John Rafferty

[Petitions, March 27th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, I have a petition in which the petitioners call upon the Government of Canada to recognize animals as sentient beings that can feel pain, to move animal cruelty crimes from the property section of the Criminal Code, and to strengthen the language of federal animal cruelty law in order to close loopholes that allow abusers to escape penalty.

[Energy Safety and Security Act, March 25th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, listening to the member say that unlimited liability is a good situation in the case of negligence sort of begs this question. What is his definition of negligence? If there is a huge oil spill and an agent or employee of the company caused that problem, does that mean the company is negligent, or is negligence, in his definition, simply the case where a company does something on purpose that is wrong or goes bad?

I wonder if he could expand on what he means by negligence.

[Petitions, March 25th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to present a number of petitions, all on the same subject, signed by thousands, perhaps even tens of thousands, of Canadians concerned about the violence toward transit operators. It deals with a bill that I have put forward, and the petitioners call on the government to enact the bill to ensure that we do all we can to protect transit operators from coast to coast to coast.

[Questions Passed as Orders for Returns, March 24th, 2014]

With regard to the nine regional offices of Veterans Affairs that are to be closed by February 2014 (Charlottetown, Corner Brook, Sydney, Windsor, Thunder Bay, Kelowna, Prince George, Saskatoon, and Brandon): what are the total operating costs by year for each office from 2009-2012?

[Questions Passed as Orders for Returns, March 6th, 2014]

With regard to the Department of Veterans Affairs, what was the amount and percentage of all “lapsed spending” in the department, broken down by year from 2005 to 2013?

[Questions on the Order Paper, March 6th, 2014]

With regard to the Department of Veterans Affairs, what criteria were used to determine which regional Veterans Affairs offices would be closed by February 2014, as announced in the 2012-2013 budget?

[Petitions, March 5th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, the last petition calls on the government to enshrine in legislation the inalienable right of farmers and other Canadians to save, reuse, select, exchange, and sell seeds.

[Petitions, March 5th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, in the second petition, the petitioners call on the government to restore funding for and to reopen Veterans Affairs Canada offices.

[Petitions, March 5th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, I have two petitions signed by Canadians from across southern Ontario.

First, the petitioners call on the Minister of Health to label alcohol containers, advising that there is no safe amount of alcohol to drink during pregnancy, and that consuming alcohol during pregnancy may cause brain damage to a developing child.

[Consumer Protection, February 26th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, in my riding, across northern Ontario, and in communities coast to coast to coast, ever increasing gas prices are a top concern for financially squeezed families. The government refuses to act to ensure a competitive marketplace with fair pricing. Gas prices have jumped 20¢ a litre in just the past three years, an 18% hike, while wages just have not kept up.

When will the Prime Minister finally support the NDP's call for a gas price watchdog?