House of Commons Hansard #46 of the 39th Parliament, 2nd Session. (The original version is on Parliament's site.) The word of the day was aboriginal.
Laurie Hawn ConservativeParliamentary Secretary to the Minister of National Defence
Mr. Speaker, pursuant to Standing Order 32(2) I have the honour to table, in both official languages, the report of the international panel on Canada's future role in Afghanistan.
I urge all members to read this document carefully. It is critical to the future of the country of Afghanistan and its people, and it is highly significant to the future of Canada as well.
Rob Merrifield Conservative Yellowhead, AB
Mr. Speaker, pursuant to Standing Order 34(1) I have the honour to present to the House, in both official languages, the following report of the Canadian delegation of the Canada-United States Interparliamentary Group representing its participation at two events this summer: National Conference of State Legislatures - Strong States Strong Nation Legislative Summit: 2007 Annual Meeting in Boston, Massachusetts, August 5 through 9, 2007.
The second one is a Southern Governors' Association, the 73rd annual meeting in Biloxi, Mississippi, August 25 to 27, 2007.
Rob Merrifield Conservative Yellowhead, AB
Mr. Speaker, I have the honour to present, in both official languages, the third report of the Standing Committee on Finance in relation to the prebudget consultations 2007 entitled “Taxing to Prosper: Canada's System of Taxes, Fees and Other Charges”.
Rick Casson Conservative Lethbridge, AB
Mr. Speaker, I have the honour to present, in both official languages, the second report of the Standing Committee on National Defence entitled “Procurement and associated processes”.
Peter Stoffer NDP Sackville—Eastern Shore, NS
moved for leave to introduce Bill C-502, An Act to amend the Canadian Forces Superannuation Act and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police Superannuation Act (deletion of deduction from annuity).
Mr. Speaker, this is a bill I have been working on for several years. It was previously Bill C-211. We hope to change that a little bit to end the CPP clawback on the superannuation of those valid members and veterans of our armed forces and our RCMP when they reach the age of 65.
(Motions deemed adopted, bill read the first time and printed)
Peter Stoffer NDP Sackville—Eastern Shore, NS
moved for leave to introduce Bill C-503, An Act to amend the Financial Administration Act and the Passport Services Fees Regulations (passports for veterans, members of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and their spouses or common-law partners, and seniors).
Mr. Speaker, this is another way for the government and Parliament to express its thanks to those who serve our country and their families as well as seniors who have worked their whole lives. When they require passports, we believe those passports should be given without financial charges, courtesy of the government.
Many seniors across the country have asked for something of this nature. It is another way of expressing thanks to them and to the valid heroes of the RCMP and the armed forces personnel and their families.
(Motions deemed adopted, bill read the first time and printed)
Peter Stoffer NDP Sackville—Eastern Shore, NS
moved for leave to introduce Bill C-504, An Act to amend the Fisheries Act (deposit in lakes).
Mr. Speaker, in this country it is really quite astonishing that we allow mining companies to use freshwater lakes as toxic waste sites. It has to stop. We believe mining companies should be doing what most of them do already: have independent tailing ponds free and clear of any natural water systems.
Two lakes in Newfoundland have been destroyed, two more in Nunavut, and 18 more across the country if the bill is not enacted very quickly.
We have nothing against mining. We just want to ensure it is done with the highest environmental standards that we have in this country. No one should ever be using freshwater lakes or river systems for toxic waste sites.
(Motions deemed adopted, bill read the first time and printed)
Mike Wallace Conservative Burlington, ON
Mr. Speaker, I have two petitions this morning that I would like to present to the House.
The first petition says: “We the undersigned citizens of Canada, draw the attention to the House to the following: whereas the trafficking of women and children across international borders for the purposes of sexual exploitation should be condemned; and whereas it is the duty of Parliament to protect the most vulnerable members of society from harm, those being the victims of human trafficking, therefore your petitioners request that the government continue its work to combat trafficking of persons worldwide”.
This is a petition from my riding. I want to thank the leadership of the member for Kildonan—St. Paul on this particular issue.
Scott Simms Liberal Bonavista—Gander—Grand Falls—Windsor, NL
Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to present a petition. I would personally like to thank a constituent of mine, Johanna Ryan Gui, for her help in compiling this petition.
The petition calls upon the Department of National Defence and the Minister of National Defence to provide more resources. Currently, the policy dictates that rescue squadrons across the country have a two hour window during off hours. This should be reduced to 30 minutes.
This would require the Department of National Defence to bring more resources for the search and rescue squadrons across this country: Comox, Trenton, Greenwood, and of course my home squadron of 103 Search and Rescue Squadron in Gander, Newfoundland and Labrador.
Merv Tweed Conservative Brandon—Souris, MB
Mr. Speaker, the momentum continues to grow. I am pleased to present petitions today from Alberta and Nova Scotia in regard to Bill C-458, An Act to amend the Canada Post Corporation Act (library materials). These petitions will protect and support the library book rate and extend it to include audio-visual materials.
Jack Layton NDP Toronto—Danforth, ON
Mr. Speaker, I wish to present a petition concerning the flood that struck Bangladesh on November 15. The petition points out that more than 3,500 people have been killed and at least 4 million people had their lives dramatically affected, including displacement.
If it is even possible to imagine the scope of the disaster, the cyclone destroyed 500,000 homes. Whole villages disappeared under the flooding. It is estimated that 40% of the victims were children and that many of the surviving children are now orphans.
There is a large Bangladeshi community here in Canada. Members of the community are mourning their losses and working hard to raise funds themselves.
To date Canada has only contributed $3 million to the recovery effort. Given the scope of the disaster, more money is needed. This petition calls upon the government to do more. It is signed by several hundred citizens and was collected through the hard work of Marilyn Churley. I urge the government to give consideration to this petition.
Mike Wallace Conservative Burlington, ON
Mr. Speaker, I have an additional petition this morning regarding leadership that the petitioners would like to see in the area of HIV-AIDS prevention. The petitioners urge the Parliament of Canada to take a leadership role, not only here at home but around the world, on the prevention, treatment and care of those who are afflicted with HIV-AIDS.
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 ask that all questions be allowed to stand.
The Speaker Liberal Peter Milliken
The Chair has received a request for an emergency debate from the hon. member for Vancouver East. I will now hear her submissions on this point.
Libby Davies NDP Vancouver East, BC
Mr. Speaker, as you know, I submitted a letter to you under Standing Order 52(2) for an emergency debate.
I am applying for an emergency debate and appealing to you because of the very grave situation in my community, Vancouver East, particularly in the downtown east side, where recent reports showed a very deepening crisis, an alarming situation.
The HIV infection rate for aboriginal people is twice the rate of the infection rate for non-aboriginal people, which in that community is already much higher than where it is elsewhere in the population. We are facing a very severe health crisis.
We have seen no response from the government and no action. There are aboriginal people who are living in very desperate situations, who are living in poverty. I do think that this is very noteworthy.
It is something that we should be deeply concerned about, that we should be debating, and we should be taking action. We should be calling on the government to respond to this emergency in the downtown east side that is affecting the lives of so many people. Many lives have already been lost to this crisis of HIV-AIDS, particularly among injection drug users.
I put forward my application on that basis, but I would like to make one additional point. As you know, Mr. Speaker, there have been a number of requests for emergency debates that you have not approved based on your interpretation of the Standing Order and you know that we have tried valiantly to have take note debates as well. In fact, the government has not been forthcoming on that matter.
We have not had take note debates for over a year. This is a lost opportunity for members of Parliament to have a thorough debate in the House on subjects that are of concern to local communities or of national concern.
The fact is that we have the avenue of emergency debates that seems to have been cut off and now we have the avenue of take note debates that has been cut off arbitrarily by the government.
We feel that this has left us in a very difficult situation where our ability to bring forward issues and express points of view, and to draw attention to some of these situations, such as the forestry industry and what is happening in local communities, and the impact of lost jobs.
One of my colleagues also brought forward an application dealing with emergency services for aboriginal people on reserve. So, all of these issues, I do believe warrant attention.
On this particular issue today concerning HIV-AIDS among aboriginal people, I do believe that this is something that the House should debate forthwith.
Mr. Speaker, I would ask for your consideration of this and I would ask you to consider the broader context in which we find our ourselves and respect the will, I think, of Parliament to make sure that these issues are addressed and we have an opportunity to bring this forward, to press the government, and to make our points of view known.
The Speaker Liberal Peter Milliken
The Chair has considered the submissions of the hon. member for Vancouver East and has heard her arguments, and read the letter, of course, that she forwarded to me on this subject earlier.
I think that the request is reasonable and accordingly, I am prepared to allow for an emergency debate, but as she knows it will not happen forthwith. It will happen later this day at the adjournment time of the House. Accordingly, there will be a debate on this subject this evening.
Diane Ablonczy Conservative Calgary Nose Hill, AB
moved:
That this House take note of the pre-budget consultations undertaken by the Standing Committee on Finance.
Dean Del Mastro Conservative Peterborough, ON
Mr. Speaker, first, I seek the unanimous consent of the House to allow for two 10 minute speeches as opposed to the 20 minute speech that had originally been slotted.
The Speaker Liberal Peter Milliken
Is there unanimous consent to allow the hon. member to in effect split his time into two?
Paul Crête Bloc Montmagny—L'Islet—Kamouraska—Rivière-du-Loup, QC
Mr. Speaker, I understood from what my colleague said that he is prepared to have two 10-minute speeches rather than split the unlimited time in half. If we are talking about two 10-minutes speeches, then there is no problem.
The Speaker Liberal Peter Milliken
There will be two 10-minutes speeches, 10 minutes for him and 10 minutes for another member, each followed by a five-minute period for questions and comments. Is it agreed?
The Speaker Liberal Peter Milliken
Agreed and so ordered. The hon. member for Peterborough then has the floor for 10 minutes.