House of Commons Hansard #63 of the 38th Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament's site.) The word of the day was tax.
Presence in GalleryOral Question Period
The Speaker
I would like to draw to the attention of hon. members the presence in the gallery of the Honourable Dennis Fentie, Premier of Yukon.
Presence in GalleryOral Question Period
The Speaker
I would also like to draw to the attention of hon. members the presence in the gallery of the Honourable Frank H. Murkowski, Governor of the State of Alaska.
Presence in GalleryOral Question Period
The Speaker
I would also like to draw to the attention of hon. members the presence in the gallery of the Honourable Jim Watson, Minister of Consumer and Business Services of Ontario.
Don Boudria Liberal Glengarry—Prescott—Russell, ON
Mr. Speaker, I have the honour to present the 27th report of the Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs regarding its December 9, 2004 order of reference in relation to Bill C-30, an act to amend the Parliament of Canada Act and the Salaries Act and to make consequential amendments to other acts.
The committee reviewed Bill C-30 and tabled its report, with one amendment.
I also have the honour to present the 28th report of the Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs regarding the question of privilege concerning the usurpation of the title of member of Parliament by the Hon. Serge Marcil. If the House gives its consent, I intend to move concurrence in the said 28th report later this day.
Dave Chatters Conservative Westlock—St. Paul, AB
moved for leave to introduce Bill C-337, an act to amend the Canada Elections Act (telephone, fax and Internet service to campaign offices).
Mr. Speaker, this private member's bill is designed to address a problem that I have faced personally. Many other members I have talked to say they have faced the same problem, that is, the inability to receive telephone and fax service in their campaign offices, sometimes for a number of weeks, after the writ is dropped. I am proposing in the bill that campaigns of individual members should, under statute, receive the same level of service as Elections Canada does in the Elections Canada offices during the writ period.
(Motions deemed adopted, bill read the first time and printed)
Dave Chatters Conservative Westlock—St. Paul, AB
moved for leave to introduce Bill C-338, an act to amend the Nuclear Energy Act (change of responsible minister).
Mr. Speaker, this bill is a modification of a bill that I have had in the House for a good length of time in a number of Parliaments. Its intent is to split the responsibilities for Atomic Energy Canada Limited and the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission to report to two different ministries.
The bill proposes to split the reporting to a different ministry than the previous bill, Bill C-212. As there have been consultations with all parties in the House, I would ask if I could receive unanimous consent to withdraw Bill C-212, which this bill will replace.
(Motions deemed adopted, bill read the first time and printed)
Nuclear Energy ActRoutine Proceedings
The Speaker
Is there unanimous consent to withdraw Bill C-212?
Don Boudria Liberal Glengarry—Prescott—Russell, ON
Mr. Speaker, if the House gives its consent, I move that the 28th report of the Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs presented to the House earlier this day be concurred in.
For the benefit of hon. members, the report is on the question of privilege that our committee recently studied.
(Motion agreed to)
Rob Nicholson Conservative Niagara Falls, ON
Mr. Speaker, I have a petition signed by over 100 people from the city of Niagara Falls and the greater Fort Erie area, including Stevensville, Wainfleet, Port Colborne, St. Catharines and Welland.
The petitioners state that marriage is a sacred institution that forms the basis of the family unit and that Parliament overwhelmingly affirmed its understanding of marriage as a union between a single man and a single woman to the exclusion of all others.
They call upon Parliament to reaffirm the heterosexual nature of marriage and to evoke section 33 of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
Louis Plamondon Bloc Richelieu, QC
Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to present a petition calling upon the Canadian government not to participate, either partially or fully, in the United States' missile defence project.
Pat O'Brien Liberal London—Fanshawe, ON
Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to present a petition which calls on the Government of Canada to uphold the traditional definition of marriage.
The petitioners decry the fact that in a court-driven process, on what amounts to a radical experiment in social engineering, the government seems bent on changing the definition of marriage. They call upon the government to reverse this course and to reverse it right now.
Greg Thompson Conservative St. Croix—Belleisle, NB
Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to present a petition from the citizens of Charlotte County, New Brunswick, who are opposed to the construction of an LNG terminal in Eastport, Maine, U.S.A.
The petitioners suggest that the Government of Canada should take the same position it took about 30 years ago when it opposed and would not allow the transport of dangerous materials through Head Harbour Passage. At that time, a U.S. firm was considering building an oil refinery in the same area as the LNG project is proposed today.
These citizens naturally have concerns about the environment. It is a very dangerous passage. As Canadians, they do not want to allow those dangerous ships through those waters, which would put at risk their fisheries, their marine life and their tourism. It would have a huge hit on the environment and their way of life in that area.
These petitioners call upon the Government of Canada to take strong action and say no to the transport of LNG tankers through Head Harbour Passage.
Marc Lemay Bloc Abitibi—Témiscamingue, QC
Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to present a petition on behalf of several hundred residents of my riding who are opposed to the Government of Canada's getting involved in the missile defence program the U.S. would like to put in place.
Rose-Marie Ur Liberal Middlesex—Kent—Lambton, ON
Mr. Speaker, pursuant to Standing Order 36 I wish to present two petitions. The first petitions is on behalf of the parishioners of the Dresden Community Church in my riding of Lambton--Kent--Middlesex. The second petition is from Kitchener-Waterloo region.
The petitioners call upon Parliament to use all possible legislative and administrative measures, including invoking section 33 of the charter if necessary, to preserve and promote the current definition of marriage as between one man and one woman.
Daryl Kramp Conservative Prince Edward—Hastings, ON
Mr. Speaker, I am honoured today to table a petition on behalf of the fine people of Prince Edward--Hastings whom have signed the document. The petitioners request that Parliament redefine marriage in federal law as being a lifelong union of one man and one woman to the exclusion of all others.
Robert Thibault Liberal West Nova, NS
Mr. Speaker, it is my duty to present to Parliament a petition on behalf of the residents of West Nova, particularly in the Bridgetown area of the Annapolis Valley. The petitioners request that Parliament define marriage in federal as being the lifelong union of one man and one woman to the exclusion of all others.
Randy Kamp Conservative Dewdney—Alouette, BC
Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to rise to present a petition pursuant to Standing Order 36 signed by 271 British Columbians, mostly from my riding. The petitioners call upon Parliament to amend the Canada Health Act and corresponding regulations to include IBI and ABA therapy for children with autism as a medically necessary treatment, to require that all provinces provide for this treatment and to contribute to the creation of academic chairs at universities in each province to teach this treatment and therapy.
Navdeep Bains Liberal Mississauga—Brampton South, ON
Mr. Speaker, I would like to present a petition to the House from the constituents of the riding of Mississauga--Brampton South and other concerned Canadians with respect to parental sponsorship applications.
The petition outlines a few concerns that have been addressed. The first is that processing times of parental applications have increased from approximately five to six months to approximately eighteen to twenty months. Second, the admission quotas for parents have been reduced over the past few years.
I would like to submit this petition as well as give recognition to the 870 individuals who signed the petition on the Internet as well.
Pierre Poilievre Conservative Nepean—Carleton, ON
Mr. Speaker, it is my honour to rise and present two petitions before the House. The first petition deals with juvenile type 1 diabetes research which was presented to me by a number of students in my constituency who have identified this critical ailment as being a problem that friends and neighbours of theirs have experienced at a very young age.
These youngsters have put together a splendid petition which calls upon the federal government in the 2005 budget to invest $25 million per year for the next five years in research targeted specifically for juvenile type 1 diabetes.
Pierre Poilievre Conservative Nepean—Carleton, ON
Second, Mr. Speaker, it is an honour, as a friend of democracies of the world to introduce a petition, which calls upon the government to note the following. The appointment of Yvon Charbonneau as Canada's Ambassador to UNESCO has caused great concerns to Canadians from coast to coast to coast. Mr. Charbonneau has made numerous comments and statements publicly against Jewish Canadians and the state of Israel and has never recanted these anti-Semitic statements or beliefs. The appointment of Yvon Charbonneau as Ambassador of Canada, a man who has expressed anti-Semitic and anti-Israel and even anti-American views, sends a message to Canadians and the global community that such views reflect the policies of the Government of Canada. They state that these views are not acceptable to Canadians.
It is an honour indeed to present both of these petitions.
Paul Szabo Liberal Mississauga South, ON
Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to present a petition today with respect to the definition of marriage.
The petitioners would like to draw to the attention of the House that the majority of Canadians believe that fundamental matters of social policy should be decided by elected parliamentarians and not by unelected judges and that the majority of Canadians support the definition of marriage as being a man and a woman to the exclusion of all others.
The petitioners call upon Parliament to use all legislative and administrative measures, including invocation of the notwithstanding clause, to preserve and protect the current definition of marriage as between one man and one woman to the exclusion of all others.