House of Commons Hansard #241 of the 36th Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament's site.) The word of the day was magazines.
Charles Hubbard Liberal Miramichi, NB
Mr. Speaker, I have two petitions to present today in which the petitioners request that parliament enact legislation to define marriage as a union between a single male and a single female.
Diane Ablonczy Reform Calgary Nose Hill, AB
Mr. Speaker, it is a privilege for me on behalf of the constituents of Calgary—Nose Hill to present two petitions today. The first petition concerns the definition of marriage, oddly enough, since we talked about that all day yesterday.
The petitioners pray that parliament ensure that marriage continues to be such that it can only be entered into between a single male and a single female.
Diane Ablonczy Reform Calgary Nose Hill, AB
Mr. Speaker, the second petition is tabled on behalf of about 500 people from my city of Calgary and from other parts of Alberta who are very concerned about the nuclear threat that continues to hang over the whole globe.
The petitioners pray that parliament support the government in urgently making an unequivocal commitment to nuclear weapons negotiations and in calling for immediate and practical steps to de-alert and deactivate nuclear weapons worldwide.
Tony Valeri Liberal Stoney Creek, ON
Mr. Speaker, pursuant to Standing Order 36, I am pleased to present to the House a petition signed by over 5,000 constituents in my riding of Stoney Creek and the surrounding area of Hamilton-Wentworth.
The petition calls upon parliament to recognize that the majority of residents from the Hamilton-Wentworth area support the proposed north-south portion of the Red Hill Creek Expressway and that parliament remove all impediments to the immediate commencement of this project.
Bill Casey Progressive Conservative Cumberland—Colchester, NS
Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to present a petition today on behalf of the residents of Wynn Park in Truro, Nova Scotia.
These residents wish to draw to the attention of the House that the people of Wynn Park are opposed to the use of community mailboxes, the current method of mail delivery in their area. They contend that seniors must walk in very difficult circumstances and it presents a danger to them and their well-being. In a recent case an elderly woman fell and broke a limb and was laid up for a long time.
The petitioners urge parliament to call on the minister responsible for Canada Post to implement door to door mail delivery for the residents of Wynn Park.
On behalf of these 42 residents, I respectfully submit this petition.
John McKay Liberal Scarborough East, ON
Mr. Speaker, I present a petition on behalf of 175 citizens who call for an end to the bombing in Kosovo.
These people actively oppose the participation of Canada in the bombing. They oppose Canada's participation in the massacre of civilians. They call for an immediate end to the bombing in Kosovo.
Judy Wasylycia-Leis NDP Winnipeg North Centre, MB
Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to present today the last in a series of petitions representing some 5,000 Canadians who are very concerned about the present state of our health care system. In so doing, I want to acknowledge the work of the Save Medicare Committee and, in particular, Russ Rak who is with the CAW Local 222, Retired Workers' Chapter.
The signators of this petition come from all over the country. They express grave concerns about the erosion of our health care system and about the slide in this country toward Americanized two tier health care.
The petitioners call upon the government to enshrine in the health care act a set of fundamental principles for this country and to guarantee national standards of quality publicly funded health care for every Canadian citizen as a right.
Philip Mayfield Reform Cariboo—Chilcotin, BC
Mr. Speaker, pursuant to Standing Order 36, I am honoured to present petitions from the citizens of Cariboo—Chilcotin, primarily from the city of Williams Lake.
The first petition expresses concerns about effects of the drug RU-486 on unborn babies and the danger to mothers. It calls upon parliament to act to prevent the introduction of the drug RU-486 in Canada.
Philip Mayfield Reform Cariboo—Chilcotin, BC
Mr. Speaker, the second petition deals with the sanctity of human life and calls upon parliament to act immediately to extend the same protection to the unborn child as that enjoyed by born human beings.
Eleni Bakopanos Liberal Ahuntsic, QC
Mr. Speaker, I want to present a petition to the House which was signed by members of the Hellenic community of Montreal. The petitioners ask that the government seek to unilaterally cease the bombing of civilian and military installations in Yugoslavia and seek the safe return of all people of Albanian Serbian origin.
Garry Breitkreuz Reform Yorkton—Melville, SK
Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to present a petition from residents in Ontario and Quebec who say that sexual offences against children harm some of the most innocent and vulnerable members in our society.
Pardons are currently given in almost 100% of the cases reviewed by the National Parole Board. Studies have indicated that sexual offenders are more than twice as likely to commit further sexual offences and more likely to reoffend than a violent non-sexual conviction.
The petitioners pray that parliament pass Bill C-284 introduced by the member of parliament for Calgary Centre to ensure that a record of sexual offence against a child for which a pardon has been given is disclosed to children's organizations when they perform a criminal record check on an individual applying for a position of trust involving children.
Peter Adams Liberal Peterborough, ON
I would like to summarize two petitions from citizens of Peterborough concerned about the bombing in Yugoslavia.
In the first petition the petitioners call upon parliament to advocate that the Government of Canada withdraw its political and military support for the bombing of Yugoslavia and press for the bombing to be stopped at once.
In the second petition the petitioners call upon parliament in the name of the hundreds of thousands of Yugoslav victims in tears for wounds and the loss of their belongings. They beseech parliament to do something so that the bombing will stop immediately.
Peter Adams LiberalParliamentary Secretary to Leader of the Government in the House of Commons
Mr. Speaker, the following questions will be answered today: Nos. 237 and 239. .[Text]
Question No. 237—
Randy White Reform Langley—Abbotsford, BC
How many incidents involving drug overdoses were recorded at the Matsqui Correctional Institution in British Columbia between January 1, 1998 and December 31, 1998?
Lawrence MacAulay LiberalSolicitor General of Canada
Correctional Service Canada records indicate that no incidents involving drug overdoses were recorded at the Matsqui Correctional Institution in British Columbia during 1998.
Question No. 239—
Jim Hart Reform Okanagan—Coquihalla, BC
With respect to AIDA and the tree fruit industry: ( a ) what is the percentage differences in gross margin levels among commodities, e.g. perennials, tree fruits, vs. annuals, grains; ( b ) can the government provide an example of the relative use of eligible and ineligible expenses for two different commodities such as grain and tree fruit; ( c ) can the government provide an example of the benefits a tree fruit farmer would be entitled to under AIDA, should back to back below average returns be experienced in the base period, in comparison to that of a single year of below average returns; ( d ) can the government provide data which would compare the inclusion of negative margins in the reference margins but reducing to zero in the claim year to that of reducing negative margins, to zero for both the base period and the claim year; ( e ) can the government provide information to show if AIDA recognizes the special problems of perennial crops such as the little flexibility to switch commodities and varieties?
Lyle Vanclief LiberalMinister of Agriculture and Agri-Food
(a) Agricultural income disaster assistance, AIDA, provides a common basis of support to all commodities. The British Columbia whole farm income insurance program, which essentially follows the same rules as AIDA, has provided payments in different regions of the province where different commodities predominate. This reflects the fact that the gross margin can vary as much from farm to farm producing the same commodities as between farms producing differing commodities.
(b) An AIDA payment is trigerred by a change in a farmer's gross margin. Adding a particular expense would have a small effect on the AIDA payment, up or down depending on the producer, because it needs to be done for both the reference period and the claim year.
(c) A recent evaluation of the Alberta farm income disaster program stated that the program payments have been concentrated in areas with the largest decrease in farm incomes and that it responds well to back to back disaster years. The impact of back to back years of below average returns will depend on the magnitude of the decline in the margins.
In any case, AIDA is designed to address extreme, short term income declines; it is not the program's purpose to support income in a manner that is not consistent with each farm's recent experience.
(d) Data are not available to show the impact on AIDA of altering negative margins in the reference period. Artificially increasing past income would raise the possibility of trade actions as this would conflict with international guidelines.
(e) The British Columbia whole farm income insurance program has provided payments in different regions of the province where different commodities predominate. Besides farmers who have planted perennial crops such as tree fruits, farmers who have invested in essentially single purpose equipment or buildings such as hog barns will also have difficulty in switching to other commodities. These farms can be subject to high market risks because their revenue is related to the price of one commodity. These farmers should utilize all tools available to them to mitigate these risks. These include the use of government programs such as net income stabilization account and crop insurance. Producers must also look for ways to mitigate risks beyond utilization of government programs.
Peter Adams Liberal Peterborough, ON
Mr. Speaker, I would ask that the remaining questions be allowed to stand.
Peter Adams LiberalParliamentary Secretary to Leader of the Government in the House of Commons
Mr. Speaker, I ask that all notices of motions for the production of papers be allowed to stand.
Peter Adams LiberalParliamentary Secretary to Leader of the Government in the House of Commons
Mr. Speaker, I rise on a point of order. There has been consultation among the parties and I think you will find unanimous consent for the following motion. I move:
That the Standing Joint Committee for the Scrutiny of Regulations be granted authority to travel to Sydney, Australia from July 18 to July 24, 1999 to attend the Biennial Conference on Delegated Legislation and that the necessary staff accompany it.
Committees Of The HouseRoutine Proceedings
The Deputy Speaker
Does the hon. parliamentary secretary have the unanimous consent of the House to propose this motion?