House of Commons Hansard #8 of the 40th Parliament, 2nd Session. (The original version is on Parliament's site.) The word of the day was lanka.
Gerry Ritz ConservativeMinister of Agriculture and Agri-Food and Minister for the Canadian Wheat Board
Mr. Speaker, as members well know, two turkey barns have been put down in the Fraser Valley. Some 36 farms are under quarantine and we are testing those birds. No other instances have come to light. It is a low pathogenic strain. As far as we can decipher, this is contained in the wild birds that are abundant on each of these farms as well.
Diane Finley ConservativeMinister of Human Resources and Skills Development
Mr. Speaker, I rise on a point of order. I would like to clarify for the record that when I said that the Canada social transfer would be going up 3% this year I did mean the fiscal year of 2009-10.
David McGuinty Liberal Ottawa South, ON
Mr. Speaker, during the answer provided by the Minister of Natural Resources, she referred to a report that she said she had in her possession that apparently tells the House of Commons and the Canadian people that there is no connection between these two nuclear events.
This Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission report should, in my view, be tabled immediately for Canadians to peruse and to put this extremely important question to rest today.
Jay Hill ConservativeLeader of the Government in the House of Commons
Mr. Speaker, the hon. member has been in the House long enough to know that tabling is required if a minister quotes from a document. The Minister of Natural Resources did not quote from the document. It will not be tabled.
Ralph Goodale Liberal Wascana, SK
Mr. Speaker, could I ask the government House leader to reflect on this issue for a few moments? While the minister may not have made a direct quotation, the subject matter is obviously one of enormous public interest.
In order to lay this issue to rest and to satisfy any public concern that may exist, would the minister please consider the point that the documentation she has could be very useful in resolving this matter once and for all? It would be a public service to table that document.
Jay Hill Conservative Prince George—Peace River, BC
Mr. Speaker, this issue is resolved. It is only the fearmongering of the hon. member that leaves it unresolved.
The Speaker Liberal Peter Milliken
I will now give the floor to the hon. member for Lévis—Bellechasse, who also wants to raise a point of order.
Steven Blaney Conservative Lévis—Bellechasse, QC
Mr. Speaker, I would like to congratulate you on working so hard to bring a little decorum to this House. We are just beginning a new session and we have passed a budget. Some members seem to be frustrated, and they are saying most unfortunate things, things that would not be tolerated in Quebec's National Assembly.
I would formally request that the member for Laurier—Sainte-Marie, the leader of the Bloc Québécois, withdraw his unparliamentary remarks.
Let us behave like mature adults, shall we? Words like “idiot”, “stupid” and “chicken” have no place in either Quebec City or Ottawa. The leader of the Bloc Québécois should stop being such an embarrassment to Quebeckers and parliamentarians, and stop insulting voters, parliamentarians and the people listening to us today.
I would ask him to withdraw his remarks. Let us have a little decorum in the House. I would like him to apologize immediately.
Gilles Duceppe Bloc Laurier—Sainte-Marie, QC
Mr. Speaker, I did not say he was stupid; I said that his remarks were stupid and that he did not know anything about his portfolio. Once again, people have been telling tales in the House and outside, and the Prime Minister is refusing to set the record straight. I said that he did not know anything about his portfolio, and I will say so again.
Steven Blaney Conservative Lévis—Bellechasse, QC
Mr. Speaker, we could keep playing word games, but this is a matter of basic respect. I am appealing to the leader of the Bloc Québécois' sense of honour and asking him to use parliamentary language and behave appropriately in the House. If he wants to end up in Quebec's National Assembly one day, he needs to know that what he says here in Ottawa does not—
The Speaker Liberal Peter Milliken
Order, please. This is not the appropriate place for this discussion. In my view, this discussion may be continued elsewhere, but not here. This is not really a point of order.
Jim Flaherty ConservativeMinister of Finance
Mr. Speaker, pursuant to Standing Order 83(1) I have the honour to table a notice of ways and means motion to implement certain provisions of the budget tabled in Parliament on January 27, 2009, and related fiscal measures.
I ask that an order of the day be designated for consideration of the motion.
Office of the Federal Ombudsman for Victims of CrimeRoutine Proceedings
Niagara Falls Ontario
Conservative
Rob Nicholson ConservativeMinister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada
Mr. Speaker, I rise today to table the first annual report for the Office of the Federal Ombudsman for Victims of Crime. The report provides an overview of the activities and operations from the creation of the office in April 2007 to the end of March 2008.
I also table the government response to the annual report of the Office of the Federal Ombudsman for Victims of Crime.
The response demonstrates our support for the recommendations in the ombudsman's report and gives a sense of how the government plans to address the issues identified by the ombudsman as needing action.
Russ Hiebert Conservative South Surrey—White Rock—Cloverdale, BC
Mr. Speaker, pursuant to Standing Order 34(1) I have the honour to present, in both official languages, reports from the Canadian Branch of Commonwealth Parliamentary Association concerning four conferences of the Ministerial Debt Sustainability Forum by the World Bank in Washington, DC, April 9, 2008, the CPA UK Branch seminar held in London, June 8 to 20, 2008, the 33rd Regional Conference of the Caribbean, the Americas and the Atlantic held in Anguilla, June 28 to July 3, 2008, and the International Parliamentary Conference on International Development held in London, November 17 to 21, 2008.
Dean Del Mastro ConservativeParliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Canadian Heritage
Mr. Speaker, pursuant to Standing Order 34(1) I have the honour to present, in both official languages, the following reports of the Canadian Delegation of the Canada-United States Interparliamentary Group respecting its participation at the Council of State Governments' Southern Legislative Conference 2008 annual meeting held in Oklahoma City this past July 11 to 15, the Council of State Government Eastern Regional Conference 48th annual meeting held in Atlantic City, New Jersey this past August 10 to 13, the Democratic National Convention held in Denver, Colorado this past August 24 to 28, and the Republican National Convention held in Minneapolis, Minnesota this past August 31 to September 4.
Irene Mathyssen NDP London—Fanshawe, ON
moved for leave to introduce Bill C-284, An Act to implement the recommendations of the Pay Equity Task Force.
Mr. Speaker, the right to equal pay for work of equal value is a basic human right. Although pay equity is protected in Canada by the Canadian Human Rights Act, pay equity in Canada is not a reality for Canadian women.
Proactive pay equity legislation helps to compensate women for the historic devaluation of women's work. Traditionally women have worked in undervalued and underpaid occupations, like caregiving, cleaning and nursing. Canada must implement effective pay equity legislation to advance women's equality.
Pay inequity has wide-reaching negative social and economic consequences for all women and their families. That is the reason for this legislation. We need proactive pay equity, as outlined in the 2004 pay equity report, and a pay equity commissioner to end the disparity experienced by Canadian women.
(Motions deemed adopted, bill read the first time and printed)
Marlene Jennings Liberal Notre-Dame-de-Grâce—Lachine, QC
moved for leave to introduce Bill C-285, An Act regulating telecommunications facilities to facilitate the lawful interception of information transmitted by means of those facilities and respecting the provision of telecommunications subscriber information.
Mr. Speaker, I am quite proud to present this bill again in the House. You have already mentioned the title of the bill, but it is also commonly known as the modernization of investigative techniques act, or MITA.
The modernization of investigative techniques act, MITA, would ensure that the law enforcement community in Canada and our Canadian Security Intelligence Service would maintain an ability to investigate crime and terrorism in the face of rapidly evolving communications technology. The bill would reduce the ability of criminals, organized crime members and child pornographers to use sophisticated technologies to carry out their activities undetected. Under MITA, telephone and Internet service providers would be required to include an interception capability in new technology.
The bill is about ensuring that Canadians and their communities are safe. Police and CSIS need to have the tools necessary to intercept, legally, new communication technologies. If adopted, this legislation will ensure that criminals can no longer take advantage of new technologies to hide their illegal activities from the law.
I hope that the bill will receive the support of my colleagues on both sides of the House.
(Motions deemed adopted, bill read the first time and printed)
Chris Charlton NDP Hamilton Mountain, ON
moved for leave to introduce Bill C-286, An Act to establish the Office of the Oil and Gas Ombudsman to investigate complaints relating to the business practices of suppliers of oil or gas.
Mr. Speaker, after the unexpected and premature prorogation of the House in December, I am so pleased to finally have the opportunity to reintroduce a bill that would establish the oil and gas ombudsman. The bill is being introduced on behalf of irate consumers who are tired of continually getting hosed at the pumps. As members will recall, the bill would create the office of the oil and gas ombudsman, which would be charged with providing strong and effective consumer protection to ensure that no big business could swindle, cheat or rip off hard-working Canadians.
I am pleased to report that the bill has been endorsed by the Consumers Association of Canada.
Currently, people can only complain to each other about being gouged at the pumps. My bill would create a meaningful vehicle for having those complaints taken seriously, with mechanisms for investigation and remediation to help consumers fight the squeeze.
Since this is not just an issue in my riding of Hamilton Mountain, I am pleased to have my bill seconded by the member for London—Fanshawe. I am hopeful members from all regions of the country, and indeed from all political parties, will endorse my efforts to put an end to highway robbery.
(Motions deemed adopted, bill read the first time and printed)
Chris Charlton NDP Hamilton Mountain, ON
moved for leave to introduce Bill C-287, An Act to amend the Holidays Act (Remembrance Day).
Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to reintroduce a bill, which its adoption I have advocated since I was first elected to the House. My bill to amend the Holidays Act (Remembrance) would honour those who have sacrificed their lives for our country by making Remembrance Day a legal holiday.
I look forward to the bill's quick passage to honour all of those who have died serving our country.
(Motions deemed adopted, bill read the first time and printed)
Mauril Bélanger Liberal Ottawa—Vanier, ON
Mr. Speaker, I would like to present a petition signed by constituents from both sides of the river in the national capital region. It concerns the possibility of building a bridge to get the heavy truck traffic outside of the core of our capital city.
In particular, the petitioners ask that the government instruct the National Capital Commission to proceed with a detailed assessment of an interprovincial bridge linking the Canotek industrial park to Gatineau airport, which is option seven of the first phase of the interprovincial crossings environmental assessment.
Christiane Gagnon Bloc Québec, QC
Mr. Speaker, I have a petition signed by 900 people at the most, many of whom are responsible for organizations that provide services to immigrants. These petitioners are asking the government not to move the downtown offices of Citizenship and Immigration Canada to Lebourgneuf, an area poorly served by public transit. People will have to travel by car. We think that it is illogical to move the offices of Citizenship and Immigration Canada to Lebourgneuf.
Chris Charlton NDP Hamilton Mountain, ON
Mr. Speaker, after the unexpected and premature prorogation of the House in December, I am pleased to finally have the opportunity to table two petitions on behalf of some of the thousands of seniors who are supporting my national campaign to fight for fairness for ordinary Canadians and, in particular, for seniors who were short-changed by their government as a result of an error in calculating the rate of inflation.
The government acknowledged the mistake made by Statistics Canada in the last Parliament, but has refused to take any remedial action.
The petitioners call upon Parliament to take full responsibility for this error, which negatively impacted their incomes from 2001 to 2006, and take the required steps to repay every Canadian who has been short-changed by a government program because of the miscalculation of the CPI.
The petitioners have worked hard all their lives and played by the rules and now are finding it harder to make ends meet. All the petitioners are asking for is a bit of fairness from their government.
It is a privilege to table these petitions on their behalf.
Marlene Jennings Liberal Notre-Dame-de-Grâce—Lachine, QC
Mr. Speaker, I rise today to present a petition in favour of Bill C-545, An Act to amend the Textile Labelling Act. This bill is identical to Bill C-271, a new bill that I introduced in the House last week. It would require labels on clothing to include a reference number that consumers could use to identify the name and address of the factory where an item of clothing was produced. This bill has the support of the Ethical Trading Action Group and Amnesty International.
I would also like to congratulate Samuel Bergeron, a young man from Nicolet, Quebec, who took the initiative to circulate this petition and collect more than 500 signatures for a cause that he believes in. Young people like Samuel, whose conviction is catching, give me hope for the future.
Gérard Asselin Bloc Manicouagan, QC
Mr. Speaker, today, pursuant to Standing Order 36, I wish to present to this House a petition with more than 800 signatures from Manicouagan voters, most of whom are workers.
Illness comes on surprisingly and suddenly and is not limited to any particular social class. These petitioners are asking Parliament to review the employment insurance program to ensure an acceptable minimum of benefit weeks, which would better correspond with timing of medical treatments for workers who are forced to quit their job to deal with an illness that, by its nature, requires prolonged treatment.
Rob Oliphant Liberal Don Valley West, ON
Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to present a petition today from residents of Don Valley West, expressing concern about current hostilities in Sri Lanka.
The petitioners call upon the Government of Canada to put pressure on the government of Sri Lanka to provide the Tamil population with food, shelter, medicine and other fundamental necessities. They also call upon the government to call upon the United Nations and other international relief agencies to enter the area to provide witness to what is going on. In addition, they call upon the government to call for an immediate ceasefire and to take immediate steps to call for the UN to provide an observer to monitor human rights abuses.