CANADA House of Commons Debates VOLUME 139 Ï NUMBER 044 Ï 3rd SESSION Ï 37th PARLIAMENT OFFICIAL REPORT (HANSARD) Thursday, April 29, 2004 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 2547 HOUSE OF COMMONS Thursday, April 29, 2004 The House met at 10 a.m. AGRICULTURAL PEST CONTROL PRODUCTS REPLACEMENT ACT Prayers Mr. Leon Benoit (Lakeland, CPC) moved for leave to introduce Bill C-522, an act respecting the replacement of agricultural pest ROUTINE PROCEEDINGS control products. Ï (1000) [English] He said: Mr. Speaker, this private member's bill is meant to protect GOVERNMENT RESPONSE TO PETITIONS farmers in particular against the removal of a product that is very important to them in protecting their livestock and crops. A product Hon. Roger Gallaway (Parliamentary Secretary to the Leader may be taken away without scientific evidence to indicate why it of the Government in the House of Commons, Lib.): Mr. Speaker, should be taken away. pursuant to Standing Order 36(8) I am pleased to table, in both official languages, the government's response to two petitions. *** I have seen this several times over the 10 years I have been in the Ï (1005) House, in particular the use of strychnine to control gophers. The scientific evidence to remove that product was not there. This would [Translation] simply protect against that and require that a committee of the House INTERPARLIAMENTARY DELEGATIONS actually examine the removal of a product which is very important to Mr. Bernard Patry (Pierrefonds—Dollard, Lib.): Mr. Speaker, farmers or others. pursuant to Standing Order 34, I have the honour to present to the House, in both official languages, two reports from the Canadian (Motions deemed adopted, bill read the first time and printed) branch of the Assemblée parlementaire de la Francophonie, as well as the related financial report. The first report deals with the meeting of the parliamentary affairs *** commission held in Vientiane, Laos, April 7 to 10, 2004. The second report deals with the meeting of the education, INCOME TAX ACT communication and cultural affairs commission held in Bucharest, Romania, April 15 to 18, 2004. *** Mr. Andy Burton (Skeena, CPC) moved for leave to introduce Bill C-523, an act to amend the Income Tax Act and the Income Tax [English] Regulations (Queen Charlotte Islands). CRIMINAL CODE Mr. Leon Benoit (Lakeland, CPC) moved for leave to introduce Bill C-521, an act to amend the Criminal Code (search and seizure). He said: Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to introduce this private member's bill. The intent of the bill is to amend the Income Tax Act He said: Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to introduce this private to make the Queen Charlotte Islands a prescribed northern zone for member's bill on search and seizure. This bill is meant to correct the purpose of section 110.7 of that act in recognition of the high something that was improperly inserted in Bill C-68, the gun control costs associated with living in such a very remote area of Canada. act. That bill allows for search and seizure without a warrant, which is something that is very unusual. This bill would correct that and require a warrant for search, and also restitution for unnecessary It would also amend the income tax regulations so that the Queen damage done as a result of that search. Charlotte Islands would no longer be a prescribed as an intermediate (Motions deemed adopted, bill read the first time and printed) zone for the purpose of section 110.7 of that act. 2548 COMMONS DEBATES April 29, 2004 Routine Proceedings (Motions deemed adopted, bill read the first time and printed) recognizes that its members are expected to serve the public interest and represent constituents to the best of their abilities”. *** [Translation] That is an important principle because it recognizes and upholds ETHICS COMMISSIONER the representative capacity, indeed the constitutional role of members of Parliament, which is always to represent constituents. In fact, it is Hon. Jacques Saada (Leader of the Government in the House an acknowledgement of the principle that we, as members of the of Commons and Minister responsible for Democratic Reform, House, come from those we represent and from nowhere else. That is Lib.): Mr. Speaker, I move: the first principle. That, pursuant to section 72.01(1) of the Act of Parliament of Canada, chapter P-1 of the Revised Statutes of Canada (1985), the House approve the appointment of Bernard Shapiro, from Montréal (Québec), as ethics commissioner for a five-year The second principle with respect to the code of conduct is that term. members are expected to fulfill their public duties with honesty and Ï (1010) uphold the highest standards so as to avoid real or apparent conflict of interest and to maintain and enhance public confidence and trust The Speaker: Is it the pleasure of the House to adopt the motion? in the integrity of each member of the House of Commons. Some hon. members: Agreed. The third principle is to perform their official duties and functions Some hon. members: On division. and to arrange their private affairs in a manner that bears the closest (Motion agreed to) public scrutiny, an obligation that may not be fully discharged by *** simply acting within the law. [English] Those are some of the principles that are laid out. COMMITTEES OF THE HOUSE PROCEDURE AND HOUSE AFFAIRS Let me move on to recommendation 2 because the committee's Hon. Roger Gallaway (Parliamentary Secretary to the Leader 25th report contains three recommendations. of the Government in the House of Commons, Lib.): Mr. Speaker, I move that the 25th report of the Standing Committee on Procedure Recommendation 2 states: and House Affairs presented on Tuesday, April 27, 2004, be The Committee further recommends that the Standing Orders of the House of concurred in. Commons be amended I am pleased to speak to the motion which calls for the adoption of a) by deleting Standing Orders 21 and 22; the 25th report of the Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs. The report contains three recommendations. It is technical in the sense that it refers to the specific standings The first recommendation, being the most important in my view, orders that need to be either deleted or amended. recommends that the conflict of interest code, which is appended to the report, for members of the House of Commons become part of Recommendation 3 is also technical in nature in that it the Standing Orders of this House and that the code would come into recommends that the Clerk of the House be authorized to make force and effect at the beginning of the 38th Parliament. any editorial changes required by the adoption of these amendments to the Standing Orders. This matter has been discussed and debated in committees in both this place and in the other place for some time. In fact, in 1996 both Ï (1015) this Chamber and the other place adopted resolutions, which I will read in part: This is important in terms of the Standing Orders because what we That a Special Joint Committee of the Senate and the House of Commons be have seen in the House over the past several years has been a number appointed to develop a Code of Conduct to guide Senators and Members of the House of Commons in reconciling their official responsibilities with their personal of attempts, and very good attempts, at creating a code of conduct. interests, including their dealings with lobbyists. On March 15, 2001, the member for Pictou—Antigonish— Guysborough had a motion on the Order Paper under private Part of that mandate was that the committee would consult members' business asking the government to introduce legislation to broadly and review the approaches taken with respect to these issues establish a code of conduct for members of Parliament. It too was both in Canada and in other jurisdictions with comparable systems of based on the final report of the Special Joint Committee on a Code of government. Out of that process, which began in 1996, came a code Conduct for the House of Commons. of conduct which came about after a great deal of discussion both with members of this place at the time and with others who were from other legislatures in this country and in other jurisdictions. The member for Halifax had a private member's bill, Bill C-417, in the second session of the 37th Parliament which was much the The 25th report has certain guiding principles that lay out the same. The purpose of that bill was to establish a code of conduct for principles that should guide members of Parliament. It notes that members of the House and to provide for an officer of Parliament to “service in Parliament is a public trust and the House of Commons be known as the ethics counsellor. April 29, 2004 COMMONS DEBATES 2549 Routine Proceedings If one looks at the joint committee report, a committee established assemblies and throughout state assemblies. Knowing that the world by resolution of both this Chamber and of the other place in 1996, it has become a much more complex place, that governments have carefully considered whether in fact we should have a code that become more complex in their operations and members can find would be placed in the Standing Orders or, alternatively, whether we themselves in situations where allegations may be made against them should move on a statutory front, which is what the member for in which, under and through entirely innocent circumstances, they Pictou—Antigonish—Guysborough recommended by his private find that they are the brunt or the subject of suggestions that they are member's motion of 2001, and also what was attempted to be done in conflict of interest.