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41st PARLIAMENT, 2nd SESSION

Journals No. 70 Monday, April 7, 2014 11:00 a.m.

Prayers

Private Members' Business

At 11:00 a.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. Reid (Lanark—Frontenac—Lennox and Addington), seconded by Mr. O'Connor (Carleton—Mississippi Mills), — That the Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs be instructed to consider the advisability of instituting a single, preferential ballot for the election of the Speaker by replacing Standing Order 4 with the following:

“4. The election of a Speaker shall be conducted by secret ballot as follows:

(1) Any Member who does not wish to be considered for election to the Office of Speaker shall, not later than 6:00 p.m. on the day preceding the day on which the election of a Speaker is expected to take place, in writing, so inform the Clerk of the House who shall prepare a list of such Members’ names together with a list of all Ministers of the Crown and party leaders, and shall provide the same to the Member presiding prior to the taking of the ballot.

(2) Members present in the Chamber shall be provided by the Clerk of the House with ballot papers, on which shall be listed, in alphabetical order, the names of all the Members whose names have not been placed on the list provided pursuant to section (1) of this Standing Order.

(3) The Member presiding shall announce from the Chair that the list provided pursuant to section (1) of this Standing Order is available for consultation at the Table.

(4) Members wishing to indicate their choice for the Office of Speaker shall rank each candidate listed on the ballot in the Member’s order of preference by marking the number “1” in the space adjacent to the name of the candidate who is the Member’s first preference, the number “2” in the space adjacent to the name of the Member’s second preference and so on until the Member has completed the ranking of all the candidates for whom the Member wishes to vote.

(5) A ballot on which a Member has ranked one or more, but not all, of the candidates is valid only in respect of the candidate or candidates whom the member has ranked.

(6) Members shall deposit their completed ballot papers in a box provided for that purpose on the Table.

(7) The Clerk of the House shall, once all Members wishing to do so have deposited their ballot papers, count the number of first preferences recorded on the ballots for each candidate, and, if a candidate has received a majority of first preferences, provide the Member presiding with the name of that candidate, whereupon the Member presiding shall announce the name of the new Speaker.

(8) If, after the count referred to in section (7) of this Standing Order, no candidate has received a majority of first preferences, the Clerk of the House shall

(a) eliminate the candidate who received the least number of first preferences from any subsequent counts and, in the event that, at the conclusion of a count, there is an equality of votes between two or more candidates, both or all of whom have the fewest first preferences, eliminate all of the candidates for whom there is an equality of first preferences;

(b) in all subsequent counts, treat each second or lower preference as if it were a first preference for the next highest candidate in the order of preference who is not eliminated; and

(c) repeat the process of vote counting described in paragraphs (a) and (b) until one candidate has received a majority of first preferences, at which point the Clerk of the House shall provide the Member presiding with the name of that candidate, whereupon the Member presiding shall announce the name of the new Speaker.

(9) Every ballot shall be considered in every count, unless it is exhausted in accordance with section (10) of this Standing Order.

(10) A ballot is exhausted when all the candidates on that ballot in respect of which a preference has been made are eliminated.

(11) In the event that, after all other candidates have been eliminated, the process of vote counting has resulted in an equality of largest number of first preferences between two or more candidates, Members present in the Chamber shall be provided by the Clerk of the House with ballot papers, on which shall be listed, in alphabetical order, the names of all candidates who have not been eliminated, and the vote shall proceed in like manner as the first vote.

(12) After a Speaker has been declared elected, the Clerk of the House shall destroy the ballots together with all records of the number of preferences marked for each candidate and the Clerk of the House shall in no way divulge the number of preferences marked for any candidate.

(13) During the election of a Speaker there shall be no debate and the Member presiding shall not be permitted to entertain any question of privilege.”;

and report its finding to the House no later than six months following the adoption of this order. (Private Members' Business M-489)

The debate continued.

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

Interruption

At 11:47 a.m., the sitting was suspended.

At 12:00 p.m., the sitting resumed.

Government Orders

The House resumed consideration of the motion of Mr. Oliver (Minister of Finance), seconded by Mr. Duncan (Minister of State), — That Bill C-31, An Act to implement certain provisions of the budget tabled in Parliament on February 11, 2014 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:

“the House decline to give second reading to Bill C-31, An Act to implement certain provisions of the budget tabled in Parliament on February 11, 2014 and other measures, because it:

(a) amends more than sixty Acts without adequate parliamentary debate and oversight;

(b) does nothing to create quality, good-paying jobs for Canadians and fails to extend the hiring credit for small business;

(d) hands over private financial information of hundreds of thousands of Canadians to the US Internal Revenue Service under the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act;

(e) reduces transparency at the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency;

(f) imposes tolls on the Champlain Bridge;

(g) jeopardizes the independence of eleven federal administrative tribunals; and

(h) enables the government to weaken regulations affecting rail safety and the transport of dangerous goods without notifying the public.”.

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), 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. 412-1689, 412-1705, 412-1711, 412-1812, 412-1928, 412-1931, 412-1935, 412-1936, 412-1937, 412-1974, 412-2002, 412-2003, 412-2005, 412-2008 and 412-2009 concerning national parks. — Sessional Paper No. 8545-412-37-07;

— No. 412-1719 concerning health care services. — Sessional Paper No. 8545-412-7-08;

— No. 412-1721 concerning hazardous products. — Sessional Paper No. 8545-412-42-03;

— Nos. 412-1726 and 412-1751 concerning genetic engineering. — Sessional Paper No. 8545-412-4-11;

— Nos. 412-1729 to 412-1737 concerning navigable waters. — Sessional Paper No. 8545-412-24-09;

— No. 412-1929 concerning environmental assessment and review. — Sessional Paper No. 8545-412-9-05;

— Nos. 412-1968 to 412-1971 concerning horse meat. — Sessional Paper No. 8545-412-59-05.

Introduction of Private Members' Bills

Pursuant to Standing Orders 68(2) and 69(1), on motion of Mr. Chong (Wellington—Halton Hills), seconded by Mr. Rajotte (Edmonton—Leduc), Bill C-586, An Act to amend the Canada Elections Act and the Parliament of Canada Act (candidacy and caucus reforms), 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. Mayes (Okanagan—Shuswap), seconded by Mr. Warawa (Langley), Bill C-587, An Act to amend the Criminal Code (increasing parole ineligibility), 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, — Whereas during a three-month period beginning April 7, 1994, 800 000 Rwandans were killed in an organized campaign of genocide;

That the House solemnly commemorate the Rwandan genocide on the occasion of its 20th anniversary, reflect upon the lessons learned since the genocide, including the importance of reconciliation, and reaffirm its commitment to the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide.

Presenting Petitions

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

— by , one concerning the Canada Post Corporation (No. 412-2272);

— by , one concerning sex selection (No. 412-2273) and two concerning human rights (Nos. 412-2274 and 412-2275);

— by , two concerning the Canada Post Corporation (Nos. 412-2276 and 412-2277) and one concerning human rights (No. 412-2278);

— by , two concerning the Canada Post Corporation (Nos. 412-2279 and 412-2280) and two concerning VIA Rail (Nos. 412-2281 and 412-2282);

— by , one concerning abortion (No. 412-2283);

— by , two concerning VIA Rail (Nos. 412-2284 and 412-2285);

— by , one concerning the electoral system (No. 412-2286), one concerning the Canada Post Corporation (No. 412-2287) and one concerning immigration (No. 412-2288);

— by , two concerning VIA Rail (Nos. 412-2289 and 412-2290);

— by , one concerning the protection of the environment (No. 412-2291);

— by , one concerning the Parliament of Canada (No. 412-2292) and one concerning the Canada Post Corporation (No. 412-2293);

— by , one concerning international agreements (No. 412-2294) and one concerning climate change (No. 412-2295);

— by , one concerning foreign aid (No. 412-2296);

— by , thirteen concerning the taking of blood samples (Nos. 412-2297 to 412-2309);

— by , one concerning VIA Rail (No. 412-2310) and one concerning genetic engineering (No. 412-2311);

— by , two concerning VIA Rail (Nos. 412-2312 and 412-2313);

— by , two concerning VIA Rail (Nos. 412-2314 and 412-2315).

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:

“the House decline to give second reading to Bill C-31, An Act to implement certain provisions of the budget tabled in Parliament on February 11, 2014 and other measures, because it:

(a) amends more than sixty Acts without adequate parliamentary debate and oversight;

(b) does nothing to create quality, good-paying jobs for Canadians and fails to extend the hiring credit for small business;

(d) hands over private financial information of hundreds of thousands of Canadians to the US Internal Revenue Service under the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act;

(e) reduces transparency at the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency;

(f) imposes tolls on the Champlain Bridge;

(g) jeopardizes the independence of eleven federal administrative tribunals; and

(h) enables the government to weaken regulations affecting rail safety and the transport of dangerous goods without notifying the public.”.

The debate continued.

Petitions Filed with the Clerk of the House

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

— by , one concerning sexual orientation (No. 412-2316);

— by , one concerning immigration (No. 412-2317).

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 6:50 p.m., the Speaker adjourned the House until tomorrow at 10:00 a.m., pursuant to Standing Order 24(1).