Debates of June 19th, 2009

His Highness The Aga Khan

[The Acting Speaker, NDP, Denise Savoie]

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

[Some hon. members]

Agreed.

[The Acting Speaker, NDP, Denise Savoie]

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 Acting Speaker, NDP, Denise Savoie]

(Motion agreed to)

Firearms Registry

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Nepean—Carleton, ON]

Madam Speaker, I rise to present a petition to abolish the long gun registry immediately. The petition states that the long gun registry has wasted over $2 billion of public money and that criminals do not register their guns. It also states that the enactment of the long gun registry has led to the harassment of farmers, hunters, lawful gun owners, and there is scant evidence that this boondoggle has protected any lives at all. Thus, I present this petition and join with my constituents in supporting the abolition of the long gun registry.

[The Acting Speaker, NDP, Denise Savoie]

Presenting petitions, the hon. member for Scarborough—Guildwood. Given the large number of members presenting petitions, I would ask members to be as brief as possible to give as many people a chance to present.

Sri Lanka

[John McKay, Liberal, Scarborough—Guildwood, ON]

Madam Speaker, and I will indeed be brief. This is the last in a series of petitions I am presenting concerning the situation in Sri Lanka. My constituents are extremely concerned about the deterioration of that situation. I present this petition and look forward to the government's response.

Employment Insurance

[Chris Charlton, NDP, Hamilton Mountain, ON]

Madam Speaker, I am pleased to table yet another petition signed by hundreds more people urging Parliament to immediately pass my Bill C-378, to allow hard-working families to access the maternity, parental, sickness and compassionate care benefits without worrying that if they lose their job in the meantime, they would also lose their EI.

The petitioners note that one of the barriers preventing workers from accessing EI are the anti-stacking provisions found within the Employment Insurance Act. These discriminatory provisions prevent new mothers in particular who have secured the full amount of special benefit entitlements from accessing regular benefits if they lose their jobs during or shortly after these specially sanctioned leaves.

Madam Speaker, I wonder if it would be in order for me to seek unanimous consent so that the other members who are also seeking to table petitions today might be able to do so even if the time provided for presenting petitions expires prior to that.

[The Acting Speaker, NDP, Denise Savoie]

Does the hon. member have the unanimous consent of the House?

[Some hon. members]

Agreed.

Wind Turbines

[Cheryl Gallant, Conservative, Renfrew—Nipissing—Pembroke, ON]

Madam Speaker, in the absence of independent science-based studies on the long-term effects on the health of residents and wildlife of Renfrew County because of the close proximity of wind turbines, the petitioners call upon Parliament to reject any funding applications for federal government assistance for the erection of wind towers in Renfrew County until such time as it can be demonstrated that all reasonable concerns regarding health, safety, planning, taxes, assessment, legal rights and environmental impact the construction of wind towers will have on the people of Renfrew County have been addressed.

Natural Health Products

[Cheryl Gallant, Conservative, Renfrew—Nipissing—Pembroke, ON]

Madam Speaker, in this petition, the petitioners call upon Parliament to ensure access to natural health products, create a clearly defined and separate category for natural health products and reflect the historical safety record and low risk of consuming such products.

Protection of Human Life

[Cheryl Gallant, Conservative, Renfrew—Nipissing—Pembroke, ON]

Madam Speaker, since January 28, 1988, Canada has had no law to protect the lives of unborn children. Therefore, in this petition, the petitioners call upon Parliament to pass legislation for the protection of human life.

Employment Insurance

[Marlene Jennings, Liberal, Notre-Dame-de-Grâce—Lachine, QC]

Madam Speaker, this petition, containing hundreds of signatures, is calling on the federal government to do three things.

The petitioners are calling upon Parliament to make employment insurance sickness benefits more flexible so that people with episodic disabilities can work part time and receive benefits on a part-time basis.

Second, they are calling on Parliament to make the disability tax credit refundable, in order to increase income.

Third, the petitioners want the government to allow spouses to claim the caregiver tax credit.

In closing, I wish everyone a good summer.

[Tom Lukiwski, Conservative, Regina—Lumsden—Lake Centre, SK]

Madam Speaker, on a point of order, despite what my hon. colleague from the NDP said, which was a very gracious offer to get all the petitions in before we rise for the summer, I do have, in routine proceedings, a number of questions, which must be tabled today.

Today is the deadline, so I would ask for the consent of the House, at approximately one or two minutes before 1 p.m., at which time we will break to go into votes, if we could revert to the questions on the order paper portion, so I will be able to table these before the end of this session.

[The Acting Speaker, NDP, Denise Savoie]

Is that agreed?

[Some hon. members]

Agreed.

Human Rights

[Libby Davies, NDP, Vancouver East, BC]

Madam Speaker, I have two petitions to present today.

The first petition is sponsored by We Are Change Vancouver and warcriminalsout.ca

The petitioners call upon the government to abide by its own laws, publicly stated policies and binding international agreements pertaining to war crimes and crimes against humanity, including the Geneva conventions and the Nuremberg charter, and either.

They petition to ban or deny entry to George W. Bush and members of the Bush administration, whom they believe are credibly accused of torture and other war crimes.

Historical Sites

[Libby Davies, NDP, Vancouver East, BC]

Madam Speaker, the second petition contains 55 pages signed by folks in east Vancouver.

The petitioners want to draw to our attention that Vancouver's Chinatown has been a vibrant hub for commercial, social and cultural activities in the Chinese community since the 19th century. The area has significant buildings of historical and cultural value, which reflect the social environment and the history of Chinese migration to Canada and the history of Vancouver.

They call upon the Government of Canada to preserve the rich legacy of Vancouver's Chinatown and to designate Chinatown as a national historic site.

Assisted Suicide

[Harold Albrecht, Conservative, Kitchener—Conestoga, ON]

Madam Speaker, I have the honour today to present two different petitions from constituents of my riding of Kitchener—Conestoga, as well as a number from the Hamilton, Burlington and Oakville areas.

The petitioners point out that life should be protected until natural death occurs and that predators encourage and assist suicide through the Internet.

They call upon government to enable prosecution of those who assist, facilitate, encourage or advise someone in taking his or her own life by updating the Canadian Criminal Code to reflect the new realities of 21st century broadband access.

Animal Cruelty

[Brian Murphy, Liberal, Moncton—Riverview—Dieppe, NB]

Madam Speaker, I have, for tabling, a petition signed by many Canadians, calling for amendments to various acts and regulations regarding animal transport.

It is shameful that in an advanced country such as Canada, acts of cruelty to animals still occur. Cattle, sheep and goats can be transported for 52 hours without access to water and food. Pigs, poultry and horses can be transported for 36 hours without access to water and food.

These are the longest animal transport times in the industrialized world. The petitioners want change.

The Environment

[Josée Beaudin, Bloc, Saint-Lambert, QC]

Madam Speaker, I am honoured to rise here today to present a petition signed by over 100 students from the École internationale St-Edmond in Greenfield Park and the École primaire des Quatre-saisons in Saint-Hubert. These young people are concerned about the environment. Their petition reads as follows:

We, the undersigned petitioners, are calling on the government to hear what our young voices have to say, and to take concrete, immediate action in order to make responsible policy decisions to leave an environmental legacy that is sustainable for future generations. It is extremely urgent.

Social Sciences and Humanities

[Niki Ashton, NDP, Churchill, MB]

Madam Speaker, I am proud to stand here with the signatures of over 17,000 students, researchers, academics and concerned individuals, people from coast to coast and around the world.

The petitioners are protesting the budget in 2009 that notes a focus on only business-related research when it comes to new funding for the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council. While recognizing the importance of supporting all areas of research, they are concerned about the government's attack on the social sciences and humanities and fundamentally the attack on academic freedom.

Studies in the social sciences have helped build our country and improve the world in the areas of social justice, civic and economic empowerment and how we can improve our lives. At a time when the world is looking ahead and thinking outside of the box, the government is stunting our research community and turning it back.

These Canadians demand that the government listen, revert its decision and support the social sciences and humanities in Canada.

Protection of Human Life

[Pierre Lemieux, Conservative, Glengarry—Prescott—Russell, ON]

Madam Speaker, I put forward this petition which calls upon Parliament to pass legislation for the protection of human life from the time of conception until natural death.

The petition is supported by a record number of Canadians, 12,000 of them, who showed up on the Hill in the month of May for the March of Life. The petitioners have asked the House of Commons to pass the same type of legislation.