In addition, I am also tabling a document describing the procedure that applies in this case. The order in council is tabled on behalf of my colleague, the Minister of Foreign Affairs.
Act, the Cultural Property Export and Import Act, the Customs Act, the Employment Insurance Act, the Excise Tax Act, the Old Age Security Act, the Tax Court of Canada Act, the Tax Rebate Discounting Act, the Unemployment Insurance Act, the Western Grain Transition Payments Act and certain Acts related to the Income Tax Act.
(Motions deemed adopted, bill read the first time and printed.)
(Motions deemed adopted, bill read the first time and printed.)
(Motion deemed adopted and bill read the first time and printed.)
He said: Mr. Speaker, today I am reintroducing an amended version of my firearms law sunset act which I first introduced in this House on September 28, 1995. My bill is the total opposite of Bill C-68 and the regulations tabled by the Minister of Justice last week.
Bill C-68 and any subsequent decrees issued by the minister are based on his opinion and the false hope that they will somehow improve public safety.
The reason I say my bill is the opposite of Bill C-68 is that my firearms law sunset act is based on the premise that any gun control laws passed by the government should be automatically repealed after five years unless they can pass a public safety test administered by the auditor general.
The constitutionality of Bill C-68 is being challenged in court by four provinces and two territories. They are also opting out of the unreasonable burden of administering this federal boondoggle. My bill will be supported by people and politicians in these provinces.
Bill C-68 will guarantee that gun controls are both costly and ineffective, whereas my bill will guarantee that every gun control law has to be both successful and cost effective in saving lives and reducing the criminal use of firearms. People arguing against my bill would have to argue that they support gun control even if it does not work and no matter how much it costs.
(Motions deemed adopted, bill read the first time and printed.)
[Translation]
I table this petition before Parliament in the hope that a solution will be found to compensate for the loss of income of these 1,810 residents of the riding of Beauce and others as well.
[English]
The petitioners draw to the attention of the House that our police and firefighters place their lives at risk on a daily basis as they serve the emergency needs of all Canadians. They also state that in many cases the families of officers who are killed in the line of duty are often left without sufficient financial means to meet their obligations.
The petitioners therefore pray and call on Parliament to establish a public safety officers' compensation fund to receive gifts and bequests for the benefit of families of police officers and firefighters killed in the line of duty.
and caring for preschool children is an honourable profession which has not been recognized for its value to our society.
The petitioners therefore pray and call on Parliament to pursue initiatives to assist families that choose to provide care in the home for preschool children, the chronically ill, the aged or the disabled.
The petitioners draw to the attention of the House that consumption of alcoholic beverages may cause health problems or impair one's ability and specifically that fetal alcohol syndrome and other alcohol related birth defects are 100 per cent preventable by avoiding alcohol consumption during pregnancy.
The petitioners therefore pray and call on Parliament to enact legislation to require health warning labels to be placed on the containers of all alcoholic beverages to caution expectant mothers and others of the risks associated with alcohol consumption.
The petitioners request that the House of Commons enact legislation or amend existing legislation to define marriage as the voluntary union for life of one woman and one man to each other to the exclusion of all others.
The petitioners ask that the government amend the Criminal Code to allow for post-sentence supervision and/or detention of those involved in sexual offences against children, a public notification of sex offenders being released, a central registry including fingerprints that would be available to all people, a registry for life of those people convicted of this type of offence, a Criminal Code amendment to prohibit pardons and to prohibit for life all those convicted of sex offences against children from holding positions of trust and responsibility regarding children. It is a pleasure to present this petition.
(1515 )
Therefore, the petitioners request that Parliament direct the Government of Canada to hear them and to make their views known to the Government of Canada and that this Government of
Canada act to have the legislation take effect immediately and workers be reimbursed at the rate recommended.
The first petition is from concerned citizens who believe there is profound inadequacy in the sentencing practices concerning individuals convicted of impaired driving charges.
They therefore pray and request that Parliament proceed immediately with amendments to the Criminal Code that will ensure that the sentence given to anyone convicted of driving while impaired or causing injury or death while impaired reflects both the severity of the crime and zero tolerance by Canada toward this crime.
The petitioners humbly pray and call on Parliament to amend the appropriate laws to include corporal punishment as an alternate method of punishment for those adults who are repeat offenders and choose not to be governed by more conventional methods.
[Translation]
Your petitioners call upon Parliament to initiate proceedings to abolish the Senate, in spite of the fact that a motion to that effect has already been rejected by this House. Your petitioners argue as follows: they consider that the Senate consists of non-elected individuals who are not accountable for their actions; that the Senate's operating budget is $43 million annually; that the Senate refuses to account for these votes to committees of the House of Commons; that the Senate does not fulfil its mandate for regional representation; that the Senate duplicates the work done by members of the House of Commons; and that there is an urgent need for modern parliamentary institutions.
[English]
It states that the charter of rights and freedoms protects all Canadians, including those convicted of crimes. Victims of crimes require a specific right in the justice system as it is they, as members of society, for whom our laws are designed to protect. Our justice system must give victims specific rights as it does with the criminal to make our justice system fair for all.
Therefore, the petitioners call on Parliament to support the development of a national victims' bill of rights.
The petitioners state that in June 1996 the Prime Minister of Canada announced he would work toward diverting the Sable Island gas pipeline to Quebec City, that it is unacceptable for the Prime Minister to decide the destination of Nova Scotia natural gas without consulting Nova Scotians, that Nova Scotians assert their right to control the destination of Sable Island gas and demand that the federal government cease tampering in this issue.
The first petition asks Parliament not to proceed with the Liberal GST scheme or any other plan to further reduce the remaining corporate taxes at the expense of the middle class, working individuals and families.
The petition requests the government to undertake a fairer tax reform program so that consumers do not suffer even more financial insecurity and unfair costs at this critical time after receiving 47 tax increases from this Liberal government since it came into power in 1993.
(1520 )
The petitioners feel that they are being gouged at the pumps as well as with respect to propane for drying agricultural grain, for use in taxi cabs and in their homes for heating.
They ask the House of Commons and the Government of Canada to set up an energy price review commission to keep the price of gasoline, propane, home heating fuel and other energy products in check.
In the hopes of averting future violence, the petitioners ask that Parliament enact legislation which will prohibit the issuing of a gun permit for 12 months after the initial report of a threat of violence against a spouse regardless of whether that report is investigated or not.
The petitioners note that in Canada corporate contributions to public revenue are already the lowest among all major G-7 economies. It notes that the individual share of federal revenue has risen steadily while the corporation share has declined. It is very critical of the Liberal GST scheme announced in April this year that would add another $6 billion of corporate tax responsibilities to individuals.
Therefore, the petitioners call on Parliament to not proceed with the Liberal GST scheme or any other plan to further reduce the remaining corporate taxes at the expense of middle class working individuals and families.
Finally, they urge the Government of Canada to undertake a fair tax reform instead so that personal consumers do not suffer even more financial insecurity and unfair costs at this critical time.
The petitioners state that there are profound inadequacies in the sentencing practices concerning individuals convicted of impaired driving charges. Canada must embrace a philosophy of zero tolerance toward individuals who drive while impaired by alcohol or drugs. Victims of the crime of impaired driving must be given the highest priority as reflected by their statements prior to sentencing of anyone convicted of impaired driving. In the case of impaired driving causing death or injury, sentencing must reflect the severity of the crime.
The petitioners pray and request that Parliament proceed immediately with amendments to the Criminal Code that will ensure the sentence given to anyone convicted of driving while impaired or causing injury or death while impaired reflects both the severity of the crime and zero tolerance toward this crime.
The petition also points out that to heat a typical mobile home in Kamloops using propane costs about $75 a week as a result of these increased costs. It is a serious situation.
The petitioners call on the Government of Canada to take action, whether it is in the form of an energy price review commission or asking the combines investigation bureau to investigate, but to do something to bring some sense to the marketplace with regard to propane.
(1525 )
The petitioners point out that tax revenues from the corporate sector now account for less than 7 per cent of all national revenues, with the balance being paid by individuals. A few years ago it was on a 50:50 basis. Now it is on a 90 plus basis for individual Canadians.
The petitioners point out that this is wrong, unfair, unjust and needs to be reformed. They ask the Parliament of Canada to undertake a fair tax reform process so that consumers will not continue to suffer even more financial insecurity due to unfair costs at this critical time.
The petitioners say that it is inappropriate and unacceptable to remove the constitutionally acquired rights of minorities extended to them in 1949 when they joined Canada without their consent.
The petitioners say that removing the rights of minorities without their consent is totally unacceptable. It makes minority rights subject to the provincial legislature and, therefore, they are no longer constitutional rights.
Mr. Yves Rocheleau (Trois-Rivières, BQ): Mr. Speaker, I would like to draw your attention to the fact that on September 26, I put three questions on family trusts on the Order Paper and I have yet to receive a reply, although the Standing Orders provide for a maximum of 45 days. I am counting on your support to ensure that the parliamentary secretary concerned takes care of this case, because it a matter that is very much in the public's interest.
For instance, I asked how many family trusts have been recognized by the Liberal government since 1972; how much this represents in terms of assets and how much revenue the Canadian tax system had to forego as a result of the introduction of this tax shelter. That was one of the three questions.
I think that is of interest to all parliamentarians and all taxpayers in Canada and Quebec. I hope to receive a reply, especially considering the additional tax burden on all taxpayers, especially the neediest in our society. I think it is time to shed some light on the past and potential contributions of those who are in a better position to make them.
Mr. Stéphane Bergeron (Verchères, BQ): Mr. Speaker, on a point of order. I would like to draw your attention to the fact that on September 17, I had three questions entered on the Order Paper-Questions Q-802, Q-812 and Q-822-and I have yet to receive a reply, in spite of the fact that the 45 days provided for in the Standing Orders have now expired.
I shall reread them briefly, if I may, just to refresh the government's memory. Question Q-802 reads as follows:
Q-802-With regard to the total budget for the Department of Natural Resources, and for each year since the 1987 fiscal year: (a) how much (in actual figures) and what proportion (in percentages) of its research and development budgets have been invested in Quebec, (b) how much and what percentage have been invested in Ontario (including the Ontario side of the national capital region and excluding the Quebec side of the national capital region), (c) what economic spin-off effects have there been from the Candu reactors in Quebec, (d) what economic spin-off effects have there been in Ontario, and (e) what financial commitment has the department made to the neutrino detection project in Ontario, the Triumph project in British Columbia and to Chalk River, Ontario?The other two questions were complementary to this one. When can we expect a reply in your opinion?
[English]
Mrs. Kraft Sloan: Mr. Speaker, the House leader and the parliamentary secretary to the House leader are not in the House today. I will bring these concerns to their attention and they will advise me.
The Deputy Speaker: Shall the remaining questions stand?
Some hon. members: Agreed.