House of Commons Hansard #95 of the 38th Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament's site.) The word of the day was budget.

Topics

Government Response to PetitionsRoutine Proceedings

May 10th, 2005 / 10 a.m.

Beauséjour New Brunswick

Liberal

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

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to table the government's response to five petitions.

Committees of the HouseRoutine Proceedings

10:05 a.m.

Liberal

Bernard Patry Liberal Pierrefonds—Dollard, QC

Mr. Speaker, I have the honour to present in both official languages the seventh report of the Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Trade on the ongoing tensions along the Eritrea-Ethiopia border.

Committees of the HouseRoutine Proceedings

10:05 a.m.

Conservative

John Williams Conservative Edmonton—St. Albert, AB

Mr. Speaker, I have the honour to present the 10th report of the Standing Committee on Public Accounts concerning governance and the Public Service of Canada, ministerial and deputy ministerial accountability.

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

Committees of the HouseRoutine Proceedings

10:05 a.m.

Conservative

David Tilson Conservative Dufferin—Caledon, ON

Mr. Speaker, I have the honour to present the fourth report of the Standing Committee on Access to Information, Privacy and Ethics.

Canada Labour CodeRoutine Proceedings

10:05 a.m.

Bloc

Robert Vincent Bloc Shefford, QC

moved for leave to introduce Bill C-380, an act to amend the Canada Labour Code (pregnant or nursing employees).

Mr. Speaker, it is a pleasure to introduce my first bill in this House, a bill to amend the Canada Labour Code for pregnant or nursing employees.

This bill amends the Canada Labour Code to allow the employee to avail herself of provincial legislation on preventive withdrawal from work.

This bill has earned the support of the hon. member for Saint-Bruno—Saint-Hubert, the Bloc Québécois labour critic.

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

Canada Labour CodeRoutine Proceedings

10:05 a.m.

The Speaker

The Chair has indications that two members wish to move motions. Could the hon. member for Nunavut tell us which motion on the order paper she wishes to propose to the House?

Canada Labour CodeRoutine Proceedings

10:05 a.m.

Liberal

Nancy Karetak-Lindell Liberal Nunavut, NU

Motion No. 26, Mr. Speaker.

Canada Labour CodeRoutine Proceedings

10:05 a.m.

Conservative

Jay Hill Conservative Prince George—Peace River, BC

Mr. Speaker, I will be endeavouring to move the motion which I have tried to move for a week or more now. It is Motion No. 36 dealing with restoring an opposition day on May 19.

Canada Labour CodeRoutine Proceedings

10:05 a.m.

The Speaker

The hon. member has probably realized the bad news from his point of view. We will go with the one that is higher on the list.

Committees of the HouseRoutine Proceedings

10:05 a.m.

Liberal

Nancy Karetak-Lindell Liberal Nunavut, NU

Mr. Speaker, I move that the third report of the Standing Committee on Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development, presented to the House on Friday, March 11, be concurred in.

Mr. Speaker, I wish to split my time with the member for Yukon.

As we know, this report from the aboriginal affairs committee presented to the House on March 11 concerns the Inuit sled dogs and the request to have a judicial inquiry.

We heard from different witnesses who came before the committee of how important this was for the people of the north. It not only concerns people from my riding but it also concerns people from northern Quebec.

We are known as one group of people under, as I like to say, the umbrella of aboriginal people of Canada who are recognized by the Constitution. We are one of the three groups, which is the first nations, the Inuit and the Métis, who are recognized by the Constitution of Canada.

The Inuit have always considered themselves as one group of people, even though we are in Labrador, northern Quebec, Northwest Territories and Nunavut.

We know that our history is very recent. In the 1950s and 1960s people were still living out on the land and were very reluctant to move into the communities. They feel that one of the ways that the Government of Canada tried to get them moved to the communities was to get rid of their transportation, which is the reason for the motion. The people of the north feel there needs to be a judicial inquiry into exactly what the motivation was behind the Inuit dogs being slaughtered in the 1950s and 1960s.

We have firsthand interventions and firsthand witnesses who went through that and they would very much like the government to appoint a judge to look into the slaughter. People need the chance to tell their stories and find out exactly what the reason was behind doing this and whether there can be some reconciliation between themselves and the Government of Canada.

I would like to give the member for Yukon an opportunity to speak.

Committees of the HouseRoutine Proceedings

10:10 a.m.

Conservative

Dick Harris Conservative Cariboo—Prince George, BC

Mr. Speaker, I heard the member talk about the motion that the government wants to debate today, or maybe not.

I would ask the member whether her heart is really into debating this motion or whether this is just another attempt to shut down the motion that our House leader is trying to put forward and have a vote on.

This has been going on for far too long. I think it is becoming quite obvious to Canadians that the constant actions of the Liberal government in putting forward motions such as this is nothing more than an attempt to suppress democracy in this House. I would like to ask if this is another attempt.

Committees of the HouseRoutine Proceedings

10:10 a.m.

Liberal

Nancy Karetak-Lindell Liberal Nunavut, NU

Mr. Speaker, I would also like to say that I am splitting my time with the member for Kitchener Centre.

I think most of the members in this House of Commons who have been here in the almost eight years that I have been a member know that I do not get up to do a lot of trivial debate. I think my record speaks for itself. If there are issues that are very important to the first peoples of Canada I will take the opportunity to stand and be their voice in the House of Commons.

I think members can count the number of times that I have stood to debate in this House of Commons and it will only be on issues that are felt strongly by the people who I represent. I think my record will speak for itself.

Committees of the HouseRoutine Proceedings

10:10 a.m.

Conservative

Jay Hill Conservative Prince George—Peace River, BC

Mr. Speaker, I do not want to, in any way, downplay the seriousness of the hon. member's issue that deals with the Standing Committee on Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development's study on the slaughtering of Inuit sled dogs in the north between the years 1950 and 1970 and requesting that the government appoint, before April 15, 2005, which, if memory serves me right has already passed, a superior court judge to inquire into the matter.

That is not the issue here, as my colleague from Cariboo—Prince George said. The issue here is shutting down democracy in this place.

If the member is serious about having a debate about this issue then I would assume that when she called this issue today it was not a stalling tactic to prevent the opposition from having an opposition day, which was my motion.

I see someone running over to apprise the hon. member from Nunavut as to what she should say when she rises. However if she is serious about this issue then I am sure the Liberals will not be planning to adjourn the debate on this. If she is serious about this issue and they called this concurrence motion, then we should debate it for the three hours, as the opposition would want to do.

Committees of the HouseRoutine Proceedings

10:10 a.m.

Liberal

Nancy Karetak-Lindell Liberal Nunavut, NU

Mr. Speaker, I find it quite amusing in a way that in the eight years that I have been here we have never had debates lasting three hours on any concurrence of any report that I know of in the numbers that we are doing it in this session.

If the party across the way is as serious about aboriginal peoples as they say, they would have supported the Tlicho land claims agreement that was before the House in December. To this day, in the eight years that I have been here, I have never seen the party under all their different names support a land claims agreement.

Also, in this very committee the members opposite from the Conservative Party were told and requested by the Assembly of First Nations, AFN, not to go ahead with the motion. In a way I can honestly say that we are the people over here who speak for the aboriginal people of Canada. The Conservatives do not support even the direction given by the Assembly of First Nations when they are requested to do so.

Again, we see that as they know best what is good for us as the people of Canada. Frankly, I do not agree with that.

Committees of the HouseRoutine Proceedings

10:15 a.m.

Liberal

Karen Redman Liberal Kitchener Centre, ON

Mr. Speaker, I move:

That this question be now put.

Committees of the HouseRoutine Proceedings

10:15 a.m.

The Deputy Speaker

The motion is that this question be now put.

Committees of the HouseRoutine Proceedings

10:15 a.m.

Conservative

Dick Harris Conservative Cariboo—Prince George, BC

Mr. Speaker, I have been around here for about 12 years and have never seen a performance like this. When the first member spoke on this motion, we asked if this was just a ploy to block the putting forward of a motion by our House leader. She assured us that it was not. We thought that perhaps we were going to have some debate on it.

Our House leader again asked the question of that member and she assured us that this was a legitimate motion. Then the first thing that happened when the time switched over to the government whip was that she stood up and made a motion that the question be put.

I feel as if my parliamentary privileges are being usurped by the government whip. I was prepared to debate this motion on aboriginal affairs--

Committees of the HouseRoutine Proceedings

10:15 a.m.

Liberal

Karen Redman Liberal Kitchener Centre, ON

Then debate it.

Committees of the HouseRoutine Proceedings

10:15 a.m.

Liberal

Paul Szabo Liberal Mississauga South, ON

Go ahead.

Committees of the HouseRoutine Proceedings

10:15 a.m.

Conservative

Dick Harris Conservative Cariboo—Prince George, BC

--and we will be, Mr. Speaker, if we are allowed to.

Committees of the HouseRoutine Proceedings

10:15 a.m.

Conservative

Jay Hill Conservative Prince George—Peace River, BC

Why isn't she if it's serious?

Committees of the HouseRoutine Proceedings

10:15 a.m.

Conservative

Dick Harris Conservative Cariboo—Prince George, BC

I would like to ask the government whip, is she serious? Is this going to be a motion that we will have an opportunity to debate in the House right now for the full period of the debate?

Committees of the HouseRoutine Proceedings

10:15 a.m.

Liberal

Karen Redman Liberal Kitchener Centre, ON

Mr. Speaker, I am certainly happy to get up and respond to that. Less than a year ago, Canadians sent a minority government here with the understanding that they wanted us to make this government work. There is no doubt that for the vast majority of people in this House this is a new experience. The Standing Orders changed about the middle of March. That was done very much the way it has been done historically in this place. It was done with consultation of all parties.

Up until about three weeks ago, I would speak daily to my whip counterparts of all parties. We would have a House leaders' meeting once a week where we would talk about how many speakers were coming forward. We would talk about legislation, legislation like the budget. The budget that this government has put before the House is an excellent budget. It responds to the priorities of Canadians. It is a new deal for cities. It invests in child care--

Committees of the HouseRoutine Proceedings

10:15 a.m.

An hon. member

Employment insurance improvements.

Committees of the HouseRoutine Proceedings

10:15 a.m.

Liberal

Karen Redman Liberal Kitchener Centre, ON

It invests in employment insurance improvements, which are very important for some of my colleagues. They championed that.

We have allowed a place at the table without giving up the fiscal imperatives that have been the absolute defining character of this Liberal government. There is fiscal balance. We will continue to stay out of deficit. We will continue to pay down the debt. We will continue to bring about tax relief for the lowest income earners in Canada while attending to the small and medium sized business sector, which is the engine that runs the economy, but--