Thursday, October 21, 1999
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CANADA VOLUME 136 S NUMBER 008 S 2nd SESSION S 36th PARLIAMENT OFFICIAL REPORT (HANSARD) Thursday, October 21, 1999 Speaker: The Honourable Gilbert Parent 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 465 HOUSE OF COMMONS Thursday, October 21, 1999 The House met at 10 a.m. (Motions deemed adopted, bill read the first time and printed) _______________ * * * Prayers PETITIONS _______________ THE SENATE Mr. Nelson Riis (Kamloops, Thompson and Highland Val- ROUTINE PROCEEDINGS leys, NDP): Mr. Speaker, once again it is an honour and a pleasure for me to stand, pursuant to Standing Order 36, to present a petition on behalf of a number of my constituents. D (1000) They are very concerned about the fact that we have a Senate in [Translation] our country. They consider it to be undemocratic and composed of unelected members that are unaccountable to the people of Canada. GOVERNMENT RECORD OF ACHIEVEMENTS They point out the fact that there is a $50 million price tag attached Hon. Lucienne Robillard (President of the Treasury Board to this. They say that this is something from another era and should and Minister responsible for Infrastructure, Lib.): Mr. Speaker, not be taking place as we enter the 21st century. in order to provide hon. members and the people of Canada with an They also say that we need to modernize our parliamentary update on government achievements, I have the pleasure to table, institution, Mr. Speaker, which is something I know you feel in both official languages, a report entitled ‘‘Managing for Results strongly about. They are calling upon the parliament of Canada to 1999’’, along with performance reports from 82 departments and take whatever measures are necessary to abolish the Senate of agencies. Canada. * * * * * * D (1005 ) [Translation] [English] QUESTIONS ON THE ORDER PAPER CRIMINAL CODE Mr. Derek Lee (Parliamentary Secretary to Leader of the Ms. Alexa McDonough (Halifax, NDP) moved for leave to Government in the House of Commons, Lib.): Mr. Speaker, I ask introduce Bill C-259, an act to amend the Criminal Code (criminal that all questions be allowed to stand. liability of corporations, directors and officers). The Deputy Speaker: Is that agreed? She said: Mr. Speaker, I am very pleased to have the opportunity Some hon. members: Agreed. today to reintroduce a bill that establishes the criminal liability of corporations, of their executives and officers, for criminal acts or _____________________________________________ omissions carried out knowingly by them which put the health and safety of their employees at risk. GOVERNMENT ORDERS This is a bill that arises out of a recommendation from the public inquiry into the disastrous Westray tragedy in Nova Scotia that [English] killed 26 miners unnecessarily. It will establish once and for all the public responsibility to protect employees in the country against WAYS AND MEANS any such disastrous outcome. NISGA’A FINAL AGREEMENT ACT The bill is long overdue. It is specifically a recommendation of the Westray inquiry and Canadians will benefit from such protec- Hon. Robert D. Nault (Minister of Indian Affairs and North- tion in the future. ern Development, Lib.) moved that a ways and means motion to 466 COMMONS DEBATES October 21, 1999 Government Orders implement certain provisions of the Nisga’a Final Agreement and Harb Harvard Harvey Herron the Nisga’a Nation Taxation Agreement, laid upon the table on Hubbard Iftody Tuesday, October 19, be concurred in. Jackson Jennings Jones Jordan The Deputy Speaker: Is it the pleasure of the House to adopt the Karetak-Lindell Keddy (South Shore) Keyes Kilger (Stormont—Dundas—Charlottenburgh) motion? Kilgour (Edmonton Southeast) Knutson Kraft Sloan Lalonde Some hon. members: Agreed. Lastewka Laurin Lavigne Lebel Some hon. members: No. Lee Leung Lill Limoges (Windsor—St. Clair) The Deputy Speaker: All those in favour of the motion will Lincoln Longfield please say yea. MacAulay MacKay (Pictou—Antigonish—Guysborough) Mahoney Malhi Some hon. members: Yea. Maloney Mancini Manley Marceau The Deputy Speaker: All those opposed will please say nay. Marleau Martin (LaSalle—Émard) Matthews McCormick Some hon. members: Nay. McDonough McGuire McKay (Scarborough East) McLellan (Edmonton West) McTeague McWhinney The Deputy Speaker: In my opinion the yeas have it. Mercier Mifflin Mills (Broadview—Greenwood) Mitchell And more than five members having risen: Muise Murray Myers Nault The Deputy Speaker: Call in the members. Nystrom O’Brien (London—Fanshawe) O’Reilly Pagtakhan D (1055 ) Paradis Patry Peric Perron (The House divided on the motion, which was agreed to on the Peterson Pettigrew following division:) Phinney Picard (Drummond) Pillitteri Plamondon Pratt Price (Division No. 44) Proctor Proud Provenzano Redman YEAS Reed Richardson Riis Robillard Members Saada Scott (Fredericton) Adams Alcock Sekora Shepherd Anderson Assad Solomon Speller Assadourian Asselin St. Denis St-Hilaire Augustine Axworthy (Winnipeg South Centre) Bachand (Richmond—Arthabaska) Bachand (Saint-Jean) St-Jacques St-Julien Baker Bakopanos Steckle Stewart (Brant) Barnes Beaumier Stewart (Northumberland) Stoffer Bélair Bélanger Szabo Telegdi Bellemare Bennett Thibeault Torsney Bergeron Bernier (Bonaventure—Gaspé— Tremblay (Rimouski—Mitis) Turp Îles-de-la-Madeleine—Pabok) Bernier (Tobique—Mactaquac) Ur Valeri Bertrand Bevilacqua Vanclief Vautour Blaikie Blondin-Andrew Bonin Bonwick Volpe Wappel Borotsik Boudria Wayne Whelan Bradshaw Brison Wilfert—196 Brown Bryden Bulte Byrne Caccia Calder Cannis Canuel NAYS Caplan Cardin Carroll Casey Catterall Cauchon Members Chamberlain Chan Charbonneau Clouthier Coderre Collenette Ablonczy Anders Comuzzi Copps Bailey Benoit Crête Cullen Breitkreuz (Yellowhead) Breitkreuz (Yorkton—Melville) Davies de Savoye Cadman Casson Debien Desjarlais Duncan Elley Desrochers DeVillers Epp Forseth Dhaliwal Dion Doyle Dromisky Goldring Gouk Duceppe Duhamel Grewal Grey (Edmonton North) Dumas Earle Harris Hart Easter Eggleton Hill (Macleod) Hill (Prince George—Peace River) Finlay Folco Hilstrom Jaffer Fontana Gagliano Johnston Kenney (Calgary Southeast) Gagnon Gallaway Kerpan Konrad Gauthier Girard-Bujold Lowther Lunn Godfrey Godin (Acadie—Bathurst) Godin (Châteauguay) Goodale Mark Mayfield Graham Gray (Windsor West) McNally Meredith Grose Guarnieri Mills (Red Deer) Morrison Guay Guimond Penson Ramsay October 21, 1999 COMMONS DEBATES 467 Points of Order Reynolds Ritz When considering this point of order, Mr. Speaker, you must Schmidt Scott (Skeena) Solberg Stinson understand that we will stand up for the equal rights of all Strahl Thompson (Wild Rose) Vellacott White (Langley—Abbotsford) Canadians, including the Nisga’a. We will do our utmost to White (North Vancouver) —47 convince the Liberal government to reconsider its position and to inform Canadians of the very significant mistakes that are being made. PAIRED MEMBERS Hon. Don Boudria (Leader of the government in the House of Alarie Bellehumeur Commons, Lib.): Mr. Speaker, I rise on this point of order. The Brien Chrétien (Frontenac—Mégantic) Dalphond-Guiral Discepola hon. member of course has a right to feel very profoundly about Drouin Dubé (Lévis-et-Chutes-de-la-Chaudière) any issue, just as I have a right to disagree with him and any of us Fournier Fry Ianno Loubier who similarly feel about an issue. That is not what is before us Minna Normand today. It is whether or not the ways and means motions that was O’Brien (Labrador) Pickard (Chatham—Kent Essex) Rock Sauvageau just passed is in order or out of order. Serré Tremblay (Lac-Saint-Jean) Venne Wood D (1100 ) The Deputy Speaker: I declare the motion carried. First of all, the speech we just heard is actually a reflection upon * * * a vote in the House and I would say that in itself offends, at least in my view, our standing orders. The standing orders say that the adoption of the ways and means motion—and that ways and means motion has now been adopted—is an order of the House to bring in POINTS OF ORDER a bill based thereon. Therefore, this gives the minister the right, and some would say the obligation, to give first reading to the bill. WAYS AND MEANS MOTION NO. 1 The hon. member made a reference in his remarks with respect to issues that are before the courts and how we should refrain in Mr. Randy White (Langley—Abbotsford, Ref.): Mr. Speaker, debates from taking sides on issues when, at a criminal level, I rise on a point of order. The adoption of this ways and means charges have been laid, or at the civil level once an issue reaches motion which is the first step in implementing legislation in regard trial stage. That is meant to ensure that members in their remarks in to the Nisga’a agreement is out of order. the House do not prejudice the outcome. It does not have applica- tion to the adoption of a ways and means motion by this House. The entire House, I am sure, knows that. Therefore those points that Not only is this issue very controversial and will have a were raised are not valid. This motion is indeed in order and has in precedent setting impact on the entire country, the House should fact been passed in the House. I believe that now is the time to know this agreement is before the courts. Beauchesne’s sixth introduce the bill pursuant to the motion that we have now passed edition, citation 505 states: by a vote of this House, democratically held. Members are expected to refrain from discussing matters that are before the courts or tribunals which are courts of record. The purpose of this sub judice convention is to protect the parties in a case awaiting or undergoing trial and persons who stand to Mr. Peter MacKay (Pictou—Antigonish—Guysborough, be affected by the outcome of a judicial enquiry. PC): Mr. Speaker, in reviewing some of the sections of Beau- chesne’s one is hit square in the face with the fact that the sub The government should not be allowed to proceed any further judice convention deals specifically with debate, and that is not the with Nisga’a legislation since it affects one of our most fundamen- case with the matter that is before the House.