Debates of March 21st, 2011

Animal Welfare

[Bill Siksay, NDP, Burnaby—Douglas, BC]

Mr. Speaker, I have two petitions to table.

The first petition has been signed by over 550 Canadians from British Columbia and Ontario, including organizers Gwendy and Alfie Williams of Burnaby. The petitioners point out that we are obliged to protect other sentient beings from needless cruelty and suffering. Their particular concern is the use of electric shock as an animal training tool, a practice that they name as barbaric and unnecessary. They also point out that many experts have documented the use of electric shock as abusive and damaging to an animal's physical and psychological well-being.

The petitioners, therefore, call for a ban on the sale of electric shock devices for use on animals.

Citizenship and Immigration

[Bill Siksay, NDP, Burnaby—Douglas, BC]

Mr. Speaker, I am proud to table a petition organized by people seeking justice for Mohamed Harkat and signed by over 400 Canadians from Ontario and British Columbia.

These petitioners are very concerned about the security certificate provisions of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act noting that they make possible indefinite detention without charge or conviction based on secret information, that detainees may never know of the information held against them, that an appeal can be denied, that the evidentiary standard is very low and that detainees are at risk of deportation to face torture or death.

Furthermore, the petitioners believe that the process is undemocratic and violates the Charter of Rights and Freedoms and Canada's international human rights and refugee obligations.

Finally, they call for the abolition of the security certificate process, for open, fair and independent trials and for a guarantee that no one will be deported to face torture or death.

Public Transit Safety

[Dean Allison, Conservative, Niagara West—Glanbrook, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to present three petitions.

The first petition is signed by Canadians who are calling on the Canadian government to recognize the growing incidents of violence against public transit, school bus, paratransit and city transit operators affecting their safety and that of the travelling public of Canada.

They request that the Criminal Code be amended to give further protection to the hard-working essential members of our community.

Child Pornography

[Dean Allison, Conservative, Niagara West—Glanbrook, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the next two petitions are identical to the ones I presented previously in the House.

The petitioners call on Parliament to take all necessary steps to stop the Internet as a medium for distribution of repulsive victimization that is called child pornography.

Protection of Human Life

[Dean Allison, Conservative, Niagara West—Glanbrook, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the final petition calls on Parliament to enact legislation to protect human life from the time of conception until natural death.

Take Note Debate

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

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

That notwithstanding any Standing Order or usual practice of the House, after routine proceedings this day, the House shall resolve itself into Committee of the Whole for a take note debate, pursuant to Standing Order 53.1; that the committee consider the following motion: “That this committee take note of the March 17, 2011 United Nations Security Council resolution approving immediate action to protect the civilian population in Libya and Canada's contribution to international efforts to enforce that resolution”; that, after four hours of debate or when no member rises to speak, the committee rise and that a minister of the Crown be permitted to rise on a point of order.

[The Speaker, Liberal, Peter Milliken]

Does the hon. government House leader have the unanimous consent of the House to propose this motion?

[Some hon. members]

Agreed.

[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?

[Some hon. members]

Agreed.

[The Speaker, Liberal, Peter Milliken]

(Motion agreed to)

[Joe Preston, Conservative, Elgin—Middlesex—London, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I rise on a point of order. I would ask for unanimous consent to return to reports from committees.

[The Speaker, Liberal, Peter Milliken]

Does the House give its consent to reverting to presenting reports from committees?

[Some hon. members]

Agreed.

Procedure and House Affairs

[Joe Preston, Conservative, Elgin—Middlesex—London, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I have the honour to present, in both official languages, the 27th report of the Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs regarding the question of privilege relating to the failure of the government to fully provide the documents as ordered by the House.

Poverty

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

Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the opportunity to table a petition in the House that I am sure my colleagues will support. It is one of hundreds of petitions out there across the country right now in support of Bill C-545, An Act to Eliminate Poverty in Canada. I am happy to stand in support of this. It is an act that would go a long to bringing the federal government back into the game where eliminating poverty in the country is concerned and establishing a national anti-poverty strategy.

Health

[Kevin Lamoureux, Liberal, Winnipeg North, MB]

Mr. Speaker, I bring forward a petition that calls upon the government to take some action with regard to health care.

Canadians want a national government that will insist on more accountability in health care, which means stable funding, national standards and much more. The health care accord is one of those agenda items that needs to dealt with. The petitioners call upon the government to take action on that very important issue to all Canadians. In part, this is what the petition deals with.

Poverty

[Chris Charlton, NDP, Hamilton Mountain, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to table two petitions today from my riding of Hamilton Mountain signed by residents who are profoundly worried and dismayed by the Conservative government's inaction on poverty reduction.

While the Minister of Human Resources and Skills Development has rejected calls to develop a comprehensive and measurable poverty reduction strategy, the petitioners see hope in the NDP's Bill C-545, An Act to Eliminate Poverty in Canada. With nearly 3.5 million Canadians living below the low income cut-off, including 800,000 children growing up in poverty, it is time to show leadership.

The petitioners know that poverty is linked to poor health outcomes, social exclusion and lower life expectancy. They also know that poverty impedes the economic and social development of society as a whole. For all of these reasons, the petitioners call on Parliament to give swift passage to Bill C-545 and begin the implementation of a strategy for poverty elimination immediately.

I know the rules of this chamber do not allow me to endorse a petition but let me just conclude by saying that I am absolutely delighted to have had the opportunity to table this one in the House today.

Environment

[Libby Davies, NDP, Vancouver East, BC]

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to rise in the House today to present and table three petitions.

The first petition comes from residents of metro Vancouver who are very concerned about the proposed Enbridge northern gateway pipeline that would carry over 1,170 kilometres from Alberta to the coast of Kitimat, B.C., contributing to an expansion of the tar sands.

The petitioners call on the Government of Canada to immediately legislate the moratorium on offshore drilling and oil tanker traffic on B.C.'s coast. This has been a huge issue in British Columbia and there have been many petitions on this issue, so I am pleased to table this petition today.

Housing

[Libby Davies, NDP, Vancouver East, BC]

Mr. Speaker, the second petition has to do with Bill C-304, An Act to ensure secure, adequate, accessible and affordable housing for Canadians. The petitioners call on the Government of Canada to play an increased federal role in housing and to create a federal housing program.

I note today that the bill was tabled in the House. There have been many petitions on this issue right across the country calling on Parliament to move on this bill swiftly because it is an urgently needed matter to provide accessible and affordable housing for all Canadians.

Aboriginal Affairs

[Libby Davies, NDP, Vancouver East, BC]

Mr. Speaker, the third petition is from residents of the Vancouver area who call on the Government of Canada to renew funding for the Sisters in Spirit initiative phase 2, evidence to action, and to invest in an action plan for aboriginal women, which NWAC has developed, to stop the devastating number of missing and murdered aboriginal women and girls in Canada.

Disability Tax Credit

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

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to present a petition signed by 100 residents of the provinces of British Columbia, Saskatchewan, Ontario and New Brunswick. These are individual Canadians who are concerned about the current test for eligibility for the disability tax credit. For hard of hearing Canadians, the threshold for the disability tax credit is very high. Hard of hearing Canadians, if they understand a familiar person in a quiet setting, are ineligible for the disability tax credit.

Hard of hearing associations across the country, including the Canadian Hard of Hearing Association and the Canadian Association of Audiologists, support my Bill C-577 that would amend the Income Tax Act and set a more reasonable bar for access to the disability tax credit.

On behalf of these 100 hard of hearing Canadians from coast to coast, I submit the following petition in their name to change the disability tax credit eligibility so that it is reasonable and allows hard of hearing Canadians to access it.

Multiple Sclerosis

[Carol Hughes, NDP, Algoma—Manitoulin—Kapuskasing, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to table a petition signed by hundreds of Canadians from Ontario and B.C. They urge the Government of Canada to take immediate action in having chronic cerebrospinal venous insufficiency surgery, also known as CCSVI or liberation treatment.

It is evident that more and more Canadians are seeking this treatment in the hopes that their quality of life will be improved. They are encouraged by the thousands of Canadians whose quality of life has been improved since they have undergone the procedure abroad.

[Malcolm Allen, NDP, Welland, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I also have a petition to present from residents of my riding concerning CCSVI. The petitioners are not only family members of MS sufferers but are themselves MS suffers. They are saying to the government that it is time to give them hope and to stop sending them abroad. What is happening in this country is that those MS sufferers who have the wherewithal and financial means are leaving this country to get treatment when we should have a pilot program here.

As the family member of a father who suffered from MS and eventually passed away, I saw that he had no hope when he had it.

Today, we have hope for MS sufferers across this country and we are denying them based on the fact that we will not have a pilot project. That, in my view, is discriminatory and we ought to start the project, not yesterday but last week. Let us get on with it. We know the methodologies and we know the science. Let us move forward and give those who suffer from MS in this country the ability to hope once again that i they may have a better quality of life than they endure today.

Fisheries and Oceans

[Fin Donnelly, NDP, New Westminster—Coquitlam, BC]

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to submit a petition signed by over 9,000 Canadians who express serious concern with the impacts on B.C.'s wild salmon coming from industrial open-net salmon farms. They are concerned that these operations intensify disease, privatize ocean spaces and threaten their sovereign rights to food security.

They, therefore, call upon the Government of Canada to take appropriate measures to get open-net aquaculture out of federal waters.