Debates of Oct. 8th, 2014

Marine Transportation

[Louis Plamondon, Bloc, Bas-Richelieu—Nicolet—Bécancour, QC]

Mr. Speaker, next Sunday, another megaship will transport several tonnes of oil from the oil sands down the St. Lawrence. In a unanimous resolution, the city of Sorel-Tracy called on the federal government to increase safety and inspection measures for these ships, to require that they be prepared for a spill and to draft a list of all of the liquids they are transporting on the river. In short, they are calling for anyone who uses the St. Lawrence to be socially, environmentally and financially responsible.

Will the minister finally take action and suspend the transportation of dangerous goods on the river until she can ensure that the process is safe and that there are emergency response measures in place?

[Lisa Raitt, Conservative, Minister of Transport]

Mr. Speaker, Canada has a very robust system for dealing with the movement of tankers, whatever their product may be, internally. In fact, we have already had an expert panel review these for us. It has come up with recommendations that we are looking at implementing now as well. The system is safe.

One other thing that I would like to mention is that we have been transporting cargoes of oil on the Atlantic coast for 100 years now. It has always been done very safely, and people in that area are very capable and qualified and competent to deal with anything that may happen.

Interparliamentary Delegations

[Ryan Leef, Conservative, Yukon, YT]

Mr. Speaker, pursuant to Standing Order 34(1), I have the honour to present to the House, in both official languages, the report of the Canadian delegation to the Canada-Europe Parliamentary Association respecting its participation in the meeting of the Standing Committee of Parliamentarians of the Arctic Region, held in Copenhagen, Denmark, June 10 to 11, 2014.

Procedure and House Affairs

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

Mr. Speaker, I have the honour to present, in both official languages, the 22nd report of the Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs.

The committee advises that pursuant to Standing Order 91.1(2), the subcommittee on private members' business met to consider the items added to the order of precedence as a result of the replenishment of Tuesday, September 23, 2014, and recommended that the items listed therein, which it has determined should not be designated non-votable, be considered by the House.

[The Speaker, Conservative, Andrew Scheer]

Pursuant to Standing Order 91.1(2), the report is deemed adopted.

Canadian Heritage

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

moves that the second report from the Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage, presented on Wednesday, February 5, 2014, be concurred in.

[The Speaker, Conservative, Andrew Scheer]

Is the House ready for the question?

[Some hon. members]

Question.

[The Speaker, Conservative, Andrew Scheer]

The question is on the motion. Is it the pleasure of the House to adopt the motion?

[Some hon. members]

Agreed.

On division.

[The Speaker, Conservative, Andrew Scheer]

I declare the motion carried.

(Motion agreed to)

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

Mr. Speaker, if the House gives its consent, I move that the 18th report of the Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs, presented to the House early last week, be concurred in.

[The Speaker, Conservative, Andrew Scheer]

Does the hon. member have the unanimous consent of the House to propose the motion?

[Some hon. members]

Agreed.

No.

Agriculture

[James Lunney, Conservative, Nanaimo—Alberni, BC]

Mr. Speaker, I have two petitions here. The first petition is with respect to the right to save seeds. It is from some residents of Vancouver Island, who are asking Parliament to recognize the rights of farmers to save, reuse, collect, exchange, and sell seeds and to enact legislation to that end.

Health

[James Lunney, Conservative, Nanaimo—Alberni, BC]

Mr. Speaker, the next two petitions are in favour of Motion No. 501, a motion calling for a national strategy for innovation, effectiveness, and cost-effectiveness in sustainable health care. That motion will come up for debate in the new year.

Humanitarian Aid in Gaza

[Paul Dewar, NDP, Ottawa Centre, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I have a petition signed by constituents and people in the Ottawa area who note that the humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip is critical and that the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East has declared an emergency. The petitioners note that the U.S. has already contributed tens of millions of dollars, and they ask that Canada do the same. They are asking that the government make an immediate contribution to UNRWA for the emergency and to help rebuild Gaza.

Falun Gong

[Joyce Bateman, Conservative, Winnipeg South Centre, MB]

Mr. Speaker, it is my pleasure and honour to submit a petition from the Falun Gong group in my riding. Falun Gong is a traditional Chinese spiritual discipline that consists of meditation, exercise, and moral teachings based on the principles of truthfulness, compassion, and tolerance.

Rouge National Park

[Dan Harris, NDP, Scarborough Southwest, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I am presenting a petition from hundreds of local residents regarding the proposed Rouge national park. The petitioners respectfully ask the Government of Canada to protect the irreplaceable 100-square-kilometre public land assembly within a healthy and sustainable Rouge national park.

Sex Selection

[Mark Warawa, Conservative, Langley, BC]

Mr. Speaker, I am honoured to present a petition which highlights that this Saturday is International Day of the Girl.

The petition highlights that CBC revealed that ultrasounds are being used in Canada to tell the sex of an unborn child so that expecting parents can terminate the pregnancy if it is a girl. Ninety-two per cent of Canadians believe that sex-selective pregnancy termination should be made illegal.

The petitioners are calling upon all members of Parliament to condemn this practice of discrimination against girls.

Durham Region Federal Lands

[Matthew Kellway, NDP, Beaches—East York, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I am very pleased to present a petition today with respect to the federal lands in Durham region.

The signatories to this petition point out that these lands encompass class one farmland and vital watersheds of the Oak Ridges Moraine.

The petitioners call upon the House to rescind all plans for an airport and non-agricultural uses on these federal lands in Durham region and to act instead to preserve the watersheds and the agricultural land of this irreplaceable natural resource for the long-term benefits of all Canadians.

Genetically Modified Organisms

[Alex Atamanenko, NDP, British Columbia Southern Interior, BC]

Mr. Speaker, there are 200 names of citizens from Kamloops, British Columbia on this petition.

The petitioners are calling for us to adopt legislation requiring all genetically modified products and ingredients to be labelled as GMOs, thereby allowing consumers to make informed choices about their lifestyles.

Bison

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

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to present two petitions today.

In the first petition, the petitioners call on Parliament to recognize August 9 as national bison day. They do this because bison have played an important part in Canadian history and they still play an important role in Canadian agriculture.

Sex Selection

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

Mr. Speaker, as we approach the International Day of the Girl, the petitioners remind Parliament that 92% of Canadians support ending sex-selection pregnancy termination.

The petitioners call on Parliament to condemn discrimination against girls occurring through gender-selective pregnancy termination.

Rouge National Park

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

Mr. Speaker, I stand today to submit petitions on behalf of people from all across the GTA on the creation of Rouge national park.

The current Rouge Park is home to the endangered mixed woodland and Carolinian forest, the northernmost point in North America, and the ancestral home of the Mississauga, Huron-Wendat, and Seneca first nations and their sacred burial and village sites.

The proposed legislation for the Rouge national urban park concept ignores the ecological integrity role of the existing Rouge Park and a true Canadian national park.

The petitioners respectfully ask the Government of Canada to protect the irreplaceable 100 square kilometres of public land assembly within a healthy and sustainable Rouge national park.