Debates of May 13th, 1999

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 three petitions.

Committees Of The House

[Ted McWhinney, Liberal, Vancouver Quadra, BC]

Mr. Speaker, I have the honour to present, in both official languages, the eighth report of the Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage.

Pursuant to its order of reference of Friday, April 23, 1999, the committee has considered Bill C-64, an act to establish an indemnification program for travelling exhibitions, and has agreed to report it with amendments. The bill was passed unanimously.

[Peter Adams, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to Leader of the Government in the House of Commons]

Mr. Speaker, I move that the 74th report of the Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs, presented to the House yesterday, be concurred in.

(Motion agreed to)

Petitions

[Jean Augustine, Liberal, Etobicoke—Lakeshore, ON]

Mr. Speaker, pursuant to Standing Order 36, I have the honour to present a petition signed by several hundred constituents in the Toronto area.

The petitioners state that the current immigration sponsorship requirements are very high for an average person to sponsor a relative. Therefore they call upon parliament to ask the Department of Citizenship and Immigration to review the existing fee structure and combine the landing and processing fee into one fee, which would lower the expense to $500 per application.

[Peter Adams, Liberal, Peterborough, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to present a petition on behalf of citizens of the general Peterborough area who are concerned about drinking and driving.

The petitioners pray that parliament immediately amend the Criminal Code to add mobile digital breath test units to the list of approved instruments under the Criminal Code, that the police be authorized to use passive alcohol sensors in impaired driving enforcement, that the police be authorized to demand a physical co-ordination test from any driver reasonably suspected of drinking, and that this test be admissible in court.

[Peter Adams, Liberal, Peterborough, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I rise to present another petition. This petition has been signed by hundreds of people in Peterborough, Kingston and other parts of southern Ontario who are concerned about the 18,000 Canadians who suffer from end-stage kidney disease.

The petitioners point out that those on kidney dialysis and those who have had successful kidney transplants recognize the importance of the bioartificial kidney approach to the treatment of kidney disease. The petitioners also point out that there are inadequate kidney treatment facilities across the country and they call upon parliament to work and support research on the bioartificial kidney which will eventually eliminate the need for both dialysis and transplantation for those suffering from kidney disease.

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

Mr. Speaker, pursuant to Standing Order 36, I wish to present the following petition.

The undersigned residents of Canada draw the attention of the House to the following: that the current immigration sponsorship requirements are very high for an average person; that specifically maintaining an adequate income to support an immigrant is excessive for one person to bear; and that Canada is a multicultural country and immigrants are a great contribution to multiculturalism in Canada. Therefore, the petitioners call upon parliament to ask the Department of Citizenship and Immigration to review the existing income requirements to allow all potential sponsors to not be unduly burdened by them and request that more than one person be allowed to sponsor the same individual and share the responsibility of financial support for that immigrant.

[Charles Hubbard, Liberal, Miramichi, NB]

Mr. Speaker, pursuant to Standing Order 36, I wish to present a petition from hundreds of people in New Brunswick who express concerns about the condition of work and contracting arrangements between Canada Post and the rural mail carriers group.

[Roy Cullen, Liberal, Etobicoke North, ON]

Mr. Speaker, in accordance with Standing Order 36, I am pleased to present a petition with over 2,500 signatures which highlights the contribution that immigrants make to our great country of Canada and the desire by many to sponsor their families.

The petitioners mention the high landing fee and processing fee per application and they ask our government to combine the processing fee and landing fee into one, thereby reducing the total cost per application to $500.

[Maria Minna, Liberal, Beaches—East York, ON]

Mr. Speaker, pursuant to Standing Order 36, I am also pleased to present a petition with well over 1,000 signatures from people of my riding, as well as the general Toronto area, concerning landing fees.

The petitioners request parliament to ask the Department of Citizenship and Immigration to consider lowering the landing fee, which they feel is too high, and to consider combining the landing fee and the charge for administration to lower the expense.

Questions On The Order Paper

[Peter Adams, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to Leader of the Government in the House of Commons]

Mr. Speaker, the following question will be answered today: Question No. 203. .[Text]

Question No. 203—

[Paul Forseth, Reform, New Westminster—Coquitlam—Burnaby, BC]

With respect to the restoration of the Stanley Theatre in Vancouver, what are the amounts of the federal government's financial contributions, including low interest or interest free loans, tax incentives or grants?

[Ronald J. Duhamel, Liberal, Secretary of State (Science]

Western economic diversification has provided one federal contribution of $1.3 million through the infrastructure works program to renovate the Stanley Theatre in Vancouver.

[Peter Adams, Liberal, Peterborough, ON]

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

[Garry Breitkreuz, Reform, Yorkton—Melville, SK]

Mr. Speaker, on November 23, 1998, I placed Question No. 169 on the order paper. The question asked how many gun smugglers and illegal gun traffickers have been identified, prosecuted and convicted in Canada using the gun registration system. In accordance with Standing Order 39, I asked for a written answer within 45 days. My constituents and I have now been waiting 169 days. Why can the government not answer my questions in 45 days as it promised? When can I expect an answer to Question No. 169.

[Peter Adams, Liberal, Peterborough, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I know of the hon. member's great interest in Question No. 169 and I will follow-up on this question.

However, in the area of petitions, we are running at well over 90%, having received several thousand petitions. In the area of questions, we are running at 75%. Some questions involve questioning every department of the government and some questions only involve questioning one department of the government. I assure the member I will follow up on Question No. 169.

[Garry Breitkreuz, Reform, Yorkton—Melville, SK]

Mr. Speaker, that excuse would not apply to this next point of order.

On December 9, 1998, I placed Question No. 185 on the order paper asking for a list of contracts between the government and the consulting firm KPMG, Peat Marwick Thorne. Again, in accordance with Standing Order 39, I asked for a written answer within 45 days. I have now been waiting 156 days. I have been waiting three times as long as the standing orders require.

Why do I have to raise multiple points of order to get answers to my written questions? The government is really interfering with my ability to do my job. When can I expect an answer to Question No. 185? A real serious pattern has developed here. The government should answer within 45 days and it is not doing so.

[Peter Adams, Liberal, Peterborough, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I have listened very carefully to what the member has to say. I will certainly look into the whereabouts of the response to Question No. 185.

[The Acting Speaker (Mr. McClelland)]

Shall the remaining questions stand?

[Some hon. members]

Agreed.

Public Sector Pension Investment Board Act

[Don Boudria, Liberal, Leader of the Government in the House of Commons]

Mr. Speaker, I move:

That, in relation to Bill C-78, An Act to establish the Public Sector Pension Investment Board, to amend the Public Service Superannuation Act, the Canadian Forces Superannuation Act, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police Superannuation Act, the Defence Services Pension Continuation Act, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police Pension Continuation Act, the Members of Parliament Retiring Allowances Act and the Canada Post Corporation Act and to make a consequential amendment to another Act, not more than one further sitting day shall be allotted to the consideration of the report stage of the Bill and one sitting day shall be allotted to the third reading stage of the said Bill; and that, fifteen minutes before the expiry of the time ordinarily provided for government business on the day allotted to the consideration of the report stage and on the day allotted to the third reading stage of the said Bill, any proceedings before the House shall be interrupted, if required for the purpose of this Order, and in turn every question necessary for the disposal of the stage of the Bill then under consideration shall be put forthwith and successively without further debate or amendment.

[Some hon. members]

Shame, shame.

[The Acting Speaker (Mr. McClelland)]

The House has heard the terms of the motion. Is it the pleasure of the House to adopt the said motion?

[Some hon. members]

Agreed.

[Some hon. members]

No.