House of Commons Hansard #23 of the 39th Parliament, 2nd Session. (The original version is on Parliament's site.) The word of the day was justice.
Luc Malo Bloc Verchères—Les Patriotes, QC
Mr. Speaker, the National Capital Commission acknowledged its mistake, changed the panel on Lord Durham, which was considered to be a historic affront to French Canadians, and made a public apology. The new panel now recognizes Lord Durham's intention, which was to assimilate French Canadians.
Could the government do the same and make a public apology to lay this unfortunate incident to rest once and for all?
Lawrence Cannon ConservativeMinister of Transport
Mr. Speaker, in fact, the National Capital Commission recognized it had made a mistake with the historical interpretation, and made changes to reflect the facts and not to interpret Canadian history.
Beyond that, I think we were able to set the record straight, and at the same time, ensure that on the occasion of the 150th anniversary of the national capital we can celebrate as Canadians the choice of Ottawa as the capital of Canada.
Libby Davies NDP Vancouver East, BC
Mr. Speaker, during question period, the member for Lambton—Kent—Middlesex falsely accused the NDP of somehow manipulating the process regarding Bill C-303.
I want to be very clear that the NDP, as with other parties, completely stood by the Standing Orders. It was within normal procedure in terms of the process with Bill C-303.
I would ask the member to withdraw his remarks because he has made an allegation that somehow the NDP manipulated the process when in fact we stood by the process and did what is usual practice in the House regarding a private member's bill.
Peter Van Loan ConservativeLeader of the Government in the House of Commons and Minister for Democratic Reform
Mr. Speaker, I welcome the opportunity to repeat back the member's words the next many times that the NDP objects to our efforts to utilize the Standing Orders and rules to advance our very important priority agendas on matters like justice and cutting taxes for Canadians.
The Speaker Liberal Peter Milliken
I am afraid the Chair has no familiarity with whatever procedure may have occurred in respect to the private member's bill to which the hon. member for Vancouver East is referring.
However, I am quite prepared to review the comments made by the minister to see if they did constitute some suggestion that there had been an abuse of the rules of the House or privileges of members in the answer that was given. It did not sound like it when I heard it, I have to say that, but maybe I did not hear it correctly and maybe the facts were such that the minister's suggestion was misunderstood by the Chair.
I will look into the matter and, if necessary, come back to the House.
Pierre Poilievre ConservativeParliamentary Secretary to the President of the Treasury Board
Mr. Speaker, as part of our overall efforts to inform parliamentarians and Canadians about the government's performance, I have the honour of presenting on behalf of the President of Treasury Board, in both official languages, a report entitled “Canada's Performance 2006-07: The Government of Canada's Contribution”.
FinanceCommittees of the HouseRoutine Proceedings
Prince George—Peace River B.C.
Conservative
Jay Hill ConservativeSecretary of State and Chief Government Whip
Mr. Speaker, there have been discussions among all the parties and I believe you would find unanimous consent for the following motion:
That, notwithstanding the provisions of Standing Order 83.1, the Standing Committee on Finance be authorized to present its report on the prebudget consultations no later than February 8, 2008; and,
That, during its consideration of matters pursuant to Standing 83.1, the Standing Committee on Finance be authorized to adjourn from place to place within Canada and to permit the broadcasting of its proceedings thereon, and that the necessary staff do accompany the committee.
The Speaker Liberal Peter Milliken
Does the chief government whip have the unanimous consent of the House to propose the motion?
Paul Dewar NDP Ottawa Centre, ON
Mr. Speaker, I rise to present a petition that has been a concern of not only my constituents but of citizens from coast to coast to coast. This is a petition to hold MPs accountable to their electors.
The petitioners want Parliament to strengthen democratic accountability by taking all necessary steps to ensure that MPs who switch party affiliation must immediately resign and face electors in a byelection.
I have thousands and thousands of names here from people from Ontario, B.C., places right across the country, the Maritimes, as well as the north who want their government to be accountable and their MPs to be accountable. They want to ensure that when they vote for an MP who is with a particular party that they do not wake up the next morning and find out, quel dommage, they have switched parties.
I present this petition and look forward to the response from the government.
Denise Savoie NDP Victoria, BC
Mr. Speaker, I have three petitions to present on behalf of my constituents.
The first petition is from many parents in my constituency who are stuck on long wait lists for child care with costs that are rising out of reach. They face the threat of their child care centre closing because they cannot afford or find qualified staff.
The petitioners are calling on the Government of Canada to achieve multi-year funding to ensure that publicly operated child care programs are sustainable for the long term and to protect child care by enshrining it in legislation with a national child care act to be the cornerstone of Canada like the National Health Act, and to help end child poverty by using the $1,200 allowance to enhance the child tax benefit without taxes or clawbacks as is the case presently.
Denise Savoie NDP Victoria, BC
Mr. Speaker, the second petition is from many constituents who are concerned about the continued military arsenal buildup in the world and the danger that it presents to us all. The sale of arms has become a flourishing industry in Canada and now represents a large percentage of our GDP. Our government refuses to give leadership in establishing a comprehensive peace process in Afghanistan.
The petitioners are therefore calling on Parliament to establish a department of peace that would reinvigorate Canada's role as a global peace builder and that would have the abolition of nuclear weapons as a top priority.
Denise Savoie NDP Victoria, BC
Mr. Speaker, the last petition is signed by many of my constituents in Victoria and many constituents across the country who are concerned about the constant floor crossings between Liberals and Conservatives.
The petitioners call on Parliament to strengthen democratic accountability by taking all necessary steps to ensure that MPs who switch party affiliation immediately resign and face electors in a byelection.
Libby Davies NDP Vancouver East, BC
Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to rise in the House today to present a petition from many people in my riding of Vancouver East and in Vancouver generally.
I am sure members will remember that in March 2007 there was a flood of contaminated pet food that hit Canadian store shelves, causing severe illness and stress in a number of animals. What became clear is that there is no federal regulator or agency to monitor or protect the safety of pet food in Canada or to inform the public about the potential harm of pet foods.
The petitioners call on the Government of Canada to remove the self-regulatory regime that is now in place allowing pet food producers to basically monitor themselves.
The petitioners call on the government to develop mandatory regulations and inspections to ensure the quality and safety of pet food.
The petitioners also call on the government to direct the Canadian Food Inspection Agency to oversee the regulation and inspection of the quality of pet food, and ensure that there is a national protocol to inform the public about potentially harmful pet foods, so that we never again see the kind of anxiety and concern that happened in March 2007 when contaminated pet food hit retail shelves and pet food stores at that time.
Scott Reid Conservative Lanark—Frontenac—Lennox and Addington, ON
Mr. Speaker, I have three petitions today; two are on the same subject and one on a different subject.
The first two petitions are on the subject of the age of sexual consent, a matter that is before Parliament right now.
The large number of petitioners draw to the attention of Parliament their opposition to the age of sexual consent being set at 14. They urge Parliament to raise the age of sexual consent to 16. They point out that this would do a considerable amount to protect teenagers from sexual predators. They point out that the Canadian Police Association, a number of parliamentary governments and parliamentary committees have all advocated raising the age of consent and they, and I, feel strongly about this.
Scott Reid Conservative Lanark—Frontenac—Lennox and Addington, ON
Mr. Speaker, the third petition is on the subject of the long gun registry. This is a matter that once again is before Parliament, so it makes the petition very timely.
The petitioners point out that the majority of violent gun crimes in Canada are committed with unregistered or illegal firearms and, therefore, the long gun registry does nothing to protect Canadians against this kind of crime.
The petitioners also point out that the long gun registry is 500 times its original cost, at more than $1 billion. They point out that a number of legal gun owners, including farmers, sport shooters and hunters, are in fact the people who have to pay the freight for the long gun registry. They therefore encourage Parliament to rescind the long gun registry.
Peter Julian NDP Burnaby—New Westminster, BC
Mr. Speaker, the province of Manitoba, an NDP government, is the leader on climate change and I have a petition signed by hundreds of people from Winnipeg and other towns in Manitoba, as well as across Canada, on the issue of climate change. That is understandable given that Manitoba has been the leading government in the nation in fighting back against climate change.
These petitioners from Manitoba, a leader in climate change, call upon Parliament to honour the legal commitment to the Kyoto treaty and to further pledge to reduce Canada's greenhouse gas emissions by 30% below the 1990 level by 2020 and 80% by 2050, as the Federation of Canadian Municipalities and the state of California have done.
These Manitobans, part of the NDP government that has led the country in climate change, are asking Parliament to take action.
Questions on the Order PaperRoutine Proceedings
Regina—Lumsden—Lake Centre Saskatchewan
Conservative
Tom Lukiwski ConservativeParliamentary Secretary to the Leader of the Government in the House of Commons and Minister for Democratic Reform
Mr. Speaker, I suppose the only real question for today is: By how large of a margin will the Saskatchewan Roughriders beat the Winnipeg Blue Bombers in Sunday's Grey Cup?
However, since that answer is forthcoming on Sunday, in the parliamentary context I humbly ask that all questions be allowed to stand.
The House resumed consideration of Bill C-2, An Act to amend the Criminal Code and to make consequential amendments to other Acts, and of Motion No. 2.
The Acting Speaker Conservative Royal Galipeau
When debating Bill C-2, there were five minutes remaining to the hon. member for Hochelaga.