Debates of June 20th, 2005

Committees of the House

[Marlene Catterall, Liberal, Ottawa West—Nepean, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I rise on a point of order. I have had discussions with the whips of all parties and wonder if the House would agree to return to presentation of reports from committees so that I may table a report from the heritage committee.

[The Acting Speaker (Mr. Marcel Proulx)]

Is that agreed?

[Some hon. members]

Agreed.

[Marlene Catterall, Liberal, Ottawa West—Nepean, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I have the honour to present, in both official languages, the tenth report of the Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage with respect to a study on the Canadian feature film industry.

This is an interim report, a progress report on what the committee has heard to date. The committee has heard from more than 180 witnesses. In closing, let me note that the committee reaffirms its commitment to complete its study when the House reconvenes in the fall.

I would like to thank all those who participated in this work. It has been a heavy workload.

Petitions

[Paul Szabo, Liberal, Mississauga South, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to present another petition which was submitted to me by Reverend Francis Humphrey of the Peoples Church of Montreal. The subject matter is the issue of marriage. The petitioners would like to make two points: first, that marriage is the best foundation for families and the raising of children, and second, that the definition of marriage as between a man and a woman is being challenged.

They therefore call upon 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.

[Ken Epp, Conservative, Edmonton—Sherwood Park, AB]

Mr. Speaker, I have another petition to present, one of 118 pages with 1,704 names on the issue of preserving marriage. This is a very good petition. It is different in wording from some of the others. It mentions the necessity of our government upholding the historical, biological, cultural and religious definition of marriage and states that marriage is between one man and one woman to the exclusion of all others.

The petitioners are asking Parliament to guarantee the freedom of speech for grandparents, parents, teachers, counsellors, ethnic minorities and religious people when they promote the benefits of traditional marriage, and therefore, they are asking the government to protect the children so that they will have the right to be raised by their biological fathers and mothers. I want to say that the names on the petition clearly indicate that it comes from a wide variety of ethnic backgrounds. I recommend that Parliament start listening to these petitions instead of having them tabled and made to disappear into the backroom.

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

Mr. Speaker, it is my pleasure on behalf of a group of constituents from the northern part of my riding, particularly around the Birch Hills, Hagen and Domremy districts, to present to the House of Commons a petition on the subject of marriage which states that these citizens of Canada draw the attention of the House to the following: that marriage is defined as a lifelong union between one man and one woman and is the best foundation for families and the raising of children, and that this definition has been changed by the courts, and that it is the exclusive jurisdiction of Parliament to define marriage. Therefore, the petitioners pray that Parliament define marriage in federal law as being a lifelong union of one man and one woman to the exclusion of all others.

[Ed Komarnicki, Conservative, Souris—Moose Mountain, SK]

Mr. Speaker, I have a number of petitions dealing with the closure of rural post offices. The petitioners are calling upon this Parliament to keep the Halbrite post office open and retain the moratorium on rural post office closures. There are 170 signatures and a similar petition from the constituents of Manor, Saskatchewan, with 190 signatures also from the constituents of the community of Colgate, Saskatchewan, asking that their post office remain open and that the moratorium be retained.

[Marlene Catterall, Liberal, Ottawa West—Nepean, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I have two petitions to present from people in the Ottawa region, who are calling upon Parliament to enact legislation to redefine marriage as being a lifelong union of one man and one woman to the exclusion of all others.

[Sarmite Bulte, Liberal, Parkdale—High Park, ON]

Mr. Speaker, as the member of Parliament for Parkdale--High Park, which is home to the country's largest population of Canadian Tibetans, I am very proud to table a petition on behalf of hundreds of petitioners, many of whom live in my riding.

The petitioners call upon the Government of Canada to make Tibet a central part of our country's policy toward the People's Republic of China and to take all measures to promote a negotiated settlement over the future of Tibet between Beijing and the Dalai Lama or his representative.

[Pat Martin, NDP, Winnipeg Centre, MB]

Mr. Speaker, on behalf of many residents of Winnipeg Centre who have put forward this issue, I would like to present a petition which recognizes that juvenile gang activity in Winnipeg has reached epic, crisis proportions.

The petitioners call upon Parliament to enforce the current provisions of the Youth Criminal Justice Act and to amend the act so that youths of 13 years of age and over may be charged as adults and that parents be held accountable for the criminal activities of their children aged 12 and under. The petitioners draw the attention of Parliament to this issue.

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

Mr. Speaker, it is an honour for me to present yet another petition, this time from residents of my riding of Prince George--Peace River from the communities of Tumbler Ridge, Rose Prairie, Hudson's Hope, Charlie Lake, and from the city of Fort St. John.

The petitioners wish to draw to the attention of the House of Commons the fact that the creation and use of child pornography is condemned by a clear majority of Canadians. They believe that Liberal Bill C-2 does not adequately protect our nation's children, and that the Liberal government has not prevented artistic merit from being used as a defence for the production and possession of child pornography. Therefore, the petitioners 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 in our country.

[Alexa McDonough, NDP, Halifax, NS]

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to table a petition from a large number of parents and people concerned about vulnerable children who are suffering from autism. The petitioners call upon the government to amend the Canada Health Act and corresponding regulations to include therapies for children with autism as a medically necessary treatment and require governments to provide or fund this essential treatment.

The petitioners encourage the creation of academic undertakings to address the causal factors and come up with improved capacity to provide every Canadian with autism the best treatment available.

Questions on the Order Paper

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

Mr. Speaker, Question No. 145 will be answered today.

Question No. 145

[Rob Merrifield, Conservative, Yellowhead, AB]

With regard to the Canada Health Act: ( a ) does it permit the delivery of publicly funded, medically necessary health care services by privately owned health care clinics; and ( b ) has a province ever been penalized by the federal government under the act simply for contracting with privately owned clinics for the delivery of publicly funded health care services?

[Ujjal Dosanjh, Liberal, Minister of Health]

Health Canada's response is as follows:

In response to (a), the Canada Health Act requires that all medically necessary insured health services be covered by provincial and territorial health insurance plans. Provincial governments are primarily responsible for the delivery of publicly funded health care services in accordance with the Canada Health Act and some of these services, such as physician services, are being delivered by private providers. However, the Canada Health Act applies to insured health services whether they are provided in public or private facilities. Insured persons may not be charged to jump the queue to obtain these services.

In response to (b), provinces and territories are responsible for the administration and delivery of health care services. Some provinces have contracted out medically necessary services to private providers, particularly in the area of elective surgical and diagnostic procedures. The Canada Health Act does not preclude provinces from contracting out insured services provided that insured residents are not charged for such services.

Private, for profit delivery of insured services raises concerns under the act when providers accept or require private payment for insured services and permit queue jumping by those able to pay for preferential access to these services. The federal government's preference is that the publicly funded health care system be strengthened. No province has been penalized by the federal government under the Canada Health Act for contracting with privately owned clinics for the delivery of publicly funded health care services.

Since the enactment of the Canada Health Act, covering the period of April 1984 to March 2004, deductions totalling $8,753,151 have been applied against provincial cash contributions in respect of the extra billing and user charges provisions. This includes deductions applied with respect to facility fees for medically necessary services in clinics and with respect to patient charges for insured health services in private surgical clinics.

[Dominic LeBlanc, Liberal, Beauséjour, NB]

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

[The Acting Speaker (Mr. Marcel Proulx)]

Is it agreed?

[Some hon. members]

Agreed.

The House resumed consideration of Bill C-48, An Act to authorize the Minister of Finance to make certain payments, as reported (with amendments) from the committee, and of the motions in Group No. 1.

An Act to Authorize the Minister of Finance to Make Certain Payments

[The Acting Speaker (Mr. Marcel Proulx)]

The hon. member for Port Moody--Westwood--Port Coquitlam had two minutes and 30 seconds left on questions and comments.

[James Moore, Conservative, Port Moody—Westwood—Port Coquitlam, BC]

Mr. Speaker, one of my Liberal colleagues asked a question and took up the first two and a half minutes of my five minutes for questions and comments. He is so enamoured with his question and so anxious for the response that I notice he has not shown up.

[The Acting Speaker (Mr. Marcel Proulx)]

The hon. member knows very well that he is not to mention who is here or who is not here. He has made his point, of course, so he may proceed.

[James Moore, Conservative, Port Moody—Westwood—Port Coquitlam, BC]

Mr. Speaker, we have a grand total of 120 seconds left and if any members who were here during my speech have a question, they can feel free to ask me one.

[Paul Szabo, Liberal, Mississauga South, ON]

Mr. Speaker, one of the points that has been made by some of the Conservative members so far is that the existence of a surplus means that Canadians are overtaxed. Does the member believe that there should be no surplus and does his party believe that there should be no repayment of the national debt?