Debates of Jan. 27th, 2009

Infrastructure

[John Baird, Conservative, Minister of Transport]

In fact, Mr. Speaker, some provinces had not submitted lists with respect to the base funding under building Canada.

I have good news for the member opposite: those funds do not lapse. We approved another round of projects just this morning.

We are committed to working with municipalities, with provinces and with territories to get infrastructure projects on the ground. We have come forward with a five-point plan to support quicker decisions that will get shovels in the ground and will get Canadians working again.

Trade

[Stockwell Day, Conservative, Minister of International Trade and Minister for the Asia-Pacific Gateway]

Mr. Speaker, in keeping with the government's global commerce strategy, which includes opening up markets for Canadian products and services, pursuant to Standing Order 32(2), I am pleased to table, in both official languages, the treaties entitled “Free Trade Agreement Between Canada and the Republic of Peru”, “Agreement on the Environment Between Canada and the Republic of Peru”, and “Agreement on Labour Cooperation Between Canada and the Republic of Peru”.

National DNA Data Bank

[Peter Van Loan, Conservative, Minister of Public Safety]

Mr. Speaker, I have the honour, pursuant to Standing Order 32(2), to table, in both official languages, the annual report of the National DNA Data Bank for 2007-08.

Public Safety

[Peter Van Loan, Conservative, Minister of Public Safety]

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to table, in both official languages, the 2007 annual report on the use of electronic surveillance, as required under section 195 of the Criminal Code.

Security Intelligence Review Committee

[Peter Van Loan, Conservative, Minister of Public Safety]

Mr. Speaker, pursuant to section 53 of the Canadian Security Intelligence Service Act, I have the honour to table, in both official languages, the Annual Report of the Security Intelligence Review Committee for 2007-08.

The Security Intelligence Review Committee plays an essential role in ensuring the effective accountability of the Canadian Security Intelligence Service and the independent review of its work.

Justice

[Peter Van Loan, Conservative, Minister of Public Safety]

Mr. Speaker, the last document being tabled is quite substantial.

Pursuant to subsection 20(5) of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police Act, I have the pleasure to table, in both official languages, the biology casework analysis agreements for the fiscal years 2007-08 and 2008-09.

Since 2000, these agreements have provided jurisdictions with ongoing access to federal and provincial DNA laboratory services and to the national DNA data bank, which assists law enforcement agencies in solving crimes.

These agreements send a clear message that the Government of Canada is committed to working in collaboration with the provinces and territories in the very important fight against crime.

Government Response to Petitions

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

Mr. Speaker, pursuant to Standing Order 36(8), I have the honour to table, in both official languages, the government's responses to 52 petitions.

Procedure and House Affairs

[Joe Preston, Conservative, Elgin—Middlesex—London, ON]

Mr. Speaker, pursuant to Standing Orders 104 and 114, I have the honour to present, in both official languages, the first report of the Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs regarding the membership of committees in the House.

If the House gives its consent, I intend to move concurrence in this report later today.

Pursuant to Standing Order 108(3)(a)(viii), I have the honour to present, in both official languages, the second report of the Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs regarding matters related to the Conflict of Interest Code for Members of the House of Commons.

If the House gives its consent, I intend to move concurrence in this report later this day.

Decorum

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

Mr. Speaker, you will recall that I rose on a point of order on Wednesday, December 3, 2008 and that you were to come back to the House with your ruling as to whether members could read hateful or offensive emails using unparliamentary language in this House. We are still waiting for your answer. You said that you wanted to consider the question, which is important. You will recall that I referred specifically to language used by the member for Renfrew—Nipissing—Pembroke and three or four other Conservative members. I rise again on this question.

Are members allowed to do indirectly what the rules do not allow them to do directly? Can parliamentarians in this House read hateful and blasphemous emails from members of the public that use unparliamentary language? We would like your opinion on this.

[Louis Plamondon, Bloc, Bas-Richelieu—Nicolet—Bécancour, QC]

Mr. Speaker, on the same point, I recall that one of the emails quoted said that francophones should not sit in this House. The member repeated that. That is an insult to all the francophones sitting here. It is intolerable that such things should be repeated.

[The Speaker, Liberal, Peter Milliken]

Normally, at the end of a session or a parliament, and especially after a prorogation, points of order or issues raised during the session no longer stand, and the Speaker does not come back to the House with his ruling on such matters. This point of order has now been raised during this session. Consequently, I will be sure to give very careful consideration to the point of order raised by the hon. members, and I will come back to the House shortly with my ruling.

Immigration and Refugee Protection Act

[Judy Wasylycia-Leis, NDP, Winnipeg North, MB]

moved for leave to introduce Bill C-254, An Act to amend the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (exception to inadmissibility).

Mr. Speaker, I am introducing this bill as the way of righting a wrong in the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act. The section that is in contention currently allows the exclusion of persons with disabilities from immigrating to Canada.

The bill would put some restraints on the present government which has a tendency to use this section, section 38, of the act beyond its original intentions and to arbitrarily and unilaterally exclude persons living with disabilities. It is a step toward ending the hypocrisy of signing a UN convention on the rights of persons with disabilities while systematically undermining it by falling back on ill-founded stereotypes, as was so graphically illustrated by the deportation of Chris Mason, a Winnipeg resident welcomed to Canada with open arms originally but booted out after becoming physically disabled.

I urge all members to see this as an important beginning to ensure equal rights for all persons in Canada.

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

Bank Act

[Judy Wasylycia-Leis, NDP, Winnipeg North, MB]

moved for leave to introduce Bill C-255, An Act to amend the Bank Act (automated banking machine charges).

Mr. Speaker, the purpose of this bill is to amend the Bank Act to prohibit ATM fees. The bill would stop banks from charging their customers fees for transferring their money or account information through automated banking machines.

As we know, Canadian banks currently charge customers these fees for accessing their own money through the bank's own ATMs, other banks' ATMs and privately-owned machines. These fees, in our view, are excessive and unnecessary and are fees that could be easily waived by the banks.

During the present economic circumstances, it is more imperative than ever that we deal with the banks that refuse to pass on relief to consumers, and the bill would do just that. It would help the government do what it promised to do but failed to do. I believe all Canadians would benefit from this change, particularly those on tight budgets.

I urge all members to support this initiative.

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

Pension Ombudsman Act

[Pat Martin, NDP, Winnipeg Centre, MB]

moved for leave to introduce Bill C-256, An Act to establish the office of Pension Ombudsman to investigate administrative difficulties encountered by persons in their dealings with the Government of Canada in respect of benefits under the Canada Pension Plan or the Old Age Security Act or tax liability on such benefits and to review the policies and practices applied in the administration and adjudication of such benefits and liabilities.

Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague from Thunder Bay—Rainy River for seconding this bill, which I am introducing on behalf of all Canadian pensioners.

The bill would mandate the government to create the office of a pension ombudsman so that Canadian pensioners having difficulties with the Canada Pension Plan or Old Age Security would have an avenue of recourse, an advocate or champion willing to undertake their issues and bring them forward on their behalf. The ombudsman would then make a report to the minister for HRSD or to a House of Commons standing committee, if necessary, and that report would be presented to Parliament so members of the House of Commons would know if our pension system was being provided in a fair and equitable manner to the beneficiaries of those plans.

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

Labour Market Training, Apprenticeship and Certification Act

[Pat Martin, NDP, Winnipeg Centre, MB]

moved for leave to introduce Bill C-257, An Act to provide for the establishment of national standards for labour market training, apprenticeship and certification.

Mr. Speaker, I again thank my colleague from Thunder Bay—Rainy River for seconding this bill.

As a journeyman carpenter by trade, I feel very strongly that the skill shortages in the building trades in our country are not being addressed. The bill seeks to address the failure of the human resources strategy of the government. The bill points out that hiring temporary foreign workers is not a human resources strategy at all. In fact, it is the polar opposite of a human resources strategy.

The bill would standardize and harmonize the curriculum, the entrance requirements and the craft jurisdiction of all skilled craft trades and would create national training advisory committees in each of the skilled trades so that those curriculums could be created and standardized to meet the needs of industry and to further ease the mobility of skilled workers so they could go across the country and have their credentials recognized in the jurisdictions in which they worked.

This is a much needed reform and I hope it attracts and retains the support of all members of the House of Commons.

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

Canada Business Corporations Act

[Pat Martin, NDP, Winnipeg Centre, MB]

moved for leave to introduce Bill C-258, An Act to amend the Canada Business Corporations Act (qualification of auditor).

Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for Thunder Bay—Rainy River for being present to second this important legislation.

The bill is based on the premise that white-collar crime is, in fact, a blue-collar issue. Working people need to be able to trust the financial statements of the companies where their pension plans are invested. As it stands now, there is no independence of auditors. In fact, the auditor that reports on the financial statements of a company may be the same financial adviser that gives it advice on its income taxes. How can an auditor give advice for one financial service and then audit the veracity of that very same work?

The bill would make it such that a person might not become the auditor of a corporation if that person had provided other professional services to that corporation or any of its other spinoff corporations within two years of the person's proposed appointment as the auditor. This would ensure that working people could trust the integrity of the financial statements of the companies where they would be investing their hard-earned pension dollars.

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

[Pat Martin, NDP, Winnipeg Centre, MB]

moved for leave to introduce Bill C-259, An Act to amend the Canada Business Corporations Act (annual financial statements).

Mr. Speaker, I want to again thank my colleague from Thunder Bay—Rainy River for being present today to second this important legislation.

We believe that if an auditor has undertaken other work for a business or a corporation, that information should be freely disclosed on the company's financial statements. In other words, there should be a mandatory declaration by the auditor clearly outlining what other financial services either he or the firm that he or she works for have provided for that corporation.

We call this the Enron article because that was exactly the situation in the historic collapse of Enron. Auditors were selling financial services to the company at one end and then auditing those same books and finding them to be A-okay. We do not want that to happen to Canadians. That is why this is necessary legislation.

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

Criminal Code

[Pat Martin, NDP, Winnipeg Centre, MB]

moved for leave to introduce Bill C-260, An Act to amend the Criminal Code (legal duty outside Canada).

Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague from Thunder Bay—Rainy River for seconding this important legislation.

Let me introduce the bill by recognizing and paying tribute to the Hon. Ed Broadbent who fought for this very issue in his terms of office as a member of Parliament.

The bill is based on the premise that Canada recognizes the fundamental rights of workers, including their right to be free from unhealthy and unsafe working conditions within our country. We want to extend the recognition of that right to the activities of Canadian companies when acting abroad. In other words, we believe a majority of Canadians want Canadian corporations to meet the same minimum health and safety standards for their employees abroad as they do in this country.

We point to the precedent that the Criminal Code currently contains a provision aimed at protecting children in other countries from Canadian sexual predators. That same reasoning and logic should apply to the international activities of all Canadians when abroad.

We can set international standards for health and safety if Canadian companies act abroad as they are obliged to act in this country.

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

[Pat Martin, NDP, Winnipeg Centre, MB]

moved for leave to introduce Bill C-261, An Act to amend the Criminal Code (failure to stop at scene of accident).

Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague from Thunder Bay—Rainy River again for seconding this important bill.

The legislation would amend the Criminal Code. A person in control of a vehicle, or a vessel or an aircraft who was involved in an accident and who failed to stop at the scene of that accident would be guilty of a separate stand-alone offence within the Criminal Code.

The bill would provide harsh penalties. If a person suffered bodily harm and died as a result of an accident, or if a person suffered bodily harm but was not killed in an accident, the legislation would contemplate a minimum punishment of four years imprisonment and a maximum sentence of life imprisonment. These provisions would apply whether or not the person was aware that another person suffered bodily harm by virtue of their actions.

This is strongly worded legislation that has been crafted to address a serious shortcoming in the current Criminal Code.

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

Old Age Security Act

[Pat Martin, NDP, Winnipeg Centre, MB]

moved for leave to introduce Bill C-262, An Act to amend the Old Age Security Act (monthly guaranteed income supplement).

Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague from Thunder Bay—Rainy River for seconding this bill that seeks to speak for Canadians who are receiving old age security and the guaranteed income supplement. This enactment would amend the Old Age Security Act to allow eligible pensioners to receive the guaranteed income supplement without having to apply for it.

We were shocked to learn recently that hundreds of thousands of Canadians who are eligible to receive the guaranteed income supplement are not receiving it because they have not proactively filled out the forms and made application to receive it. We argue that the Government of Canada knows who these people are by virtue of their income tax records. They should simply be allocated the guaranteed income supplement when they become eligible by virtue of their income in the preceding year. This would address the issues of literacy and mobility that may prevent eligible people from making that application and would put that much needed guaranteed income supplement into the hands of people who need it most without delay, interference or any duty or obligation on their part.

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

Referendum Act

[Pat Martin, NDP, Winnipeg Centre, MB]

moved for leave to introduce Bill C-263, An Act to amend the Referendum Act (reform of the electoral system of Canada).

Mr. Speaker, this bill seeks to amend the Referendum Act so that a referendum may be held on any question relating to the reform of the electoral system in Canada.

We kept the bill simple and straightforward for a specific purpose. We do not want to cloud the issue with what the changes should be to the electoral system but we do want to ask Canadians directly if they are or are not satisfied with the current first past the post system. If they are not, we want to consult with Canadians on whether they would be willing to entertain what we believe would be good, which is a system of proportional representation.

The first and necessary step is for the members of the House of Commons to amend the Referendum Act to contemplate such a referendum being held on questions related to the reform of the electoral system in Canada.

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

Family Farm Cost-of-Production Protection Act

[Pat Martin, NDP, Winnipeg Centre, MB]

moved for leave to introduce Bill C-264, An Act to provide cost-of-production protection for the family farm.

Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague from Thunder Bay—Rainy River, who also supports our efforts today to speak out on behalf of farmers across the country.

The purpose of this enactment is to provide cost of production protection to family farms where the weighted average input cost of products typically produced or suited to production in a farming zone exceeds the weighted average net back to the farm gate of such products averaged over three years.

The costs, as contemplated in this bill, are to be calculated on the basis of marketable product and, thus, will take into account bad weather conditions, pests and other crop loss factors. The calculations are to be based on normal crops or livestock produced for food or breeding and are to be approved by an independent auditor, which is a very important clause of the bill.

I will take this opportunity to clarify that this enactment would not provide for support on a product-by-product basis and, therefore, is not a direct product subsidy. It is simply to provide cost of production protection to family farms in cases where the weighted average input cost of products exceeds the weighted average net back to farm gate of those same products.

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

Pension Benefits Standards Act, 1985

[Pat Martin, NDP, Winnipeg Centre, MB]

moved for leave to introduce Bill C-265, An Act to amend the Pension Benefits Standards Act, 1985 (protection of assets).

Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague from Thunder Bay—Rainy River for supporting this pension initiative. Pensions are on the mind of many Canadians and this particular enactment would provide further protection of the assets of pension plan members and beneficiaries by three important measures: first, to ensure that members have adequate representation on the boards of trustees of pensions, pension committees and pension councils; in other words, mandatory representation of the employee and the beneficiaries of the plan.

Second, it would provide that not more than 10% of the total value of the assets of a pension plan could be held in securities issued by the employer or by a corporation associated with the employer. This is a lesson learned from Enron where employees were strongly encouraged to invest all of their retirement savings in a company they worked for, with all their eggs in one basket, and the results, as we know, were catastrophic.

Third, it would prevent pension plan administrators and beneficiaries from being restricted in the sale of the employer's securities unless those directors and officers of the employer are similarly restricted. In other words, the beneficiary administrators are not allowed to promote the sale of the employer's own stock unless there is some distance put in between them.

Finally, the bill would require that information that affects or is likely to affect the value of securities be provided to pension plan administrators and to persons with the power to trade in those securities at the same time that it is provided to anyone other than the directors, officers, management and advisers of the employer to stop the difficult situation of insider trading.

We believe anything to do with adding to the security of pension plans is necessary and timely in this session of this Parliament and we encourage unanimous support of the legislation and we hope we can find it.

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

Credit Ombudsman Act

[Pat Martin, NDP, Winnipeg Centre, MB]

moved for leave to introduce Bill C-266, An Act to establish the position and Office of the Credit Ombudsman, who shall be an advocate of the interests of consumers and small businesses in credit matters and who shall investigate and report on the provision, by financial institutions, of consumer and small-business credit on a community basis and on an industry basis, in order to ensure equity in the distribution of credit resources.

Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague, the member for Thunder Bay—Rainy River, for seconding this bill as well.

The purpose of the bill is to provide for a review of the possibility of using proportional representation in federal elections. A Standing Committee of the House of Commons will be designated to conduct this review and to report with recommendations after public hearings. It also contemplates that a referendum may be held and the question shall be whether electors favour replacing the present electoral system with the process proposed by the proportional representation committee as concurred in by the House, and that referendum, if any, must be held at the same time as the next general election.

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

Proportional Representation Review Act

[Pat Martin, NDP, Winnipeg Centre, MB]

moved for leave to introduce Bill C-267, An Act to provide for a House of Commons committee to review the possibility of using proportional representation in federal elections.

Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague from Thunder Bay—Rainy River.

The bill that we are putting forward today would provide for a review of the possibility of using proportional representation in federal elections. A standing committee of the House of Commons would be designated to conduct this review and to report with recommendations after public hearings. A referendum may then be held and the question shall be put whether electors favour replacing the present electoral system with a process proposed by the proportional representation committee as concurred in by the House of Commons and the referendum, if any, would be held at the same time as the next general election.

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