CANADA House of Commons Debates VOLUME 137 Ï NUMBER 186 Ï 1st SESSION Ï 37th PARLIAMENT OFFICIAL REPORT (HANSARD) Thursday, May 9, 2002 Speaker: The Honourable Peter Milliken CONTENTS (Table of Contents appears at back of this issue.) All parliamentary publications are available on the ``Parliamentary Internet Parlementaire´´ at the following address: http://www.parl.gc.ca 11415 HOUSE OF COMMONS Thursday, May 9, 2002 The House met at 10 a.m. That the membership of the Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs be modified as follows: Prayers Wayne Easter for Paul Macklin. (Motion agreed to) ROUTINE PROCEEDINGS *** Ï (1005) [English] [English] PETITIONS TEAM CANADA Mr. Geoff Regan (Parliamentary Secretary to the Leader of RIGHTS OF THE UNBORN the Government in the House of Commons, Lib.): Mr. Speaker, pursuant to Standing Order 32(2) I have the honour to table, in both Mr. Maurice Vellacott (Saskatoon—Wanuskewin, Canadian official languages, the Team Canada Inc. annual report 2001. Alliance): Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to present a petition signed by 1,255 petitioners. The petitioners draw the House's attention to the *** fact that modern science has unequivocally and irrefutably ASSISTED HUMAN REPRODUCTION ACT established that a human being begins to exist at the moment of conception. Hon. Anne McLellan (Minister of Health, Lib.) moved for leave to introduce Bill C-56, an act respecting assisted human The petitioners are asking the government to bring in legislation reproduction. defining a human fetus or embryo from the moment of conception, (Motions deemed adopted, bill read the first time and printed) whether in the womb of the mother or not, and whether conceived *** naturally or otherwise, as a human being and making any and all consequential amendments to all Canadian laws as required. COMMITTEES OF THE HOUSE FOREIGN AFFAIRS AND INTERNATIONAL TRADE I believe this petition is worthy of the House's attention. Ms. Aileen Carroll (Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister *** of Foreign Affairs, Lib.): Mr. Speaker, I have the honour to present, in both official languages, the 19th report of the Standing Committee QUESTIONS ON THE ORDER PAPER on Foreign Affairs and International Trade entitled “Building an Effective New Round of WTO Negotiations: Key Issues for Mr. Geoff Regan (Parliamentary Secretary to the Leader of Canada”. the Government in the House of Commons, Lib.): Mr. Speaker, I In accordance with its order of reference of Thursday, December ask that all questions be allowed to stand. 6, 2001, your committee has considered and has held hearings on the Doha development agenda of the World Trade Organization and The Speaker: Is that agreed? agreed to it on Wednesday, April 17, 2002. Some hon. members: Agreed. PROCEDURE AND HOUSE AFFAIRS Mr. Peter Adams (Peterborough, Lib.): Mr. Speaker, I have the *** honour to present the 55th report of the Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs regarding membership on some REQUEST FOR EMERGENCY DEBATE committees, and I should like to move concurrence at this time. (Motion agreed to) GOVERNMENT CONTRACTS [Translation] The Speaker: The Chair has received notice of a request for an Mr. Peter Adams (Peterborough, Lib.): Mr. Speaker, I move: emergency debate from the hon. member for Winnipeg Centre. 11416 COMMONS DEBATES May 9, 2002 Government Orders Mr. Pat Martin (Winnipeg Centre, NDP): Mr. Speaker, I think Therefore, we seek unanimous consent of the House to consider you will find that your office will have received a letter from my the following motion on the order paper in my name. It was staff yesterday notifying you of my intention to ask for this supposed to take place today, maybe as the Speaker knows, but the emergency debate tonight. I hope you will see the merits in our government cancelled our supply day. arguments that this is an issue that does properly meet the tests for an The motion reads: emergency debate and should be given the time in the House of Commons later today. We would be ready to argue this at the end of That, in the opinion of this House, the reason why 69% of Canadians polled in a recent survey viewed the “federal political system” as corrupt is because the Prime ordinary business today. Minister and this government have failed to make public their secret code of conduct, have broken their own Liberal red book promises such as the one to appoint an I argue that the sheer magnitude of the communications sponsor- independent ethics counsellor who reports directly to Parliament and have failed to ship scandal has actually rocked the country and created a crisis of clear the air over allegations of abusing their positions to further their own interests confidence in the current government. I argue that it is a matter of and those of their friends. emergency proportions. I will argue one simple fact that will not be We would seek the unanimous permission of the House to debate addressed that Canadians need to have addressed in parliament. that motion today. The fact is that the auditor general's mandate is really quite The Speaker: Does the hon. Leader of the Opposition have the limited. She can only comment on malfeasance by public servants. unanimous consent of the House to proceed on this debate today? The RCMP's mandate, in its investigation, is limited as well in that Some hon. members: Agreed. they will be able to comment on any fraud or misrepresentation on Some hon. members: No. the part of the contractors in question. A third question remains unanswered and only parliament can deal with it. Was there political interference? Did these public GOVERNMENT ORDERS servants break all the rules because they were ordered to by a current minister, a former minister or anybody on their staff. That is the [English] concern that parliament has to be seized with. Those are the PUBLIC SAFETY ACT, 2002 arguments that we need to hear and to make tonight. The auditor general cannot answer the question of whether there was political The House resumed from May 3 consideration of the motion that interference nor will the RCMP. It is the most compelling issue Bill C-55, an act to amend certain acts of Canada, and to enact facing the country as this terrible scandal starts to grow. measures for implementing the Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention, in order to enhance public safety, be read the second Ï (1010) time and referred to a committee, and of the amendment and of the The Speaker: The Chair has carefully considered the arguments amendment to the amendment. advanced by the hon. member on this point and has reviewed with Mr. Garry Breitkreuz (Yorkton—Melville, Canadian Alli- care the letter he had the courtesy of forwarding to me yesterday. ance): Mr. Speaker, I am addressing Bill C-55 which is before the House at present. The point I want to make right off the top is that I must say that my initial reaction is that the matter is not a matter there is nothing in the bill that would have prevented the terrible of urgency. The report was tabled yesterday but do not think it has by events of September 11 last year, in fact it could have the opposite that tabling created a matter of urgency. effect. I recognize the interest in the matter. I note first that the estimates If the bill goes through unamended it could actually do the exact of the Department of Public Works and Government Services are opposite to the government's stated objective. currently before one of the standing committees of the House for study. I note also that a request has been made that they be the I will elaborate. The federal government is using the September 11 subject of a five hour evening sitting in committee of the whole terrorist attack as an excuse to continue its anti-gun, anti-hunting, sometime between now and the end of the month of May. This will anti-farmer, anti-sport shooter, anti-firearms collector, anti-historical be a matter of some pleasure to the House to sit in the evening and re-enactor, anti-licensed firearm and ammunition dealer, anti-guide, debate something like this. anti-outfitters and anti-aboriginal hunting rights agenda. Accordingly, I feel it is unnecessary that we change our normal Those are the honest, law-abiding, taxpaying Canadians the procedures today on something that in my view is not urgent and Liberals have targeted with these 10 pages of proposed explosive act which will be addressed through other avenues that are available to amendments in the bill. hon. members in the near future. The amendments were so urgent that the Liberals have waited four and a half years to bring them before parliament. After all, it was on Accordingly, I feel that the request is not acceptable to the Chair at November 14, 1997, that former the deputy prime minister, Herb this time. Gray, signed the Organization of American States inter-American Mr. John Reynolds: Mr. Speaker, I rise on a point of order. While convention against the illicit manufacturing and trafficking in this may not meet the criteria under Standing Order 52, we believe firearms, ammunition, explosives and other related materials in the issue should be debated. Washington, D.C. May 9, 2002 COMMONS DEBATES 11417 Government Orders Those wanting proof of the government's anti-gun agenda, here is Offences that are targeting law-abiding Canadians in this act what the former deputy prime minister, Herb Gray, said when he include: acquiring, possessing, selling, offering for sale, transporting signed the OAS convention in Washington, in 1997: or delivering any illicit inexplosive ammunition component and This could be the start of a global movement that would spur the development of making or manufacturing any explosive from an illicitly trafficked an instrument to ban firearms worldwide that would be similar to our land-mines inexplosive ammunition component.