Debates of May 9th, 2007

International Trade

[Jay Hill, Conservative, Secretary of State and Chief Government Whip]

Mr. Speaker, the second travel motion follows the same as the other, in the sense that there have been discussions among all the parties and I think you will find unanimous consent for the following. I move:

That, in relation to its study on Canada's Trade Policy, five (5) members of the Standing Committee on International Trade be authorized to travel to Jakarta, Indonesia; Singapore; and Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam, from June 3 to 14, 2007, and that the necessary staff accompany the committee.

[The Speaker, Liberal, Peter Milliken]

Does the hon. chief government whip have the unanimous consent of the House to propose this motion?

[Some hon. members]

Agreed.

[The Speaker, Liberal, Peter Milliken]

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

[Some hon. members]

Agreed.

[The Speaker, Liberal, Peter Milliken]

(Motion agreed to)

Procedure and House Affairs

[Gary Goodyear, Conservative, Cambridge, ON]

Mr. Speaker, if the House gives its consent, I move:

That the 48th report of the Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs concerning the Standing Orders of the House, presented to the House earlier this day, be now concurred in.

[The Speaker, Liberal, Peter Milliken]

Does the hon. member for Cambridge have the unanimous consent of the House to propose this motion?

[Some hon. members]

Agreed.

[The Speaker, Liberal, Peter Milliken]

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

[Some hon. members]

Agreed.

[The Speaker, Liberal, Peter Milliken]

(Motion agreed to)

[Gary Goodyear, Conservative, Cambridge, ON]

Mr. Speaker, if the House gives its consent, I move:

That the 49th report of the Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs, concerning the Standing Orders of the House and private members' business, presented earlier this day, be now concurred in.

[The Speaker, Liberal, Peter Milliken]

Does the hon. member for Cambridge have the unanimous consent of the House to propose this motion?

[Some hon. members]

Agreed.

[The Speaker, Liberal, Peter Milliken]

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

[Some hon. members]

Agreed.

[The Speaker, Liberal, Peter Milliken]

(Motion agreed to)

The Philippines

[Francine Lalonde, Bloc, La Pointe-de-l'Île, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I seek leave to introduce, for the unanimous consent of the House, a motion concerning a human rights emergency in the Philippines. The motion reads as follows:

“That, in the opinion of this House, given the serious deterioration of the human rights situation in the Philippines since 2001 and the systematic political assassinations that occur there, which were condemned by Amnesty International in 2006, the Melo report and the UN special rapporteur on extrajudicial executions and, given the fact that Canada provides aid to the Philippines, the Government of Canada should urge Gloria Macapagal Arroyo's government to take the necessary measures to correct this situation and put an end to political assassinations and crimes that go unpunished so that a truly democratic election can be held on May 14.”

I hope that the House will support this motion.

[The Speaker, Liberal, Peter Milliken]

Does the hon. member for La Pointe-de-l'Île have the unanimous consent of the House to introduce this motion?

[Some hon. members]

Agreed.

No.

[The Speaker, Liberal, Peter Milliken]

There is no consent.

Terminator Seed Technology

[Libby Davies, NDP, Vancouver East, BC]

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to present three petitions.

The first one concerns the terminator seed that is designed to render seeds sterile at harvest and thus prevent farmers from saving and replanting seeds.

It calls upon Parliament to enshrine in legislation a permanent national ban on the terminator seed.

Housing

[Libby Davies, NDP, Vancouver East, BC]

Mr. Speaker, the second petition I present is from petitioners who are very concerned about the need for affordable and co-op housing units, and the loss of subsidies to co-op housing units that were cut under the section 95 program.

It calls upon Parliament to repay all of the lost subsidies, to provide new assistance to co-ops and to build 200,000 affordable and co-op housing units.

Federal Minimum Wage

[Libby Davies, NDP, Vancouver East, BC]

Mr. Speaker, my third petition is signed by hundreds of people in British Columbia who note that the federal minimum wage was eliminated in 1996 and that to have a federal minimum wage is a very important matter to ensure that workers get a decent living wage.

It calls upon Parliament to ensure that workers in federal jurisdictions are paid a fair minimum wage by passing the NDP's Bill C-375 to re-establish a federal minimum wage and set it at $10 an hour.