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

Canadian Forces Members and Veterans Re-establishment and Compensation ActGovernment Orders

11:10 a.m.

Some hon. members

Agreed.

(Motion agreed to, bill read the second time, considered in committee, reported, concurred in, read the third time and passed)

Canadian Forces Members and Veterans Re-establishment and Compensation ActGovernment Orders

11:10 a.m.

The Deputy Speaker

I wish to inform the House that there is one hour and 10 minutes remaining for debate on the previous question related to the motion for concurrence of the third report of the Standing Committee on Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development. Accordingly, the debate on the motion will be rescheduled for another sitting.

Canadian Forces Members and Veterans Re-establishment and Compensation ActGovernment Orders

11:10 a.m.

Conservative

Dick Harris Conservative Cariboo—Prince George, BC

Mr. Speaker, I rise on a point of order. I am sure that you would want to know if there has been a breaking of the rules when it comes to voting. I know that all members who make an effort to come to the House on time for the vote would like to see members opposite do the same.

The Minister of State for Public Health was not in her chair when the motion was read and in fact only took her chair as the Minister for State for Infrastructure and Communities who sits next to her was about to rise to cast his vote. Therefore, I think that she made herself ineligible for the last vote we held.

Canadian Forces Members and Veterans Re-establishment and Compensation ActGovernment Orders

11:10 a.m.

The Deputy Speaker

I thank the hon. member for Cariboo—Prince George for that. The hon. Minister of State for Public Health is not here to respond to that right now, so I do not know that we can deal with it any further at this moment. Perhaps she will come back. The vote was not so close that one vote would have determined anything different anyway, so we will let her come back and respond to that if she wishes.

Canadian Forces Members and Veterans Re-establishment and Compensation ActGovernment Orders

11:10 a.m.

Conservative

Ken Epp Conservative Edmonton—Sherwood Park, AB

Mr. Speaker, I rise on a point of order. If I were in a position to give you advice, which of course I am not, I would advise you that this is a matter of considerable importance because it is precedent setting.

It is true that in this particular instance the vote was not close, but how about the next time if it is? And then to get up and argue that the vote should count anyway because it counted this morning in this particular instance. That vote should, notwithstanding that the minister is not here, in fact be disqualified.

Canadian Forces Members and Veterans Re-establishment and Compensation ActGovernment Orders

11:10 a.m.

The Deputy Speaker

To reassure the member for Edmonton—Sherwood Park, we do take the issue seriously of course and members do need to be in their seats during the reading of the motion or the bill that is before the House. As I mentioned, we cannot deal further with this until the Minister of State for Public Health responds. We are not finished with this. We will wait for her to respond to it and then we will deal with it appropriately at that time.

PetitionsRoutine Proceedings

11:15 a.m.

Liberal

Paul Szabo Liberal Mississauga South, ON

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to present yet another petition on the subject matter of marriage signed by a number of Canadians including constituents from my riding of Mississauga South. 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 members of Parliament and not by the unelected judiciary. They also point out that the majority of Canadians have indicated their support for the current legal definition of marriage.

The petitioners therefore call upon Parliament to use all possible legislative and administrative measures including the invocation of section 33 of the charter, commonly known as the notwithstanding clause, to preserve and protect the current definition of marriage as the union of one man and one woman to the exclusion of all others.

PetitionsRoutine Proceedings

11:15 a.m.

NDP

Libby Davies NDP Vancouver East, BC

Mr. Speaker, I am very pleased to rise in the House today to present a petition signed by approximately 2,000 petitioners. It is a petition organized by Naomi Binder Wall from the Jewish Women's Committee to End the Occupation who has been holding a weekly vigil for the past four and a half years.

The petition calls on the Canadian government to speak out against the wall that Israel is constructing on Palestinian land in the West Bank and to demand the Israeli government issue orders to tear it down. I am very pleased to present this petition that is signed by almost 2,000 people in the Toronto area.

PetitionsRoutine Proceedings

11:15 a.m.

Conservative

Cheryl Gallant Conservative Renfrew—Nipissing—Pembroke, ON

Mr. Speaker, I have two petitions.

In the first petition the petitioners call upon Parliament to instruct the federal environment minister to impose a moratorium on the expanded use of water chlorination in small rural applications until further study on the alternatives are completed.

PetitionsRoutine Proceedings

11:15 a.m.

Conservative

Cheryl Gallant Conservative Renfrew—Nipissing—Pembroke, ON

Mr. Speaker, in the second petition the petitioners ask that Parliament put into federal law that the definition of marriage is the lifelong union of one man and one woman.

PetitionsRoutine Proceedings

11:15 a.m.

Liberal

Navdeep Bains Liberal Mississauga—Brampton South, ON

Mr. Speaker, I would like to present the following petition to the House. This petition calls for the amendment to the federal Criminal Code so that Canadian Sikhs can be exempt from an organization's liability on workplace safety. Many Canadian Sikhs who make a living as longshoremen have encountered difficulties and even, to some degree, lost jobs because of a requirement that they wear a hard hat on the job site.

I acknowledge that this is a very delicate matter of freedom of religion and at the same time balancing safety. In that spirit, I would like to present this petition signed by 61 affected Canadians.

PetitionsRoutine Proceedings

11:15 a.m.

Conservative

Randy White Conservative Abbotsford, BC

Mr. Speaker, I have numerous petitions.

I have two petitions in which the petitioners ask the government assembled in Parliament to vote in favour of Bill C-275, an act to amend the Criminal Code regarding failure to stop at the scene of an accident, which would make sentencing for hit-and-run drivers more severe.

PetitionsRoutine Proceedings

11:15 a.m.

Conservative

Randy White Conservative Abbotsford, BC

Mr. Speaker, I have several petitions in which the petitioners ask Parliament to pass legislation to recognize the institution of marriage in federal law as being a lifelong union of one man and one woman to the exclusion of all others.

PetitionsRoutine Proceedings

11:15 a.m.

Conservative

Randy White Conservative Abbotsford, BC

Mr. Speaker, finally, I have many petitioners with regard to Bill C-275, an act to amend the Criminal Code regarding failure to stop at the scene of an accident, which is known commonly as Carley's Law hit-and-run. These petitioners again ask that parliament continue to support that legislation.

PetitionsRoutine Proceedings

11:15 a.m.

NDP

Judy Wasylycia-Leis NDP Winnipeg North, MB

Mr. Speaker, I would like to table a petition signed by a number of Canadians who express concern about the appointment of a former MP of this place, Yvon Charbonneau, as Canada's ambassador to UNESCO. They believe he has made comments that are of concern, that are against the State of Israel and, therefore, need to be dealt with by the Government of Canada.

The petitioners call upon Parliament to urge the Prime Minister to withdraw this appointment and give a clear, unambiguous message in terms of anti-Semitism that is prevalent in our society today.

PetitionsRoutine Proceedings

11:20 a.m.

Conservative

Helena Guergis Conservative Simcoe—Grey, ON

Mr. Speaker, I have the honour today to present a petition to this House with close to 200 names on it from the riding of Simcoe--Grey. The petitioners call upon the government to maintain the definition of marriage as the union of one man and one woman to the exclusion of all others.

Questions on the Order PaperRoutine Proceedings

11:20 a.m.

Beauséjour New Brunswick

Liberal

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

Mr. Speaker, Question No. 120 will be answered today.

Question No. 120Routine Proceedings

11:20 a.m.

Conservative

James Bezan Conservative Selkirk—Interlake, MB

Does the government plan to equip Correctional Service of Canada officers with stab proof vests to wear while on duty in dangerous prison conditions?

Question No. 120Routine Proceedings

11:20 a.m.

Etobicoke North Ontario

Liberal

Roy Cullen LiberalParliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness

At the present time, the Correctional Service of Canada, CSC, has protective vests available for correctional officers in all institutions. The vests are issued on a case by case basis following a threat risk assessment of a situation.

CSC has established a joint committee with the Union of Canadian Correctional Officers, UCCO, to review issues concerning protective equipment. This committee is currently in the process of reviewing the various types and styles of stab-resistant vests that would be issued to correctional officers assigned to specific posts in specific institutions.

The circumstances in which these vests will be employed will be clarified in CSC's operational policies.

Question No. 120Routine Proceedings

11:20 a.m.

Liberal

Dominic LeBlanc Liberal Beauséjour, NB

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

Question No. 120Routine Proceedings

11:20 a.m.

The Deputy Speaker

Is that agreed?

Question No. 120Routine Proceedings

11:20 a.m.

Some hon. members

Agreed.

An Act to Authorize the Minister of Finance to Make Certain PaymentsGovernment Orders

11:20 a.m.

Papineau Québec

Liberal

Pierre Pettigrew Liberalfor the Minister of Finance

moved that Bill C-48, an act to authorize the Minister of Finance to make certain payments, be read the second time and referred to a committee.

An Act to Authorize the Minister of Finance to Make Certain PaymentsGovernment Orders

11:20 a.m.

Scarborough—Guildwood Ontario

Liberal

John McKay LiberalParliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Finance

Mr. Speaker, Bill C-48 is a bill that proposes further investments from unplanned surplus funds.

Canada's social foundations are a key to our social identity. In past budgets, the Government of Canada has made significant investments in these social priorities and this bill is merely a natural extension of those priorities. It already builds upon government initiatives taken over the past number of years and budgets.

Before outlining the measures contained in this bill, however, I would like to take a moment and talk about how the government is able to make these investments, or how we got from there to here.

As members know, Canada will record its eighth consecutive surplus in the budget year 2004-05, a record unmatched since Confederation. Indeed, Canada will be the only G-7 country to post a total government surplus in that fiscal year. Canada's much improved fiscal situation has allowed the government to make significant investments in the priorities of Canadians.

Our fiscal outlook, however, has not always been so rosy. When we took over the government from the members of the party opposite here, we were faced with a budgetary deficit in excess of $40 billion. On top of that, the unemployment rate was in the order of 11%. There was weak economic growth and weak consumer confidence, all brought on by the management so-called of the previous administration.

We recognized that something had to be done if we were to ensure a future for our generations to come. That is exactly what we did.

Our government undertook a series of measures to reduce spending and put our fiscal house in order. By 1997-98 we were able to eliminate the deficit.

I know, Mr. Speaker, that you are a bit of an athlete in your own right and without any pain there is no gain. Canadians clearly made sacrifices in support of a goal of improving our fiscal situation. However, in this case, and I know your athletic endeavours are matters of legend, the pain has paid off big time.

An Act to Authorize the Minister of Finance to Make Certain PaymentsGovernment Orders

11:20 a.m.

An hon. member

It's no legend.