Debates of May 30th, 2014

Sport

[Jean-François Fortin, Bloc, Haute-Gaspésie—La Mitis—Matane—Matapédia, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I do not think the minister really understands what event we are talking about today.

She did not provide any explanation whatsoever for Athletics Canada's dramatic change in position. One day, the organization was saying that Coupe-Québec des nations 2014 was a wonderful event and that it was committed to promoting it, and then a few weeks later, the organization suddenly tried to derail the event by abruptly withdrawing its support and even pushing the Quebec team not to participate.

Is this, by chance, because the Minister of State for Sport intervened and told Athletics Canada to withdraw its support for Coupe-Québec des nations 2014?

[Shelly Glover, Conservative, Minister of Canadian Heritage and Official Languages]

Mr. Speaker, once again, perhaps my colleague did not hear me, but I clearly said that the Minister of State for Sport is very committed to this event and will continue to be.

We are very proud to welcome the World Cup. We like to support our athletes from across Canada, whether they are home or abroad.

Once again, our Minister of State for Sport will continue to be committed to this event and participate in its celebration.

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 two petitions.

National Defence

[Rick Norlock, Conservative, Northumberland—Quinte West, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I have the honour to present, in both official languages, the third report of the Standing Committee on National Defence in relation to the main estimates 2014-2015.

Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development

[Chris Warkentin, Conservative, Peace River, AB]

Mr. Speaker, I have the honour to present three separate reports, in both official languages.

One is entitled “Wills and Estates”. The second is the reply for the main estimates. The third is the supplementary estimates (A).

Natural Resources

[Kelly Block, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Natural Resources]

Mr. Speaker, I have the honour to present, in both official languages, the sixth report of the Standing Committee on Natural Resources in relation to the main estimates 2014-15.

Foreign Affairs and International Development

[Paul Dewar, NDP, Ottawa Centre, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I have the honour to present, in both official languages, the sixth report of the Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Development in relation to its study on the main estimates 2014-2015.

Veterans Affairs

[Parm Gill, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Veterans Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, I have the honour to present, in both official languages, the second report of the Standing Committee on Veterans Affairs in relation to its study on the main estimates 2014-15.

Finance

[James Rajotte, Conservative, Edmonton—Leduc, AB]

Mr. Speaker, I have the honour to present, in both official languages, the fourth report of the Standing Committee on Finance in relation to its study on the main estimates 2014-2015.

As well, I have the honour to present, in both official languages, the fifth report of the Standing Committee on Finance in relation to Bill C-31, An Act to implement certain provisions of the budget tabled in Parliament on February 11, 2014 and other measures. The committee has studied the bill and has decided to report the bill back to the House with amendments.

Shared Parenting

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

Mr. Speaker, these undersigned petitioners are drawing the attention of this House of Commons to the fact that children ordinarily thrive best when being raised by both parents, their father and their mother, even when those parents divorce, so the petitioners are calling on Parliament to amend the Divorce Act, as in my Bill C-560, to require equal shared parenting to be treated as the rebuttable presumption in custody decisions, except, of course, in cases of proven abuse or neglect.

Impaired Driving

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

Mr. Speaker, I have a second petition. These petitioners from B.C. indicate that the current impaired driving laws are too lenient. They want to see that changed and toughened so we have new mandatory minimum sentences. They want the Criminal Code to be changed to redefine the offence of impaired driving causing death to vehicular manslaughter.

It is my privilege to present these good petitions from citizens of British Columbia.

Canada Post

[Robert Chisholm, NDP, Dartmouth—Cole Harbour, NS]

Mr. Speaker, I am thrilled to have the opportunity to table this petition, which is signed by nearly 400 of my constituents from Dartmouth—Cole Harbour.

Petitioners are asking the government to stop the cuts to our postal services. People in my community feel that door-to-door service is important. The 8,000 well-paying jobs that will be lost are a serious problem. They feel Canada Post should be looking at options to ensure that it can raise additional revenue to maintain this service for constituents in Dartmouth—Cole Harbour and across the country.

[Sean Casey, Liberal, Charlottetown, PE]

Mr. Speaker, I also rise to present a petition on behalf of residents and visitors to Canada's smallest and nicest province with respect to the cuts at Canada Post. Petitioners are concerned about the impact of these cuts on the general public, on postal workers, and on the disabled. They are calling on the Government of Canada to reverse the cuts announced by Canada Post and to look for ways to innovate, including areas such as postal banking.

Flooding in High River

[Bob Zimmer, Conservative, Prince George—Peace River, BC]

Mr. Speaker, I have a petition. It is a little lengthy. I hope to get through it quickly.

Up to 273 RCMP personnel were involved in an operation that resulted in officers kicking in doors at more than 1,900 homes in High River, Alberta, between June 21 and July 7, 2013. Thirty Alberta communities were flooded in June 2013 and some were evacuated, but it was only in High River, Alberta, that police kicked in doors, searched homes, and seized firearms.

A national defence chart dated June 24, 2013, states “No further danger to civilians' life and limb and evacuations not requested”. An email from the RCMP dated June 24, 2013, at 7:12 p.m. states “As at 15:00 hours today, RCMP led by STO have completed the physical search of all homes in High River, with the exception of a small amount in quadrant 8, which is under water. Houses/buildings, 3,337; forced entries, 674; people located, 303”.

Even though the threat to human life and limb ended on June 24—

[The Deputy Speaker, NDP, Joe Comartin]

Order, please.

I am sorry, but that is just going on too long. Is there some way you can do a quick summary in, say, 30 seconds or so?

[Bob Zimmer, Conservative, Prince George—Peace River, BC]

Mr. Speaker, absolutely. I will try to be as brief as possible.

The petitioners call on the Government of Canada to call a judicial inquiry into RCMP and the national defence involvement in High River break-ins, the resulting search and seizure of private property without warrant, and the misrepresentation of these events by the RCMP in the media and to the public.

Millennium Development Goals

[Hélène Laverdière, NDP, Laurier—Sainte-Marie, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I have the honour of presenting a petition from citizens who want to remind us all that in 2000, Canada and 188 other nations promised to spare no effort to fulfill the millennium development goals. Petitioners are asking us to fulfill this commitment by directing 0.7% of Canada's gross national product toward official development assistance every year.

Democratic Reform

[Ted Hsu, Liberal, Kingston and the Islands, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I present a petition today put together by a citizen from Aurora, Ontario, who I understand organized this petition through Facebook and other online media. It is signed by people from all over Ontario, including my own riding. It concerns Bill C-23, the so-called fair elections act.

The petitioners would like to tell the House that experts disagree with the bill, were not sufficiently consulted, and do not support the bill. They call on the government to withdraw the legislation.

Criminal Code

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

Mr. Speaker, I would like to table a petition from Canadians who are asking the government to introduce legislation to amend the Criminal Code of Canada to include torture committed by non-state actors, private individuals, and organizations as a specific and distinct criminal offence.

Democratic Reform

[Jean Crowder, NDP, Nanaimo—Cowichan, BC]

Mr. Speaker, I have three petitions to present. The first one calls on the House of Commons to immediately undertake public consultations across Canada to amend the Canada Elections Act to ensure voters cast an equal and effective vote to be represented in Parliament and are governed by a fairly elected Parliament where the share of seats held by each political party closely reflects the popular vote. The petition also asks that a suitable form of proportional representation be introduced after public consultations.

Food and Drugs Act

[Jean Crowder, NDP, Nanaimo—Cowichan, BC]

Mr. Speaker, the second petition calls on the House of Commons to amend the Food and Drugs Act with regard to mandatory labelling for genetically modified foods.

Agriculture

[Jean Crowder, NDP, Nanaimo—Cowichan, BC]

Mr. Speaker, the third petition calls on Parliament to refrain from making any changes to the Seeds Act or to the Plant Breeders' Rights Act through Bill C-18 that would further restrict farmers' rights or add to farmers' costs. Further, it calls upon Parliament to enshrine in legislation the inalienable rights of farmers and other Canadians to save, reuse, select, exchange, and sell seeds.

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

Mr. Speaker, I rise to present, as I have on a number of other occasions, a petition on the right to save seeds. This is an issue of great importance in my riding, and this particular petition has almost 200 signatures. The petitioners are very concerned about Bill C-18, an act to amend certain acts relating to agriculture and agri-food, and how it would affect farmers' rights related to seeds. The petitioners call upon Parliament to enshrine in legislation the inalienable rights of farmers and other Canadians to save, reuse, select, exchange, and sell seeds. I should also mention that the petition is being sponsored by the National Farmers Union.

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

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to rise to present a petition signed by constituents in Pitt Meadows—Maple Ridge—Mission who recognize the inherent right of farmers to save, reuse, select, exchange, and sell seeds. They call upon Parliament to refrain from making any changes to the Seeds Act or to the Plant Breeders' Rights Act that would restrict farmers' rights or add to farmers' costs.

Falun Gong

[Kevin Lamoureux, Liberal, Winnipeg North, MB]

Mr. Speaker, I bring forward a petition that has been circulated by organizations such as the Falun Dafa Association of Winnipeg and others. The petitioners are trying to bring attention to the very serious issue regarding organ donations. They ask that Ottawa pass a resolution to establish measures to stop the Chinese Communist regime's crime of systematically murdering Falun Gong practitioners for their organs and publicly call for an end to the persecution of the Falun Gong in China.