Debates of Dec. 13th, 2010

Pensions

[Wayne Marston, NDP, Hamilton East—Stoney Creek, ON]

Mr. Speaker, on Friday, a high court in the United Kingdom handed down a game-changing ruling. Pensioners in that country have been moved to the front of the line of creditors during bankruptcy proceedings. Here at home, Canadian retirees are at the bottom of the list when it comes to claiming the money owed to them.

New Democrat Bill C-501 is at the industry committee right now but the Conservatives have opposed it from the beginning.

What are the Conservatives waiting for? When will they support Bill C-501 and stand with Canadians instead of their friends on Bay Street?

[Tony Clement, Conservative, Minister of Industry]

Mr. Speaker, the expert evidence is very clear.

Once this place starts to retroactively change contracts and retroactively change the priority, then these things are in court for years as other priority bondholders seek to enforce their rights. That is the expert evidence that has been before the Senate and it is the same evidence that will be before the House of Commons.

We are for real and realistic solutions rather than the empty rhetoric of the other side.

Citizenship and Immigration

[Rick Norlock, Conservative, Northumberland—Quinte West, ON]

Mr. Speaker, our Conservative government wants to punish human smugglers with serious prison time and deport illegal immigrants who pay human smugglers.

The Liberal Party, however, wants to give human smugglers a slap on the wrist and reward the illegal immigrants with Canadian citizenship and the ability to sponsor their entire family into Canada.

The Liberal MP for Ottawa South even said that the arrival of illegal boats of Tamils was a “manufactured crisis”.

Would the minister tell this House what the government is doing regarding human smuggling?

[Jason Kenney, Conservative, Minister of Citizenship]

Mr. Speaker, we are again hearing the total irresponsibility of the Liberal Party members.

Just like they tell victims of crime that crime is not a problem, they tell Canadians, including immigrants, that illegal immigration and human smuggling are not a problem.

Canadians know better than that. Canadians expect this Parliament to take strong action to stop people from jumping the immigration queue and abusing this country's generosity. They will not allow the Liberal Party's ideology to trump common sense.

We will not allow the Liberals to reward those who abuse our immigration laws and jump the queue. We will take action.

Railway Service

[John McCallum, Liberal, Markham—Unionville, ON]

Mr. Speaker, shippers have already waited during three long years of review and the time for the government to act is right now.

The shippers have been complaining for years that the rail companies overcharge and under-perform.

Why does the government not take immediate legislative measures to fill the gaps in this service?

[Rob Merrifield, Conservative, Minister of State (Transport)]

Mr. Speaker, shippers and farmers waited 13 years of getting nothing from a Liberal government.

I would think that once we had struck a review panel, the Liberals would at least wait for the recommendations of that panel before commenting. Now they are playing politics with farmers and shippers.

We will wait for those recommendations and then we will make our decision based on the best interest of 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 two ministers from Manitoba: the Honourable Dave Chomiak, Minister of Innovation, Energy and Mines; and the Honourable Steve Ashton, Minister of Infrastructure and Transportation.

[Some hon. members]

Hear, hear!

[The Speaker, Liberal, Peter Milliken]

I would also like to draw to the attention of hon. members the presence in the gallery of the 2010 Killam Prize Laureates: Ellen Bialystok, Mark Henkelman, Ming Li and James Tully.

[Some hon. members]

Hear, hear!

Statements by Members

[Carole Lavallée, Bloc, Saint-Bruno—Saint-Hubert, QC]

Mr. Speaker, during members' statements, I was not able to finish reading the poem by internationally renowned lyricist Luc Plamondon. I was only able to quote some lines. As the members will understand, I had to refer to two members of Parliament by name in the text, because they were part of Mr. Plamondon's artistic work. I did not feel I had the right to infringe on his moral rights.

I therefore seek the unanimous consent of the House to table Luc Plamondon's poem, entitled Our Trip to Canada, in its entirety.

[The Speaker, Liberal, Peter Milliken]

Does the hon. member have the unanimous consent of the House to table this poem?

[Some hon. members]

Agreed.

No.

[The Speaker, Liberal, Peter Milliken]

There is no consent.

Canada Account Annual Report

[Peter Van Loan, Conservative, Minister of International Trade]

Mr. Speaker, I have the honour to table, in both official languages, the Canada Account Annual Report for 2009-10 prepared by Export Development Canada.

Foreign Affairs

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

Mr. Speaker, under the provisions of Standing Order 32(2), I have the pleasure to table, in both official languages, seven treaties, entitled: “Convention concerning Forced or Compulsory Labour”, adopted at Geneva, on June 28, 1930, as modified by the Final Articles Revision Convention, 1946; “Convention concerning Tripartite Consultations to Promote the Implementation of International Labour Standards”, adopted at Geneva on June 21, 1976; “Convention concerning the Promotional Framework for Occupational Safety and Health”, adopted at Geneva on June 15, 2006; “Amendments to the Text and to Annexes I, II, III, IV, VI and VIII of the Protocol to the 1979 Convention on Long-Range Transboundary Air Pollution on Persistent Organic Pollutants”, adopted at Geneva on December 18, 2009; “Amendments to Annexes V and VII of the Protocol to the 1979 Convention on Long-Range Transboundary Air Pollution on Persistent Organic Pollutants”, adopted at Geneva on December 18, 2009; “Amendment to Appendices I and II of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora”, adopted at Doha from March 13 to 25, 2010; and “Amendments to Appendix III of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora”, notified on May 25, 2010 and July 16, 2010. Explanatory memoranda are included with the treaties.

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 seven petitions.

Immigration and Refugee Protection Act

[Olivia Chow, NDP, Trinity—Spadina, ON]

moved for leave to introduce Bill C-604, An Act to amend the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (appeal process for temporary resident visa applicants).

Mr. Speaker, as the holiday season approaches, thousands of Canadians are looking forward to their relatives coming from overseas to visit them and share a few joyous days in Canada.

Unfortunately, one in five visitors will have their applications rejected. No clear reasons will be given, as there are no clear criteria and no minimum standards. Canadians and their relatives are extremely frustrated because they have no idea why they are rejected and what they can do to qualify.

Millions of tourism dollars are also lost because 200,000 visitors are refused entry each year.

My visitor visa fairness bill would provide an appeal so there would be transparency and clear standards for all applicants. Such appeal tribunals are already available to all visitors to England and to Australia. It is time we bring fairness to those who want to visit Canada and their Canadian friends and relatives.

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

National Strategy for Sickle Cell Disease and Thalassemic Disorders Act

[Kirsty Duncan, Liberal, Etobicoke North, ON]

moved for leave to introduce Bill C-605, An Act respecting a Comprehensive National Strategy for Sickle Cell Disease and Thalassemic Disorders.

Mr. Speaker, my bill, a national strategy for sickle cell disease and thalassemic disorders, addresses the challenges faced by children and adults living with these inherited blood disorders. The bill calls on the Minister of Health to initiate discussions with the provincial and territorial health ministers to develop comprehensive patient care throughout the life cycle, develop national standards regarding universal screening, develop centres of excellence for both pediatric care and adult care, assess best practices for patients to succeed at school and in the workplace, develop information for medical education to prepare health care workers to meet the needs of Canada's diverse populations, develop adequate clinical guidelines and prompt pain management for patients in crisis, establish a program for funding to advocacy groups, and recognize June 19 as sickle cell anemia awareness day in Canada. I hope all hon. members will support the bill.

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

Foreign Affairs

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

Mr. Speaker, I have a petition from a number of constituents concerning Saeed Malekpour, who is facing a potential death sentence in the Islamic Republic of Iran. He is in the Evin Prison, and he is calling upon the Minister of Foreign Affairs to intervene with the government of Iran on his behalf.

Millennium Goals

[Carole Lavallée, Bloc, Saint-Bruno—Saint-Hubert, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I have two wonderful petitions before me.

The first is a petition signed by students and staff at Mgr-A.-M.-Parent high school in Saint-Hubert. This petition was started by Renée Pronovost, the spiritual life and community involvement leader. The 1,222 signatories are encouraging the government to act as quickly as possible to honour its promise to achieve the eight millennium goals.

Veterans Affairs

[Carole Lavallée, Bloc, Saint-Bruno—Saint-Hubert, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the second petition that I have before me was signed mainly by veterans from the Saint-Bruno and Saint-Hubert Canadian Legions. They are asking that the veterans charter be amended to restore the lifetime monthly pension as a means of compensation for injured military personnel.

This petition is an initiative of my colleague, the member for Québec.

[Irene Mathyssen, NDP, London—Fanshawe, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I have a petition addressed to the Government of Canada from Canadians of all ages and from all walks of life who genuinely support and value the contributions of our veterans. They regard a veteran as a veteran regardless of where he or she may have served and in what deployment. The petitioners call upon the Government of Canada to extend the mandate of veterans hospitals to include veterans who have served in conflicts and in peacekeeping operations since 1953, end the clawback of veterans pensions, eliminate the reduction of veterans pensions at age 65, change the widows benefit to a non-taxable benefit, create a veterans advisory panel to provide input on the selection of future veterans ombudspersons, and ensure that Veterans Affairs Canada remains a stand-alone department.

Prevention of Coerced Abortion

[Rod Bruinooge, Conservative, Winnipeg South, MB]

Mr. Speaker, I am really proud today to introduce this petition that was collected in Winnipeg at Church of the Rock. In a matter of two hours, over 1,167 signatures were collected in support of Roxanne's law, Bill C-510.

I want to thank all the pastors who were engaged in asking for these petitions to be brought in: Pastor Mark, Pastor Tim, Pastor Keith and Pastor Aubrey. I want to pass along my congratulations to them for finding a way to get 1,167 signatures in a matter of hours. It was very amazing.

Seniors

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

Mr. Speaker, I have the honour to table a petition signed by 648 people who are primarily from the upper north shore, the region of Tadoussac and Forestville, as well as the north shore.

The signatories are calling for an increase to the spouse's allowance and the survivor's allowance and are asking that the federal guaranteed income supplement program be increased by $110 a month. Those living alone, particularly seniors, are living below the poverty line and are having to ask themselves if they should buy medication or food.

Unfortunately, far too many of our seniors are living in utter poverty.