Debates of Dec. 3rd, 2014

Jean Béliveau

[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)

[The Speaker, Conservative, Andrew Scheer]

We will now have a moment of silence.

[A moment of silence observed]

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 four petitions.

Interparliamentary Delegations

[Philip Toone, NDP, Gaspésie—Îles-de-la-Madeleine, QC]

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 of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association respecting its participation at the 63rd Westminster seminar on practice and procedure held in London, United Kingdom, from June 16 to 20, 2014.

[Cheryl Gallant, Conservative, Renfrew—Nipissing—Pembroke, ON]

Mr. Speaker, pursuant to Standing Order 34(1) I have the honour to present to the House, in both official languages, the reports of the Canadian delegation of the Canadian NATO Parliamentary Association respecting: the meeting of the standing committee held in Riga, Latvia, April 4 to April 6, 2014; its participation in the joint visit of the Sub-committee on the Transatlantic Relations and the Sub-committee on the Transatlantic Economic Relations, held in Vancouver and Victoria, British Columbia, April 30 to May 3, 2014; and the 2014 spring session, held in Vilnius, Lithuania, May 30 to June 1, 2014.

Justice and Human Rights

[Mike Wallace, Conservative, Burlington, ON]

Mr. Speaker, it is my honour to present, in both official languages, the 10th report of the Standing Committee on Justice and Human Rights in relation to Bill C-32, An Act to enact the Canadian Victims Bill of Rights and to amend certain Acts.

The committee has studied the bill and has decided, unanimously, to report the bill back to this House with amendments.

Mr. Speaker, I also have the honour to present, in both official languages, the 11th report of the Standing Committee on Justice and Human Rights in relation to Bill S-221, An Act to amend the Criminal Code (assaults against public transit operators).

The committee has studied the bill and has decided, unanimously, to report the bill back to this House without amendments.

I hope the House leaders move quickly on both these items.

Criminal Code

[Wai Young, Conservative, Vancouver South, BC]

moved for leave to introduce Bill C-639, An Act to amend the Criminal Code (protection of critical infrastructures).

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to rise today to introduce my private member's bill to protect Canada's critical infrastructure. Currently, the punishment for those who interfere with critical infrastructure is not appropriately defined in the Criminal Code, relative to the severity of these acts. Across Canada, interference with critical infrastructure has put communities at risk. These acts should be considered more than just petty crimes.

The legislation, which I propose today, would keep our communities safe by providing law enforcement with an additional tool to protect and secure critical infrastructure. Balanced and fair, this bill is a result of months of consultations with stakeholders across Canada.

This legislation would create a new offence under the Criminal Code to capture conduct related to interference with critical infrastructure and would provide the flexibility required to adapt to the changing nature of threats. By promoting harsher sentencing, the measures proposed would deter criminals and punish those whose crimes cause serious economic disruptions and endanger the public safety of Canadians.

I ask my colleagues in this House to support this legislation, and I look forward to their input and debate.

(Motions deemed adopted, bill read the first time and printed)

Procedure and House Affairs

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

Mr. Speaker, if the House gives its consent, I move that the 27th report of the Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs, requesting an extension to consider Motion No. 428 presented to the House earlier, be concurred in.

[The Acting Speaker, Conservative, Bruce Stanton]

Does the hon. member for Elgin—Middlesex—London have the unanimous consent of the House to propose the motion?

[Some hon. members]

Agreed.

[The Acting Speaker, Conservative, Bruce Stanton]

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 Acting Speaker, Conservative, Bruce Stanton]

(Motion agreed to)

Sex Selection

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

Mr. Speaker, I rise on behalf of numerous British Columbians to table a petition that refers to over 200 million missing girls worldwide. This femicide has created a global gender imbalance and crisis, resulting in violence and the human trafficking of girls.

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

Postal Service

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

Mr. Speaker, I submit a petition on behalf of the many residents in my riding regarding postal services, which have diminished greatly over the past while: Saturday services, home delivery, as well as extended hours, and in many cases small communities actually losing their postal outlet.

This petition comes from the community of Leading Tickles.

Greenhouse Gas Emissions

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

Mr. Speaker, I have a petition from constituents in my riding of Wellington—Halton Hills, predominantly from the town of Erin, who call on the government to apply a fee to greenhouse gas emissions and for the money raised from the fee to be distributed among Canadians.

Impaired Driving

[Garry Breitkreuz, Conservative, Yorkton—Melville, SK]

Mr. Speaker, it is an honour for me to present a petition from a large number of Canadians who are asking the Government of Canada to acknowledge that the current impaired driving laws are too lenient. In the interest of public safety, these citizens of Canada want tougher laws and the implementation of new mandatory minimum sentencing for those persons convicted of impaired driving causing death.

They also want the Criminal Code of Canada to be changed to redefine the offence of impaired driving causing death as vehicular manslaughter.

Sex Selection

[Royal Galipeau, Conservative, Ottawa—Orléans, ON]

Mr. Speaker, a documentary by Canada's public broadcaster, the CBC, revealed that ultrasounds are being used in Canada to tell the sex of an unborn baby, so that people can choose to terminate the pregnancy of the unborn child if it is a girl.

An overwhelming majority of Canadians believe that terminating a pregnancy because of the sex of the child should be illegal.

Both the Society of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists of Canada and the Canadian Association of Radiologists strongly oppose the non-medical use of fetal ultrasounds.

I have the honour—

[The Acting Speaker, Conservative, Bruce Stanton]

Order.

The hon. member for Burnaby—New Westminster on a point of order.

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

Mr. Speaker, it was not clear at all that the member is actually reading a petition. He has not indicated who has signed it. He knows the rules of the House, that 25 people must sign for it to be presentable in the House of Commons.

It was not clear at all to me that this is a duly-presentable petition that the member is tabling.

[The Acting Speaker, Conservative, Bruce Stanton]

I appreciate the intervention by the hon. member. I think the hon. member for Ottawa—Orléans will be getting around to that.

I know the hon. member for Burnaby—New Westminster is correct and that the member for Ottawa—Orléans will know that the explanation around petitions should not be a commentary by the member himself but, rather, on behalf of petitioners. I am sure that he will be getting around to that point in short order.

The hon. member for Ottawa—Orléans.