Debates of Sept. 24th, 2014

The Environment

[The Speaker, Conservative, Andrew Scheer]

That concludes question period for today.

The Chair has notice of a point of order from the hon. member for Skeena—Bulkley Valley.

Oral Questions

[Nathan Cullen, NDP, Skeena—Bulkley Valley, BC]

Mr. Speaker, I rise in the House today on a point of order to draw your attention to something that happened yesterday in the House. The hon. member for Wascana misled the House.

As you know, Mr. Speaker, misleading the House is a grave offence. The precedents that support this view are extensive. It is important that I rise to raise this question to hold the member for Wascana accountable for what he says.

During question period yesterday, the member said:

Mr. Speaker, the CFIB and economists like Mintz, Moffatt, and Gordon all support the jobs approach of my colleague, the member for Papineau.

Stephen Gordon reacted to this on social media by saying the member for Wascana “...misrepresents my views of the House of Commons.... I never said anything nice about LPC EI proposal”. He then added, “...I think the...proposal is yet another gimmick in a long line of 'job-creation' gimmicks. I should be pleased if the hon. member for Wascana could read that into Hansard.”

I believe this problem could be easily fixed and I hope the member for Wascana will take this opportunity to correct the record and not bring Mr. Gordon into his ill-fated scheme.

[The Speaker, Conservative, Andrew Scheer]

It sounds like that might be more of a matter of debate, but I see the hon. member for Wascana is rising. I will give the hon. member for Wascana the floor if he wishes to respond.

The hon. member for Wascana.

[Ralph Goodale, Liberal, Wascana, SK]

Mr. Speaker, if Mr. Gordon holds those views, I am happy to accommodate him, but I would also point out that his views are also contradicting Jack Layton's platform from 2011.

[The Speaker, Conservative, Andrew Scheer]

Perhaps it is best if we move on to tabling of documents.

State of Canada's Forests

[Greg Rickford, Conservative, Minister of Natural Resources and Minister for the Federal Economic Development Initiative for Northern Ontario]

Mr. Speaker, it is my pleasure to table the 2014 State of Canada's Forests report.

I encourage all Canadians to read this document on Canada's forests.

National Fiddling Day Act

[Tilly O'Neill-Gordon, Conservative, Miramichi, NB]

moved for leave to introduce Bill S-218, An Act respecting National Fiddling Day.

Mr. Speaker, I rise to introduce Bill S-218, an act respecting national fiddling day, which would designate the third Saturday in May of each year as national fiddling day.

The art of fiddle playing has a significant role in culture and social history of Canada and is practised in all regions of our great country. The enactment of a national fiddling day would give Canadians a chance to celebrate and appreciate the rich history and beauty of fiddle music in Canada.

I trust all members of the House will support this bill.

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

Pensions

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

Mr. Speaker, I have in my hands a petition signed by people from New Brunswick. Provincial government pension experts and seniors' support agencies are in favour of an increase in Canada pension plan and Quebec pension plan benefits.

They are calling on the federal government to work together with the provincial and territorial governments to increase pension benefits under the Canada and Quebec pension plans and implement a fully funded plan to phase in such an increase without delay.

Canada Post

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

Mr. Speaker, I have another petition from the people of Bathurst, New Brunswick.

The petition states that between 6,000 and 8,000 Canada Post workers will lose their jobs and that the reduction in service could lead to the privatization of Canada Post, which is essential to public service.

The petitioners call upon the government to reject the Canada Post plan to reduce service and to explore other options to update the crown corporation business plan.

[Judy Sgro, Liberal, York West, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to present more petitions on the issue of Canada Post's cancellation of services. The petitioners ask that the necessary legislative steps be taken to reverse Canada Post's proposal and ensure that we have door-to-door postal delivery service throughout Canada.

The petitions call on the Government of Canada to take the necessary legislative and regulatory steps to immediately reverse the implementation of recently announced service rollbacks and cost increases proposed by Canada Post Corporation.

Prostitution

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

Mr. Speaker, I have two petitions that I am pleased to present on behalf of constituents.

The first is on prostitution. The petitioners note that the current rules on prostitution have been struck down by the Supreme Court. They also note that a high percentage of people are forced into prostitution through human smuggling.

The petitioners call on the Canadian House of Commons to legislate the purchase of sex with a woman, man, or child as a criminal offence. They would be delighted to know that our government is doing exactly that.

Sex Selection

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

Mr. Speaker, the second petition notes that 92% of Canadians believe that sex selective pregnancy termination should be illegal.

The petitioners call on the Canadian Parliament to end discrimination against girls occurring through gender selection abortions.

Canada Post

[Charlie Angus, NDP, Timmins—James Bay, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I am very proud to stand in the House to bring forward a petition signed by hundreds of people in the community of North Bay who are frustrated with the plan by the government to allow the end of door-to-door service by Canada Post, with 6,000 to 8,000 jobs being lost.

The petitioners have also expressed their deep frustration that they have no real political representation in North Bay that is willing stand up and defend the interests of the people who are trying to protect home delivery.

[Mike Sullivan, NDP, York South—Weston, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I rise to present a petition. It will come as no surprise that residents in my riding are continuing to sign petitions protesting the loss of home mail delivery by Canada Post.

The petitioners are calling upon the Government of Canada to reject Canada Post's plan for reduced services and to explore other options to update the Canada Post business plan.

[Judy Foote, Liberal, Random—Burin—St. George's, NL]

Mr. Speaker, I stand to present four petitions, again based on the reduction in postal services by Canada Post.

There is one from the community of Garden Cove in my riding of Random—Burin—St. George's, another from Robinsons, another from Conne River, and another from the community of Heatherton.

The petitioners are saying that what is happening with Canada Post under the government and under its direction is in fact not fair. The government is cutting back on services in communities where sometimes the only federal presence is the post office. Not only is Canada Post cutting back on hours throughout the week, but it is also cutting out the entire service on Saturdays, the time when most people are able access service at the postal outlets.

The petitioners are calling on the government to reinstate the hours that have been reduced as well as to reinstate full-time service on Saturdays.

Firearms Reclassification

[Larry Miller, Conservative, Bruce—Grey—Owen Sound, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I have a petition to present that has been signed by a large number of people in my riding.

The petition came about due to a reclassification of firearms made by the RCMP in recent months. The petitioners are calling on the government to enforce the Firearms Act and regulations in an open, transparent, and fair manner.

Rail Transportation

[Peggy Nash, NDP, Parkdale—High Park, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to rise today to present petitions on behalf of dozens of members of my riding of Parkdale—High Park who are very concerned about the dramatic increase of tank cars carrying crude oil and other hazardous substances through the neighbourhood, in some cases right behind many homes.

There has been a community meeting. Sadly, Transport Canada officials were not permitted to attend. The petitioners have many questions about rail safety.

The petitioners are specifically asking to know what is being transported through the neighbourhood in the DOT-111 cars; what the strategies and timetables are for phasing out the DOT-111 cars; whether there is any plan to reroute any of these cars; what emergency plan is in place should there be a derailment; and what resources and funding are available should there be a disaster from an oil spill, car malfunction, or train derailment.

Health

[Frank Valeriote, Liberal, Guelph, ON]

Mr. Speaker, Canadians in Guelph and across Canada are calling on the Government of Canada to require all producers and manufacturers to include potassium on the nutritional facts table on all food labels. They are seriously concerned that many prepackaged foods are not required to list potassium additives. In the best interests of those who must keep an eye on their potassium intake, such as people suffering from heart and kidney diseases, hypertension, and many other similar conditions, the petitioners are calling on the government for assistance to take a proper and more active role in the promotion of health by requiring potassium to be included on lists of nutritional facts.

Aboriginal Affairs

[Michael Chong, Conservative, Wellington—Halton Hills, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I have two sets of petitions from constituents in my riding of Wellington—Halton Hills.

The first set calls on the House of Commons to immediately hold an inquiry into the deaths and disappearances of aboriginal women and girls.

Anaphylaxis

[Michael Chong, Conservative, Wellington—Halton Hills, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the second set of petitioners requests that Parliament enact a policy to reduce the risk for anaphylactic passengers.

Conflict Minerals

[Paul Dewar, NDP, Ottawa Centre, ON]

Mr. Speaker, today I have petitions from right across the country, but primarily from Calgary. These petitioners are asking the government to deal with the horrific conflict in the Democratic Republic of Congo, where 5.4 million people have died since 1998. The petitioners want the government to enact Bill C-486 to stop the revenues coming from conflict minerals and the trade therein. They are also asking that the government support Bill C-486, which, as I noted today in question period, is being supported by the Mining Association of Canada.

DNA Databases

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

Mr. Speaker, I rise to present three petitions.

The first is from residents in my own constituency of Saanich—Gulf Islands. The petitioners are calling for the establishment of a DNA databank. This would assist in finding missing persons and solving cases. We are very gratified that money for this was included in the 2014 budget. I do note that that money is not to be spent until 2017. The petitioners would certainly like to see the databank established sooner.

The Environment

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

Mr. Speaker, the second petition is for a tanker ban along the B.C. west coast. I am proud to have seconded the bill put forward by the hon. member for Skeena—Bulkley Valley earlier this week. The petitioners from Vancouver would support that as well.

Mr. Speaker, the third petition is from residents of British Columbia, calling for the government to rejoin the UN convention on drought and desertification.

Criminal Code

[Pierre Lemieux, Conservative, Glengarry—Prescott—Russell, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I have here more than one petition from Canadians who acknowledge that prostitution laws have been declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court, but who do not want Canada to be lawless with respect to prostitution. They are calling on the House of Commons to legislate so that it would be a criminal offence to purchase sex with a woman, man, or child, and they would like the House of Commons to move forward quickly on that.

VIA Rail

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

Mr. Speaker, I have the honour today to present a petition from some of my constituents calling on the government to restore VIA Rail passenger service. My region is remote, and without VIA Rail service it is even more isolated. We hope that the government will listen.