Debates of March 10th, 2005

Order in Council Appointments

[Dominic LeBlanc, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Leader of the Government in the House of Commons]

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

Government Response to Petitions

[Dominic LeBlanc, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Leader of the Government in the House of Commons]

Mr. Speaker, pursuant to Standing Order 36(8), I am also happy to table, in both official languages, the government's response to two petitions.

Interparliamentary Delegations

[Bryon Wilfert, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of the Environment]

Mr. Speaker, pursuant to Standing Order 34(1), I have the honour to present to the House, in both official languages, two reports of the Canada-Japan interparliamentary group, one on the 11th General Assembly of the Asia-Pacific Parliamentarians Conference on Environment and Development held in Korolevu, Fiji, and one on the 25th General Assembly of the ASEAN Interparliamentary Organization held in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, in the fall of 2004.

Petitions

[Bill Siksay, NDP, Burnaby—Douglas, BC]

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to table two petitions in the House this morning.

The first petition is signed by 66 people from the Calgary area who call on Parliament to amend the Canada Health Act to ensure intensive behavioural intervention therapy treatment, based on the principles of applied behavioural analysis, is designated as medically necessary for children with autism, and that academic chairs be established at universities in each province to teach this therapy, ensuring that Canadian professionals will no longer have to leave Canada to receive the training.

[Bill Siksay, NDP, Burnaby—Douglas, BC]

Mr. Speaker, my second petition is signed by over 150 people, primarily from the lower mainland of British Columbia, who outline their support for human rights around the world and Canada's commitment to ensure those rights and an end to torture, and who call upon Parliament to negotiate with the Iranian government for the immediate release of Ms. Haleh Sahba, who was unfortunately deported from Canada last December, and to ensure her safe return to Canada.

[Bryon Wilfert, Liberal, Richmond Hill, ON]

Mr. Speaker, pursuant to Standing Order 36, I have the pleasure to present a petition signed by people of the greater Toronto area with regard to the issue of immigration in terms of the length of time it takes to bring a family member to Canada. The increase in the time is of concern to them.

[Garry Breitkreuz, Conservative, Yorkton—Melville, SK]

Mr. Speaker, I have a number of petitions that I would like to present this morning.

The first one I have the privilege to present is from many residents in Ontario who are calling the attention of the House to the child pornography issue. They say that the creation and use of child pornography is condemned by the clear majority of Canadians and that the courts have not applied the current child pornography law in a way which makes it clear that such exploitation of children will always be met with swift punishment.

They call upon Parliament to protect our children by taking all necessary steps to ensure that all materials which promote or glorify pedophilia or sado-masochistic activities are outlawed.

[Garry Breitkreuz, Conservative, Yorkton—Melville, SK]

Mr. Speaker, the next group of petitions come mainly from Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island and they contain several hundred signatures. The petitions are with regard to the Citizenship and Immigration Act with respect to the distribution of holy books established in 1998 allowing for books to be displayed for new citizens to take but did not allow for people to hand the said books to these new citizens.

They say that in regard to that, the voluntary non-intrusive policy that was working had no serious complaints leveled against it, and also in regard to the pluralistic environment in Canada, they say that the recent decision to ban the availability of holy books was made unilaterally despite a previous track record of discussion and open dialogue between the Canadian Bible Society and the Citizenship Commission. They ask Parliament to order the Citizenship Commission to return to the previous policy that was in place and had been in place since 1998.

[Garry Breitkreuz, Conservative, Yorkton—Melville, SK]

Mr. Speaker, lastly, I have a large number of petitions in regard to the marriage issue. The ones I am submitting today are mainly from Ontario and British Columbia but there are names from all parts of Canada.

They ask that in regard to the fundamental matters of social policy, Parliament should make that decision, not the unelected judiciary. The majority of Canadians support the current legal definition of marriage and therefore they say that it is the duty of Parliament to ensure that marriage is defined as Canadians wish. They are asking us to use all possible legislative and administrative measures, including the invoking of section 33 of the charter, if necessary, to preserve and protect the current definition of marriage as between one man and one woman.

[Chuck Strahl, Conservative, Chilliwack—Fraser Canyon, BC]

Mr. Speaker, I have a petition today to present on behalf of citizens in my own riding about the definition of marriage.

These citizens believe that marriage is defined as the lifelong union between one man and one woman and is the best foundation for families, and whereas it is the exclusive jurisdiction of Parliament to define marriage, the petitioners pray that Parliament define marriage in federal law as being the union of one man and one woman to the exclusion of all others. I table that on behalf of my constituents.

[Leon Benoit, Conservative, Vegreville—Wainwright, AB]

Mr. Speaker, I am happy to present, on behalf of my constituents, several petitions where the constituents are calling upon Parliament to enshrine the definition of marriage as the union of one man and one woman to the exclusion of all others, and making the point that it is the responsibility of Parliament, not the courts, to make this decision. I am happy to present this on behalf of my constituents.

Questions on the Order Paper

[Dominic LeBlanc, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Leader of the Government in the House of Commons]

Mr. Speaker, Question No. 66 will be answered today.

Question No. 66

[Bill Casey, Conservative, North Nova, NS]

With regard to the government project known as the national energy science and technology strategy: ( a ) what is the total amount of funding the government will allocate to industry, universities, and scientific research foundations for the purpose of developing the tidal and wave energy industry in Canada; ( b ) what are the expected time frames within the national energy technology strategy for Canada to meet the emission-reduction targets established under the Kyoto protocol; ( c ) what are the government’s total estimates on the level of emissions that will be reduced as a result of tidal and wave energy projects; ( d ) what are the Government’s total estimates on the amount of electrical power that could be generated as a result of support to the tidal and wave energy industry with the national energy science and technology strategy; ( e ) what is the total amount of support funding planned, by sector (wind, tidal, wave, geo-thermal, etc), within the national energy science and technology strategy?

[R. John Efford, Liberal, Minister of Natural Resources]

Mr. Speaker, the response is as follows: (a) The government has not yet finalized the energy science and technology strategy. Therefore, it has not made decisions regarding future funding for specific science and technology areas.

(b) The federal government will announce a plan to meet its greenhouse gas emission reduction targets under the Kyoto protocol in the near future.

(c) The federal government does not currently have estimates on the level of emissions that could be reduces as a result of tidal and wave energy projects. Such estimates would depend on the performance of the new technologies, or the number and size of future installations, and on the type of electricity generation replaced by tidal and wave energy projects.

(d) The government has not yet finalized the energy science and technology strategy. Therefore, it has not made decisions regarding future funding for specific science and technology areas and cannot estimate the amount of electrical power that could be generated as a result of support to the tidal and wave energy industry.

(e) The government has not yet finalized the energy science and technology strategy. Therefore, it has not made decisions regarding future funding for specific science and technology areas.

Starred Questions

[Dominic LeBlanc, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Leader of the Government in the House of Commons]

Mr. Speaker, would you be so kind as to call Starred Question No. 63.

Due to the length of the answer to Starred Question No. 63, I would ask that it be printed in Hansard as read.

[The Speaker]

Is it agreed that the answer be printed as read?

[Some hon. members]

Agreed.

*Question No. 63

[Gordon O'Connor, Conservative, Carleton—Lanark, ON]

With respect to the poisoning case of ex-Warrant Officer Matthew Stopford while in Croatia in 1993 and investigated by the Military Police Complaints Commission: ( a ) how many of the soldiers involved with the coffee tampering allegations remained in the armed forces after the allegations were made and are they still serving; ( b ) have the soldiers involved with the coffee tampering allegations been disciplined regarding this matter and if so, how were they disciplined; ( c ) when was Mr. Stopford informed of the poisoning and why did the Department of National Defence wait that period to inform him; and ( d ) when will the government make an offer suitable to Mr. Stopford to settle this matter?

[Bill Graham, Liberal, Minister of National Defence]

Mr. Speaker, the answer is as follows: a) and b) No charges were laid as a result of the Canadian Forces National Investigation Service, CFNIS, investigation into the coffee-tampering allegation. Charges under most of the provisions of the National Defence Act, including section 129, Act to the Prejudice of Good Order and Discipline of the Canadian Forces), were barred by a three-year statutory limitation period. It was determined that there was an insufficient evidentiary basis to lay charges under the Criminal Code or other provisions of the National Defence Act that were not covered by the three-year limitation period.

On June 20, 2000, the Chief of the Defence Staff directed that a special career review board be convened to look at the members identified in the first CFNIS investigation report as well as personnel in the in-theatre unit chain of command for 11 Platoon, D Company, 2 Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry, PPCLI. It looked at approximately 70 members in total. At the conclusion of the review, the Director General Military Careers placed one member on counseling and probation and issued a recorded warning to seven others. These eight members are still serving in the Canadian Forces.

c) The Department of National Defence learned of the allegation through a confidential informant on August 2, 1999. The information was relayed to the CFNIS on August 3 and a decision to inform Mr. Stopford was made the same day. Mr. Stopford was informed of the allegation for the first time on August 4. The delay reflects the time it took the CFNIS officer to travel to Mr. Stopford's home.

d) The Crown has made two offers to settle to Mr. Stopford, one in June 2004 and one in October 2004. These offers take into account the fact that Mr. Stopford is in receipt of a wide range of benefits from the Government of Canada. In addition, the Department of National Defence worked with Mr. Stopford, notably in facilitating his trip to the Mayo Clinic to ensure he would receive adequate treatment.

Questions Passed as Orders for Returns

[Dominic LeBlanc, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Leader of the Government in the House of Commons]

Mr. Speaker, if Question No. 73 could be made an order for return, this return would also be tabled immediately.

[The Speaker]

Is that agreed?

[Some hon. members]

Agreed.

Question No. 73

[Marcel Gagnon, Bloc, Saint-Maurice—Champlain, QC]

With respect to Old Age Security payments, what are the most recent estimates on: ( a ) the number of Canadian seniors eligible for the Guaranteed Income Supplement (GIS) but not receiving it and, of this number, how many are Quebeckers; ( b ) the number of Canadian seniors eligible for the survivor’s allowance but not receiving it and, of this number, how many are Quebeckers; and ( c ) the number of Canadian seniors eligible for the spouse’s allowance but not receiving it and, of this number, how many are Quebeckers?

(Return tabled)

[Dominic LeBlanc, Liberal, Beauséjour, NB]

Mr. Speaker, I would ask that all further questions be allowed to stand.

[The Speaker]

Is that agreed?