Murray Calder

[National Horse of Canada Act, April 22nd, 2002]

moved that the bill be concurred in.

[National Horse of Canada, April 17th, 2002]

Mr. Speaker, as you know, the House is reviewing a bill that aims to recognize the Canadien Horse as Canada's national horse.

The Canadien Horse is a perfect symbol for Canadians. It is tough. It has infinite stamina for its small size but is very gentle by nature. Like all immigrants to this great land, throughout its long history in Canada it has adapted to Canadian conditions.

I understand that many of our colleagues have not had the opportunity to meet an example of this little iron breed of horse. I am pleased to announce that outside Centre Block this afternoon Canadien Horse carriage rides are being offered to all interested parliamentarians and their staff. All are welcome to join me for “Canadiens on the Hill” and come out and see this fine breed of Canadian horse.

[An Act to Amend the Criminal Code (Cruelty to Animals and Firearms) and the Firearms Act, April 11th, 2002]

My question for the member for Cypress Hills--Grasslands is very simple. Given that is the process, how does he think he can improve it, or does he think it works?

[An Act to Amend the Criminal Code (Cruelty to Animals and Firearms) and the Firearms Act, April 11th, 2002]

No, but it will have to be his case to charge in court.

[An Act to Amend the Criminal Code (Cruelty to Animals and Firearms) and the Firearms Act, April 11th, 2002]

Mr. Speaker, I think the member for Cypress Hills--Grasslands knows full well that as the chair of the national rural caucus I have repeatedly led the charge on trying to get a better deal from the government for rural Canada which includes farmers. The member for Selkirk--Interlake is a former RCMP officer. He will be able to tell the member for Cypress Hills--Grasslands whether or not what I am about to say is correct.

The member is talking about frivolous vexatious charges. The process that is laid out in Bill C-15A which would deal with the type of charges that could come from Bill C-15-B is very simple. If somebody does not like the way I am operating my chicken farm, he or she can go to a justice of the peace to lay a charge. The justice of the peace then takes the charge to the judge and the crown attorney. They look at the charge and say whether or not it will stand up in court. The member for Selkirk--Interlake knows full well from his past experience that a crown justice will not go to court unless he has a really good chance of winning the case.

[Statistics Act, April 9th, 2002]

Mr. Speaker, I am sorry about what we have heard today in this debate. We are in the House of Commons. I am elected member of parliament. There are 301 of us that are supposed to be here to do the will of the people.

We had a motion passed in the House over two years ago that stated the release of the 1911 census should be done. Has it been done? No. Has the will of the people been done? No.

We have already established the fact tonight in this debate that the Department of Justice and Statistics Canada have tried repeatedly to find public opinion that the census should not be released. They have failed miserably. Everything they have done has shown that there are 7.5 million people in Canada involved in geneology who would like to see this census released. That is the fact. The 92 year rule is still in effect. I believe it protects privacy. We have established that we are not breaking the law.

What does the public think? I will reinforce that. Industry Canada through StatsCanada, through Environics, went to members of the public to find out exactly what they were thinking on this issue, and they want the census released.

The House of Commons, 301 elected representatives of the people, passed a motion over two years ago passed to say that the census should be released. Industry Canada has tried and failed miserably each time to find a poll to say that the people do not want it released. The people want it released. I will ask one more time if I have unanimous consent to deem Bill C-312 votable.

[Statistics Act, April 9th, 2002]

moved that Bill C-312, an act to amend the Statistics Act and the National Archives of Canada Act (census records), be read the second time and referred to a committee.

Mr. Speaker, I am honoured to have the chance to debate Bill C-312. The bill aims to give researchers access to historic census records after 92 years.

At first glance one might think this is a very obscure matter, yet since I introduced the bill just over a year ago, my office has received petitions signed by more than 14,000 Canadians who call for the release of historic census records. If petitions received before the election are counted, then I have heard from more than 20,000 Canadians on this issue. A similar number of petitions have been received in the other place where there is an identical bill, S-12, coming up for third reading. Some hon. colleagues tell me that they have received more letters and e-mails on the historical census than any other issue.

With that much interest in the bill, it is very unfortunate it has not been deemed votable. I will be seeking the unanimous consent of the House to rectify this oversight and make C-312 votable. I hope all hon. members will agree that any matter resulting in over 20,000 names on petitions is of considerable public concern and should be put to a democratic vote in the House whether or not the members support the bill itself.

Why is there such an interest in this issue? There is an estimated 7.5 million Canadians engaged in geneology. Tracing one's family roots is one of Canada's most popular hobbies. For some, the Mormons for example, genealogical research is of religious importance.

The census is the only historic record that provides the information about family units rather than just individuals. It paints a portrait of Canada in a previous age, so it is a valuable tool to historians. It has been used to establish legal rights such as first nations treaty rights. Medical researchers have used the census to establish family relationships, a vital piece of information when studying genetically inherited diseases.

The census records up to and including the 1901 census are available to all Canadians on microfilm through the national archives and at many libraries and regional archives across Canada. In order to protect the privacy of living Canadians, census records have traditionally been kept confidential for 92 years before their public release. In fact this 92 year rule is actually spelled out in the regulations accompanying the Privacy Act which states under section 6( d ) that the archives may disclose information for research or statistical purposes “in cases where the information was obtained through the taking of a census or survey, and 92 years have elapsed following the census or survey containing the information”.

In other words, the 92 year rule proposed by Bill C-312 already has a basis in Canadian law for the censuses. There is nothing new about providing access to census records. There has never been a complaint about records up to and including the 1901 census being made available to the public. In fact Newfoundlanders already have access to much more recent censuses taken before the province joined confederation.

Why then is Bill C-312 even necessary? That is a very good question and one that has challenged legal minds.

I am a chicken farmer and not a lawyer, but here is one explanation. Statistics Canada has refused to turn over the National Archives records from the 1906 western Canadian census and the 1911 and other censuses. This is despite requests from the National Archives of Canada. As I said, I am a farmer, not a lawyer, but lawyers tell me that Statistics Canada is required by the National Archives of Canada to turn over such historically significant records to the archives. The archives then can release them to the public under existing legislation.

It is not just any lawyer saying this. In a confidential legal opinion from August 2000 a senior counsel at the Department of Justice, Ann Chaplin, concluded the following:

--the better view seems to be that the National Archivist has the authority to release pre-1918 census documents without seeking any legislative change.

She goes on to say however that the matter is not free from doubt for records after 1918 as a result of the Statistics Act passed that year. She suggests a minor legislative change for clarity. She also argues that there was no intention in the 1918 Statistics Act to change the previous policy on eventual release of records through the archives.

Why then Bill C-312? Given the intransigence of Statistics Canada on this matter, there needs to be legislative clarity. There has also been a concern raised about the privacy of individuals whose names appear in the census. Bill C-312 seeks to address that concern. It would allow an individual to object in writing to the release of information that would invade his or her privacy. In short, the bill is a compromise between the rights of Canadian researchers to have access to this historical treasure trove and the rights of individuals to protect their privacy.

The confidential legal opinion from justice is not the only word on this matter either. In 1999-2000 an expert panel consisting of respected academics and jurists studied the historic census question indepth at the request of the former minister of industry by the way. Its report was finally released in December 2000 after access to information requests. Obviously its recommendations were not to the liking of Statistics Canada. The report was clear in calling for the release of the historic census records. Most important, it unequivocally rejected the claim of Statistics Canada that there ever was a guarantee that census records would be kept confidential in perpetuity.

We have heard a lot from Statistics Canada about the so-called Laurier promise, but despite further access to information requests, it has not produced a shred of evidence of such a commitment to perpetual confidentiality.

Was there a broken promise? Yes, there was, but it is not the one to which Statistics Canada refers. The broken promise is the one contained in the census instructions of 1911 and other years that followed. It state:

The census is intended to be a permanent record and its schedules will be stored in the Archives of the Dominion.

There is the promise. That is the promise that has been broken by a stubborn Statistics Canada bureaucracy that has overstepped its authority and has taken on responsibility that properly belongs to the National Archives of Canada. It is for the archives to determine what is historic information and whether it can or cannot be released to the general public in accordance with any existing laws such as the Privacy Act. That has never been the role Statistics Canada.

The recommendations of the expert panel and the Department of Justice confidential legal opinion were still not enough to convince Statistics Canada to do what was required of it by law. Instead, it stonewalled and delayed again and again. This time it engaged the polling firm of Environics to conduct town halls and focus groups across Canada this past December and January. I have nothing against public consultation, but there already was extensive public consultation by the expert panel. Do we keep asking the question until we get the answer that we want? Is that what it is trying to do?

Opinion at Environics town halls was overwhelmingly in support of the public release of historic census records. Only a handful of people spoke against release and from what we can tell, these people were specifically invited to attend to present an opposing view. Even they, in at least one case, admitted that there was no confidentiality commitments made with respect to the 1906 and the 1911 censuses that should prevent their release

Surely there have been enough studies and consultations on this matter that we do not need any further delays. Historical and legal aspects have been extensively addressed, public consultations have also been extensive, and in the House in September 2000 a motion expressed clearly that the 1911 records should be released. That was a motion from the House of Commons of Canada, and Statistics Canada is still ignoring that.

Britain recently posted its 1901 census data on the Internet and the servers crashed due to the excessive demand. In the United States censuses are released after 72 years. In other countries that also make this information available there is no evidence of non co-operation with censuses as a result of that nor of public complaints.

To me it is inconceivable that census instructions in the early 1900s would have stated so clearly that the census was intended to be a permanent record and its schedule stored in the archives of the Dominion. If that was not intended, if the permanent confidentiality were intended, surely instructions would have been ordered to destroy the records. Destruction was never specified in census instructions or legislation. Actually it would be an act of vandalism against this Canadian historic treasure if the destruction was carried out.

The National Archives of Canada Act and the regulations of the Privacy Act already specify that historic census records should be turned over to the archives and released to the public after 92 years. That is already law.

As some suggest, this is not a case of retroactive legislation. Bill C-312 provides a mechanism for the orderly transfer of historic census records from Statistics Canada to the national archives. It removes the ambiguity by which Statistics Canada has withheld this historic treasure from the Canadian people. Most important, by allowing individuals to object to the release of their personal information it responds to concerns about provincial privacy. No doubt everyone here has heard from Canadians inside and outside their constituencies about how important this bill is to their efforts to connect to the pasts of their families.

With this amount of interest, I would urge that this House agree to the unanimous consent to make Bill C-312 votable and I urge all members to support it.

[National Horse of Canada Act, February 8th, 2002]

Well, I am sorry I stole it.

In the recently published book, Little Horse of Iron , Lawrence Scanlan concluded:

These sturdy horses, on whose powerful bodies the history of the nation has been etched, are our horses. For that reason alone, they deserve a future and not just a glorious past.

As I have said, the Canadian horse is very much a part of the history of Canada. We as Canadians need to have this as our national horse. I hope everybody in the House supports me.

[National Horse of Canada Act, February 8th, 2002]

moved that Bill S-22, an act to provide for the recognition of the Canadian Horse as the national horse of Canada, be read the second time and referred to a committee.

Mr. Speaker, it is with great honour that I rise to sponsor in the House of Commons this bill that has already received tremendous support in the other place. This is the third time around for me and I would like to thank those hon. colleagues who have worked with me to get Bill S-22 to where it is today.

The history of Canada is incomplete without the recognition of the role played by the Canadian horse. That is why today I ask the House to bestow on the Canadian horse an honour long overdue: its recognition as the national horse of Canada.

To many of us who grew up in the age of the automobile, it is easy to see a horse as just an elegant animal we pass on a drive through the countryside. Some of us have even ridden them for pleasure. As kids in Holstein, around the farm we had horses that we rode all the time.

These days, though, it is really hard to imagine the vital role that they played in the lives of our ancestors who first settled this nation. When we drive through the countryside we see huge tractors, combines and farm machinery. It is hard to visualize the day when there were multiple horse hitches pulling ploughs and binders and running treadmills that ran threshing machines. This was the history of the Canadian horse.

Confederation and later events that brought together the provinces of Canada remind us that the railway was built to unite this country from sea to sea. For more than two centuries prior to Confederation the Canadian horse played a role as least as important, if not more so. No other animal has worked so hard with our ancestors to build this country. Arriving first in New France from 1647 to 1670 from the stables of Louis XIV, they were instrumental to the success of the colony. They cleared the land. They ploughed the fields. They were ridden between remote communities. They pulled sleighs in the wintertime. They eased trade with New England and they themselves actually became a commodity of trade.

To the inhabitants, the Canadian horse was like family. In fact, history records that in 1757 when the settlers ran desperately low on food, the colonial officials told them to butcher the horses and eat them. The people were absolutely horrified. “We cannot eat our friends” they said. Such was the relationship between the colonists and their animals. Quite frankly it was a relationship of survival in the early days of this country.

At the time of the conquest in 1760, there were an estimated 12,750 horses in New France, descended from the original horses sent over by Louis XIV. As other parts of Canada were opened up, the Canadian horse also played a role in Ontario, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island and Manitoba. For instance, I have read the different history accounts within Ontario of the surveyors Rankin and Trainer, who surveyed the townships of Grey, Bruce, Huron, Wellington and on down into that area at the edge of Toronto into the regions of Peel and Dufferin. These horses were used to move supplies through very dense wooded areas in Ontario. They were able to help with the surveys that laid out the lots for the farms, which we see now as all open land as we drive through the countryside of Ontario, for instance. That was not the case when the Canadian horse first came to Canada.

They worked the fields of upper Canada. As I said, where I live in Grey county they helped the surveyors with their supplies. They also carried settlers westward to the Red River Valley of Manitoba. They hauled supply wagons across the prairies on the great march west. They were part of the Hudson's Bay Company overland transport system to Fort Edmonton. They later carried the North West Mounted Police to Fort Steele, British Columbia.

In short, they have had such an impact on the history of Canada that it seems to me mind-boggling that we have not done this before. They are definitely the national horse of Canada.

They have also been an ideal horse in battle because of their endurance. The Canadian horse carried our troops in the war of 1812 and again nearly a century later in the Boer war. Indeed, its ability in battle almost led to its extinction in the 19th century, when vast numbers were exported to the cavalry for the American civil war and after that the Indian wars. The Americans knew a good horse when they saw one.

We recognize this noble breed in the historic paintings of Cornelius Krieghoff, in the illustration of the rural life of Canada more than a century ago. This horse has left a lasting mark on our history.

The Canadian horse is a breed that has been developed here in Canada and has adapted itself to Canadian conditions. Its ancestors, primarily from Normandy and Brittany, in turn have ancestors that are Andalusians, Percherons, Clydesdales and other European horses.

Here in Canada it developed unique traits that remained virtually unchanged through the centuries. The cruel winters, the shortages of barns, hunger and the forces of natural selection led to the development of the shorter, sturdy breed with short ears and a thick mane. This hardy horse with almost infinite endurance is often called “the little iron horse”. It is a gentle natured, hard working, loyal and intelligent breed. In fact, that pretty well describes a Canadian. Our gentle nature is one of the values we as a country hold dear.

A story has been told of a wood merchant from Pennsylvania who bought a Canadian horse and harnessed it to the same pole as another horse 200 pounds heavier. According to the 1914 Breeders Gazette of Chicago, the Canadian always held up his end and never seemed to tire. Two years later, when the heavier horse died, the driver explained “that Canadian horse, he just worked him to death”. Another heavier horse was teamed with the Canadian and a year later it too died. The Canadian just kept on working.

That is something like the pioneers of this country. They put in probably close to 20 hours a day forming this great country of ours. They knew the merits of hard work, as the Canadian horse did, and these people worked side by each.

Historian and breeder Alex Hayward once commented on this horse's versatility and claimed that Canadian horses can do just about anything but dance. He was quickly straightened out by a girl from Guelph, Ontario, who wrote to him to say that her Canadian horses can in fact dance. I am not exactly sure what type of dance they do, but I will not dispute the fact that her horses do in fact dance.

Today it is a multi-purpose breed that can be used for work and pleasure. Its greatness, courage and endurance make it ideal for trail riding. Within my riding of Dufferin--Peel--Wellington--Grey, there are a number of breeders and they are very proud of this horse. It is a very smart horse to look at, with very clean lines. As I said, it is what we as Canadians hold very true.

Canadians were also the foundation stock for other breeds that are very prominent in our equine industry. For instance they are part of the base breeds for the Morgans, the standardbreds, the Tennessee walking horse and the American saddlebreds. All of them claim Canadian ancestry.

These were the horses that took the Americans through their conflict of the 1860s, the American civil war and the Indian wars after that. The pony express used some of these breeds as the United States opened up. It just goes to show that not only did the horse open up Canada, but the Americans used the same horse to open up their own nation.

Its numbers reached a peak of about 150,000 by the middle of the 19th century. Despite that, the American civil war took an enormous toll. Crossbreeding also reduced the numbers of the purebred Canadian horse and threatened it with extinction. Efforts have been made throughout the first half of the 20th century to restore the breed but again in the late 1970s the number of registered animals fell to less than 400.

Twice the Canadian horse almost came close to extinction. Twice it has rebounded, thanks to the dedication of the breeders in all parts of the country. I like to think it shows the resilience we have as Canadians and as a country when on the world stage we are looked upon by other countries as the builders of bridges and not fortification in our reputation as great peacekeepers.

Today there are more than 3,000 registered Canadian horses. It is no longer considered a rare breed. The federal government played a leading role in restoring this breed in the first half of the 20th century. A breeding farm was established at Cap-Rouge, Quebec in 1913. Many of today's Canadians can trace their ancestry to that federal effort. The program continued later at Saint-Joachim until 1940.

Breeders from across Canada tell me that national recognition will help raise the profile of the Canadian horse and will ensure its continued survival. I agree with them. This includes many breeders from Quebec where the breed was first developed. Quebec is home to about two-thirds of the horses today.

From Mission, B.C., Roxanne Salinas wrote to say:

I have raised horses for over 30 years, mostly Arabians, but it is only in the last few years that I learned of the Canadian horse. It saddens me to think that for so many years I knew nothing of its existence, and I hope that your national horse bill will help to change this for others. We need symbols of strength in this country. The Canadian horse is the perfect symbol--proud, strong and enduring--not a victim of his environment, but a true survivor and a hero.

A letter from Quebec said:

Thank you so much for your time and efforts in this cause. A truly Canadian symbol, the little iron horse.

From my own riding of Dufferin--Peel--Wellington--Grey, Brenda Pantling of Orton wrote:

One advantage to having the Canadian horse made a symbol of Canada...is the opportunity to use it as a tool when teaching Canadian history. What better way to interest young people in our history than to wrap it all up with a beautiful horse?

The Canadian horse is a symbol that can unite Canadians from one end of our country to the other. I note that breeders in Quebec and Ontario often work closely with their counterparts in British Columbia and Alberta. We cannot underestimate the importance of the symbols of our identity as Canadians. We recognize both officially and unofficially such animals as the beaver, the loon and the Canada goose. Our provinces recognize provincial flowers. Nationally we recognize the maple leaf.

It struck me that our other animal symbols are wild and indigenous to Canada. The Canadian horse by contrast is domesticated. As befitting a country of immigrants, it came from abroad and adapted itself to the harsh Canadian conditions. It is unique as a breed having been developed in this country. Our country also is unique.

Symbols draw on a nation's history. Just as the beaver was a source of the country's early trade, the Canadian horse was the engine of agriculture and on the land, a primary means of transportation. As a farmer today, I am proud of our agricultural heritage and the role of farming in Canada's development.

Canada would not be unique in recognizing a national horse. Peru recognizes the Paso and Mexico recognizes the Azteca for example.

Our choice of a national horse would be uniquely Canadian. No other horse can seriously make a competing claim as a Canadian symbol. As much as we acknowledge the local importance of the Newfoundland pony, I have had no opposition from the breeders of other horses. Instead, like Roxanne Salinas, the Arabian breeder I mentioned earlier, they offer encouragement, knowing that this is a boost to the equine industry as a whole.

This is my third attempt to get this bill passed. A former hon. colleague noted my determination and suggested that I might just have a little Canadian horse blood in me too. Maybe I have farmed too long and that is where the stubbornness comes from, but I think this is a very important piece of legislation. Members can form their own opinions.

I hope that at last my timing is right. Next week marks the start of the Chinese lunar new year which appropriately is the year of the horse.

[Agriculture, February 6th, 2002]

Mr. Speaker, my question is for the government House leader. This morning before the American senate finance committee U.S. trade representatives spoke about the possibility of launching an anti-dumping and countervail duty against Canadian farmers and the Canadian Wheat Board. What will the government do to protect our farmers?