House of Commons Hansard #68 of the 38th Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament's site.) The word of the day was claims.
Gurbax Malhi Liberal Bramalea—Gore—Malton, ON
Mr. Speaker, I have the honour to present the following petition in which the petitioners call upon Parliament to enact legislation against redefining marriage. They would like to express their view that marriage should be protected and remain as the 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 present two petitions from the people of Kildonan—St. Paul. They pray that Parliament will define marriage in federal law as being a lifelong union of one man and one woman to the exclusion of all others.
David Anderson Conservative Cypress Hills—Grasslands, SK
Mr. Speaker, I would like to present a group of eight petitions containing hundreds of names from people in my riding and across this country who are concerned, as we have heard today, about the definition of marriage. They call on Parliament to preserve and protect the current definition of marriage, which is the lifelong union of one man and one woman to the exclusion of all others.
David Anderson Conservative Cypress Hills—Grasslands, SK
Mr. Speaker, I have a second petition as well. People are concerned about child pornography and they call on Parliament to take all necessary measures to ensure protection for children from child pornography and sexual exploitation.
Gurmant Grewal Conservative Newton—North Delta, BC
Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to rise today on behalf of the constituents of Newton—North Delta to present petitions calling upon Parliament to use all possible legislative and administrative measures to preserve and protect the current definition of marriage as being the union of one man and one woman to the exclusion of all others and to recognize that marriage is the best foundation for families and the raising of children.
Gerald Keddy Conservative South Shore—St. Margaret's, NS
Mr. Speaker, it is an honour to rise today to present a petition on behalf of members of the South Shore—St. Margaret's constituency and the towns specifically of Bridgewater, Blockhouse, Lunenburg, New Germany and the Walden area. The petitioners pray that Parliament define marriage in federal law as being a 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 present two petitions signed by about 100 Canadians who are concerned about children suffering from autism spectrum disorder. They 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 and to contribute as well to the creation of academic chairs at universities in each province to teach this therapy.
Mark Warawa Conservative Langley, BC
Mr. Speaker, it is an honour to present two petitions here today. These petitions were presented to our Langley riding, and the petitioners strongly oppose any legislation that would in any way change the traditional definition of marriage as being between a man and a woman and excluding all others.
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. 64, 65, 67 and 71.
Bill Casey Conservative North Nova, NS
With regard to the number of foreign nationals, if any, working on Canadian navy vessels on the East Coast of Canada: ( a ) how many are currently engaged in repairing, upgrading or refitting of Canadian navy vessels on the East Coast of Canada; ( b ) on which vessels, or class of vessels are these workers assigned; ( c ) what are the countries of origin of said workers; ( d ) excluding BAE Systems, what other foreign-owned corporations have employees engaged in the repairing, upgrading or refitting of Canadian navy vessels on the East Coast of Canada?
Bill Graham LiberalMinister of National Defence
Mr. Speaker, in responding to parts a) through d), the Department of National Defence applied the following definitions. First, “engaged” refers to workers employed in performing physical work on site onboard Canadian navy vessels. Second, “foreign national” refers to all non-Canadian citizens. Finally, only contractors directly contracted by the Department were solicited for information and only with respect to their own employees. National Defence contracts (as well as those contracts issued by the Department of Public Works and Government Services on behalf of National Defence) permit subcontracting. It is ultimately the prime contractor that decides whether or not to subcontract. Since the Crown is not privy to these subcontracts, no contractual relationship is created between the Crown and third party subcontractors. As a result, records are neither created nor retained by National Defence concerning contractual arrangements between a prime contractor and its subcontractors.
a) On 27 January 2005, 18 foreign nationals were working on repairing, upgrading, or refitting Canadian navy vessels on the east coast of Canada.
b) The 18 foreign nationals were working on the following ships:
a. HMCS Fredericton – 15
b. HMCS Halifax – 1
c. Two other foreign nationals are dividing their time between HMCS Fredericton and HMCS Charlottetown, half days on each ship.
c) The country of origin of the 18 foreign nationals was as follows:
a. HMCS Frederiction - 8 Portuguese, 5 French, and 2 British
b. HMCS Halifax – 1 American
c. The two other foreign nationals dividing their time between HMCS Fredericton and HMCS Charlottetown, half days on each ship, were, respectively, British and of unknown origin, the country was not specified by the employer, Canadian Maritime Engineering.
d) The following foreign-owned corporations have employees engaged in the repairing, upgrading or refitting of Canadian navy vessels on the east coast of Canada: SEMT Pielstick, and L3 Wescam. All other companies employing foreign nationals in the repairing, upgrading or refitting of Canadian navy vessels on the east coast of Canada are Canadian owned.
Bill Casey Conservative North Nova, NS
With regards to the refit of HMCS Fredericton in Halifax, Nova Scotia (Halifax Shipyards): ( a ) what will the total cost of the refit be for HMCS Fredericton; ( b ) when does the Canadian Armed Forces expect HMCS Fredericton to complete her current maintenance cycle and return to full operations with the fleet; ( c ) in regards to the maintenance and improvement aboard HMCS Fredericton, are there any technicians from France involved in the overall refit process and if any, from what corporation do they originate; ( d ) should the refit for HMCS Fredericton reveal that other work or maintenance is needed, what is the expected percentage or amount of “work arising” costs?
Bill Graham LiberalMinister of National Defence
Mr. Speaker, the response is as follows:
a) The total cost of the HMCS Fredericton docking work period, 23 April to 10 September 2004, including work arisings, was $7.35 million.
b) The docking work period is complete. HMCS Fredericton is now in a “technical readiness phase” designed to bring the ship up to maximum operational readiness, that is, trials, training, and second level maintenance.
c) National Defence conducted an extensive search of the records and did not find evidence of any technicians from France involved in the docking work period for HMCS Fredericton between 23 April and 10 September 2004.
It should be noted that National Defence contracts, as well as those contracts issued by the Department of Public Works and Government Services on behalf of National Defence, permit subcontracting. It is ultimately the prime contractor that decides whether or not to subcontract. Since the Crown is not privy to these subcontracts, no contractual relationship is created between the Crown and third party subcontractors. As a result, records are neither created nor retained by National Defence concerning contractual arrangements between a prime contractor and its subcontractors.
d) The “work arisings” cost for HMCS Fredericton was approximately 23%, which is typical for Halifax class ships.
John Reynolds Conservative West Vancouver—Sunshine Coast, BC
Have student loans been settled for an amount less than the actual amount owing and, if so, how often did this occur?
Lucienne Robillard LiberalPresident of the Queen's Privy Council for Canada
Mr. Speaker, during fiscal year 2003-2004, the Canada student loan portfolio consisted of 250,000 accounts, of which we received 349 requests for compromise settlement. Of these, we settled only 51 accounts for the following reasons: hardship; statute-barred; medical reasons; and balance remaining following receipt of proceeds from deceased client’s estate.
Joe Preston Conservative Elgin—Middlesex—London, ON
With regard to the government fuel taxes: ( a ) what formula, if any at all, does the government plan to use for sharing the fuel taxes; ( b ) if such formula is employed, how many cents per litre of fuel taxes collected would flow directly to municipalities; and ( c ) does the government plan to set aside any funds for distribution and, if any ( i ) what would be their amounts, ( ii ) how would they be allocated among Canada’s municipalities, ( iii ) when would the money be allocated?
Ralph Goodale LiberalMinister of Finance
Mr. Speaker, on February 1, 2005, the Government of Canada announced how it plans to share a portion of federal gas tax revenues with municipalities to make investments in sustainable infrastructure. Beginning in 2005-06, the funding will ramp up over five years, for a total of $5 billion. By 2009-2010 the funding flowing to municipalities will amount to $2 billion, the equivalent of 5 cents-per-litre of the federal gas tax. This represents a strategic investment in Canada’s cities and communities.
Funding will be allocated to the provinces, territories, and First Nations, on a per capita basis, with $37.5 million, equivalent to 0.75% of total funding, assured for each of Nunavut, Northwest Territories, Yukon and Prince Edward Island. This recognizes the need for less-populated jurisdictions to have sufficient funds for significant infrastructure investments, and the increased costs associated with infrastructure in northern and remote areas.
The Minister of State (Infrastructure and Communities) is presently negotiating bilateral agreements with the provinces and territories, which will further outline details of how the federal gas tax funds will be spent within each jurisdiction, including the allocation to municipalities.
The 5-year funding profile for the sharing of the gas tax revenues was announced in the budget presented to the House of Commons on February 23, 2005.
Dominic LeBlanc LiberalParliamentary Secretary to the Leader of the Government in the House of Commons
Mr. Speaker, if Questions Nos. 68 and 75 could be made orders for return, the returns would be tabled immediately.
Rob Anders Conservative Calgary West, AB
With regard to the transportation of armed forces personnel: ( a ) did the government rent Antonov planes to transport the DART Team to South Asia for disaster relief, and, if so, how much did it cost and for how long were they rented; ( b ) what type of planes were used, how much did their rental cost, and who were they were rented from, to transport Canadian Forces to Manitoba for assistance during the 1997 floods; and ( c ) what type of planes were used, how much did their rental cost, and who were they were rented from, to transport Canadian Forces to Quebec for assistance during the 1998 ice storm?
(Return tabled)
Rob Anders Conservative Calgary West, AB
For each year since 2000, did the government use any rented aircraft to transport Canadian Forces to Afghanistan and, if so: ( a ) what type of aircraft was rented; ( b ) who were they rented from; and ( c ) how much did each rental cost the government?
(Return tabled)
Dominic LeBlanc Liberal Beauséjour, NB
I ask, Mr. Speaker, that all remaining questions be allowed to stand.