Debates of Feb. 12th, 2014

Northwest Territories Devolution Act

[Peter Van Loan, Conservative, Leader of the Government in the House of Commons]

Mr. Speaker, there have been discussions among the parties, and I move, seconded by the Minister of Finance:

That, notwithstanding any Standing Order or usual practices of the House, all questions necessary to dispose of the report stage of Bill C-15, An Act to replace the Northwest Territories Act to implement certain provisions of the Northwest Territories Lands and Resources Devolution Agreement and to repeal or make amendments to the Territorial Lands Act, the Northwest Territories Waters Act, the Mackenzie Valley Resource Management Act, other Acts and certain orders and regulations, be deemed put, recorded divisions deemed demanded and the votes deferred to the end of government orders today.

When C-15 is called for debate at third reading, members rising to speak in the first round may divide their time with another member by so indicating to the Chair and any recorded division demanded on Thursday, February 13, 2014, in relation to proceedings on ways and means Motion No. 6 shall stand deferred to the ordinary hour of daily adjournment on Monday, February 24, 2014.

[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)

[John Duncan, Conservative, Vancouver Island North, BC]

Mr. Speaker, I move the following travel motions:

that in relation to its study of the prebudget consultation 2014, 10 members of the Standing Committee on Finance be authorized to travel to Washington, DC, and New York, New York, United States of America, in the winter-spring of 2014, and that the necessary staff accompany the committee;

that notwithstanding the motion adopted by the House of Commons on December 6, 2013, in relation to its studies on the benefits for Canada in joining the Pacific Alliance as a full member and on the benefits for Canada of the trans-Pacific partnership, six members of the Standing Committee on International Trade be authorized to travel to Chile and Peru in the winter-spring of 2014, and that the necessary staff accompany the committee;

that in relation to its study of the review of the Canadian transportation safety regime, transportation of dangerous goods and safety management systems, seven members of the Standing Committee on Transport, Infrastructure and Communities be authorized to travel to Vancouver and Kitimat, British Columbia, Edmonton, Alberta, and Winnipeg, Manitoba, in the winter-spring of 2014, and that the necessary staff accompany the committee;

that in relation to its study of the review of the Canadian transportation safety regime, transportation of dangerous goods and safety management systems, seven members of the Standing Committee on Transport, Infrastructure and Communities be authorized to travel to Sarnia and Toronto, Ontario, Montreal, Quebec, and Saint John, New Brunswick, in the winter-spring of 2014, and that the necessary staff accompany the committee;

that in relation to its study of the review of the Canadian transportation safety regime, transportation of dangerous goods and safety management systems, seven members of the Standing Committee on Transport, Infrastructure and Communities be authorized to travel to Williston, North Dakota, and Houston, Texas, United States of America, in the winter-spring of 2014, and that the necessary staff accompany the committee;

that in relation to its study of opportunities for aboriginal persons in the workforce, 10 members of the Standing Committee on Human Resources, Skills and Social Development and the Status of Persons with Disabilities be authorized to travel to Quebec City, Quebec, in the winter-spring of 2014, and that the necessary staff accompany the committee;

that in relation to its study of opportunities for aboriginal persons in the workforce, 10 members of the Standing Committee on Human Resources, Skills and Social Development and the Status of Persons with Disabilities be authorized to travel to Prince Rupert, Prince George, and Williams Lake, British Columbia, in the winter-spring of 2014, and that the necessary staff accompany the committee.

That is all of the travel motions.

[The Speaker, Conservative, Andrew Scheer]

Does the hon. chief government whip have the unanimous consent of the House to propose these motions?

[Some hon. members]

Agreed.

No.

[The Speaker, Conservative, Andrew Scheer]

The hon. opposition House leader.

[Nathan Cullen, NDP, Skeena—Bulkley Valley, BC]

Mr. Speaker, for those unfortunate enough to have been watching at home during that exhaustive and somewhat non-titillating expression by the chief government whip, the point of order I rise on is that this is somewhat unprecedented, in terms of bringing to the House such motions.

Typically parties are able to establish the working conditions for our committees and do the good work of Parliament.

What is also unprecedented is that the government has absolutely refused Canada-wide public hearings on its unfair and rigged elections bill, in which the Conservatives are seeking to change the fundamental democratic values in this country. Until the Conservatives have public hearings, we will—

[The Speaker, Conservative, Andrew Scheer]

On a point of order, I will recognize the hon. chief government whip, but when unanimous consent is sought and it is not given, there is usually no debate about why it is not given. I hope it is a point of order.

The hon. chief government whip.

[John Duncan, Conservative, Vancouver Island North, BC]

The point of order, Mr. Speaker, is the fact that these travel motions were arrived at by a joint committee that is all party, and it is ridiculous to be held hostage by such a move by the official opposition.

[The Speaker, Conservative, Andrew Scheer]

I know there are regularly scheduled House leaders meetings, and perhaps the next one will prove fruitful in coming to some type of agreement, but at this time there is, quite obviously, no unanimous consent.

Presenting petitions, the hon. member for Fleetwood—Port Kells.

Impaired Driving

[Nina Grewal, Conservative, Fleetwood—Port Kells, BC]

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to rise today on behalf of the citizens of Fleetwood—Port Kells to present a petition signed by dozens of local residents who are outraged by the unnecessary death of a young woman killed by a drunk driver. The petitioners call upon Parliament to enact tougher laws, including mandatory sentencing for those persons convicted of impaired driving causing death. They also ask that the offence of impaired driving causing death be redefined as vehicular manslaughter.

Rouge National Park

[Mike Sullivan, NDP, York South—Weston, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I have with me a petition on behalf of residents of the area of Toronto. It asks that the government protect land around the healthy and sustainable Rouge National Park; that it ensure it strengthens and implements the ecological vision, policies, and integrity of the plans, the green belt plan, the Rouge national heritage action plan, and the Oak Ridges Moraine convention plan; that it protect and restore the 600-metre wide wooded main ecological corridor linking Lake Ontario to the Oak Ridges Moraine and Rouge National Park; and that it conduct a rational, scientific, and transparent public planning process to create Rouge National Park's boundaries, legislation, and strategic plan and include first nations and Friends of the Rouge Watershed on a Rouge National Park planning and advisory board.

VIA Rail

[Dominic LeBlanc, Liberal, Beauséjour, NB]

Mr. Speaker, I have the honour to present a petition signed by a number of residents from New Brunswick who are very concerned about the cuts to rail service in northern New Brunswick.

Mr. Speaker, as you well know, northern New Brunswick service at VIA Rail is being reduced or eliminated and threatened by the closure of certain rail lines, and the residents of northern New Brunswick, understandably, worry about their economic future and access to passenger rail transportation. I am pleased to present this petition on their behalf.

Sex Selection

[Harold Albrecht, Conservative, Kitchener—Conestoga, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I have the honour to present a number of petitions from residents of Waterloo region in southwestern Ontario. These petitioners are calling on members of Parliament to condemn discrimination against females that is occurring through sex-selective pregnancy termination.

Gatineau Park

[Mathieu Ravignat, NDP, Pontiac, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I have the honour to present two petitions signed by Canadians who urge the House of Commons to adopt legislation that would give Gatineau Park the necessary legal protection to ensure its preservation for future generations.

Genetically Modified Alfalfa

[Libby Davies, NDP, Vancouver East, BC]

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to rise in the House today to present a petition calling to members' attention that organic farming prohibits the use of genetic modification and that the organic sector in Canada depends on alfalfa as a high-protein feed for dairy cattle and other livestock. Therefore, they call upon Parliament to impose a moratorium on the release of genetically modified alfalfa, in order to allow proper review of the impact on farmers in Canada.

Canada Post

[David Wilks, Conservative, Kootenay—Columbia, BC]

Mr. Speaker, I rise to present a petition from a number of residents in my riding calling upon the Government of Canada to reverse the cuts to the services announced by Canada Post and to look, instead, for ways to innovate in areas such as postal banking.

Health Insurance for Retirees

[Geoff Regan, Liberal, Halifax West, NS]

Mr. Speaker, I rise to present a petition on behalf of federal retirees who are very concerned about the government's plans to effectively double their health insurance costs. They note that the current cost-sharing formula was part of the contract negotiated by the Government of Canada, the National Joint Council, and the National Association of Federal Retirees. They call on the Government of Canada to honour the contract and continue the existing cost-sharing formula for the Public Service Health Care Plan.

Gatineau Park

[Marie-Claude Morin, NDP, Saint-Hyacinthe—Bagot, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I have the honour to present two petitions today.

The first petition is about preserving Gatineau Park. Although this park is not in my riding, I believe that such a fine park can be an asset to all Quebeckers and Canadians.

Public Transit

[Marie-Claude Morin, NDP, Saint-Hyacinthe—Bagot, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the second petition calls on the government to adopt a national transit strategy, something that is sorely needed. Transit is an important issue in my riding, and I am pleased to present this petition.

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

Mr. Speaker, on the day after the do-nothing budget, I am very pleased to present two petitions. The first one is from constituents both in Toronto and in my riding of Trinity—Spadina, calling upon the Government of Canada to provide long-term predictable and non-partisan funding for public transit. They note that road congestion is costing the GTA's economy $6 billion a year in lost productivity and that the daily commute time is over 80 minutes.

The Environment

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

Mr. Speaker, the second petition is from residents in Toronto who strongly urge the Government of Canada to immediately legislate a ban on bulk oil tanker traffic off B.C.'s north coast. They note that the project would bring 225 supertankers of a huge size to the pristine northern coast of B.C. each year and that the Enbridge northern gateway pipeline would carry oil 1,178 kilometres from the Alberta oil sands to the coast at Kitimat, B.C.

Canada Post

[François Choquette, NDP, Drummond, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I have the honour to present a petition from dozens and dozens of people who are opposed to cuts to services at Canada Post.

If Canada Post and the Conservatives move forward with this, Canada will be the only G7 country without home mail delivery. The dozens and hundreds of petitioners are opposed to that, and I support them.