Debates of March 2nd, 2000

Supplementary Estimates (B), 1999-2000

[Some hon. members]

Yea.

[The Speaker]

All those opposed will please say nay.

[Some hon. members]

Nay.

[The Speaker]

In my opinion the nays have it.

And more than five members having risen:

[The Speaker]

Call in the members.

And the bells having rung:

[The Speaker]

We have had a request and therefore the vote stands deferred until later in the day.

Petitions

[Ovid Jackson, Liberal, Bruce—Grey, ON]

Mr. Speaker, pursuant to Standing Order 36 I would like to present two petitions on behalf of constituents in my riding of Bruce—Grey. One deals with genetically modified organisms. The petitioners ask that there be a five year moratorium and that nothing happen until we have a thorough investigation.

[Ovid Jackson, Liberal, Bruce—Grey, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the second petition deals with child pornography. The petitioners ask that we put stringent rules in place so that if there is a conflict between a child and an adult the child is protected first, and that sexual activity should not commence until the age of 18.

[Chuck Cadman, Reform, Surrey North, BC]

Mr. Speaker, pursuant to Standing Order 36 I am pleased to present the most recent instalment of a petition which calls on parliament to enact legislation to raise the age of consent from 14 years to 16 years for sexual activity between a young person and an adult.

The petition now contains the names of over 12,000 persons. I present it on behalf of Ms. Diane Sowden of Coquitlam, British Columbia, who has dedicated an enormous amount of time and energy to get rid of sexual exploitation of our youth.

[Tom Wappel, Liberal, Scarborough Southwest, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I have two petitions to present. The first one contains signatures on some 20 pages and pertains to child poverty.

Petitioners from all across Canada call upon parliament to use the federal budget 2000 to introduce a multi-year plan to improve the well-being of Canada's children. I am glad to notice that the government has listened.

[Tom Wappel, Liberal, Scarborough Southwest, ON]

Mr. Speaker, my second petition pertains to the Falun Dafa also known as the Falun Gong in China.

The petitioners, primarily from my area of Scarborough, Ontario, appeal to the Parliament of Canada to continue urging the Chinese government to release all arrested Falun Dafa practitioners in China immediately, to lift the ban of Falun Gong practice, to withdraw the international arrest warrant for Mr. Li Hongzhi, and to achieve a peaceful resolution through open dialogue.

[Rick Casson, Reform, Lethbridge, AB]

Mr. Speaker, it is my pleasure pursuant to Standing Order 36 to present a petition from 476 citizens of my riding of Lethbridge.

The petitioners are concerned about child poverty and they are calling on the government to introduce a multi-year plan to improve the well-being of Canada's children.

[Marlene Catterall, Liberal, Ottawa West—Nepean, ON]

Mr. Speaker, it is my privilege to present two petitions signed by people from my riding of Ottawa West—Nepean as well as elsewhere in the region. They are drawing the attention of parliament to the fact that one in five Canadian children live in poverty.

The petitioners remind us of the House of Commons unanimous resolution to end child poverty and call upon parliament to use federal budget 2000 to introduce a multi-year plan to improve the well-being of our children.

[Clifford Lincoln, Liberal, Lac-Saint-Louis, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I have the honour to present a petition from 75 people in my riding. A great number of these signatures were obtained by the young son of my colleague from Vaudreuil.

The petitioners call upon parliament to enact an immediate moratorium on the cosmetic use of chemical pesticides until the safety of these products is proven and the long term consequences of their utilization are known.

[Peter Adams, Liberal, Peterborough, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to present two petitions from people in the Peterborough area concerned about the genetic engineering of food and seeds. I will present them both together. They have similar concerns but different recommendations.

Both petitions point out that the genetic engineering of food, plants and animals is still relatively new but it is expanding at an extraordinary rate. It now involves the manipulation of the most basic building blocks of life and requires such a high level of science and technology that it places food and seeds in the hands of large corporations.

One of the petitions calls upon parliament to conduct a public overhaul of Canada's food product testing system with genetically engineered foods specifically in mind.

The other petition with the same concerns calls upon parliament to direct the Government of Canada, alone and in conjunction with other countries, to initiate powerful long term studies of the health and environmental effects of the genetic engineering of plants and animals.

[Peter Adams, Liberal, Peterborough, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to present another petition. It is from hundreds of women who are concerned about standards of mammography quality assurance in Canada.

They point out that Canada has the second highest incidence of breast cancer in the world. While the United States has mandatory mammography testing and standards, Canada has no legislation for mandatory mammography quality assurance standards. They call upon parliament to establish an independent governing body to develop, implement and enforce uniform and mandatory mammography quality assurance.

[Rose-Marie Ur, Liberal, Lambton—Kent—Middlesex, ON]

Mr. Speaker, pursuant to Standing Order 36, I am honoured to present this petition signed by hundreds of residents in Lambton county in my riding of Lambton—Kent—Middlesex. They urge the government to protest the actions of the Taliban in Afghanistan with women's rights now non-existent for work, education, health care and freedom of movement.

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

Mr. Speaker, I have three petitions on different issues.

Pursuant to Standing Order 36, I have the honour to present to parliament a petition signed by 28 Canadians. Many young men and women between the ages of 17 and 21 continue to benefit from the enormously worthwhile, uniquely Canadian youth program called Katimavik. The participants come from all regions of Canada and share a remarkable sense of friendship.

The Katimavik program is in need of increased funding as well as an enhanced media profile if it is to continue its good work. Therefore the petitioners pray and request that parliament entrusts the government to greatly increase the current level of support for Canada's very own homegrown Katimavik program.

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

Mr. Speaker, pursuant to Standing Order 36, I have the honour to present to parliament a petition signed by 25 Canadians.

One in five Canadian children live in poverty. On November 24, 1989 the House of Commons promised to end child poverty in Canada by the year 2000. Therefore the petitioners call upon parliament to use the federal budget to introduce a multi-year plan to improve the well-being of Canadian children.

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

Mr. Speaker, pursuant to Standing Order 36 I have the honour to present to parliament a petition signed by 26 concerned Canadians.

The use of the additive MMT in Canadian gasoline presents an environmental problem. It affects every man, woman and child in Canada. The use of MMT in gasoline has been known to cause emission control devices to affect engine performance and cause high levels of dangerous smog. Therefore the petitioners call upon parliament to set by the end of this calendar year national clean fuel standards for gasoline with zero MMT and low sulphur content.

[Réginald Bélair, Liberal, Timmins—James Bay, ON]

Mr. Speaker, residents of Timmins, Kapuskasing and Val Rita wish to draw to the attention of the House that one in five Canadian children live in poverty. On November 24, 1989 the House of Commons unanimously resolved to end child poverty in Canada by the year 2000. Since 1989 the number of poor children in Canada has increased by 60%. Therefore the petitioners call upon parliament to introduce a multi-year plan to improve the well-being of Canada's children. They urge parliament to fulfil the promise of the 1989 House of Commons resolution to end child poverty in Canada.

[Bev Desjarlais, NDP, Churchill, MB]

Mr. Speaker, I have a petition on behalf of thousands of people in the province of Manitoba who also call on the House to work at reducing child poverty. They recognize that in 1989 the House unanimously passed a resolution to eliminate child poverty in Canada. They had also hoped that this federal budget would be utilized to alleviate the child poverty problem. I am sure they were quite dissatisfied to see that did not happen.

Questions On The Order Paper

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

Mr. Speaker, Question No. 43 will be answered today. .[Text]

Question No. 43—

[Gerald Keddy, Progressive Conservative, South Shore, NS]

What was the cost to the federal government of the Supreme Court of Canada R. v Marshall trial regarding treaty fishing rights?

[Bob Nault, Liberal, Minister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development]

Insofar as the Department of Indian Affairs and Northern Development is concerned, the breakdown of approximate costs for the Marshall proceedings is as follows:

1. Operational expenses for DIAND:

Travel expenses—$7,000 Costs of meetings, review of documents and pleadings—$20,000 Expert report on the application of the royal proclamation in regard to the Atlantic provinces—$3,000

Subtotal—$30,000

1. Funding for Mr. Marshall's lawyer under the test case funding program—legal fees and disbursements for court of appeal and Supreme Court of Canada—$54,123

Total costs—$84,123