PRAYERS

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), Mr. Lee (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. 362-0301, 362-0312, 362-0313, 362-0321, 362-0329 and 362- 0331 concerning the Senate. -- Sessional Paper No. 8545-362-38-05;

-- Nos. 362-0545 and 362-0610 concerning the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. -- Sessional Paper No. 8545-362-18-19;

-- No. 362-0579 concerning Canada's railways. -- Sessional Paper No. 8545-362-67-02;

-- No. 362-0598 concerning crimes against humanity. -- Sessional Paper No. 8545-362-46-03;

-- No. 362-0599 concerning the mistreatment of animals. -- Sessional Paper No. 8545-362-36-03;

-- Nos. 362-0603, 362-0608 and 362-0642 concerning immigration. -- Sessional Paper No. 8545-362-19-08;

-- No. 362-0616 concerning the tax system. -- Sessional Paper No. 8545-362-17-11.

Motions

Mr. Lee (Parliamentary Secretary to the Leader of the Government in the House of Commons), seconded by Ms. Carroll (Barrie -- Simcoe -- Bradford), moved, -- That the House do now proceed to the Orders of the Day.

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

(Division--Vote N^o 759)

YEAS-POUR

Members--Députés

-- Alcock -- Anderson -- Assad -- Bachand --  (Richmond -- Arthabaska) -- Baker -- Bélanger -- Bellemare -- Bertrand -- Blaikie -- Boudria -- Breitkreuz --  (Yellowhead) -- Breitkreuz --  (Yorkton -- Melville) -- Brown -- Bryden -- Cadman -- Carroll -- Cauchon -- Charbonneau -- Clouthier -- Collenette -- Cotler -- Dion -- Duncan -- Eggleton -- Epp -- Fry -- Godin --  (Acadie -- Bathurst) -- Gray --  (Windsor West) -- Grewal -- Hanger -- Harb -- Hill --  (Macleod) -- Hill --  (Prince George -- Peace River) -- Johnston -- Jones -- Jordan -- Karetak-Lindell -- Keddy --  (South Shore) -- Kilger --  (Stormont -- Dundas -- Charlottenburgh) -- Knutson -- Laliberte -- Lee -- MacKay --  (Pictou -- Antigonish -- Guysborough) -- Maloney -- Martin --  (Esquimalt -- Juan de Fuca) -- Martin --  (Winnipeg Centre) -- Mayfield -- McNally -- Mifflin -- Minna -- Morrison -- Muise -- Murray -- Nystrom -- O'Reilly -- Parrish -- Peterson -- Pettigrew -- Pratt -- Proud -- Proulx -- Richardson -- Rock -- Saada -- St-Julien -- Stewart --  (Northumberland) -- Szabo -- Thibeault -- Thompson --  (New Brunswick Southwest) -- Torsney -- Wilfert -- 71

NAYS-CONTRE

Members--Députés

-- Alarie -- Asselin -- Bachand --  (Saint-Jean) -- Bergeron -- Bernier --  (Bonaventure -- Gaspé -- Îles-de-la-Madeleine -- Pabok) -- Bigras -- Brien -- Canuel -- Cardin -- Chrétien --  (Frontenac -- Mégantic) -- Crête -- de Savoye -- Debien -- Desrochers -- Dubé --  (Lévis-et-Chutes-de-la-Chaudière) -- Duceppe -- Dumas -- Fournier -- Gagnon -- Girard-Bujold -- Godin --  (Châteauguay) -- Guay -- Guimond -- Lalonde -- Laurin -- Lebel -- Loubier -- Marchand -- Ménard -- Mercier -- Perron -- Picard --  (Drummond) -- Rocheleau -- Sauvageau -- St-Hilaire -- Tremblay --  (Lac-Saint-Jean) -- Tremblay --  (Rimouski -- Mitis) -- Turp -- 38

GOVERNMENT ORDERS

The Order was read for the consideration at report stage of Bill C-20, An Act to give effect to the requirement for clarity as set out in the opinion of the Supreme Court of Canada in the Quebec Secession Reference, as reported by the Legislative Committee without amendment.

NOTICE OF MOTION

Mr. Boudria (Leader of the Government in the House of Commons) gave notice of the intention to move a motion at the next sitting of the House, pursuant to Standing Order 78(3), for the purpose of allotting a specified number of days or hours for the consideration and disposal of the report stage and third reading stage of Bill C-20, An Act to give effect to the requirement for clarity as set out in the opinion of the Supreme Court of Canada in the Quebec Secession Reference.

GOVERNMENT ORDERS

The House resumed consideration at report stage of Bill C- 20, An Act to give effect to the requirement for clarity as set out in the opinion of the Supreme Court of Canada in the Quebec Secession Reference, as reported by the Legislative Committee without amendment.

Pursuant to Standing Order 76.1(5), the Speaker selected and grouped for debate the following motions:

Group No. 1 -- Motions Nos. 1 to 12.

Group No. 2 -- Motions Nos. 13 to 68.

Group No. 3 -- Motions Nos. 69 to 83.

Group No. 4 -- Motions Nos. 84 to 89.

Group No. 5 -- Motions Nos. 90 to 411.

Group No. 1

Ms. St-Hilaire (Longueuil), seconded by Mr. Bergeron (Verchères -- Les-Patriotes), moved Motion No. 1, -- That Bill C-20 be amended by deleting the title.

Mr. Bernier (Bonaventure -- Gaspé -- Îles-de-la-Madeleine -- Pabok), seconded by Mr. Bergeron (Verchères -- Les-Patriotes), moved Motion No. 2, -- That Bill C-20, in the preamble, be amended by adding before line 1 on page 1 the following:

"Whereas when the Quebec people were consulted by a referendum in 1995, the winning choice was the one that obtained a majority of the votes declared valid, that is, fifty percent of the votes plus one vote;"

Ms. St-Hilaire (Longueuil), seconded by Mr. Bergeron (Verchères -- Les-Patriotes), moved Motion No. 3, -- That Bill C-20, in the preamble, be amended by deleting lines 1 to 37 on page 1 and lines 1 to 33 on page 2.

Ms. Alarie (Louis-Hébert), seconded by Mr. Bergeron (Verchères -- Les-Patriotes), moved Motion No. 4, -- That Bill C-20, in the preamble, be amended by deleting lines 1 to 6 on page 1.

Mr. Turp (Beauharnois -- Salaberry), seconded by Mr. Bergeron (Verchères -- Les-Patriotes), moved Motion No. 5, -- That Bill C-20, in the preamble, be amended by replacing lines 1 and 2 on page 1 with the following:

"Whereas the Supreme Court of Canada has given an opinion that there is no right, under interna-"

Mr. Bernier (Bonaventure -- Gaspé -- Îles-de-la-Madeleine -- Pabok), seconded by Mr. Bergeron (Verchères -- Les-Patriotes), moved Motion No. 6, -- That Bill C-20, in the preamble, be amended by deleting lines 7 to 10 on page 1.

Mr. Canuel (Matapédia -- Matane), seconded by Mr. Bergeron (Verchères -- Les-Patriotes), moved Motion No. 7, -- That Bill C-20, in the preamble, be amended by deleting lines 11 to 15 on page 1.

Mr. de Savoye (Portneuf), seconded by Mr. Bergeron (Verchères -- Les-Patriotes), moved Motion No. 8, -- That Bill C-20, in the preamble, be amended by deleting lines 16 to 24 on page 1.

Mr. Turp (Beauharnois -- Salaberry), seconded by Mr. Bergeron (Verchères -- Les-Patriotes), moved Motion No. 9, -- That Bill C-20, in the preamble, be amended by replacing lines 16 and 17 on page 1 with the following:

"Whereas the Supreme Court of Canada has given an opinion that the result of a referendum on"

Ms. Picard (Drummond), seconded by Mr. Bergeron (Verchères -- Les-Patriotes), moved Motion No. 10, -- That Bill C-20, in the preamble, be amended by deleting lines 25 to 32 on page 1.

Mr. Cardin (Sherbrooke), seconded by Mr. Bergeron (Verchères -- Les-Patriotes), moved Motion No. 11, -- That Bill C-20, in the preamble, be amended by deleting lines 33 to 37 on page 1 and lines 1 to 7 on page 2.

By unanimous consent, Ms. Lalonde (Mercier), seconded by Mr. Bergeron (Verchères -- Les-Patriotes), moved Motion No. 12, -- That Bill C-20, in the preamble, be amended by deleting lines 21 to 30 on page 2.

Debate arose on the motions in Group No. 1 (Motions Nos. 1 to 12).

Ms. Alarie (Louis-Hébert), seconded by Mr. Tremblay (Lac- Saint-Jean), moved the following amendment, -- That Motion No. 5 be amended in the French version by adding after the word ``donné'' the following:

"un"

Debate arose thereon.

PRIVATE MEMBERS' BUSINESS

At 1:30 p.m., pursuant to Standing Order 30(6), the House proceeded to the consideration of Private Members' Business.

The House resumed consideration of the motion of Mr. MacKay (Pictou -- Antigonish -- Guysborough), seconded by Mr. Bernier (Tobique -- Mactaquac), -- That, in the opinion of this House, the Criminal Code or other appropriate federal statutes should be amended in accordance with Recommendation 73 of the Province of Nova Scotia's Public Inquiry into the Westray disaster, specifically with the goal of ensuring that corporate executives and directors are held properly accountable for workplace safety. (Private Members' Business M-79)

The debate continued.

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

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 the Speaker -- Minutes of Proceedings of the Board of Internal Economy of the House of Commons for December 6, 7, 13 and 14, 1999. -- Sessional Paper No. 8527-362-12.

-- by Ms. Copps (Minister of Canadian Heritage) -- Management plan for the Saguenay-St.Lawrence Marine Park, for the period 1998- 2004, pursuant to the Saguenay-St. Lawrence Marine Park Act, S.C. 1997, c. 37, sbs. 9(1). -- Sessional Paper No. 8560-362-245-01. (Pursuant to Standing Order 32(5), permanently referred to the Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage)

ADJOURNMENT

At 2:29 p.m., by unanimous consent, the Speaker adjourned the House until Monday, March 13, 2000, at 11:00 a.m., pursuant to Standing Order 28(2) and 24(1).