House of Commons Hansard #104 of the 40th Parliament, 3rd Session. (The original version is on Parliament's site.) The word of the day was training.
Government Response to PetitionsRoutine Proceedings
Regina—Lumsden—Lake Centre Saskatchewan
Conservative
Tom Lukiwski ConservativeParliamentary 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 responses to two petitions.
Improving Trade Within Canada ActRoutine Proceedings
Fundy Royal New Brunswick
Conservative
Rob Moore ConservativeMinister of State (Small Business and Tourism)
moved for leave to introduce Bill C-57, An Act to amend the Agreement on Internal Trade Implementation Act and the Crown Liability and Proceedings Act.
(Motions deemed adopted, bill read the first time and printed)
Maxime Bernier Conservative Beauce, QC
Mr. Speaker, I have the honour to present, in both official languages, the fourth report of the Standing Committee on National Defence concerning the government's response to the third report. Pursuant to Standing Order 109, the committee requests that the government provide a comprehensive response to this report.
Shawn Murphy Liberal Charlottetown, PE
Mr. Speaker, I have the honour to present, in both official languages, the ninth report of the Standing Committee on Access to Information, Privacy and Ethics in relation to supplementary estimates (B) for the fiscal year ending March 31, 2011.
Don Davies NDP Vancouver Kingsway, BC
moved for leave to introduce Bill C-598, An Act to amend the Excise Tax Act (no GST on batteries for medical and assistive devices).
Mr. Speaker, I rise to introduce a bill that would remove the federal sales tax from the purchase of batteries used in medical equipment or devices.
James McAllister is a senior in Vancouver Kingsway. He is living in a city with a high cost of living. He has medical expenses, and these include the purchase of batteries for essential medical devices. He was shocked that he had to pay tax on his medically necessary purchases.
There is an important principle reflected in our current law that sales taxes should not be charged on products that are essential for health and well-being. The initial purchase of medical devices, including the battery, is currently tax exempt, however, tax is charged on replacement batteries for these medically necessary devices.
Ending the sales tax on replacement batteries would fix an important oversight in our tax laws. The cost to taxpayers for this exemption will be slight, but would have a significant positive impact on many low income seniors in my community and across the country.
This is particularly important given that the HST in British Columbia has raised prices on other medically necessary purchases, including vitamins and over-the-counter medications.
As members of Parliament, we should all be in our communities talking to our constituents, hearing their concerns and proposing legislation to address their real concerns. I hope I can count on the support of all parties for this bill.
(Motions deemed adopted, bill read the first time and printed)
Claude DeBellefeuille Bloc Beauharnois—Salaberry, QC
Mr. Speaker, there have been discussions among all the parties and if you seek it I believe you would find unanimous consent for the following motion:
That at the conclusion of today's debate on the opposition motion in the name of the hon. member for Saint-Jean, all questions necessary to dispose of this motion be deemed put and a recorded division deemed requested and deferred to Tuesday, November 30, 2010, at the expiry of the time provided for Government Orders.
The Speaker Liberal Peter Milliken
Does the hon. member for Beauharnois—Salaberry have the unanimous consent of the House to move the motion?
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?
Glenn Thibeault NDP Sudbury, ON
Mr. Speaker, today I rise on behalf of literally thousands of people in my great riding of Sudbury and area to introduce petitions with their signatures relating to justice for an aboriginal man from the greater Sudbury area who was wrongly convicted.
Mr. John Moore was accused and convicted of second degree murder in the case where the Crown agreed that he was nowhere near the scene of the crime and where a trial determined that he had played no part in the planning of this crime.
Mr. Moore, an aboriginal man, was convicted in Sault Ste. Marie in 1979 by an all white jury, which resulted in 10 years in prison and a lifetime on parole.
The law used to convict Mr. Moore was later declared unconstitutional.
The signatories call on the hon. Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada to review the conviction in the case of Mr. Moore, recognize that a wrongful conviction occurred, overturn the conviction and enter an acquittal.
Claude DeBellefeuille Bloc Beauharnois—Salaberry, QC
Mr. Speaker, I have the honour of presenting a petition signed by over 100 residents of the town of Franklin. This petition is in addition to the one signed by 5,000 residents that I presented two weeks ago to the House calling on the Government of Canada to reconsider its decision to close the Franklin border crossing on April 1, 2011.
I should note that this decision was reached without notifying elected municipal officials and without consulting with businesses and residents or with their American neighbours. No public consultations or meetings were organized by the Canada Border Services Agency to discuss possible alternate solutions and explain this decision to municipal leaders and businesses that use this border crossing.
I wish to point out that this border crossing is important to our economy and tourism industry, to the safety of our residents and to the livelihood of the town of Franklin.
Claude DeBellefeuille Bloc Beauharnois—Salaberry, QC
Mr. Chair, I am pleased to present another petition to the House today, this one on behalf of the town of Elgin, in my riding. Signed by 300 residents, the petition calls on the House to stop the closing of the Jamieson's Line border crossing, also scheduled for April 1, 2011. For the same reasons, the residents of the town of Elgin object to the complete closure of their border crossing point, which is vital to their economy and their tourism industry, not to mention their safety. They want the agency to meet and consult with them, and to reconsider and suspend its decision.
Yasmin Ratansi Liberal Don Valley East, ON
Mr. Speaker, I have petitions from the citizens of my riding of Don Valley East who are concerned about the seed regulation and regulations of novel foods and plants with novel traits.
The petitioners believe that these regulations do not include an assessment or consideration of the potential economic harm to farmers of the new GE crop releases. Therefore, they call upon Parliament to enshrine in legislation Bill C-474, An Act respecting the Seeds Regulations (analysis of potential harm), to amend the seeds regulations to require that an analysis of the potential harm to export markets be conducted before the sale of any new genetically engineered seed is permitted.
Claude Gravelle NDP Nickel Belt, ON
Mr. Speaker, it is a pleasure to present these petitions today containing the names of hundreds of people from across Ontario.
We have people from Sudbury, Levack, Copper Cliff, Toronto, Peterborough, Hanmer and Val Caron who are concerned about John Moore, an aboriginal man who was wrongly convicted and spent 10 years in prison, but the law that convicted him has since been struck down.
The petitioners would like the hon. Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada to review his conviction and pardon Mr. Moore as quickly as possible.
Jim Maloway NDP Elmwood—Transcona, MB
Mr. Speaker, I have a petition signed by dozens of Canadians to end Canada's military involvement in Afghanistan.
In May 2008, Parliament passed a resolution to withdraw Canadian Forces by July 2011. The Prime Minister, with agreement from the Liberal Party, broke his oft repeated promise to honour the parliamentary motion and, furthermore, refuses to put it to a parliamentary vote in the House.
Committing 1,000 soldiers to a training mission still presents a danger to our troops and an unnecessary expense when our country is faced with a $56 billion deficit. The military mission has cost Canadians more than $18 billion so far, money that could have been used to improve health care and seniors' pensions right here in Canada.
Polls show that a clear majority do not want Canada's military presence to continue after the scheduled removal date of July 2011. Therefore, the petitioners call upon the Prime Minister to honour the will of Parliament and bring the troops home now.
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
Mr. Speaker, if Question No. 431 could be made an order for return, this return would be tabled immediately.
Joyce Murray Liberal Vancouver Quadra, BC
With regard to the Children’s Fitness Tax Credit (CFTC): (a) for each fiscal year since 2007-2008, what was the total cost of the CFTC (i) nationally, (ii) by province and territory; (b) for each fiscal year since 2007-2008, what was the mean income of families that claimed the CFTC (i) nationally, (ii) by province and territory; (c) for each fiscal year since 2007-2008, what percentage of eligible families claimed the CFTC (i) nationally, (ii) by province and territory; (d) for each fiscal year since 2007-2008, for what specific activities were claims made under the CFTC and what was the proportion of funds expended for each activity; and (e) for each fiscal year since 2006-2007, what was the rate of participation in sports among children who meet the eligibility criteria of the CFTC?
(Return tabled)
Tom Lukiwski Conservative Regina—Lumsden—Lake Centre, SK
Mr. Speaker, I ask that the remaining questions be allowed to stand.