House of Commons Hansard #94 of the 40th Parliament, 2nd Session. (The original version is on Parliament's site.) The word of the day was colombia.
Public Safety and National SecurityCommittees of the HouseRoutine Proceedings
Carleton—Mississippi Mills Ontario
Conservative
Gordon O'Connor ConservativeMinister of State and Chief Government Whip
Mr. Speaker, I move:
That, in relation to its study on correctional services, mental health and addictions, 12 members of the Standing Committee on Public Safety and National Security be authorized to travel to London, United Kingdom and Oslo, Norway, in the Fall of 2009 and that the necessary staff accompany the Committee.
Public Safety and National SecurityCommittees of the HouseRoutine Proceedings
Public Safety and National SecurityCommittees of the HouseRoutine Proceedings
Some hon. members
Agreed.
Public Safety and National SecurityCommittees of the HouseRoutine Proceedings
Chris Charlton NDP Hamilton Mountain, ON
Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to table a petition today on behalf of dozens of constituents in my riding of Hamilton Mountain. Specifically, I would like to thank Mr. Daniel Charles who brought this petition to my community office.
The petitioners have highlighted just some of the incidents of the persecution of Christians in Pakistan and indeed throughout the world. Human rights advocates have long documented discrimination against the Christian community in Pakistan and have raised serious concerns about the further marginalization of an already poor and disenfranchised community, yet the state offers virtually no protection.
Freedom of religion is enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the UN Declaration on the Elimination of All Forms of Intolerance and of Discrimination Based on Religion or Belief.
The petitioners therefore ask the Government of Canada to use its diplomatic clout with the government of Pakistan to protect Christians from persecution and make them feel safe, secure and equal. In the meantime, they ask the Government of Canada to assist Christians from Pakistan with their applications for refugee status and permanent residency in Canada.
Mark Warawa Conservative Langley, BC
Madam Speaker, I have two petitions to present from constituents in my riding of Langley.
The first one says that there are a number of severe, potentially life-threatening conditions that do not qualify for disability programs because they are not necessarily permanent or because of waiting lists for surgeries, which lengthen the recovery time. Residents find themselves losing their homes and livelihoods while trying to fight these severe medical conditions.
They are calling upon the House of Commons to adopt legislation to provide additional medical EI benefits to at least equal to maternity EI benefits for people who find themselves in the above situation.
Mark Warawa Conservative Langley, BC
Madam Speaker, the second petition, again from constituents in my riding of beautiful Langley, says that it has been 40 years since May 14, 1969, when Parliament changed the law to permit abortion. Since January 28, 1988, Canada has no law to protect the lives of unborn children.
They call upon Parliament to pass legislation for the protection of human life from the time of conception until natural death.
Massimo Pacetti Liberal Saint-Léonard—Saint-Michel, QC
Madam Speaker, because of the bankruptcy of Nortel, I would like to present a petition signed by a number of Canadians that states:
The Companies' Creditors Arrangement Act and the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act currently do not protect the rights of all Canadian employees laid off by a company who are receiving pensions or long-term disability benefits during bankruptcy proceedings.
The people do not have any preferred status over other unsecured creditors. Employees are unlike any other creditors. They have been largely responsible for creating value for all stakeholders. Unlike debit holders, banks and suppliers, they are not diversified businesses taking risks and managing tax writeoffs for financial losses.
Currently under the Investment Canada Act, the federal government fails to ensure proceeds of sale for Canadian assets to foreigners are allocated to Canadian employee-related claims before funds are permitted to leave the country before these requirements are met.
Therefore the petitioners call upon Parliament to amend the Companies' Creditors Arrangement Act and the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act to protect the rights of all Canadian employees and to ensure that employees laid off by a company who are receiving pensions or long-term disability benefits during bankruptcy proceedings obtain preferred creditor status over other unsecured creditors and to amend the Investment Canada Act to ensure employee-related claims are paid from proceeds of Canadian assets sales before funds are permitted to leave the country”.
NortelPetitionsRoutine Proceedings
The Acting Speaker Denise Savoie
I want to remind the hon. member that he should not read the petition verbatim, but summarize it.
Ted Menzies Conservative Macleod, AB
Madam Speaker, I would like today to present a petition on behalf of my constituents in the village of Cowley, Alberta.
The post office in that community has been in operation since 1900. It plays a key role in the social and economic life of my constituents by providing the infrastructure that healthy communities need to thrive and that businesses need to grow.
This petition, signed by 110 people, which is actually over 50% of the population of Cowley, requires that the Minister of Transport, Infrastructure and Communities maintain the current moratorium on post office closures and consider withdrawing the legislation to legalize remailers.
Tim Uppal Conservative Edmonton—Sherwood Park, AB
Madam Speaker, it is my privilege to present a petition signed by hundreds of my constituents opposing Bill C-384, an act to amend the Criminal Code.
I would also like to thank the Catholic Women's League of Sherwood Park for its hard work on this.
Jim Maloway NDP Elmwood—Transcona, MB
Madam Speaker, I am pleased to present a petition signed by dozens of Manitoba residents. It calls for equal employment insurance benefits for adoptive parents. Under the current EI system, adoptive parents are given 35 weeks of paid leave followed by a further 15 of unpaid leave. Under the law, a biological mother is given both the first 35 weeks and the latter 15 weeks as paid leave.
Studies have shown that an additional 15 weeks of paid leave would help parents better support their adopted children and handle many of the specific issues they must face.
The petitioners call on the Government of Canada to support Bill C-413 which would amend the Employment Insurance Act and the Canada Labour Code to ensure that an adoptive parent would be entitled to the same number of weeks of paid leave as the biological mother of a newborn child.
Olivia Chow NDP Trinity—Spadina, ON
Madam Speaker, it is my pleasure to present petitions from the people of Trinity—Spadina asking us to support a universal declaration on animal welfare. They point out that animals can feel pain and suffering and that all efforts should be made to prevent animal cruelty and reduce animal suffering.
We know that a majority of Canadians have pets and rely on them for companionship. Often when there is a natural disaster, animals are forgotten during the relief efforts and emergency planning. That is why the petitioners are supporting a universal declaration on animal welfare.
Questions Passed as Orders for ReturnsRoutine Proceedings
Regina—Lumsden—Lake Centre Saskatchewan
Conservative
Tom Lukiwski ConservativeParliamentary Secretary to the Leader of the Government in the House of Commons
Madam Speaker, if Questions Nos. 279, 317, 327, 403 and 405 could be made orders for returns, these returns would be tabled immediately.
Questions Passed as Orders for ReturnsRoutine Proceedings
Judy Sgro Liberal York West, ON
With respect to the Veterans Affairs program for the compensation of those who were exposed to Agent Orange: (a) how did the government come to the decision on the years that would be covered for those who were exposed; (b) how did the government arrive at the compensation amount of $20,000; (c) why will the government not compensate the widows of those who were exposed and met the qualifying conditions, but who have since passed away; (d) how many applications for compensation has the government received to date; (e) how many of those applications have been approved; (f) how many applications have been denied; (g) how many of those denied were refused because the veteran has since passed away; (h) how many of the applications denied were due to a medical condition that was not deemed to meet the government’s criteria; (i) what mechanisms did the government use to determine which illnesses would be covered and which would not be considered for compensation; (j) how many cheques have been issued and delivered; and (k) was the departmental funding cut of $33.6 million completely due to a program criteria which resulted in lower than expected numbers of beneficiaries?
(Return tabled)
Carol Hughes NDP Algoma—Manitoulin—Kapuskasing, ON
With regards to the performance of the access to information system in the government for fiscal years 2005-2006 to 2008-2009, for each department and agency subject to the Access to information Act: (a) what was the number of requests received; (b) what was the number of requests answered within the 30 day time limit; (c) what was the number of requests answered within 60 days; (d) what was the number of requests answered within 90 days; (e) what was the number of requests answered within 120 days or more; (f) what is the number that were appealed to the Information Commissioner; (g) what is the number of deemed refusal complaints found by the Commissioner; (h) what is the number of request that have been referred to the courts; (i) what is the number of requests that have been ordered to be released by a court; and (j) what is the amount spent on administration of the Act?
(Return tabled)
Dominic LeBlanc Liberal Beauséjour, NB
With respect to Dorchester Penitentiary: (a) how many plans are there for renovating or completely rebuilding it; (b) what are the operating costs associated with each of these plans; and (c) is the government currently implementing any of these plans and, if not, why not?
(Return tabled)
Andrew Kania Liberal Brampton West, ON
With respect to federal infrastructure spending in the constituency of Brampton West, what was the total amount of government funding since fiscal year 2005-2006 up to and including the current fiscal year, itemized according to: (a) the date the money was requested in the riding; (b) the dollar amount requested; (c) the dollar amount received; (d) the program from which the funding came; (e) the department responsible; and (f) the designated recipient?
(Return tabled)
Andrew Kania Liberal Brampton West, ON
With respect to applications to sponsor family members for visitor’s visas and permanent residency, made by residents of the constituency of Brampton West: (a) what is the average processing time for applications made to sponsor family members from (i) India, (ii) Pakistan, (iii) all countries aggregated; (b) what is the approval rate for applications made to sponsor family member from (i) India, (ii) Pakistan, (iii) all countries aggregated; (c) what are the top five main grounds for denying claims and their rates of usage for applications made to sponsor family members from (i) India, (ii) Pakistan, (iii) all countries aggregated; and (d) what are the details of all refusals with the dates, names and reasons?
