Debates of May 16th, 2014

Impaired Driving

[Maurice Vellacott, Conservative, Saskatoon—Wanuskewin, SK]

Mr. Speaker, petitioners from British Columbia indicate that the current impaired driving laws are too lenient. They want to see that changed so we have new mandatory minimum sentences for persons convicted of impaired driving causing death. They want the Criminal Code to be changed to redefine the offence of impaired driving causing death to impose vehicular manslaughter. They have some other good suggestions in their proposal as well.

Experimental Lakes Area

[Bruce Hyer, Green, Thunder Bay—Superior North, ON]

Mr. Speaker, even though the Experimental Lakes Area has been transferred away from federal jurisdiction, I continue to receive petitions asking the government to support the staff and the programs at the Experimental Lakes Area due to the critical and important nature of the ecosystem of whole lake research done at that facility.

Blood Donation

[Charmaine Borg, NDP, Terrebonne—Blainville, QC]

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

The first calls on the government to stop the discrimination based on sexual preference when it comes to blood and organ donation.

Conflict Minerals

[Charmaine Borg, NDP, Terrebonne—Blainville, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the second petition calls on the House to support Bill C-486, which I had the honour of supporting. It calls on all members of the House to support this bill, which will put an end to conflict minerals.

Canada Post

[Charmaine Borg, NDP, Terrebonne—Blainville, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the third petition is very important and comes directly from the people of my riding. They are protesting the changes to Canada Post that will put an end to home delivery. They are extremely concerned and are calling on Canada Post to examine other options, rather than making drastic cuts to delivery services.

Sex Selection

[Randy Kamp, Conservative, Pitt Meadows—Maple Ridge—Mission, BC]

Mr. Speaker, I wish to present a petition signed by British Columbians who live in Pitt Meadows and Maple Ridge.

The petitioners believe, as I do, that preventing the birth of baby girls through sex-selective abortions is an affront to the dignity and equality of women and girls.

They call upon the House of Commons to condemn discrimination against girls through sex-selective abortion and do all it can to prevent these abortions from being carried out in Canada.

Grenville Canal

[Mylène Freeman, NDP, Argenteuil—Papineau—Mirabel, QC]

Mr. Speaker, today, I have the honour of presenting a petition signed by hundreds of my constituents from Argenteuil—Papineau—Mirabel, who are calling on the government to cover the cost of repairing and restoring the shoreline and retaining walls of the Grenville Canal, which are no longer safe.

This issue affects the safety of those living along the river, children and the general public, particularly since the federal government has owned and managed the canal for 161 years. It is responsible for historic sites and for the Ottawa River waterway where the canal is located. We are once again calling on the government to pay these costs.

I would also like to take this opportunity to thank Laurent Chartrand and the Comité de la protection du patrimoine de Grenville for collecting thousands of signatures and for the hard work they continue to do to ensure that the government assumes its responsibilities.

Democratic Reform

[Joyce Murray, Liberal, Vancouver Quadra, BC]

Mr. Speaker, I am presenting a petition from residents of Vancouver Quadra who are very concerned about the so-called fair elections act. They are against the voting restrictions that will disenfranchise Canadians. They are against the appointment of a commissioner of elections that reduces the commissioner's independence, against the fact that the commissioner of elections is not provided with the powers necessary to properly investigate electoral infractions, against the fact that the fair elections act forbids Elections Canada from launching ad campaigns to increase voter turnout, and, last, against the fact that the act was written without proper consultation with election experts or the Canadian public at large.

Genetically Modified Alfalfa

[Malcolm Allen, NDP, Welland, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I have three petitions to present, all agriculture-related, it seems.

The first petition calls for a moratorium on GM alfalfa. The petitioners call on the government to recognize that GM alfalfa is a crop that is not wanted, not specifically just by organic groups but by many conventional farmers across the country.

The Environment

[Malcolm Allen, NDP, Welland, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the second petition talks about pollinators, bees, and the fact that bee colonies are suffering irreparable harm, not only across our country but across the world. The petitioners are calling on the government to do expanded research into the nature of the disruption to bee colonies and their deaths, whether that be from a particular pesticide or herbicide, or some sort of colony collapse. They call for fundamental research to find out what exactly is going on.

Agriculture

[Malcolm Allen, NDP, Welland, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the third petition speaks to Bill C-18 and farmers' right to save seeds. The petitioners point out that the inherent right to save seeds must be protected, as it has been for all time. Farmers are asking for that to continue in the future. Petitioners are asking the government to make sure that this right is protected under Bill C-18 as we move forward.

Questions on the Order Paper

[Tom Lukiwski, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Leader of the Government in the House of Commons]

Mr. Speaker, the following questions will be answered today: Nos. 429 and 446.

Question No. 429

[Joyce Murray, Liberal, Vancouver Quadra, BC]

With regard to Canadian Defence Advisor, Canadian Defence Attaché and Canadian Defence Liaison hospitality events requiring ministerial approval from January 1, 2012 to the present: for each event, (a) what was the total departmental incremental cost; (b) what was the cost for each line item in the Summary of Event Cost on the Event/Hospitality Request Form; (c) what was the total number of participants; (d) what was the guest list; (e) what was the location; (f) what was the stated activity; (g) what were the declared reasons for higher level approval; (h) what was the maximum cost per person approved; (i) what was the number of guests listed; (j) what were the types of hospitality expenses requested; (k) what were the estimated costs for each type of hospitality expense listed; (l) what was the date; and (m) what was the title, purpose and description?

[Rob Nicholson, Conservative, Minister of National Defence]

Mr. Speaker, with regard to part (a), at this time the incremental costs of Canadian defence advisor, Canadian defence attaché, and Canadian defence liaison hospitality events requiring ministerial approval since January 1, 2012, are estimated to be approximately $685,000.

With regard to subsequent questions (b) through (m), Canadian Armed Forces data about hospitality events is not centrally tracked. The research required to generate a response involves gathering information from different sources for hundreds of events. It was not possible to complete this research within the time allotted.

Question No. 446

[Scott Andrews, Liberal, Avalon, NL]

With regard to the Department of International Trade's Comprehensive Economic Trade Agreement (CETA) between Canada and the European Union and the subsequent creation of a Federal-Provincial fund of $400 million to support industry enhancements in Newfoundland and Labrador (NL): (a) what are the terms, in draft or complete, of any agreement between the government and the government of NL pertaining to this fund, including but not limited to, management provisions, project parameters, annual funding levels and potential project approval process; (b) how will this funding be used to play a key role in assuring the success of seafood harvesters and processors in NL; (c) what details of this agreement was completed on or before October 29, 2013; and (d) who were the negotiating representatives participating from the government and the government of NL pertaining to this funding arrangement?

[Rob Moore, Conservative, Minister of State (Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency)]

Mr. Speaker, insofar as the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency, ACOA, is concerned, with regard to the Canada-European Union comprehensive economic and trade agreement and the subsequent creation of a federal-provincial fund of $400 million to support industry enhancements in Newfoundland and Labrador, with regard to (a), details of the federal-provincial fund are still being determined. The Government of Canada will be negotiating the approach to management provisions, project parameters, annual funding levels, and potential project approval process with the provincial government, in consultation with industry stakeholders.

With regard to (b), details of how the funding will be used are still being determined.

With regard to (c), this information is not available in ACOA’s departmental files.

With retard to (d), this information is not available in ACOA’s departmental files.

Questions Passed as Orders for Returns

[Tom Lukiwski, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Leader of the Government in the House of Commons]

Mr. Speaker, if Questions Nos. 427, 430, 431, 432, 442, 454, 456 and 468 could be made orders for return, these returns would be tabled immediately.

[The Speaker]

Is that agreed?

[Some hon. members]

Agreed.

Question No. 427

[Irene Mathyssen, NDP, London—Fanshawe, ON]

With regard to Economic Action Plan 2012's promise of proactive enrolment in Old Age Security (OAS) and the Guaranteed Income Supplement (GIS): (a) what is the definition of (i) proactive enrolment, (ii) automatic enrolment; (b) what exact steps will Canadians have to take to receive each GIS and OAS once (i) automatic enrolment is fully implemented, (ii) any proactive enrolment is fully implemented; (c) for each benefit, will proactive enrolment be completed by 2015 and, if not, what is the timeline; (d) is the GIS included in the (i) automatic enrolment initiative, (ii) any proactive enrolment imitative; (e) what are the phases of (i) the automatic enrolment initiative, with a detailed description of each phase, (ii) any proactive enrolment initiatives, with a detailed description of each phase; (f) is information publically available about (i) the automatic enrolment initiative, (ii) any proactive enrolment initiatives; (g) for each benefit, will individuals be notified if they are not eligible for (i) automatic enrolment, (ii) proactive enrolment; (h) for each benefit, what is the eligibility criteria for automatic or proactive enrolment; and (i) for each benefit, as of March 31, 2014, how many individuals have been (i) automatically enrolled, (ii) proactively enrolled?

(Return tabled)

Question No. 430

[Glenn Thibeault, NDP, Sudbury, ON]

With regard to government spending in the constituency of Sudbury: since 2011-2012 up to and including the current fiscal year, what is the total amount of funding allocated by the government within the constituency, broken down by (i) department, (ii) agency, (iii) initiative, (iv) amount?

(Return tabled)

Question No. 431

[Glenn Thibeault, NDP, Sudbury, ON]

With regard to government-created mobile applications for each fiscal year since 2008-2009 up to and including the current fiscal year: for each application, broken down by department and individual project, (a) what is the total number of downloads; and (b) what is the total number of active users?

(Return tabled)