Debates of April 30th, 2004

Softwood Lumber

[Stephen Owen, Liberal, Minister of Public Works and Government Services]

Mr. Speaker, the ruling of the NAFTA panel that the hon. member refers to does give the International Trade Commission of the United States 21 days to respond and to ensure that they are acting within their own laws of the United States, which the panel found that they had infringed.

The government will continue its two track process of rigorously litigating before both WTO panels and NAFTA panels to ensure that the success we are seeing is continued, but also to continue to negotiate in concert with the industry and the provinces of this country.

[The Speaker]

The hon. member for Kamouraska—Rivière-du-Loup—Témiscouata—Les Basques on a point of order.

[Paul Crête, Bloc, Kamouraska—Rivière-Du-Loup—Témiscouata—Les Basques, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I seek unanimous consent to have the following motion passed:

That, in the opinion of this House, the government should bring forward, before the dissolution of the House, a reform of the employment insurance plan to implement the 17 recommendations contained in the unanimous report of the Standing Committee on Human Resources Development and the Status of Persons with Disabilities, entitled “Beyond Bill C-2: a Review of Other Proposals to Reform Employment Insurance”.

Do I have unanimous consent?

[The Speaker]

Does the hon. member for Kamouraska—Rivière-du-Loup—Témiscouata—Les Basques have unanimous consent?

[Some hon. members]

Agreed.

[Some hon. members]

No.

Office of the Privacy Commissioner

[Reg Alcock, Liberal, President of the Treasury Board and Minister responsible for the Canadian Wheat Board]

Mr. Speaker, I have the honour to table, in both official languages, the final report to Parliament on actions arising from the Auditor General's report on the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada.

Order in Council Appointments

[Sue Barnes, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada]

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to table, in both official languages, a number of order in council appointments made recently by the government.

Government Response to Petitions

[Sue Barnes, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada]

Mr. Speaker, pursuant to Standing Order 36(8) I have the honour to table, in both official languages, the government's response to 13 petitions.

Fisheries Act

[Denis Coderre, Liberal, for the Minister of Fisheries and Oceans]

moved for leave to introduce Bill C-33, an act to amend the Fisheries Act.

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

Petitions

[Jay Hill, Canadian Alliance, Prince George—Peace River, BC]

Mr. Speaker, it is my honour and privilege today to present five petitions to the House.

The first three petitions concern the issue of substandard housing on our nation's military bases, and are signed by hundreds of Canadians from across Canada. They come from communities like Rossland, B.C., Canmore and Coleman, Alberta, North Battleford, Saskatchewan, Ste. Anne and Carman, Manitoba, St. Catharines, Cochrane, Windsor and Simcoe, Ontario, Kensington, P.E.I. and Springdale, Newfoundland.

They call upon Parliament to rein in the Canadian Forces Housing Agency by preventing any future rent increases, at least until improvements are made to bring substandard housing up to acceptable living conditions.

[Jay Hill, Canadian Alliance, Prince George—Peace River, BC]

Mr. Speaker, the next petition I am pleased to present today is on behalf of hundreds of citizens from the province of Saskatchewan. These concerned Canadians call upon Parliament to pass legislation that reconfirms the traditional definition of marriage as the lifelong union of one man and one woman to the exclusion of all others.

[Jay Hill, Canadian Alliance, Prince George—Peace River, BC]

Mr. Speaker, the final petition I have the pleasure to present today is from constituents from my riding of Prince George—Peace River, citizens from Fort St. John, Charlie Lake, Baldonnel, Buick and other rural communities.

The petitioners are deeply concerned that with the passage of Bill C-250, which adds sexual orientation as an explicitly protected category under sections 318 and 319 of the Criminal Code of Canada, this could impinge upon moral and religious doctrines regarding homosexuality. Therefore, they call upon Parliament to protect the rights of Canadians to be free to share their religious beliefs with no fear of prosecution.

[Serge Marcil, Liberal, Beauharnois—Salaberry, QC]

Mr. Speaker, on behalf of the hon. member for Victoria, I have the privilege to present a petition concerning the legal definition of marriage.

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

Mr. Speaker, I have 10 petitions, all on the same subject. They are on the traditional definition of marriage. These petitions come from across the country, many from my own riding from the city of Nanaimo. Others come from across B.C., Manitoba and Toronto. Some come from New Brunswick and some from Quebec: Sainte-Anne-du-Lac, Charlesbourg, Prince Édouard, Montreal, Gatineau, and even from francophone communities in St. Boniface and St-Norbert in Manitoba.

They are all calling on the government to preserve the traditional definition of marriage. They claim that elected members of Parliament should decide the marriage issue, not appointed judges. They call upon Parliament to take all necessary steps to preserve marriage as the union of one man and one woman to the exclusion of all others.

Points of Order

[Stephen Owen, Liberal, Minister of Public Works and Government Services]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to clarify the answer I provided in question period today with respect to the Earnscliffe contracts with the government.

I was under the impression and had been advised that there was a question on the Order Paper with respect to those contracts. In fact the question on the Order Paper was with respect to Question No. 49. We will be taking action to provide and ensure that the information is available to the hon. members on Earnscliffe.

In response to some of the statements made today, yes, information is available, which is not on the website, through the 1-800 line and other ways of inquiry, including access to information. That information can and will be made available.

[Jay Hill, Canadian Alliance, Prince George—Peace River, BC]

Mr. Speaker, that has happened two days in a row. While I appreciate the comments made by the hon. minister, it is incumbent upon ministers, when they rise in question period to provide information to the House and by extension to all Canadians, to ensure the accuracy of their statements.

This is twice in two days that we have heard this type of apology.

[The Deputy Speaker]

Basically, I keep going to and fro. Obviously, the House is getting itself into a debate. Clarification has been made by the minister. I have heard what was probably not a point of order either on either side of the House. However, I would like to put that matter to rest for the time being. The House will now continue with business.

[Ken Epp, Canadian Alliance, Elk Island, AB]

Point of order, Mr. Speaker.

[The Deputy Speaker]

I want to be clear. I will not continue to hear any other points of order related to the point of order that was raised by the minister, responded to by another member, a colleague of the member who is now rising from the official opposition.

Questions Passed as Orders for Returns

[Sue Barnes, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada]

Mr. Speaker, if Question No. 60, supplementary, could be made an order for return, the return would be tabled immediately.

[The Deputy Speaker]

Is that agreed?

[Some hon. members]

Agreed.

Question No. 60

[Gerald Keddy, Progressive Conservative, South Shore, NS]

In regard to climate change: ( a ) besides Environment Canada, what other federal government departments have climate action programs and at what annual cost are they funded; ( b ) is funding for these programs by journal-voucher from Environment Canada or is it part of departmental operating funds; ( c ) why did the federal government stop funding the joint project “National Museum of Natural Sciences Project on Climatic Change in Canada During the Past 20,000 Years”; ( d ) what happened to the plan to set up weather data archives in Downsview, including a national registry of tree ring and other proxy data; ( e ) which non-governmental climate scientists, and exactly when, have Environment Canada sponsored to send to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change or any other climate conference; ( f ) what fully refereed scientific papers have Henry Hengeveld and David Philips had published in peer-reviewed scientific literature; ( g ) when were they published; ( h ) what groups and individuals were given financial assistance, by Environment Canada or any other department, agency or Crown corporation, including funds for research, staffing, travel, meals (including alcoholic beverages) and accommodation to attend or present at the cross-Canada climate change secretariat stakeholder consultations held in the fall of 2002; ( i ) what groups and individuals were given financial assistance by Environment Canada or any other department, agency or Crown corporation, including funds for research, staffing, travel, meals (including alcoholic beverages) and accommodation to attend or present before the House of Commons Standing Committee on the Environment and Sustainable Development during the past five years; ( j ) which scientists have presented climate science-related testimony before the House of Commons Standing Committee on the Environment and Sustainable Development during the past five years; ( k ) when have environmental lobby group members, including David Suzuki, met with the Prime Minister or any members of his cabinet since 1993; and ( l ) which non-governmental climate scientists have met with the Prime Minister or any members of his cabinet since 1993?

Return tabled.

[Sue Barnes, Liberal, London West, ON]

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