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Wednesday, April 2, 2008 (No. 70)

Orders of the Day

Government Orders

Business of Supply

October 16, 2007 — The President of the Treasury Board — Consideration of the Business of Supply.

Supply period ending June 23, 2008 — maximum of 8 allotted days, pursuant to Standing Order 81(10)(a).

Wednesday, April 2, 2008 — 3rd allotted day.

Opposition Motion

March 31, 2008 — — That, in the opinion of the House, the Conservative government's massive corporate tax cuts are destroying any balance between taxes for large profitable corporations and ordinary Canadians; they are stripping the fiscal capacity of the federal government; they are disproportionately benefiting the financial, oil and gas sectors, while leaving others behind, including manufacturing and forestry; and in so doing have failed to invest in those hard-hit sectors and the needs of everyday working Canadians; therefore, this House has lost confidence in the government.

Voting — not later than 15 minutes before the expiry of the time provided for Government Orders, pursuant to Standing Order 81(16).

Opposition Motions

October 23, 2007 — — That the Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs be directed to investigate the actions of the Conservative Party of Canada during the 2006 election, in relation to which Elections Canada has refused to reimburse Conservative candidates for illegitimate election campaign expenses.

October 23, 2007 — — That, notwithstanding any Standing Order or usual practice, Bill C-2, An Act to amend the Criminal Code and to make consequential amendments to other Acts, be deemed to have been read a second time and referred to the Standing Committee on Justice and Human Rights.

October 23, 2007 — — That this House calls on the government to announce now that the Canadian combat mission in Kandahar will end in February 2009 in order to facilitate a replacement, and begin discussions with NATO and the Government of Afghanistan on what non-combat role Canada can play afterwards to aid in the reconstruction of Afghanistan.

October 23, 2007 — — That this House calls upon the government to recognize that any shortfall in meeting our 2012 Kyoto commitments would be a result of their decision to kill the previous government’s innovative Project Green plan, followed by 18 months of inaction, and the government must replace its weak approach with real action to create the momentum required for Canada to catch-up in the second phase of Kyoto.

October 23, 2007 — — That this House calls on the government to end 18 months of inaction in the fight against poverty in Canada by building on the good work of the previous Liberal government that funded such initiatives as the Canada Child Tax Benefit, affordable housing, literacy, the Supporting Communities Partnership Initiative (SCPI) and the Working Income Tax Benefit.

October 23, 2007 — — That, in the opinion of this House, the government should bring forward legislation to implement the improvements to the Youth Criminal Justice Act recommended by the Honourable D. Merlin Nunn in his report of December 5, 2006, where those proposals fall within federal jurisdiction, and with particular focus on those proposals that ensure that repeat and violent young offenders can be detained pending prosecution.

October 24, 2007 — — That, in the opinion of the House, Canada has to rebalance the mission in Afghanistan and immediately notify its NATO allies that the current mission will end in February 2009.

October 24, 2007 — — That the House reiterate how important it is for Canada to do everything in its power to meet its international commitments under the Kyoto Protocol, in particular by setting absolute greenhouse gas reduction targets to allow for a carbon exchange to be established in Montréal and by adopting a territorial approach.

October 24, 2007 — — That, in the opinion of the House, the government should immediately put forward tangible measures, notably tax measures, to help those workers, businesses and regions affected by the crisis in the forestry and manufacturing sectors.

November 1, 2007 — — That, in the opinion of the House, the government should implement, among others, the following measures to fight crime more effectively and make our communities safer:

1) abolish accelerated parole reviews, which make offenders eligible for parole after serving one sixth of their sentence;

2) amend section 127 of the Corrections and Conditional Release Act to end the near-automatic nature of statutory release, and make statutory release subject to the merit principle and to the likelihood of rehabilitation;

3) expand the reverse onus for the proceeds of crime, once the court has made a finding of guilt, to include car theft, charging a criminal interest rate, procuring, robbery, fraud over $5,000, and making counterfeit money;

4) establish a fund to be used by the provinces to train Crown prosecutors specializing in trials relating to street gangs;

5) extend to one year the time limit of warrants obtained in relation to investigations in which tracking is carried out using the global positioning system (GPS), so that such warrants have the same duration as warrants relating to electronic eavesdropping;

6) prohibit the wearing of a symbol, sign or other representation that identifies an individual as a member of a criminal organization that has recognized as such by a court;

7) amend subsection 719(3) of the Criminal Code to provide that time spent in custody may, in all cases, be taken into account only as straight time; and that the term of imprisonment commences on the day on which the person is taken into custody; and

8) increase the budget of the National Crime Prevention Strategy by 5% a year over five years.

November 1, 2007 — — That, in the opinion of the House, the government should reconsider its decision to close 12 of the 16 Status of Women offices; restore the Court Challenges Program; amend the criteria for the Women’s Program to give groups engaging in research, defending rights or lobbying access to it; enact pay equity legislation; and eliminate the employment insurance provisions that are discriminatory for women, to ensure that the Prime Minister finally lives up to his promise of January 18, 2006, to support the human rights of women and to take concrete steps for Canada to live up to its commitments in this regard.

November 1, 2007 — — That, in the opinion of the House, the government should undertake to make public the nature of discussions and conversations between Canada and officials of the Global Nuclear Energy Partnership in order to make the Conservative government’s position on this clear and transparent, and undertake not to join the Global Nuclear Energy Partnership without a favourable vote in the House of Commons.

November 1, 2007 — — That, in the opinion of the House, the government of Canada invite countries to step up negotiations on post-Kyoto as part of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change Conference of the Parties to be held in Bali in early December, and that it should make a commitment to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 25% compared to 1990 levels by 2020.

November 1, 2007 — — That, in the opinion of the House, the government should give the Royal Recommendation to Bill C-269 in order to allow parliamentarians to vote democratically on the motion at third reading of this bill.

November 1, 2007 — — That the House urge the Governor in Council to obtain by means of a referendum, pursuant to section 3 of the Referendum Act, the opinion of the electors of Canada on whether the Senate should be abolished; and, that the referendum be held no later that October 19, 2009.

December 4, 2007 — — That, in the opinion of the House, the government should introduce specific measures, based on the comprehensive Liberal plan, to achieve, over the next five years, a 30% reduction in the number of Canadians living below the poverty line, including a 50% reduction in child poverty.

December 4, 2007 — — That, in the opinion of the House, the circumstances facing Canadian livestock producers are sufficiently serious as to constitute a crisis to which the government must respond in a tangible way, beyond existing programs, before the end of this year.

December 4, 2007 — — That, in the opinion of the House, the government, in contrast to previous Liberal governments, is demonstrating a disappointing lack of international leadership, especially with regard to, but not limited to, climate change, Darfur, aid to Africa, the death penalty, its selective approach to human rights and its failure to understand the Geneva Convention.

December 4, 2007 — — That the House call upon the government to bring forward without delay constructive measures similar to those put forward by previous Liberal governments to address Canada`s growing economic vulnerabilities in areas including, but not limited to, livestock, forestry, automobiles, manufacturing, exports and tourism.

December 4, 2007 — — That, building on the Liberal “New Deal for Cities and Communities”, the House urge the government to provide immediate and significant incremental funding to address the growing crisis in our nation's infrastructure.

December 4, 2007 — — That the House call on the government to recognize the immediate and critical need to prevent the global climate from warming by more than 2°C; and to that end, further call on the government to follow the leadership of previous Liberal governments by accepting binding, absolute greenhouse gas limits at the upcoming United Nations Climate Conference in Bali.

December 4, 2007 — — That, in the opinion of the House, the government should commit to extending by five years the Official Languages Action Plan by at least renewing all investments included in the 2003-2008 action plan, with cost of living adjustment, and by making new investments in the fields of culture, status of women, seniors, youth and international affairs.

January 29, 2008 — — That this House endorse the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples as adopted by the United Nations General Assembly on September 13, 2007, and call upon the Parliament and government of Canada to implement fully the standards contained therein.

February 27, 2008 — — That, in the opinion of the House, the government should immediately seek to recover 2.1 million dollars from Brian Mulroney which he received from the government in 1997 based on misleading, false and incomplete information.

March 5, 2008 — — That, in the opinion of the House, this government’s budgetary policies have been marked by an unbalanced approach of corporate giveaways to the big banks and big polluters and have failed to address the priorities ordinary Canadians care about, such as health care, housing, infrastructure, manufacturing and forestry, climate change, child care, Aboriginals, women, seniors, poverty, and therefore, that this House has lost confidence in this government.

March 5, 2008 — — That the House note this government’s two years of inaction in the fight against poverty in Canada and failure to build on such initiatives as the Canada Child Tax Benefit, affordable housing, literacy, and the Supporting Communities Partnership Initiative and that for these and other reasons the House has lost confidence in this government.

March 5, 2008 — — That the House welcome the opening expressed by legislators and presidential candidates in the United States that the North American Free Trade Agreement should be re-examined with a view to ensuring respect of high environmental standards and basic workers' rights as well as the sovereignty and democratic accountability of the three partners, ensuring that working and middle-income families, and not only corporations, are the beneficiaries of increased trade and investment.

March 5, 2008 — — That, in the opinion of the House, this government has failed to introduce policies which will diminish the inequality between men and women, in particular by its refusal to provide adequate resources and policies governing child care; legal assistance; long-term care; home care; health care; support for women's equality-seeking groups; support for seniors; support for Aboriginal and minority women; pay equity; reform of employment insurance; support for preventing violence against women; public housing and transportation and other services so vital to the hard working women of this country, and therefore the House has lost confidence in this government.

March 27, 2008 — — That this House urges the government to give a higher priority to the prevention of conflict in its foreign policy and, in particular, the House urges the government to take a more pro-active role in addressing the underlying political, economic and environmental origins of conflict in Afghanistan, Sudan/Darfur, Sri Lanka, and the Middle East, and to organize the departments and agencies of government in such a way that this clearer focus on conflict prevention is matched by the effective use of public resources.

March 27, 2008 — — That this House recognizes the significance of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, as adopted by the United Nations General Assembly on September 13, 2007.

March 27, 2008 — — That, in the opinion of the House, given that the employment insurance fund has an accumulated surplus of over $54 billion, that this surplus has been used for purposes other than the employment insurance plan, that the current employment insurance plan no longer reflects the realities of the labour market, and that access to and coverage of employment insurance benefits must be increased for workers who have lost their jobs, the government should introduce in the six months following the coming into force of the Canada Employment Insurance Financing Board Act a plan to repay the employment insurance fund surplus and ensure that these funds are used solely to improve the current employment insurance plan.

March 27, 2008 — — That, since the House recognizes (i) the important role of MacDonald, Dettwiler and Associates Ltd. (MDA) within Canada's space industry, (ii) the prior direct and indirect investments made by the government into MDA in order to develop Canada's strategic space capabilities, (iii) the need to maintain Canada's complex Earth observation satellite building capabilities for the long term, and (iv) the significance of Canada maintaining shutter control over RADARSAT-2 so that it may continue to operate as a instrument to help protect Canada's Arctic sovereignty; therefore, the House calls on the government to consider carefully all the implications of approving the sale of MacDonald, Dettwiler and Associates Ltd., and provide a report to Parliament.

March 31, 2008 — — That, in the opinion of this House, this government's failure to act to manage the runaway and unsustainably expanding investments in the Athabaska tar sands does not protect the social, environmental and economic future of working families and future generations, and therefore, this House has lost confidence in the government.

March 31, 2008 — — That, in the opinion of this House, the proposed sale of MacDonald, Dettwiler and Associates Ltd. (MDA) and RADARSAT-2 technologies to the United States arms manufacturer, Alliant Techsystems, is of serious concern because of the role of MDA in Canada's space industry, the prior direct and indirect investments made by the government into MDA, the significance of RADARSAT-2 as an instrument to help protect Canada's sovereignty, particularly in the arctic, and, therefore, because it cannot be justified as being of net benefit to Canada the proposed sale should be rejected.

Ways and Means

No. 7 — February 26, 2008 — — Consideration of a Ways and Means motion to amend the Income Tax Act. — Sessional Paper No. 8570-392-09, tabled on Tuesday, February 26, 2008.

No. 8 — February 26, 2008 — — Consideration of a Ways and Means motion to amend the Excise Tax Act relating to the goods and services tax and the harmonized sales tax (GST/HST). — Sessional Paper No. 8570-392-10, tabled on Tuesday, February 26, 2008.

No. 9 — February 26, 2008 — — Consideration of a Ways and Means motion to amend the Excise Act, 2001, the Excise Act and the Customs Tariff. — Sessional Paper No. 8570-392-11, tabled on Tuesday, February 26, 2008.

Government Bills (Commons)

C-4 — October 26, 2007 — — Second reading and reference to the Standing Committee on Transport, Infrastructure and Communities of Bill C-4, An Act to amend the Pilotage Act.

C-5^R — December 12, 2007 — — Consideration at report stage of Bill C-5, An Act respecting civil liability and compensation for damage in case of a nuclear incident, as reported by the Standing Committee on Natural Resources without amendment.

Committee Report — presented on Wednesday, December 12, 2007, Sessional Paper No. 8510-392-35.

Report Stage motions — see “Report Stage of Bills” in today's Notice Paper.

C-7^R — November 2, 2007 — Resuming consideration of the motion of , seconded by , — That Bill C-7, An Act to amend the Aeronautics Act and to make consequential amendments to other Acts, be now read a third time and do pass;

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:

“Bill C-7, An Act to amend the Aeronautics Act and to make consequential amendments to other Acts, be not now read a third time but that it be read a third time this day six months hence.”.

C-13 — February 6, 2008 — — Resuming consideration of the amendments made by the Senate to Bill C-13, An Act to amend the Criminal Code (criminal procedure, language of the accused, sentencing and other amendments).

Senate Message — see Journals of Tuesday, January 29, 2008.

Text of motion — see “Motions Respecting Senate Amendments to Bills” in today’s Notice Paper.

C-14 — November 20, 2007 — Resuming consideration of the motion of , seconded by , — That Bill C-14, An Act to amend the Canada Post Corporation Act, be now read a second time and referred to the Standing Committee on Transport, Infrastructure and Communities.

C-16^R — December 10, 2007 — — Consideration at report stage of Bill C-16, An Act to amend the Canada Elections Act (expanded voting opportunities) and to make a consequential amendment to the Referendum Act, as reported by the Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs with amendments.

Committee Report — presented on Monday, December 10, 2007, Sessional Paper No. 8510-392-28.

C-19 — November 16, 2007 — Resuming consideration of the motion of , seconded by , — That Bill C-19, An Act to amend the Constitution Act, 1867 (Senate tenure), be now read a second time and referred to the Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs.

C-21 — February 4, 2008 — — Consideration at report stage of Bill C-21, An Act to amend the Canadian Human Rights Act, as reported by the Standing Committee on Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development with amendments.

Committee Report — presented on Monday, February 4, 2008, Sessional Paper No. 8510-392-45.

C-22^R — February 13, 2008 — Resuming consideration of the motion of , seconded by , — That Bill C-22, An Act to amend the Constitution Act, 1867 (Democratic representation), be now read a second time and referred to the Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs;

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-22, An Act to amend the Constitution Act, 1867 (Democratic representation), because the Bill would reduce the political weight of the Quebec nation in the House of Commons in an unacceptable manner and does not provide that 25 percent of the elected members of the House of Commons must come from Quebec”.

C-23^R — February 11, 2008 — — Consideration at report stage of Bill C-23, An Act to amend the Canada Marine Act, the Canada Transportation Act, the Pilotage Act and other Acts in consequence, as reported by the Standing Committee on Transport, Infrastructure and Communities with an amendment.

Committee Report — presented on Monday, February 11, 2008, Sessional Paper No. 8510-392-51.

Report stage motion — see “Report Stage of Bills” in today's Notice Paper.

C-24 — November 16, 2007 — — Second reading and reference to the Standing Committee on Justice and Human Rights of Bill C-24, An Act to amend the Criminal Code and the Firearms Act (non-registration of firearms that are neither prohibited nor restricted).

C-26 — February 4, 2008 — Resuming consideration of the motion of , seconded by , — That Bill C-26, An Act to amend the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act and to make consequential amendments to other Acts, be now read a second time and referred to the Standing Committee on Justice and Human Rights.

C-29 — February 14, 2008 — — Resuming consideration at report stage of Bill C-29, An Act to amend the Canada Elections Act (accountability with respect to loans), as deemed reported by a committee with amendments.

Resuming debate on the motions in Group No. 1.

Committee Report — presented on Tuesday, June 19, 2007, Sessional Paper No. 8510-391-289.

Report stage motions — see “Report Stage of Bills” in today's Notice Paper.

C-31^R — March 14, 2008 — Resuming consideration of the motion of , seconded by , — That Bill C-31, An Act to amend the Judges Act, be now read a third time and do pass.

C-32^R — November 29, 2007 — — Second reading and reference to the Standing Committee on Fisheries and Oceans of Bill C-32, An Act respecting the sustainable development of Canada's seacoast and inland fisheries.

C-33 — February 27, 2008 — — Consideration at report stage of Bill C-33, An Act to amend the Canadian Environmental Protection Act, 1999, as reported by the Standing Committee on Agriculture and Agri-Food with amendments.

Committee Report — presented on Wednesday, February 27, 2008, Sessional Paper No. 8510-392-68.

Report stage motions — see “Report Stage of Bills” in today's Notice Paper.

C-34^R — December 6, 2007 — — Second reading and reference to the Standing Committee on Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development of Bill C-34, An Act to give effect to the Tsawwassen First Nation Final Agreement and to make consequential amendments to other Acts.

C-36 — December 10, 2007 — — Second reading and reference to the Standing Committee on Transport, Infrastructure and Communities of Bill C-36, An Act to amend the Air Canada Public Participation Act.

C-39 — February 15, 2008 — Resuming consideration of the motion of , seconded by , — That Bill C-39, An Act to amend the Canada Grain Act, chapter 22 of the Statutes of Canada, 1998 and chapter 25 of the Statutes of Canada, 2004, be now read a second time and referred to the Standing Committee on Agriculture and Agri-Food.

C-43 — February 15, 2008 — — Second reading and reference to the Standing Committee on Public Safety and National Security of Bill C-43, An Act to amend the Customs Act.

C-45^R — March 3, 2008 — — Second reading and reference to the Standing Committee on National Defence of Bill C-45, An Act to amend the National Defence Act and to make consequential amendments to other Acts.

C-46^R — March 3, 2008 — — Second reading and reference to the Standing Committee on Agriculture and Agri-Food of Bill C-46, An Act to amend the Canadian Wheat Board Act and chapter 17 of the Statutes of Canada, 1998.

C-47 — March 4, 2008 — — Second reading and reference to the Standing Committee on Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development of Bill C-47, An Act respecting family homes situated on First Nation reserves and matrimonial interests or rights in or to structures and lands situated on those reserves.

C-50^R — March 14, 2008 — — Second reading and reference to the Standing Committee on Finance of Bill C-50, An Act to implement certain provisions of the budget tabled in Parliament on February 26, 2008 and to enact provisions to preserve the fiscal plan set out in that budget.

Government Bills (Senate)

S-3 — March 7, 2008 — — Second reading and reference to the Standing Committee on Public Safety and National Security of Bill S-3, An Act to amend the Criminal Code (investigative hearing and recognizance with conditions).

Government Business

No. 2 — February 8, 2008 — Resuming consideration of the motion of , seconded by , — That this House take note of the pre-budget consultations undertaken by the Standing Committee on Finance.

No. 4 — February 8, 2008 — — That,

whereas the House recognizes the important contribution and sacrifice of Canadian Forces and Canadian civilian personnel as part of the UN mandated, NATO-led mission deployed in Afghanistan at the request of the democratically elected government of Afghanistan;

whereas, as set out in the Speech from the Throne, the House does not believe that Canada should simply abandon the people of Afghanistan after February 2009; that Canada should build on its accomplishments and shift to accelerate the training of the Afghan army and police so that the government of Afghanistan can defend its own sovereignty and ensure that progress in Afghanistan is not lost and that our international commitments and reputation are upheld;

whereas in February 2002, the government took a decision to deploy 850 troops to Kandahar, the Canadian Forces have served in various capacities and locations in Afghanistan since that time and, on May 17, 2006, the House adopted a motion to support a two year extension of Canada’s deployment in Afghanistan;

whereas the House welcomes the Report of the Independent Panel on Canada’s Future Role in Afghanistan, chaired by John Manley, and recognizes the important contribution they have made;

whereas their Report establishes clearly that security is an essential condition of good governance and lasting development and that, for best effect, all three components of a comprehensive strategy — military, diplomatic and development — need to reinforce each other;

whereas the government accepts the analysis and recommendations of the Panel and is committed to taking action, including revamping Canada’s reconstruction and development efforts to give priority to direct, bilateral project assistance that addresses the immediate, practical needs of the Afghan people, especially in Kandahar province, as well as effective multi-year aid commitments with concrete objectives and assessments, and, further, to assert strong Canadian leadership to promote better coordination of the overall effort in Afghanistan by the international community, and, Afghan authorities;

whereas the results of progress in Afghanistan, including Canada’s military deployment, will be reviewed in 2011 (by which time the Afghanistan Compact will have concluded) and, in advance, the government will provide to the House an assessment and evaluation of progress, drawing on and consistent with the Panel’s recommendations regarding performance standards, results, benchmarks and timelines; and

whereas the ultimate aim of Canadian policy is to leave Afghanistan to Afghans, in a country that is better governed, more peaceful and more secure;

therefore, the House supports the continuation of Canada’s current responsibility for security in Kandahar beyond February 2009, to the end of 2011, in a manner fully consistent with the UN mandate on Afghanistan, but with increasing emphasis on training the Afghan National Security Forces expeditiously to take increasing responsibility for security in Kandahar and Afghanistan as a whole so that, as the Afghan National Security Forces gain capability, Canada’s combat role should be commensurately reduced, on condition that:

(a) Canada secure a partner that will provide a battle group of approximately 1000 to arrive and be operational no later than February 2009, to expand International Security Assistance Force’s security coverage in Kandahar;

(b) to better ensure the safety and effectiveness of the Canadian contingent, the government secure medium helicopter lift capacity and high performance Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) for intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance before February 2009.

Concurrence in Committee Reports

No. 12 — March 14, 2008 — Resuming consideration of the motion of , seconded by , — That the Third Report of the Standing Committee on Access to Information, Privacy and Ethics, presented on Friday, February 29, 2008, be concurred in.

Debate — 1 hour and 56 minutes to be added to the business of the House on a day designated by the Government, pursuant to Standing Order 66(2).

Voting — not later than the expiry of the time provided for debate.


^R Recommended by the Governor General

House Publications

Orders of the Day

Government Orders

Business of Supply

Ways and Means

Government Bills (Commons)

Government Bills (Senate)

Government Business

Concurrence in Committee Reports