Peter Adams

[Petitions, October 23rd, 1996]

Madam Speaker, as further evidence of the ground swell of support for endangered species legislation and on behalf of the Endangered Species Coalition, I present 500 to 600 pages of signatures of petitioners, residents of Canada, who point out that the plight of endangered species in Canada is a national problem that continues to worsen; that there are compelling ecological, economic and ethical reasons to save Canada's irreplaceable wild species.

These petitioners call on Parliament to enact enforceable legislation that will protect Canada's endangered species.

[Endangered Species, October 21st, 1996]

Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Minister of the Environment.

There is great public concern about the steady extinction of species around the world. In Canada, this concern translates into massive support for legislation to protect endangered species.

Can the Minister of the Environment advise us when we will see the long awaited endangered species legislation in this House?

[Manganese-Based Fuel Additives Act, September 27th, 1996]

Mr. Speaker, I was disappointed in the Bloc member's argument. To use provincial versus federal technical arguments about jurisdiction with respect to an issue which involves the health of all Canadians strikes me as a very dangerous approach.

We are getting close to the end of the debate on this legislation which will effectively ban manganese in gasoline in Canada. I would remind the member opposite that manganese is a heavy metal. It gets into the environment. Once it is in the environment, in the ecosystem, it stays there.

The hon. member says that there are doubts. Very often in scientific studies it is difficult to prove something absolutely conclusively. If there are doubts about something that might be poisoning our children in the same way as years ago there were

doubts about lead, which was in gasoline, and how it affected us and our children, then we should err on the side of safety. Eventually it was proven that lead affects us and our children and legislation was passed, but that was after generations of young people had grown up and their brains had been affected by the lead. Use the precautionary principle and vote for this legislation.

I have spoken twice at some length in parts of this debate and I do not want to repeat all of those arguments. However, I rise now to point out to the member that in my riding of Peterborough we have many workers who work at the General Motors plants in Oshawa. They have come to me and explained very carefully the proven impact of manganese on the on-board emission control systems which are going into the modern vehicles they are producing and which they have to sell abroad competitively.

These automobiles are being produced with $2,000 or $3,000 worth of emission controls and we are filling them up with gasoline which has manganese in it. First of all, we damage these expensive items in our cars and then, because these systems control all the pollutants and not just manganese going into the environment, we damage the control systems. As a result we allow pollutants of all sorts which are in gasoline to get into the environment. This is not the case in the United States.

To the auto workers in my riding I would say this: The Canadian Automobile Association in my riding and nationally, which represents all the motorists in Canada, wants Bill C-29 to go through. The auto parts manufacturers, the people who make the computer-like emission control devices, want it to go through. That is in addition to all the people who are interested in the health of Canadians and to all of the people who are interested in the environment.

I would be most grateful if the member would search her heart and not use these technical, legal matters because of her position with respect to the separation of Quebec in an area which affects the health and environment of all Canadians.

[Fisheries, September 27th, 1996]

Mr. Speaker, I rise again to encourage the government in its efforts to develop sustainable domestic and international fish stocks management policies. We need to put our own house in order in the inland and marine fisheries so that we can ratify the United Nations convention on the law of the sea in the near future.

In the meantime, we should surpass the standards set by the FAO code of conduct for responsible fisheries.

We should also use all our influence to gain full international recognition for the agreement on straddling stocks and highly migratory fish.

The policies and achievements of the Minister of Fisheries and Oceans last year gave us a position of moral leadership in global fish stocks management. We should work to retain that position.

[Land Mines, September 25th, 1996]

Mr. Speaker, I congratulate the ministers of defence and foreign affairs and others on Canada's leadership in the worldwide campaign to ban land mines. I hope we continue to support the efforts of the Canadian Red Cross and Mines Action Canada to develop an effective international ban.

I also urge the government and the armed forces to support de-mining around the world. We should make particular efforts to develop effective techniques and technologies to remove the millions of land mines which kill and maim people around the world every day.

Expertise on these matters is available in Canada. Land mines, like gas and biological weapons, are inhuman and unacceptable in the modern world.

[Canada Games, September 19th, 1996]

Mr. Speaker, the city and county of Peterborough have submitted a bid for the 2001 Canada Games.

The bid is the result of months of work by hundreds of volunteers. It includes details of our sports facilities and of our expertise in sports management.

The bid points out that we have already hosted the Ontario Games for the Physically Disabled, the National Slo-Pitch Championships, the Memorial Cup Tournament and two Ontario Summer Games. We have decades of experience in hosting sports events.

This bid has the full support of the city and county councils, local municipalities, the Curve Lake First Nation and our sports organizations. The bid already has strong financial as well as moral backing.

Peterborough will ensure that the first Canada Games of the new century will be the best ever. I urge all members to support Peterborough's bid.

[Petitions, June 19th, 1996]

Madam Speaker, I have two petitions which I will summarize together, also from the citizens of Peterborough, concerning the profits made by criminals.

Currently Canadian law does not prohibit convicted criminals from profiting financially from writing books, setting up 1-900 numbers and producing videos, et cetera. Therefore, the petitioners pray that Parliament enact Bill C-205 introduced by the member for Scarborough West at the earliest opportunity so as to provide in Canadian law that no criminal profits from committing a crime.

[Petitions, June 19th, 1996]

Madam Speaker, I have a petition from citizens of Peterborough who are concerned about the resolution that the House received from the province of Newfoundland and Labrador to change the denominational school system in that province.

The legislature of Newfoundland passed a resolution calling for a constitutional amendment to remove the rights of denominational classes of persons to operate their own schools following a provincial referendum. These petitioners pray and request that Parliament not amend the Constitution as requested by the Government of Newfoundland and refer the problem of educational reform to that province and back to the Government of Newfoundland.

[Fish Stocks, June 18th, 1996]

Mr. Speaker, the government should vigorously pursue efforts to enshrine in international law Brian Tobin's efforts to save marine fish stocks.

Rising world demand, indiscriminate industrialized fishing and environmental changes have stressed global fish stocks to a critical level. This is not a problem that can be solved by any one nation working alone. International action, leading to truly global fish stocks legislation, is necessary.

While putting our own house in order, the Ministers of Fisheries and Oceans, Foreign Affairs and the Environment should continue to push vigorously for international laws to protect straddling fish stocks and highly migratory fish. Protection of particular stocks is a good first step toward global fish stocks management.

[Petitions, June 18th, 1996]

Mr. Speaker, I have another petition which is from the citizens of Peterborough.

They draw attention to the fact that section 327 of the James Bay Northern Quebec Agreement discriminates against James Bay Crees who no longer live in James Bay, Quebec by virtue of their not living there. The clause states that if the original inhabitants of James Bay, Quebec leave James Bay territory for longer than 10 years, they are no longer eligible for any benefits under the James Bay agreement.

The petitioners request that Parliament revoke section 327 of the James Bay Northern Quebec Agreement due to its contravening the Canadian Constitution of 1981.