Debates of May 6th, 2005

Committees of the House

[Diane Ablonczy, Conservative, Calgary Nose Hill, AB]

Mr. Speaker, a Conservative government would do two things to alleviate his concern and to make positive change.

First of all, a Conservative government would ensure that newcomers are well advised of opportunities in smaller centres in Canada; francophone immigrants in particular would be made well aware that there are warm and welcoming communities across the country where the French language is open to being used by everyone. Thus, it is partly information.

The second thing a Conservative government would do is give positive incentives to newcomers to settle in these smaller centres, perhaps through a reduction in fees, tax breaks or some positive incentive that would make settlement in smaller centres such as my colleague's riding attractive to francophone newcomers.

I look forward to some of those measures being put into place. I agree with the member. It would very much enhance our country.

[Paul MacKlin, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada]

Mr. Speaker, I am grateful for the opportunity to rise in this debate. I move:

That the debate be now adjourned.

[The Acting Speaker (Mr. Marcel Proulx)]

The House has heard the terms of the motion. Is it the pleasure of the House to adopt the motion?

[Some hon. members]

Agreed.

[Some hon. members]

On division.

(Motion agreed to)

[The Acting Speaker (Mr. Marcel Proulx)]

I wish to inform the House that there are two hours and 29 minutes remaining for debate on the motion for concurrence in the fourth report of the Standing Committee on Citizenship and Immigration. Accordingly, the debate on the motion will be rescheduled for another sitting.

Petitions

[Paul Szabo, Liberal, Mississauga South, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I have the pleasure to introduce two petitions today.

The first one, with thousands of signatures, again is on the subject matter of marriage. The petitioners from my riding of Mississauga South would like to draw to the attention of the House the fact 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, and that the majority of Canadians support 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 that between one man and one woman, to the exclusion of all others.

[Paul Szabo, Liberal, Mississauga South, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the second petition, again from my riding of Mississauga South, is on the subject matter of firefighters. As all members know, they were here this week to speak to us about issues important to them. In this particular regard, their first priority was the public safety officers' compensation fund and, indeed, this petition is on that matter.

The petitioners would like to draw to the attention of the House the fact that police officers and firefighters are required to place their lives at risk in the execution of their duties on a daily basis; that employment benefits of police officers and firefighters often provide insufficient compensation to the families of those who are killed while on duty; and finally, also that the public mourns the loss of police officers and firefighters killed in the line of duty and wishes to support in a tangible way the surviving families in their times of need. The petitioners therefore call upon Parliament to establish a fund known as the public safety officers' compensation fund for the benefit of families of public safety officers killed in the line of duty.

[David McGuinty, Liberal, Ottawa South, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to table a petition signed by over 500 Canadians. It deals with the Copyright Act.

This petition recognizes the Copyright Act as a careful balance between the rights of creators and the rights of the public.

The petitioners want the House to maintain this balance by not extending the term of copyright and preserving all existing user rights to ensure a vibrant public domain. They also request that users be recognized as interested parties and, as such, be consulted about any proposed changes to the aforementioned Copyright Act.

[Gordon O'Connor, Conservative, Carleton—Lanark, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I have several petitions to present on behalf of my constituents in Carleton--Mississippi Mills.

First, I have three petitions regarding assisted suicide, whereby petitioners call upon Parliament not to sanction or allow the counselling, aiding or abetting of suicide, whether by personal action or the Internet.

[Gordon O'Connor, Conservative, Carleton—Lanark, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I have three petitions regarding the definition of marriage, whereby petitioners call upon Parliament to pass legislation to recognize the institution of marriage as being a lifelong union of one man and one woman to the exclusion of all others.

[Gordon O'Connor, Conservative, Carleton—Lanark, ON]

Mr. Speaker, lastly I have a petition regarding the treatment of autism, where petitioners call upon Parliament to amend the Canada Health Act to include IBI-ABA therapy as a medically necessary treatment and require all provinces to fund this treatment.

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

Mr. Speaker, in memory of RCMP Officers Myrol, Johnston, Gordon and Schiemann, I am presenting a petition signed by the residents in and around my constituency and the town of Stony Plain, the home of Constable Schiemann, which calls for a minimum 10 year jail sentence without parole for people involved in marijuana grow ops.

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

Mr. Speaker, I have another petition from my constituents in and around Edmonton. They call upon Parliament to enact legislation to preserve the traditional definition of marriage.

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

Mr. Speaker, I have another petition signed by constituents in and around my riding who call for greater access to natural health products.

[Jay Hill, Conservative, Prince George—Peace River, BC]

Mr. Speaker, I have four petitions to present to the House this afternoon from my riding of Prince George—Peace River. They are all on the same subject and signed by a great many residents of my riding, particularly from the cities of Fort St. John and Dawson Creek in the Peace River district and Charlie Lake, Taylor, Chetwynd and the surrounding rural areas.

The petitioners want to draw the attention of the House to the fact that the creation and use of child pornography is condemned by the clear majority of Canadians. They believe that Bill C-20, put forward by the Liberal government, does not adequately protect our nation's children.

Therefore, they call upon Parliament to protect our children by taking all necessary steps to ensure that all materials that promote or glorify child pornography are outlawed.

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

Mr. Speaker, I have seven petitions to present today, all on the same subject. They are from across the constituency, from Lanark Highlands, Denbigh, Carleton Place, Millhaven, Smiths Falls, Perth, Northbrook, Godfrey, et cetera.

The petitioners, of which there are over a thousand, call upon Parliament to preserve the current and traditional definition of marriage. They do so on the following basis. They say that marriage is the best foundation for families and the raising of children and that the majority of Canadians support the current legal definition of marriage as the voluntary union of one man and one woman.

They believe as well that it is very important that fundamental matters of social policy, such as the definition of marriage, be decided by members of Parliament and not by the unelected judiciary.

[Maurice Vellacott, Conservative, Saskatoon—Wanuskewin, SK]

Mr. Speaker, I have three petitions in total. The first petitioner is in respect to marriage.

The petitioners call upon the Government of Canada to support and protect the current legal definition of marriage as the voluntary union of a man and a woman and that they should do all things within the power of Parliament, legislatively and administratively, to preserve and protect the current traditional heterosexual definition of marriage as between one man and one woman and that it should not be the role of the unelected judiciary to decide such fundamental matters of policy.

[Maurice Vellacott, Conservative, Saskatoon—Wanuskewin, SK]

Mr. Speaker, I am also tabling a petition from several hundred residents of Carrot River, Saskatchewan. The petitioners are concerned about the possibility of their rural post office being closed by Canada Post. They call on the government to ensure that such a move does not take place.

[Maurice Vellacott, Conservative, Saskatoon—Wanuskewin, SK]

Mr. Speaker, the third petition I table today is from people in Nova Scotia. The petitioners call upon the government to return to its previous policy of allowing holy books to be made available to new citizens at citizenship ceremonies around the country.

The petitioners note that a citizenship judge terminated this policy, alleging that the policy discriminated against non-religious immigrants. Up until last year, holy books were simply displayed on tables at the back of the hall or gymnasium, free for new citizens to take. The new citizens were not handed the books. They were not forced to take them. The citizenship judge produced no evidence to justify his inappropriate decision to ban the availability of holy books.

They ask that the Citizenship Commission return to the previous policy, which has served our multicultural nation so very well over a number of years.

[Andrew Scheer, Conservative, Regina—Qu'Appelle, SK]

Mr. Speaker, I have the honour and privilege today of presenting a few hundred signatures from concerned voters across Saskatchewan from the Qu'Appelle and Regina areas. The petitioners call upon the House to enact Bill C-420, which will ensure that dietary supplements and other traditional natural health products will not be arbitrarily restricted as drugs.

They call upon the House to ensure that the freedom of Canadians to explore health care remedies remains with individual Canadians. They encourage all parliamentarians to enact Bill C-420 as quickly as possible.

[Mark Warawa, Conservative, Langley, BC]

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to present a petition from the wonderful people of Langley, my riding.

The petitioners state that marriage is the best foundation for families and for raising children, that the institution of marriage is being challenged and that it is in the jurisdiction of Parliament to decide the definition of marriage.

They therefore petition Parliament to pass legislation to recognize the institution of marriage in federal law as being the lifelong union of one man and one woman to the exclusion of all others.

[Bradley Trost, Conservative, Saskatoon—Humboldt, SK]

Mr. Speaker, it is my pleasure today to present a petition on behalf of residents of eastern Ontario and adjacent areas of Quebec.

In particular, they are petitioning the House of Commons concerning funding for juvenile diabetes. Juvenile diabetes is a very serious disease. It affects many Canadians. I am sure all members of the House agree with me that we need to do something to combat it, and that is what these petitioners are calling upon the House of Commons to take actions to do.

[James Lunney, Conservative, Nanaimo—Alberni, BC]

Mr. Speaker, I also have a petition on the subject of marriage. There are some 300 signatures on the petition, from one side of the country to the other, from Fredericton to Summerside, New Brunswick, Winnipeg, B.C., Edmonton, Alberta and places in between, including Toronto.

The petitioners call upon the same request, that the institution of marriage, the bond between one man and one woman, is a serious moral good. Marriage is the lasting union of man and woman to the exclusion of all others and it cannot and should not be modified by a legislative act or by a court of law.

They therefore request that Parliament take whatever action is required to maintain the current definition of marriage in law, in perpetuity, to prevent any court from overturning or amending that definition.

Questions on the Order Paper

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

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