Debates of May 14th, 2003

Petitions

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

Mr. Speaker, I have petitions on three different subjects to present today.

First, I have two petitions on child pornography. The petitioners state that the courts have not applied the current child pornography law in a way which makes it clear that sex exploitation of children will always be met with swift punishment.

They are calling upon Parliament to protect children by taking all necessary steps to ensure that materials that promote or glorify pedophilia or sado-masochistic activities involving children are prohibited.

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

Mr. Speaker, the next three petitions deal with Bill C-250. One of the petitions is from the residents of Tofino, Ucluelet and Port Alberni, communities on the west coast of Vancouver Island. The other two petitions are from the east coast. These petitioners represent people from all parts of my constituency.

The petitioners contend that Bill C-250 will have negative consequences for the rights of Canadians for freedom of expression and religion.

The petitioners further state that Bill C-250 will substantially interfere with the rights of religious and educational leaders to communicate essential matters of faith. They therefore call upon members to defeat Bill C-250.

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

Mr. Speaker, the final petition is a huge one with over 700 signatures and it is with regard to cruelty to animals.

There have been some very nasty incidents of cruelty to animals. Petitioners in my riding are outraged by these and are calling upon Parliament to make harsher penalties for those who abuse animals, and rightly so.

[Gurmant Grewal, Canadian Alliance, Surrey Central, BC]

Mr. Speaker, I rise today on behalf of the residents of Surrey Central to present two petitions.

First, the petitioners are concerned that Bill C-250 seeks to censor many religious books, including the bible, and criminalizes the personal opinions of Canadians on the subject of sexual orientation.

The petitioners therefore appeal to Parliament to reject the bill.

[Gurmant Grewal, Canadian Alliance, Surrey Central, BC]

Mr. Speaker, the second petition I have is signed by people from the Surrey area.

The petitioners request that Parliament affirm the opposite sex definition of marriage in legislation that marriage is and should remain the union of one man and one woman to the exclusion of all others, and ensure that Parliament will take all necessary steps within its jurisdiction to preserve this definition of marriage in Canada, and ensure that marriage is recognized as a unique institution.

[Larry Bagnell, Liberal, Yukon, YT]

Mr. Speaker, I am delighted to rise today to present two petitions on behalf of my constituents in the Yukon. These follow upon many other petitions to the same effect. The petitioners strongly oppose any aggression by Canada in Iraq and hope that the United Nations, which was created to achieve peaceful solutions under international law, would continue to do so in Iraq, and in other instances.

[Scott Reid, Canadian Alliance, Lanark—Carleton, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I am honoured today to introduce a petition containing over 10,000 signatures from across eastern Ontario.

The petitioners draw the attention of the House to the wasteful and ineffective long gun registry. They draw specific attention to the following facts: that the gun registry is 500 times over budget; that the Auditor General has been very critical of the registry; and that the registry does nothing to keep illegal firearms off the street and out of the hands of criminals.

I present the petition with pleasure.

Questions on the Order Paper

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

Mr. Speaker, the following questions will be answered today: Nos. 182, 188, 200, 201 and 203.

Question No. 182

[Andy Burton, Canadian Alliance, Skeena, BC]

As of January 1, 2003, and with regard to the Department of Fisheries and Oceans’ Office of Boating Safety: ( a ) what is the total number of residents of Canada who have been issued safe boating certificates, broken down by province and territory; ( b ) how many accredited boating safety course providers are there in each province and territory; and, ( c ) how many non-residents of Canada have been issued a safe boating certificate?

[Robert Thibault, Liberal, Minister of Fisheries and Oceans]

The Office of Boating Safety, OBS, is exploring the possibility of implementing a national boating safety database which would improve the tracking of operator competency cards. OBS currently relies on the course providers to provide statistics on the number of operator competency cards issued, however this information is not complete enough for us to be able to provide accurate figures. The attached table identifies a figure of over 600,000 total cards issued, however we expect the total may be higher given the missing data from some course providers.

There are 75 accredited course providers plus nine course providers who are currently undergoing the accreditation process. Please refer to the attached table for a breakdown of the numbers and locations of course providers as well as the cards issued. Although there are not course providers in every province, people can receive training through correspondence courses, which can be delivered by mail or the Internet.

The OBS does not collect information on the number of cards issued to non-residents.

• The Competency of Operators of Pleasure Craft Regulations do not apply in Nunavut and the Northwest Territories.

Question No. 188

[Kevin Sorenson, Canadian Alliance, Crowfoot, AB]

In the last five years, has the government been involved in any negociations with other countries (e.g. China, France, Russia or others) for the purposes of trade with Iraq?

[Pierre Pettigrew, Liberal, Minister for International Trade]

In the last five years the Government of Canada has not been involved in any negotiations with other countries, for example, China, France, Russia or others, for the purposes of trade with Iraq.

Question No. 200

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

Concerning Goods and Services Tax input tax credit losses in fiscal year 1993-1994: ( a ) on what day were the changes in the way Canada Customs and Revenue Agency’s predecessor accounted approved; ( b ) who approved the changes; and ( c ) on what information were the changes made?

[Elinor Caplan, Liberal, Minister of National Revenue]

The answer is: (a) and (b): Discussions to discontinue reporting losses from GST fraud as a separate item in the Public Accounts, except when public servants were involved, occurred in 1994 or 1995, when the former departments of Revenue Canada Taxation and Revenue Canada Customs and Excise merged into a single department. The change in practice was motivated by a need to adopt a consistent approach, given that the practices for reporting losses in the two former departments had differed. Unfortunately, the period for retention of general records is 6 years, as per Records Disposition Authority 86/100, and there are no remaining records of any relevant discussions leading up to the decision, nor of approvals given. For this reason we cannot be more precise with respect to the persons involved and the timing of discussions and decisions leading up to the change in reporting practice. The earliest documentation that we have concerns our response to questions raised by the Treasury Board Secretariat in 1996. At that time, a policy interpretation to support the changed reporting practice was provided to Treasury Board Secretariat officials and confirmed in writing.

(c): Prior to the administrative consolidation, that is merger, of the former departments of Revenue Canada Taxation and Revenue Canada Customs and Excise, the two respective departments had different practices with respect to the reporting in the Public Accounts of losses of revenue due to fraud.

At the time of the merger, reporting requirements were reconsidered. Based on the Treasury Board Secretariat, TBS, policy reporting requirements, Revenue Canada officials arrived at what they considered an appropriate interpretation of the policy that could be applied to all taxes and duties, including the GST. As noted above, there are no records going back to that time. Revenue Canada’s explanation provided to TBS officials in 1996 reflects the reasons for continuing the changed Public Accounts reporting practices.

Revenue Canada believed that the reporting practices in place in 1994 with regard to losses of money due to GST input tax credit fraud did not meet the spirit of the TB policy, because the amount of the loss would be confirmed only through a court conviction, which could be handed down years after the incident occurred. Moreover, such convictions immediately resulted in assessments, which would be set up as receivables and either collected or subjected to a formal debt write off process. Both receivables and debt write offs would continue to be reported in the Public Accounts, and when combined with increased reporting on enforcement activities in the Estimates, part III, there was considered to be adequate disclosure.

Question No. 201

[James Moore, Canadian Alliance, Port Moody—Coquitlam—Port Coquitlam, BC]

What grants did Export Development Canada make to any companies named “Indofoods” between 1996 and 2003?

[Pierre Pettigrew, Liberal, Minister for International Trade]

Export Development Canada does not provide grants.

Question No. 203

[Garry Breitkreuz, Canadian Alliance, Yorkton—Melville, SK]

With respect to the following statement in the RCMP's response to Access to Information Act request file number ATIP2002-44709, dated January 23, 2003, “We can confirm 1,081,589 firearms have been verified.”, how long will it take and how much will it cost to verify all firearms in the Canadian Firearms Registry?

[Wayne Easter, Liberal, Solicitor General of Canada]

Not all of the firearms entered in the Canadian firearms registry require verification. There is no legal requirement for rifles or shotguns to be verified on first time registration. In order for a firearm to be registered, sufficient identifying information must be provided to allow the firearm to be classified and uniquely identified. Firearms must be verified at time of import into Canada, when being transferred, or when registered in a business inventory. There is a mechanism in place to verify firearms upon future transfer of firearms with the assistance of the verifier's network of approximately 5,000 volunteers, which is supported by various chief firearms officers across the country. Given the foregoing information and the fact that the registration of firearms is an ongoing process, it is not possible to isolate the length of time and costs associated specifically with verification.

[Geoff Regan, Liberal, Halifax West, NS]

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

[The Speaker]

Is it 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, Notices of Motions for the Production of Papers Nos. P-5, P-9 and P-10 in the name of the right hon. member for Calgary Centre, are acceptable to the government, except for those documents which will not be released pursuant to the Access to Information Act, and the papers are tabled immediately.

Motion P-5

That a humble Address be presented to Her Excellency praying that she will cause to be laid before this House a copy of all documentation, including recommendations, briefings, memoranda, e-mails and Board meeting minutes of the Business Development Bank of Canada, relating to the reports of the executive search firm Illsley Bourbonnais between January 1, 1997, and January 31, 2002.

Motion P-9

That a humble Address be presented to Her Excellency praying that she will cause to be laid before this House a copy of all documentation, including recommendations, briefings, memoranda, e-mails and Board meeting minutes of the Business Development Bank of Canada, relating to the reports of the executive search firm Egon Zehnder International between January 1, 1997, and January 31, 2002.

Motion P-10

That a humble Address be presented to Her Excellency praying that she will cause to be laid before this House a copy of all documentation, including recommendations, briefings, memoranda, e-mails and Board meeting minutes of the Business Development Bank of Canada, relating to the reports of the executive search firm Spencer Stuart between January 1, 1997, and January 31, 2002.

[The Speaker]

Subject to the reservations expressed by the parliamentary secretary, is it agreed that Motions Nos. P-5, P-9 and P-10 be adopted?

[Some hon. members]

Agreed.

(Motion agreed to)

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

Mr. Speaker, I would ask you to be so kind as to call Notices of Motions for the Production of Papers Nos. P-1, P-2, P-3, P-4, P-6, P-7 and P-8 in the name of the right hon. member for Calgary Centre.

Motion P-1

That a humble Address be presented to Her Excellency praying that she will cause to be laid before this House a copy of all documentation, including recommendations, briefings, memoranda, e-mails and Board meeting minutes of the Business Development Bank of Canada, relating to the reports of the executive search firm Rolland Groupe Conseil Inc. between January 1, 1997, and January 31, 2002.

Motion P-2

That a humble Address be presented to Her Excellency praying that she will cause to be laid before this House a copy of all documentation, including recommendations, briefings, memoranda, e-mails and Board meeting minutes of the Business Development Bank of Canada, relating to the reports of the executive search firm Price Waterhouse Coopers between January 1, 1997, and January 31, 2002.

Motion P-3

That a humble Address be presented to Her Excellency praying that she will cause to be laid before this House a copy of all documentation, including recommendations, briefings, memoranda, e-mails and Board meeting minutes of the Business Development Bank of Canada, relating to the reports of the executive search firm Gilles Tremblay and Associés between January 1, 1997, and January 31, 2002.

Motion P-4

That a humble Address be presented to Her Excellency praying that she will cause to be laid before this House a copy of all documentation, including recommendations, briefings, memoranda, e-mails and Board meeting minutes of the Business Development Bank of Canada, relating to the reports of the executive search firm Elan Pratzer and Partners Inc. between January 1, 1997, and January 31, 2002.

Motion P-6

That a humble Address be presented to Her Excellency praying that she will cause to be laid before this House a copy of all documentation, including recommendations, briefings, memoranda, e-mails and Board meeting minutes of the Business Development Bank of Canada, relating to the reports of the executive search firm Belle Isle Djandji between January 1, 1997, and January 31, 2002.

Motion P-7

That a humble Address be presented to Her Excellency praying that she will cause to be laid before this House a copy of all documentation, including recommendations, briefings, memoranda, e-mails and Board meeting minutes of the Business Development Bank of Canada, relating to the reports of the executive search firm Gestion Michel Lebeuf Ltée between January 1, 1997, and January 31, 2002.

Motion P-8

That a humble Address be presented to Her Excellency praying that she will cause to be laid before this House a copy of all documentation, including recommendations, briefings, memoranda, e-mails and Board meeting minutes of the Business Development Bank of Canada, relating to the reports of the executive search firm La Société Caldwell between January 1, 1997, and January 31, 2002.