House of Commons Hansard #55 of the 41st Parliament, 2nd Session. (The original version is on Parliament's site.) The word of the day was farmers.

Topics

Situation in UkraineRoutine Proceedings

3:05 p.m.

Conservative

The Speaker Conservative Andrew Scheer

(Motion agreed to)

Public TransitPetitionsRoutine Proceedings

3:05 p.m.

NDP

Olivia Chow NDP Trinity—Spadina, ON

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to present petitions from people in Toronto.

The petitioners say that Canadians deserve fast, reliable, and affordable public transit, and that since the 2014 federal budget does not include dedicated transit funding, it is estimated that there is a $32 billion investment gap in transit infrastructure needs across Canada.

The road congestion is costing the GTA economy $6 billion a year in lost productivity. The average daily commute time is over 80 minutes.

The petitioners are calling on the federal government to provide long-term, predictable, and non-partisan funding for public transit now.

VIA RailPetitionsRoutine Proceedings

3:05 p.m.

NDP

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

Mr. Speaker, I have in my hands one part of a petition signed by 24,000 people who are calling for improved VIA Rail service in eastern Canada. The service is in a pitiful state and is at risk of being lost within months. I hope that the government will take note.

Impaired DrivingPetitionsRoutine Proceedings

3:10 p.m.

Liberal

Judy Sgro Liberal York West, ON

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

In the first two petitions, the petitioners acknowledge that the current impaired driving laws are too lenient and call for stiffer penalties.

Sex SelectionPetitionsRoutine Proceedings

3:10 p.m.

Liberal

Judy Sgro Liberal York West, ON

Mr. Speaker, in the next petition, the petitioners are calling on the House to condemn discrimination against females occurring through sex selective pregnancy termination.

Rail TransportationPetitionsRoutine Proceedings

3:10 p.m.

NDP

Peggy Nash NDP Parkdale—High Park, ON

Mr. Speaker, I have the honour of presenting a petition on the electrification of the air-rail link from Union Station to Pearson airport, recognizing it is in the national interest of Canada to have clean, efficient, quiet, modern rail transportation for Toronto, between its major rail and air links.

The petitioners are calling on the federal government to urge the Government of Ontario and Metrolinx to alter their current plans and to express strong preference for full electrification of the service rather than running diesel trains from the beginning.

Navigable Waters Protection ActPetitionsRoutine Proceedings

3:10 p.m.

NDP

Peggy Nash NDP Parkdale—High Park, ON

Mr. Speaker, I have a second petition to present.

The petitioners are calling on the Government of Canada to protect the Humber River, and to pass Bill C-502, which would re-list sections of the Humber River that are no longer protected by this act.

AgriculturePetitionsRoutine Proceedings

3:10 p.m.

Liberal

Wayne Easter Liberal Malpeque, PE

Mr. Speaker, I have the honour to present a petition from a number of petitioners.

The petition is entitled, “The Right to Save Seeds”. The petitions recognize the inherent rights of farmers to save, reuse, select, exchange, and sell seeds.

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, which would take those rights away.

Northwest Territories Devolution ActPetitionsRoutine Proceedings

3:10 p.m.

NDP

Dennis Bevington NDP Western Arctic, NT

Mr. Speaker, I rise to present a petition signed by many Gwich'in people from the Northwest Territories, who request the House of Commons and Parliament assembled not to approve Bill C-15 or amend the Mackenzie Valley Resource Management Act, as they feel this is an infringement on their comprehensive land claim agreement.

Gatineau ParkPetitionsRoutine Proceedings

3:10 p.m.

NDP

Nycole Turmel NDP Hull—Aylmer, QC

Mr. Speaker, I have yet another petition calling for protection for Gatineau Park. This petition has been signed by many people from my area and from outside the region as well. They support my bill.

Assisted SuicidePetitionsRoutine Proceedings

3:10 p.m.

Green

Elizabeth May Green Saanich—Gulf Islands, BC

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to present two petitions.

The first is on a very sensitive and ethically difficult topic, and that is on the question of dying with dignity and Canadians having the right to make their own end-of-life decisions. The petitioners are all from Salt Spring Island and they urge the House to find a way forward on this difficult issue.

Lyme DiseasePetitionsRoutine Proceedings

March 3rd, 2014 / 3:10 p.m.

Green

Elizabeth May Green Saanich—Gulf Islands, BC

The second petition, Mr. Speaker, is signed by over 2,500 Canadians from across Canada: within Ontario from Bolton, Ajax, and Toronto; in Alberta, Calgary, and St. Albert; in British Columbia, Victoria, and Penticton; and Prince Edward Island. I will not keep reading the places for all these petitioners, but they call for the House to pass Bill C-442, which went to second reading this morning, my bill for a national Lyme disease strategy.

Canada PostPetitionsRoutine Proceedings

3:10 p.m.

NDP

Mike Sullivan NDP York South—Weston, ON

Mr. Speaker, I would like to present a petition from residents of Toronto in my riding of York South—Weston, who are concerned that the government is breaking its promise to better protect consumers, that between 6,000 and 8,000 Canada Post workers will lose their jobs, and that the reduction of service could lead to the privatization of Canada Post, an essential public service, according to the government. Therefore, they call upon the Government of Canada to reject Canada Post's plan for reduced services and explore other options for updating Canada Post's business plan.

Citizenship and ImmigrationPetitionsRoutine Proceedings

3:10 p.m.

NDP

Irene Mathyssen NDP London—Fanshawe, ON

Mr. Speaker, I have a petition from Londoners who are very concerned about a recent tragedy in London, Ontario, that involved the deaths of three members of the same family. Their concern is with regard to the government's practices around citizenship and immigration. They would like the Government of Canada to ensure that CIC is properly staffed in order to ensure that fair and appropriate decisions are reached in a timely fashion with regard to applicants, and that in all of the decisions, humanitarian and compassionate grounds are considered in the applications that are presented.

Impaired DrivingPetitionsRoutine Proceedings

3:15 p.m.

NDP

Linda Duncan NDP Edmonton Strathcona, AB

Mr. Speaker, I am tabling today petitions from a great number of Albertans across the province who are concerned about current impaired driving laws. They are concerned that they are too lenient. They wish the government to consider a number of avenues, including tougher laws, consideration for mandatory minimums, and to re-designate impaired driving causing death as vehicular manslaughter.

Employment InsurancePetitionsRoutine Proceedings

3:15 p.m.

NDP

Pierre Jacob NDP Brome—Missisquoi, QC

Mr. Speaker, I have here a petition from my constituents about employment insurance reform. They pay into this insurance all of their lives. It was originally created to support our workforce. Now, six out of every 10 workers are ineligible for benefits. The government is further restricting access to benefits. The recent changes will hurt families, disrupt regional economies and drive wages down. The signatories are calling for the employment insurance changes to be repealed.

Drummondville StationPetitionsRoutine Proceedings

3:15 p.m.

NDP

François Choquette NDP Drummond, QC

Mr. Speaker, I have three petitions to present today.

The first is from my constituents in Drummond who oppose the fact that Drummondville's station was automated. The service is poor as a result, and there are dozens upon dozens of people who are opposed to it.

VIA RailPetitionsRoutine Proceedings

3:15 p.m.

NDP

François Choquette NDP Drummond, QC

Mr. Speaker, I have another petition signed by people who are opposed to the cancellation of VIA Rail's daily service between Montreal and Halifax.

Canada PostPetitionsRoutine Proceedings

3:15 p.m.

NDP

François Choquette NDP Drummond, QC

Mr. Speaker, my last petition is from dozens of my constituents who are very upset about the changes coming to Canada Post. Canada will be the only OECD country that will no longer have home mail delivery. Dozens of my constituents are speaking out against that.

Canada PostPetitionsRoutine Proceedings

3:15 p.m.

NDP

Matthew Kellway NDP Beaches—East York, ON

Mr. Speaker, I am rising to present two petitions to the House today.

The first concerns the elimination of door-to-door mail service in Canada. The petitioners are drawing the attention of the House to the fact that the elimination of door-to-door mail delivery will have a particularly adverse impact on seniors and the disabled, who will be forced to travel to their local community mailbox in order to get their mail. They call upon the Government of Canada to reject Canada Post's plan to cut mail services and increase prices and, instead, explore other options for modernizing our postal service delivery.

Toronto Island AirportPetitionsRoutine Proceedings

3:15 p.m.

NDP

Matthew Kellway NDP Beaches—East York, ON

Mr. Speaker, the second petition has to do with the planned expansion of the Toronto Island airport. The undersigned call upon the Government of Canada to block any changes to the tripartite agreement that would allow jet airplanes or extensions of the Toronto Island airport runways.

VIA RailPetitionsRoutine Proceedings

3:15 p.m.

NDP

Matthew Dubé NDP Chambly—Borduas, QC

Mr. Speaker, I have the honour to table a petition that I worked on with my colleague from Gaspésie—Îles-de-la-Madeleine. The petitioners want to save the train that links Montreal and Halifax. This is extremely important. A railway is only as strong as its weakest link. These people recognize the importance of maintaining this service. This is yet another example of how people take this important network for granted.

Thank you.

Questions on the Order PaperRoutine Proceedings

3:15 p.m.

Regina—Lumsden—Lake Centre Saskatchewan

Conservative

Tom Lukiwski ConservativeParliamentary Secretary to the Leader of the Government in the House of Commons

Mr. Speaker, I ask that all questions be allowed to stand.

Questions on the Order PaperRoutine Proceedings

3:15 p.m.

Conservative

The Speaker Conservative Andrew Scheer

Is that agreed?

Questions on the Order PaperRoutine Proceedings

3:15 p.m.

Some hon. members

Agreed.