House of Commons Hansard #90 of the 36th Parliament, 2nd Session. (The original version is on Parliament's site.) The word of the day was report.
House Of Commons
The Speaker
I have the honour to lay upon the table the report on Plans and Priorities for 2000-01 of the House of Commons administration.
Derek Lee LiberalParliamentary Secretary to Leader of the Government in the House of Commons
Mr. Speaker, pursuant to the standing orders I have the honour to table, in both official languages, the government's responses to seven petitions.
Andy Mitchell LiberalSecretary of State (Rural Development)(Federal Economic Development Initiative for Northern Ontario)
Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to table the first ever annual report to parliament on rural Canada entitled “Working Together”.
Louis Plamondon Bloc Richelieu, QC
Mr. Speaker, I have the honour to table, in both official languages, the report of the Canadian branch of the Assemblée parlementaire de la Francophonie, as well as the financial report. The report relates to the education, communication and cultural affairs commission meeting held in Libreville, Gabon, on March 6 and 7.
Derek Lee LiberalParliamentary Secretary to Leader of the Government in the House of Commons
Mr. Speaker, if the House gives its consent, I move:
That the membership of the Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs be modified as follows: Norman Doyle for André Harvey.
(Motion agreed to)
Mac Harb Liberal Ottawa Centre, ON
Mr. Speaker, I have a petition signed by constituents who are calling upon parliament to enact legislation to establish an independent governing body to develop, implement and enforce uniform and mandatory mammography quality assurance and quality control standards in Canada.
John Cummins Reform Delta—South Richmond, BC
Mr. Speaker, I have two petitions to present this morning. The first petition deals with the issue of child pornography.
The petitioners ask parliament to take all measures necessary to ensure that the possession of child pornography remains a serious criminal offence.
John Cummins Reform Delta—South Richmond, BC
Mr. Speaker, I also have two petitions which deal with the issue of federal funding for a road which is referred to in my community as the South Fraser Perimeter Road. It is a road necessitated by the construction and growth at two ports, the Fraser Port on the Fraser River and the Roberts Bank container terminal known as Vanport.
Those two ports have caused a serious increase in traffic to flow through the neighbourhood of North Delta through residential streets. The truck traffic is horrendous.
The proposal to build a road on the south shore of the river is unsatisfactory. The petitioners would ask that no federal moneys be made available until such time as their concerns about this road are taken into consideration.
Dennis Gruending NDP Saskatoon—Rosetown—Biggar, SK
Mr. Speaker, I have a petition signed by people in Saskatchewan and Ontario related to child poverty.
The petitioners remind us that one in five Canadian children live in poverty, and that on November 24, 1989 the House unanimously resolved to end child poverty in Canada by the year 2000.
The petitioners tell us that since that time the number of poor children in the country has increased by 60%. They therefore ask parliament to introduce a multi-year plan to improve the well-being of Canada's children. I wholeheartedly concur.
Diane St-Jacques Progressive Conservative Shefford, QC
Mr. Speaker, I am presenting a petition to the House from petitioners in the riding of Shefford, who are calling upon the Government of Canada to enact legislation to ensure that the public may eat food that is better for them, thus benefiting Canadian society and reducing the burden on our health resources.
Peter Adams Liberal Peterborough, ON
Mr. Speaker, I have a petition signed by numerous citizens of Peterborough who point out that whereas the majority of Canadians respect the sanctity of human life, and whereas human life at the pre-born stage is not protected in Canadian society, these petitioners pray that parliament act immediately to extend protection to the unborn by amending the Criminal Code to extend the same protection enjoyed by born human beings to unborn human beings.
Gerry Ritz Reform Battlefords—Lloydminster, SK
Mr. Speaker, I have two petitions to present this morning on behalf of my constituents. Hundreds of people have signed these petitions concerning the sanctity of marriage.
The petitioners ask that the government take another hard look at Bill C-23 and make the necessary changes to entrench in law that marriage is an institution concerning a single man and a single woman.
Gerry Ritz Reform Battlefords—Lloydminster, SK
Mr. Speaker, the second petition concerns child pornography. My constituents are quite concerned that the federal government has turned a deaf ear and a blind eye to the plight of children in this country. The government seems to be protecting the pedophiles as opposed to the children.
John O'Reilly Liberal Victoria—Haliburton, ON
Mr. Speaker, pursuant to Standing Order 36, I have the pleasure to present a petition from the people of Haliburton area asking parliament to withdraw Bill C-23 and affirm the opposite sex definition of marriage in legislation, and ensure that marriage is recognized as a unique institution.
Bill Blaikie NDP Winnipeg—Transcona, MB
Mr. Speaker, I have a petition here signed by a number of Canadians who are concerned about the continued existence of over 30,000 nuclear weapons on the planet Earth and the continued existence of nuclear weapons, which poses a threat to the health and survival of human civilization and the global environment.
Therefore, they call on parliament to support the immediate initiation and conclusion by the year 2000 of an international convention that will set out a binding timetable for the abolition of all nuclear weapons.
Cliff Breitkreuz Reform Yellowhead, AB
Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to rise to present four petitions in the House. These petitioners represent the communities of Barrhead, Wildwood, Sangudo, and all points in between, including Neerlandia.
The first petition deals with the issue of pornography and that the government is doing nothing about the possession of child pornography.
Cliff Breitkreuz Reform Yellowhead, AB
Mr. Speaker, the last three petitions pray that the government repeal Bill C-23 for a variety of reasons.
Questions On The Order PaperRoutine Proceedings
Scarborough—Rouge River Ontario
Liberal
Derek Lee LiberalParliamentary Secretary to Leader of the Government in the House of Commons
Mr. Speaker, I ask that all questions be allowed to stand.
John Cummins Reform Delta—South Richmond, BC
Mr. Speaker, I have two order paper questions, Questions Nos. 28 and 29. Question No. 28 was presented on October 15, 1999 and Question No. 29 was presented on October 18, 1999. Neither one has been answered yet. Question No. 29 was first asked on March 24, 1999 as Question No. 227, which was never answered.
These questions go to the heart of the mefloquine scandal and the illegal and inappropriate use of that drug by the Department of National Defence during the Somalia crisis.
I realize that it is very difficult and embarrassing for the government to answer these questions but I think they are questions that do deserve an answer. The drug did have an impact on the behaviour of troops in Somalia and the public has the right to have those questions answered promptly.
Derek Lee Liberal Scarborough—Rouge River, ON
Mr. Speaker, the hon. member has raised this issue on the floor within the last couple of weeks. The answer that I would hold out today is not terribly different from what I described the last time. A draft to the member's question was prepared and it was returned for revisions. I am advised that it is certainly in the pipeline and imminent.
Questions On The Order PaperRoutine Proceedings
The Deputy Speaker
Shall all questions stand?
Request For Emergency DebateRoutine Proceedings
The Deputy Speaker
I am in receipt of a notice of motion under Standing Order 52 from the hon. member for Winnipeg—Transcona.
Bill Blaikie NDP Winnipeg—Transcona, MB
Mr. Speaker, I have provided you with the requisite letter and make a small argument now for an emergency debate on the subject of Canada's health care system.
The subject of debate would be the threat to Canada's health care system posed by the imminent passage of bill 11 in the Alberta legislature and the ramifications for all Canadians as a result of the North American Free Trade Agreement and the relationship between that agreement and the provisions of bill 11.
Parliament of Canada must have an opportunity to debate whether the Alberta government has the right to endanger medicare for all Canadians, as it is doing, given the provisions of NAFTA, and what the Parliament of Canada should do about it, and what the Government of Canada should do about it before bill 11 is passed.
Time is of the essence. That is the nature of the emergency. It is not something we can debate next week or the week after. It is something that we can only debate now. The Parliament of Canada should be seized with this subject as soon as possible. I beseech the Chair to see the wisdom of this request.
Request For Emergency DebateRoutine Proceedings
The Deputy Speaker
The Chair has considered very carefully the request put forward by the hon. member for Winnipeg-Transcona and has concluded that while the matter is obviously a serious one it is not one that in the view of the Chair ought to be the subject of an emergency debate at this time.