Debates of April 2nd, 2012

Air Transportation

[Maria Mourani, Bloc, Ahuntsic, QC]

Mr. Speaker, in Neuville, unscrupulous private developers are using the fact that airport construction falls under federal jurisdiction to avoid complying with the environmental protection, public health and safety, and land use laws of Neuville, the Portneuf RCM and Quebec.

Will the Minister of Transport, Infrastructure and Communities ensure that all planned airfields and airports are subject to provincial and municipal environmental, safety and land use regulations so that this type of situation does not happen again in Neuville—

[The Speaker, Conservative, Andrew Scheer]

The hon. Minister of Transport, Infrastructure and Communities.

[Denis Lebel, Conservative, Minister of Transport]

Mr. Speaker, the role of the federal transport minister is to ensure the development of a safe air transportation industry. We will not intervene in this matter because safety is not at issue. Furthermore, if the mayor was so opposed to the project, he would never have signed an agreement with the developer. We will continue to look at options for the future.

Board of Internal Economy

[The Speaker, Conservative, Andrew Scheer]

I have the honour to lay upon the table the revised bylaws of the Board of Internal Economy adopted by the board on November 21 and December 5, 2011, and repealing the earlier version.

The revised bylaws went into effect on April 1, 2012. They are now available on the Parliament of Canada website.

Government Response to Petitions

[Shelly Glover, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Finance]

Mr. Speaker, pursuant to Standing Order 36(8), I have the honour to table, in both official languages, the government’s responses to 12 petitions.

Transport, Infrastructure and Communities

[Merv Tweed, Conservative, Brandon—Souris, MB]

Mr. Speaker, I have to honour to present, in both official languages, the second report of the Standing Committee on Transport, Infrastructure and Communities in relation to the main estimates for 2012-13.

Public Accounts

[David Christopherson, NDP, Hamilton Centre, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I have the honour to present, in both official languages, the fifth report of the Standing Committee on Public Accounts in relation to its study of chapter 1, Financial Management and Control and Risk Management, of the 2011 Status Report of the Auditor General of Canada.

Pursuant to Standing Order 109 of the House of Commons, the committee requests that the government table a comprehensive response to this report.

Abortion

[Ron Cannan, Conservative, Kelowna—Lake Country, BC]

Mr. Speaker, it is a privilege to rise on behalf of my constituents of Kelowna—Lake Country.

In reference to Canada's 400 year old definition of a “human being”, a child does not become a human being until the moment of complete birth, contrary to 21st century medical evidence.

The petitioners call upon Parliament and the House of Commons to confirm that every human being is recognized under Canadian law as “human” by amending section 223 of the Criminal Code in such a way as to reflect 21st century medical evidence.

Public Transit

[Olivia Chow, NDP, Trinity—Spadina, ON]

Mr. Speaker, it is my honour to present petitions on behalf of some of my constituents who are tired of waiting for buses, being stuck in traffic jams and not being able to get to doctors' appointments or do groceries because there is no proper fast, reliable and affordable public transit system in Canada.

The petitioners are calling upon the Government of Canada to enact a Canadian public transit strategy that: seeks to provide a permanent investment plan to support public transit; establishes federal funding mechanisms for public transit; works together with all levels of government to provide sustainable, predictable, long-term and adequate funding; and establishes accountability measures to ensure that all governments work together to increase access to public transit.

The Environment

[Frank Valeriote, Liberal, Guelph, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to present a petition from concerned Canadians from across the country who want to draw the attention of the government to the tens of thousands of chemicals that have been used in industrial processes and the production of consumer goods, many of which are carcinogenic in nature. They call upon the government to appoint a royal commission on the environment and health to examine all aspects of the environmental and health impacts of industrial activity in Canada, and the application of the precautionary principle to protect public health and the environment from uncertain risk.

Abortion

[Stephen Woodworth, Conservative, Kitchener Centre, ON]

Mr. Speaker, today I am honoured to rise to present a petition on behalf of my constituents concerned about Canada's 400 year old definition of “human being”, which says that a child does not become a human being until the moment of complete birth, contrary to 21st century medical evidence. Parliament has a solemn duty to reject any law that states that some human beings are not human.

Therefore, the petitioners call upon the House of Commons to confirm that every human being is recognized by Canadian law as human.

Telecommunications

[Andrew Cash, NDP, Davenport, ON]

Mr. Speaker, a couple of weeks ago the Minister of Public Safety stated in the House that anyone who stood against the government’s lawful access legislation was standing with child pornographers.

I have a petition here from the good people of my riding of Davenport in Toronto who beg to differ with the minister. They have grave concerns about the lawful access legislation, in particular, the part in the legislation that would require telecommunications companies to collect and store personal information about their users and hand that over at the request of law enforcement without a warrant.

With a lot of pride in my constituents, I humbly place the petition before the House.

Multiple Sclerosis

[Kirsty Duncan, Liberal, Etobicoke North, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to present this petition regarding CCSVI. Thirty thousand treatments have been undertaken in 60 countries, while Canada has failed to begin clinical trials. The U.S. is already undertaking three FDA approved clinical trials. The U.K. encourages robust clinical trials, with outcomes that include clinical and quality of life outcomes.

The petitioners therefore call upon the Minister of Health to consult experts actively engaged in the diagnosis and treatment of CCSVI to undertake phase III clinical trials on an urgent basis in multiple centres across Canada and to require follow-up care.

Animal Welfare

[Françoise Boivin, NDP, Gatineau, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to present a petition signed by people from Gatineau and Ottawa in support of Bill C-232, An Act to amend the Criminal Code (cruelty to animals), moved by the hon. member for Parkdale—High Park.

This bill would repeal the existing provisions of the Criminal code relating to animal cruelty, which are found in the part of the Criminal Code dealing with property, in recognition that animals can also feel pain.

These amendments would provide more protection for wild or stray animals than is possible under the current legislation. They would also help to close the loopholes that too often allow those who mistreat animals to escape punishment.

And to all those who took part in my little Facebook competition to name my newest cat, let me say that her name is now Bugzoo. Welcome, Bugzoo.

Air Canada

[Kevin Lamoureux, Liberal, Winnipeg North, MB]

Mr. Speaker, it is a pleasure today to bring forward a petition from constituents and others in the province of Manitoba, asking for the government to enforce the Air Canada Public Participation Act. They are asking that it enforce the clause 6.1 (d) which reads, “...provisions requiring the Corporation to maintain operational and overhaul centres in the City of Winnipeg, the Montreal Urban Community and the City of Mississauga”.

What they are calling for, in essence, is for the Government of Canada to hold Air Canada accountable to the act, thereby saving thousands of jobs across the country.

Canadian Broadcast Standards Council

[Megan Leslie, NDP, Halifax, NS]

Mr. Speaker, a couple of weeks ago I rose and made a statement about the Q104 Halifax contest, the “Male is in the Czech”. This petition is actually about the “Male is in the Czech, win a mail order bride from the Mighty Q” contest.

The petitioners point out that sexism is everywhere in our media. While we are often trying to combat sexism, homophobia and racism, there are few measures for people to try to combat this in advertising, television and radio. Therefore, the petitioners are asking the Canadian Broadcast Standards Council to bring forward stronger enforcement of its standards, in particular clause 3 about sex role stereotyping. This would help to make sure that contests like the “Male is in the Czech” would not be brought forward and that we could actually combat these kinds of prevailing sexist attitudes against women in today's media.

The petitioners and I look forward to a response from the minister.

Electro-Motive Diesel

[Irene Mathyssen, NDP, London—Fanshawe, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I have two petitions today. The first is from the community of London, and former workers of Electro-Motive Diesel.

The petitioners want the Parliament of Canada to know that Caterpillar illegally removed production equipment from the EMD plant in London, against the collective agreement. It forced a lockout on December 30, 2011 and demanded that the workers take in excess of a 50% reduction in wages and benefits and accept a reduced and insecure pension plan. All of this despite the fact that these workers had made Electro-Motive Diesel a very profitable company. In fact, productivity had increased by 20% and profits were up by billions over last year.

The petitioners want the Parliament of Canada to investigate the conditions of sale of Electro-Motive Diesel to Caterpillar and to immediately enforce any and all appropriate penalties should there be violations under the Investment Canada Act. I might add that it is essential that we strengthen the Investment Canada Act so that families across the country do not suffer as the EMD workers did.

Pensions

[Irene Mathyssen, NDP, London—Fanshawe, ON]

Mr. Speaker, my second petition is in regard to the June 2011 motion that I brought to the House, calling on the government to take action against the rising poverty levels of Canadian seniors. The motion called on the government to take immediate steps to increase the guaranteed income supplement sufficiently to raise all seniors out of poverty. The motion passed unanimously in the House; however, no action--

[The Speaker, Conservative, Andrew Scheer]

Order, please.

I am going to have to stop the member there. I know there are still several members who wish to present petitions. We are running out of time, and we are supposed to just provide a brief summary for the petitions that we are presenting.

In order to be able to accommodate everyone still standing, I will move on to the hon. member for Ottawa Centre.

Canadian Museum of Nature

[Paul Dewar, NDP, Ottawa Centre, ON]

Mr. Speaker, you will recall the great fire that happened in this place many years ago. We had to move location, to what is now the Canadian Museum of Nature. Sadly, the Canadian Museum of Nature is now refusing to reclaim the park that was there before the renovation. The petitioners in my constituency of Ottawa Centre want the NCC to make sure that the Museum of Nature removes the parking lot and restores the park to its natural presence. The petitioners are asking that the government request the NCC to bring the park back to the Canadian Museum of Nature.

Public Transit

[Rathika Sitsabaiesan, NDP, Scarborough—Rouge River, ON]

Mr. Speaker, today I rise to present petitions on behalf of many in the Greater Toronto Area and specifically the city of Toronto, who are calling upon the government to enact a Canada public transit strategy which would seek to provide permanent investment in public transit. I know that my constituents in Scarborough—Rouge River are reliant upon surface-level buses only. They do not have any other access to public transit and would really like an investment to be made by the government to create a national public transit strategy. Canada is the only OECD country that does not have a national public transit strategy. It is estimated that within the next five years there will be an $18 billion gap in transit infrastructure needs.

Canada Post

[Alexandrine Latendresse, NDP, Louis-Saint-Laurent, QC]

Mr. Speaker, today I am presenting a petition signed by over 2,000 people from the municipality of L'Ancienne-Lorette, in my riding.

These residents are protesting the closing of the Canada Post office in their municipality. They are worried about losing their local service. That is why they have mobilized, and why several thousand of them got together—the people who signed this petition, and who number over 2,000 individuals, as I said—to let the decision-makers in this House know that their penny-pinching must not be allowed to affect people's local services.

Therefore, I am very pleased to present this petition on behalf of the people of L'Ancienne-Lorette.

Motor Vehicle Safety Act

[Peggy Nash, NDP, Parkdale—High Park, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I rise to present two petitions from my riding.

The first petition is about cycling safety and is in support of a private member's bill introduced by my colleague from Trinity—Spadina. It pertains to the death of a young woman, Jenna Morrison, who died in my riding on November 7, 2011.

The petition is in support of a regulation in the Motor Vehicle Safety Act which would require side guards for large trucks and trailers to prevent collisions with cyclists. The lack of side guards accounts for about 20% of all cycling deaths in Canada. The petitioners are asking that the Canadian Motor Vehicle Safety Standards be harmonized with the ECE, European regulation 73, which requires side guards on all trucks and trailers in Europe. They are calling for a similar regulation here in Canada.

Tibet

[Peggy Nash, NDP, Parkdale—High Park, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the second petition also pertains to my riding, which is home to the largest community of Tibetans in Canada. The petitioners are calling on the Prime Minister to make a public statement of concern about the recent self-immolations and indiscriminate violence against Tibetans that have been occurring this year. They are urging the government to call on the Chinese government to exercise restraint and withdraw troops from Tibetan areas.

Search and Rescue

[Jack Harris, NDP, St. John's East, NL]

Mr. Speaker, my petition is on the importance of the marine rescue coordination centre in St. John's. These petitioners are concerned about the 600 people whose lives are saved each year through the efforts of the marine rescue coordination centre in St. John's. They do not want it closed. They fear that lives will be lost. The understanding of the local area, people and dialects is extremely important and they want this decision reversed.