Debates of Nov. 6th, 2009

Foreign Affairs

[Lawrence Cannon, Conservative, Minister of Foreign Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, as I mentioned in my previous response, I did speak with the president. He has reassured me, as well as the minister of state for the Americas, that they will be continuing to keep to the game plan that the previous government had put forward.

We as well as our allies, which are not only involved in building infrastructure, building institutions, policing that country and ensuring that Haitians take over that country, are satisfied with the course of action taking place.

I want to reassure the members of the House that we are satisfied with that course of action as well.

House of Commons

[The Speaker, Liberal, Peter Milliken]

I have the honour to lay upon the table the Report of the House of Commons to Canadians for the year 2009.

Commissioner of Firearms

[Dave MacKenzie, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Public Safety]

Mr. Speaker, I have the honour to table, in both official languages, the 2008 Annual Report of the Commissioner of Firearms in accordance with section 93(2) of the Firearms Act.

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 response to 14 petitions.

Interparliamentary Delegations

[Mauril Bélanger, Liberal, Ottawa—Vanier, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I have the pleasure, pursuant to Standing Order 34(1), to present to the House, in both official languages, the report of the Canadian Delegation of the Canada-Africa Parliamentary Association respecting its bilateral visits to Luanda, Angola and Windhoek, Namibia on August 16 to 21.

One of the changes we have made with this report is in the past we have not made specific recommendations, but at this point, the delegation unanimously thought it should recommend that the government seriously consider the establishment of a trade office in Angola for the purposes that are very obvious and are referred to in the report.

Public Accounts

[Shawn Murphy, Liberal, Charlottetown, PE]

Mr. Speaker, I have the honour to present, in both official languages, the 19th report of the Standing Committee on Public Accounts in relation to chapter 5, Passport Services—Passport Canada of the 2009 report of the Auditor General of Canada.

Procedure and House Affairs

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

Mr. Speaker, pursuant to Standing Orders 104 and 114, as vice-chair of the Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs, I have the honour to present, in both official languages, the 23rd report of the Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs regarding the list of members of the committees of the House.

If the House gives its consent, I intend to move concurrence in the 23rd report later this day, that is, very, very shortly.

Canadian Human Rights Act

[Raymonde Folco, Liberal, Laval—Les Îles, QC]

moved for leave to introduce Bill C-481, An Act to amend the Canadian Human Rights Act and the Canada Labour Code (mandatory retirement age).

Mr. Speaker, I am rising today in this House to introduce my bill on human rights and the Canada Labour Code to prohibit federally regulated employers from setting a mandatory retirement age. This would include private-sector employers subject to federal acts and regulations, as well as the federal public administration.

I would like to thank the member for Vancouver Quadra for her support on the bill.

The purpose of my bill goes one step beyond the decision of April 9 by the Federal Court of Canada, which found that age discrimination violated the charter following complaints by two Air Canada pilots. This was followed by a Human Rights Tribunal decision on August 28, which said, in part, that mandatory retirement was an affront to the right to equality and found that the infringement of equality rights through mandatory retirement could no longer be justified.

My bill would remove the offending provisions of the Canadian Human Rights Code and other federal acts and regulations.

These changes would affect more than 840,000 Canadians, or 10% of the country's labour force, at a time when our birth rate is on the decline. I hope that members on both sides of this house will support the swift passage of this bill.

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

Procedure and House Affairs

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

Mr. Speaker, if the House gives its consent, I move:

That the 23rd report of the Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs, presented earlier this day, be concurred in.

[The Speaker, Liberal, Peter Milliken]

Does the hon. member for Montmorency—Charlevoix—Haute-Côte-Nord have the unanimous consent of the House to move the motion?

[Some hon. members]

Agreed.

[The Speaker, Liberal, Peter Milliken]

The House has heard the terms of the motion. Is it the pleasure of the House to adopt the motion?

[Some hon. members]

Agreed.

[The Speaker, Liberal, Peter Milliken]

(Motion agreed to)

Finance

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

Mr. Speaker, there have been consultations among all parties and I think if you were to seek it, you would find unanimous consent for the following motion. I move:

That, notwithstanding the provisions of Standing Order 83.1, the deadline for the Standing Committee on Finance to table the 2009 Pre-Budget Consultation Report be extended to Wednesday, December 9.

[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]

The House has heard the terms of the motion. Is it the pleasure of the House to adopt the motion?

[Some hon. members]

Agreed.

[The Speaker, Liberal, Peter Milliken]

(Motion agreed to)

City of Greater Sudbury

[Glenn Thibeault, NDP, Sudbury, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to present these petitions today on behalf of close to 200 citizens in my riding of Sudbury.

The petitioners ask the federal industry minister to issue an official apology to the citizens in the city of Greater Sudbury. In an article in The Sudbury Star in July, the industry minister referred to Sudbury as being the valley of death and made other remarks that angered citizens across the city of Greater Sudbury. Sudbury is a very proud community and deserves respect from the federal government, just like other communities across Canada.

The residents of Sudbury call upon the Minister of Industry to officially apologize for his comments and confirm the federal government is doing what it can to support the city of Greater Sudbury.

Animal Welfare

[Michelle Simson, Liberal, Scarborough Southwest, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I have the pleasure to present a petition signed by close to 100 constituents in my riding of Scarborough Southwest.

The petitioners would like to bring to the attention of the House that there is a scientific consensus and public acknowledgement that animals can feel pain and suffer, that all efforts should be made to prevent animal cruelty and reduce animal suffering, that over one billion people around the world rely on animals for their livelihoods and many others rely on animals for companionship and that animals are often significantly affected by natural disasters and yet seldom considered during relief efforts in emergency planning despite their recognized importance to humans.

The petitioners call upon Parliament to petition the Government of Canada to support a universal declaration on animal welfare.

Veterans

[Stephen Woodworth, Conservative, Kitchener Centre, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to present a petition from constituents in my riding of Kitchener Centre and elsewhere.

The petitioners call the attention of the House of Commons to the fact that veterans have served with honour and have demonstrated a willingness to sacrifice in the service of our country. However, there exists a chronic shortage of medical and convalescent facilities for them and they face multi-year waiting lists for services.

Therefore, the petitioners ask the House to expand the range and scope of medical and convalescent services for veterans, to expand the number of beds and to initiate a re-evaluation of medical services provided to our veterans, specifically those in their seniors year, to ensure adequate resources and attention are being paid to those who have served their country so well.

The Environment

[Don Davies, NDP, Vancouver Kingsway, BC]

Mr. Speaker, I rise to present a petition on behalf of my constituents, citizens of Vancouver and, indeed, all Canadians.

The petitioners call upon the government to pass Bill C-311, the climate change accountability act. They care deeply about the future of our planet and believe Canada should be playing a leadership role in the global effort to combat climate change. They want the government to take immediate action to meet the science-based greenhouse gas reduction targets that are mandated in the bill. They know climate change is real. They know we need to take our responsibilities and actions seriously now. They want us to commit to strong environmental targets at Copenhagen.

I am honoured to stand today in the House of Commons and present their call to action. Our future hangs in the balance.

Volunteer Service Medal for Veterans

[Shawn Murphy, Liberal, Charlottetown, PE]

Mr. Speaker, during the periods September 3, 1939 to March 1, 1947, and subsequently from June 27, 1950 to July 27, 1953, certain veterans received the Canadian Volunteer Service Medal for Korea.

This petition is from residents of the greater Charlottetown area and a smaller number from Oakville and Victoria. They are calling upon the Government of Canada to recognize by means of the issuance of a new Canadian Volunteer Service Medal to be designated the Governor General's volunteer service medal, for volunteer service by Canadians in the regular and reserve military forces and cadet corps support staff who were not eligible for the aforementioned medals, and who have completed 365 days of uninterrupted honourable duty in the service of their country since March 2, 1947.