House of Commons Hansard #132 of the 38th Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament's site.) The word of the day was bankruptcy.

Topics

Aboriginal AffairsOral Question Period

3 p.m.

Winnipeg South Manitoba

Liberal

Reg Alcock LiberalPresident of the Treasury Board and Minister responsible for the Canadian Wheat Board

Mr. Speaker, perhaps the member should have listened to the answer to the first question before he asked the second one because I said, and I will say it again, that I will be reporting that information in Canada's performance report as I committed to do and which I will be tabling before the House shortly.

Textile IndustryOral Question Period

3 p.m.

Liberal

Don Boudria Liberal Glengarry—Prescott—Russell, ON

Mr. Speaker, the textile industry, particularly in eastern Ontario and Quebec, has been hard hit by the increasing presence on Canadian markets of textiles from other countries. The industry is calling for a program to lower tariffs on clothing manufactured abroad with Canadian textiles.

Does the government intend to announce such a program in the near future?

Textile IndustryOral Question Period

3 p.m.

Wascana Saskatchewan

Liberal

Ralph Goodale LiberalMinister of Finance

Mr. Speaker, this proposal has important implications for both the textile and clothing industry. My office has been meeting for months now, indeed since March, with representatives of both sectors and we have encouraged them to work together on a proposal they both can jointly support.

The government is committed to looking at that proposal as expeditiously as possible and I am happy to see support for the idea in the House. Even the BQ has finally awakened to the notion of such a proposal, which Liberal members have been examining with the industry for over seven months.

Softwood LumberOral Question Period

3:05 p.m.

Conservative

Brian Fitzpatrick Conservative Prince Albert, SK

Mr. Speaker, Weyerhaeuser is one of Saskatchewan's largest employers. Yesterday, Weyerhaeuser announced that it will be closing the paper mill in Prince Albert. Six hundred and ninety jobs will be lost directly and thousands will be out of work indirectly.

Prince Albert now joins a long list of communities that have been devastated by the softwood lumber dispute. The Prime Minister is failing forestry communities across the country.

Why is the Prime Minister ignoring a crisis that is destroying literally hundreds of Canadian communities and now is hitting the city of Prince Albert?

Softwood LumberOral Question Period

3:05 p.m.

Vancouver Kingsway B.C.

Liberal

David Emerson LiberalMinister of Industry

Mr. Speaker, the Weyerhaeuser mill in Saskatchewan is not actually involved in the softwood lumber business. It is a pulp and paper mill. The pulp and paper business is going through dramatic transformation and change throughout North America. Weyerhaeuser has indicated that it does not fit into their plans. However I think there is still an opportunity for that mill to be acquired by another operator and for those jobs to be saved.

Softwood LumberOral Question Period

3:05 p.m.

Conservative

Brian Fitzpatrick Conservative Prince Albert, SK

Mr. Speaker, that answer underscores the government's inability to stand up for Canadian communities that are under stress.

I ask the finance minister, who has trouble standing up for communities once in a while too, why he is not introducing the promised tax cuts so large employers, like Weyerhaeuser, can be competitive in a globally competitive market. Is he afraid that he will lose the support of the man sitting in the far corner over there, the leader of the NDP?

Softwood LumberOral Question Period

3:05 p.m.

Wascana Saskatchewan

Liberal

Ralph Goodale LiberalMinister of Finance

Mr. Speaker, the Government of Canada intends to pursue a broad range of policies, including sound fiscal responsibility and competitive taxation, to ensure that Canadian businesses succeed.

I can assure the hon. gentleman and the people of Prince Albert that the provincial government has been in touch with the Government of Canada, as has the company, and we will be examining every possibility by which there can be a viable solution found for Prince Albert and for this particular plant.

HealthOral Question Period

3:05 p.m.

Bloc

Nicole Demers Bloc Laval, QC

Mr. Speaker, Health Canada has admitted approving 10,000 applications for silicone-gel breast implants in the past two years under the special access program, which is intended only for individuals suffering from serious or life-threatening illnesses.

How can the Minister of Health justify using this program related to serious or life-threatening illnesses in order to approve such a significant number of applications for breast implants, without first conducting any major studies as to their safety?

HealthOral Question Period

3:05 p.m.

Vancouver South B.C.

Liberal

Ujjal Dosanjh LiberalMinister of Health

Mr. Speaker, there is a special access program on this very issue and there are hearings currently under way. Health Canada has regulated this issue in the past. The hearings are taking place right now and, for the first time in its history, those hearings have been thrown open to the public.

Annotated Standing Orders of the House of CommonsOral Question Period

3:05 p.m.

The Speaker

Order, please. I have the honour to table, in both official languages, the second edition of the Annotated Standing Orders of the House of Commons.

The first edition of this work was published 16 years ago. Over the last three years, under the guidance of Clerk Bill Corbett and Deputy Clerk Audrey O'Brien, our staff has been working to update the Annotated Standing Orders by incorporating significant developments in practice, as well as key precedents, Speaker's rulings and changes to the Standing Orders.

This guide to House procedure provides comprehensive and precise consideration of the written rules. Each standing order is accompanied by a brief explanation of its current interpretation, followed by a historical overview of any major changes made to it since the Standing Orders were adopted.

I know all hon. members will want to join me in thanking the procedural staff for this reference work which will be extremely valuable to the House of Commons.

I invite all hon. members to a reception to be held following routine proceedings today in room 216 to celebrate the launching of the second edition of the Annotated Standing Orders.

Committees of the HouseRoutine Proceedings

3:10 p.m.

Liberal

John Maloney Liberal Welland, ON

Mr. Speaker, I have the honour to present, in both official languages, the 13th report of the Standing Committee on Justice, Human Rights, Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness.

In accordance with its order of reference of Tuesday, September 27, 2005 the committee has considered Bill C-49, an act to amend the Criminal Code (trafficking in persons) and agreed on Tuesday, October 4, 2005 to report it with amendments.

Committees of the HouseRoutine Proceedings

3:10 p.m.

Conservative

John Williams Conservative Edmonton—St. Albert, AB

Mr. Speaker, I have the honour to present the 20th report of the Standing Committee on Public Accounts concerning Bill C-277, an act to amend the Auditor General's Act (audit of accounts). Mr. Speaker, your committee recommends that the House of Commons not proceed further with the bill as Bill C-43 achieves goals similar to those proposed in Bill C-277.

Committees of the HouseRoutine Proceedings

3:10 p.m.

Liberal

Marlene Catterall Liberal Ottawa West—Nepean, ON

Mr. Speaker, I have the honour to present, in both official languages, the 13th report of the Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage with respect to the certificate of nomination of Guy Fournier, to the position of chairperson of the board of directors of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation.

Controlled Drugs and Substances ActRoutine Proceedings

3:10 p.m.

Liberal

Brenda Chamberlain Liberal Guelph, ON

moved for leave to introduce Bill C-426, An Act to amend the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act (growing or producing cannabis).

Mr. Speaker, I wish to thank my colleague, the member for Sarnia—Lambton, who has helped me with the bill.

I am pleased to rise in the House today to introduce a bill which seeks to amend the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act, something which I believe needs to be amended.

In my community, like in many others in Canada, there is an alarming growth in the number of large scale marijuana grow operations. While law enforcement officials are putting every effort into eliminating these operations to catch the individuals involved, they have expressed a great dismay to me that the courts do not seem to be giving these criminals adequate sentencing.

The purpose of the bill is to provide real sentences and real punishment for those convicted of growing or producing cannabis. It would provide a minimum sentence of imprisonment, along with a minimum fine for first time offenders, and greater punishment for repeat offenders.

I am introducing this bill because it is past time to get tough on these large scale grow ops. I believe that this bill would do just that, and I look to all of my colleagues to support this legislation.

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

PetitionsRoutine Proceedings

3:15 p.m.

Liberal

Ken Boshcoff Liberal Thunder Bay—Rainy River, ON

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to present a petition from the good people of Mine Centre. The community is located between Fort Frances and Atikokan.

The petitioners are asking Parliament to amend the Canada Health Act to include as medically necessary therapy for children suffering from autism. In addition, they ask for academic chairs to be created at universities in each province to teach the treatment for autism.

I respectfully submit this petition to the clerk.

PetitionsRoutine Proceedings

3:15 p.m.

Conservative

Jay Hill Conservative Prince George—Peace River, BC

Madam Speaker, it is indeed a pleasure for me to present yet another petition. I have been rising ever since the House came back this fall at every opportunity to present petitions on behalf of the citizens of Canada.

These petitioners are from Port Colborne, Welland, Niagara Falls and Cambridge, Ontario. They note that on average about 2,000 children are adopted from other countries and are brought to Canada by Canadian families each year. Unlike other countries, like the United States of America and Great Britain, where these new citizens are indeed granted automatic citizenship upon the adoption finalization, these new Canadians, as it were, are not granted that same privilege here in Canada.

Therefore, these petitioners call upon Parliament to immediately enact legislation to grant automatic citizenship to those minors adopted from other countries by Canadian citizens with this citizenship being immediately granted upon the finalization of their adoption.

PetitionsRoutine Proceedings

3:15 p.m.

Conservative

Pierre Poilievre Conservative Nepean—Carleton, ON

Madam Speaker, I rise today with honour to introduce petitions on behalf of constituents in my riding who wish to see the government finally show some leadership in seeking a national framework that would see autism treatment covered by health insurance as part of an overall universal health care system.

The government has deliberately excluded families, who have children with autism, from health coverage, and as a result middle class families are stuck with $40,000 health bills year after year. Members across the way do nothing about it.

Today I proudly introduce a petition calling for some action and calling for some fairness.

PetitionsRoutine Proceedings

3:15 p.m.

Liberal

Brenda Chamberlain Liberal Guelph, ON

Madam Speaker, I rise in the House today to present three petitions signed by members of my community and Canadians across Canada.

The first petition has over 160 signatures and it calls for section 83 of the Criminal Code to be expanded to offer additional exemptions for all martial arts and all martial arts contests sanctioned by the relevant provincial athletic board or commission. A number of individuals involved in martial arts in my community have personally expressed to me the importance of such a change.

PetitionsRoutine Proceedings

3:15 p.m.

Liberal

Brenda Chamberlain Liberal Guelph, ON

Madam Speaker, the second petition I wish to present has over 125 signatures and is with regard to parental sponsorship applications. The petitioners call upon Parliament to ensure that current immigration application backlogs are cleared up, that immigration processing times are reduced, and that reasonable timelines for processing these applications be established.

PetitionsRoutine Proceedings

3:15 p.m.

Liberal

Brenda Chamberlain Liberal Guelph, ON

Madam Speaker, the third petition I am presenting today has 800 signatures. The petitioners call upon Parliament to take steps to further protect Canadian children by strengthening Canada's laws on pornography.

PetitionsRoutine Proceedings

3:15 p.m.

Conservative

Tom Lukiwski Conservative Regina—Lumsden—Lake Centre, SK

Madam Speaker, I proudly rise today to present two petitions from several Saskatchewan communities including Tugaske, Central Butte, Aylesbury and the fine community of Craik. Residents of these communities are extremely concerned about the potential closure of rural post offices.

These petitions have been signed by several hundred residents of those communities. They are encouraging and urging the government to retain its current moratorium on rural post office closures.

PetitionsRoutine Proceedings

3:15 p.m.

Conservative

Greg Thompson Conservative St. Croix—Belleisle, NB

Madam Speaker, plans are underway to build a liquid natural gas terminal on the U.S. side of Passamoquoddy Bay. This site can only be accessed by tankers passing through internal Canadian waters, namely, Head Harbour Passage. The petitioners demand that the Government of Canada say no to the transport of LNG tankers through Head Harbour Passage as it did 30 years ago to protect our environment, our citizens and our economy.

PetitionsRoutine Proceedings

3:20 p.m.

Liberal

Don Boudria Liberal Glengarry—Prescott—Russell, ON

Madam Speaker, I am pleased to present a petition from a group of constituents from my riding. It deals with the same issue raised earlier by the member for Guelph regarding amendments to section 83 of the Criminal Code of Canada to provide for an exemption for martial arts sanctioned by provincial boards.

PetitionsRoutine Proceedings

3:20 p.m.

Liberal

Don Boudria Liberal Glengarry—Prescott—Russell, ON

Madam Speaker, I have another petition signed by many Canadians. The petitioners ask that the Canada Health Act and corresponding regulations be amended to include IBI therapy for children with autism spectrum disorders.

PetitionsRoutine Proceedings

3:20 p.m.

Conservative

Mark Warawa Conservative Langley, BC

Madam Speaker, I rise today to present a petition from residents in my riding of Langley.

The petitioners state that fuel and gas prices have reached all-time highs, that the charging of GST on the federal excise tax and other taxes is double taxation, that every cent of increase in fuel generates an extra $40 million of revenue for the federal government, and that these high prices on oil and fuel have a negative effect on our economy, businesses, and low and fixed income families. The petitioners ask the government to stop taxing the tax.