CANADA House of Commons Debates VOLUME 142 Ï NUMBER 039 Ï 2nd SESSION Ï 39th PARLIAMENT OFFICIAL REPORT (HANSARD) Tuesday, January 29, 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 2269 HOUSE OF COMMONS Tuesday, January 29, 2008 The House met at 10 a.m. The Speaker: Is that agreed? Some hon. members: Agreed. Prayers *** PRIVILEGE ROUTINE PROCEEDINGS ALLEGED IMPEDIMENT IN THE DISCHARGE OF A MEMBER'S DUTIES Ï (1005) Mr. Paul Szabo (Mississauga South, Lib.): Mr. Speaker, on [English] October 18, 2007, the member for Skeena—Bulkley Valley rose on a PETITIONS matter of privilege relating to the designation of certain persons in his riding to serve the role of a quasi-member of Parliament instead CANADA POST of the elected member. Mr. Mervin Tweed (Brandon—Souris, CPC): Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to present a petition from people across Canada. This It raised an interesting issue because on January 11, 2008, during particular petition comes from people from Alberta and it is calling our break period, a constituent came to my office. I was there. The on Parliament to support Bill C-458, An Act to amend the Canada constituent asked about the serious issue of the policy of the Post Corporation Act (library materials), which will protect and government related to the importation of goods from countries such support the library book rate and extend it to include audio-visual as China where there has been some problem in terms of health and materials. safety. INCOME TRUSTS We immediately contacted Service Canada to find out if it had the Mr. Michael Savage (Dartmouth—Cole Harbour, Lib.): Mr. documentation on this issue that is very prevalent. It told us that we Speaker, it is my pleasure to present this income trust broken had to talk to Health Canada product safety. promise petition on behalf of a number of people across the country, a large number in western Canada, who remember the Prime My staff did contact Health Canada product safety and they were Minister boasting about his apparent commitment to accountability advised by Health Canada product safety that it would have to get when he said the greatest fraud is a promise not kept. back to them on that matter because there was some process to go through. The petitioners would like to remind the Prime Minister that he promised never to tax income trusts, but he broke that promise by A phone call was received back from a different number totally. I imposing a 31.5% punitive tax, which permanently wiped out have the name and phone number of the individual and I have $25 billion of the hard-earned retirement savings of Canadians, personally talked to the person subsequently. many of them seniors. The question that was posed to my staff and subsequently to me They therefore call upon the Conservative government to admit was: “Is your member of Parliament a member of the opposition?” that the decision to tax income trusts was based on flawed The Health Canada product safety representative was asking, with methodology and incorrect assumptions, to apologize to those who regard to my query, whether or not the member was a member of the were unfairly harmed and, finally, to repeal that punitive 31.5% tax opposition. on income trusts. *** When I learned of this communication from my staff, I immediately contacted this person. I had an extensive conversation QUESTIONS ON THE ORDER PAPER with the individual. I was told that there was a requirement for Mr. Tom Lukiwski (Parliamentary Secretary to the Leader of Health Canada product safety to fill out an MP response form which the Government in the House of Commons and Minister for it receives from Ottawa. It must fill it out including quotations and Democratic Reform, CPC): Mr. Speaker, I ask that all questions be extracts from the conversation with the member of Parliament or the allowed to stand. member of Parliament's staff. 2270 COMMONS DEBATES January 29, 2008 Privilege This matter goes to Ottawa so that Ottawa, wherever this little government now distinguishes between elected members who are black hole may be in this government, it appears decides what can be Conservatives and in power, and opposition members. told to a member of Parliament. It also wants to know specific details, I was told, to monitor our activities, so that it could be prepared should the matter ever come up in question period. He described his experience, and I completely agree that this is a breach of his privileges as a member. He supported his question of I want to refer you, Mr. Speaker, to page 87, House of Commons privilege with quotes from House of Commons Procedure and Procedure and Practice by Marleau and Montpetit, which quotes Practice. For the benefit of Quebeckers and Canadians, I would like Speaker Bosley from May 6, 1985, in which he states: to read an excerpt from page 67, which states: It should go without saying that a Member of Parliament needs to perform his functions effectively and that anything tending to cause confusion as to a Member's Thus, the House also claims the right to punish, as a contempt, any action which, identity creates the possibility of an impediment to the fulfilment of that Member's though not a breach of a specific privilege, tends to obstruct or impede the House in functions. Any action which impedes or tends to impede a Member in the discharge the performance of its functions; obstructs or impedes any Member or Officer of the of his duties is a breach of privilege. There are ample citations and precedents that House in the discharge of their duties— bear this out. I further refer you, Mr. Speaker, to page 69 of the 21st edition of Erskine May, Treatise on the Law, Privileges, Proceedings and That is on page 67. In this case, it is quite clear that Health Usage of Parliament, where it says: Canada's procedure discriminates against the member. In my Each House also claims the right to punish as contempts actions which, while not opinion, for the past several months, if not the past several years, breaches of any specific privilege, obstruct or impede it in the performance of its the government has been taking steps to impede the work of functions, or are offences against its authority or dignity, such as disobedience to its opposition members, and this can be seen in all sorts of situations. legitimate commands or libels upon itself, its members or its officers— We have a duty, Mr. Speaker, to uphold the privileges and the Yesterday, a point of privilege was raised about the fact that the rights of members of Parliament and to ensure that they have all of Minister of Foreign Affairs had not informed the House that Canada the tools available to them to serve the people who elected them. had stopped transferring Afghan prisoners to the Afghan authorities In this particular regard, I do not consider this to be a partisan on November 5, I believe, even though this House had been told the matter when we asked about matters such as product safety and we opposite. were making a legitimate inquiry. However, I was also told specifically by this person that if a constituent had called directly I also know that in many of our ridings, Conservative candidates he or she would have been given the answer immediately, but if are being presented as though they were already sitting members of members of Parliament who are in opposition ask the question, we Parliament. I would like to draw my colleagues' attention to the have to be sanitized in terms of what can be said to us. aerospace announcement made by the senator and Minister of Public This is outrageous. This is a breach of my privileges as a member Works and Government Services. He was present along with all the to serve my constituents. candidates for the island of Laval, even though there is no Conservative member in that area. The message was that if people Ï (1010) voted for the right party next time, these ridings and the people in I do not believe this is a matter simply to suggest that a member them would reap the benefits. I find this very damaging to such as myself or any member who has these kinds of experiences democracy. with the government, which wants to somehow impede our ability to do our job, should raise it with procedure and House affairs. I would like to tell another anecdote that shows how this This issue relates to each and every member of Parliament who is government behaves. Recently, a Conservative member was in not a member of the government. Far too many people are impacted, Rivière-du-Loup along with our friend from Repentigny. Some and far too many members of this honourable place are impeded seniors were protesting the Conservative government's failure to from doing their job in a responsible and a prompt fashion as is our keep its promise to make retroactive guaranteed income supplement duty. payments. The Conservative member implied that if the seniors voted for the right party next time, they could expect to receive the Mr. Speaker, I therefore ask you to consider this clear breach of retroactive payments they are entitled to, which the Conservatives my privileges and the privileges of all members who are not had promised.