House of Commons Hansard #173 of the 41st Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament's site.) The word of the day was air.
Bruce Hyer Independent Thunder Bay—Superior North, ON
Mr. Speaker, I have three petitions to present today.
I rise to present a petition on behalf of residents from across Ontario, including Windsor, Tecumseh and Peterborough, who are very concerned about the government's closure of the Experimental Lakes Area in northwestern Ontario.
The petitioners call on the government to reconsider.
Bruce Hyer Independent Thunder Bay—Superior North, ON
Mr. Speaker, my second petition is on child care. The residents of Thunder Bay, Red Rock and Nipigon support a national child care program and note that Canada ranks dead last among OECD nations when it comes to early learning and child care spending.
The petitioners call on the government to do more for our young people.
Bruce Hyer Independent Thunder Bay—Superior North, ON
Mr. Speaker, lastly, I am very proud to present a petition today on behalf of the residents of Thunder Bay regarding the development of a federal suicide prevention strategy.
The petitioners note that suicide is especially prevalent among young people and the second leading cause of death among youth between the ages of 10 and 24.
Fin Donnelly NDP New Westminster—Coquitlam, BC
Mr. Speaker, I rise to present a petition from hundreds of people who call on the government to save the ELA, Canada's leading freshwater research station.
The petitioners draw attention to the fact that Canada's Experimental Lakes Area is a unique, world-renowned facility for freshwater research and education.
The petitioners call on the government to immediately recognize the importance of the ELA to the Government of Canada and to reverse the decision and continue to staff and provide financial resources to the ELA at current or higher levels.
Alex Atamanenko NDP British Columbia Southern Interior, BC
Mr. Speaker, I have three petitions to present.
The first is from citizens in my riding who are concerned about the release of genetically modified alfalfa, saying that such will contaminate and threaten organic farming systems and other farmers.
The petitioners call on Parliament to impose a moratorium on the release of genetically modified alfalfa to allow a proper review of the impact on farmers in Canada.
Alex Atamanenko NDP British Columbia Southern Interior, BC
Mr. Speaker, my second petition is from around 100 folks from my riding who say that Parliament has a solemn duty to reject any law that says some human beings are not human.
The petitioners call on the House of Commons to confirm that every human being is recognized by Canadian law as human by amending section 223 of our Criminal Code in such a way as to reflect 21st century medical evidence.
Alex Atamanenko NDP British Columbia Southern Interior, BC
Mr. Speaker, the third petition is in support of my Bill C-322.
The petitioners state that horses are ordinarily kept and treated as sport and companion animals and are not raised for food production.
The petitioners call upon the House of Commons to adopt into legislation Bill C-322, An Act to amend the Health of Animals Act and the Meat Inspection Act (slaughter of horses for human consumption).
Claude Gravelle NDP Nickel Belt, ON
Mr. Speaker, I am proud to present a petition from people in places like the provinces of Alberta and Quebec, but mostly from the great riding of Nickel Belt.
The petitioners call on the government to help pass Bill C-356, An Act respecting a National Strategy for Dementia. Dementia does not have party lines and they call on all members of the House to support this private member's bill to help alleviate some of the problems of people who have to support dementia patients.
Elizabeth May Green Saanich—Gulf Islands, BC
Mr. Speaker, it is with real joy today that I present a petition that has already been fulfilled. I want to publicly thank the Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food for reversing a decision that had been taken.
The petitioners call on the government to keep the Centre for Plant Health, a CFIA centre that has been in place for a hundred years in North Saanich, open. Yesterday the Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food decided to keep it open.
Elizabeth May Green Saanich—Gulf Islands, BC
Mr. Speaker, I hope my second petition can be dealt with as perfectly. This petition is from residents of Alberta and British Columbia.
The petitioners call on the government to not ratify the Canada-China investment treaty, but to allow for the voice and the views of tens and tens of thousands of Canadians to be heard on this issue.
Massimo Pacetti Liberal Saint-Léonard—Saint-Michel, QC
Mr. Speaker, I have the pleasure of tabling a petition.
The petitioners call upon the Government of Canada to appoint a royal commission on the environment and health with a mandate to examine and make recommendations regarding all aspects of the environmental and health impacts of industrial activity in Canada and the application of the precautionary principle, which protects public health and the environment from uncertain risks to the regulation of both industrial processes and the production and distribution and availability of consumer goods in Canada.
Kennedy Stewart NDP Burnaby—Douglas, BC
Mr. Speaker, I rise to present two petitions signed by citizens from all around the metro Vancouver area.
The petitioners call for the Experimental Lakes Area to be saved. As the science and tech critic for the NDP, I have met a number of delegations that are trying to save this wonderful international research facility.
I would ask the House to look at these petitions and reconsider the matter.
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, the following questions will be answered today: Nos. 827 and 863.
Hoang Mai NDP Brossard—La Prairie, QC
With regard to environmental assessment on the proposed new bridge on the St. Lawrence River at Montreal: (a) why was this assessment done using a screening type of assessment rather than a comprehensive study; (b) what type of assessment will this project be subject to, under the new regulations and changes to the Canadian Environmental Assessment Act as proposed in bill C-38; (c) how many comments did Transport Canada receive concerning this project, before the April 4th Transport Canada deadline, in terms of the Draft Environmental Assessment Guidelines under the Canadian Environmental Assessment Act, (i) how will these comments be assessed by Transport Canada, (ii) will these comments be made public; (d) what specific expertise will the following federal authorities contribute with respect to the environmental assessment, (i) Health Canada, (ii) Parks Canada, (iii) Federal Bridge Corporation Limited/Jacques Cartier and Champlain Bridges Incorporated, (iv) St. Lawrence Seaway Management Corporation; (e) what are the financial costs of the environmental assessment; (f) is Consortium Dessau Cima+ the only firm in charge of environmental assessment, (i) have they agreed to respect the preliminary timeline of mid-2014, (ii) will the drafting of the reports by all firms be made public soon after this date, (iii) what are the details of the contract, number T8080-110362, reference number 236518; (g) have the responsible authorities delegated the performance of the environmental assessment to any other party and, if so, (i) have the other parties agreed to respect the preliminary timeline of mid-2014, (ii) will the drafting of the reports by all firms be made public soon after this date; (h) what is the government’s policy in the eventuality that the responsible authorities conclude that the project is likely to cause significant adverse environmental effects; (i) what are the public consultation processes involved in the environmental assessment and their timelines; (j) have the responsible authorities established a list of main interested parties and, if so, is it public, and, if it is not public, why not; (k) how many public consultations have been organized to listen to local constituents’ concerns, what was discussed, and are reports available; (l) which First Nations were included in the consultation, when, what points in the process what were discussed, and are reports available; and (m) will the official opposition have the opportunity to examine and comment on the environmental assessment according to subsection 18(3) of the Canadian Environmental Assessment Act?
Question No. 827Questions on the Order PaperRoutine Proceedings
Roberval—Lac-Saint-Jean Québec
Conservative
Denis Lebel ConservativeMinister of Transport
Mr. Speaker, on January 22, 2012, the minister announced the launch of the environmental assessment, which is expected to be completed by December 2013.
The federal government announced on April 23, 2012, that the consortium Dessau/Cima+ of Montreal has been retained to complete the federal environmental assessment for the new bridge for the St. Lawrence. The assessment will include the environmental and technical components required to formulate recommendations to minimize repercussions of the project on the environment and on communities. The public, the local consultative groups, the private sector and the community groups will have an opportunity to participate in the environmental assessment process.
Marie-Claude Morin NDP Saint-Hyacinthe—Bagot, QC
With regard to Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission decision 2011-291: (a) what measures are in place to guarantee service for the 13,000 households in Quebec that could be deprived of service; (b) how much funding has been allocated to this issue; and (c) in case of loss of service, what is the plan to provide telephone and high-speed Internet services to the affected residents?
Question No. 863Questions on the Order PaperRoutine Proceedings
Port Moody—Westwood—Port Coquitlam B.C.
Conservative
James Moore ConservativeMinister of Canadian Heritage and Official Languages
Mr. Speaker, with regard to (a), the CRTC can assure Canadians that they will not lose service due to this decision. One of the key policy objectives of the Telecommunications Act is to render reliable and affordable telecommunications services of high quality to all Canadians in both urban and rural areas. This includes the households served by small incumbent telephone companies in Quebec. The CRTC generally has two approaches to achieving this objective.
One approach is to rely on market forces to deliver high-quality service at a reasonable price. Where competition is strong, customers have a choice of service providers and these companies provide customers with innovative new services. In Quebec, wire line services will soon be available from competitive service providers. These will complement advanced wireless and satellite providers that already offer voice and Internet services to rural subscribers in Quebec.
With regard to (b), in areas where there is not enough competition to achieve this objective, the CRTC’s approach is to provide an annual subsidy to incumbent carriers in order to ensure access to telephone services at affordable rates. In 2011, the total amount of subsidy provided to incumbent carriers across Canada was $156 million; $6.5 million of this subsidy went to the small incumbents that provide service in Quebec.
With regard to (c), it should be noted that the CRTC monitors telecommunications markets across Canada, including the Quebec markets in question. The CRTC has broad powers under the Telecommunications Act that can be used as necessary to achieve its policy objectives, which include access to telecommunications services.
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. 835, 847, 851, 855, 856, 857 and 867 could be made orders for returns, these returns would be tabled immediately.
Mike Sullivan NDP York South—Weston, ON
With regard to the Initiative for Equitable Library Access: (a) what is the amount of spending in the past five fiscal years, broken down by year; (b) what strategy did Library and Archives Canada develop to meet the long-term library and information access needs of Canadians with print disabilities; (c) did Library and Archives Canada present the government with a final report on the outcomes and recommendations of the Initiative and if so, what is its title and date of submission; and (d) when and for what reasons did the federal government’s participation in the Initiative end?
(Return tabled)
Matthew Kellway NDP Beaches—East York, ON
With regard to the Action Plan for the National Fighter Procurement Secretariat: (a) where will the Treasury Board obtain the data regarding the F-35 costs that it intends to use in its review, as per the sixth point of the plan; (b) will there be an independent review of the data sources used in the review; and (c) will the criteria, process and results of the review be made public (i) if yes, when, (ii) if no, why not?
(Return tabled)
Françoise Boivin NDP Gatineau, QC
With regard to the distribution of jobs in the government and all federal public agencies in the National Capital Region: (a) how many jobs were there in 2011 on the Quebec side of the National Capital Region; (b) how many jobs were there in 2012 on the Quebec side of the National Capital Region; (c) how many jobs were there in 2011 on the Ontario side of the National Capital Region; (d) how many jobs were there in 2012 on the Ontario side of the National Capital Region; (e) how many jobs on the Quebec side of the National Capital Region will be eliminated as a result of the cuts announced in the last budget; and (f) how many jobs on the Ontario side of the National Capital Region will be eliminated as a result of the cuts announced in the last budget?
