House of Commons Hansard #129 of the 41st Parliament, 2nd Session. (The original version is on Parliament's site.) The word of the day was africa.
Government Response to PetitionsRoutine Proceedings
Regina—Lumsden—Lake Centre Saskatchewan
Conservative
Tom Lukiwski ConservativeParliamentary Secretary to the Leader of the Government in the House of Commons
Mr. Speaker, pursuant to Standing Order 36(8), I have the honour to table, in both official languages, the government's response to five petitions.
Ben Lobb Conservative Huron—Bruce, ON
Mr. Speaker, I have the honour to present, in both official languages, the sixth report of the Standing Committee on Health entitled “Marijuana's Health Risks and Harms”.
Pursuant to Standing Order 109, the committee requests that the government take a comprehensive response to this report.
Aboriginal Affairs and Northern DevelopmentCommittees of the HouseRoutine Proceedings
NDP
Jean Crowder NDP Nanaimo—Cowichan, BC
moved:
That the Fourth Report of the Standing Committee on Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development, presented on Wednesday, March 26, 2014, be concurred in.
Aboriginal Affairs and Northern DevelopmentCommittees of the HouseRoutine Proceedings
NDP
Aboriginal Affairs and Northern DevelopmentCommittees of the HouseRoutine Proceedings
Some hon. members
Agreed.
On division.
Aboriginal Affairs and Northern DevelopmentCommittees of the HouseRoutine Proceedings
NDP
Earl Dreeshen Conservative Red Deer, AB
Mr. Speaker, it is my pleasure to rise today to present two separate petitions on behalf of more than 200 central Albertans.
The first petition asks that Parliament enact legislation that restricts abortion.
Earl Dreeshen Conservative Red Deer, AB
Mr. Speaker, the second petition requests that Parliament support Bill C-583 on fetal alcohol spectrum disorder.
Charlie Angus NDP Timmins—James Bay, ON
Mr. Speaker, I am proud today to rise to present this petition signed by many people in the Kirkland Lake, Virginiatown, and Larder Lake region. The petitioners are concerned over the right of Canadian farmers to save, reuse, select, and exchange seeds. This is something that has been a right of farmers going back to the very beginning of agriculture, and there is a very real concern among people who have been involved in agriculture that their ability to maintain this tradition be protected under the proposed changes we are seeing, particularly with Bill C-18 and the plant breeders' rights.
I would like to present these concerns to the House.
Mark Warawa Conservative Langley, BC
Mr. Speaker, I am honoured to present a petition representing thousands of people from British Columbia. The petition highlights that, sadly, 22-year-old Kassandra Kaulius was killed by a drunk driver. A group of people who have also lost loved ones to impaired drivers, called Families for Justice, believe that the current impaired-driving laws are much too lenient. They are calling for new mandatory minimum sentencing for people who have been convicted of impaired driving causing death.
Jean Crowder NDP Nanaimo—Cowichan, BC
Mr. Speaker, I have three petitions, all dealing with the right to save seeds.
In this petition, the citizens of Canada recognize the inherent rights of farmers, derived from thousands of years of custom and tradition, to save, reuse, select, exchange, and sell seeds. Current and newly proposed restrictions on farmers' traditional practices, resulting from commercial contracts, identity preservation systems, and/or legislation, criminalize these ancient practices and harm farmers, citizens, and society in general.
The petitioners are calling on Parliament to refrain from making any changes to the Seeds Act or to the Plant Breeders' Rights Act through Bill C-18, and they are also calling for actions that would not further restrict farmers' rights or add to farmers' costs.
Leon Benoit Conservative Vegreville—Wainwright, AB
Mr. Speaker, I would like to present two petitions.
In the first, the petitioners call upon members of Parliament to condemn discrimination against girls occurring through gender-selective pregnancy termination. They note that 92% of Canadians support this condemnation.
Leon Benoit Conservative Vegreville—Wainwright, AB
Mr. Speaker, in the second petition, the petitioners feel that impaired driving laws are too lenient and they call for two things. They want new mandatory sentences for persons convicted of impaired driving causing death, and they want the Criminal Code of Canada to be changed to redefine impaired driving causing death as vehicular manslaughter.
Elizabeth May Green Saanich—Gulf Islands, BC
Mr. Speaker, I rise today to present two petitions.
The first petition is from literally hundreds of Canadians primarily from the Greater Toronto Area calling on the government to recognize that there is an ongoing and deeply disturbing number of reports of organ harvesting from Falun Gong prisoners, and they call for Canada to publicly request that the Chinese government authorize an independent investigation of this, among other demands.
Elizabeth May Green Saanich—Gulf Islands, BC
Mr. Speaker, the second petition is primarily from residents of Ottawa calling for amendments to the Criminal Code to take crimes against animals out of the property section, close the loopholes, and further ensure that the Criminal Code punishes those who cause harm and suffering to animals.
Jonathan Genest-Jourdain NDP Manicouagan, QC
Mr. Speaker, I would like to draw the attention of the House to the petition I am presenting. It has been signed by the people of Manicouagan, who are saying that door-to-door mail delivery needs to continue, as it is an essential public service.
Linda Duncan NDP Edmonton Strathcona, AB
Mr. Speaker, I have four petitions.
In the first petition, Canadians are calling for an end to the cuts to the postal service.
Linda Duncan NDP Edmonton Strathcona, AB
Mr. Speaker, in the second petition, Canadians are calling for greater federal leadership and investment in a pan-Canadian prescription drug strategy, a pan-Canadian strategy on primary care, and improved conditions for aboriginal peoples.
Linda Duncan NDP Edmonton Strathcona, AB
Mr. Speaker, the last two petitions are calling on the House of Commons to increase the Canada pension and Quebec pension plans.
Philip Toone NDP Gaspésie—Îles-de-la-Madeleine, QC
Mr. Speaker, today I would like to present a petition that has been signed by hundreds of people in my riding. It is about the Cap-des-Rosiers lighthouse, the tallest in Canada, which was designated as a historic site in 1971. Unfortunately, three years ago the government decided it was no longer needed. Now the government wants to sell it off to the private sector. People are calling on the federal government to preserve this lighthouse.
Andrew Cash NDP Davenport, ON
Mr. Speaker, I have three petitions to present on behalf of the good people of Davenport in the great city of Toronto.
The first petition concerns the cuts to Canada Post. This is signed by many seniors in my community, who live on streets like Dufferin, Gladstone, Havelock, and Lansdowne. They are concerned about the cuts, and they call on the government to reverse these devastating cuts, particularly with respect to door-to-door mail delivery.
Andrew Cash NDP Davenport, ON
Mr. Speaker, there is a general crisis among youth in terms of employment in the GTA. Right now, about 50% of all workers in the GTA cannot access full-time jobs. They do not have access to benefits, a pension, or any job security. The second petition is signed by many in my community calling on the government to support a national urban worker strategy.
Andrew Cash NDP Davenport, ON
Finally, Mr. Speaker, notwithstanding the decision on Line 9, many in my community are very concerned about the way in which public engagement happened with the decision around Line 9, and particularly about the company that is building, managing, and maintaining Line 9. In the third petition, the petitioners are calling on the government to intervene immediately to stop the development of the Sarnia-Montreal Line 9 pipeline.
Carol Hughes NDP Algoma—Manitoulin—Kapuskasing, ON
Mr. Speaker, I rise in the House to table a petition with respect to the Algoma Central Railway passenger rail. The petitioners are from Sault Ste. Marie and Goulais River, in the riding of Sault Ste. Marie. The petitioners would like to ensure that their voices are heard in the House with respect to the cuts that the federal government made to the funding for the Algoma Central Railway passenger train. They note the impact this will have on the economy, health, and safety. We know that the government reinstated funding for one more year, but they will likely need some more assistance. We need to recognize the importance of passenger rail.
Irene Mathyssen NDP London—Fanshawe, ON
Mr. Speaker, I have two petitions. The first is in regard to a tragedy that happened in London, Ontario, almost a year ago. It involved a family that felt there was no recourse but to end their lives.
The petitioners are calling on the Government of Canada to reverse the cuts to public service jobs that created a workload that made it impossible for those at citizenship and immigration to help this family.
They want the Government of Canada to ensure that the Department of Citizenship and Immigration is properly staffed and resourced to reach decisions on applications in a fair and timely manner, and that immigration officers consider all factors regarding an application, including humanitarian and compassionate grounds.
