House of Commons Hansard #48 of the 38th Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament's site.) The word of the day was saskatchewan.

Topics

TaxationOral Question Period

3:05 p.m.

The Speaker

I could not hear what the member said and we will deal with that after question period. The minister may wish to respond to whatever question may have been asked. I could not hear one. Perhaps the minister would care to respond and we will deal with the other matter in a minute.

TaxationOral Question Period

3:05 p.m.

Markham—Unionville Ontario

Liberal

John McCallum LiberalMinister of National Revenue

Mr. Speaker, the general point is that the integrity of the tax system requires that each and every taxpayer be treated in a manner that is fair in comparison with other Canadians. In this particular case, on an individual basis, arrangements will be made that are both fair and within the law.

Gas TaxOral Question Period

3:05 p.m.

Bloc

Mario Laframboise Bloc Argenteuil—Mirabel, QC

Mr. Speaker, when he disclosed details of his plan for sharing gas tax revenues, the Minister of State for Infrastructure and Communities said he wanted to respect the jurisdictions of Quebec and the provinces. But in the same breath he said that he was negotiating with Quebec the ways and means of distributing these revenues among the municipalities, even though this is an area that falls under Quebec's exclusive jurisdiction.

Will the minister, who claims to want to respect the jurisdictions of Quebec and the provinces over municipal affairs, admit that Quebec must have full, unconditional control over how gas tax revenues are used in all the municipalities in Quebec?

Gas TaxOral Question Period

3:05 p.m.

Don Valley West Ontario

Liberal

John Godfrey LiberalMinister of State (Infrastructure and Communities)

Mr. Speaker, I can confirm that we will be working closely with Quebec while at the same time respecting provincial jurisdictions. We have already been working for quite a while on tripartite infrastructure programs. We will continue to negotiate on this basis of mutual respect, while still looking together for national objectives shared by the three levels of government.

Foreign AffairsOral Question Period

3:05 p.m.

Liberal

Mario Silva Liberal Davenport, ON

Mr. Speaker, the International Commission of Inquiry on Darfur established by the United Nations Security Council to investigate violations of international human rights and humanitarian law in Darfur made its report public yesterday. It strongly recommends that the Security Council refer this matter to the International Criminal Court.

Will the Government of Canada support this important recommendation?

Foreign AffairsOral Question Period

3:05 p.m.

Papineau Québec

Liberal

Pierre Pettigrew LiberalMinister of Foreign Affairs

Mr. Speaker, Canada heartily welcomes the commission's report. As hon. members know, we determined last summer that the atrocities taking place in Sudan were clearly war crimes and crimes against humanity.

In its report, the commission recommended that the Security Council immediately refer the situation in Darfur to the International Criminal Court. We fully support this recommendation. This is concrete action to help achieve a lasting resolution to this terrible conflict.

Presence in GalleryOral Question Period

3:05 p.m.

The Speaker

I would like to draw the attention of hon. members to the presence in the gallery of the recipients of the 2005 Aboriginal Achievement awards: Lolly Annahatak, Brenda Chambers, Dr. Thomas Dignan, Sharon Firth, Judy Gingell, Eber Hampton, Joe Jacobs, Fauna Kingdon, Emma LaRocque, Gerald McMaster and John Joe Sark.

Presence in GalleryOral Question Period

3:05 p.m.

Some hon. members

Hear, hear!

Presence in GalleryOral Question Period

3:05 p.m.

The Speaker

I invite all hon. members to meet the recipients at a reception at 3:15 in Room 216-N.

Business of SupplyOral Question Period

3:05 p.m.

The Speaker

It is my duty, pursuant to Standing Order 81(14), to inform the House that the motion to be considered tomorrow during consideration of the business of supply is as follows:

That, in light of the numerous recent disasters affecting agricultural communities across Canada and the government's failure to deliver timely financial relief to struggling farmers, whether by the Canadian Agricultural Income Stabilization (CAIS) program or other programs, the House calls on the government to immediately drop the CAIS deposit requirement and honour the commitments it has already made to Canadian producers.

This motion, standing in the name of the hon. member for Haldimand—Norfolk, is votable.

Copies of the motion are available at the table.

Points of OrderOral Question Period

3:10 p.m.

Conservative

Gary Lunn Conservative Saanich—Gulf Islands, BC

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

In the heat of the moment in question period apparently I used the word “lie”. Again, I did not intend to do that, so I will withdraw it.

Certificates of NominationRoutine Proceedings

3:10 p.m.

Beauséjour New Brunswick

Liberal

Dominic LeBlanc LiberalParliamentary Secretary to the Leader of the Government in the House of Commons

Mr. Speaker, pursuant to Standing Order 110(2), I am tabling four separate certificates of nomination.

Committees of the HouseRoutine Proceedings

February 2nd, 2005 / 3:10 p.m.

Liberal

Don Boudria Liberal Glengarry—Prescott—Russell, ON

Mr. Speaker, I have the honour to present the 23rd report of the Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs, concerning the membership and associate membership of some committees.

If the House gives its consent, I intend to move concurrence in the 23rd report later this day.

Committees of the HouseRoutine Proceedings

3:10 p.m.

Conservative

Rob Nicholson Conservative Niagara Falls, ON

Mr. Speaker, there have been consultations among the parties and I believe you will find unanimous consent in the House for the following motion:

That the membership on the Standing Committee of Procedure and House Affairs be amended by replacing the name of John Reynolds with the name of Jay Hill.

Committees of the HouseRoutine Proceedings

3:10 p.m.

The Speaker

Does the chief opposition whip have the unanimous consent of the House to propose this motion?

Committees of the HouseRoutine Proceedings

3:10 p.m.

Some hon. members

Agreed.

(Motion agreed to)

Committees of the HouseRoutine Proceedings

3:15 p.m.

Liberal

Don Boudria Liberal Glengarry—Prescott—Russell, ON

Mr. Speaker, if the House gives its consent, and this as well is a change of committee membership, I would like to move that the 23rd report of the Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs presented to the House earlier this day be concurred in.

Committees of the HouseRoutine Proceedings

3:15 p.m.

The Speaker

Does the hon. member for Glengarry—Prescott—Russell have the unanimous consent of the House to propose the motion?

Committees of the HouseRoutine Proceedings

3:15 p.m.

Some hon. members

Agreed.

Committees of the HouseRoutine Proceedings

3:15 p.m.

An hon. member

No.

PetitionsRoutine Proceedings

3:15 p.m.

Liberal

Gary Carr Liberal Halton, ON

Mr. Speaker, I have a petition from constituents in my riding of Halton.

The petitioners are concerned about the proposed CN intermodal facility in their community and are in opposition to that development. Therefore the petitioners call on the government of Ontario to stop the development of the proposed CN major intermodal terminal facility in the town of Milton and surrounding area.

PetitionsRoutine Proceedings

3:15 p.m.

Bloc

Marcel Gagnon Bloc Saint-Maurice—Champlain, QC

Mr. Speaker, I have the honour to table a petition signed by 1,400 workers in my riding. They are demanding a return to the former EI economic regions, since the new regions are offering EI at an unreal rate and, as a result, the workers in my region are losing benefits.

They are also demanding that the government keep its promise to increase the number of weeks of entitlement for seasonal workers.

PetitionsRoutine Proceedings

3:15 p.m.

Conservative

Maurice Vellacott Conservative Saskatoon—Wanuskewin, SK

Mr. Speaker, it is my honour to present a petition from a number of people in my riding of Saskatoon--Wanuskewin in Saskatchewan.

The petitioners call on Parliament to support the traditional historic and sacred definition of marriage.

PetitionsRoutine Proceedings

3:15 p.m.

Bloc

Benoît Sauvageau Bloc Repentigny, QC

Mr. Speaker, it is my pleasure today to table a petition presented by the social action committee of the Cégep régional de Lanaudière in L'Assomption and in particular by Karine Picard and her colleagues. I congratulate them on their efforts and their commitment to their community.

I want to read this petition:

We the undersigned, at the Cégep régional de Lanaudière, want to heighten the government's awareness of gulf war syndrome and we hope that the Canadian government will recognize the seriousness of permanent after-effects suffered by some members of the Canadian armed forces who took part in the 1991 gulf war.

It is my pleasure to table this petition in the House on their behalf. I look forward to hearing the government's response.

PetitionsRoutine Proceedings

3:15 p.m.

Conservative

Andrew Scheer Conservative Regina—Qu'Appelle, SK

Mr. Speaker, I have the honour today to present a petition with 146 names of people in my riding who call upon the government to preserve the traditional definition of marriage as between one man and one woman.