Debates of Dec. 15th, 2010

Income Tax Act (Hearing Impairment)

[Tony Martin, NDP, Sault Ste. Marie, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I present a petition today signed by 75 people who are very concerned that there is discrimination in the Income Tax Act with regard to people with hearing impairment. They are asking that the Government of Canada and the House move expeditiously with Bill C-577, a bill introduced by my colleague, the member for Burnaby—New Westminster.

I support it and encourage the government to take the advice of these 75 people and others across the country who think this discrimination should be ended.

Prevention of Coerced Abortion

[Rod Bruinooge, Conservative, Winnipeg South, MB]

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to proudly present this petition calling for the reintroduction of Roxanne's law to empower pregnant women to press charges should they be forced into an unwanted abortion.

Genetically Modified Organisms

[Alex Atamanenko, NDP, British Columbia Southern Interior, BC]

Mr. Speaker, I have two petitions.

The first one is signed by 100 people from the Boundary region, Grand Forks, Greenwood and Christina Lake in support of my bill, Bill C-474, which basically asks the government to make sure that an analysis is done of the potential economic impact on farmers before introducing any more genetically modified organisms into the environment.

They call upon Parliament to enshrine in legislation Bill C-474, an act respecting the seeds regulations, to amend the seed regulations to require that an analysis of potential harm to export markets be conducted before the sale of any new genetically engineered seed is permitted.

Animal Welfare

[Alex Atamanenko, NDP, British Columbia Southern Interior, BC]

Mr. Speaker, my second set of petitions has a total of 617 signatures dealing with my private member's bill, Bill C-544. The petitioners are saying that horses are ordinarily kept and treated as sport and companion animals, not raised primarily as food processing animals, and are administered drugs that are commonly prohibited in the food chain.

The petitioners are calling upon the House of Commons to bring forward and adopt into legislation Bill C-544, an act to amend the Health of Animals Act and the Meat Inspection Act, thus prohibiting the importation or exportation of horses for slaughter for human consumption, as well as horse meat products for human consumption.

Justice

[John Weston, Conservative, West Vancouver—Sunshine Coast—Sea to Sky Country, BC]

Mr. Speaker, it is with mixed emotions that I present two related petitions.

The petitioners act in the name of Genoa Jean May, Gennie, who 25 years ago, at age 3, was kidnapped, raped and murdered. The petitioners believe that the parole system should be changed and they present 151 signatures in support of Bill C-39, and 156 signatures in support of Bill C-48, asking that the system be changed to give more fairness to victims of crime.

Veterans

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

Mr. Speaker, it is my pleasure to present this petition on behalf of Canadians who wish to support veterans, post 1953. They petition the government and Parliament to extend the mandate of veterans hospitals to include veterans who have served in conflicts and 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.

Rouge River Watershed

[Michael Chong, Conservative, Wellington—Halton Hills, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I have two petitions here of some thousand Canadian signatures that call on the federal government to recognize that the Rouge River watershed is nationally significant, containing many rare flora and fauna, aboriginal sites and historic features; and to recognize that the federal government, in 1988, gave $10 million to protect the Rouge River watershed.

The petitioners call upon the Government of Canada to work with the province of Ontario to establish a national park in the Rouge River watershed so that the Oak Ridges moraine can be connected to Lake Ontario through this very important and nationally significant area.

Mining Industry

[Niki Ashton, NDP, Churchill, MB]

Mr. Speaker, it is my honour to bring forward the voices of the people of Thompson, Manitoba. Today I present petitions on their behalf calling for the federal government to stand up for Canadians and Canadian jobs.

On November 17, Vale announced devastating news that they are planning to shut down the smelter and refinery in Thompson. The people of Thompson are saying that the federal government must stand up for them. Not only did the government allow the foreign takeover by Vale, the government also gave it a loan of $1 billion just two months ago; this just weeks before such devastating news.

The people of Thompson and Manitoba are asking when the government will stand up for the Canadian people rather than foreign companies, and will the government work with all stakeholders to save the 600 jobs in the Thompson Vale smelter and refinery?

Justice

[Blake Richards, Conservative, Wild Rose, AB]

Mr. Speaker, I have three sets of petitions to table.

The first set is certainly very timely for today, given that yesterday the public safety committee had a special meeting, called by the government members, to try to see Bill C-23 dealt with. Obviously that was filibustered and stymied by the opposition parties.

However, I have a number of petitioners who keep coming in, almost on a daily basis, calling on the House of Commons to change the Criminal Records Act, to prohibit the granting of pardons to convicted sex offenders.

Animal Welfare

[Blake Richards, Conservative, Wild Rose, AB]

Mr. Speaker, the second petition calls for the prohibition of importation or exportation of horses for slaughter for human consumption, as well as horse meat products for human consumption.

Cattle Industry

[Blake Richards, Conservative, Wild Rose, AB]

Mr. Speaker, the third petition calls upon the Government of Canada to appoint the Hon. Mr. Justice Frank Iacobucci as mediator to facilitate settlement between the Government of Canada and cattle farmers.

Visa Requirements

[Peter Julian, NDP, Burnaby—New Westminster, BC]

Mr. Speaker, the Serbian community in British Columbia was one of the founding peoples. In fact, at the very time of settlement in British Columbia, Serbian Canadians were there.

There are 100,000 Serbians across the country who have made a substantial contribution to our country and culture. That is why I am pleased to present this petition on behalf of dozens of residents of Serbian origin, from the Atlantic coast right through to British Columbia.

The petitioners are asking that the Government of Canada waive visa requirements for visitors to Canada from Serbia. As we know, 25 European states have done the same.

Thank you. Hvala ti.

Access to Information, Privacy and Ethics

[Gordon O'Connor, Conservative, Minister of State and Chief Government Whip]

Mr. Speaker, there have been discussions with all the parties and I believe you will find unanimous support for the following motion:

THAT, the Standing Committee on Access to Information, Privacy and Ethics be the committee for the purposes of section 14.1 of the Lobbying Act.

[The Deputy Speaker, Conservative, Andrew Scheer]

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

[Some hon. members]

Agreed.

[The Deputy Speaker, Conservative, Andrew Scheer]

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 Deputy Speaker, Conservative, Andrew Scheer]

(Motion agreed to)

Questions on the Order Paper

[Tom Lukiwski, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Leader of the Government in the House of Commons]

Mr. Speaker, the following questions will be answered today: Questions Nos. 535, 538 and 540.

Question No. 535

[Yasmin Ratansi, Liberal, Don Valley East, ON]

With regard to all e-mail correspondence between Ministers’ exempt staff and staff at the Department of Industry which occurred between January 1, 2010 and October 31, 2010, excluding all matters which are in their nature secret, for each e-mail: (a) what are its contents; (b) what are the names of the (i) sender, (ii) recipients; and (c) on what date was it sent?

[John Baird, Conservative, Leader of the Government in the House of Commons and Minister of the Environment]

Mr. Speaker, the government draws to the attention of the member, pages 468 to 475 of House of Commons Procedure and Practice, Second Edition.

Question No. 538

[Bonnie Crombie, Liberal, Mississauga—Streetsville, ON]

With regard to all e-mail correspondence between ministers’ exempt staff and staff at the Department of Public Works and Government Services which occurred between January 1, 2007 and December 31, 2009, excluding all matters which are in their nature secret, for each e-mail: (a) what are its contents; (b) what are the names of the (i) sender, (ii) recipients; and (c) on what date was it sent?

[John Baird, Conservative, Leader of the Government in the House of Commons and Minister of the Environment]

Mr. Speaker, the government draws to the attention of the member, pages 468 to 475 of House of Commons Procedure and Practice, Second Edition.

Question No. 540

[Frank Valeriote, Liberal, Guelph, ON]

With regard to the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario (FedDev Ontario) and its partner agencies and all e-mail and any other written correspondence which occurred between January 1, 2008 and October 31, 2010, excluding all matters which are in their nature secret: (a) for each correspondence, including e-mails, between ministers’ exempt staff and departmental staff at FedDev Ontario, (i) what are its contents, (ii) what are the names of the sender and recipients, (iii) on what date was it sent; (b) for each correspondence, including e-mails, between ministers’ exempt staff working at FedDev Ontario and departmental staff at FedDev Ontario, (i) what are its contents, (ii) what are the names of the sender and recipients, (iii) on what date was it sent; and (c) for each correspondence, including e-mails, between ministers’ exempt staff working at FedDev Ontario and ministers’ exempt staff working at the National Research Council, the Business Development Bank of Canada, and Industry Canada, (i) what are its contents, (ii) what are the names of the sender and recipients, (iii) on what date was it sent?

[John Baird, Conservative, Leader of the Government in the House of Commons and Minister of the Environment]

Mr. Speaker, the government draws to the attention of the member, pages 468 to 475 of House of Commons Procedure and Practice, Second Edition.