Debates of Dec. 6th, 2002

Points of Order

[Jacques Saada, Liberal, Brossard—La Prairie, QC]

Mr. Speaker, during oral question period, the member for Saint-Hyacinthe—Bagot called the Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food a liar out loud several times. This language is unparliamentary.

Thanks to the very firm stance taken by the member for Shefford and the entire Quebec caucus on this issue, the minister is making every effort to solve the problem of the École de médecine vétérinaire de Saint-Hyacinthe. The member for Saint-Hyacinthe—Bagot may or may not agree on how things are happening, but that does not give him the right to make this type of unfounded and unparliamentary accusation.

Mr. Speaker, there is no room in this House for insults. I would kindly ask him to withdraw his comments immediately.

[The Deputy Speaker]

I must say that even with the great din, I very clearly heard the comments attributed to the hon. member for Saint-Hyacinthe—Bagot by the government deputy House leader.

I am sure the hon. member for Saint-Hyacinthe—Bagot is well aware of my respect for him. We must all demonstrate this same collective respect for our parliamentary institution.

In the spirit of cooperation, I would ask the hon. member for Saint-Hyacinthe—Bagot to withdraw the word liar.

[An hon. member]

Mr. Speaker, on a point of order.

[The Deputy Speaker]

No, I am dealing with the matter raised by the deputy whip of the government. I have asked the member for Saint-Hyacinthe—Bagot to respond to what has been raised and to what I heard clearly. In the best spirit of the House, in the spirit of cooperation and respect for our institution, I ask the hon. member for Saint-Hyacinthe—Bagot to withdraw the word “menteur”.

The hon. member for Saint-Hyacinthe—Bagot.

[Yvan Loubier, Bloc, Saint-Hyacinthe—Bagot, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I will not allow lies to justify sabotage. When it comes to the interests of Quebec, of the Francophonie and of Saint-Hyacinthe, I will not keep quiet in the House when faced with bald-faced lies that have lasted for several months, in the case of the École de médecine vétérinaire de Saint-Hyacinthe.

[The Deputy Speaker]

It is not the role of the Chair to rule on the passion, devotion or enthusiasm a member may display on an issue that affects his riding a great deal. Unfortunately, that has nothing to do with the situation.

Clearly, in the context of what occurred during oral question period, the word liar is unparliamentary.

I ask the member for Saint-Hyacinthe—Bagot to reconsider and to withdraw the word liar.

[Yvan Loubier, Bloc, Saint-Hyacinthe—Bagot, QC]

Mr. Speaker, on Monday, one of Quebec's and the Francophonie's most important institutions will begin to lose credibility because of the inertia of the federal government, which has given preferential treatment to three other schools of veterinary medicine in Canada and tarnished the reputation of the École de médecine vétérinaire de Saint-Hyacinthe. Starting Monday, the government will be sending out the signal that the École de médecine vétérinaire de Saint-Hyacinthe has no future, and I find this unacceptable. The members opposite have been fibbing for months now—

Naming of Member

[The Deputy Speaker]

Mr. Loubier, I must name you for disregarding the authority of the Chair.

Pursuant to the powers vested in me under Standing Order 11, I order you to withdraw from the House for the remainder of today's sitting.

[Editor's note: And Mr. Loubier having withdrawn]

[Stockwell Day, Canadian Alliance, Okanagan—Coquihalla, BC]

Mr. Speaker, I rise on a point of order. I would request unanimous approval from the House to agree with a motion that states: That in the opinion of this House, the terrorist group known as Hezbollah has committed untold horror on the lives of innocent people; That this group represents a security threat to Canada and its allies; That the Foreign Affairs Minister acknowledged yesterday that Hezbollah is not governed by civilized conduct;And that the Solicitor General of Canada should therefore recommend to the Governor in Council that Hezbollah, including all of its various factions, be added to the list established under section 83.05 of the Criminal Code--

[The Deputy Speaker]

That is certainly not a point of order, with the greatest of respect. I will go so far as to ask if there would be unanimous consent to propose such a motion?

[Some hon. members]

Agreed.

[Some hon. members]

No.

[Joe Clark, Progressive Conservative, Calgary Centre, AB]

Mr. Speaker, I rise on a point of order. With the greatest of respect, I ask the Speaker to consider whether recent practices in the House might lead the Chair to look again at language which has historically been deemed to be unparliamentary.

I raise it because of the incident on which the Speaker has just issued a judgment. I heard the language. I also heard the response by the Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food. To state it very clearly, the issue not about--

[The Deputy Speaker]

I must conclude that the right hon. member is engaging in debate. Sometimes the Chair, maybe because of the noise level or whatever, might have greater doubt. In the instance earlier today, there was no doubt that I heard clearly the words from the member, who has been asked to leave the chamber. This matter on that point of order and on that decision is over.

[Joe Clark, Progressive Conservative, Calgary Centre, AB]

On my point of order, Mr. Speaker--

[The Deputy Speaker]

I would remind the member that while the Chair is standing, no one else will have the floor. The matter that was raised earlier has been dealt with and the matter is closed.

[Joe Clark, Progressive Conservative, Calgary Centre, AB]

Mr. Speaker, my request is very specific and it is that the Chair undertake a review of language that is deemed to be unparliamentary. I heard all the words that were exchanged. There is no doubt that Mr. Speaker is correct that the member for Saint-Hyacinthe—Bagot used the language which he did not withdraw.

It is also the case that the Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food made a statement that is not true and--

[The Deputy Speaker]

Again clearly we are getting into debate. If there is to be review of any rules regarding parliamentary language or other matters, I would simply and respectfully submit to the House and the right hon. member for Calgary Centre that they be dealt with in the Standing Committee of Procedure and House Affairs. That is where that matter will rest.

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 20 petitions.

Federal Electoral Boundaries

[The Deputy Speaker]

It is my duty, pursuant to section 21 of the act to amend the Canada Elections Act and the Electoral Boundaries Readjustment Act, to lay upon the table a certified copy of the report of the federal electoral boundaries commission for Newfoundland and Labrador.

The report is deemed permanently referred to the Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs.

Committees of the House

[Nancy Karetak-Lindell, Liberal, Nunavut, NU]

Mr. Speaker, I have the honour to present, in both official languages, the second report of the Standing Committee on Aboriginal Affairs, Northern Development and Natural Resources on Bill C-6, an act to establish the Canadian Centre for the Independent Resolution of First Nations Specific Claims to provide for the filing, negotiation and resolution of specific claims and to make related amendments to other acts, with amendments.

I also have the honour to present, in both official languages, the third report of the Standing Committee on Aboriginal Affairs, Northern Development and Natural Resources, pursuant to its order of reference dated Tuesday, October 22. Your committee considered Bill C-2, an act to establish a process for assessing the environmental and socio-economic effects of certain activities in Yukon, and reports the bill, with amendments.

Petitions

[Dominic LeBlanc, Liberal, Beauséjour—Petitcodiac, NB]

Mr. Speaker, I have the honour to present to the House of Commons a petition signed by a number of constituents of the riding of Beauséjour—Petitcodiac. It concerns rural route mail couriers. I met with these people on a number of occasions and they have a valid point.

They are petitioning the House of Commons and Parliament to repeal section 13(5) of the Canada Post Corporation Act, which would allow them to have collective bargaining rights.

[Leon Benoit, Canadian Alliance, Lakeland, AB]

Mr. Speaker, I have two groups of petitions to present here. The first group of petition ask that no bail be allowed for accused murders who are caught by eye witnesses in the act of committing crimes and that only maximum sentences be given under those circumstances.

This group of petitions was spawn from the death of Dana Fair in Lloydminster a couple of years ago.

[Leon Benoit, Canadian Alliance, Lakeland, AB]

Mr. Speaker, the other group of petitions is on behalf of petitioners in my constituency. The petitioners call on Parliament to protect our children by taking all necessary steps to ensure that all materials which promote or glorify pedophilia or sado-masochistic activities involving children are outlawed.

[Eugène Bellemare, Liberal, Ottawa—Orléans, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I have the honour to present a petition signed by residents of my riding of Ottawa—Orléans, requesting that the House of Commons legislate in favour of stem cell research to find cures and therapies necessary to treat the illnesses and diseases of suffering Canadians.

The petitioners also state that non-embryonic stem cells, which are also known as adult stem cells, have shown significant research progress without the immune rejection or ethical problems associated with embryonic stem cells.