House of Commons Hansard #214 of the 41st Parliament, 2nd Session. (The original version is on Parliament's site.) The word of the day was families.
The Speaker Conservative Andrew Scheer
I have the honour to lay upon the table, pursuant to subsection 39(1) of the Access to Information Act, a special report of the Information Commissioner entitled “Investigation into an access to information request for the Long-gun Registry”.
This report is deemed permanently referred to the Standing Committee on Access to Information, Privacy and Ethics.
A message from His Excellency the Governor General transmitting supplementary estimates (A) for the financial year ending March 31, 2016, was presented by the President of the Treasury Board and read by the Speaker to the House.
Kellie Leitch ConservativeMinister of Labour and Minister of Status of Women
Mr. Speaker, on behalf of the Minister of Foreign Affairs and pursuant to Standing Order 32(2), I have the honour to table, in both official languages, the treaty entitled “Convention concerning Minimum Age for Admission to Employment” done at Geneva on 26 June, 1973. An explanatory memorandum is included with the treaty.
Government Response to PetitionsRoutine Proceedings
Regina—Lumsden—Lake Centre Saskatchewan
Conservative
Tom Lukiwski ConservativeParliamentary 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 five petitions.
Hélène LeBlanc NDP LaSalle—Émard, QC
Mr. Speaker, I have the honour to present, in both official languages, the sixth report of the Standing Committee on the Status of Women in relation to its study on the main estimates, 2015-16.
Peter Kent Conservative Thornhill, ON
Mr. Speaker, I have the honour to present, in both official languages, the 12th report of the Standing Committee on National Defence in relation to the main estimates 2015-2016.
Mike Wallace Conservative Burlington, ON
Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to present, in both official languages, the 21st report of the Standing Committee on Justice and Human Rights in relation to the study of the main estimates for 2015-2016. We have met 76 times in this session. It is a very hard working committee.
Michael Chong Conservative Wellington—Halton Hills, ON
Mr. Speaker, I have the honour to present, in both official languages, the fourth report of the Standing Committee on Official Languages, entitled “Main Estimates 2015-16: Vote 1 under Office of the Commissioner of Official Languages”.
Brian Masse NDP Windsor West, ON
Mr. Speaker, there have been consultations among the parties and I believe if you seek it you will find unanimous consent for the following motion:
That, in the opinion of the House, and in advance of the twentieth anniversary of the Srebrenica genocide of 11 July 2015, Parliament should (a) reaffirm support for former Motion M-416 passed in the House of Commons on 19 October 2010, which recognized July 11 annually as Srebrenica Remembrance Day in Canada, and (b) include the Srebrenica genocide, and Srebrenica Remembrance Day, as part of “Genocide Remembrance, Condemnation and Awareness Month” every April going forth as supported by the House in Motion M-587 passed by Parliament 24 April 2015.
The Speaker Conservative Andrew Scheer
Does the hon. member have the unanimous consent of the House to propose this motion?
The Speaker Conservative Andrew Scheer
The House has heard the terms of the motion. Is it the pleasure of the House to adopt the motion?
Garry Breitkreuz Conservative Yorkton—Melville, SK
Mr. Speaker, I am presenting a petition today that sadly informs the House that Rayel MacDonald was tragically killed by a drunk driver who chose to drive while impaired. Rayel's family is devastated.
Families for Justice is a group of Canadians who have had a loved one killed by an impaired driver. They believe that Canada's impaired driving laws are much too lenient. They want the crime to be called what it is: vehicular homicide. It is the number one cause of criminal death in Canada, where 1,200 Canadians are killed every year by drunk drivers. Families for Justice are calling for mandatory sentences for vehicular homicide and for this Parliament to support Bill C-652, Kassandra's law.
Peggy Nash NDP Parkdale—High Park, ON
Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to present a petition on behalf of more than 100 constituents calling upon the House to pass Motion No. 529, which calls upon the government to work with the provinces, territories, municipalities, and seniors organizations to develop a national strategy on aging. This would deal with secure public health care, reducing out-of-pocket health expenses, establishing appropriate policies for seniors housing and income security, and basically ensuring that seniors issues are addressed by this government, as well as creating a seniors advocate to monitor these changes. I am pleased to submit this petition on behalf of my constituents.
Frank Valeriote Liberal Guelph, ON
Mr. Speaker, I stand to present several petitions with hundreds of signatures from people in and around Guelph who feel that multinational seed companies are replacing the immense diversity of farmer seeds with industrial varieties through an increasing number of patented seeds, and that UPOV 91 will deter or outlaw the saving and exchanging of seeds between farmers, all of which affects both Canadian farmers and peasant farmers in third-world countries. The petitioners ask Canada to adopt policies, internationally and here at home in Canada, that support small farmers, especially women, and ensure the exchange and preservation of seeds.
Keith Ashfield Conservative Fredericton, NB
Mr. Speaker, I rise today to present a petition on behalf of my constituents, which calls upon the government to both adopt international aid policies that support small family farmers and ensure that Canadian policies and programs are developed in consultation with small family farmers.
Irene Mathyssen NDP London—Fanshawe, ON
Mr. Speaker, I have two petitions. The first is from Canadians who are telling us very clearly that feminine hygiene products are essential to the lives of Canadian women and that paying the GST on these products contributes to a financial burden on Canadian households. Therefore, they request that the Government of Canada withdraw the GST from feminine hygiene products.
Irene Mathyssen NDP London—Fanshawe, ON
Mr. Speaker, the second petition is from constituents who are very concerned about the plans to end door-to-door mail delivery. The petitioners believe, rightly so, that this is an important service, particularly for seniors and persons living with disabilities, that the loss of 8,000 well-paying jobs is absolutely unacceptable, and that the loss of this service, which should absolutely be supported by this House, is a travesty. The petitioners call upon the Government of Canada to stop the devastating cuts to our postal service and to end this notion that somehow we should do without our Canadian postal service.
Ron Cannan Conservative Kelowna—Lake Country, BC
Mr. Speaker, it is great to see our hon. colleague from Fredericton back in the House.
I rise to table a petition with respect to the sad case of 19-year-old Kendra Cole, who was tragically killed by a drunk driver who chose to drive while impaired. Kendra's family is devastated. As we heard from the petition of one of the previous members, there is an organization called Families for Justice, which is a group of Canadians who have had a loved one killed by an impaired driver.
A lot of people may not be aware that research shows that more than 1,200 Canadians are killed every year by drunk drivers. Families for Justice is calling for mandatory sentencing for vehicular homicide and for this Parliament to support Bill C-652, Kassandra's law.
Kevin Lamoureux Liberal Winnipeg North, MB
Mr. Speaker, today I am tabling a petition signed by many constituents of Winnipeg North who are very upset with the Prime Minister's decision to increase the age of retirement from 65 to 67.
The petitioners are asking for the Prime Minister to reconsider and to allow Canadians to continue to have the option to retire at the age of 65 and receive their old age pension. They also believe that people should be able to have that retirement option at 65, and do not want the government to in any way diminish the importance and the value of Canada's three major programs, the OAS, GIS, and CPP.
Peter Braid Conservative Kitchener—Waterloo, ON
Mr. Speaker, I have a petition signed by many residents of my great riding of Kitchener—Waterloo.
This petition highlights and underscores the importance of respecting the right of the small-scale family farmers to preserve, exchange, and use seeds.
Alexandre Boulerice NDP Rosemont—La Petite-Patrie, QC
Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to present to the House a petition that has been signed by dozens of Ontarians, mainly from Oshawa, who are very concerned about the end of home mail delivery. The message they are sending to this House is that they want to keep home mail delivery. We have no rational fiscal or economic reason to be the only G7 country that can no longer provide home mail delivery.
Elizabeth May Green Saanich—Gulf Islands, BC
Mr. Speaker, I rise to present two petitions from residents within Saanich—Gulf Islands.
The first petition is calling on the House to develop and promote a national pharmacare plan that would include, among other things, a bulk purchasing agency at the federal level to ensure that, by bulk purchasing of drugs, the price can be brought down for provincial health care systems.