

This is an assignment to comply with the need for more effective internal communication respecting staff relations within the RCMP. The member is elected to a two-year term and is eligible for re-election.

Member Assistance Program, MAP, Co-ordinator Assignment:

An assignment to allow for the posting of qualified members, independent of rank, possessing knowledge and related experience together with appropriate personality characteristics to MAP co-ordinator positions in the RCMP. Selection of co-ordinator is made in conjunction with our Health Services Directorate.

Foreign Service Liaison Officer Assignment:

An assignment to allow for posting of liaison officers in foreign countries who have the required foreign language skills, job related skills and personal attributes, including family configuration that are necessary in such foreign postings.

(f) The cost associated with the FTEEC program was approximately $11,899,485.00 in salaries and other related expenses for the 1998-1999 fiscal year.

Secondment Assignment:

Funds for secondment assignments within the federal government are recovered from the department to which the member is seconded. Secondment to external agencies incurs no cost to the federal government.

Special Project Assignment:

Special projects are funded from existing funded positions within the RCMP. As such, members are paid by the directorates-divisions from which they are reassigned.

Training and Development Assignment:

As per special project assignment.

Division Staff Relations Representatives Assigment:

These assignment are funded internally from the existing RCMP budget.

Member Assistance Program, MAP, Co-ordinator Assignment:

These assignments are funded internally within the RCMP's budget.

Foreign Service Liaison Officer Assignment:

Funds for this program are allocated through the Treasury Board.

(g) Members are assigned to one of the various assignment found in the FTEEC program by their director and/or commanding officer. Current FTEEC program assignment are identified above in item (e). As for the projects, these are referred to as special projects. Several members are assigned to projects within the RCMP such as: the security committee for the francophonie summit in Moncton, the Year 2000 project, the alignment task force, the security committee for the Pan Am Games in Winnipeg, the Canadian firearms project and other short term initiatives.

(h) These members normally report to their immediate supervisors or project managers. The frequency of reporting their work is not a component of the monitoring process of the FTECC program.

[Derek Lee, Liberal, Scarborough—Rouge River, ON]

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

[The Deputy Speaker]

Is that agreed?

[Some hon. members]

Agreed.