Debates of June 11th, 2014

Canada Post

[Jack Harris, NDP, St. John's East, NL]

Mr. Speaker, I have two petitions today. One is from hundreds of residents, mostly from St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador. They are very concerned about the plans that Canada Post has, which have been approved the government, to cut between 6,000 and 8,000 jobs at Canada Post and to remove service from over five million households that receive home delivery. They will do this over the next five years.

The undersigned are calling upon the Government of Canada to reverse the Canada Post cuts to Canada public postal service and instead look for alternative revenue-generating ideas, such as postal banking, for example, which has worked in many other countries.

We know, of course, that Canada is the only country of the G8 or G7, whichever we prefer, that is making the move to get away from home delivery. We are not even just getting away from home delivery. Canada Post claims that is only a small portion of people who receive it, but this is not the case.

Cadets

[Jack Harris, NDP, St. John's East, NL]

Mr. Speaker, the second petition is related to the question of the Valcartier cadets. We have petitions from individuals supporting the notion that the Government of Canada, through the Minister of National Defence, grant the Canadian Forces Ombudsman the authority to investigate the case of the death of six cadets and the wounding of at least 60 more due to a grenade exploding at a cadet camp in 1974, which has not been fully investigated.

The minister has agreed to do this. It is an important matter, and we hope that the proper investigation takes place.

The 40th anniversary of this event is this summer, on July 30. Proper redress and proper assistance has not been given to the victims of this tragedy.

Agriculture

[Joyce Bateman, Conservative, Winnipeg South Centre, MB]

Mr. Speaker, it is my privilege to present a petition that was presented to me by Ms. Katharina Stieffenhofer on the subject of Bill C-18.

Impaired Driving

[Judy Sgro, Liberal, York West, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to present many petitions here on the issue of the current impaired driving laws. The petitioners are calling on the government to implement new mandatory minimum sentencing for those persons convicted of impaired driving causing death.

Canada Post

[Yvon Godin, NDP, Acadie—Bathurst, NB]

Mr. Speaker, I have a petition signed by some 100 people about Canada Post service cuts.

Canada Posts's plan to cut services would eliminate home mail delivery for five billion homes and significantly increase postal rates.

The petitioners are asking the Government of Canada to reject Canada Post's plan to cut services and explore other ways to modernize the crown corporation's business plan.

Impaired Driving

[Earl Dreeshen, Conservative, Red Deer, AB]

Mr. Speaker, it is my pleasure to rise today to present three separate petitions on behalf of Canadians regarding impaired driving causing death. Citizens want to see tougher laws and the implementation of new mandatory minimum sentencing for those persons convicted of impaired driving causing death.

Pensions

[Linda Duncan, NDP, Edmonton Strathcona, AB]

Mr. Speaker, today, I have three petitions from Edmonton residents.

Two of the petitions are calling for increases in the Canada pension and Quebec pension. The petitioners are concerned that retirement security is one of the most pressing issues facing Canadians, but the cuts to OAS slashed $11 billion from seniors who are now required to wait until they are 67 years old.

They are calling on the government to expand CPP and QPP and to restore the OAS entitlement to 65.

Canada Post

[Linda Duncan, NDP, Edmonton Strathcona, AB]

Mr. Speaker, the third petition is from Edmontonians calling on the Government of Canada to stop the devastating cuts to Canada Post.

Firearms Reclassification

[Rob Anders, Conservative, Calgary West, AB]

Mr. Speaker, I rise to present a petition on behalf of citizens concerned about firearm reclassification, which aims to devalue and deprive them of their private property. The petitioners want all of Bill C-68 repealed, not just the billion-dollar long gun registry.

The petitioners call upon Parliament to eliminate the bureaucratic chief of firearms officers.

Human Rights in Venezuela

[Rob Anders, Conservative, Calgary West, AB]

Mr. Speaker, I also have a petition on behalf of Canadians who are disturbed by the crisis in Venezuela. The petitioners are concerned about human rights being violated, and people detained and tortured for merely non-violent protesting.

The petitioners call upon our government to take an active role against the tyranny of the Maduro government and call attention to the dangers facing Venezuela, which will not disappear by turning a blind eye. They want us to implement economic sanctions against those authorities responsible for human rights violations.

Criminal Code

[Rob Anders, Conservative, Calgary West, AB]

Mr. Speaker, the last petition I have is from people across Canada who want the worst cases of sexual assault to be prosecuted more heavily. The petitioners do not want to see us coddle sexual predators, but to see us respect the plight of victims. As a result, the petitioners want to see us give sexual predators the punishment they deserve.

Agriculture

[Sean Casey, Liberal, Charlottetown, PE]

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to present a petition today on behalf of Prince Edward Islanders who are concerned about the rights of farmers to be able to save, reuse, select, exchange, and sell seeds. This is something that farmers have been doing for an indeterminate amount of time. That appears to be jeopardized by changes to the Seeds Act and the Plant Breeders' Rights Act under Bill C-18.

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.

Quebec Bridge

[Anne-Marie Day, NDP, Charlesbourg—Haute-Saint-Charles, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I am honoured to present three petitions.

The first asks the federal government to put an end to legal proceedings and work with CN to make the Quebec Bridge safe.

Pensions

[Anne-Marie Day, NDP, Charlesbourg—Haute-Saint-Charles, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the second petition I am presenting asks the Government of Canada to collaborate with provincial governments to enhance, among other things, the Quebec pension plan and the Canada pension plan, and to restore the age of eligibility for old age security to 65.

Consumer Protection

[Anne-Marie Day, NDP, Charlesbourg—Haute-Saint-Charles, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the third petition asks the government to put an end to excessive credit card rates, ATM fees and fees to receive paper bills.

House of Commons

[Kevin Lamoureux, Liberal, Winnipeg North, MB]

Mr. Speaker, I have a petition signed by residents of Winnipeg North who want the Prime Minister to know that they do not support the increase in the number of politicians who are going to be elected to the House of Commons. Having 30 new MPs will cost the taxpayer millions of wasted tax dollars every year. Some have estimated the cost at $30 million-plus annually.

Firearms Reclassification

[Leon Benoit, Conservative, Vegreville—Wainwright, AB]

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

The first petition is on the changes to the classification of firearms without adequate public consultation and public notice. The petitioners note that this erodes the confidence of Canadians in our justice system. The petitioners call upon the Government of Canada to enforce the Firearms Act in an open, transparent, and fair manner, respecting the right to own property.

Sex Selection

[Leon Benoit, Conservative, Vegreville—Wainwright, AB]

Mr. Speaker, the second petition has to do with gender-selection abortion. The petitioners note that 92% of Canadians believe that sex-selective pregnancy termination should be illegal. The petitioners call upon Parliament to condemn discrimination against girls occurring through gender-selection pregnancy termination.

Canadian Forces

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

Mr. Speaker, I have two petitions.

The first petition is in regard to what is happening to veterans and members of the Canadian Forces all across this country.

First, the petitioners are concerned about the closure of nine regional offices for Veterans Affairs, and second, the fact that the number of suicides among Canadian Forces personnel and veterans has increased to an alarming rate. The petitioners call upon the Government of Canada to address the needs of Canadian Forces members by making sure that they and veterans have timely access to mental health services.

Pensions

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

Mr. Speaker, the second petition has to do with the changes to old age security.

The petitioners are very concerned about the fact that the age for entitlement to old age security has increased to 67 from 65. This causes great harm and hardship to many seniors. The petitioners call upon the government to maintain the retirement age for OAS at 65 and make the required investment in the guaranteed income supplement so that we could lift every senior in this country out of poverty.

Champlain Bridge

[Hoang Mai, NDP, Brossard—La Prairie, QC]

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

It is my privilege to present a petition on behalf of people in my riding, Brossard—La Prairie. They are asking the federal government not to impose a toll on the new Champlain Bridge. Over 1,500 people have signed this petition.

I would like to sincerely thank the 150 people who showed up for the day of action against the toll and all of those who continue to canvass their neighbourhoods gathering signatures for the petition. They should be congratulated on their remarkable commitment. Thank you.

Falun Gong

[Hoang Mai, NDP, Brossard—La Prairie, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the second petition requests the Government of Canada to pass a resolution to establish measures to stop the Chinese Communist regime's crime of systematically murdering Falun Gong practitioners for their organs, to implement legislation to combat forced organ harvesting, and publicly call for an end to the persecution of Falun Gong in China.

Canadian Broadcasting Corporation

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

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to present two petitions. The first is from residents of Newfoundland and Labrador, as well as Nova Scotia, British Columbia, and one from Ontario. Petitioners are calling on Parliament to ensure stable, predictable, and secure funding for the national public broadcaster, the CBC.

Falun Gong

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

Mr. Speaker, the second petition is signed by over 3,000 individuals from all over Canada, primarily Ontario. It is calling on the government to take steps to protect the human rights of Falun Gong and Falun Dafa practitioners in China. They note that in the People's Republic of China they lack human rights, are often jailed, and their situation is indeed desperate.

Canada Post

[Scott Simms, Liberal, Bonavista—Gander—Grand Falls—Windsor, NL]

Mr. Speaker, I have a petition regarding Canada Post. I have done this many times for many communities, This is the community of Tilting, on Fogo Island. I have 98 signatures, all from the one community, calling on the Government of Canada to instruct Canada Post to maintain, expand, and improve postal services and cease any proposal to reduce hours and diminish services to the residents of Tilting.