House of Commons Hansard #122 of the 37th Parliament, 2nd Session. (The original version is on Parliament's site.) The word of the day was havens.

Topics

Children of Deceased Veterans Education Assistance ActRoutine Proceedings

10 a.m.

Winnipeg North—St. Paul Manitoba

Liberal

Rey D. Pagtakhan LiberalMinister of Veterans Affairs and Secretary of State (Science

moved for leave to introduce Bill C-50, an act to amend the statute law in respect of benefits for veterans and the children of deceased veterans.

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

Interparliamentary DelegationsRoutine Proceedings

September 18th, 2003 / 10 a.m.

Liberal

David Price Liberal Compton—Stanstead, QC

Mr. Speaker, pursuant to Standing Order 34(1) I have the honour to present to the House, in both official languages, the report of the Canadian NATO Parliamentary Association which represented Canada at the spring session of the NATO parliamentary assembly held in Prague, Czech Republic, on May 24 to May 28, 2003.

Marriage ActRoutine Proceedings

10:05 a.m.

Canadian Alliance

Grant Hill Canadian Alliance Macleod, AB

moved for leave to introduce Bill C-447, an act to protect the institution of marriage.

Mr. Speaker, the bill is an essential step in upholding the promise to protect marriage that Parliament made in 1999 and the Liberals campaigned on in the last election. It also provides an opportunity to revisit the tie vote that occurred on Monday as the bill does not contain the notwithstanding clause.

The law that was recently struck down in the Ontario Court of Appeal was a common law definition. It was the deliberate inaction on the part of the Liberals that allowed us to arrive at the chaotic situation with which we are now faced, with traditional marriage being the law of the land in all but two provinces.

Had the Liberal government appealed the Ontario decision to the Supreme Court, there is every reason to believe, based on past decisions, that the Supreme Court would find this definition constitutional.

Finally, and importantly, the bill also notes that it is the provinces that have the jurisdiction to provide appropriate legal recognition to relationships outside marriage.

Mr. Speaker, there have been discussions between all parties and I believe, if you seek it, you would find unanimous consent to allow the leader of the official opposition to make a brief comment.

Marriage ActRoutine Proceedings

10:05 a.m.

The Acting Speaker (Mr. Bélair)

Is there unanimous consent?

Marriage ActRoutine Proceedings

10:05 a.m.

Some hon. members

Agreed.

Marriage ActRoutine Proceedings

10:05 a.m.

Some hon. members

No.

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

PetitionsRoutine Proceedings

10:05 a.m.

Liberal

Peter Adams Liberal Peterborough, ON

Mr. Speaker, I rise to present another petition from farmers and others in the Peterborough area who are concerned about the BSE crisis.

They point out that the Canadian beef cattle, dairy, goat and sheep industries are in a state of crisis due to BSE. The whole industry, in fact, is in a state of crisis.

The petitioners say that the aid package to the industry is inadequate as it does not deal with disastrously low prices and the imminent collapse of key sectors of the rural economy.

The citizens urge Parliament to open the American border to Canadian cattle now and, as soon as possible, develop fair, long term solutions and economic relief that reflects the importance of these industries to Canada, and in particular, in my case, to eastern Ontario.

PetitionsRoutine Proceedings

10:05 a.m.

Liberal

Peter Adams Liberal Peterborough, ON

Mr. Speaker, I have a second petition from people who are concerned about those suffering from kidney disease. They point out that kidney disease is a huge problem and, with the demographics of our population, it is a growing problem.

They know real progress is being made with various ways of preventing and treating kidney disease but they call upon Parliament to encourage the Canadian Institutes of Health Research to explicitly include kidney research as one of the institutes in its system today to be named the institute of kidney urinary tract diseases.

PetitionsRoutine Proceedings

10:05 a.m.

Canadian Alliance

Werner Schmidt Canadian Alliance Kelowna, BC

Mr. Speaker, I want to present a petition on behalf of a number of my constituents who call upon Parliament to protect the rights of Canadians to be free to share their religious beliefs without fear of prosecution.

PetitionsRoutine Proceedings

10:05 a.m.

Canadian Alliance

Rick Casson Canadian Alliance Lethbridge, AB

Mr. Speaker, it is my pleasure today to rise pursuant to Standing Order 36 to present a petition holding 492 names. These folks from my riding urge Parliament to immediately begin supporting the United States and the coalition allies in their efforts to free and stabilize Iraq.

PetitionsRoutine Proceedings

10:05 a.m.

Canadian Alliance

Inky Mark Canadian Alliance Dauphin—Swan River, MB

Mr. Speaker, it is an honour to rise on behalf of the good people of Dauphin--Swan River to present two separate petitions this morning signed by thousands of petitioners.

The first one calls upon Parliament to protect the rights of Canadians to be free to share their religious beliefs without fear of prosecution.

PetitionsRoutine Proceedings

10:05 a.m.

Canadian Alliance

Inky Mark Canadian Alliance Dauphin—Swan River, MB

Mr. Speaker, the second petition calls upon Parliament to take all necessary steps to preserve marriage as a union of one man and one woman to the exclusion of all others.

PetitionsRoutine Proceedings

10:05 a.m.

Liberal

Murray Calder Liberal Dufferin—Peel—Wellington—Grey, ON

Mr. Speaker, I have several petitions I would like to present. The first one is from the constituents of Dufferin—Peel—Wellington—Grey opposing Bill C-250.

PetitionsRoutine Proceedings

10:10 a.m.

Liberal

Murray Calder Liberal Dufferin—Peel—Wellington—Grey, ON

Mr. Speaker, the next pair of petitions are from constituents in my riding who urge Parliament to ensure that marriage, as it always has been legally known, is reaffirmed within Canada, preserved and protected.

PetitionsRoutine Proceedings

10:10 a.m.

Liberal

Murray Calder Liberal Dufferin—Peel—Wellington—Grey, ON

Finally, Mr. Speaker, I would like to present a petition signed by over 1,400 Canadians seeking the release of the post-1901 census records.

PetitionsRoutine Proceedings

10:10 a.m.

Liberal

Alex Shepherd Liberal Durham, ON

Mr. Speaker, it is with pleasure that I present a petition on behalf of 50 of my constituents who are concerned about amendments to section 318 of the Criminal Code.

They call upon Parliament to take all measures necessary to protect the rights of Canadians to freely share their religious and moral beliefs without fear of prosecution.

PetitionsRoutine Proceedings

10:10 a.m.

Liberal

Bob Speller Liberal Haldimand—Norfolk—Brant, ON

Mr. Speaker, I also rise to present a petition to the House that concerns religious freedom and the addition of sexual orientation to the Criminal Code signed by a number of people in my constituency calling upon the government to petition Parliament to protect the rights of Canadians to share their religious beliefs.

Marriage ActRoutine Proceedings

10:10 a.m.

Canadian Alliance

Grant Hill Canadian Alliance Macleod, AB

Mr. Speaker, I rise on a point of order.

I did seek unanimous consent for the leader of the official opposition to speak briefly to this new bill that has been presented. I believe, with further consultations, that has been clarified, and if you seek unanimous consent I believe you would find it.

Marriage ActRoutine Proceedings

10:10 a.m.

The Acting Speaker (Mr. Bélair)

Does the hon. member have unanimous consent?

Marriage ActRoutine Proceedings

10:10 a.m.

Some hon. members

Agreed.

Marriage ActRoutine Proceedings

10:10 a.m.

Calgary Southwest Alberta

Canadian Alliance

Stephen Harper Canadian AllianceLeader of the Opposition

Mr. Speaker, my special thanks to the member for Macleod for introducing the bill on behalf of the party. He has been a long time member of our party who will be retiring. I thank him for his service to our party, to the country and for being such a great friend and colleague.

First, just to make it clear, the bill asks Parliament to do what has never been done before, and that is to legislate a legal definition of marriage in this country. The bill proposes that definition be a union of one man and one woman to the exclusion of all others. The bill also encourages provinces to go ahead with the recognition of traditional or non-traditional relationships of civil unions.

The bill is clear. It recognizes that the provinces have the exclusive jurisdiction to create civil unions.

Questions on the Order PaperRoutine Proceedings

10:10 a.m.

Halifax West Nova Scotia

Liberal

Geoff Regan LiberalParliamentary Secretary to the Leader of the Government in the House of Commons

Mr. Speaker, Question No. 236 will be answered today.

Question No. 236Routine Proceedings

10:10 a.m.

Canadian Alliance

John Reynolds Canadian Alliance West Vancouver—Sunshine Coast, BC

Pertaining to the Francophonie Day that took place Thursday, March 20, 2003, what was the breakdown of the money spent by the government for the activities that took place in Canada in dollar figures?

Question No. 236Routine Proceedings

10:10 a.m.

Hamilton East Ontario

Liberal

Sheila Copps LiberalMinister of Canadian Heritage

The previously identified amount of $1,534,000 which was provided for Francophonie Day celebrations encompassed a wide range of activities which took place over an extended period of time, of which only a minor component actually took place on March 20, Francophonie Day.

The largest portion, $1,250,000, of the amount cited related to the Rendez-vous de la Francophonie. Les Rendez-vous has the mandate to promote the French language and culture and to reinforce links between anglophones and francophones in Canada. Each year, over a thousand activities are held in all the regions of Canada starting in August and culminating in the two week period preceding March 20, Journée internationale de la francophonie. These activities include school projects as well as various promotional tools used in the media, youth exchanges, etc.

The department has also funded the Québec Canada Television Consortium for the production of a special program to celebrate Francophonie Day. The production took the form of a quiz, which was broadcast on the TV5 network.

Question No. 236Routine Proceedings

10:10 a.m.

Liberal

Geoff Regan Liberal Halifax West, NS

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