Debates of Nov. 19th, 2014

Foreign Affairs

[Deepak Obhrai, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Foreign Affairs and for International Human Rights]

Mr. Speaker, on behalf of the Minister of Foreign Affairs, and pursuant to Standing Order 32(2), I have the honour to table, in both official languages, the treaties entitled “Exchange of Notes Between the Government of Canada and the Multinational Force and Observers Constituting an Agreement Further Amending the Agreement on the Participation of Canada in the Sinai Multinational Force and Observers”, done at Rome on November 12 and November 14, 2014, and “A Second Protocol to the Convention between New Zealand and Canada for the Avoidance of Double Taxation and the Prevention of Fiscal Evasion with Respect to Taxes on Income”, done at Wellington on September 12, 2014.

An explanatory memorandum is included with each treaty.

Government Response to Petitions

[Tom Lukiwski, Conservative, Parliamentary 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 54 petitions.

Procedure and House Affairs

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

Mr. Speaker, pursuant to Standing Orders 104 and 114, I have the honour to present, in both official languages, the 24th report of the Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs regarding memberships of the committees of this House.

If the House gives its consent, I intend to move concurrence on the 24th report later today.

Public Accounts

[David Christopherson, NDP, Hamilton Centre, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I have the honour to present, in both official languages, the following reports of the Standing Committee on Public Accounts: the 7th report, on Chapter 7—Oversight of Rail Safety—Transport Canada of the 2013 Fall Report of the Auditor General of Canada; the 8th report, on Chapter 8—Disaster Relief for Producers—Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada of the 2013 Fall Report of the Auditor General of Canada; the 9th report, on Chapter 1—Public Sector Pension Plans of the 2014 Spring Report of the Auditor General of Canada; and last, the 10th report, on Chapter 8—Meeting Needs for Key Statistical Data—Statistics Canada of the 2014 Spring 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 for all of these reports.

Procedure and House Affairs

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

Mr. Speaker, I move:

That, notwithstanding any Standing Order or usual practice of the House, the 24th Report of the Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs presented earlier today be concurred in; that there be no further proceedings in relation to the 18th Report of the Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs; and accordingly, that notices of motions to concur in the 18th Report be dropped from the Order Paper.

[The Speaker, Conservative, Andrew Scheer]

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

[Some hon. members]

Agreed.

[The Speaker, Conservative, Andrew Scheer]

The House has heard the terms of the motion. Is it the pleasure of the House to adopt the motion?

[Some hon. members]

Agreed.

[The Speaker, Conservative, Andrew Scheer]

(Motion agreed to)

Freedom of Expression and Association in Hong Kong

[Paul Dewar, NDP, Ottawa Centre, ON]

Mr. Speaker, if you seek it you will find unanimous consent for the following motion.

I move:

That this House reiterates Canada's continued support for freedom of expression and association in Hong Kong, including the right to peaceful protest; affirms Canada's support for the democratic aspirations of Hong Kong residents for genuine universal suffrage in the election of political leaders; stands with the people of Hong Kong who aspire for democracy, peace and the protection of human rights; and calls on all sides to exercise restraint during demonstrations, fully respect existing agreements in respect to the “One Country, Two Systems” principle, and open a meaningful and constructive dialogue to seek a mutually acceptable plan for electoral reform.

[The Speaker, Conservative, Andrew Scheer]

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

[Some hon. members]

Agreed.

[The Speaker, Conservative, Andrew Scheer]

The House has heard the terms of the motion. Is it the pleasure of the House to adopt the motion?

[Some hon. members]

Agreed.

[The Speaker, Conservative, Andrew Scheer]

(Motion agreed to)

Sex Selection

[Rod Bruinooge, Conservative, Winnipeg South, MB]

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to present a petition from my riding and citizens across Canada asking that the House of Commons condemn discrimination against females through gendercide.

This is an important petition. We have witnessed this reported in Canada by the CBC, and last year, Environics released a poll that indicated 92% of Canadians felt this practice of discriminating against girls should cease.

The Environment

[Linda Duncan, NDP, Edmonton Strathcona, AB]

Mr. Speaker, I have two petitions to table.

The first petition is from Albertans in support of the climate change accountability act. It is an act which calls on basing government policy on science and holding the government accountable for the actions it takes on reducing greenhouse gases.

Iraq

[Linda Duncan, NDP, Edmonton Strathcona, AB]

Mr. Speaker, the second petition is from Albertans who call upon the Government of Canada to take action to support Christians in Iraq and include the provision of humanitarian aid in co-operation with other nations.

Canadian Armed Forces

[Frank Valeriote, Liberal, Guelph, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I rise to present this petition on behalf of some of the many Canadians who point out that not only does Canada have a social covenant with those who have served or are currently serving in the Canadian Armed Forces but that this sacred obligation has existed for as long as we have been willing to send Canadians into harm's way and must be honoured now and forever.

Firearms Legislation

[Robert Sopuck, Conservative, Dauphin—Swan River—Marquette, MB]

Mr. Speaker, I am honoured to rise today to present a petition signed by hundreds of Canadians supporting our government's common sense firearms licensing act. These Canadians are proud that our government is standing up for hunters and law-abiding gun owners through these reasonable updates that would reduce red tape while keeping our communities safe.

The petitioners call upon the government to pass the common sense firearms licensing act.

Seed Industry

[Claude Gravelle, NDP, Nickel Belt, ON]

Mr. Speaker, it is a pleasure to rise in the House to present a petition from dozens of people from my community in Nickel Belt.

The petitioners wish to bring to the attention of the House of Commons the fact that multinational seed companies are threatening the ability of small family farmers to produce the food required to feed their families and their communities.

On November 12, I had a round table with about 40 farmers in Verner. These farmers are very concerned about the way the Conservative government is operating with these seed companies and the petitioners want to prevent that.

Semiahmoo Bay Beach

[Joyce Murray, Liberal, Vancouver Quadra, BC]

Mr. Speaker, I am presenting a petition, which is signed by literally hundreds of residents from White Rock, British Columbia.

The petitioners are concerned that, based on a notice from the federal government's Department of Transportation, the city of White Rock has shut down the public's open access to the beaches of Semiahmoo Bay without prior public consultation and notice.

They are concerned that this will increase the likelihood of risky behaviour such that people will try to cross the railway tracks to get to the beach. It will cause a significant drop in property value, a reduction in business patrons for the marine businesses, as well as other hardships.

Therefore, the petitioners call upon the government to direct the city of White Rock to stop further installation of planned fences and immediately consult with the local public, find mutually acceptable solutions and then collaborate on sharing costs for the controlled crossings of these tracks.

Asbestos

[Pat Martin, NDP, Winnipeg Centre, MB]

Mr. Speaker, I am proud to present a petition signed by literally tens of thousands of Canadians who call upon Parliament to take note that asbestos is the greatest industrial killer that the world has ever known. The petitioners point out that more Canadians now die from asbestos than all other industrial and occupational causes combined.

Therefore, the petitioners call upon the Government of Canada to ban asbestos in all of its forms and institute a just transition program for asbestos workers and the communities they live in, end all government subsidies of asbestos both in Canada and abroad, and to stop blocking international health and safety conventions designed to protect workers from asbestos, such as the Rotterdam Convention.

Falun Gong

[Irwin Cotler, Liberal, Mount Royal, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to table a petition today on behalf of Canadians who are concerned about the cruel practice of forced organ harvesting by the Chinese regime on vulnerable prisoners, including Falun Gong practitioners.

The petitioners call upon the government to take measures to stop the Chinese regime's crime of systematically engaging in forced harvesting of the organs of Falun Gong practitioners, to amend Canadian legislation to combat forced organ harvesting and to publicly call for an end to the persecution of Falun Gong in China.

Having introduced Bill C-561 to further restrict organ trafficking, I am pleased to stand in solidarity with these petitioners.