Debates of June 5th, 2000

Interparliamentary Delegation

[Charles Caccia, Liberal, Davenport, ON]

Mr. Speaker, pursuant to Standing Order 34(1), I have the honour of presenting to the House, in both official languages, the report of the Canada-Europe Parliamentary Association, which represented Canada at the meetings of the committee on economic affairs and development and at the first part of the 2000 session of the parliamentary assembly of the Council of Europe held in London, England, and in Strasbourg, France, from January 18 to 29, 2000.

Pursuant to Standing Order 34(1), I also have the honour to present to the House in both official languages the report of the Canada-Europe Parliamentary Association which represented Canada at the 24th European Parliament-Canada interparliamentary meeting in Brussels from March 18 to 25, 2000.

Pursuant to Standing Order 34(1), I have the honour of presenting to the House, in both official languages, the report of the Canada-Europe Parliamentary Association, which represented Canada at the meetings of the committee on economic affairs and development and at the second part of the 2000 session of the parliamentary assembly of the Council of Europe held in Paris, France, from March 29 to 31, 2000, and in Strasbourg, France, from April 3 to 7, 2000.

Committees Of The House

[Peter Stoffer, NDP, Sackville—Eastern Shore, NS]

Madam Speaker, I have the honour to present in both official languages the sixth report of the Standing Committee on Fisheries and Oceans.

Pursuant to Standing Order 108(2), your committee recommends that it be granted leave to travel from October 15 to 25, 2000 to Quebec, New Brunswick, Maine, Nova Scotia, Newfoundland and Labrador, and P.E.I. to continue its comprehensive study on aquaculture, the statutory review of the Oceans Act and of other fisheries issues; that the committee be composed of two Canadian Alliance members, one Bloc member, one NDP member, one PC member and five Liberals; and that the necessary staff do accompany the committee.

If the House gives its consent, I intend to move concurrence in the sixth report later this day.

[Wayne Easter, Liberal, Malpeque, PE]

Madam Speaker, I have the honour to present three further reports on behalf of the Standing Committee on Fisheries and Oceans.

I have the honour to present in both official languages the seventh report of the Standing Committee on Fisheries and Oceans.

Pursuant to Standing Order 108(2), your committee recommends that it be granted leave to travel to Chile during the month of November 2000 to continue its comprehensive study on aquaculture; that the committee be composed of two Canadian Alliance members, one Bloc member, one NDP member, one PC member and five Liberal members; and that the necessary staff do accompany the committee.

I have the honour to present in both official languages the eighth report of the Standing Committee on Fisheries and Oceans.

Pursuant to Standing Order 108(2), your committee recommends that it be granted leave to travel to Ontario during the month of October 2000 to continue its comprehensive study on aquaculture; that the committee be composed of two Canadian Alliance members, one Bloc member, one NDP member, one PC member and five Liberal members; and that the necessary staff do accompany the committee.

Finally, I have the honour to present in both official languages the ninth report of the Standing Committee on Fisheries and Oceans.

Pursuant to Standing Order 108(2), your committee recommends that it be granted leave to travel to Japan during the month of February 2001 to continue its comprehensive study on aquaculture; that the committee be composed of two Canadian Alliance members, one Bloc member, one NDP member, one PC member and five Liberal members; and that the necessary staff do accompany the committee.

[Andy Scott, Liberal, Fredericton, NB]

Madam Speaker, I have the honour to present in both official languages the fourth report of the Standing Committee on Justice and Human Rights.

Pursuant to the order of reference of Friday, May 12, 2000, your committee has considered Bill S-10, an act to amend the National Defence Act, the DNA Identification Act and the criminal code, and has agreed to report it without amendments.

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

Madam Speaker, I have the honour to present in both official languages the eighth report of the Standing Committee on Finance entitled “Prevention Today—Savings Tomorrow” in relation to its study of a natural disaster reduction plan.

During the past three years the work of the finance committee has focused on improving the standard of living for Canadians by way of sound public policy that manages our resources efficiently and enhances productivity. Today we face a growing exposure to losses from natural disasters, a concern we have conveyed in our prebudget consultation reports. In fact over the last two decades, disaster recovery payments of this country have been doubling every five to ten years.

This report highlights the findings from our consultations with expert witnesses and sets out the committee's recommendations for addressing this very important challenge.

Copyright Act

[Pierre De Savoye, Bloc, Portneuf, QC]

moved for leave to introduce Bill C-485, an act to amend the Copyright Act (Minister).

Madam Speaker, the bill I am introducing today proposes that the Minister of Canadian Heritage become the minister responsible for the application of the Copyright Act, except for the purposes of section 44.1 of that act.

This bill is in response to the almost unanimous request of copyright holders who, faced with the Minister of Industry's careless handling of the Copyright Board, are asking that responsibility for the board be turned over to the Department of Canadian Heritage.

This request has been made repeatedly by the Society of Composers, Authors and Music Publishers of Canada, known as SOCAN, as well as by the largest Canadian agency representing the cultural sector, the Canadian Conference of the Arts.

(Motions deemed adopted, bill read the first time and printed)

Marine Liability Act

[Art Eggleton, Liberal, for the Minister of Transport]

moved that Bill S-17, an act respecting marine liability and to validate certain by-laws and regulations, be read the first time.

(Motion deemed adopted, bill read the first time)

National Defence Act

[Art Eggleton, Liberal, Minister of National Defence]

moved that Bill S-18, an act to amend the National Defence Act (non-deployment of persons under the age of 18 years to theatres of hostilities), be read the first time.

(Motion deemed adopted, bill read the first time)

Committees Of The House

[Peter Stoffer, NDP, Sackville—Eastern Shore, NS]

Madam Speaker, if the House gives its consent, I move that the sixth report of the Standing Committee on Fisheries and Oceans presented to the House earlier this day be concurred in.

[The Acting Speaker (Ms. Thibeault)]

Does the hon. member have the unanimous consent of the House to move the motion?

[Some hon. members]

Agreed.

[Some hon. members]

No.

Petitions

[Judy Wasylycia-Leis, NDP, Winnipeg North Centre, MB]

Madam Speaker, I am very honoured and pleased to present a petition that is very timely and important in terms of the debate and dialogue we are having in this place.

The petition is signed by numerous constituents who are concerned about biotechnology. They call upon parliament to implement legislation for clear labelling on all genetically engineered seed and foods derived from, processed with, containing or consisting of genetically engineered organisms before they are released into any and all commercial markets.

I am pleased to table this petition on behalf of my constituents.

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

Madam Speaker, I have a number of petitions which I wish to present.

The first petition calls upon parliament to build on previous actions to assist families through the Canada child tax benefit.

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

Madam Speaker, I present a petition which calls upon parliament to undertake a comprehensive strategy for productivity enhancement.

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

Madam Speaker, I present a petition which calls upon parliament to continue to use prudent economic assumptions in the formulation of the budget.

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

Madam Speaker, I present a petition which calls upon parliament to continue to support research and development.

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

Madam Speaker, I present a petition which calls upon parliament to announce a timetable for the elimination of the 5% surtax.

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

Madam Speaker, I present a petition which calls upon parliament to ensure that Canada's debt to GDP ratio remains on a permanent downward track.

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

Madam Speaker, I present a petition which calls upon parliament to continue to reduce employment insurance premiums.

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

Madam Speaker, I present a petition which calls upon parliament to continue to apply the contingency reserve, which is set at $3 billion per year, to debt reduction.

[Rick Borotsik, Progressive Conservative, Brandon—Souris, MB]

Madam Speaker, I wish to present a petition which has four parts and 189 pages in total. The petitioners request that the government support Canadian agriculture. They indicate that we need a level playing field with respect to the subsidies that are being paid by the Europeans and the Americans. The petitioners are calling for $1 billion for an agricultural trade equalization payment for all Canadian farmers.

I respectfully submit this petition on behalf of my constituents.

[Guy St-Julien, Liberal, Abitibi, QC]

Madam Speaker, I have the honour to table two petitions.

The first is from petitioners in Joliette, Longueuil, Saint Lambert, Brossard, Boucherville, Saint-Georges-de-Beauce and Sainte-Julienne, who are protesting predatory gasoline pricing.

Given the soaring price of gasoline at the pump and Canadian consumers' inability to take action and protect themselves against increases in gasoline prices, the petitioners are calling on parliament to pass a resolution to stop world petroleum cartels in order to bring down overly high gasoline prices.

The second petition is from petitioners in Gatineau, Montreal, Terrebonne, Drummondville, Chambly, Longueuil, Labelle, Saint-Jérôme, Saint-Jovite and Blainville and deals with the same topic, predatory gasoline pricing.

Given the soaring price of gasoline at the pump and Canadian consumers' inability to take action and protect themselves against increases in gas prices, the petitioners are calling on parliament to pass a resolution to stop world petroleum cartels in order to bring down overly high gasoline prices.

[Chuck Cadman, Reform, Surrey North, BC]

Madam Speaker, pursuant to Standing Order 36, I wish to present a petition containing the names of some 5,800 citizens who call on parliament to enact legislation which would increase the sanctions against those who perpetrate sexual assault on minors.

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

Madam Speaker, I have the honour to present a petition on behalf of approximately 300 people from St. John's East who are concerned that the British Columbia Court of Appeal on June 30, 1999 dismissed the appeal to reinstate subsection 163.1(4) of the criminal code, making possession of child pornography illegal in British Columbia. The petitioners state that by upholding the lower court decision possession of child pornography in British Columbia is now legal. The petitioners state that the well-being and safety of children are in jeopardy. Therefore, the petitioners call upon parliament to invoke section 33 of the charter of rights and freedoms, commonly known as the notwithstanding clause, to override the B.C. court of appeal decision, and to reinstate subsection 163.1(4) of the criminal code, making the possession of child pornography in British Columbia illegal, and by so doing reinforce and affirm our objection to the B.C. court of appeal decision.