House of Commons Hansard #149 of the 38th Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament's site.) The word of the day was liberal.
Presence in GalleryOral Questions
The Speaker
I would like to draw the attention of hon. members to the presence in the gallery of the hon. Olayuk Akesuk, Minister of Sustainable Development for the Nunavut government.
Mauril Bélanger LiberalMinister for Internal Trade
Mr. Speaker, pursuant to Standing Order 83(1), I wish on behalf of the Minister of Finance to table a Notice of Ways and Means Motion to implement certain income tax reductions. I ask that an order of the day be designated for consideration of this motion.
Dominic LeBlanc LiberalParliamentary Secretary to the Leader of the Government in the House of Commons
Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to table, in both official languages, a number of order in council appointments recently made by the government.
Dominic LeBlanc LiberalParliamentary Secretary to the Leader of the Government in the House of Commons
Mr. Speaker, I am very pleased to table the government's response to 38 petitions.
Bill Graham Liberalfor the Minister of Industry
moved for leave to introduce Bill C-73, An Act to amend the Telecommunications Act (No. 2).
(Motions deemed adopted, bill read the first time and printed)
John Maloney Liberal Welland, ON
Mr. Speaker, I have the honour to present, in both official languages, the 16th report of the Standing Committee on Justice, Human Rights, Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness.
In accordance with its order of reference of Monday, November 15, 2004, your committee has considered Bill C-16, An Act to Amend the Criminal Code (impaired driving) and agreed on Thursday, November 3, 2005 to report it with amendments.
Monique Guay Bloc Rivière-du-Nord, QC
moved for leave to introduce Bill C-440, An Act respecting the use of government contracts to promote economic development.
Mr. Speaker, the Canadian government buys goods and services worth somewhere between $40 billion and $50 billion a year. It is therefore the largest buyer in Canada.
This bill calls on the government to give preference to Canada. Over $3 billion in contracts and purchases are awarded and made abroad. In this bill, we are calling on the government to favour Quebec and Canadian companies over foreign companies. This would also ensure the survival of many companies that had to close their doors after losing their government contracts—there are many small companies in Quebec.
This bill promotes greater equity in the purchases made in the different provinces. The federal government currently makes two thirds of its purchases in Ontario. That said, we would reduce that to 50% and divide the other 50% among the western provinces and Quebec.
(Motions deemed adopted and bill read the first time and printed)
Peter Stoffer NDP Sackville—Eastern Shore, NS
moved for leave to introduce Bill C-441, An Act to amend the Canadian Forces Superannuation Act and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police Superannuation Act (elimination of deduction from annuity).
Mr. Speaker, this bill would stop the clawback when military and RCMP members reach the age of 65. When they reach age 65 the amount they receive from CPP is immediately clawed back from their Canadian Forces or RCMP pension. As well, for those who become disabled and have to leave the RCMP or military early, their Canada pension plan disability or any disability payments at that time are immediately clawed back whatever their age from their Canadian Forces or RCMP pension.
We hope to change that and allow those brave men and women who have served our country so gallantly to keep the money they so rightfully deserve.
(Motions deemed adopted, bill read the first time and printed)
Bev Desjarlais Independent Churchill, MB
moved for leave to introduce Bill C-442, An Act to amend the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act (additional claims).
Mr. Speaker, as many are aware, there is an injustice that takes place with workers in the event that a company goes bankrupt. Often a fair amount of their pay is not paid out as a result of the bankruptcy. This bill would ensure that severance or termination pay arising under a collective agreement or legislation, benefits and other payments, including payments required to eliminate any unfunded liabilities of pension plans that provide benefits to workers, as well as commissions and compensation owed to contract workers get paid.
(Motions deemed adopted, bill read the first time and printed)
Loyola Hearn Conservative St. John's South, NL
moved for leave to introduce Bill C-443, An Act to amend the Parliament of Canada Act and the Canada Elections Act.
Mr. Speaker, this bill would require the holding of a byelection within 90 days of a vacancy occurring in the membership of the House of Commons through a resignation or the death of a member.
Section 3 of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms guarantees that every citizen of Canada has the right to vote in the election of members of the House of Commons. That right, however, can be held in abeyance by the Prime Minister's ability to delay calling a byelection for as long as a year. Many thousands of Canadians are thus left with no representation in Parliament. This bill would put the democratic right of Canadians ahead of prime ministerial game playing.
(Motions deemed adopted, bill read the first time and printed)
Navdeep Bains Liberal Mississauga—Brampton South, ON
Mr. Speaker, I would like to table a petition which is signed by many of the seniors in my riding. The petitioners ask the government to designate legislation that would give all Canadian seniors equitable treatment toward the distribution of the old age security pension.
John Williams Conservative Edmonton—St. Albert, AB
Mr. Speaker, I have two petitions to present today.
The first petition calls upon Parliament to provide Canadians with greater access to non-drug preventive and medicinal options, as well as information about these options, and to sanction the personal choice of Canadians by clarifying the currently vague definitions of “food” and “drugs” in the outdated legislation.
John Williams Conservative Edmonton—St. Albert, AB
Mr. Speaker, this petition from my constituents in and around Edmonton calls upon Parliament to pass legislation to recognize the institution of marriage in federal law as being the lifelong union of one man and one woman to the exclusion of all others.
Joy Smith Conservative Kildonan—St. Paul, MB
Mr. Speaker, I would like to ask for unanimous consent of the House to table petitions from teachers, superintendents and principals across our nation who ask for an educational amendment to be put in Bill C-60, the copyright law.
PetitionsRoutine Proceedings
The Speaker
Does the hon. member for Kildonan—St. Paul have the unanimous consent of the House to table the petitions?
Joy Smith Conservative Kildonan—St. Paul, MB
Mr. Speaker, I thank members of the House for allowing this to happen. It is very important that an educational amendment be put in the copyright law, Bill C-60, because it will free teachers and students from the burden of paying for otherwise free material that they download right now.
Rob Nicholson Conservative Niagara Falls, ON
Mr. Speaker, I have several petitions from Ridgeway, Fort Erie, Stevensville, Port Colborne, Dunnville, Crystal Beach, St. Davids, Niagara-on-the-Lake, Lowbanks and Niagara Falls.
The petitioners state that because the government has acted without consulting the fishing industry and without relying on credible science and that the actions of the government will put an end to recreational fishing, as we know it, they petition Parliament to use all possible legislative and administrative measures to stop the prohibition on the importation, manufacture and sale of lead sinkers and jigs used in fishing.
Jay Hill Conservative Prince George—Peace River, BC
Mr. Speaker, it is a pleasure for me to rise again, as I have endeavoured to do all fall in this session of Parliament, to present petitions on an issue of great importance to citizens from coast to coast. This petition is signed by citizens from Toronto, Mississauga, Scarborough, Welland, Port Colborne, Paris and other towns and cities in the great province of Ontario.
The petitioners would like to draw the attention of the House to the fact that on average about 2,000 children are adopted from foreign countries and brought to Canada, yet they do not receive automatic citizenship.
Therefore, the petitioners call upon Parliament to immediately enact legislation to grant automatic citizenship to those minors adopted from other countries by Canadian citizens with the citizenship being immediately granted upon the finalization of the adoption.
I need not remind members again that the Minister of Citizenship and Immigration has committed to doing this. We are in mid-November and we still do not have the legislation to do it. I call upon him, on behalf of these citizens and many others, to bring that forward post-haste.
Dominic LeBlanc LiberalParliamentary Secretary to the Leader of the Government in the House of Commons
Mr. Speaker, the following questions will be answered today: Nos. 183, 187, 189, 191, 201 and 209.
Scott Reid Conservative Lanark—Frontenac—Lennox and Addington, ON
With regard to contracted employment, in the years 2002, 2003, 2004 and 2005, for current and former members of the Press Gallery who are not camera operators, sound technicians or primarily employed to report for a foreign media source or for a media outlet that reports in a non-official language, and for whom any corroborating information as to the person’s identity, such as date of birth or location of birth, current home address or mailing address, telephone number or e-mail address is available; which members and former members were paid by the government, and for each: ( a ) what types of service were provided and to which departments, agencies, and Crown Corporations were they provided; ( b ) for what period did the individuals in question serve in the relevant capacity; and ( c ) what was the cost for the services provided?
Dominic LeBlanc LiberalParliamentary Secretary to the Leader of the Government in the House of Commons
Mr. Speaker, given the complexity of the question, the government has been in contact with the MP for Lanark--Frontenac--Lennox and Addington to seek clarification on the question. Since the Privacy Act imposes strict limits on the purposes for which a department may collect, retain, or disclose information, the government is reviewing in depth the legal implications of the question. However, the government hopes to be in a position shortly to table a supplementary response.
Jay Hill Conservative Prince George—Peace River, BC
What steps has the government taken to give effect to a motion adopted by the House on April 20, 2005, that sought compensation from the government for all victims of Hepatitis C; if no action has been taken, what explanation can the government give to justify its decision?
Ujjal Dosanjh LiberalMinister of Health
Mr. Speaker, on November 22, 2004, the Minister of Health announced the government’s intention to enter into discussions about options to provide compensation to those infected pre-1986 and post-1990. The government entered into discussions because it was the right and responsible thing to do.
The government voted in favour of the motion before the House of Commons concerning hepatitis C compensation for those infected pre-1986/post-1990, because the principle of the motion supported the actions we have taken and allowed us to reaffirm our commitment of November 22, 2004.
Discussions with legal counsel representing those infected began immediately after the Minister of Health’s November announcement, and are ongoing. The parties have held a number of discussions in the months before the motion was adopted by the House of Commons and since.
It must be understood that compensation can only be made once the necessary medical information about those infected is available and the discussions between all parties have concluded.
As part of gathering this necessary medical information, we anticipate that class counsel for the pre-1986/post-1990 class will send a letter before year’s end to the pre-1986/post-1990 class. The letter seeks consent to obtain medical information from the pre-1986/post-1990 class in an effort to gather information needed to move discussions forward. The letter demonstrates that all parties involved are committed to dealing with this issue as quickly as possible.
We are working as quickly as possible to reach a successful conclusion that takes into account the actual and legal circumstances of the claimants. The negotiations are addressing these issues and all parties continue to work together in good faith to provide the necessary information upon which to base a compensation framework.