House of Commons Hansard #425 of the 42nd Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament's site.) The word of the day was news.
Larry Bagnell Liberal Yukon, YT
Mr. Speaker, if the House gives its consent, I move that the 95th report of the Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs, presented in the House earlier today, be concurred in.
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.
The Speaker Liberal Geoff Regan
Presenting petitions, the hon. member for Calgary Nose Hill, to whom we want to offer congratulations for her recent nuptials.
Michelle Rempel Conservative Calgary Nose Hill, AB
Thank you, Mr. Speaker, I will convey that to my new spouse.
I am here today to table a petition on behalf of my community. Many people have expressed their extreme displeasure, which I share, with the state of the equalization formula in Canada. Given that the government has tabled punitive legislation against Alberta's energy sector, many people feel the equalization formula is no longer justified in its current state.
The petitioners therefore ask the government to cancel Bill C-69 and to launch a study into the economic impact of the equalization formula.
Guy Caron NDP Rimouski-Neigette—Témiscouata—Les Basques, QC
Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to present a petition to the House that calls on the government to make access to employment insurance more universal.
I want to remind members that 35% of unemployed women and 52% of unemployed men who contribute to EI are not eligible for EI benefits.
The petition calls on the government to enhance the current EI system to ensure universal access by lowering the eligibility threshold to 350 hours or 13 weeks, establishing a minimum threshold of 35 weeks of benefits, and increasing the benefit rate to 70% of salary based on the best 12 weeks of salary.
These are just a few of the measures proposed in this petition, which has been signed by people from many regions of Quebec.
Raj Saini Liberal Kitchener Centre, ON
Mr. Speaker, I have a petition signed by over 1,500 people from across the Kitchener-Waterloo region and from communities as far away as Vancouver and even Yellowknife.
The petitioners call upon the House to support Bill S-214 and ban the sale and manufacture of animal-tested cosmetics and their ingredients in Canada. They note that doing so would harmonize our cosmetic safety regulations with those of the EU and other nations that have already switched to using alternative safety tests, like India, Switzerland and New Zealand.
This petition has been duly certified and I am proud to affix my signature and endorse it.
James Bezan Conservative Selkirk—Interlake—Eastman, MB
Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to present e-petition 2126 with almost 750 names on it. It is in support of my private member's bill, Bill C-266, the respecting families of brutalized persons act.
As members will recall, individuals convicted of abducting, sexually assaulting and murdering currently can get parole at year 23. The petitioners call on Canada to pass the bill to give the courts the power to increase parole ineligibility to 40 years to ensure that families of victims are not revictimized. The bill is fair, just and compassionate.
Paul Manly Green Nanaimo—Ladysmith, BC
Mr. Speaker, it is an honour today to present two petitions.
The first petition calls upon the House of Commons to adopt a national poverty elimination strategy, thereby ensuring Canadians a suitable quality of life and opportunity to succeed.
Paul Manly Green Nanaimo—Ladysmith, BC
Mr. Speaker, the second petition comes from youth, asking for more to be done to avert disastrous climate change.
Young petitioners and those who care deeply about youth call upon the House of Commons to take meaningful steps to support the future of young Canadians and to fulfill Canada's obligation under the Paris agreement by adopting a detailed climate action strategy that includes science-based targets for greenhouse gas reduction, with a plan to meet them, including but not limited to eliminating fossil fuel subsidies; implementing a comprehensive and steadily rising national carbon price beyond 2022 that rises to $150 a tonne by 2030; and redirecting investments into renewable energy systems, energy efficiency, low-carbon transportation and job training.
Pat Kelly Conservative Calgary Rocky Ridge, AB
Mr. Speaker, I am delighted to table a petition, which calls upon the government to reverse its decision to change the medical questionnaire that has resulted in making it more difficult for veterans to access treatment for PTSD. This issue was brought to my attention by the Budd family, constituents of mine.
The petition is signed by a number of my constituents and people across the Calgary region.
Sheri Benson NDP Saskatoon West, SK
Mr. Speaker, I have the honour today to table two petitions from people in Saskatchewan both from rural and urban centres. It is about recognizing the inherent rights of farmers.
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. In addition, they call upon the Government of Canada to refrain from making any regulations under the Plant Breeders Rights Act that would further erode farmers' rights and/or add to farmers' costs by restricting or eliminating the farmers' privileges.
MaryAnn Mihychuk Liberal Kildonan—St. Paul, MB
Mr. Speaker, I have three petitions today.
The first petition calls on governments to finally complete the building of a water treatment facility for Shoal Lake 40, a community that has waited over 100 years for road access. While Winnipeg enjoys the water and freedom, they are left stranded. Now they are looking for a water treatment plant.
The petitioners, mostly from my riding in Winnipeg, are calling for the water treatment plant to be built.
MaryAnn Mihychuk Liberal Kildonan—St. Paul, MB
Mr. Speaker, I have two petitions related to indigenous artifacts.
The petitioners ask that we try to retain these artifacts in Winnipeg. Residents from Kildonan—St. Paul and other Canadians call on us to find a home for these artifacts in Winnipeg.
Erin Weir Independent Regina—Lewvan, SK
Mr. Speaker, today, Bill S-214, which would ban the sale and manufacture of cosmetics using animal testing, was debated in the House for the first time.
I am pleased to present more than 2,400 petition signatures, collected at The Body Shop in Regina's Southland Mall, in support of the legislation.
It is disappointing that the legislation was not brought forward in the House of Commons earlier, but I hope the next Parliament will take account of the strong public support for a ban on animal testing.
Cathay Wagantall Conservative Yorkton—Melville, SK
Mr. Speaker, I am presenting a petition today on behalf individuals from Prince George and Chilliwack; B.C.; Lloydminster, Alberta; and Churchbridge, Saskatchewan. They present the petition as a result of watching a CBC documentary, revealing that ultrasounds are being used in Canada to tell the sex of an unborn child so expectant parents can choose to terminate the pregnancy if the unborn child is a girl. An Environics poll found that 92% of Canadians believe sex-selected pregnancy termination should be illegal.
The Society of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists of Canada and the Canadian Association of Radiologists strongly oppose the non-medical use of fetal ultrasound. There are over 200 million girls missing worldwide. This gendercide has created a global gender imbalance crisis, resulting in violence and human trafficking of girls. The three deadliest words in the world are “It's a girl”.
The petitioners therefore call upon Canada's Parliament to support legislation that would make sex selection illegal.
Denis Paradis Liberal Brome—Missisquoi, QC
Mr. Speaker, Canada and the United States share many lakes and waterways. This includes two in my riding, Lake Champlain and Lake Memphremagog, and one in the riding of my colleague from Kenora, Lake of the Woods.
The petitioners want the Canada-U.S. Boundary Waters Treaty to be amended so as to include environmental standards. They are therefore calling on the Minister of Foreign Affairs to respond to this petition and begin the process of working with her American counterparts to amend the Boundary Waters Treaty to ensure it includes environmental standards.
Elizabeth May Green Saanich—Gulf Islands, BC
Mr. Speaker, it is an honour to present a petition from residents of Saanich—Gulf Islands, most particularly those located around Brentwood Bay and Pender Island.
Residents on the Saanich Inlet and surrounding it have been asking the federal government for some time to designate Saanich Inlet a zero sewage discharge zone. I note parenthetically that some know there has been an issue in Victoria, but this is totally different. There is no sewage discharge, but we have a problem with boats in the area of some local residents.
Again, a zero discharge zone is being requested from the Government of Canada.
Garnett Genuis Conservative Sherwood Park—Fort Saskatchewan, AB
Mr. Speaker, I have three petitions to present today. The first has to do with Bill S-240 on organ trafficking, which is currently before the Senate.
Garnett Genuis Conservative Sherwood Park—Fort Saskatchewan, AB
Mr. Speaker, the second petition is in support of the Sikh and Hindu minority in Afghanistan.
The petitioners call on the government to do more to provide support to them.
Garnett Genuis Conservative Sherwood Park—Fort Saskatchewan, AB
Mr. Speaker, the third petition is also in support of Bill S-240 on the issue of organ trafficking, which is currently before the Senate.
Nathaniel Erskine-Smith Liberal Beaches—East York, ON
Mr. Speaker, I present petition e-2071 signed by thousands of Canadians who note that the World Health Organization's International Agency for Research on Cancer recently classified processed meat as a class 1 carcinogen.
The petitioners note the science underscoring the Canada food guide and call on the Government of Canada to make healthy food affordable by redirecting subsidies to ensure that healthier, organic, plant-based food is affordable for everyone, in particular for indigenous and low-income communities; and to ensure that government assistance and subsidies are shifted to the industries in agriculture that form the basis of the science in our food guide.