Debates of Nov. 26th, 2009

Foreign Affairs

[Deepak Obhrai, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Foreign Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, Mr. Celil's case remains a top priority for this government. We are deeply concerned at China's refusal to recognize his Canadian citizenship and permit Canadian consular access to visit him.

We continue to raise Mr. Celil's case with senior Chinese officials, in particular the issues of respect for human rights, consular access and due process. We will continue to be in contact with Mr. Celil's family and provide them with all consular access.

Consumer Product Safety

[Joy Smith, Conservative, Kildonan—St. Paul, MB]

Mr. Speaker, this morning, as chair of the health committee, I tabled a report back from committee urging Liberal senators to pass Bill C-6. This bill is about protecting Canadian children from consumer products, such as cribs, which have been found to be dangerous.

The Liberal senators have been delaying the passage of this important piece of legislation and keep finding reasons why they cannot proceed to clause by clause.

Could the Minister of Health please tell us why it is so crucial to pass this legislation?

[Leona Aglukkaq, Conservative, Minister of Health]

Mr. Speaker, the Liberal leader should encourage the Liberal senators to pass Bill C-6, the Canada consumer product safety act. This bill is currently in a Senate committee where Liberal senators have been delaying clause by clause consideration since early November.

Without Bill C-6, our government does not have the authority to order a product recall when companies fail to act on safety concerns. Without Bill C-6, we do not have the tools needed to protect Canadians and their families.

The Liberal leader should encourage the Liberal senators to follow the fine example of all MPs in this House who passed it unanimously.

Aboriginal Affairs

[Judy Foote, Liberal, Random—Burin—St. George's, NL]

Mr. Speaker, in March 2008, the Federation of Newfoundland Indians and this government signed an agreement to establish a non-reserve Mi’kmaq band in the province.

The deadline to register is November 30. Twenty thousand Mi’kmaqs submitted their applications and, to date, less than half of these applications have been processed. Eleven thousand Mi’kmaq are still waiting. With the deadline just three days away, it is obvious that all of the applications will not get done.

Will the Minister of Indian Affairs agree, in fairness, to have the deadline extended?

[Chuck Strahl, Conservative, Minister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development]

Mr. Speaker, it was a very historic moment when we signed that agreement with the Mi’kmaq people in Newfoundland. It was something they had been waiting for for generations and it was an honour to be there for that important ceremony.

I do know there is a process that we need to work through as far as the actual adjudication and the committee work that is necessary to ensure all the people who apply have Mi’kmaq heritage. We do not control that entirely but, by all means, I am willing to talk to the chair of that committee, which is not the federal government, and see if there are arrangements we can make to get as many people registered as possible.

Status of Women

[Nicole Demers, Bloc, Laval, QC]

Mr. Speaker, yesterday the Minister of State for the Status of Women refused to condemn the unacceptable remarks of a Conservative member who suggested that abortions might cause breast cancer. Not only is that statement medically untrue, but it also vilifies women. One might have expected the minister to vigorously defend women and their right to abortion rather than make comments more befitting of Sarah Palin.

When will the minister stop protecting her party's dinosaurs to the detriment of what women have obtained?

[Helena Guergis, Conservative, Minister of State (Status of Women)]

Mr. Speaker, I answered that question very clearly in the House yesterday.

The member is fully aware that there are elected members in this House who have said very similar things at different times. Members in this House represent their constituencies and they are free to have any opinion that they choose. It does not mean that it represents the government.

I am pleased to highlight one of our most recent achievements to protect women across this country. We recently revised our citizenship guide. I would like to recognize the Minister of Citizenship and Immigration for the great work he has done in specifically outlining that barbaric practices, such as female genital mutilation, are not tolerated in Canada.

Presence in Gallery

[The Speaker, Liberal, Peter Milliken]

I would like to draw to the attention of hon. members the presence in the gallery of the Hon. Bob McLeod, Minister of Human Resources, Minister of Industry, Tourism and Investment, and Minister Responsible for the Public Utilities Board for the Northwest Territories.

[Some hon. members]

Hear, hear!

[The Speaker, Liberal, Peter Milliken]

I would like to draw to the attention of all hon. members the presence in the gallery of the dean of parliamentarians, the Hon. Marcel Prud'homme.

Senator Prud'homme was first elected as the Liberal member for St. Denis, now Papineau, in 1964 and was re-elected an impressive eight times.

In 1993, having never lost an election, he was appointed to the other place, and our loss was its gain, although I was often pleased to see him in the Senate gallery watching the proceedings in the House with, I would like to think, a sense of nostalgia.

Today we thank him for his wisdom, his experience and his sense of justice, and we commend the man who, over the years, has become the institutional memory of Parliament Hill.

Thank you, Marcel.

[Some hon. members]

Hear, hear!

Business of the House

[Ralph Goodale, Liberal, Wascana, SK]

Mr. Speaker, my question for the government House leader has to do with the work over the next two weeks until the normal adjournment at Christmas.

In the remainder of the supply period, two more supply days need to be allocated. I wonder if the House leader is in a position to indicate precisely when he expects those to come.

Also, discussions have been held among House leaders about the appropriate steps to take in the House to mark the 20th anniversary of the tragedy at École Polytechnique. I wonder if the House leader is in a position to indicate on what day that commemoration is likely to be held.

Finally, we are closing in on the deadline for some changes to the Standing Orders having to do with the allocation of supply days in the calendar year 2010. I again ask the government House leader if he is in a position to make a proposal with respect to that matter pursuant to the motion that was adopted by this House in June.

[Jay Hill, Conservative, Leader of the Government in the House of Commons]

Mr. Speaker, I thank my hon. colleague, the House leader for the official opposition, for his question.

This Thursday I will contain myself mainly to the traditional question which is the business ahead for the next week for the House of Commons.

This week we are focusing yet again on the government's justice bills. Yesterday we completed the final reading of Bill C-36, the serious time for serious crime bill. We expect to send Bill C-58, the child protection bill, to committee later today. I had hoped that debate might have collapsed before question period and that bill would have already been on its way to committee. Hopefully that will happen this afternoon.

We will then be debating at second reading Bill C-31, An Act to amend the Criminal Code, the Corruption of Foreign Public Officials Act and the Identification of Criminals Act and to make a consequential amendment to another Act. We are hopeful debate will conclude on this bill as well today.

Other bills scheduled for debate this week are Bill C-54, An Act to amend the Criminal Code and to make consequential amendments to the National Defence Act, and Bill C-55, An Act to amend the Criminal Code, which is the response to the Supreme Court of Canada decision in R. v. Shoker bill.

Next week we will be calling for debate: Bill C-27, anti-spam, at third reading; Bill C-44, the Canada Post remailers bill, at second reading; Bill C-57, the Canada-Jordan free trade bill, at second reading; Bill C-56, fairness for the self-employed bill, at report stage and third reading; and of course, as always, I will give consideration to any bill that is reported back from committee.

My hon. colleague asked about allotted days. Next Tuesday, it would be my intention to have as the next allotted day.

Business of Supply

[Jay Hill, Conservative, Leader of the Government in the House of Commons]

Yesterday, Mr. Speaker, pursuant to an order made Friday, June 19, 2009, which again the hon. House leader for the Liberal Party just mentioned, you tabled a proposed formula for the distribution of allotted days in each of the supply periods of 2010. There has been discussion among all parties, and we are in agreement with your proposal. Therefore, I believe you will find unanimous consent for the following motion:

That for the calendar year 2010 in the present Parliament, Standing Order 81(10)(a) be amended as follows:

81(10)(a) In 2010, seven sitting days shall be allotted to the Business of Supply in the period ending not later than March 26; eight additional days shall be allotted to the Business of Supply in the period ending not later than June 23; and seven additional days shall be allotted to the Business of Supply for the period ending not later than December 10; provided that the number of sitting days so allotted may be altered pursuant to paragraph (b) or (c) of this section. These twenty-two days are to be designated as allotted days. In 2010, no more than one fifth of all the allotted days shall fall on a Wednesday and no more than one fifth thereof shall fall on a Friday. Commencing on the first sitting day of any supply period, no less than one and no more than two allotted days shall be designated in each ten sitting day period of the said supply period, except pursuant to paragraph (c) or section (11) of this Standing Order.

[The Speaker, Liberal, Peter Milliken]

Does the hon. government House leader have the unanimous consent of the House to propose this motion?

[Some hon. members]

Agreed.

[The Speaker, Liberal, Peter Milliken]

Is it the pleasure of the House to adopt this motion?

[Some hon. members]

Agreed.

[The Speaker, Liberal, Peter Milliken]

(Motion agreed to)

Response to Oral Question

[Chuck Strahl, Conservative, Minister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development]

Mr. Speaker, during the course of question period, in response to a question that I received from the Bloc critic, talking specifically about some Innu communities on the coast, I mentioned the Mamuitun Tribal Council.

Although I do not have the blues in front of me, I fear I may have mixed up the two groups. The Mamuitun Tribal Council is currently in a final land claim negotiation with the Quebec government and ourselves, whereas the Strategic Innu Alliance, who I believe are on the Hill today, are not in negotiation.

Again, if I could just rephrase my answer, just to repeat that Canada continues to be open to exploring ways to resume discussions with the Strategic Innu Alliance, then my answer would stand.

Business of the House

[Jay Hill, Conservative, Leader of the Government in the House of Commons]

Mr. Speaker, I was also remiss to address one other issue that my hon. colleague, the official opposition House leader raised, which was an inquiry about whether there had been agreement between all the parties as to a process to commemorate the terrible tragedy represented by the 20th anniversary of the massacre at École Polytechnique.

It is my understanding there is unanimous agreement to recognize that on Wednesday, December 2 with statements from all parties.

[The Speaker, Liberal, Peter Milliken]

I presume we will hear about the details of that in due course.

Oral Questions

[Pierre Paquette, Bloc, Joliette, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I seek the unanimous consent of the House to table a document received by the member for Chambly—Borduas, to which he referred during question period.

The document is from Michel Bédard, former chief employment insurance actuary from 1991 to 2003, who conducted his own analysis of the contribution rates set out in Bill C-56. He shows that the contribution rates are far too high given the coverage proposed in the bill.

I would like to table this document in both official languages.

[The Speaker, Liberal, Peter Milliken]

Does the hon. member for Joliette have the unanimous consent of the House to table this document?

[Some hon. members]

Agreed.

No.