Mr. Jean-Robert Gauthier (Ottawa-Vanier):

Mr. Speaker, under the provisions of Standing Order 43, I ask for the unanimous consent of the House to move a motion dealing with an important matter of pressing and urgent necessity.

Being aware that respect for minorities is, in any parliamentary system, a guarantee of its quality; considering the alarming rate of assimilation of Francophones outside Quebec in a Canada advocating linguistic equality for its two founding peoples, considering the necessity for Canada to convince all provinces of the necessity of recognizing the linguistic rights of its citizens, and considering the historic judgment delivered today by the Supreme Court of Canada concerning constitutional respect for linguistic rights, I move, seconded by the hon. member for Madawaska-Victoria (Mr. Corbin):

That the Canadian Parliament urge the government to implement a very strong, bold, untiring and fair linguistic policy by convening immediately a federal-provincial conference to convince the still wavering provinces of the necessity of entrenching basic rights in a renewed constitution, including linguistic rights for all Canadians.

Mr. Speaker:

The House has heard the motion of the hon. member. Pursuant to Standing Order 43, such a motion can be presented for debate only with the unanimous consent of the House. Is there unanimous consent?

Agreed.

No.

[ English |

Mr. Speaker, I rise on a matter of urgent and pressing necessity pursuant to Standing Order 43. In preparing his budget, the Minister of Finance (Mr. Crosbie) neglected a major area of potential government revenues-an export tax on natural gas. As the matter now stands, the natural gas industry gets $1.85 more per 1,000 cubic feet for exported natural gas than it gets for the gas it sells in Canada. That $1.85 premium provides the industry with $1,850 million a year in additional revenues, and with the 40 per cent increase in exports recently announced that figure will continue to grow. I move, seconded by the hon. member for Ottawa Centre (Mr. Evans):

That the Minister of Finance revise his budget by imposing an export lax on natural gas that will remove the considerable incentive to export which is built into the present pricing scheme, and permit the government to reduce its excise tax on gasoline while maintaining its increased revenues.

Mr. Speaker:

This motion can be presented for debate, pursuant to the provisions of Standing Order 43, only with unanimous consent. Is there unanimous consent?

Agreed.

No.

Mr. Les Benjamin (Regina West):

Mr. Speaker, I rise on a matter not only of urgent and pressing necessity under the provisions of Standing Order 43 but because I believe there has been a slight oversight in the preparation of the budget which, I am confident, was unintentional on the part of the Minister of Finance (Mr. Crosbie) and his colleagues.

In view of the fact that the government's budget eliminates the excise tax rebate on gasoline for the handicapped, which will increase their gasoline cost by 25 cents per gallon, compared with an 18-cent per gallon increase for the rest of us, I move, seconded by the hon. member for Winnipeg-Birds Hill (Mr. Blaikie):

That this House rescind the cancellation of the gasoline excise tax rebate for handicapped persons and reinstate their eligibility for a full rebate.

Mr. Speaker:

This motion can be presented for debate at this time, pursuant to Standing Order 43, only by unanimous consent of the House. Is there unanimous consent?

December 1 3, 1979

Agreed.

No.

Mr. Fabien Roy (Beauce):

Mr. Speaker, pursuant to Standing Order 43, I seek the unanimous consent of the House to move a motion on a matter of urgent and pressing necessity-a motion which, hopefully, will be unanimously supported.

In view of the fact that Canada is currently facing a difficult economic and financial situation, that interest rates are higher than ever before in the history of our country, that the chartered banks stand to gain most from this situation and accumulate scandalously high profits, that these institutions are not required to submit individual reports by regions or provinces, and that the chartered banks enjoy exclusive rights and privileges with regard to granting credit to the Canadian society, I move, seconded by the hon. member for Bellechasse (Mr. Lambert):

That the House recommend to the government the establishment of a royal commission of inquiry into the Canadian banking system.

Mr. Speaker:

The House has heard the hon. member's motion. Pursuant to Standing Order 43, this motion requires the unanimous consent of the House. Is there unanimous

consent?

Agreed.