Debates of June 19th, 2015

Commissioner for Children and Young Persons in Canada Act

[Robert Aubin, NDP, Trois-Rivières, QC]

Mr. Speaker, although time is running out, there have been discussions among the parties, and I believe that you will find unanimous consent for the following motion: That in the opinion of the House, the government must adopt a contingency plan to help and support pyrrhotite victims, which includes: (a) increased quality standards for aggregates used in concrete; (b) the rapid implementation of a tax deduction for pyrrhotite testing; and (c) the implementation of a fund to advance the amounts granted to victims by the courts during the court proceedings.

[The Acting Speaker, Conservative, Barry Devolin]

Is there unanimous consent?

[Some hon. members]

No.

Business of the House

[Peter Van Loan, Conservative, Leader of the Government in the House of Commons]

Mr. Speaker, there have been discussions among the parties and I do believe you will find unanimous consent for the following motion:

That, not withstanding any Standing Order or usual practice of the House,

(a) Bill C-64, An Act to amend the Canada-Nova Scotia Offshore Petroleum Resources Accord Implementation Act, shall be deemed to have been read a second time and referred to a Committee of the Whole, deemed considered in Committee of the Whole, deemed reported without amendment, deemed concurred in at report stage and deemed read a third time and passed;

(b) Bill C-72, An Act to amend the Canada National Parks Act, shall be deemed to have been read a second time and referred to a Committee of the Whole, deemed considered in Committee of the Whole, deemed reported without amendment, deemed concurred in at report stage and deemed read a third time and passed;

(c) when the House adjourns today, it shall stand adjourned until Monday, September 21, 2015, provided that, for the purposes of any Standing Order, it shall be deemed to have been adjourned pursuant to Standing Order 28; and

(d) when, at any time the House stands adjourned until, and including, Tuesday, June 23, 2015, a Standing Committee has ready a report, that report shall be deemed to have been duly presented to the House upon being deposited with the Clerk.

[The Acting Speaker, Conservative, Barry Devolin]

Does the government House leader have unanimous support to propose the motion?

[Some hon. members]

Agreed.

[The Acting Speaker, Conservative, Barry Devolin]

Members have heard the terms of the motion. Is it the pleasure of the House to adopt the motion?

[Some hon. members]

Agreed.

[The Acting Speaker, Conservative, Barry Devolin]

(Motion agreed to)

(Bill C-64. On the Order: Government Orders:)

June 19, 2015--Bill C-64, An Act to amend the Canada-Nova Scotia Offshore Petroleum Resources Accord Implementation Act

(Bill read the second time, referred to a committee of the whole, considered in committee of the whole, reported without amendment, concurred in at report stage and read the third time and passed)

(Bill C-72. On the Order: Government Orders:)

June 19, 2015--Bill C-72, An Act to amend the Canada National Parks Act

(Bill read the second time, referred to a committee of the whole, considered in committee of the whole, reported without amendment, concurred in at report stage and read the third time and passed)

Qausuittuq National Park of Canada Act

[The Acting Speaker, Conservative, Barry Devolin]

The hon. member for Mount Royal is rising on a point of order.

[Irwin Cotler, Liberal, Mount Royal, QC]

Mr. Speaker, this Parliament has admirably adopted a number of religious and cultural heritage months. Therefore, there have been consultations among the parties and I trust that there will be consent for the following motion: That the House recognize the month of November as Jewish heritage month in recognition of the important contributions of Jewish Canadians to the settlement, development and growth of Canada; the cultural diversity of the Canadian Jewish community; the present significance of the Canadian Jewish community to this country; and the importance of creating opportunities for Canadians to learn more about each other in order to foster greater awareness, cohesion and mutual respect.

[The Acting Speaker, Conservative, Barry Devolin]

Does the member have unanimous support to propose the motion?

[Some hon. members]

Agreed.

No.

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

Mr. Speaker, with your permission, if we could revert to introduction of private members' bills, I have two bills that I would like to introduce.

[The Acting Speaker, Conservative, Barry Devolin]

Does the hon. member have unanimous consent to revert to introduction of private members' bills?

[Some hon. members]

Agreed.

Canada Elections Act

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

moved for leave to introduce Bill C-702, An Act to amend the Canada Elections Act and the Parliament of Canada Act (by-election duration and vacant seat).

Mr. Speaker, this is unrelated and I apologize for including it, but I would like to assure the member for Essex that after 10 years I am indeed standing.

Bill C-702 would amend section 57 of the Canada Elections Act in that once the writ for a byelection is officially issued, the maximum length of the campaign period cannot be more than 44 days. The bill would amend section 31 of the Parliament Act requiring that the writ must be issued within 30 days.

I would like to thank my assistant, David Graham, for his tireless work on this bill.

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

Search and Rescue Commemorative Monument Act

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

moved for leave to introduce Bill C-703, An Act to establish a commemorative monument for search and rescue personnel in Canada.

Mr. Speaker, the bill calls for the creation of a search and rescue commemorative monument in order to recognize the services and contributions of search and rescue personnel across Canada. This is to commemorate the death of those in the service of all Canadians, who provide safety to all citizens. It is not just for the members of national defence, such as 103 Search and Rescue Squadron, which is in Gander in my riding, but also for the volunteer organizations and the police officers who provide such a valuable service to all Canadians. We wish them the best. We would set up this monument to commemorate those who have lost their lives in the service of others.

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

Pensions

[Murray Rankin, NDP, Victoria, BC]

Mr. Speaker, I have two sets of petitions.

One petition is on defined benefit pension plans, with signatures from all over the country. The petitioners draw attention to the fact that the conversion of defined benefit pension plans to target benefit plans, or so-called shared-risk plans, strips pension benefits of legal protections.

The petitioners call on the government to reject any such change that would allow employers to renege on existing defined benefit pension promises, and instead move to improve the retirement security of the 62% of workers who do not have workplace pensions.

Canada Post

[Murray Rankin, NDP, Victoria, BC]

Mr. Speaker, the second petition is yet another one in this place calling for the government to restore home postal delivery. The signatures are from all over the cities of Victoria and Esquimalt, and the petitions are before the House for tabling.

Sex Selection

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

Mr. Speaker, I have two petitions today.

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

Abortion

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

Mr. Speaker, the second petition I bring today calls upon the House of Commons and Parliament assembled to speedily enact legislation that restricts abortion to the greatest extent possible.

Mr. Speaker, this is the last time I am going to be able to call you “Mr. Speaker”. We are going to miss you, but we wish you all the best.

Health

[Claude Gravelle, NDP, Nickel Belt, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to present petitions from dozens of people from the great riding of Nickel Belt. They are calling on the Government of Canada to work collaboratively with the Province of Ontario to defend and strengthen public health care for northerners, including reducing prescription drug costs, expanding public coverage for essential medication, focusing on disease prevention, and putting patients' needs first.

Since this is the last time that I will be rising in the House for this session, I want to thank the people of Nickel Belt for the last seven years. I look forward to the next four years.

Canada Post

[Alexandrine Latendresse, NDP, Louis-Saint-Laurent, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I am in the House today to present a petition to stop the cuts to our postal services.

I was able to collect the signatures of thousands of people. The petition today is smaller than the others, but I presented the petitions with the rest of the signatures earlier this week. It is very important to stand up for Canada Post and our postal services across the country, and to stop the completely unwarranted cuts that are now under way.