House of Commons Hansard #125 of the 40th Parliament, 3rd Session. (The original version is on Parliament's site.) The word of the day was labour.

Topics

Bill C-474Routine Proceedings

February 7th, 2011 / 3:05 p.m.

NDP

Libby Davies NDP Vancouver East, BC

Mr. Speaker, there have been discussions among the parties and I believe if you sought it you would find unanimous consent for the following motion. I move:

That, notwithstanding any standing order or usual practices of the House, during the debate tomorrow on Bill C-474, An Act respecting the Seeds Regulations (analysis of potential harm), no quorum calls, dilatory motions or requests for unanimous consent shall be received by the Chair and that, at the conclusion of the debate or when no further member rises to speak, all questions necessary to dispose of the report stage of the bill be deemed put and recorded divisions be deemed requested.

Bill C-474Routine Proceedings

3:05 p.m.

Liberal

The Speaker Liberal Peter Milliken

Does the hon. member for Vancouver East have the unanimous consent of the House to propose the motion?

Bill C-474Routine Proceedings

3:05 p.m.

Some hon. members

Agreed.

Bill C-474Routine Proceedings

3:05 p.m.

Liberal

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?

Bill C-474Routine Proceedings

3:05 p.m.

Some hon. member

Agreed.

Bill C-474Routine Proceedings

3:05 p.m.

Liberal

The Speaker Liberal Peter Milliken

(Motion agreed to)

Multiple SclerosisPetitionsRoutine Proceedings

3:05 p.m.

Liberal

Mario Silva Liberal Davenport, ON

Mr. Speaker, I have three petitions.

The first petition is from Canadians in my riding of Davenport and around Toronto who are concerned about Canadians who have multiple sclerosis who are being denied the right to be tested and treated for CCSVI.

The petitions are calling upon the Minister of Health for Canada and for the province to evaluate the treatment proposed in persons diagnosed with MS.

Animal WelfarePetitionsRoutine Proceedings

3:05 p.m.

Liberal

Mario Silva Liberal Davenport, ON

Mr. Speaker, I also have a petition from people across the country pertaining to the regulations around the health, welfare, and humane treatment of animals.

The petitioners are calling for the Government of Canada to sign and support a universal declaration on animal welfare. We should all be doing everything within our powers to prevent animal cruelty and reduce animal suffering.

Canada PostPetitionsRoutine Proceedings

3:05 p.m.

Liberal

Mario Silva Liberal Davenport, ON

Mr. Speaker, finally, I have a petition from Canadians who are concerned about the closure of the Canada Post offices in rural communities.

The petitioners are calling upon the Government of Canada and Canada Post to consult with elected representatives, postal unions and other major stakeholders, including provincial rural communities that are affected by these closures.

Multiple SclerosisPetitionsRoutine Proceedings

3:05 p.m.

Conservative

Gord Brown Conservative Leeds—Grenville, ON

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to rise today to submit two petitions signed by members of my constituency of Leeds--Grenville and from surrounding ridings.

The petitioners request that federal and provincial health ministers meet to discuss allowing testing and treatment for CCSVI in all Canadians who desire testing and treatment, and to plan and implement a nationwide clinical trial.

I would also like to commend Amy Preston, a constituent of mine, who has worked so hard to bring attention to this important issue.

Veterans AffairsPetitionsRoutine Proceedings

3:10 p.m.

NDP

Irene Mathyssen NDP London—Fanshawe, ON

Mr. Speaker, I have two petitions to present to the House today.

The first petition has been signed by a number of Canadians of all ages and walks of life who genuinely support and value the contributions of our veterans. They regard a veteran as a veteran regardless of where or in which deployment he or she may have served.

The petitioners call upon the Government of Canada 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 widow's 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 as a stand-alone department.

Status of Women CanadaPetitionsRoutine Proceedings

3:10 p.m.

NDP

Irene Mathyssen NDP London—Fanshawe, ON

Mr. Speaker, the second petition is from a group of Canadians concerned that Status of Women Canada is not enshrined in Canadian law and could be disbanded at any time and that the mandate of Status of Women Canada has been significantly altered in the past five years and is no longer addressing systemic women's equality issues.

The petitioners call upon the Parliament of Canada to support Bill C-581 because it would enshrine Status of Women Canada in law and ensure that its mandate would advance women's equality in Canada in the spirit of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women.

JusticePetitionsRoutine Proceedings

3:10 p.m.

Conservative

Tilly O'Neill-Gordon Conservative Miramichi, NB

Mr. Speaker, I rise in the House today to table petitions seeking justice and closure for the Henderson family. The petition was spearheaded by Bonnie Clark-Douglas and signed by Canadians from New Brunswick, Ontario and Quebec.

In November 1981, a 17-year-old boy named Paul “Poncho” Henderson was found dead in Miramichi, New Brunswick. The petitioners call upon the Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada for an independent, far-reaching and transparent judicial public inquiry into the murder of Paul “Poncho” Henderson and the actions of all law enforcement personnel involved in the initial investigation of Paul's death with, among other things, a mandate to begin the process of having the murderer of Paul “Poncho” Henderson reclassified as an open and active murder investigation, and ultimately bring the individuals responsible for his murder to justice.

AfghanistanPetitionsRoutine Proceedings

3:10 p.m.

NDP

Jim Maloway NDP Elmwood—Transcona, MB

Mr. Speaker, my petition has been signed by dozens of Canadians who are calling for an end to Canada's military involvement in Afghanistan.

In May 2008, Parliament passed a resolution to withdraw the 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 of Canadians 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.

Social HousingPetitionsRoutine Proceedings

3:10 p.m.

Bloc

Jean-Yves Laforest Bloc Saint-Maurice—Champlain, QC

Mr. Speaker, today I wish to present a petition signed by 237 people in my riding. They are asking the Government of Canada to provide the public funds needed by the Société d'habitation du Québec to complete its low-income housing renovation plan and to cover the accumulated maintenance deficit.

The federal government obviously has an important responsibility to fulfill in maintaining and making major renovations to these buildings. These people want to make this clear to the government. I am therefore presenting this petition.

Multiple SclerosisPetitionsRoutine Proceedings

3:10 p.m.

Liberal

Kirsty Duncan Liberal Etobicoke North, ON

Mr. Speaker, today I rise to present yet another petition regarding chronic cerebral spinal venous insufficiency, or CCSVI, multiple sclerosis.

I have presented the latest statistics: 12,500 liberation procedures worldwide in 50 countries; 80% to 97% of MS patients showing one or more venous problems; and one-third of patients showing significant short-term improvement and one-third showing some improvement with liberation.

We absolutely need evidence-based medicine in Canada. That means we must collect the evidence through clinical trials and/or a registry. The petitioners are therefore requesting clinical trials here in Canada with diagnosis, treatment and follow-up.

AfghanistanPetitionsRoutine Proceedings

3:15 p.m.

NDP

Dennis Bevington NDP Western Arctic, NT

Mr. Speaker, I rise to present a petition signed by many Canadians. This petition requests that the House inform the Canadian public of the number of civilian casualties inflicted by Canadian troops in Afghanistan, that the House report the number of the military casualties of the Canadian public and that the House keep the Canadian public informed of the cost of the war to Canadian taxpayers.

Employment InsurancePetitionsRoutine Proceedings

3:15 p.m.

Liberal

Scott Simms Liberal Bonavista—Gander—Grand Falls—Windsor, NL

Mr. Speaker, I rise to present a petition in the House once again that deals with EI pilot projects and the impending doom of them.

In June of this year, 2011, these pilot projects are set to expire. They were extended from last September and October. I would like to bring to the attention of the House just how important these projects are, one being the best 14 weeks option, which allows people to use their best 14 weeks instead of their last 14 weeks to qualify for their claims. This is very good for the employers as much as it is for the employees.

I present this petition on behalf of many constituents, as well as people outside of my riding in the province of Newfoundland and Labrador, those affected by higher rates of unemployment.

Questions on the Order PaperRoutine Proceedings

3:15 p.m.

Regina—Lumsden—Lake Centre Saskatchewan

Conservative

Tom Lukiwski ConservativeParliamentary Secretary to the Leader of the Government in the House of Commons

Mr. Speaker, I ask that all questions be allowed to stand.

Questions on the Order PaperRoutine Proceedings

3:15 p.m.

Liberal

The Speaker Liberal Peter Milliken

Is it agreed?

Questions on the Order PaperRoutine Proceedings

3:15 p.m.

Some hon. members

Agreed.

Standing Committee on FinancePrivilegeRoutine Proceedings

3:15 p.m.

Liberal

The Speaker Liberal Peter Milliken

The Chair has received notice of a question of privilege from the hon. member for Kings—Hants. I will hear the hon. member now.

Standing Committee on FinancePrivilegeRoutine Proceedings

3:15 p.m.

Liberal

Scott Brison Liberal Kings—Hants, NS

Mr. Speaker, I rise on a question of privilege in relation to the 10th report of the Standing Committee on Finance.

In our system of responsible government, the government must seek Parliament's authority to spend public funds. Parliament, in turn, has an obligation, a responsibility to hold the government to account and to scrutinize the government's books.

Recently, this government impeded the work of the Standing Committee on Finance by hindering its attempts to better understand the federal government's budget projections.

As you know, Mr. Speaker, Standing Order 108 empowers committees to send for persons, papers and records. House of Commons Procedure and Practice, second edition, describes Parliament's right to order the production of documents as a right that is “as old as Parliament itself”.

On November 17, 2010, the Standing Committee on Finance passed a motion ordering the Government of Canada to provide the commitment with five-year projections of total corporate profits before taxes and effective corporate tax rates from the 2010-11 fiscal year until the 2014-15 fiscal year, inclusive.

The November 17 motion also ordered the government to provide the committee with certain financial information pertaining to justice Bills C-4, C-5, C-16, C-17, C-21, C-22, C-23A, C-23B, C-39, C-48, C-50, C-51, C-52, S-2, S-6, S-7, S-9 and S-10.

Among other things, the motion specifically requested:

detailed cost accounting, analysis and projections, including assumptions, for each of the bills and Acts, conducted in accordance with the Treasury Board Guide to Costing.

The motion established a deadline of seven calendar days, which ended on November 24, 2010.

On November 24, the Department of Finance replied to the committee with the following. I will read the department's response in its entirety. It stated:

Projections of corporate profits before taxes and effective corporate income tax rates are a Cabinet confidence. As such, we are not in a position to provide these series to the Committee.

The government provided no further information to the committee before the deadline.

On December 1, 2010, one full week after the deadline, the committee received a letter from the Department of Justice regarding projected costs of the justice bills. Again, I will read the department's response in its entirety. It stated:

The issue of whether there are any costs associated with the implementation of any of the Government's Justice bills is a matter of Cabinet confidence and, as such, the Government is not in a position to provide such information or documents.

On December 7, 2010, after the government had refused to provide the information ordered by the committee by the established deadline, I provided the committee with written notice for a motion by which, if passed, the committee would draw the attention of the House to what appeared to be a breach of its privileges.

On December 10, 2010, perhaps in response to the written notice I had written on December 7, the committee received an additional response from the Department of Finance.

In its response, the department stated:

To the best of its knowledge, the Department of Finance has determined that “series” or projections of corporate profits before taxes or the effective corporate income tax rates have never been previously disclosed. These projections are from a comprehensive economic and fiscal projection that constitutes a Cabinet confidence. As a result, the Department of Finance has not been in a position to provide these "series" to the Committee.

This response appeared somewhat dubious. For, if any member of the House or if any Canadian wishes to Google the phrase “corporate profits before taxes” and restrict their search to the domain of the Department of Finance's website, he or she would get exactly two results: the HTML and PDF versions of “The Economic and Fiscal Update” from November 2005, in which they would find, on page 83, that the previous Liberal government had actually published projections of corporate profits before taxes from 2005 until 2010.

At this time, I would like to seek unanimous consent to table page 83 of “The Economic and Fiscal Update” from November 2005.

Standing Committee on FinancePrivilegeRoutine Proceedings

3:20 p.m.

Liberal

The Speaker Liberal Peter Milliken

Does the hon. member for Kings—Hants have the unanimous consent of the House to table this document?

Standing Committee on FinancePrivilegeRoutine Proceedings

3:20 p.m.

Some hon. members

Agreed.

No.