Debates of Oct. 3rd, 2001

Multiculturalism

[Vic Toews, Canadian Alliance, Provencher, MB]

But we don't have to pay for them.

[Jean Chrétien, Liberal, Saint-Maurice, QC]

Yes, and that person was there but the minister was invited and she made a good speech on what the government is doing on that. We had Senator Pearson there. She is a very well known advocate for children and even Madam Justice Arbour was there, so--

[The Speaker]

The hon. member for Kamloops, Thompson and Highland Valleys.

[Betty Hinton, Canadian Alliance, Kamloops, Thompson And Highland Valleys, BC]

Mr. Speaker, the government is using tax dollars to fund special interest groups that undermine Canadian principles. We saw 80,000 of those tax dollars at work at the women's resistance conference.

Would the money funding hate speeches against western civilization not be better spent on the safety and security of Canadians?

[Hedy Fry, Liberal, Secretary of State (Multiculturalism) (Status of Women)]

Mr. Speaker, this was a three day conference. It was a conference that spanned: there were academics there; there were people from 10 other countries there; there were people who had done long term work on this. There were people who had done groundwork and the grassroots people who have been doing the clinics every day.

The questions of women's equality, of sexual exploitation of children, of women's economic status, of violence against women and of the criminal justice system, these were supposed to come up with a report that would assist in good policy and program development.

Presence in Gallery

[The Speaker]

I draw the attention of hon. members to the presence in the gallery of His Excellency Makram Obaid, Minister of Transport of Syria.

[Some hon. members]

Hear, hear.

Business of the House

[Don Boudria, Liberal, Minister of State and Leader of the Government in the House of Commons]

Mr. Speaker, there has been consultation among House leaders. I think if you were to seek it you would find unanimous consent for the following. I move:

That, the first item to be considered under Government Orders on Thursday, October 4, 2001, shall be a motion by the Leader of the Government in the House

That the Report of the Special Committee on the Modernization and Improvement of the Procedures of the House of Commons, tabled on Friday, June 1, 2001, be concurred in, provided that the proposed amendment therein to Standing Order 52(13) shall be amended by deleting the words 'of his or her party' and that the recommendations of the Report shall come into force, as amended, on the Monday following the adoption of this Order; and

That, at 4:00 p.m. on October 4, 2001, or when no Member rises to speak, whichever is earlier, the said motion shall be deemed adopted.

[The Speaker]

Does the hon. government House leader have unanimous consent of the House to propose the motion?

[Some hon. members]

Agreed.

[The Speaker]

Is it the pleasure of the House to adopt the motion?

[Some hon. members]

Agreed.

(Motion agreed to)

Government Response to Petitions

[Geoff Regan, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Leader of the Government in the House of Commons]

Mr. Speaker, pursuant to Standing Order 36(8) I have the honour to table, in both official languages, the government's response to two petitions.

Committees of the House

[Andy Scott, Liberal, Fredericton, NB]

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

Pursuant to its order of reference of Wednesday, September 26, 2001, the committee has considered Bill C-15, an act to amend the criminal code and to amend other acts, and has agreed to report that it has been divided into two bills.

Petitions

[Rahim Jaffer, Canadian Alliance, Edmonton Strathcona, AB]

Mr. Speaker, I have a petition that I would like to present to the House today. It is from the Falun Gong-Falun Dafa organizations across the country. A number of constituents from my riding and surrounding Edmonton are calling on parliament to form part of Canada's SOS!Rescue Team to basically go to China and insist that the torturing and killing of the people who practise Falun Gong and Falun Dafa stop, and that all Falun Gong practitioners and Lin Shenli be freed now.

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

Mr. Speaker, I have two petitions from different groups. One is a petition from people in Shelburne County on Bill C-23 from the 36th parliament. They would like to petition on the clarification of marriage.

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

Mr. Speaker, the other petitions, with a couple of hundred names on them, are from the rural fire departments in different areas of Nova Scotia and New Brunswick. The petitions concern the $1,000 tax deduction that the federal 1999 budget promised and offered to paid firefighters but did not give to volunteer firefighters, which most people consider to be very unfair.

On behalf of volunteer firefighters in Nova Scotia and New Brunswick, I am very pleased to bring this petition to your attention.

[Peter Adams, Liberal, Peterborough, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I rise to present another petition, a petition that now has been signed by thousands of people from the Peterborough area who would like to see VIA Rail service restored between Toronto and Peterborough.

These petitioners see great environmental advantages in the restoration of service: reduction in greenhouse emissions; improvement in health from the reduction in highway emissions; a reduction of highway accidents; and a great improvement in the business environment not only of Peterborough but of the GTA.

These petitioners are delighted at the response of our Minister of Transport to the announcement that Queen's Park will reinvest in municipal transportation.

[Andy Burton, Canadian Alliance, Skeena, BC]

Mr. Speaker, I am proud to rise today to present a petition on behalf of the people of Skeena regarding sovereignty of land title for citizens of Canada.

Questions on the order paper

[Geoff Regan, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Leader of the Government in the House of Commons]

Mr. Speaker, I ask that all questions be allowed to stand.

[The Speaker]

Is that agreed?

[Some hon. members]

Agreed.

Motions for Papers

[Geoff Regan, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Leader of the Government in the House of Commons]

Mr. Speaker, Notice of Motion for the Production of Papers No. P-8, in the name of the hon. member for Calgary Centre, is acceptable to the government with the reservations stated in the reply and the documents are tabled immediately.

That an Order of this House do issue for copies of all documentation, including briefings, memoranda, e-mails and minutes relating to the meeting of the Board of Directors of the Business Development Bank of Canada of June 2, 1999.

[The Speaker]

Subject to the reservations expressed by the parliamentary secretary, is it the pleasure of the House that Motion No. P-8 be deemed to have been adopted?

[Some hon. members]

Agreed.

(Motion agreed to)