Massimo Pacetti

[Committees of the House, May 13th, 2004]

Mr. Speaker, I rise on a point of order. Since the House is adjourning in the near future, I am asking for unanimous consent for the House to adopt my Motion No. 588 calling on the CRTC to include the RAI International channel in their basic cable or satellite service.

[Broadcasting Act, May 6th, 2004]

Mr. Speaker, can I state the members who are opposed to the unanimous consent?

[Broadcasting Act, May 6th, 2004]

Mr. Speaker, due to the simplicity of the bill and to speed up the process, I would like to ask the House if I could get unanimous consent. It is very simple. It is either yes or no.

[Broadcasting Act, May 6th, 2004]

Mr. Speaker, I rise on a point of order. The fact that the bill is so simple may I request the unanimous consent of the House?

[Broadcasting Act, May 6th, 2004]

moved for leave to introduce Bill C-526, an act to amend the Broadcasting Act.

Mr. Speaker, the bill is actually very simple. I am not sure whether to read the summary or just the amendment.

The summary indicates that we would like to amend the Broadcasting Act to require that the decisions and orders of the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission be made within six months after a public hearing. In other words, there is no legislation in the Broadcasting Act that a decision must be taken in a given time period when there is a request for licensing.

I would like to introduce an amendment that a decision be made within a six month delay, which I think is very reasonable.

(Motions deemed adopted, bill read the first time and printed)

[Premio Awards, April 29th, 2004]

Mr. Speaker, the Montreal chapter of the Canadian Italian Business Professional Association had its biannual Premio awards last April 17 in Montreal, which I had the great honour of attending.

The Premio is awarded to individuals of Italian origin or descent who distinguish themselves in business, humanitarian work and creativity, and have had great success in their respected fields.

I would like to extend my congratulations to the recipients of the Premio awards: Mr. Salvatore Parasuco, president of Parasuco Jeans Inc., winner of the Premio business award; Gemi Giaccari, assistant general manager of La Caisse Populaire Canadienne Italienne, winner of the Premio humanitarian award; and Nicola Ciccone, author, composer and singer, winner of the creativity award.

These outstanding individuals and their achievements in our society, be they social, economical or political, reflect the exceptional contribution made by the Italian community in my riding of Saint-Léonard--Saint-Michel as well as in the rest of the country.

[Petitions, April 1st, 2004]

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to rise today and have the honour to present to the House numerous petitions signed by close to 100,000 Canadians from not only my riding of Saint-Léonard—Saint-Michel but from across Canada.

The petitioners, myself and other Liberal members, are asking that the CRTC approve and grant a licence to RAI International, a 24 hour Italian language broadcaster, to the CRTC's digital eligible list.

On August 8, 2003, myself and other Canadian Italian community leaders deposited with the CRTC over 106,000 signatures, again a record number of signatures on a separate petition, along with more than 330 letters of support from Liberal members of Parliament and community leaders of Italian origin supporting the RAI International application.

With approximately 1.5 million Canadian citizens of Italian origin living in Canada, the CRTC cannot ignore this unprecedented level of support.

[RAI International, March 23rd, 2004]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to make a few corrections to an erroneous statement made yesterday by a Bloc Quebecois member concerning RAI International.

Since September 15, 2003, the CRTC has received applications to add 15 non-Canadian satellite services, including RAI International, to the list of eligible services.

Knowing that the Italian-Canadian community has led a very aggressive campaign supported by many Liberal members and several community leaders to have access to Italian cultural programming on a 24 hour a day basis, and knowing that a petition signed by over 106,000 people and over 330 letters were submitted to the CRTC, the minister—

[Haiti, February 19th, 2004]

Mr. Speaker, the situation in Haiti is very distressing. Many Haitians live in Canada—especially in my riding of Saint-Léonard—Saint-Michel. They still have many family members in Haiti.

Since Canada, in its most recent throne speech, made a commitment to play an important role in resolving crises that emerge on the international scene, can the minister tell this House and all Canadians what kind of leadership role he intends to take in order to arrive at a swift and peaceful resolution of the national crisis affecting the people of Haiti?

[Petitions, February 18th, 2004]

Mr. Speaker, I have two petitions on the same matter from people in my constituency and the rest of the Island of Montreal.

The petitioners want to draw the attention of the House to the following: that members of the House of Commons affirmed on June 8, 1999, by vote of 216 to 55, 'That in the opinion of this House, it is necessary, in light of public debate around recent court decisions, to state that marriage is and should remain the union of one man and one woman to the exclusion of all others, and Parliament will take all necessary steps within the jurisdiction of the Parliament of Canada to preserve this definition of marriage in Canada'; and that marriage is an institution which pre-exists the state because it is based on profound human need for having children and continuing the family from generation to generation; and that marriage is a unique social institution which provides a supportive relationship between a woman and a man in which, together, they create the most successful environment for the rearing of children; and that marriage is an institution so basic to the human condition and the common good that its nature is beyond the reach of civil law to change.

The petitioners call upon Parliament to take all necessary means to maintain and support the above definition of marriage in Canada.