Debates of May 2nd, 2012

Consumer Protection

[Christian Paradis, Conservative, Minister of Industry and Minister of State (Agriculture)]

Mr. Speaker, it is odd to hear this type of question, particularly when we know that two historic issues were resolved over the past year: that of Old Harry, the offshore oil reserve, and that of sales tax harmonization, which was dragging on for 10 years.

It is also odd to hear the Bloc Québécois ask a question about the Senate, when we are proposing to reform this obsolete institution. We are proposing the option of elected senators and Senate term limits because we know that a senator could be in office for 45 years. Most Quebeckers do not agree with that and want us to reform the Senate.

Government Response to Petitions

[Greg Rickford, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development]

Mr. Speaker, pursuant to Standing Order 36(8) I have the honour to table, in both official languages, the government's response to 23 petitions.

Interparliamentary Delegations

[Gord Brown, Conservative, Leeds—Grenville, ON]

Mr. Speaker, pursuant to Standing Order 34(1) I have the honour to present to the House, in both official languages, the following reports of the Canadian delegation of the Canada-United States Interparliamentary Group respecting its participation in the following two meetings: First, the 51st annual meeting of the Regional Policy Forum of the Eastern Regional Conference that was held in Halifax, Nova Scotia, August 7 to 10, 2011; and second, the 66th annual meeting of the Midwestern Legislative Conference of the Council of State Governments that was held in Indianapolis, Indiana, United States, July 17 to 20, 2011.

Natural Resources

[Leon Benoit, Conservative, Vegreville—Wainwright, AB]

Mr. Speaker, I have the honour to present, in both official languages, the third report of the Standing Committee on Natural Resources in relation to its study of the current and future state of oil and gas pipelines and refining capacity in Canada.

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

Mr. Speaker, we strongly criticized the report that comes from the majority of the Standing Committee on Natural Resources because we believe the report simply echoes the government's unbalanced oil extraction policy that does not take into consideration the damage to Canada's environment and to its economy. We say that the majority in the report wants to fast track pipelines and strip away environmental protections with no regard for the consequences to our environment or our economy.

As members know, we have lost thousands of jobs in the refinery capacity. Dozens of refineries have closed as well. There is hope. The NDP has filed a dissenting opinion. It emphasizes the need for a Canadian energy strategy, focuses on protecting high quality, long-term jobs in the refining sector, and the need to ensure sustainable and responsible resource development through a robust environmental assessment process. We hope the public will look at our dissenting opinion.

Procedure and House Affairs

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

Mr. Speaker, pursuant to the Standing Orders I have the honour to present, in both official languages, the 21st report of the Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs in relation to the question of privilege relating to threats to the member for Provencher.

Rights of the Unborn

[Terence Young, Conservative, Oakville, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to present a petition signed by concerned constituents from my riding of Oakville. It asks the House to amend section 223 of our Criminal Code to recognize human beings in a manner commensurate with 21st century medical evidence.

I am happy to present this petition for response from our government.

Criminal Code

[Glenn Thibeault, NDP, Sudbury, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to rise today to present two petitions. The first one relates to many hundreds of citizens in my riding who want the government to strengthen the Criminal Code provisions to prevent animal cruelty.

There was a very severe incident back in my riding a month ago where a dog was shot twice in the head by its owner and survived. There has been a big rally cry in my community about the prevention of animal cruelty.

The petitioners are calling on the Minister of Justice to use legislation to increase penalties for animal cruelty under the new section of the Criminal Code.

Internet Access

[Glenn Thibeault, NDP, Sudbury, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the second petition is also signed by many members in my community and is in relation to broadband access across Canada.

The petitioners are asking the government to adopt a national rural and northern broadband Internet strategy that guarantees equitable broadband Internet access to Canadians residing in rural and remote areas in all regions of Canada.

Pensions

[Judy Foote, Liberal, Random—Burin—St. George's, NL]

Mr. Speaker, I stand today to present a petition on behalf of hundreds of Canadians, and not just people from Newfoundland and Labrador, although this petition represents the southern part of my riding in the towns of Lawn and St. Lawrence.

The petitioners object to the Prime Minister's decision to raise the age of eligibility for OAS from 65 to 67. They are saying that it is totally unfair, that it should never have been considered in the first place and that even though it will not impact on our seniors of today it will impact their children and their grandchildren. They are saying that it is totally unfair, especially for those who work in those physically demanding environments.

Rights of the Unborn

[Larry Miller, Conservative, Bruce—Grey—Owen Sound, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to table a petition from approximately 125 of my constituents who are asking Parliament to look at amending section 223 of the Criminal Code.

Citizenship and Immigration

[Libby Davies, NDP, Vancouver East, BC]

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to rise in the House today to present three petitions. The first petition concerns Bill C-31 on refugee reform.

The petitioners point out that there are serious concerns about the measures to curb human smuggling and that it would punish refugees, including mandatory detention for certain refugee claimants, along with unchecked ministerial powers to designate countries of origin, eliminating provisions for advice from independent experts.

The petitioners call for the legislation to be replaced with legislation that is fair, independent and in compliance with the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms and Canada's international obligations.

Canada-Israel Relations

[Libby Davies, NDP, Vancouver East, BC]

Mr. Speaker, the second petition is from concerned citizens in Toronto. It was circulated by Women in Solidarity with Palestine and the International Jewish Anti-Zionist Network.

The petitioners point out that Canada has intensified bilateral agreements with Israel, including policing, security, military, political and economic links and expanded the Canada-Israel free trade agreement. They point out that Canada is partnering with Israel in security and surveillance technology through the Canada-Israel public security agreement and that they believe that Canada has failed to condemn Israel's clear violations of international law.

The petitioners call upon the Government of Canada to immediately change its position--

[The Speaker, Conservative, Andrew Scheer]

Order, please. I am going to stop the member there. There are many members who wish to present petitions. So, if she does have one more, if she could very succinctly explain what it is, then we could move on.

[Libby Davies, NDP, Vancouver East, BC]

--the Government of Canada to uphold international and humanitarian law.

Pensions

[Libby Davies, NDP, Vancouver East, BC]

Mr. Speaker, the third petition is signed by over 1,000 people from Vancouver East who want to reject the changes in eligibility for old age security, who want to see an increase to OAS and GIS to end seniors' poverty and ensure that retirement benefits are indexed to the real cost of living.

Child and Youth Nutrition Program

[Kirsty Duncan, Liberal, Etobicoke North, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I am delighted to present this petition regarding access to healthy food, which is critically important for a child's development but is often limited for Canadian children who live in poverty. Child and youth nutrition programs are a cost-effective way to encourage the development of lifelong healthy eating habits, support Canadian farmers and food producers in the development of local markets and reduce future health care costs.

The petitioners call upon Parliament to provide national leadership and support for child and youth nutrition programs through the ministries of health and agriculture, to develop a national child and youth nutrition strategy in consultation with stakeholders across the country and to develop partnerships with farmers and food producers to stimulate economic development.

Rights of the Unborn

[Michael Chong, Conservative, Wellington—Halton Hills, ON]

Mr. Speaker, when I was at the Shell station in Fergus, I was asked by a constituent to present a petition. I have two petitions here to present containing some 250 signatures regarding section 223 of the Criminal Code.

The petitioners ask that Parliament amend that section to reflect 21st century medical evidence.

I so present these two petitions on their behalf.

Poverty

[Jean Crowder, NDP, Nanaimo—Cowichan, BC]

Mr. Speaker, I have three petitions and I will be brief.

The first petition is calling on the government to support private member's bill, Bill C-233, An Act to eliminate poverty in Canada.

E&N Railway

[Jean Crowder, NDP, Nanaimo—Cowichan, BC]

Mr. Speaker, the second petition I have is from members of Nanaimo—Cowichan who are calling upon the government to provide the funding for E&N Railway by matching the funds put forward by the Province of British Columbia. Of course, that money has now been announced but with many caveats.

Canadian Coast Guard

[Jean Crowder, NDP, Nanaimo—Cowichan, BC]

Mr. Speaker, the final petition calls on the Canadian Coast Guard to maintain its marine communications and traffic services rather than closing down the coordination centres in Quebec City and St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador.

The petitioners are calling attention to the fact that this would increase the risk of accidents involving passengers and so on and that the closures of these centres is a risk to francophone fishers and mariners who may not be understood by staff in anglophone centres in situations of distress.

The Environment

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

Mr. Speaker, this petition comes from the Canadian Interfaith and it calls for leadership and action on climate change. These are constituents of mine from the town of Bishop's Falls.

The petitioners are calling for concrete action in reducing greenhouse emissions that are affecting the entire planet when it comes to climate change. In particular, they are calling for a constructive role in the design of the green climate fund under United Nations' governance and by contributing public funds to help mitigate climate change in areas and jurisdictions around the world.

I want to thank Sister Mary Ryan and others at Bishop's Falls for putting this together.

Pensions

[Maria Mourani, Bloc, Ahuntsic, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I am very proud to present a petition that was given to me by the Ahuntsic-Cartierville Association québécoise de défense des droits des personnes retraitées et préretraitées.

Essentially, this petition calls for improvements to the guaranteed income supplement and the survivor's allowance. The petition urges the government to: introduce automatic registration for the guaranteed income supplement, the spouse's allowance and the survivor's allowance; increase the guaranteed income supplement by $110 per month for people living alone and increase the survivor's allowance by $199 per month; provide full retroactivity with no strings attached; and extend the guaranteed income supplement by six months.

Rights of the Unborn

[LaVar Payne, Conservative, Medicine Hat, AB]

Mr. Speaker, I have only one petition and I will make it brief.

I am pleased to present a petition in support of my constituents. The petitioners ask the House of Commons to confirm that every human being is recognized by Canadian law by amending section 223 of the Criminal Code in support of Bill C-312.

Public Transit

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

Mr. Speaker, it is my honour to present hundreds of petitions from Canadians from coast to coast to coast who support a national transit strategy.

They came together last Friday to say that it was time that the government took a leadership role and partner with local municipalities and provinces so there will be good, rapid, accessible and affordable public transit for all. They also note that there is an $18 billion gap in public transit infrastructures needs.

Therefore, the petitioners want the government to adopt a wonderful private member's bill submitted by myself that calls for a national public transit strategy.