Debates of May 12th, 2014

Oral Questions

[Some hon. members]

Yes.

[An hon. member]

No.

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)(b) I have the honour to table, in both official languages, the government's response to 44 petitions.

Justice for Animals in Service Act (Quanto's Law)

[Peter MacKay, Conservative, Minister of Justice]

moved for leave to introduce Bill C-35, An Act to amend the Criminal Code (law enforcement animals, military animals and service animals).

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

Interparliamentary Delegations

[Randy Hoback, Conservative, Prince Albert, SK]

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 Section of ParlAmericas respecting its participation in the 33rd annual meeting of the board of directors in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, from March 19 to 21.

[Dean Allison, Conservative, Niagara West—Glanbrook, ON]

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 Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe Parliamentary Assembly respecting its participation at the fall meeting of the OSC Parliamentary Assembly held in Budva, Montenegro, from October 13 to 15, 2013.

Industry, Science and Technology

[David Sweet, Conservative, Ancaster—Dundas—Flamborough—Westdale, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I have the honour to present, in both official languages, the fourth report of the Standing Committee on Industry, Science and Technology entitled “The Entertainment Software Industry in Canada”.

Procedure and House Affairs

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

Mr. Speaker, I have the honour to present, in both official languages, the 12th 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 member's business met to consider the items added to the order of precedence as a result of the replenishment of Wednesday, April 9, 2014, and recommended that the items listed herein, 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.

Public Safety and National Security

[Daryl Kramp, Conservative, Prince Edward—Hastings, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I have the honour to present, in both official languages, the fourth report of the Standing Committee on Public Safety and National Security entitled “Economics of Policing”. I might add that municipalities across this country have been eagerly waiting for this report, so I am pleased today to do that. Pursuant to Standing Order 109 the committee requests that the government table a comprehensive report in response to this report.

I also have the honour to present, in both official languages, the fifth report of the Standing Committee on Public Safety and National Security in relation to a study on the main estimates 2014-15.

Democratic Reform

[Frank Valeriote, Liberal, Guelph, ON]

Mr. Speaker, across Canada more and more Canadians are calling for a change to our broken first past-the-post electoral system, and Guelph is no exception.

I rise to present the signatures of a great many of my constituents who call upon the House of Commons to immediately undertake pan-Canadian consultations that would amend the Canada Elections Act and introduce a suitable form of proportional representation, one that would ensure that votes cast would be an effective means to ensure fair representation in Parliament, where the share of seats held by each party would better reflect the popular vote and would prevent 25% majority governments.

We eagerly await the government's response.

Gasoline Prices

[Chris Charlton, NDP, Hamilton Mountain, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to table a petition today in support of my Bill C-336.

With the long weekend just around the corner, motorists, small business owners and industry are again worried about the very high gas prices that are causing real hardship. The federal government is doing nothing to help ordinary working families that are getting hosed at the pumps.

As a result, the petitioners encourage the government to pass my Bill C-336, an act to establish the office of the oil and gas ombudsman to investigate complaints relating to the business practices of suppliers of oil or gas, which would provide strong and effective consumer protection to ensure no big business could swindle, cheat or ripoff hard-working Canadians.

Canada Post

[David McGuinty, Liberal, Ottawa South, ON]

Mr. Speaker, pursuant to Standing Order 36 I rise today to table a petition regarding the devastating cuts to service and the huge price increases at Canada Post. I am pleased to table this petition on behalf of hundreds of Canadians.

I look forward to the government's response.

Seafood Industry

[Fin Donnelly, NDP, New Westminster—Coquitlam, BC]

Mr. Speaker, I rise to present a petition signed by thousands of Canadians.

The petitioners draw to the attention of the government that Canadian consumers want to support sustainable seafood options and that Canadian seafood industries are providing increased opportunities for consumers to make sustainable seafood purchases.

The petitioners call upon the Government of Canada to designate March 18 as national sustainable seafood day.

Blood and Organ Donation

[Glenn Thibeault, NDP, Sudbury, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to rise today to table a petition calling upon the Government of Canada to change its policy on blood and organ donation. More specifically, the signatories are requesting that sexual orientation be removed as a screening criteria.

Therefore, the signatories request that the Government of Canada return the rights of any healthy Canadian to give the gift of blood, bone marrow and organs to those in need no matter the race, religion or sexual preference of a person. The right to give blood or donate organs is universal to any healthy man or woman.

Canada Post

[Judy Sgro, Liberal, York West, ON]

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

The first petition calls upon the Government of Canada to take the necessary legislative and regulatory steps to immediately reverse the devastating increase in postal rates and the cancellation of door-to-door delivery.

The petitioners call upon Canada Post to ensure that it continues with five-day delivery.

Home Children

[Judy Sgro, Liberal, York West, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the second petition calls upon Parliament to offer an unequivocal, sincere and public apology to the home children child migrants who died while being ashamed of their history and deprived of their families, to the living and elderly home children migrants who continue to bear the weight of the past, and to the descendants of home children.

The petitioners call upon the government for an unequivocal apology.

Impaired Driving

[Judy Sgro, Liberal, York West, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the third petition I wish to present calls upon the government to change the Criminal Code to redefine the offence of impaired driving causing death as vehicular manslaughter.

Having read and agree with the accompanying information sheet, I present these petition to the Government of Canada.

Democratic Reform

[Linda Duncan, NDP, Edmonton Strathcona, AB]

Mr. Speaker, I have two petitions to present to the House signed by Albertans.

The first petition calls upon parliamentarians to stand up for Canadian democracy, to reject Bill C-23, and bring forward genuine electoral reform that would stop fraud and would ensure every Canadian could exercise the right to vote.

Canada Post

[Linda Duncan, NDP, Edmonton Strathcona, AB]

Mr. Speaker, the second petition calls upon the government to stop the cuts to postal service, stop the high price for stamps, and restore the 8,000 jobs it intends to cut.

Dementia

[Craig Scott, NDP, Toronto—Danforth, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I have two petitions that I would like to present today.

The first petition supports Bill C-356, an act respecting a national strategy for dementia, put forward by my colleague from Nickel Belt, with the ultimate goal of the government being able to make recommendations on ways to support and strengthen Canada's capacity to care for persons with dementia.

Most of the signatories are from the greater Toronto area.

Democratic Reform

[Craig Scott, NDP, Toronto—Danforth, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the second petition is a series of petitions, all together, from Canadians across the country, most on the west coast and the prairies.

The petitioners object to Bill C-23, the so-called fair elections act. They ask that this Parliament not pass the bill and that we start over again with a bill that ultimately would be fair.

The Environment

[François Choquette, NDP, Drummond, QC]

Mr. Speaker, on May 1, the Council of Canadian Academies tabled a report on shale gas and hydraulic fracturing. The study showed that nothing is known about this practice. We are putting the cart before the horse. We do not know what effect fracking could have on our health or the environment.

Several hundred people have signed petitions urging the Government of Canada to take on the important role of publicly disclosing all of the chemicals used during the fracking process. In addition, they are calling on Health Canada and Environment Canada to do their job and ensure that the protection of human health and biodiversity is taken into account.

Genetically Modified Organisms

[Elizabeth May, Green, Saanich—Gulf Islands, BC]

Mr. Speaker, I am honoured to rise today to table two petitions. The first petition is signed by Quebeckers who are calling on the House of Commons to pass a bill requiring that all genetically modified products and ingredients be labelled as GMOs. It is a reasonable measure, one that is supported by the Green Party.

The Environment

[Elizabeth May, Green, Saanich—Gulf Islands, BC]

Mr. Speaker, the second petition calls for a tanker ban. We have had a moratorium, a complete ban, on oil tankers on the British Columbia coast since 1972. It has been observed and honoured by every provincial and federal government since 1982.

The petitioners from Delta and from a number of locations in Ontario and Vancouver are calling on Parliament to make sure that the tanker ban remains in place.