House of Commons Hansard #339 of the 42nd Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament's site.) The word of the day was post.
Patty Hajdu LiberalMinister of Employment
Mr. Speaker, our government firmly believes in the collective bargaining process because we know that when parties work out a deal themselves, that deal is in the best interest of both parties.
I have been working closely with the Minister of Procurement and we are monitoring the impact of the labour disruption. I spoke with both the employer and the union this morning, and we encourage them to continue to negotiate and look for the deal.
Kevin Lamoureux LiberalParliamentary 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.
Larry Bagnell Liberal Yukon, YT
Mr. Speaker, I have the honour to present, in both official languages, the 72nd report of the Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs in relation to Bill C-76, an act to amend the Canada Elections Act and other acts and to make certain consequential amendments. The committee has studied the bill and has decided to report the bill back to the House with amendments.
As we can understand, this project, with over 400 clauses, was huge. It took us over a year and there are many people to thank. I would like to thank the clerk, Andrew Lauzon; legislative clerk, Philippe Méla; researcher, Andre Barnes; the former chief electoral officer who, with his years of experience, provided the committee with 130 recommendations; the new Chief Electoral Officer and his very experienced professional staff; officials from the PCO; the minister's staff and parliamentary secretaries. I have high praise for all of the PROC committee members of all parties. During committee debate of over 300 proposed amendments, MPs from all five parties spoke and were all very professional and respectful of each other's views, even when they disagreed.
With years of wisdom from Elections Canada, the PCO, 57 witnesses, the department and ministry, parliamentary secretaries and MPs from all parties, we report a bill that we sincerely feel will greatly improve and facilitate voting and the electoral system in the dramatically changing digital world.
Pursuant to Standing Orders 104 and 114, I have the honour to present, in both official languages, the 73rd report of the Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs regarding the membership of committees of the House, and I would like to move concurrence at this time.
The Speaker Liberal Geoff Regan
Does the hon. member have the unanimous consent of the House to move the motion?
Procedure and House AffairsCommittees of the HouseRoutine Proceedings
Some hon. members
Agreed.
The Speaker Liberal Geoff Regan
The House has heard the terms of the motion. Is it the pleasure of the House to adopt the motion?
Procedure and House AffairsCommittees of the HouseRoutine Proceedings
Some hon. members
Agreed.
Mark Strahl Conservative Chilliwack—Hope, BC
Mr. Speaker, I believe if you seek it, you would find unanimous consent for the following motion:
That, at the conclusion of today's debate on the opposition motion in the name of the member for Charlesbourg—Haute-Saint-Charles, all questions necessary to dispose of the motion be deemed put and a recorded division deemed requested and deferred until Tuesday, October 23, 2018, at the expiry of the time provided for Government Orders.
The Speaker Liberal Geoff Regan
Does the hon. member have the unanimous consent of the House to move the motion?
The Speaker Liberal Geoff Regan
The House has heard the terms of the motion. Is it the pleasure of the House to adopt the motion?
Garnett Genuis Conservative Sherwood Park—Fort Saskatchewan, AB
Irene Mathyssen NDP London—Fanshawe, ON
Mr. Speaker, I have two petitions to present.
The first is in support of postal banking, because nearly two million Canadians desperately need an alternative to payday lenders due to the crippling lending rates that affect the poor, marginalized, rural and indigenous communities. There are 3,800 Canada Post outlets in existence where there are few or no banking systems and Canada Post already has the infrastructure to make a rapid transition to postal banking.
Therefore, the petitioners call upon the Government of Canada to enact my motion, Motion No. 166, to create a committee to study and propose a plan for postal banking under the Canada Post Corporation.
Irene Mathyssen NDP London—Fanshawe, ON
Mr. Speaker, my second petition is to protect the Thames River system. As we will recall, the Conservative government stripped environmental regulations covered by the Navigable Waters Protection Act. It left hundreds of rivers vulnerable, including the Thames River in London.
The Liberal government promised but failed to reinstate the environmental protections that were gutted from the original act. Therefore, the petitioners are calling upon the Government of Canada to support my bill, Bill C-355, which would commit the government to prioritize the protection of the Thames by amending the Navigation Protection Act.
Borys Wrzesnewskyj Liberal Etobicoke Centre, ON
Mr. Speaker, pursuant to Standing Order 36, I have the honour of presenting a petition. The petitioners express grave concern about the illegal international harvesting of organs, as documented by the Nobel Peace Prize-nominated David Matas and David Kilgour. They call for a stop to the barbaric practice of harvesting and trafficking in human organs and body parts.
The petitioners urge Parliament to adopt Bills C-350 and S-240. These bills, which are based on Bill C-500 and Bill C-381, which I previously introduced in 2008 and 2009, would make it illegal to obtain organs or body parts from unwilling donors or as part of a financial transaction.
Elizabeth May Green Saanich—Gulf Islands, BC
Mr. Speaker, I rise today to present a petition. It is e-petition 1689. The petitioners seek to have this House move to deal with the ongoing issue of the use of animals in testing for drugs. The petitioners point out that increasing evidence in scientific studies shows that the claim that this is necessary or appropriate runs against the best science and that animals do not make an appropriate model for humans in terms of the use of the medications as tested.
The petitioners call on the House of Commons to organize a full scientific review and debate, judged by independent experts, to assess whether there is a real need for using animals in testing drugs intended for humans.
Mark Warawa Conservative Langley—Aldergrove, BC
Mr. Speaker, I am honoured to present two petitions.
The first is a petition from REAL Women, an organization of women and men who support faith-based groups that are being discriminated against. The petition is signed by hundreds of constituents, and it highlights the need to protect religious beliefs and conscience rights, both in public and private acts.
The petitioners are calling on Parliament to deal with the issue of religious rights and conscience protection.
Mark Warawa Conservative Langley—Aldergrove, BC
Mr. Speaker, the second petition highlights that before the 2015 federal election, Canadians were clearly promised, in writing, that defined benefit plans that had already been paid for by the employers and pensioners would not be retroactively changed to targeted benefit plans.
Bill C-27, tabled by the finance minister, would precisely permit this change, therefore jeopardizing the retired income security of Canadians who have negotiated defined benefit plans as a form of deferred wages. Therefore, the petitioners are calling on the Government of Canada to withdraw Bill C-27 to amend the Pensions Benefits Standards Act.
David Tilson Conservative Dufferin—Caledon, ON
Mr. Speaker, I have a petition signed by constituents from Dufferin—Caledon who call upon Parliament to encourage the Canadian government to work with the Government of Israel to facilitate the completion of sponsorship applications for asylum seekers from Africa so that they can immigrate to Canada as soon as possible.
Kevin Lamoureux LiberalParliamentary Secretary to the Leader of the Government in the House of Commons
Mr. Speaker, I would ask that all questions be allowed to stand.