CANADA House of Commons Debates VOLUME 142 Ï NUMBER 091 Ï 2nd SESSION Ï 39th PARLIAMENT OFFICIAL REPORT (HANSARD) Thursday, May 8, 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 5585 HOUSE OF COMMONS Thursday, May 8, 2008 The House met at 10 a.m. (Motions deemed adopted, bill read the first time and printed) Ï (1010) [Translation] Prayers Mr. Pierre Paquette: Mr. Speaker, I seek the unanimous consent of the House to adopt the following motion: That the House acknowledge the 60th anniversary of the founding of the state of ROUTINE PROCEEDINGS Israel and highlight that this is an opportunity to celebrate Israel's entry into the community of nations, its many cultural, economic and Ï (1005) scientific achievements as a free, democratic society, and the special [English] relationship between the governments of Canada and Israel; and that the House agree to reaffirm Canadians' unwavering support for INTERPARLIAMENTARY DELEGATIONS Israel's right to live peacefully and safely within secure, recognized Mr. David Tilson (Dufferin—Caledon, CPC): Mr. Speaker, borders, for the peace efforts undertaken by the Government of Israel pursuant to Standing Order 34(1) I have the honour to present to the and the Palestinian Authority, and for the creation of a future House, in both official languages, the report of the Canadian democratic Palestinian state living peacefully and safely next to its delegation of the Canada-Europe Parliamentary Association respect- Israeli neighbour within secure, recognized borders. ing its participation in the meeting of the Standing Committee of Parliamentarians of the Arctic Region, held in Rovaniemi, Finland, The Speaker: Does the hon. member for Joliette have the from February 28-29. unanimous consent of the House to move this motion? *** Some hon. members: Agreed. EMPLOYMENT INSURANCE ACT Some hon. members: No. Mr. Gord Brown (Leeds—Grenville, CPC) moved for leave to [English] introduce Bill C-542, An Act to amend the Employment Insurance The Speaker: There is no consent. Act (illness of child) and another Act in consequence. He said: Mr. Speaker, formal employment insurance programs *** that a parent of a critically ill child can access to provide income PETITIONS protection while the child is undergoing medically prescribed treatment do not exist. In most cases, this treatment takes the child DARFUR away from school or out of day care and often can involve lengthy Hon. Larry Bagnell (Yukon, Lib.): Mr. Speaker, I rise today to hospital stays. present a petition signed by a number of my constituents from the Childhood cancer is on the rise, and more and more patients are riding of Yukon. These petitioners bring to the attention of surviving. Current treatments can last a minimum of six months to a Parliament the concern of Canadians over the ongoing genocide in maximum of three years. Of necessity, one parent becomes the Sudan, more specifically in Darfur. primary caregiver for the child and is instructed by doctors and They also outline the need for greater world action against the nurses on how to administer chemotherapy at home, along with other brutality in this African country, and this includes all nations, toxic drugs. These medications make a child very sick and quite corporations, the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund and often place him or her at risk of death from the side effects. Return to the United Nations. Much stronger action has to be taken by the a normal routine, such as school or day care for the child and work world to stop the murder, rape and violent displacement of the for the parent, is almost impossible. There is no predictability. This people of Darfur. will go on as long as the child is taking the medicine as prescribed by the oncologist. Mr. Sukh Dhaliwal (Newton—North Delta, Lib.): Mr. Speaker, I also am pleased to present a petition on the crisis in Darfur on I am pleased to introduce today a private member's bill that behalf of nearly 1,000 constituents in and around my constituency of addresses this issue through employment insurance. Newton—North Delta. 5586 COMMONS DEBATES May 8, 2008 Speaker's Ruling This petition was created by a group of young leaders of the [Translation] Solutions Society at Seaquam Secondary School in Delta. The society works for positive solutions in social justice issues, from homelessness to human rights violations across the world. Over the On April 8, 2008, the Leader of the Government in the House of past year, Grace Wilson, Catherine Carey, Kerat Sidhu and other Commons and Minister for Democratic Reform rose on a point of members have brought this urgent matter to the attention of our order to argue that Bill C-490, An Act to amend the Old Age community. Security Act (application for supplement, retroactive payments and other amendments) required a royal recommendation. Canada has a long and proud tradition of peacekeeping. The petitioners are calling for Canada to honour these values and take action to bring peace and assistance to Darfur. On April 15, 2008, the hon. member for Joliette made an intervention arguing that this bill did not infringe on the financial PROPERTY CRIME LEGISLATION initiative of the Crown. Mr. Mark Warawa (Langley, CPC): Mr. Speaker, it is an honour to present a petition from constituents in my riding of Langley. It is a [English] petition on prolific property offenders. It states that property crime is a serious offence that affects most people and often results in huge financial losses and significant emotional upset due to the loss of In his submission, the government House leader argued that security at home. clauses 1, 2, 3 and 6 of the bill would result in increased spending by extending old age security benefits to surviving spouses for a period It states that a majority of property offences are committed by a of six months and by eliminating the requirement to make an minority of prolific offenders; that it appears property offences are application for a supplement for old age security benefits. He pointed treated as insignificant and minor by enforcement agencies and the out that the increased monthly guaranteed income supplement justice system; that the fears and concerns of victims are often left benefits and increased retroactive payments would also entail unaddressed by the enforcement agencies or the criminal justice additional spending. system; that repeated claims compromise the ability of homeowners to receive their home insurance; and that the government has the responsibility to ensure safety and security for its citizens. Citing rulings delivered on December 8, 2004 and October 24, 2005, the government House leader stated that these precedents They therefore ask that the House of Commons enact specific and illustrate the principle that a royal recommendation is required when precise legislation to deal appropriately with prolific property crime a bill alters the manner in which retroactive payments are handled or offenders. when the extensions of program benefits are proposed. ANIMAL CRUELTY LEGISLATION Mr. Joe Comartin (Windsor—Tecumseh, NDP): Mr. Speaker, I [Translation] rise today to present a petition from constituents in my riding calling on the government, specifically the Minister of Justice, to bring forth government legislation that would protect our animals from abuse The hon. member for Joliette expressed the view that section 54 of and cruelty. They call on the government to have the legislation so the Constitution Act, 1867 only called for a royal recommendation to that it is in keeping with Bill C-50, which was before the 38th accompany a bill in the event that it proposed new program Parliament, and to in fact institute a regime which would provide that spending. safety for our animals. *** He argued that this was clearly not the case since Bill C-490 did not authorize a new appropriation but simply allowed monies Ï (1015) previously authorized by Parliament to be returned to the rightful QUESTIONS ON THE ORDER PAPER beneficiaries. Mr. Tom Lukiwski (Parliamentary Secretary to the Leader of the Government in the House of Commons and Minister for [English] Democratic Reform, CPC): Mr. Speaker, I ask that all questions be allowed to stand. The Speaker: Is that agreed? I have carefully reviewed Bill C-490 and have come to the following conclusions. Clause 1 of the bill, which seeks to extend Some hon. members: Agreed. old age security benefits to surviving spouses for a period of six months, would, in my view, clearly result in additional spending for *** a new and distinct purpose. Furthermore, clauses 2, 3 and 6 of the POINTS OF ORDER bill seek to alter the conditions and manner in which compensation is awarded to old age security recipients by increasing monthly ROYAL RECOMMENDATION—BILL C-490—SPEAKER'S RULING guaranteed income supplement benefits, modifying retroactive The Speaker: Before we proceed to orders of the day, I have a payments and removing the requirement to make an application to ruling I would like to give. receive benefits. May 8, 2008 COMMONS DEBATES 5587 Business of Supply It is true that, as the hon. member for Joliette pointed out, the Many of them, as we would expect, are suffering because of the proposed changes do not call for the actual creation of a new difficulty they are having in accessing government programs. There program. However, they would alter the conditions and qualifica- is mental illness and there is suffering from addictions of various tions that were originally placed on public spending on old age sorts. Even more startling is the reality of young people in particular, security payments when those benefits were approved by Parliament.