CANADA House of Commons Debates VOLUME 142 Ï NUMBER 076 Ï 2nd SESSION Ï 39th PARLIAMENT OFFICIAL REPORT (HANSARD) Thursday, April 10, 2008 Speaker: The Honourable Peter Milliken CONTENTS (Table of Contents appears at back of this issue.) Also available on the Parliament of Canada Web Site at the following address: http://www.parl.gc.ca 4721 HOUSE OF COMMONS Thursday, April 10, 2008 The House met at 10 a.m. (Motion agreed to) Prayers ROUTINE PROCEEDINGS [English] Ï (1005) [English] INTERPARLIAMENTARY DELEGATIONS The Speaker: The Chair has notice of a question of privilege The Speaker: I have the honour to lay upon the table a report of from the hon. member for Charlottetown. an official visit for the 15th Canada-Mexico Inter-Parliamentary Meeting held at Mazatlan, Mexico, from February 17 to 19, 2008. PRIVILEGE *** RCMP DEPUTY COMMISSIONER BARBARA GEORGE Hon. Shawn Murphy (Charlottetown, Lib.): Mr. Speaker, on COMMITTEES OF THE HOUSE February 12 of this year, I, on behalf of the House of Commons SCRUTINY OF REGULATIONS Standing Committee on Public Accounts, tabled in the House the Mr. Rob Moore (Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of third report of that committee. In the report, the committee was of the Justice and Attorney General of Canada, CPC): Mr. Speaker, I unanimous opinion that then RCMP Deputy Commissioner Barbara rise today on behalf of the Minister of Justice to table, in both official George provided false and misleading testimony to the committee on languages, the government's response to the report of the Standing February 21, 2007, and the committee further recommended that the Joint Committee on Scrutiny of Regulations. House find her in contempt and that no further action be taken. INTERNATIONAL TRADE Marleau and Montpetit, on page 862, state: Mr. Lee Richardson (Calgary Centre, CPC): Mr. Speaker, —the refusal to answer questions or failure to reply truthfully may give rise to a charge of contempt of the House, whether the witness has been sworn in or not. today I have the honour to present, in both official languages, the fourth report of the Standing Committee on International Trade on I rise today on a question of privilege. Based upon the unanimous the Canada-EFTA free trade agreement. Pursuant to its mandate report of the committee, I would ask that you find that a prima facie under Standing Order 108(2), the committee has studied the free case of contempt has been established. Should you so rule, Mr. trade agreement between Canada and the states of the European Free Speaker, I would then be prepared to make the appropriate motion. Trade Association: Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland. The Speaker: I have heard the hon. member for Charlottetown and his submissions. I understand that the report he has tabled on this This is the first agreement to be tabled in the House of Commons matter from the Standing Committee on Public Accounts was a under the federal government's new policy of allowing members of unanimous report of the committee and accordingly I am prepared to Parliament the opportunity to review and debate international treaties find there is a prima facie case of privilege and will allow him to in the House of Commons for 21 days. move a motion. *** Hon. Shawn Murphy: Mr. Speaker, I move, seconded by the Ï (1010) member for Edmonton—St. Albert: PETITIONS That the House of Commons find Barbara George in contempt of Parliament for providing false and misleading testimony to the House of Commons Standing INCOME TRUSTS Committee on Public Accounts on February 21, 2007; and that the House of Commons take no further action as this finding of contempt is, in and of itself, a very Mr. Paul Szabo (Mississauga South, Lib.): Mr. Speaker, I am serious sanction. pleased to again present an income trust broken promise petition on The Speaker: Is it the pleasure of the House to adopt the motion? behalf of a very large number of Canadians, all from the province of Alberta, who remember the Prime Minister boasting about his Some hon. members: Agreed. apparent commitment to accountability when he said that the greatest The Speaker: I declare the motion carried. fraud is a promise not kept. 4722 COMMONS DEBATES April 10, 2008 Routine Proceedings The petitioners remind the Prime Minister that he promised never wrong. They ask Parliament to amend the Old Age Security Act to to tax income trusts, but he broke that promise by imposing a 31.5% eliminate the 10 year residency requirement and to work with punitive tax which permanently wiped out over $25 billion of the provincial governments to waive the enforcement of sponsorship hard-earned retirement savings of over two million Canadians, obligations in situations of genuine immigration sponsorship break- particularly seniors. down involving a senior. The petitioners therefore call upon the government to admit that I am pleased to present these petitions on behalf of my the decision to tax income trusts was based on flawed methodology constituents. and incorrect assumptions, as shown in the finance committee; second, to apologize to those who were unfairly harmed by this ASBESTOS broken promise; and finally, to repeal the punitive 31.5% tax on income trusts. Mr. Pat Martin (Winnipeg Centre, NDP): Mr. Speaker, I have a INDUSTRIAL HEMP petition here from thousands of Canadians from right across the country who point out that asbestos is the greatest industrial killer Ms. Denise Savoie (Victoria, NDP): Mr. Speaker, I have a very the world has ever known. In fact, more people die from asbestos interesting petition to present on behalf of many Victoria residents. poisoning than all other industrial reasons combined, yet Canada They are asking the government to recognize that industrial hemp is remains one of the world's largest producers and exporters of a valuable fibre and a large biomass source that could be used to asbestos, dumping 220,000 tonnes per year into third world replaced many commonly used problematic materials. Right now I countries. am wearing a shirt made of that material. Industrial hemp could help farmers diversify their farm operations, The petitioners call on Canada to ban asbestos in all its forms and so the petitioners are asking the government to invest in the institute a just transition program for the asbestos workers and construction of industrial hemp processing facilities to utilize the communities. They also call upon Canada to end all government pulping of Canadian industrial hemp when making paper and other subsidies of asbestos in Canada and abroad and also call upon the products and to utilize industrial hemp biomass in the making of government to stop blocking international health and safety biofuels, instead of food for fuel. I am very pleased to present this conventions designed to protect workers from asbestos, such as petition on behalf of my constituents. the Rotterdam convention. TRANSPORT *** Ms. Dawn Black (New Westminster—Coquitlam, NDP): Mr. Speaker, I rise today to present three petitions from my people in my Ï (1015) community. QUESTIONS PASSED AS ORDERS FOR RETURNS The first petition calls on the Government of Canada to stop the deregulation of the transportation sector that has put Canadian lives Mr. Tom Lukiwski (Parliamentary Secretary to the Leader of at risk. Deregulation, they say, has resulted in more accidents across the Government in the House of Commons and Minister for all transport sectors, including rail accidents in British Columbia that Democratic Reform, CPC): Mr. Speaker, if Question No. 208 could have involved hazardous waste. There has been a real increase in rail be made an order for return, this return would be tabled immediately. accidents. They support strong regulation, not voluntary regulation, and they are very concerned that the government's preference for The Speaker: Is that agreed? self-regulation is putting Canadian lives at risk. Some hon. members: Agreed. AFGHANISTAN Ms. Dawn Black (New Westminster—Coquitlam, NDP): Mr. [Text] Speaker, my second petition deals with the war in Afghanistan. I have presented many of these petitions in the past. The people who Question No. 208—Mr. Paul Dewar: have signed them call on Canada to rebalance the mission and begin the safe withdrawal of Canadian Forces from the counter-insurgency With respect to the procurement of temporary personnel services by the government over the last five years: (a) what are the total government expenditures part of the mission in southern Afghanistan. for such services, on an annual basis as well as over the five year period; (b) on an IMMIGRATION annual basis, what amount is spent by department; (c) how much was spent annually, on a departmental or agency basis, in the National Capital Region alone; (d) what is Ms. Dawn Black (New Westminster—Coquitlam, NDP): Mr. the breakdown by province for such services; (e) which companies received contracts Speaker, my third petition deals with the issue of unification of to provide temporary personnel services; (f) what is the annual combined total of all contracts awarded to each company; (g) on an annual basis as well as over the five families under the immigration system in Canada. year period, how many people were hired by temporary employment agencies to work for the federal government, nationally as well as in the National Capital The petitioners say that unification, particularly of seniors with Region; and (h) on an annual basis and by department or agency, how many their families in Canada through immigration, is a core aspect of employees were hired on a temporary basis, nationally as well as in the National forming strong, healthy, vibrant families and communities in Capital Region? Canada. They believe that the current system calling for a 10 year residency requirement under Canada's income security program is (Return tabled) April 10, 2008 COMMONS DEBATES 4723 Point of Order [English] treatise entitled Droit constitutionnel, “Constitutional law”, Henri Mr.