Debates of Nov. 15th, 2004

Health

[Ujjal Dosanjh, Liberal, Minister of Health]

Mr. Speaker, I am writing to the provincial counterparts to make sure that the Colleges of Physicians and Surgeons and the pharmacists are dealing with this issue. I believe that the practices being engaged in by some doctors and some pharmacists are absolutely unethical, unprofessional and unacceptable.

I want to make sure that we look at all options and that we continue to monitor the situation. Right now, the safety and the supply of drugs for Canadians are adequately protected.

Canada Border Services Agency

[Jim Abbott, Conservative, Kootenay—Columbia, BC]

Mr. Speaker, the untimely and perhaps unnecessary death of Adam Angel, a Canada customs border officer in my constituency, has shone a light on the federal Liberals' systemic starvation of resources to protect our borders. Adam should not have been working alone, but when he ended up in medical distress at 6 a.m., he had no one to turn to while our port ended up wide open to all comers until the next shift reported for work.

Why have the Liberals neglected our border security to the point that our customs officers are in mortal danger?

[Anne McLellan, Liberal, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness]

Mr. Speaker, far from ignoring our border agency, we have invested billions of dollars in the security of this country, much of which has in fact been dedicated to ensuring that our borders, be they land borders, seaports or airports, ensure the safety and security of Canadians.

The hon. member actually raises an important issue and in fact that is why the government commissioned the job hazardous analysis report around working alone. The CBSA is presently working with the union at the local and national levels on this whole issue. Certainly what we want--

[The Speaker]

The hon. member for Edmonton—Sherwood Park.

Foreign Affairs

[Ken Epp, Conservative, Edmonton—Sherwood Park, AB]

Mr. Speaker, Mennonites have an honoured reputation for providing relief and working for peace around the world. There have been recent reports of the arrest and conviction of seven Mennonite workers in Vietnam and reports that Canadian officials are watching the case closely.

I think Canada should do more than just watch. Is the government pursuing any formal, direct diplomatic initiatives to try to save these individuals from imprisonment and torture? If so, what are they? If not, why not?

[Pierre Pettigrew, Liberal, Minister of Foreign Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, Reverend Quang's case was among several cases that were raised by the Canadian ambassador with high-ranking officials from the Vietnamese ministry of foreign affairs and public security in July 2004.

Our Canadian consulate in Ho Chi Minh City requested and has been denied access to Reverend Quang's trial. The Consulate General sent a representative to the courthouse to ask for permission to observe the trial on November 12 in order to highlight Canadian interest, but was denied entry.

Immigration

[Meili Faille, Bloc, Vaudreuil—Soulanges, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the Minister of Citizenship and Immigration has already said she was not intervening in Immigration Canada matters. Yet, as a result of intervention by her former executive assistant, the minister signed an authorization extending the temporary residency permit and work permit for Liberal supporters working on her election campaign.

How can the minister explain her refusal to intervene in cases where refugees' lives are in danger, when she intervenes for Liberal workers in her riding? This is the criterion the Minister of Citizenship and Immigration uses for intervention: people have to be Liberals.

[Hedy Fry, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Citizenship and Immigration]

Mr. Speaker, every member of the House knows that humanitarian and compassionate grounds have a clear set of conditions and a clear process. The minister follows this process on every case, including those that come from members on the other side of the House.

Because of the issue and the spirit of transparency, she has asked the ethics counsellor to look at this matter.

The Environment

[Alan Tonks, Liberal, York South—Weston, ON]

Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Minister of the Environment.

Last week the Arctic Council released its Arctic Climate Impact Assessment report, which states that the warming of the Arctic is double the earlier projections. The report also states that the warming is a direct cause and effect of the increased concentration of greenhouse gas emissions in the atmosphere.

Could the minister inform the House of the government's collaboration with the Arctic Council and identify all necessary actions Canada needs to take with respect to this profoundly serious environmental problem?

[Stéphane Dion, Liberal, Minister of the Environment]

Mr. Speaker, I will attend a meeting of the Arctic Council next week, just after the release of the most comprehensive study about the dramatic impact climate change has on the Arctic. We need to act with all our partners on the north. I am very confident that all northern nations will work cooperatively to find solutions to the changing climate for now and in the future.

International Aid

[Ted Menzies, Conservative, Macleod, AB]

Mr. Speaker, last year CIDA sent a measly $120,000 to the Canada Landmine Fund, but never wanting to turn down a photo op, the government plans to celebrate its mediocrity and send the Governor General, the Minister of Foreign Affairs and CIDA's parliamentary secretary to the Mine-Free World Summit in Nairobi later this month.

Could the Minister of International Cooperation assure Canadian taxpayers that this delegation's trip will cost less than last year's entire budget for the landmine fund?

[Aileen Carroll, Liberal, Minister of International Cooperation]

Mr. Speaker, I do not have in front of me the actual cost projections for the trip. I assure the hon. member I will look into that and ensure that there is not a disproportionate ratio.

However, Canada's reputation on the landmine convention, known as the Ottawa convention, is one of which we are enormously proud. I am delighted to understand that my colleagues will be attending, as well they should.

Government Response to Petitions

[Dominic LeBlanc, 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 19 petitions.

Canada Not-for-Profit Corporations Act

[Reg Alcock, Liberal, for the Minister of Industry]

moved for leave to introduce Bill C-21, an act respecting not-for-profit corporations and other corporations without share capital.

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

Income Tax Act

[Rodger Cuzner, Liberal, Cape Breton—Canso, NS]

moved for leave to introduce Bill C-273, an act to amend the Income Tax Act (deduction for volunteer emergency service).

Mr. Speaker, it is a great pleasure to stand and present this bill. In essence, the bill was presented in the 37th Parliament by the member for Malpeque. It is an amendment to the Income Tax Act that would recognize the work put forward by volunteer emergency service providers with a tax deduction of $500 for those with 50 hours of service and $1,000 for those with 100 hours service, a small gesture for the appreciation that we should show those people who put themselves in harm's way on a regular basis for the safety of others.

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

Patent Act

[Brian Masse, NDP, Windsor West, ON]

moved for leave to introduce Bill C-274, an act to amend the Patent Act.

Mr. Speaker, it is a pleasure to rise today to introduce a bill to amend the Patent Act to protect Canadian consumers and our health care system. It would effectively provide stable ground rules so that generic drugs could enter the market in a reasonable time. It would end a practice that has cost Canadians millions of dollars and has prevented drugs from getting to people who need them, whether they be seniors or sick Canadians.

I am proud to introduce this bill because it will keep our health care system a publicly funded structured.

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

Criminal Code

[Dick Harris, Conservative, Cariboo—Prince George, BC]

moved for leave to introduce Bill C-275, an act to amend the Criminal Code (failure to stop at scene of accident).

Mr. Speaker, this bill is a result of an incident on January 6, 2003, when 13-year-old Carley Regan lost her life at the hands of a driver who failed to stop his truck after he hit her with the vehicle. The driver received a sentence of 18 months in prison which was reduced to 14 months to time served. He was later released after serving only 10 months of his sentence.

Rarely, if ever, do perpetrators of hit and run causing bodily harm or death receive more than two years in prison, but the families who lost loved ones suffer for the rest of their lives. This is not acceptable to these victims and their families.

Therefore, my bill would eliminate plea bargaining for hit and run charges, it would introduce a minimum sentence and it would equate hit and run causing death to murder and hit and run causing injury to manslaughter.

My colleague, the hon. member for Abbotsford, has been very active on this issue for a number of years and is co-sponsoring this bill.

We ask that Parliament would seriously consider supporting victims of hit and run by voting in favour of the bill, which we are calling Carley's law. A message needs to be sent that it is unacceptable to evade responsibilities by failing to stop at the scene of an accident.

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

Access to Information Act

[Jeremy Harrison, Conservative, Churchill River, SK]

moved for leave to introduce Bill C-276, an act to amend the Access to Information Act (Crown corporations and Canadian Wheat Board).

Mr. Speaker, it is my great honour today to rise and introduce a bill which would make all crown corporations and the Canadian Wheat Board subject to the Access to Information Act, a reform I think is long overdue.

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

The Auditor General Act

[Benoît Sauvageau, Bloc, Repentigny, QC]

moved for leave to introduce Bill C-277, An Act to amend the Auditor General Act (audit of accounts).

Mr. Speaker, it is a pleasure for me to introduce a bill to amend the Auditor General Act. This bill will allow the Auditor General to audit the accounts of the foundations created by the government, particularly those created since 1997, and of the other crown corporations where right now the Auditor General cannot examine the administration of the federal government funds.

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

Chinese Canadian Recognition and Redress Act

[Bev Oda, Conservative, Clarington—Scugog—Uxbridge, ON]

moved for leave to introduce Bill C-333, an act to recognize the injustices done to Chinese immigrants by head taxes and exclusion legislation, to provide for recognition of the extraordinary contribution they made to Canada, to provide for redress and to promote education on Chinese Canadian history and racial harmony.

Mr. Speaker, it is an honour for me to rise today to introduce this bill, the Chinese-Canadian recognition and redress act. I am pleased to join the member for Dauphin—Swan River—Marquette in his efforts to further this important cause.

A historical injustice was done to Chinese immigrants. Head tax and exclusion legislation was a racially based, unfair burden on an entire community. Governments should be held accountable for their actions, both positive and negative.

As a Japanese-Canadian, I remember the efforts of my father and the Japanese community to achieve the Japanese-Canadian redress agreement in the 1980s. I would not be fulfilling my father's legacy if I did not demand the same redress for the Chinese-Canadian community.

I recognize the significance this bill would have within the Chinese-Canadian community. It would allow Canada to truly move ahead with pride in its declaration as a truly multicultural country.

I ask all members in the House to join me in support of this important bill. I would also seek the unanimous consent of the House to have this bill designated Bill C-333.

[The Speaker]

Is there unanimous consent that the bill be numbered Bill C-333?

[Some hon. members]

Agreed.

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

Employment Insurance Act

[Paule Brunelle, Bloc, Trois-Rivières, QC]

moved for leave to introduce C-278, An Act to amend the Employment Insurance Act (improvement of the employment insurance system).

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to introduce, seconded by my colleague from Chambly—Borduas, Bill C-278, an act to amend the Employment Insurance Act (improvement of the employment insurance system).

Through this bill, I would like to change the law to make it a fair instrument to help all workers faced with the hardships of unemployment. We all know that the present EI plan has reduced access to benefits for an ever greater number of workers.

The reduction in the length of the benefit period and in the rate of benefits has contributed to making low and medium income wage earners poorer. We have to recognize that women and the young are those most affected by the restrictions in the Employment Insurance Act.

The intent behind this bill is to give the term “insurance” its broadest meaning for those who lose their job. I urge all members to support this bill.

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

Canadian Bill of Rights

[Scott Reid, Conservative, Lanark—Frontenac—Lennox and Addington, ON]

moved for leave to introduce Bill C-279, an act to amend the Canadian Bill of Rights (protection for property rights).

Mr. Speaker, this is an amendment to the Canadian Bill of Rights of 1960, the so-called Diefenbaker bill of rights, which, although it has been supplemented by the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, has not been supplanted. It remains on our books and remains a piece of legislation that governs and indeed overrides all federal pieces of legislation that do not specifically say that they will override the Bill of Rights.

This legislation is intended to ensure that no person will be deprived of the use or enjoyment of property without full, just and timely compensation.

The example of such restrictions without compensation on property rights are legion, particularly in rural Canada where governments, both federal and provincial, regularly impose restrictions and regulations that result in the de facto loss of all or most of the value of property that may be the only source of wealth or income to people involved with such humble lines of work as being farmers or campground owners. It imposes restrictions as well on community halls. It is in fact a real burden upon rural communities.

Federal examples of this kind of legislation in which restrictions are placed without compensation include the Species at Risk Act, which seeks to impose a noble policy goal, but does so by imposing the costs upon rural landowners. This is unfair and has resulted, along with provincial homologues, in the loss of property by people who are in a number of areas of rural Canada, including my own constituency.

This legislation would prevent this from taking place and would ensure that property rights of rural Canadians, and indeed all Canadians, are properly respected.

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

Employment Insurance Act

[Gérard Asselin, Bloc, Manicouagan, QC]

moved for leave to introduce Bill C-280, An Act to amend the Employment Insurance Act (setting premium rate to control surplus in Employment Insurance Account).

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to table today in this Chamber a bill to amend the current Employment Insurance Act. This bill, of course, is supported by the member for Chambly—Borduas, as well as by all my colleagues of the Bloc Québécois.

The adoption of this bill would result in the creation and management of an independent fund. We know that, with the new reform of the Employment Insurance fund implemented in 1996, seasonal workers in the ridings of Charlevoix and Manicouagan, have an increasingly difficult time qualifying for employment insurance. People have fewer and fewer weeks.

In the meantime, the federal government has been raking in surpluses. According to figures from the Auditor General, the federal government has amassed $45 billion.

This bill will have the fund administered by those who contribute to it, in other words, employers and employees, by setting the levels of premiums, ensuring sound management of the scheme and reporting to the Chamber.

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