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40th PARLIAMENT, 2nd SESSION

Journals No. 35 Friday, March 27, 2009 10:00 a.m.

Prayers

Government Orders

The House resumed consideration of the motion of Mr. Nicholson (Minister of Justice), seconded by Mr. Toews (President of the Treasury Board), — That Bill C-15, An Act to amend the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act and to make related and consequential amendments to other Acts, be now read a second time and referred to the Standing Committee on Justice and Human Rights.

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, — Report on the administration of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police Superannuation Account, together with the Auditor General's Report, for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2008, pursuant to the Royal Canadian Mounted Police Superannuation Act, R.S. 1985, c. R-11, s. 31. — Sessional Paper No. 8560-402-231-01. (Pursuant to Standing Order 32(5), permanently referred to the Standing Committee on Public Safety and National Security)

Introduction of Government Bills

Pursuant to Standing Orders 68(2) and 69(1), on motion of Mr. Hill (Leader of the Government in the House of Commons) for Mr. Nicholson (Minister of Justice), seconded by Mr. O'Connor (Minister of State), Bill C-25, An Act to amend the Criminal Code (limiting credit for time spent in pre-sentencing custody), was introduced, read the first time, ordered to be printed and ordered for a second reading at the next sitting of the House.

Presenting Reports from Interparliamentary Delegations

Pursuant to Standing Order 34(1), presented the report of the Canadian Branch of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (CPA) concerning its participation at the 54th CPA Conference, held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, from August 1 to 10, 2008 and at the bilateral visit to Singapore, Singapore, from August 10 to 14, 2008. — Sessional Paper No. 8565-402-53-05.

Pursuant to Standing Order 34(1), presented the report of the Canadian Branch of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (CPA) concerning its participation at the International Parliamentary Conference entitled "International Migration and Human Trafficking: Maximizing Benefits, Overcoming Challenges", held in London, United Kingdom, from February 2 to 6, 2009. — Sessional Paper No. 8565-402-53-06.

Introduction of Private Members' Bills

Pursuant to Standing Orders 68(2) and 69(1), on motion of Mr. Stoffer (Sackville—Eastern Shore), seconded by Ms. Ashton (Churchill), Bill C-350, An Act to amend the Excise Tax Act (no GST on reading materials), was introduced, read the first time, ordered to be printed and ordered for a second reading at the next sitting of the House.

Pursuant to Standing Orders 68(2) and 69(1), on motion of Mr. Stoffer (Sackville—Eastern Shore), seconded by Ms. Ashton (Churchill), Bill C-351, An Act to amend the Income Tax Act (herbal remedies), was introduced, read the first time, ordered to be printed and ordered for a second reading at the next sitting of the House.

Pursuant to Standing Orders 68(2) and 69(1), on motion of Mr. Lee (Scarborough—Rouge River), seconded by Mr. Tonks (York South—Weston), Bill C-352, An Act to establish the National Security Committee of Parliamentarians, was introduced, read the first time, ordered to be printed and ordered for a second reading at the next sitting of the House.

Presenting Petitions

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

— by , one concerning the nuclear industry (No. 402-0255);

— by , one concerning cruelty to animals (No. 402-0256) and one concerning the situation in Colombia (No. 402-0257);

— by , one concerning housing policy (No. 402-0258).

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-55 and Q-57 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-54 — — With regard to government-owned buildings: (a) how many buildings does the government own by region and territory; (b) what are the annual utility costs including electricity, water, heating and cooling costs for these building by province or territory; (c) what are the overall energy costs for government-owned buildings by province or territory, including all energy uses; (d) what government initiatives exist for improving energy efficiency in government buildings; (e) how many government-owned buildings have been retrofitted in order to improve their energy efficiency in the last 25 years; (f) how many buildings have achieved Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design recognition for new construction and for existing buildings; (g) what studies and evaluations with respect to improving energy efficiency in government-owned buildings have been requested or commissioned by any department before January 27, 2009; (h) how much has the government spent on these studies, by study; and (i) what analysis has been done by the government or on its behalf regarding potential cost savings on energy costs if energy efficiency retrofits were conducted on some or all government-owned buildings? — Sessional Paper No. 8555-402-54.

Q-56 — — With respect to health human resources: (a) how will the government address the issues of doctor shortages, wait times, access and hospital closures; (b) is there a strategy to address the brain drain of doctors, nurses and researchers to the United States; and (c) what are the prospects of a health human resources fund to encourage partnerships between health faculties in the universities and colleges and the academic health science centres that would immediately create more training spaces? — Sessional Paper No. 8555-402-56.

Government Orders

The debate continued.

The question was put on the motion and it was agreed to on division.

Accordingly, Bill C-15, An Act to amend the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act and to make related and consequential amendments to other Acts, was read the second time and referred to the Standing Committee on Justice and Human Rights.

Private Members' Business

At 1:25 p.m., by unanimous consent, the House proceeded to the consideration of Private Members' Business.

Mr. Malo (Verchères—Les Patriotes), seconded by Ms. Demers (Laval), moved, — That, in the opinion of the House, the government should give direct assistance to artists by increasing the annual budget of the Canada Council for the Arts to $300 million and should roll back the cuts it announced in the cultural sector and restore funding for the following programs to their fiscal 2008-2009 levels: Arts Promotion Program, Trade Routes, National Training Program for the Film and Video Sector, New Media Research Networks Fund, Canadian Independent Film and Video Fund, Canada Feature Film Fund and Canadian Music Memories Program. (Private Members' Business M-297)

Debate arose thereon.

Motions

By unanimous consent, it was ordered, — That, notwithstanding any Standing Order or usual practice of the House, for the sole purpose of considering the motion to concur in the Fourth Report of the Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Development, standing on the Order Paper in the name of the Member for Davenport, immediately after the taking of the deferred recorded divisions scheduled at the expiry of the time provided for Government Orders on Monday, March 30, 2009, the House shall revert to the rubric “Motions” under Routine Proceedings, provided that during this debate no quorum calls, dilatory motion or requests for unanimous consent shall be received by the Speaker; and that after a Member from each recognized party has spoken, provided that Members be permitted to split their time pursuant to Standing Order 43, the motion shall be deemed adopted.

Private Members' Business

The House resumed consideration of the motion of Mr. Malo (Verchères—Les Patriotes), seconded by Ms. Demers (Laval). (Private Members' Business M-297)

The debate continued.

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

Adjournment

At 2:25 p.m., the Speaker adjourned the House until Monday at 11:00 a.m., pursuant to Standing Order 24(1).