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41st PARLIAMENT, 1st SESSION

Journals No. 118 Monday, May 7, 2012 11:00 a.m.

The Clerk informed the House of the unavoidable absence of the Speaker.

Whereupon, Mr. Devolin (Haliburton—Kawartha Lakes—Brock), Deputy Chair of Committees of the Whole, took the Chair, pursuant to Standing Order 8.

Prayers

Private Members' Business

At 11:03 a.m., pursuant to Standing Order 30(7), the House proceeded to the consideration of Private Members' Business.

The Order was read for the second reading and reference to the Standing Committee on Environment and Sustainable Development of Bill C-370, An Act to amend the Canada National Parks Act (St. Lawrence Islands National Park of Canada).

Mr. Brown (Leeds—Grenville), seconded by Mr. Tweed (Brandon—Souris), moved, — That the Bill be now read a second time and referred to the Standing Committee on Environment and Sustainable Development.

Debate arose thereon.

Pursuant to Standing Order 93(1), the Order was dropped to the bottom of the order of precedence on the Order Paper.

Government Orders

The House resumed consideration of the motion of Mr. Flaherty (Minister of Finance), seconded by Mr. Oliver (Minister of Natural Resources), — That Bill C-38, An Act to implement certain provisions of the budget tabled in Parliament on March 29, 2012 and other measures, be now read a second time and referred to the Standing Committee on Finance;

And of the amendment of , seconded by , — That the motion be amended by deleting all the words after the word “That” and substituting the following:

“this House decline to give second reading to Bill C-38, An Act to implement certain provisions of the budget tabled in Parliament on March 29, 2012 and other measures, because it:

(a) weakens Canadians’ confidence in the work of Parliament, decreases transparency and erodes fundamental democratic institutions by systematically over-concentrating power in the hands of government ministers;

(b) shields the government from criticism on extremely controversial non-budgetary issues by bundling them into one enormous piece of legislation masquerading as a budgetary bill;

(c) undermines the critical role played by such trusted oversight bodies as the Office of the Auditor General of Canada, the CSIS Inspector General and the National Energy Board, amongst many others, thereby silencing institutional checks and balances to the government’s ideological agenda;

(d) raises the age of eligibility for Old Age Security and the Guaranteed Income Supplement from 65 to 67 years in a reckless effort to balance the government’s misguided spending on prisons, incompetent military procurement and inappropriate Ministerial expenses;

(e) includes provisions to gut the federal environmental assessment regime and to overhaul fish habitat protection that will adversely affect fragile ecosystems and Canada’s environmental sustainability for generations to come;

(f) calls into question Canada’s food inspection and public health regime by removing critical oversight powers of the Auditor General in relation to the Canada Food Inspection Agency all while providing an avenue and paving the way for opportunities to privatize a number of essential inspection functions; and

(g) does nothing to provide a solution for the growing number of Canadians looking for employment in Canada’s challenging job market and instead fuels further job loss, which according to the Parliamentary Budget Officer will amount to a total loss of 43,000 jobs in 2014.”.

The debate continued.

Statements By Members

Pursuant to Standing Order 31, Members made statements.

Oral Questions

Pursuant to Standing Order 30(5), the House proceeded to Oral Questions.

Daily Routine Of Business

Tabling of Documents

Pursuant to Standing Order 32(2), laid upon the Table, — Copy of the Amendment to the Articles of the Agreement of the International Monetary Fund on the Reform of the Executive Board, and Explanatory Memorandum, dated December 15, 2010. — Sessional Paper No. 8532-411-35.

Pursuant to Standing Order 32(2), laid upon the Table, — Copy of the Protocol Amending the Agreement on Government Procurement, and Explanatory Memorandum, dated March 30, 2012. — Sessional Paper No. 8532-411-36.

Pursuant to Standing Order 32(2), Mr. Lukiwski (Parliamentary Secretary to the Leader of the Government in the House of Commons) laid upon the Table, — Government responses, pursuant to Standing Order 36(8), to the following petitions:

— Nos. 411-0719 and 411-0720 concerning Canada's railways. — Sessional Paper No. 8545-411-25-04;

— No. 411-0734 concerning environmental assessment and review. — Sessional Paper No. 8545-411-27-15;

— No. 411-0786 concerning cruelty to animals. — Sessional Paper No. 8545-411-3-06;

— No. 411-0806 concerning climate change. — Sessional Paper No. 8545-411-34-14;

— No. 411-0839 concerning immigration. — Sessional Paper No. 8545-411-20-08.

Presenting Reports from Committees

Mr. Preston (Elgin—Middlesex—London), from the Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs, presented the 22nd Report of the Committee, which was as follows:

The Committee recommends, pursuant to Standing Orders 104 and 114, the following change to the list of members of the Standing Committee on Official Languages:


Stéphane Dion for Mauril Bélanger

A copy of the relevant Minutes of Proceedings (Meeting No. 1) was tabled.

Mr. Sweet (Ancaster—Dundas—Flamborough—Westdale), from the Standing Committee on Industry, Science and Technology, presented the First Report of the Committee, "E-Commerce in Canada: Pursuing the Promise". — Sessional Paper No. 8510-411-92.

A copy of the relevant Minutes of Proceedings (Meetings Nos. 6 to 14, 19, 20 and 23 to 27) was tabled.

Introduction of Private Members' Bills

Pursuant to Standing Orders 68(2) and 69(1), on motion of Ms. Crowder (Nanaimo—Cowichan), seconded by Mr. Cash (Davenport), Bill C-421, An Act to amend the Income Tax Act (nitrate reduction), was introduced, read the first time, ordered to be printed and ordered for a second reading at the next sitting of the House.

Motions

By unanimous consent, it was resolved, — That the 22nd Report of the Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs, presented earlier today, be concurred in.

Presenting Petitions

Pursuant to Standing Order 36, petitions certified correct by the Clerk of Petitions were presented as follows:

— by , one concerning banks (No. 411-0986);

— by , one concerning the Canada Post Corporation (No. 411-0987) and one concerning telecommunications (No. 411-0988);

— by , one concerning Old Age Security benefits (No. 411-0989);

— by , one concerning Canada's railways (No. 411-0990);

— by , three concerning Fiji (Nos. 411-0991 to 411-0993) and one concerning navigable waters (No. 411-0994);

— by , one concerning abortion (No. 411-0995) and one concerning the Criminal Code of Canada (No. 411-0996);

— by , one concerning the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (No. 411-0997);

— by , one concerning the democratic process (No. 411-0998) and one concerning environmental assessment and review (No. 411-0999).

Questions on the Order Paper

Mr. Lukiwski (Parliamentary Secretary to the Leader of the Government in the House of Commons) presented the answers to questions Q-534, Q-542 to Q-544, and Q-550 on the Order Paper.

Pursuant to Standing Order 39(7), Mr. Lukiwski (Parliamentary Secretary to the Leader of the Government in the House of Commons) presented the returns to the following questions made into Orders for Return:

Q-533 — — With regard to the Market Basket Measure: (a) which government department is responsible for deciding how it will be calculated; (b) what changes were made to the calculation of shelter costs within the past three years; (c) who made the decision to change the calculation of shelter costs; (d) who was consulted on the decision to change the calculation of shelter costs; (e) what kind of evaluation was performed on the new calculation of shelter costs to ensure that it still represented a reasonable measure of the actual costs of housing; (f) when will the government review the shelter cost calculation again; and (g) what will be the process for reviewing the shelter cost? — Sessional Paper No. 8555-411-533.

Q-551 — — With regard to the Centenaries Program funded under the program authority of Western Economic Diversification (WD) and delivered by WD and Canadian Heritage: (a) what is the purpose, cost, and timeframe of all current, ongoing, or completed (i) programs, (ii) commitments, (iii) agreements, (iv) expenditures to commemorate the 100th anniversaries of the provinces of Alberta and Saskatchewan, including, but not limited to, capital legacy projects as well as commemorative and celebratory events or any projects or programs transferred at any point to other departments for implementation; (b) what is the (i) source, (ii) partner, (iii) commitment, (iv) value, (v) timeframe of all funds leveraged from other funding sources in support of (a); (c) how did the government measure the success, effectiveness, and efficiency of all projects, programs, commitments, agreements, expenditures, and timeframes referred to in (a) and (b); and (d) what steps has WD taken to ensure that recommendation number one of the March 2010 Evaluation of the Centenaries Program, which is that “the department should ensure its corporate database captures relevant project recommendations and financial information in a timely manner,” be implemented? — Sessional Paper No. 8555-411-551.

Government Orders

And of the amendment of , seconded by , — That the motion be amended by deleting all the words after the word “That” and substituting the following:

“this House decline to give second reading to Bill C-38, An Act to implement certain provisions of the budget tabled in Parliament on March 29, 2012 and other measures, because it:

(b) shields the government from criticism on extremely controversial non-budgetary issues by bundling them into one enormous piece of legislation masquerading as a budgetary bill;

The debate continued.

Returns and Reports Deposited with the Clerk of the House

Pursuant to Standing Order 32(1), papers deposited with the Clerk of the House were laid upon the Table as follows:

— by — Report of the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation, together with the Auditor General's Report, for the year ended December 31, 2011, pursuant to the Financial Administration Act, R.S. 1985, c. F-11, sbs. 150(1). — Sessional Paper No. 8560-411-108-02. (Pursuant to Standing Order 32(5), permanently referred to the Standing Committee on Human Resources, Skills and Social Development and the Status of Persons with Disabilities)

— by — Report of the Royal Canadian Mint, together with the Auditor General's Report, for the year 2011, pursuant to the Financial Administration Act, R.S. 1985, c. F-11, sbs. 150(1). — Sessional Paper No. 8560-411-176-02. (Pursuant to Standing Order 32(5), permanently referred to the Standing Committee on Finance)

— by — Report of the Canada Development Investment Corporation, together with the Auditor General's Report, for the year ended December 31, 2011, pursuant to the Financial Administration Act, R.S. 1985, c. F-11, sbs. 150(1). — Sessional Paper No. 8560-411-471-02. (Pursuant to Standing Order 32(5), permanently referred to the Standing Committee on Finance)

— by — Response of the government, pursuant to Standing Order 109, to the First Report of the Standing Committee on Access to Information, Privacy and Ethics, "Exclusions and Exemptions: Study on Section 68.1 of the Access to Information Act and the Resulting Court Actions Concerning the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation" (Sessional Paper No. 8510-411-52), presented to the House on Thursday, March 8, 2012. — Sessional Paper No. 8512-411-52.

— by — Report of the Canadian Tourism Commission, together with the Auditor General's Report, for the year ended December 31, 2011, pursuant to the Financial Administration Act, R.S. 1985, c. F-11, sbs. 150(1). — Sessional Paper No. 8560-411-87-02. (Pursuant to Standing Order 32(5), permanently referred to the Standing Committee on Industry, Science and Technology)

Adjournment Proceedings

At 6:30 p.m., pursuant to Standing Order 38(1), the question “That this House do now adjourn” was deemed to have been proposed.

After debate, the question was deemed to have been adopted.

Accordingly, at 7:01 p.m., the Acting Speaker adjourned the House until tomorrow at 10:00 a.m., pursuant to Standing Order 24(1).