House of Commons Hansard #110 of the 40th Parliament, 3rd Session. (The original version is on Parliament's site.) The word of the day was offence.
Luc Malo Bloc Verchères—Les Patriotes, QC
Mr. Speaker, the Minister of Health continues to state that the federal government is open to the idea of compensating the provinces for the additional expenses caused by the medical isotope shortage that resulted from the closure of the Chalk River reactor in the spring of 2009.
Can the Minister of Health tell us if she intends to compensate Quebec before the next Bachand budget?
Colin Carrie ConservativeParliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Health
Mr. Speaker, from the discussions at the last health ministers meeting, our understanding was that most provinces and territories did not incur additional costs, and we were able to cover by adding testing requirements.
Over the last year of this global shortage, we have seen incredible resourcefulness in managing the existing supply. For example, the medical community has shown great flexibility during this time by maximizing the use of available TC-99 and using alternative isotopes for certain tests.
Peter Stoffer NDP Sackville—Eastern Shore, NS
Mr. Speaker, no parent should ever have to bury a child. However, when that child unfortunately does succumb to his or her injuries, the family should have a right to know what happened.
When it comes to military families, Pierre Daigle, the DND ombudsman, has repeatedly said that the government gives us repeated promises and, for the military families, repeated disappointments.
Why should it take the media to address these concerns with the government? Why is it not more proactive to ensure, in the death of one of our heroes of Canada, that his or her family immediately—
The Speaker Liberal Peter Milliken
Laurie Hawn ConservativeParliamentary Secretary to the Minister of National Defence
Mr. Speaker, we have covered that a number of times today and we will continue to do everything we can to make the system better for those folks.
I have spent a lot of time in the last few years with the Minister of National Defence and with the Chief of the Defence Staff at events with families of the fallen. No one takes it more seriously than those two men.
We will continue to do everything we can. We recognize the very difficult circumstances in which families find themselves. We grieve with them. Where the system has limitations, we will make that better. We will always try to do the best we possibly can for the families of our fallen.
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 four petitions.
Access to Information, Privacy and EthicsCommittees of the HouseRoutine Proceedings
Conservative
Harold Albrecht Conservative Kitchener—Conestoga, ON
Mr. Speaker, I have the honour to table, in both official languages, the 10th report of the Standing Committee on Access to Information, Privacy and Ethics, in relation to the certificate of nomination of Jennifer Stoddart, the nominee for the position of Privacy Commissioner.
Your committee has considered the proposed appointment of Jennifer Stoddart as Privacy Commissioner and reports its support for her appointment.
Privacy CommissionerRoutine Proceedings
Ottawa West—Nepean Ontario
Conservative
John Baird ConservativeLeader of the Government in the House of Commons and Minister of the Environment
Mr. Speaker, I am very pleased to move the following motion. I move:
That, in accordance with subsection 53(1) of the Privacy Act, chapter P-21 of the Revised Statutes of Canada, 1985, this House approve the reappointment of Jennifer Stoddart as Privacy Commissioner.
The Speaker Liberal Peter Milliken
Does the hon. government House leader have the unanimous consent of the House to propose this 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?
Harold Albrecht Conservative Kitchener—Conestoga, ON
Mr. Speaker, I have the honour to present a petition signed by hundreds of Canadians. The petitioners are calling on the House of Commons and Parliament assembled to support Bill C-510, which would help protect vulnerable women from being aggressively coerced against their will to have abortions.
Jim Maloway NDP Elmwood—Transcona, MB
Mr. Speaker, I am presenting a petition signed by dozens of Canadians. It is a call 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, refused to put it to a vote in this House. Committing 1,000 soldiers to a training mission still presents a lot of danger for our troops and 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 spent to improve health care and seniors' pensions right here in Canada. Polls show a clear majority does 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.
Pierre Lemieux Conservative Glengarry—Prescott—Russell, ON
Mr. Speaker, it is my honour to rise in the House to present a petition from Canadians asking members in the House to support Roxanne's law, also known as Bill C-510, which would allow women to press charges if they were coerced into an unwanted abortion.
David McGuinty Liberal Ottawa South, ON
Mr. Speaker, pursuant to Standing Order 36(6), I rise today to table a petition signed by many people, mostly in my riding of Ottawa South but also throughout southern Ontario.
The petition, addressed to the Minister of Health, is on the subject of CCSVI treatment for multiple sclerosis. I would like to thank my constituent, Mr. Arvy Znotinas, for submitting this petition for presentation.
James Lunney Conservative Nanaimo—Alberni, BC
Mr. Speaker, I have a petition from some 118 constituents. They are drawing attention to the fact that Canada is a country which respects human rights.
They note that the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms includes that everyone has a right to life. They note that it has been 40 years, since May 14, 1969, when Parliament changed the law to permit abortion, and that since January 20, 1980, Canada has no law to protect the lives of unborn children. Therefore, these petitioners are calling upon Parliament to pass legislation for the protection of human life from the time of conception to the time of natural death.
Questions on the Order PaperRoutine Proceedings
Regina—Lumsden—Lake Centre Saskatchewan
Conservative
Tom Lukiwski ConservativeParliamentary Secretary to the Leader of the Government in the House of Commons
Mr. Speaker, Question No. 445 will be answered today.
Bernard Bigras Bloc Rosemont—La Petite-Patrie, QC
With respect to the diesel spill that occurred on September 28, 2010, from Suncor’s refinery facilities at the Port of Montreal, namely quays 109 and 110: (a) have inspections of the infrastructure at the source of the leak been carried out since June 2008; (b) for each inspection carried out after June 2008, (i) what was the department, corporation or agency responsible for the inspection, (ii) at what date was the inspection done, (iii) what was the name of the person responsible for the inspection, (iv) what were the characteristics of the infrastructure inspected, (v) what was the state of the infrastructure inspected, (vi) what was the type of test performed, (vii) what was the result of the tests performed; and (c) what is the age of the infrastructure at the source of the leak?
Question No. 445Questions on the Order PaperRoutine Proceedings
Ottawa West—Nepean Ontario
Conservative
John Baird ConservativeLeader of the Government in the House of Commons and Minister of the Environment
Mr. Speaker, since June 2008, four inspections were conducted by the Enforcement Branch of the Department of Environment. Two of these inspections were conducted under the environmental emergencies regulations. On December 16, 2009, enforcement officer Jason Gilead conducted an inspection under this regulation. The other one was conducted October 18, 2010, by law enforcement officer Stéphane Bolduc.
With respect to subsection 36(3) of the Fisheries Act, inspections were conducted by enforcement officer Jason Gilead, on September 28, 2010 and emergency officer Julie Davignon on September 29, 2010.
Regarding answers to questions (b) (iv), (v), (vi), (vii) and (c), this information is part of an ongoing inspection file and would be inappropriate to comment at this time.
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 Questions Nos. 446, 448, 451, 452, 453, 454 and 487 could be made orders for return, these returns would be tabled immediately.
Luc Malo Bloc Verchères—Les Patriotes, QC
With regard to the Ontario-Quebec gateway issue, since the 2004–2005 fiscal year: (a) how much money has been invested, broken down by project; (b) which projects have received funding; (c) which projects have been completed; (d) at what stage of completion are the unfinished projects; (e) what have been the yearly budgets, up to and including the present fiscal year; (f) were all the funds allocated in the budgets spent; (g) what are the projected budgets for the coming years; (h) what factors explain why the budgets were not fully spent; and (i) what criteria needed to be met for a project to receive funding?