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CANADA House of Commons Debates VOLUME 138 Ï NUMBER 120 Ï 2nd SESSION Ï 37th PARLIAMENT OFFICIAL REPORT (HANSARD) Tuesday, September 16, 2003 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 7377 HOUSE OF COMMONS Tuesday, September 16, 2003 The House met at 10 a.m. definition of marriage which is the union of one man and one woman to the exclusion of all others. Prayers FOREIGN AFFAIRS Mr. Ovid Jackson (Bruce—Grey—Owen Sound, Lib.): Mr. Speaker, the third petition asks that the Government of Canada not ROUTINE PROCEEDINGS participate in the U.S. missile defence system. Ï (1000) RELIGIOUS FREEDOM [English] Mr. Janko Perić (Cambridge, Lib.): Mr. Speaker, pursuant to GOVERNMENT RESPONSE TO PETITIONS Standing Order 36 I have the privilege to present to the House a Mr. Geoff Regan (Parliamentary Secretary to the Leader of petition signed by concerned constituents in my riding of Cam- the Government in the House of Commons, Lib.): Mr. Speaker, bridge. pursuant to Standing Order 36(8) I have the honour to table, in both The petitioners call on Parliament to protect the rights of official languages, the government's response to 20 petitions. Canadians to express their religious beliefs without fear of *** prosecution. The petitioners are very concerned that expressing moral disapproval of a sexual practice by citing the Bible or other Ï (1005) sacred religious books could be linked to a hate crime charge under [Translation] Bill C-250. BUSINESS OF THE HOUSE MARRIAGE Hon. Don Boudria (Minister of State and Leader of the Government in the House of Commons, Lib.): Mr. Speaker, I Mr. Janko Perić (Cambridge, Lib.): Mr. Speaker, I would also hereby wish to designate Thursday, September 18, as an allotted day. like to table two petitions from citizens of the riding of Brant. In the first one, some 80 citizens urge Parliament to protect marriage as a *** union of one man and one woman to the exclusion of all others. [English] CHILD PORNOGRAPHY PETITIONS Mr. Janko Perić (Cambridge, Lib.): Mr. Speaker, in the second RELIGIOUS FREEDOM petition, some 50 citizens call on Parliament to strengthen the child Mr. John Williams (St. Albert, Canadian Alliance): Mr. pornography law. Speaker, I have a petition to present to the House today signed by RELIGIOUS FREEDOM a number of my constituents concerning religious freedom. Mr. Paul Szabo (Mississauga South, Lib.): Mr. Speaker, I am The petitioners are concerned that if sections 318 and 319 of the pleased to present a petition signed by a large number of Canadians, Criminal Code are amended the rights of their religious freedom including from my own riding of Mississauga South. would not be protected. The petitioners are asking that the rights of Canadians to be free to share their religious beliefs without fear of The petitioners are concerned about Bill C-250 which proposes a prosecution be recognized by Parliament. change under section 318 and section 319 of the Criminal Code Mr. Ovid Jackson (Bruce—Grey—Owen Sound, Lib.): Mr. which could lead to individuals being unable to exercise their Speaker, it is my honour to present today three petitions on behalf of religious freedom as protected under the Charter of Rights of my constituents of Bruce—Grey—Owen Sound. Freedoms, and to express their moral and religious doctrines without fear of criminal prosecutions. The first petition is an objection to Bill C-250. The petitioners therefore call upon Parliament to protect the rights MARRIAGE of Canadians and not make the Bible a piece of hate literature so that Mr. Ovid Jackson (Bruce—Grey—Owen Sound, Lib.): Mr. Canadians can be free to share their religious beliefs without fear of Speaker, the second petition asks that Parliament uphold the prosecution. 7378 COMMONS DEBATES September 16, 2003 Supply MARRIAGE Hon. Lucienne Robillard (President of the Treasury Board, Mr. Grant Hill (Macleod, Canadian Alliance): Mr. Speaker, I Lib.): Data on bilingualism in the federal Public Service are have a petition that is really quite timely. It asks that Parliament, derived from the position and classification information system, having the exclusive jurisdiction over marriage, not change the PCIS, which is managed by the Treasury Board Secretariat but fed definition of marriage. With some 125 signatures to go, about 4,000 and updated by the departments. The PCIS contains information on individuals are represented on this issue. all employees of federal departments and agencies for which the Treasury Board is the employer under the Public Service Staff Mr. Philip Mayfield (Cariboo—Chilcotin, Canadian Alliance): Relations Act. Mr. Speaker, I also have a petition that is timely. Citizens from my constituency call on Parliament to pass legislation recognizing the For this inquiry, it is not possible to provide a breakdown by institution of marriage in federal law as being a lifelong union of one imperative v. non-imperative positions, since this information has man and one woman to the exclusion of all others. more to do with staffing than with position identification. Moreover, the E level is not really a linguistic profile; rather, it is an indication *** that an employee is sufficiently proficient in his or her second Ï (1010) language to be exempted. QUESTIONS PASSED AS ORDERS FOR RETURNS The following table shows, for each of the linguistic profiles Mr. Geoff Regan (Parliamentary Secretary to the Leader of requested, the number of bilingual positions held by anglophones the Government in the House of Commons, Lib.): Mr. Speaker, if and the number held by francophones, as well as the total number of Questions Nos. 230 and 234 could be made orders for return, the bilingual positions. returns would be tabled immediately. Breakdown of Bilingual Positions by Anglophones & Francophones according to the Linguistic Profiles Requested And, Mr. Speaker, I ask that all remaining questions be allowed to stand. Anglo- Franco- phones phones The Speaker: Is it agreed that the questions enumerated by the Profile Total Profile Total Total global hon. parliamentary secretary be made orders for return? CCC 2082 CCC 5668 7750 Some hon. members: Agreed. CCB 148 CCB 104 252 The Speaker: Is it agreed that all remaining questions be allowed CBC 3015 CBC 2234 5249 to stand? CBB 313 CBB 317 630 BCC 29 BCC 77 106 Some hon. members: Agreed. BCB 10 BCB 22 32 [Text] BBC 551 BBC 1350 1901 Question No. 230—Mr. Benoît Sauvageau: BBB 12791 BBB 20548 33339 For the 2002-2003, 2003-2004 and 2004-2005 fiscal years, what are the best BBA 45 BBA 28 73 estimates of funds to be disbursed (in subsidies and contributions) by each of the BAB 122 BAB 335 457 government's departments and quasi-or non-governmental agencies subsidized by the government to: (a) support the anglophone community in Quebec; (b) support BAA 18 BAA 27 45 francophone communities outside Quebec; and (c) in each case, to fund what needs? ABB 10 ABB 30 40 Return tabled. ABA 0 ABA 0 0 AAB 55 AAB 230 285 Question No. 234—Mr. Scott Reid: AAA 51 AAA 202 253 Concerning federal public servants, how many whose first language is a) French, and b) English are employed in (i) bilingual imperative positions, and (ii) bilingual Total 19240 Total 31172 50412 non-imperative positions, for each of the following Official Language profiles: “E” (Exempt from further testing); “CCC” (Reading, Writing and Oral Interaction at Superior levels); “CBC” (Reading and Oral Interaction at Superior levels, Writing at Intermediate level); “CCB”(Reading and Writing at Superior Levels, Oral Interaction at Intermediate Level); “CBB” (Reading at Superior Level, Writing and Oral Interaction at Intermediate Levels); “BCB” (Reading and Oral Interaction at Intermediate Levels, Writing at Superior Level); “BCC” (Reading at Intermediate Level, Writing and Oral Interaction at Superior Levels); “BBB” (Reading, Writing and Oral Interaction at Intermediate Levels); “BBC” (Reading and Writing at GOVERNMENT ORDERS Intermediate Levels, Oral Interaction at Superior Level); “BBA” (Reading and Writing at Intermediate Levels, Oral Interaction at Minimum Level); “BAA” [Translation] (Reading at Intermediate Level, Oral Interaction and Writing at Minimum Levels); “BAB” (Reading and Oral Interaction at Intermediate Levels, Writing at Minimum SUPPLY Level); “ABA” (Reading and Oral Interaction at Minimum Levels, Writing at Intermediate Level); “ABB” (Reading at Minimum Level, Writing and Oral ALLOTTED DAY—MARRIAGE Interaction at Intermediate Levels); “AAB” (Reading and Writing at Minimum Levels, Oral Interaction at Intermediate Level); and “AAA” (Reading, Writing and Mr. Stephen Harper (Leader of the Opposition, Canadian Oral Interaction at Minimum Levels)? Alliance) moved: September 16, 2003 COMMONS DEBATES 7379 Supply That, in the opinion of this House, it is necessary, in light of public debate around as real rights are concerned and, of course, has been done so in a recent court decisions, to reaffirm that marriage is and should remain the union of highly undemocratic manner. one man and one woman to the exclusion of all others, and that Parliament take all necessary steps within the jurisdiction of the Parliament of Canada to preserve this First, this is wrong in law. Sexual orientation or, more accurately, definition of marriage in Canada. what we are really talking about, sexual behaviour, the argument has Mr. Jacques Saada: Mr. Speaker, pursuant to Standing Order 43 been made by proponents of this position that this is analogous to (2), I wish to inform you that in today's debate on the Opposition race and ethnicity. This position was not included in the Charter of motion all Liberal members intend to share their time. Rights when it was passed by Parliament in 1982.