House of Commons Hansard #160 of the 41st Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament's site.) The word of the day was offender.

Topics

Oral QuestionsPoints of OrderOral Questions

12:05 p.m.

NDP

The Deputy Speaker NDP Joe Comartin

Order. I will have to review the blues and come back to the House, if necessary.

Commissioner of Official LanguagesRoutine Proceedings

12:05 p.m.

NDP

The Deputy Speaker NDP Joe Comartin

I have the honour to lay upon the table the annual reports on the Access to Information Act and the Privacy Act of the Office of the Commissioner of Official Languages for the year 2011-2012.

These reports are deemed permanently referred to the Standing Committee on Justice and Human Rights.

Global Centre for PluralismRoutine Proceedings

12:05 p.m.

St. Catharines Ontario

Conservative

Rick Dykstra ConservativeParliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Citizenship and Immigration

Mr. Speaker, pursuant to Standing Order 32(2), I have the honour to table, in both official languages, the 2011 annual report of the Global Centre for Pluralism.

Interparliamentary DelegationsRoutine Proceedings

12:05 p.m.

Saint Boniface Manitoba

Conservative

Shelly Glover ConservativeParliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Finance

Mr. Speaker, pursuant to Standing Order 34(1), I have the honour to present, in both official languages, the reports of the Canadian Branch of the Assemblée parlementaire de la francophonie respecting its participation at the Bureau Meeting and the 37th Ordinary Session of the Assemblée parlementaire de la francophonie, held in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo, from July 4 to 8, 2011; and the 28th Regional Assembly and the Conference of Branch Chairs of the America Region of the Assemblée parlementaire de la francophonie, held in New Orleans and Baton Rouge, Louisiana, from August 8 to 10, 2012.

Interparliamentary DelegationsRoutine Proceedings

12:05 p.m.

Conservative

Randy Hoback Conservative Prince Albert, SK

Mr. Speaker, pursuant to Standing Order 34(1) I have the honour to present, in both official languages, the report of the Canadian section of ParlAmericas respecting its participation at the Annual Gathering of the Group of Women Parliamentarians, held in Valaparaiso, Chile, May 8 and 9.

International TradeCommittees of the HouseRoutine Proceedings

12:05 p.m.

South Shore—St. Margaret's Nova Scotia

Conservative

Gerald Keddy ConservativeParliamentary Secretary to the Minister of International Trade

Mr. Speaker, I have the honour to present, in both official languages, the fifth report of the Standing Committee on International Trade, in relation to Bill C-24, An Act to implement the Free Trade Agreement between Canada and the Republic of Panama, the Agreement on the Environment between Canada and the Republic of Panama and the Agreement on Labour Cooperation between Canada and the Republic of Panama.

The committee has studied the bill and has decided to report the bill back to the House without amendment.

National Local Food Day ActRoutine Proceedings

12:05 p.m.

NDP

Malcolm Allen NDP Welland, ON

moved for leave to introduce Bill C-449, An Act respecting a National Local Food Day.

Mr. Speaker, I want to thank my colleague and good friend from Pontiac who works extremely hard in this House on behalf of his constituents, especially in the agricultural field.

The bill speaks to this very day, the Friday before Thanksgiving, as a day when we would honour those primary producers and those who put that feast, as we like to call it, on our tables at Thanksgiving. We would simply like to thank and commemorate them by having an official day to recognize them. This is not a cost to the government. It is not about declaring a holiday. This is about declaring a day of thanks.

Quite often when we are sitting with our families, for those of us who are blessed to have that opportunity, we give thanks to our family, and perhaps some people choose to give thanks in a spiritual way. However, we do not always give our thanks to those who actually gave us the food and helped produce it in the first place, which is what this bill is all about.

The bill is to give thanks to those primary producers for the hard work they do all year long. We are thankful for what they are going to put on our table at Thanksgiving. We should recognize this by ensuring that the Friday before Thanksgiving is set aside in honour of all Canadians and to thank those producers across this great land.

(Motions deemed adopted, bill read the first time and printed)

Rail TransportationPetitionsRoutine Proceedings

12:10 p.m.

Independent

Bruce Hyer Independent Thunder Bay—Superior North, ON

Mr. Speaker, I have the pleasure today to present a petition on behalf of the residents of Thunder Bay, Mobert and the Pic Mobert First Nation and other communities along the north shore of Lake Superior in support of bringing back passenger rail service to the spectacular north shore of Lake Superior.

The petitioners are asking parliamentarians to support Motion No. 291 to return passenger rail from Sudbury through White River, Thunder Bay to Winnipeg and beyond.

Development AssistancePetitionsRoutine Proceedings

12:10 p.m.

NDP

Hélène Laverdière NDP Laurier—Sainte-Marie, QC

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to present a petition signed by a number of people from the greater Montreal area. This petition highlights the fact that, although the government committed to contributing 0.7% of the GDP to development assistance, with this government our assistance is currently less than 0.3%, which is one of the lowest rates among donor countries. The petition also points out the cuts made to Development and Peace, a well-known organization that does important work.

The petitioners are calling on Parliament to adopt the following policy goals: demonstrate international responsibility by re-committing Canada to contribute 0.7% of GDP to official development assistance; prioritize responsive funding to those NGOs that Canadians support and which have seen their funding cut by CIDA; and in the spirit of global solidarity, provide in full the funding of $49.2 million requested by Development and Peace over the next five years.

Rights of the UnbornPetitionsRoutine Proceedings

12:10 p.m.

Conservative

Ed Komarnicki Conservative Souris—Moose Mountain, SK

Mr. Speaker, I would like to present a petition from constituents in Manor, Cando, Langbank, Fertile, Wakaw and other areas who are calling upon Parliament to assemble to confirm that every human being is recognized by Canadian law as a human, by amending section 223 of our Criminal Code in such a way as to reflect the 21st century medical evidence.

PensionsPetitionsRoutine Proceedings

12:10 p.m.

Liberal

Kevin Lamoureux Liberal Winnipeg North, MB

Mr. Speaker, I table a petition from constituents of mine in Winnipeg North indicating support for old age security, the guaranteed income supplement, and the Canada pension plan. The petitioners are asking that these programs be supported by the government, particularly that the retirement age be maintained at age 65.

Questions on the Order PaperRoutine Proceedings

12:10 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, if Questions Nos. 836 and 849 could be made orders for return, these returns would be tabled immediately.

Questions on the Order PaperRoutine Proceedings

12:10 p.m.

NDP

The Deputy Speaker NDP Joe Comartin

Is that agreed?

Questions on the Order PaperRoutine Proceedings

12:10 p.m.

Some hon. members

Agreed.

Question No. 836Questions on the Order PaperRoutine Proceedings

12:10 p.m.

NDP

Mike Sullivan NDP York South—Weston, ON

With regard to the disposition of federal heritage properties: (a) since 2006, how many federal heritage properties lost their heritage designation, broken down by year and province, and for what reason; (b) of the properties in (a), how many were disposed of by the federal government, broken down by year and province, and to whom; and (c) since 2006, how many federal heritage properties have been disposed of by the federal government, broken down by year and by province, and to whom?

(Return tabled)

Question No. 849Questions on the Order PaperRoutine Proceedings

12:10 p.m.

NDP

Matthew Kellway NDP Beaches—East York, ON

With regard to the F-35 JSF Program: (a) what is the total Canadian dollar value of benefits received by Canadian industry from Canada’s participation in the F-35 JSF Program (i) from the start of the program until December 1, 2011, (ii) from December 2, 2011 to June 22, 2012; (b) what is the projected value of future contracts, from June 22, 2012, onwards, that come as a result of Canada’s participation in the JSF program; (c) for the contracts in (a), what is the value of each contract that was awarded and on what date was each contract signed; (d) what methodology was used to determine the value of (i) the contracts in (a), (ii) the contracts in (b); (e) was there industry involvement in determining the values of (i) the contracts in (a), (ii) the contracts in (b); (f) do these valuations include analysis related to the global supply chain; (g) do these valuations include and/or anticipate changes in the domestic supply chain; (h) is the information used in the valuations updated periodically and, if yes, how frequently; (i) was the methodology used to arrive at the values in (a) and (b) independently audited and, if yes, by whom and what was the result of the audit; (j) since the start of the program, have there been discrepancies between projected and actual value of benefits received by Canadian industry; (k) if the answer to (j) is in the affirmative, what are the specific instances and contracts where discrepancies occurred, including (i) the value of each discrepancy, (ii) the name of each company that was meant to receive the benefit; (l) what, if any, changes have been made to the valuations and projection processes used to determine all and any cost projections related to the F-35 JSF program in response to the recommendations in the April 2, 2012, Auditor General's report; (m) for the contracts in (a), is there a means of ensuring that the contracts are being fulfilled as stated in terms of dollar value; (n) for the benefits in (a), how many jobs have been created as a result of participation in the program, (i) are these new jobs and, if so, how is “new jobs“ defined, (ii) how long are these jobs projected to last (i.e., are they start-up or long-term jobs), (iii) who calculates these job numbers and is there independent auditing of these numbers?

(Return tabled)

Questions on the Order PaperRoutine Proceedings

12:15 p.m.

Conservative

Tom Lukiwski Conservative Regina—Lumsden—Lake Centre, SK

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

Questions on the Order PaperRoutine Proceedings

12:15 p.m.

NDP

The Deputy Speaker NDP Joe Comartin

Is that agreed?

Questions on the Order PaperRoutine Proceedings

12:15 p.m.

Some hon. members

Agreed.

The House resumed consideration of the motion that Bill C-37, An Act to amend the Criminal Code, be read the second time and referred to a committee.

Increasing Offenders' Accountability for Victims ActGovernment Orders

12:15 p.m.

NDP

The Deputy Speaker NDP Joe Comartin

We had three minutes left in questions and answers.

Increasing Offenders' Accountability for Victims ActGovernment Orders

12:15 p.m.

NDP

Raymond Côté NDP Beauport—Limoilou, QC

Mr. Speaker, I thank my hon. colleague from Vaudreuil-Soulanges for sharing his personal experience with us. It was very interesting and reminded me of an organization in Quebec City called L'Autre Avenue, which offers an alternative to the judicial process in some cases, such as in the case of a dispute between a minor offender, so to speak, and the victim, for instance. It is very interesting.

When I had the opportunity to meet the executive director, she told me that victims are not always looking for compensation nor do they necessarily want the offender to be convicted. They simply want to be informed of the process and to know that the offender is remorseful. This allows the police to avoid automatically prosecuting every individual they arrest. This also helps victims feel like an important part of the judicial system, because often, they feel forgotten.

I wonder if my colleague could share his thoughts on such alternative measures.

Increasing Offenders' Accountability for Victims ActGovernment Orders

12:15 p.m.

NDP

Jamie Nicholls NDP Vaudreuil—Soulanges, QC

Mr. Speaker, it is important to look at what the Province of Quebec is doing for young offenders. Clearly, Quebec's approach is different. Every scientific study shows that Quebec's approach is producing positive results. Quebec's recidivism rate is lower than in the other provinces.

I suggest that the government take note of the fact that every province takes a different approach to dealing with young offenders and to look at Quebec as a positive example.