Debates of Oct. 8th, 2003

Petitions

[Caroline St-Hilaire, Bloc, Longueuil, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I too am pleased to table a petition from people mainly in the riding of Longueuil. The petitioners are asking Parliament to repeal subsection 13(5) of the Canada Post Corporation Act so that rural route mail couriers can benefit from decent conditions.

[Janko Peric, Liberal, Cambridge, ON]

Mr. Speaker, pursuant to Standing Order 36, it is my privilege to present to the House a petition dealing with marriage and signed by some 130 constituents from my riding of Cambridge. The petitioners wish to draw to the attention of the House the fact that the institution of marriage has always been defined as the union of one man and one woman and was upheld as such by votes in this House. The petitioners pray and request that the Parliament of Canada respect and uphold the current understanding of marriage as the union of one man and one woman to the exclusion of all others.

[Deborah Grey, Canadian Alliance, Edmonton North, AB]

Mr. Speaker, I know you and I and Polonius would agree, would we not, that brevity is the soul of wit.

I have 22,803 petitions here from people from all across the country. They are talking about preventatively using vitamins and supplements for health. I know we all understand that and appreciate it, but they are saying that they not only should be just as recorded by a pharmacist, as quoted in subsection 118.2(2)(n) of the Income Tax Act, but also that these vitamins and supplements should be GST exempt.

There are thousands here. There are thousands more coming. I will be delighted to present them when they arrive.

[Bill Blaikie, NDP, Winnipeg—Transcona, MB]

Mr. Speaker, I have three different petitions to present today. The first one calls upon Parliament to focus its legislative support on adult stem cell research to find the cures and therapies necessary to treat illness and diseases of suffering Canadians.

[Bill Blaikie, NDP, Winnipeg—Transcona, MB]

Mr. Speaker, the second submission is a group of petitions. I will present them all at once. The petitions call upon 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.

[Bill Blaikie, NDP, Winnipeg—Transcona, MB]

Mr. Speaker, the third petition refers to Bill C-250 and it calls on Parliament to use all possible legislative and administrative measures to preserve and protect the criminal code.

[Peter Adams, Liberal, Peterborough, ON]

Madam Speaker, I rise to present a petition from citizens of Peterborough County and surrounding areas who have been hard hit by the BSE crisis. The petitioners point out that the Canadian beef cattle, dairy, goat and sheep industries are in a state of crisis and that in fact this is affecting the entire rural area. The aid package to the industry is inadequate in that it does not deal with the disastrously low prices experienced and the imminent collapse of various sectors of the rural economy.

The petitioners call upon Parliament to open the American border to Canadian cattle now and as soon as possible develop a long term solution and economic relief that is fair and reflects the importance of these industries in Canada.

[Peter Adams, Liberal, Peterborough, ON]

Madam Speaker, I have a second petition from a large number of members of the Catholic Women's League. The petitioners point out that the Universal Declaration of Human Rights proclaims that childhood is entitled to special care and assistance. The members of the National Council of the Catholic Women's League of Canada passed a resolution in support of a national strategy on child care, their resolution 89.4.

They know that the Government of Canada has offered to increase finances toward a national day care strategy but they suggest that the implementation of improved child care over the next five years has met with various obstacles, and so they request Parliament to give priority to accessible, quality child care for all children.

[Roy H. Bailey, Canadian Alliance, Souris—Moose Mountain, SK]

Madam Speaker, I have two petitions. Like Canadians from coast to coast to coast, these people are petitioning the government.

In the first one, the petitioners do not want the passing of Bill C-250 because of their fear of infringement of their own private rights.

[Roy H. Bailey, Canadian Alliance, Souris—Moose Mountain, SK]

Madam Speaker, the second petition is another huge one in which the petitioners want the government to make sure that it continues to treat marriage as a union of one man and one woman, exclusive of all others.

[Paul Szabo, Liberal, Mississauga South, ON]

Madam Speaker, I have two petitions. The first has to do with the hate law. The petitioners want to draw to the attention of the House that we are all appalled by hate motivated attacks and believe promoting hatred toward a person or group is wrong. The petitioners pray upon Parliament to take all necessary measures to protect the rights of Canadians to freely share their religious and moral beliefs without fear of prosecution.

[Paul Szabo, Liberal, Mississauga South, ON]

Madam Speaker, the second petition has to do with stem cell research. The petitioners draw to the attention of the House the fact that Canadians support ethical stem cell research, which has widely shown encouraging potential to provide cures and therapies for Canadians. The petitioners therefore call upon Parliament to focus its legislative support on non-embryonic stem cell research to find the cures and therapies necessary to treat the illnesses and diseases of Canadians.

[James Lunney, Canadian Alliance, Nanaimo—Alberni, BC]

Madam Speaker, I have three petitions. The first is on the subject of marriage. There are approximately 150 signatures from Nanaimo, Parksville, Qualicum and Lantzville, all in my riding. The petitioners are calling upon the House to recognize that marriage is the traditional foundation for families and for the raising of children. They are disturbed by recent decisions taken in the House and they call upon Parliament to honour the commitment of June 1999 calling for marriage to continue to be recognized as the union of one man and one woman to the exclusion of all others.

[James Lunney, Canadian Alliance, Nanaimo—Alberni, BC]

Madam Speaker, the second petition is on the subject of genetically modified foods. Again, this petition originates in my own riding in the communities of Parksville, Qualicum, Port Alberni, Nanoose, Bowser and even in Victoria.

The petitioners are calling on Parliament to recognize that seeds and living organisms are part of our collective biological heritage. They object to commercialization and patenting of life forms. They predict devastating consequences for farmers and have concerns about production costs increasing and seed varieties and production techniques being limited. They are concerned about a very real threat to the rural way of life.

The petitioners are calling on Parliament not to promote policies that heighten poverty or threaten the environment and increase hunger throughout the world.

[James Lunney, Canadian Alliance, Nanaimo—Alberni, BC]

The final one, Madam Speaker, is on Bill C-420, natural health products. There are approximately 350 signatures here. They come from my own riding, from the communities of Nanaimo and Parksville, and also from Alberta, Ontario and other communities across the country.

The petitioners are calling upon Parliament to recognize that Canadians deserve freedom of choice in natural health products. They object to the restrictions that Health Canada is currently placing on natural health products by arbitrarily classing them as drugs as soon as a health claim is made.

The petitioners are calling upon Parliament to recognize the weight of modern scientific evidence which confirms the mitigation and prevention of disease, many diseases and disorders, through the judicious use of natural health products and therefore ask that Parliament support Bill C-420 and implement changes that will enhance the availability of natural health products for all Canadians.

[Reed Elley, Canadian Alliance, Nanaimo—Cowichan, BC]

Madam Speaker, I have three petitions from both my riding of Nanaimo--Cowichan and Ontario. The petitioners are calling on the government that in matters of important social policy, such as the definition of marriage, that this not be settled by an unelected judiciary but indeed by Parliament and are asking that Parliament reaffirm the traditional definition of marriage as the union of one man and one woman to the exclusion of all others.

[Marlene Catterall, Liberal, Ottawa West—Nepean, ON]

Madam Speaker, I am pleased to present four petitions representing approximately 1,500 signatures from constituents and others calling upon Parliament to take all necessary steps within the jurisdiction of the Parliament of Canada to preserve the definition of marriage in Canada as the union of one man and one woman to the exclusion of all others.

[Chuck Strahl, Canadian Alliance, Fraser Valley, BC]

Madam Speaker, I have several petitions here today. These petitions are all duly signed off by the Clerk.

One of them has to do with concerns that we maintain the sanctity of life, and the petitioners are urging Parliament to prohibit assisted suicide or euthanasia.

[Chuck Strahl, Canadian Alliance, Fraser Valley, BC]

Madam Speaker, I have two more petitions on the definition of marriage. The petitioners, with a slight variation in the type of petition, ask Parliament to recognize the institution of marriage in federal law as being the union of one man and one woman to the exclusion of all others.

[Chuck Strahl, Canadian Alliance, Fraser Valley, BC]

The last two petitions, Madam Speaker, have to do with the changes to sections 318 and 319 of the Criminal Code. The petitioners are concerned about their freedom to express and to share their religious beliefs without fear of prosecution and they ask Parliament not to change or add individuals or groups to sections 318 and 319 of the code.

Questions on the Order Paper

[Rodger Cuzner, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Prime Minister]

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

[The Acting Speaker (Ms. Bakopanos)]

Is that agreed?

[Some hon. members]

Agreed.

Motions for Papers

[Rodger Cuzner, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Prime Minister]

Madam Speaker, I ask that all Notices of Motions for the Production of Papers be allowed to stand.

[The Acting Speaker (Ms. Bakopanos)]

Is that agreed?