Debates of May 16th, 2005

Social Development

[Christiane Gagnon, Bloc, Québec, QC]

Mr. Speaker, for the past few weeks the government has been announcing a number of child care agreements. Curiously enough, however, the process is dragging on in Quebec and there is nothing tangible to speak of. Yet, the process should be easier with Quebec, since its positions are known and there are no conditions to negotiate.

Since the Prime Minister has already promised that the transfer would be done with no strings attached, how does he explain that there is yet to be an agreement with Quebec on child care?

[Eleni Bakopanos, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Social Development (Social Economy)]

Mr. Speaker, I am very pleased to announce that we have signed an agreement with a fifth province. We are in negotiation with Quebec and the remaining provinces. We are quite confident that an agreement will be reached with the current government.

The Environment

[Anita Neville, Liberal, Winnipeg South Centre, MB]

Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Minister of the Environment. Manitoba is home to some of the most beautiful lakes and rivers in the country, including the Red River. Yet this natural tributary is in danger of contamination if North Dakota implements its Devils Lake project.

This project would redirect water to the Red River, possibly bringing with it foreign species and other contaminants. Further, this redirection project could cause flooding in the communities along the Red River, which have now only recovered from the flood of 1997.

As such, could the minister please tell the House what the government is doing to ensure water quality?

[Stéphane Dion, Liberal, Minister of the Environment]

Mr. Speaker, at the same time the government intensifies its pressure under the U.S. administration to refer the matter of the Devils Lake outlet to the International Joint Commission, we are also taking steps to detect any harm that might be caused by the outlet operation.

As I speak, monitoring is done every 11 minutes at the station on the Red River, between the United States and Canada. However, as a vow, we will intensify our pressure to be sure that the International Joint Commission will be done.

Presence in Gallery

[The Speaker]

I draw the attention of hon. members to the presence in the gallery of the Hon. David Krutko, Minister responsible for the Northwest Territories Housing Corporation and Minister responsible for the Northwest Territories Power Corporation.

[Some hon. members]

Hear, hear!

Certificates of Nomination

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

Mr. Speaker, I am happy to table, pursuant to Standing Order 110(2), a certificate of nomination with respect to the Freshwater Fish Marketing Corporation. This certificate stands referred to the Standing Committee on Fisheries and Oceans.

Government Response to Petitions

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

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to table, in both official languages, the government's response to 33 petitions.

Criminal Code

[Irwin Cotler, Liberal, Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada]

moved for leave to introduce Bill C-50, an act to amend the Criminal Code in respect of cruelty to animals.

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

Interparliamentary Delegations

[Don Boudria, Liberal, Glengarry—Prescott—Russell, ON]

Mr. Speaker, pursuant to Standing Order 34(1) I have the honour to present, in both official languages, the report of the 11th executive committee meeting on the Interparliamentary Forum of the Americas, held in San Jose, Costa Rica, on February 11 and 12.

Petitions

[Steven Fletcher, Conservative, Charleswood—St. James, MB]

Mr. Speaker, I am honoured today to present six petitions on the subject of marriage. The petitioners call upon the government to define marriage as the union between one man and one woman.

[Steven Fletcher, Conservative, Charleswood—St. James, MB]

Mr. Speaker, I am also honoured today to introduce a petition on the subject of civil war in Uganda, which is also an issue of importance to all Canadians and all citizens of the world.

The petition draws the attention of hon. members to the fact that the 18 year old civil war in northern Uganda has caused the deaths of more than 100,000 children and countless numbers of children have been abducted by the Lord's Resistance Army.

The petitioners encourage Parliament to take action to provide protection to the children of northern Uganda as per the Winnipeg communiqué of September 17, 2000, from the International Conference on War-Affected Children.

[Steven Fletcher, Conservative, Charleswood—St. James, MB]

Mr. Speaker, I am honoured today to introduce a petition on the subject of juvenile type I diabetes research funding. This is also an issue of importance to all Canadians.

The petitioners encourage Parliament to secure funding for juvenile diabetes research for the next five years. They also point out, and this should be emphasized, that an increase in investment and research will yield immense benefits for future generations.

[Steven Fletcher, Conservative, Charleswood—St. James, MB]

Mr. Speaker, I am honoured today to introduce a petition on the subject of autism spectrum disorder, which is also an issue of critical importance to all Canadians.

The petitioners draw the attention of hon. members to the fact that some children can benefit from the provision of intensive behaviour intervention therapy treatment. They encourages Parliament to amend the Canada Health Act and require all provinces to provide funding for treatment for children with autism.

[Inky Mark, Conservative, Dauphin—Swan River, MB]

Mr. Speaker, I have the honour to present two petitions today.

The first one is signed by 3,664 legionnaires from across the country. As members know, this year we are celebrating the end of World War II and we are indebted to our men and women who served us during that period of time.

The petitioners call upon Parliament to enact Bill C-295, an act to amend the Holidays Act to recognize Remembrance Day as a legal holiday that honours the men and women who died serving their country in wars and in peacekeeping efforts.

[Inky Mark, Conservative, Dauphin—Swan River, MB]

Mr. Speaker, my second petition calls upon Parliament to affirm legislation to recognize the institution of marriage in federal law as being a union of one man and one woman to the exclusion of all others.

[Randy White, Conservative, Abbotsford, BC]

Mr. Speaker, I have a petition to submit to the House today from people in my riding. The petitioners ask government assembled in Parliament to vote in favour of Bill C-275, an act to amend the Criminal Code, failure to stop at the scene of an accident, to make sentencing for hit and run offenders more severe.

The petitioners are concerned about hit and run. Carley's law will make a better change.

[Dave Batters, Conservative, Palliser, SK]

Mr. Speaker, it is an honour for me to rise today pursuant to Standing Order 36 to present two petitions.

The first petition is signed by many deeply concerned producers and citizens in my riding of Palliser. This petition, which was circulated last fall and earlier this year in RM offices in Palliser by private businesses and individuals, calls upon the government to eliminate the onerous CAIS deposit. The petitioners call upon the government to do what it acknowledged in the budget was the right thing to do.

As the government has promised in the budget to work with the provinces to eliminate the CAIS deposit, the petition today serves as a reminder to the government that this burden needs to be eliminated as soon as possible, not postponed.

[Dave Batters, Conservative, Palliser, SK]

Mr. Speaker, the second petition that I am presenting today is on behalf of a large number of citizens from my riding of Palliser, predominantly from Moose Jaw, Caronport and Caron.

The petitioners wish to call to the attention of Parliament that they recognize the importance of the special role of traditional marriage and family in our society. The petitioners call upon the justice minister and Parliament to do everything within their power to preserve the definition of marriage as being the union of one man and one woman to the exclusion of all others.

[John Cummins, Conservative, Delta—Richmond East, BC]

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to present a petition from British Columbians who are concerned about the management of the Fraser River fishery.

There is a line up of tractors outside Parliament Hill today with people concerned about the government's ability to manage the agricultural resource. Our folks are a bit further way and it is not too easy for them to conduct such a visible demonstration, but their concerns are just as great.

As they note in this petition, the preliminary reports indicated last summer that there were fewer fish on the spawning grounds in 2004 than after the 1914 rock slide on the Fraser River at Hells Gate.

The petitioners call upon Parliament to initiate a judicial inquiry into the fishery to examine the management of the fishery so as to prevent another tragedy.

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

Mr. Speaker, I am proud to present a petition on behalf of fellow Albertans who believe that on important issues of social policy, it should be elected members of Parliament making the law and not the courts.

The petitioners urge Parliament to use every means it has, whether legislative or administrative, including invoking the notwithstanding clause of the charter if necessary, to ensure that marriage is the union of one man and one woman to the exclusion of all others.

[Paul Szabo, Liberal, Mississauga South, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I also have a petition on the subject of marriage to present to the House today. The petition has been presented by many members in this place, signed by hundreds of thousands of signatures.

The petitioners would like to draw to the attention of the House that the majority of Canadians believe fundamental matters of social policy should be decided by elected members of Parliament and not by the unelected judiciary and that the majority of Canadians do support the current definition of marriage.

The petitioners call upon Parliament to use all administrative and legislative measures possible, 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 being the legal union of one man and one woman to the exclusion of all others.

[Scott Reid, Conservative, Lanark—Frontenac—Lennox and Addington, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I have three petitions to present to the House today on the subject of marriage and the traditional definition of marriage. I have presented over 20 of these petitions now.

The petitioners say that whereas the traditional definition of marriage is the best basis for raising families and children and whereas the majority of Canadians are in favour of the traditional definition of marriage, they would like to see the traditional definition of marriage continued. They point out that it ought to be Parliament rather than the courts that rule on this.

These petitions like the others have come from across my riding from Barry's Bay, from Smith's Falls and from beautiful Ardoch.

[Scott Reid, Conservative, Lanark—Frontenac—Lennox and Addington, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I have another petition to present today, and it is almost a novelty to be presenting one that is not on same sex marriage. This petition is on the subject of the right to save seeds.

The petitioners want Parliament to recognize the inherent right of farmers, developed from thousands of years of custom and tradition, to save, re-use, exchange and select seeds. They point out that newly proposed restrictions on farmers' traditional practices criminalize these ancient practices and could harm farmers, citizens and society in general.

[James Bezan, Conservative, Selkirk—Interlake, MB]

Mr. Speaker, it is my duty today to present two petitions on Bill C-38. It is interesting to note that one is pro and one is con. It demonstrates that this is a very divisive issue across the country and, unfortunately, rather than uniting Canadians it is dividing them.