Debates of May 31st, 2000

Petitions

[John Reynolds, Reform, West Vancouver—Sunshine Coast, BC]

Mr. Speaker, I have a petition to present this afternoon from a number of constituents in West Vancouver and British Columbia with regard to making sure that parliament affirms the opposite sex definition of marriage.

[John Reynolds, Reform, West Vancouver—Sunshine Coast, BC]

Mr. Speaker, I have separate petitions here with over 2,400 names, which adds to the list of well over half a million people who have already sent in petitions.

The petitioners are concerned about the legal possession of child pornography in British Columbia and want parliament to take swift action.

[Monique Guay, Bloc, Laurentides, QC]

Mr. Speaker, on behalf of rural route mail carriers, who often earn less than minimum wage, I am pleased to table a petition containing approximately 150 signatures.

This petition asks that rural route mail carriers be given the same treatment as people already covered by the Canada Post Corporation Act, for the riding of Laurentides.

[Norman E. Doyle, Progressive Conservative, St. John's East, NL]

Mr. Speaker, I have a petition from a number of people from Newfoundland. I have not had a chance to count the number but it looks like there could be 1,000 or 1,500 names. The prayer of the petitioners is as follows “The undersigned residents of the province of Newfoundland and Labrador—

[The Deputy Speaker]

Order, please. I think the hon. member knows it is not in order to read a petition. He will want to summarize it for the House in compliance with the rules.

[Norman E. Doyle, Progressive Conservative, St. John's East, NL]

Mr. Speaker, as you are well aware, Newfoundland has had its local CBC cut back a great deal. The petitioners request that parliament intervene to protect the rights of the citizens in the province. The daily CBC program Here and Now is essential to the culture of this very large and sparsely populated region.

The petitioners feel Here and Now is the last vestige of the once creative and leading CBC program producing region in news, current affairs, documentaries, entertainment and variety programs. Here and Now is their daily communication within the province and within the country.

The petitioners pray that parliament will take the appropriate action to ensure that the CBC board of directors adhere to the mandate set out by parliament and maintain at least its current level of support. I note that members opposite do not support that apparently.

[Dennis Gruending, NDP, Saskatoon—Rosetown—Biggar, SK]

Mr. Speaker, I have a petition signed by about 125 people in and around Saskatoon, many of them of Eritrean descent. As members might expect, they are extremely distraught about the border war between their country and Ethiopia. They tell us that about one million innocent civilians have been victimized.

They ask this House, among other things, to support and promote the peace package proposed by the Organization for African Unity and they ask our government to respond to the urgent appeal of the United Nations to provide more humanitarian assistance to people displaced by the war in Eritrea, which would be over and above what we have already provided which they do not find adequate.

[Mac Harb, Liberal, Ottawa Centre, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I have a petition signed by people who call on parliament to ask the government to remove the landing fees imposed on refugees and immigrants coming to Canada.

[Jay Hill, Reform, Prince George—Peace River, BC]

Mr. Speaker, I have a couple of petitions to present this afternoon.

The first petition is signed by constituents from Prince George and by citizens from Nelson, B.C. calling upon the House of Commons to repeal section 13(5) of the Canada Post Corporation Act which discriminates against rural route mail couriers.

[Jay Hill, Reform, Prince George—Peace River, BC]

Mr. Speaker, the second petition is from constituents of the Prince George—Peace River riding. It calls upon the House of Commons to oppose same sex marriages and to enshrine in legislation the unique institution of marriage.

[Jocelyne Girard-Bujold, Bloc, Jonquière, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to table a petition signed by 223 inhabitants of the riding of Jonquière, who are calling on parliament to take all necessary steps to identify and recommend, as quickly as possible, concrete means for dealing with the excessive price hikes for oil and oil products, to permanently regularize pricing, and to take action to develop alternative forms of energy at affordable prices.

[Susan Whelan, Liberal, Essex, ON]

Mr. Speaker, on behalf of the constituents of Essex, I have the honour to present a petition pursuant to Standing Order 36.

The petition concerns the insufficient support given to family farms and requests the enactment of a five year farm act to ensure financial stabilization.

[Gerry Ritz, Reform, Battlefords—Lloydminster, SK]

Mr. Speaker, it is my honour today to present a petition on behalf of my constituents of Battlefords—Lloydminister regarding the tax situation in Canada.

The petitioners ask the federal government to take a look at the examples set by Alberta and Ontario and the great economies that are booming in those provinces. They say if the federal government followed their lead, the whole country would be better off. It is a very timely petition since we will be back on the budget this afternoon.

[Odina Desrochers, Bloc, Lotbinière, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I have the pleasure of submitting a petition signed by 6,247 inhabitants of the riding of Lotbinière, who are calling on the Parliament of Canada to take all necessary steps to identify and recommend, as quickly as possible, concrete means for dealing with the excessive price hikes for petroleum products, and to permanently regularize pricing, particularly now, just before the tourist season, when oil companies are getting ready once again to exploit consumers in Quebec.

[Joe McGuire, Liberal, Egmont, PE]

Mr. Speaker, pursuant to Standing Order 36, I want to present two petitions on behalf of Prince Edward Islanders who live along rural mail routes and who support their rural mail route couriers.

Rural mail route couriers earn less than minimum wage and are not allowed to bargain collectively to improve their wages because section 13(5) of the Canada Post Corporation Act prohibits rural couriers from having collective bargaining rights. Therefore the petitioners call upon parliament to repeal section 36(5) of the Canada Post Corporation Act.

[Eric C. Lowther, Reform, Calgary Centre, AB]

Mr. Speaker, it has been a year and a half since the law against child pornography has been struck down. These petitions I am submitting today add to the hundreds of thousands of signatures from coast to coast calling for action. They ask that parliament take every measure to ensure that child pornography remains a serious offence and that federal police forces be directed to give priority to enforcing this law for the protection of our children.

[Jean-Paul Marchand, Bloc, Québec East, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to table a petition organized by rural route mail carriers who are calling upon Parliament to repeal section 13(5) of the Canada Post Corporation Act, because it deprives them of their collective bargaining rights and allows Canada Post to keep their wages and working conditions at an unfair level.

[Maurizio Bevilacqua, Liberal, Vaughan—King—Aurora, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I have three petitions.

The first one deals with the government's efforts to reduce the national debt. Canadians would like the government to continue its efforts to reduce the national debt.

[Maurizio Bevilacqua, Liberal, Vaughan—King—Aurora, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the second petition deals with the reduction of employment insurance premiums. The petitioners call upon parliament to continue to reduce employment insurance premiums.

[Maurizio Bevilacqua, Liberal, Vaughan—King—Aurora, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the final petition calls upon parliament to build on previous actions to assist families through the Canada child tax benefit.

[Maurice Vellacott, Reform, Wanuskewin, SK]

Mr. Speaker, I have the honour to present a petition similar to that of my colleague.

The petitioners ask that parliament invoke section 33 of the charter of rights and freedoms, the notwithstanding clause, to override the B.C. court of appeal decision. They ask that the section of the criminal code making child pornography possession illegal in British Columbia and across the country be reinstated. They reinforce and reaffirm their objection to the B.C. court of appeal decision.

[Maurice Vellacott, Reform, Wanuskewin, SK]

Mr. Speaker, the second petition I wish to present has some 225 signatures. The petitioners pray that parliament withdraw Bill C-23 and affirm the opposite sex definition of marriage in legislation and ensure that marriage is thereby recognized as a unique institution.

[Maurice Vellacott, Reform, Wanuskewin, SK]

Mr. Speaker, I wish to present the final petition.

The petitioners lament the violation of the rights of freedom of religion and conscience in our country when health care workers in their training institutions have had those rights stripped away when hospitals have forced nurses to assist in abortion procedures against deeply held religious and moral convictions. They ask that parliament enact legislation against such violations of conscience rights by administrators in medical facilities and educational institutions across the country.

[Hélène Alarie, Bloc, Louis-Hébert, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to table a petition from the people of my riding.

The petition is signed by 969 people who are calling for Parliament to promptly enact legislation on the mandatory labelling of foods that are wholly or partially genetically modified.

[John O'Reilly, Liberal, Victoria—Haliburton, ON]

Mr. Speaker, pursuant to Standing Order 36, I am pleased to present a petition from beautiful Brock township calling on parliament to act immediately to request the provision of Canada's annual abortion statistics.