Debates of Dec. 3rd, 2008

Decorum in the Chamber

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

Mr. Speaker, that is the problem. Everybody is pointing a finger. I thought we were going to move beyond that.

It is no great revelation that all of us perhaps have been guilty in the last couple of days of getting tremendously emotional about the situation facing us as a chamber. It obviously makes your life, Mr. Speaker, extremely difficult once again with all this noise, especially when something is happening at the far end of the chamber, and you cannot hear people even beside you let alone at the far end.

You will recall, Mr. Speaker, that I privately brought to you a copy of Hansard from yesterday and pointed out to you a certain quote that was done directly, not indirectly, in this chamber, where a member referred to the Prime Minister as having told lies. You know that is not allowed. It is unparliamentary language—

[Marcel Proulx, Liberal, Hull—Aylmer, QC]

He did.

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

Here again, Mr. Speaker, the member for Hull—Aylmer across the way says “He did”. How is that helpful to us trying to move beyond this?

[Anita Neville, Liberal, Winnipeg South Centre, MB]

But he did.

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

That is the issue, Mr. Speaker. You have a huge job to do if we are going to get this chamber back under control. All I am suggesting is that all of us need to help you in doing this.

[Michel Guimond, Bloc, Montmorency—Charlevoix—Haute-Côte-Nord, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to discuss the same point of order. That is not the question. The question is whether we, as parliamentarians, can read here in this House things that we have received in writing, either by email or in a letter, from a citizen who says something that might offend another party.

I did not have the chance to finish my thought earlier, but I would simply like to say that when the member was reading a letter from a citizen, which said: “that French leader doesn't belong with us”, I would like to know what the Conservative leader thinks of such a designation. What does “that French leader” mean?

Does that mean that we do not have the right to sit in this House because we are francophone?

It is completely unacceptable and cannot be tolerated.

[Tom Lukiwski, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Leader of the Government in the House of Commons]

Mr. Speaker, I want to briefly comment on the original point of order by my hon. friend from the Bloc Québécois. I respectfully suggest that he is wrong when he says the government House leader has misinterpreted and misunderstood what the point of this whole debate is.

My colleagues on this side of the House feel very passionately about our country. Many of our constituents do as well. During this constitutional crisis we have before us, our members and our constituents have spoken loud and clear.

Personally, I have received at my constituency office and my Hill office hundreds upon hundreds of emails and letters, and I know members opposite in the Liberal Party have received the same. The vast majority of these emails and communiqués are consistent. They are suggesting that they do not want to see a separatist coalition.

When the member for Renfrew—Nipissing—Pembroke stood in the House and read an email, she was well within her rights to reflect the wishes and the views of her constituents.

I would respectfully suggest for my hon. colleague that this is not a point of order, nor should he try to prevent this, because it is Canadians who are speaking loud and clear.

[The Speaker, Liberal, Peter Milliken]

I think we are getting into a debate here and beyond the point of order.

A point of order has been raised by the hon. member for Montmorency—Charlevoix—Haute-Côte-Nord concerning the words used by a member who gave a speech and read some letters. His argument is that the words used while reading the letters would not be acceptable if the member had used them herself without reading the letters.

I would like to take some time to consider the question and I will come back to the House on it. It is unfortunate that the hon. member for Renfrew—Nipissing—Pembroke is not here to explain the situation. If she would like to say anything, of course she will now have the opportunity. I will come back to the House shortly with a ruling on this issue. I will give my ruling, and I hope it will satisfy everyone.

Individual Member's Expenditures

[The Speaker, Liberal, Peter Milliken]

I have the honour to lay upon the table a document entitled, “Individual Member's Expenditures for the Fiscal Year 2007-2008”.

Gwich'in Comprehensive Land Claim Agreement Implementation Committee

[John Duncan, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development]

Mr. Speaker, pursuant to Standing Order 32(2) I have the honour to table, in both official languages, copies of the Report of the Implementation Committee on the Gwich'in Comprehensive Land Claim Agreement for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2005.

Nunutsiavut Government Final Agreement Implementation Committee

[John Duncan, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development]

Mr. Speaker, pursuant to Standing Order 32(2) I have the honour to table, in both official languages, copies of the 2005-07 annual report of the Nunatsiavut Government Final Agreement Implementation Committee.

Arctic Waters Pollution Prevention Act

[John Baird, Conservative, Minister of Transport]

moved for leave to introduce Bill C-3, An Act to amend the Arctic Waters Pollution Prevention Act.

(Motions deemed adopted, bill read the first time and printed)

Canada Not-for-Profit Corporations Act

[Diane Ablonczy, Conservative, Minister of State (Small Business and Tourism)]

moved for leave to introduce Bill C-4, An Act respecting not-for-profit corporations and certain other corporations.

(Motions deemed adopted, bill read the first time and printed)

Indian Oil and Gas Act

[Chuck Strahl, Conservative, Minister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development and Federal Interlocutor for Métis and Non-Status Indians]

moved for leave to introduce Bill C-5, An Act to amend the Indian Oil and Gas Act.

(Motions deemed adopted, bill read the first time and printed)

Interparliamentary Delegations

[Leon Benoit, Conservative, Vegreville—Wainwright, AB]

Mr. Speaker, pursuant to Standing Order 34(1) I have the honour to present to the House, in both official languages, the report of the Canadian NATO Parliamentary Association respecting its participation to the visit of the Economic and Security Committee, a subcommittee on trans-Atlantic economic relations held in London, United Kingdom, April 23 to 25, 2008.

Pursuant to Standing Order 34(1) I have the honour to present to the House, in both official languages, the report of the Canadian NATO Parliamentary Association respecting its participation to the political committee meeting held in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, March 31 to April 4, 2008.

[David Tilson, Conservative, Dufferin—Caledon, ON]

Mr. Speaker, pursuant to Standing Order 34(1) I have the honour to present, in both official languages, the report of the Canadian delegation of the Canada-Europe Parliamentary Association respecting its participation in the parliamentary mission to the country that will hold the next presidency of the Council of the European Union; the meeting of the committee on economic affairs and development of the Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly at the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, OECD; and the third part of the 2008 ordinary session of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe in Paris, Normandy and Strasbourg, France from June 17 to 27, 2008.

[Massimo Pacetti, Liberal, Saint-Léonard—Saint-Michel, QC]

Mr. Speaker, pursuant to Standing Order 34(1), I have the honour to present to the House, in both official languages, the report of the Canadian delegation of the Canada-Europe Parliamentary Association respecting its participation at the meeting of the Standing Committee of Parliamentarians of the Arctic Region, held in Vladivostok, Russian Federation, on May 29, 2008.

Employment Insurance Act

[Yvon Godin, NDP, Acadie—Bathurst, NB]

moved for leave to introduce Bill C-242, An Act to amend the Employment Insurance Act (percentage of insurable earnings payable to claimant).

Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank the hon. member for Nickel Belt for seconding my bill. This bill, introduced in both official languages, is an act to amend the Employment Insurance Act with respect to the percentage of insurable earnings payable to claimant.

This enactment raises the rate of weekly benefits payable to a claimant to 66% of their weekly insurable earnings.

(Motions deemed adopted, bills read the first time and printed)

[Yvon Godin, NDP, Acadie—Bathurst, NB]

moved for leave to introduce Bill C-243, An Act to amend the Employment Insurance Act (change of title) and another Act in consequence

Mr. Speaker, once again, I would like to thank the hon. member for Nickel Belt for seconding my bill. This bill, introduced in both official languages, is an act to amend the Employment Insurance Act (change of title) and another Act in consequence.

This enactment changes the title of the act, that is the Employment Insurance Act, back to its original version, the Unemployment Insurance Act. The enactment also changes the name from that of the Employment Insurance Account to that of the Unemployment Insurance Account, because workers pay into a system to insure against unemployment, not employment.

(Motions deemed adopted, bills read the first time and printed)

[Claude Gravelle, NDP, Nickel Belt, ON]

moved for leave to introduce Bill C-244, An Act to amend the Employment Insurance Act (removal of waiting period).

Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank the seconder of this bill, the member for Acadie—Bathurst.

This bill would remove the waiting period that precedes the commencement of employment insurance benefits after an interruption of earnings and repeals provisions that refer to that waiting period.

(Motions deemed adopted, bill read the first time and printed)

Canada Evidence Act

[Daryl Kramp, Conservative, Prince Edward—Hastings, ON]

moved for leave to introduce Bill C-245, An Act to amend the Canada Evidence Act (interpretation of numerical dates).

Mr. Speaker, I have a number of bills to introduce today. I am pleased to introduce my private member's bill, an act to amend the Canada Evidence Act.

This bill would amend the Canada Evidence Act to direct courts on how to interpret a numeric date that is in dispute. For lack of clarity, court dates have been missed simply due to the date appearing as 010747 or 070147, which can be disputed. It should be consistent across the country and that is the intent and purpose of the bill.

(Motions deemed adopted, bill read the first time and printed)

Criminal Code

[Daryl Kramp, Conservative, Prince Edward—Hastings, ON]

moved for leave to introduce Bill C-246, An Act to amend the Criminal Code (child sexual predators).

Mr. Speaker, the bill was introduced previously by a former colleague of mine, the member for Calgary Northeast, Art Hanger. I am honoured, privileged and pleased to carry on his great work in his effort to ensure that the safety of our children is first and foremost in the minds of all.

The bill would amend the Criminal Code to establish the offence of child sexual predation, carrying a minimum sentence of life imprisonment. Most important, it would cover cases of, not just a simple sexual assault, but cases of sexual assault on a child that involved repeated assaults, multiple victims, repeated offences, more than one offender, an element of confinement or kidnapping, or an offender who is in a position of trust with respect to that child.

The bill also makes related amendments to the Criminal Code, as would be expected, and amends certain other acts in consequence.

(Motions deemed adopted, bill read the first time and printed)

[Daryl Kramp, Conservative, Prince Edward—Hastings, ON]

moved for leave to introduce Bill C-247, An Act to amend the Criminal Code (bail for persons charged with violent offences), the Extradition Act and the Youth Criminal Justice Act.

Mr. Speaker, this private member's bill amends the Criminal Code. It would repeal section 522(1) of the Criminal Code. It would remove the power of a judge of a supreme or superior court of criminal jurisdiction to grant interim release to a person accused of one of the very serious offences listed in section 469 of the Criminal Code. These sections are under section 469(a): treason; alarming Her Majesty; intimidating Parliament or a legislature; inciting to mutiny; seditious offences; piracy; piratical acts; murder; the offence of being accessory after the fact to high treason or treason or murder; an offence under section 119, bribery of judicial officers; an offence under any sections 4 to 7 of the crimes against humanity and war crimes; and the offence of attempting to commit any offence mentioned in any of the sub-paragraphs.

The bill would also prohibit the interim release of a person accused of an offence under section 264, criminal harassment: sexual assault with a weapon, threats to a third party or causing bodily harm; or aggravated sexual assault if there is either direct evidence or predication.

The bill would provide that an application for the interim release of a person is brought before a justice and, if that justice is satisfied that there is credible or trustworthy evidence of identification of the accused by a witness or witnesses, the application must be refused.

The bill also makes related amendments to the Extradition Act and the Youth Criminal Justice Act.

(Motions deemed adopted, bill read the first time and printed)

Louis Riel Act

[Pat Martin, NDP, Winnipeg Centre, MB]

moved for leave to introduce Bill C-248, An Act respecting Louis Riel.

Mr. Speaker, on behalf of the people of Manitoba and on behalf of the Métis nation, it gives me great pride to introduce this bill, the purpose of which is to reverse the conviction for high treason of Louis Riel and to formally recognize him and commemorate his role in the advancement of Canadian Confederation and the rights of interest to the Métis people and the people of western Canada.

This bill goes on to recognize that Louis Riel was in fact the founder of the province of Manitoba and that he was elected three times to the House of Commons, but as a result of political pressure was never allowed to take a seat. This bill points out that as a result of the events of the Northwest Territories rebellion in 1885, Louis Riel was wrongfully tried and convicted, and on November 16, 1885, was executed for high treason by the Government of Canada.

This bill does not seek a pardon for Louis Riel. It seeks to exonerate him, and for the House of Commons to recognize that he was executed wrongfully and that he should never have been convicted. We are not seeking a pardon. We are seeking full exoneration.

In introducing this bill, I want to recognize and pay tribute to Yvon Dumont, the former lieutenant governor of the province of Manitoba and president of the Manitoba Métis Federation; Clem Chartier, the president of the Métis National Council; and David Chartrand, the current president of the Manitoba Métis Federation.

(Motions deemed adopted, bill read the first time and printed)

First Nation's Children's Health Protection Act

[Pat Martin, NDP, Winnipeg Centre, MB]

moved for leave to introduce Bill C-249, An Act to ensure that appropriate health care services are provided to First Nations children in a timely manner.

Mr. Speaker, this bill is based on the premise that a child is a child is a child, no matter where the child lives in Canada and no matter whether the child is First Nation, Inuit, Métis or European in background.

This bill is based on Jordan’s principle. Jordan was a first nations child who was unable to move from a hospital to a family home as a result of a disagreement between departments of the Government of Canada as to which department should bear responsibility for the costs of providing health care services. As a result of this disagreement between government bureaucracies, Jordan died in hospital without ever having been able to live in any family home.

Jordan’s principle finds great support among first nations, and it is simply a matter of justice that we should not have two tiers in medicine based on whether one is of Inuit, Métis, First Nation or European background or descent.

(Motions deemed adopted, bill read the first time and printed)