Madam Speaker, we have no objection to the vote being held at 6 p.m. rather than 6.30 p.m. It should have been clearly stated when it was presented to the House that consent had been reached by all the whips.
House of Commons photoWon his last election, in 2011, with 69% of the vote.
Department Of Human Resources Development Act November 9th, 1995
Madam Speaker, we have no objection to the vote being held at 6 p.m. rather than 6.30 p.m. It should have been clearly stated when it was presented to the House that consent had been reached by all the whips.
Department Of Human Resources Development Act November 9th, 1995
Madam Speaker, I did not want to interrupt my colleague, but I have just consulted with the official opposition and we have contravened one of the rules in the House.
According to Standing Order 45(6)(a), a division deferred on Thursday is not held on Friday but is instead deferred to the next sitting day at the ordinary hour of adjournment.
The government whip did not consult with or get the consent of our party. Nor did he get the consent of the official opposition in deferring the vote.
Manganese Based Fuel Additives Act November 9th, 1995
Madam Speaker, as I have listened to the debate over the past few days one thing has become abundantly obvious. We need to do more research. The evidence, as the hon. member said, reflects people on one side saying one thing and people on the other side saying another thing.
I appeal to the government to support the amendment my colleague from Athabasca has made. We should give some time to it. The Americans are studying it. We need to look at it some more. It would be a great disservice to Canadians to quickly rush the bill through the House. There is nothing wrong with accepting the amendment and looking at this matter a little more.
If we look at the evidence presented in committee it becomes quite clear we need to look at this a lot more. I hope the government will listen to reason and support the amendment.
Manganese Based Fuel Additives Act November 7th, 1995
Madam Speaker, a point of order.
The hon. member referred to some studies that included all vehicles in Canada. I wonder if he is willing to table those studies so we can all take a look at them. I am not aware of them and it is very important for the House to have that material available so we can examine the evidence.
National Housing Act November 7th, 1995
Mr. Speaker, I am amazed at how the member can avoid the question we are asking. The member went through all this rhetoric, made all these comparisons between Canada and Haiti as if the Liberals somehow can take credit for the standard of living that we enjoy.
We have posed a question, which I will pose again to the member. Who is left with the tab? Who is going to be on the hook for $150 billion if the economy turns down? If we go into hard times, who is going to be responsible for the billions of dollars in defaulted payments if this goes on?
The member has avoided that question. He has to answer the question before the debate can conclude.
Small Business Loans Act October 26th, 1995
Mr. Speaker, I want to clarify some of the accusations that came this way. We were not laughing at the minister. What we were laughing at is the fact that the Liberals have frittered that infrastructure money away on all kinds of pork barrel operations. Now when a highway needs to be built, there is no money left.
I would like the minister to comment on why that infrastucture money was not used for true infrastructure.
Petitions October 25th, 1995
Mr. Speaker, I should like to present a second petition on behalf of 796 concerned citizens from my riding of Yorkton-Melville regarding S-241 of the Criminal Code of Canada which was enacted to protect all individuals. If S-241 were struck down or amended, protection to the disabled, the terminally ill, the depressed, the chronically ill and the elderly would no longer exist and our most vulnerable members of society would feel an implied pressure to end their lives.
Therefore, the House is urged not to repeal or amend S-241 of the Criminal Code and to uphold the Supreme Court of Canada decision of September 30 to disallow assisted suicide or euthanasia.
Petitions October 25th, 1995
Mr. Speaker, I have two separate petitions to present.
The first one is signed by constituents of the Yorkton-Melville riding concerned about the port of Churchill. They feel that the full utilization of the port of Churchill will improve the economy not only of the province of Saskatchewan but of Canada as well. There is a need to develop a strategy to utilize this important seaport to ship other exports as well as grain.
Therefore they urge that the upcoming shipping season usage of the port of Churchill be maximized at the very least to 5 per cent of Canada's annual grain shipment.
Criminal Code October 25th, 1995
moved for leave to introduce Bill C-354, an act to amend the Criminal Code (transmission of HIV).
Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to introduce my second private member's bill today, seconded by the hon. member for Crowfoot and co-sponsored by a number of my colleagues.
If passed by Parliament, my bill will improve the possibility of obtaining a criminal conviction of anyone who knowingly infects another person with HIV, thereby exposing the victim to the fear and risk of contracting AIDS and certain death if he or she does.
If enacted, my bill will create two new offences related to wilful or reckless acts by a person infected with HIV or a person who has AIDS. If the act results in infection with HIV, the offence is criminal infection, with a maximum sentence of imprisonment for life, the same maximum penalty now imposed for manslaughter. The rationale is that victims infected with HIV face a life of fear of contracting AIDS and certain death if they do. In the event the infection with HIV is not proven, the offence is reckless infective behaviour, punishable by imprisonment for up to seven years.
Consent is often an issue in prosecutions under other provisions of the Criminal Code, and this creates problems for the courts. For example, the question of whether a victim consents-
Gun Control October 24th, 1995
Mr. Speaker, last Thursday the Ontario Provincial Police Association at its annual meeting voted on a motion to not support Bill C-68, the gun control bill. That motion passed nearly unanimously.
We have been saying all along that the frontline police do not support the justice minister's bill and yet he repeatedly says he is bringing in the gun registration and that the police requested it.
Now that it is obvious the police oppose gun registration, will he act on the wishes of the police even though they conflict with his personal views?