Debates of June 6th, 2007

Philippines

[Bernard Patry, Liberal, Pierrefonds—Dollard, QC]

Mr. Speaker, pursuant to Standing Order 36, I wish to present a petition on behalf of citizens from my riding of Pierrefonds—Dollard and the surrounding area concerning human rights in the Philippines.

These petitioners call on the Parliament of Canada to take steps to ensure that Canadians who own mining companies operating in the Philippines or do business with that country not contribute to the murderous abuse that has been going on over there in the past several years.

Human Rights

[Bill Siksay, NDP, Burnaby—Douglas, BC]

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

Over 80 residents of Montreal in the province of Quebec have pointed out that the Canadian Human Rights Act does not explicitly protect transsexual and transgender people from discrimination, harassment and violence based on their gender identity or gender expression.

The petitioners note that they are victims of discrimination, harassment and violence because of their gender identity and gender expression. They experience injustices such as the denial of employment, housing and access to transsensitive health care, and the inability to obtain identification documents because of their gender identity or gender expression.

The petitioners call on Parliament to immediately implement legislation to update the Canadian Human Rights Act to include gender identity and gender expression as prohibited grounds of discrimination.

[Bill Siksay, NDP, Burnaby—Douglas, BC]

Mr. Speaker, over 50 residents of Montreal, Quebec and Toronto also call on this House to commit to respecting and promoting international standards in lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender human rights by adopting the principles of the declaration of Montreal on LGBT human rights and the Yogyakarta principles on the application of international human rights law in relation to sexual orientation and gender identity.

Both of these very important international documents merit the support of the House and the government.

Immigration

[Meili Faille, Bloc, Vaudreuil—Soulanges, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to present a petition here today signed by citizens from throughout Canada and Quebec.

This petition calls for the establishment and immediate implementation of the Refugee Appeal Division. This could have helped the case of Ms. Touré, who currently faces possible removal. At this time, her daughter could face brutal genital mutilation in Guinea, without the possibility of being protected.

The Refugee Appeal Division is a cause that is dear to my heart. In this case, Ms. Touré's life could have taken an entirely different course.

Forest Industry

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

Mr. Speaker, I actually have five separate issues to present here today but, with your permission, I would like to do at least two of them. The first one has to do with an important issue dealing with log exports from private lands.

These constituents from British Columbia are calling on the federal government to act inasmuch as logs from private lands are regulated by federal control rather than provincial control. They are drawing to the attention of the House that of approximately a million acres of private forest land on central Vancouver Island, nearly 70% of those logs are destined for export.

They are therefore calling on the Government of Canada to implement a tariff on logs exported from private lands to level the playing field and ensure that Canadian mills, as well as secondary industries that rely on the byproducts, are given equal opportunity.

They are asking the government to work with the province of British Columbia to implement a similar tariff on logs exported from Crown land.

Natural Health Products

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

Mr. Speaker, the second petition also deals with an important issue and contains about 1,800 signatures. It has to do with the fact that Canadians use natural health products for health and wellness, and that the weight of modern scientific evidence confirms the mitigation and prevention of many diseases and disorders through judicious use of natural health products.

The petitioners are asking the government to remove the GST and provide greater access to natural health products by enacting Bill C-404, An Act to amend the Excise Tax Act.

Employment Insurance

[Jean-Claude D'Amours, Liberal, Madawaska—Restigouche, NB]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to present a petition here this afternoon signed by hundreds of citizens, mainly from my riding of Madawaska—Restigouche.

These people are petitioning this minority Conservative government for two things. First of all, they are calling on the Conservative government to acknowledge and take action on the elimination of the waiting period within the employment insurance program.

Let us be clear. Although the government sometimes has considerable difficulty understanding this change, the petitioners are demanding it because seasonal workers, or those who work and lose their jobs, are not always able to make their mortgage and car payments, buy gas, or pay their grocery and utility bills, as many other citizens are able to do, and all because of the waiting period when they apply for EI benefits.

Second, the petitioners are asking that people who apply for EI benefits have the choice or the right to file their application either on paper or electronically, and that they not be obligated to file using only one format. People should have the choice.

Income Trusts

[Paul Szabo, Liberal, Mississauga South, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to present this income trust broken promise petition on behalf of Mr. Dante Repagna, who remembers that the Prime Minister was boasting about his apparent commitment to accountability when he said, “the greatest fraud is a promise not kept”.

The petitioners remind the Prime Minister that he recklessly broke his promise never to tax income trusts by imposing a 31.5% punitive tax which permanently wiped out over $25 billion of the hard-earned retirement savings of over two million Canadians, particularly seniors.

Therefore, the petitioners call upon the Conservative minority government: first, to admit that the decision to tax income trusts was based on flawed methodology and incorrect assumptions; second, to apologize to those who were unfairly harmed by this broken promise; and finally, to repeal the punitive 31.5% tax on income trusts.

Immigration

[Meili Faille, Bloc, Vaudreuil—Soulanges, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I forgot to present two other petitions.

The first petition concerns conscientious objectors to the ongoing war in Iraq. These are American officers who are here and have applied for refugee status because of a conscientious objection. I am presenting a petition on their behalf.

The other petition has to do with regularizing the status of individuals affected by the moratorium on deportation to countries such as Afghanistan, Burundi, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Haiti, Iraq, Liberia, Rwanda and Zimbabwe.

The petitioners are asking the government to reinstate a program that would enable individuals who have been here for more than three years to obtain permanent resident status and would facilitate the granting of such status for humanitarian reasons.

Those are the two petitions I am presenting.

Questions on the Order Paper

[Tom Lukiwski, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Leader of the Government in the House of Commons and Minister for Democratic Reform]

Mr. Speaker, Question No. 198 will be answered today.

Question No. 198

[Peter Stoffer, NDP, Sackville—Eastern Shore, NS]

With regard to the proposed move of the Coast Guard icebreakers Terry Fox and Louis St. Laurent: (a) what are the benefits identified by the government for this move; (b) what will be the cost of this move; (c) when will these moves take place; (d) where will the icebreakers be moved to; (e) what consultations have taken place with (i) the public, (ii) the employees, (iii) other government departments, (iv) the Coast Guard and the Department of Fisheries and Oceans, on this proposed move; (f) what provisions and benefits have been proposed for employees who will make this move; and (g) what limitations or benefits will this move place on Coast Guard operations and exercises?

[Loyola Hearn, Conservative, Minister of Fisheries and Oceans]

Mr. Speaker, in response to the decision to redeploy the two icebreakers was made for financial reasons: a cost avoidance of $10 million capital expenditure on additional infrastructure for Halifax that was already in place in Newfoundland. Coast Guard must ensure it invests as much as possible in its operations in support of federal maritime priorities. An additional benefit is ongoing cost avoidance for maintenance of the additional infrastructure had it been built.

In response to (b), given that this is a straightforward transfer of home ports of the two vessels from one area to another, costs of the redeployment are expected to be minimal.

In response to (c) and (d), the CCGS Terry Fox will be redeployed to St. John's in April 2008, and the CCGS Louis S. St-Laurent to Argentia in April 2009.

In response to (e), there were no specific consultations as it was an operational decision. However, this issue goes back almost 10 years and there have been a number of studies on moving the vessels.

In response to (f), an operations transition group will oversee operational and human resource aspects of the redeployment. No Coast Guard maritimes region personnel currently assigned to either of these vessels will be forced to move, nor will any indeterminate jobs be lost because of this move. Crew changes in the Arctic and elsewhere are currently managed from Halifax and this will continue throughout the transition. A period of co-crewing between the two regions will occur. The transition will take place over a five year period, with extensive consultations with crew to ensure their needs are addressed. Over time, as the existing crews leave, transfer to other vessels, or choose to move, crew members from the two icebreakers will have St. John's as their home port.

In response to (g), there is no operational need to base the two vessels in Halifax, given that their main theatre of operations is the Arctic. The full range of services will continue. Also, the vessels will be two days' steam closer to the Arctic. The vessels will continue to work as needed in the Atlantic zone as is now the case, the most recent example being the work of the Terry Fox related to the seal harvest.

Questions Passed as Orders for Returns

[Tom Lukiwski, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Leader of the Government in the House of Commons and Minister for Democratic Reform]

Mr. Speaker, if Questions Nos. 195, 196, 197 and 205 could be made orders for returns, these returns would be tabled immediately.

[The Speaker, Liberal, Peter Milliken]

Is that agreed?

[Some hon. members]

Agreed.

Question No. 195

[Alex Atamanenko, NDP, British Columbia Southern Interior, BC]

With respect to the pet food recall as a result of tainted ingredients causing illness and death among Canadian pets: (a) what is the government intending to do to ensure the safety of pet food made in Canada; (b) what is the government intending to do to ensure the safety of pet food imported from the United States and other countries; and (c) what are the details and the timeline of the government’s response to the outbreak from the time the government first learned about the pet food recall and the first illnesses were reported through the present time?

(Return tabled)

Question No. 196

[Charlie Angus, NDP, Timmins—James Bay, ON]

With regard to television programming shown by all Canadian private broadcasters: (a) does the government have access to cumulative and individual statistics of their Canadian programming that are more recent than fall 2004 from the Bureau of Broadcast Measurement’s (BBM) television diary or more recent than 2005 from the BBM’s meter surveys and, if so, (i) what are they, (ii) what are the most recent cumulative and individual statistics on the percentage of Canadian programming shown during primetime, (iii) what are the most recent cumulative and individual statistics on the breakdown of type of Canadian programming that is being shown during and outside of primetime; and (b) what is the government’s plan for promoting Canadian programming in the future and what specific initiatives are being planned to guarantee a healthy future for Canadian programming on private broadcasters?

(Return tabled)

Question No. 197

[Charlie Angus, NDP, Timmins—James Bay, ON]

With regard to Canadian private broadcasters: (a) what is the estimated financial value of the benefits that Canadian private broadcasters derive from the laws and regulations of the government, including, but non limited to, simultaneous substitution, tax write-off exclusions for Canadian companies' advertisements on U.S. broadcasters, and protection from foreign competition; and (b) what is the estimated financial value of these benefits for each private broadcaster?

(Return tabled)

Question No. 205

[Paule Brunelle, Bloc, Trois-Rivières, QC]

Regarding the document entitled “The Cost of Bill C-288 to Canadian Families and Business” released on April 19, 2007, by the Minister of the Environment: (a) what is the model of elasticity used to set the amount of the carbon tax at $195 per tonne and what are the details; (b) what is the macroeconometric and energetics model used to assess the economic impacts associated with the implementation of Bill C-288, An Act to ensure Canada meets its global climate change obligations under the Kyoto Protocol, and what are the details; and (c) what are the details of all the methodological appendices used to support the Minister’s conclusions?

(Return tabled)

Questions Passed as Orders for Returns

[Tom Lukiwski, Conservative, Regina—Lumsden—Lake Centre, SK]

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

[The Speaker, Liberal, Peter Milliken]

Is that agreed?