House of Commons Debates VOLUME 146 Ï NUMBER 026 Ï 1st SESSION Ï 41st PARLIAMENT OFFICIAL REPORT (HANSARD) Tuesday, October 4, 2011 Speaker: The Honourable Andrew Scheer CONTENTS (Table of Contents appears at back of this issue.) 1799 HOUSE OF COMMONS Tuesday, October 4, 2011 The House met at 10 a.m. He said: Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to stand in the House to introduce this bill entitled, “National Strategy for Serious Injury Reduction in Amateur Sport Act”. This legislation would mandate that the federal government convene a conference of first ministers Prayers of health, as well as members of the athletic, medical and health communities in order to implement a strategy for tackling this growing public health concern. ROUTINE PROCEEDINGS Specifically, the bill outlines a strategy for the federal government Ï (1005) to create a national sports injury surveillance and data collection [English] system, establish substantive concussion guidelines, including a sufficient deterrent mechanism to ensure athletes are not being ENVIRONMENT AND SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT returned to play against expressed medical recommendations, create The Speaker: I have the honour to lay upon the table pursuant to national training and educational standards for coaches and other subsection 23(5) of the Auditor General Act the report of the persons involved in amateur sport, and institute incentivized funding Commissioner of the Environment and Sustainable Development to guidelines to assist amateur sport organizations in implementing the House of Commons for the year 2011. these protocols. This report is permanently referred to the Standing Committee on Since introducing a similar bill in the last Parliament, I have Environment and Sustainable Development. received overwhelming support from right across the country on this *** bill. It is my hope that my colleagues from across the aisle will assist me in getting the national sports injury reduction strategy passed as KEEPING CANADA'S ECONOMY AND JOBS GROWING soon as possible. ACT (Motions deemed adopted, bill read the first time and printed) Hon. Ted Menzies (for the Minister of Finance) moved for leave to introduce Bill C-13, An Act to implement certain provisions *** of the 2011 budget as updated on June 6, 2011 and other measures. (Motions deemed adopted, bill read the first time and printed) [Translation] *** OFFICIAL LANGUAGES ACT [Translation] Mrs. Maria Mourani (Ahuntsic, BQ) moved for leave to COMMITTEES OF THE HOUSE introduce Bill C-320, An Act to amend the Official Languages Act (Charter of the French Language) and to make consequential LIBRARY OF PARLIAMENT amendments to other Acts. Mr. Royal Galipeau (Ottawa—Orléans, CPC): Mr. Speaker, I have the honour to table, in both official languages, the first report of She said: Mr. Speaker, as you certainly know, Quebec is a the Standing Joint Committee on the Library of Parliament regarding francophone nation, not a bilingual one. This nation has enacted quorum and the mandate of the committee. legislation called Bill 101, the Charter of the French Language, which obviously applies to all the institutions under its jurisdiction *** as well as to most spheres of life. [English] This bill, an Act to amend the Official Languages Act (Charter of NATIONAL STRATEGY FOR SERIOUS INJURY the French Language) and to make consequential amendments to REDUCTION IN AMATEUR SPORT ACT other Acts, would require the federal government to undertake not to Mr. Glenn Thibeault (Sudbury, NDP) moved for leave to obstruct the application of the Charter of the French Language in introduce Bill C-319, An Act respecting a national strategy to reduce Quebec. In other words, it means that that Bill 101 would apply to all the incidence of serious injury in amateur sport. federal institutions in Quebec. 1800 COMMONS DEBATES October 4, 2011 Routine Proceedings I encourage all my colleagues from Quebec to support this FISHERIES important bill to protect our language, be it in provincial, municipal, educational or federal institutions. Hon. Geoff Regan (Halifax West, Lib.): Mr. Speaker, I am (Motions deemed adopted, bill read the first time and printed) pleased to present a petition from residents of Nova Scotia who draw the attention of the Minister of Fisheries and Oceans to the need for *** his department to fund a two year program to restock the Sackville [English] River with salmon. CANADA POST CORPORATION ACT Mr. Merv Tweed (Brandon—Souris, CPC) moved for leave to This request follows an act of vandalism in November 2009 when introduce Bill C-321, An Act to amend the Canada Post Corporation some idiot cut an oil line to an oil tank and caused the leakage of Act (library materials). several hundred litres of furnace oil to run into the Little Sackville River. It was a terrible moment. It was a stupid thing to do. He said: Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to introduce this bill, as I have in previous times in the House. After more than 20 years of work by residents and, in particular, This bill moves to guarantee a postal rate for libraries for the Sackville Rivers Association, the once polluted Sackville River interchange and to provide books to Canadians at a reduced postal could once again support fish life. This, of course, was a setback. rate. It also moves to increase the access, including the definition of That work has been undone by this oil spill. library material from books, magazines, records, CDs, CD-ROMs, audiovisual cassettes, DVDs and other audiovisual materials. Therefore, the petitioners ask the Minister of Fisheries and Oceans I would advise members of the House that this bill had been to immediately fund a two year restocking program for the Sackville passed unanimously by all members of Parliament in the last session River and assist the Sackville Rivers Association in any remediation and had gone to the Senate just prior to the call of the election. the river habitat may require. I look forward to moving this bill forward again. (Motions deemed adopted, bill read the first time and printed) THE ENVIRONMENT *** Mr. David Tilson (Dufferin—Caledon, CPC): Madam Speaker, Ï (1010) I have a petition from Canadians across the country who are PETITIONS concerned about a large mega-quarry in Melancthon Township in Dufferin County, Ontario, which will be the largest open-pit quarry RIGHTS OF THE UNBORN in Canada of over 2,300 acres. It will be about three miles across. Mr. Blake Richards (Wild Rose, CPC): Mr. Speaker, I have the pleasure to present a petition today from a number of residents of my The petitioners are concerned about a number of things, one of riding, mostly from Olds, Alberta. They want to petition Parliament which is based on the proposed mega-quarry application. There are to recognize unborn children as separate victims when harmed or distinct issues relating to the use of water operations based on killed during attacks against their mothers. NAFTA considerations that may have a substantially negative ASBESTOS financial implication federally and provincially. Mr. Pat Martin (Winnipeg Centre, NDP): Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to present a petition today signed by literally thousands of These petitioners call upon the Government of Canada to conduct Canadians from all across Canada who call upon Parliament to take an environmental assessment under the authority of the Canadian note that asbestos is the greatest industrial killer that the world has Environmental Assessment Act on the proposed Highland Compa- ever known. nies mega-quarry development. The petitioners point out that more Canadians now die from asbestos than all other industrial and occupational causes combined *** and yet Canada continues to be one of the largest producers and exporters of asbestos in the world. They call upon Parliament to take note that Canada also spends millions of dollars subsidizing the QUESTIONS ON THE ORDER PAPER asbestos industry and blocking international efforts to curb its use. Mr. Tom Lukiwski (Parliamentary Secretary to the Leader of Therefore, the petitioners call upon the government to ban the Government in the House of Commons, CPC): Madam asbestos in all of its forms and institute a just transition program for Speaker, I ask that all questions be allowed to stand. any displaced asbestos workers and the communities in which they live. They call upon the government to end all subsidies of asbestos The Deputy Speaker: Is that agreed? both in Canada and abroad and to stop blocking international health and safety conventions designed to protect workers from asbestos, such as the Rotterdam Convention. Some hon. members: Agreed. October 4, 2011 COMMONS DEBATES 1801 Business of Supply GOVERNMENT ORDERS [English] [English] I hope we can all agree that a good society is, among other things, a place where people care about each other. It is a place where, quite BUSINESS OF SUPPLY simply, we care about what happens to ourselves, we care about what happens to our families, we care about what happens to our friends. OPPOSITION MOTION—NATIONAL SUICIDE PREVENTION STRATEGY However, our compassion does not end at the end of our garden. Our Hon. Bob Rae (Toronto Centre, Lib.) moved: compassion extends to our neighbours. Our understanding of what we in Canada face has to include the fact that there are a great many That the House agree that suicide is more than a personal tragedy, but is also a serious public health issue and public policy priority; and, further, that the House Canadians who today are in turmoil. Today, this day, as many as 10 urge the government to work cooperatively with the provinces, territories, people will take their own lives. We could all through a bit of representative organizations from First Nations, Inuit, and Métis people, and other imagination think about who those people are. stakeholders to establish and fund a National Suicide Prevention Strategy, which among other measures would promote a comprehensive and evidence-driven I think of a young girl living on a native reserve.