moved for leave to introduce Bill C-506, an act to amend the Hazardous Products Act (fire-safe cigarettes).
Mr. Speaker, this bill, if accepted, will be an opportunity to reduce the hazardous effects of cigarettes and introduce fire-safe cigarettes.
This issue was brought to my attention by Mr. Doug Lennox, a lawyer representing a Brampton family who tragically lost a three year old child and two teenagers in a fire that was attributable to careless smoking.
Like many Canadians, I had no idea that the tobacco industry for years has known how to make fire-safe cigarettes. This is what the bill is designed to do: it will bring to Canadians' attention the fact that fire-safe cigarettes can be manufactured. Literally thousands of Canadians lose their lives and there is literally millions of dollars worth of property damage to Canadian property on an annual basis as a result of careless smoking. Much of this can be reduced if not eliminated by having fire-safe cigarettes. That is the thrust of my bill.
(Motions deemed adopted, bill read the first time and printed)