Debates of April 7th, 2005

Certificates of Nomination

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

Mr. Speaker, pursuant to Standing Order 110(2), I am tabling a certificate of nomination with respect to the Atlantic Pilotage Authority. This certificate stands referred to the Standing Committee on Transport.

I am also tabling a certificate of nomination with respect to the Laurentian Pilotage Authority and this certificate stands referred to the Standing Committee on Transport.

Government Response to Petitions

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

Mr. Speaker, I would like to table the government's response to 86 petitions.

Committees of the House

[Nancy Karetak-Lindell, Liberal, Nunavut, NU]

Mr. Speaker, I have the honour to present the fourth report of the Standing Committee on Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development regarding the effectiveness of the government alternative dispute resolution process for the resolution of Indian residential school claims.

[John Williams, Conservative, Edmonton—St. Albert, AB]

Mr. Speaker, I have the honour to present the ninth report of the Standing Committee on Public Accounts concerning chapter 3 of the sponsorship program; chapter 4, advertising activities; and chapter 5, management of public opinion research of the November 2003 report of the Auditor General of Canada.

In accordance with Standing Order 109, your committee requests a government response with 120 days.

It says the November 2003 report but I thought it was the February 2004 report. We will get that corrected.

Workplace Psychological Harassment Prevention Act

[Diane Bourgeois, Bloc, Terrebonne—Blainville, QC]

moved for leave to introduce Bill C-360, an act to prevent psychological harassment in the workplace and to amend the Canada Labour Code.

Mr. Speaker, it is with great pride that I table this bill before you.

This enactment defines psychological harassment and abuse of power, requires the public service of Canada to provide its employees with employment free of psychological harassment and requires every employee of the public service of Canada to disclose behaviour that is contrary to these principles.

The enactment also provides for the exercise of recourse, the imposition of fines and the taking of remedial action when an employee who has made a disclosure is subjected to retaliation.

Lastly, the enactment amends the Canada Labour Code to prohibit acts of psychological harassment.

(Motions deemed adopted, bill read the first time and printed)

Petitions

[John Williams, Conservative, Edmonton—St. Albert, AB]

Mr. Speaker, I have the pleasure, on behalf of hundreds of my constituents around the Edmonton area, to table three petitions asking Parliament to respect the traditional definition of marriage as a legal and religious union between one man and a woman to the exclusion of all others. They call upon Parliament to enact legislation to ensure that is the case.

[Betty Hinton, Conservative, Kamloops—Thompson, BC]

Mr. Speaker, it is my pleasure today to present a petition on behalf of residents of the city of Kamloops.

The petitioners draw to the attention of the House that they have knowledge that 60% of all calls for service at their RCMP detachment in Kamloops are property crimes and related matters, including break and enter and theft from businesses and residences and theft of auto and theft from auto.

The petitioners say that they have been informed that 90% of all property crime in British Columbia is driven by the illegal drug trade, and that the theft of auto by serial criminals, who are known as repeat offenders, has become an epidemic problem that includes the death and serious injury of police officers and the general public.

Therefore the petitioners call upon Parliament to enact meaningful progressive sentencing legislation against serial offenders involved in auto crime and drug trafficking.

[Peter Julian, NDP, Burnaby—New Westminster, BC]

Mr. Speaker, I am very pleased to present, on behalf of my constituents and Canadians, two petitions.

In the first petition, Canadians from a number of regions of Canada call upon the House to protect the rights of children with autism, who are among the most vulnerable members of our community.

They petition the government to amend the Canada Health Act to include the treatment of autism and ensure that the highly effective IBI and ABA method of treatment of autism is provided in Canada to support these children to live full and complete lives.

[Peter Julian, NDP, Burnaby—New Westminster, BC]

Mr. Speaker, the second petition is signed by several hundred people from Burnaby—New Westminster and throughout Canada and focuses on the Copyright Act.

Petitioners want the House to maintain the balance between the rights of the public and the rights of the creators. They demand that the government not extend the term of copyright and preserve all existing users' rights to ensure a vibrant public domain.

The petitioners also call upon Parliament to ensure that users are recognized as interested parties and are meaningfully consulted about any proposed changes to the Copyright Act.

[Carole Lavallée, Bloc, Saint-Bruno—Saint-Hubert, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to table a petition from Canada Post employees in Quebec signed by 9,000 people.

This petition calls on all parliamentarians to pass a Canadian anti-scab law similar to the one in effect in Quebec for the past 28 years.

As hon. members know, this bill will be coming to a vote on second reading next Wednesday.

[Brian Fitzpatrick, Conservative, Prince Albert, SK]

Mr. Speaker, I have four petitions to present. The first petition is from folks who are petitioning on behalf of children of autism.

The main point made by the petitioners is that therapy and treatment for children with autism should be a medically necessary service under the Canada Health Act.

[Brian Fitzpatrick, Conservative, Prince Albert, SK]

Mr. Speaker, my second petition is from folks in the Smeaton area who want the Post Office to remain open and to retain the moratorium on the closure of rural post offices, which is quite a problem in rural Saskatchewan.

[Brian Fitzpatrick, Conservative, Prince Albert, SK]

Mr. Speaker, the next petition concerns a law to protect the traditional definition of marriage and that Parliament take all necessary steps to protect the union of one man and one woman to the exclusion of all others.

[Brian Fitzpatrick, Conservative, Prince Albert, SK]

Mr. Speaker, the last petition is from the people of Melfort, Saskatchewan who are calling for changes to the law to protect children from sexual predators.

The petitioners ask for the age of consent to be increased from 14 to 18 years.

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

Mr. Speaker, it is an honour for me to present this petition on behalf of constituents on the issue of marriage.

The petitioners have noted that marriage is defined in almost all religions and cultural groups as the union of one man and one woman to the exclusion of all others. They note that this House passed a motion in 1999 affirming that definition.

The petitioners call upon the House to amend the Constitution and put in the Constitution that the definition of marriage is the union of one man and one woman to the exclusion of all others.

[Peter Goldring, Conservative, Edmonton East, AB]

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to present a petition on behalf of a thousand people mostly from Edmonton, but also throughout Alberta.

The petitioners wish to say that because the historical, cultural, traditional and natural definition of marriage in Canada has always been a union of one man and one woman, they feel that Parliament should use all possible legislative and administrative measures to retain the current definition of marriage as the union between one man and one woman, thereby reaffirming the true will of the majority of Canadian people.

Questions on the Order Paper

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

Mr. Speaker, the following questions will be answered today: Nos. 93 and 94.

Question No. 93

[Brian Pallister, Conservative, Portage—Lisgar, MB]

What steps have been taken by Canada Post with regard to the special hires indicated in the Deloitte & Touche audit of Canada Post in 2004?

[John McCallum, Liberal, Minister of National Revenue]

Mr. Speaker, Canada Post Corporation took the following steps with respect to employees identified in the Deloitte & Touche Report on the Examination of Management Practices dated July 23, 2004.

The employment of each individual still in the employ of Canada Post was assessed against four business criteria:

Is there a current business requirement for the position?

Do the employee’s skills and competencies fit the role?

Is the employee’s performance acceptable and measured appropriately?

Is the employee’s compensation consistent with the job rate and with peers?

No further action was taken in respect of those employees whose assessment satisfied all four of the above business criteria. Either action was taken to bring an individual’s employment in line with the business criteria or the employment relationship was severed in respect of employees who failed to satisfy one or more of the criteria.

Question No. 94

[Brian Pallister, Conservative, Portage—Lisgar, MB]

Were performance evaluations, remunerations and Canada Post contract obligations for each special hire employee as highlighted in the Deloitte & Touche audit of Canada Post reviewed and, if so, what were the results?

[John McCallum, Liberal, Minister of National Revenue]

Mr. Speaker, Canada Post Corporation took the following steps with respect to employees identified in the Deloitte & Touche Report on the Examination of Management Practices dates July 23, 2004.

The employment of each individual still in the employ of Canada Post was assessed against four business criteria:

Is there a current business requirement for the position?

Do the employee’s skills and competencies fit the role?

Is the employee’s performance acceptable and measured appropriately?

Is the employee’s compensation consistent with the job rate and with peers?

No further action was taken in respect of those employees whose assessment satisfied all four of the above business criteria. Either action was taken to bring an individual’s employment in line with the business criteria or the employment relationship was severed in respect of employees who failed to satisfy one or more of the criteria.

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. 90 could be made an order for return, the return would be tabled immediately.

[The Speaker]

Is that agreed?

[Some hon. members]

Agreed.

Question No. 90

[Rob Merrifield, Conservative, Yellowhead, AB]

With regard to health spending: ( a ) of the $90 million committed in Budget Plan 2003 for improving national health human resources planning and coordination, the forecasting of human health resources needs and for the expansion of professional development programs, how much has been spent and how has it been disbursed; ( b ) specifying in any case the launch and completion dates, and the cost, how much has the government spent during the last five fiscal years on sectoral studies on physicians, nurses and other health professionals; and ( c ) based on current trends and specifying the numbers for each profession at each point in time, how many doctors and nurses does the government foresee Canada having in five, ten and 20 years, and by how much in each case, if at all, will these numbers be short of or in excess of Canadian requirements?

(Return tabled)