Hon. Perrin Beatty (Wellington-Dufferin-Simcoe):

Mr. Speaker, I have the honour to present the sixth, seventh, and eighth reports of the Standing Joint Committee on Regulations and Other Statutory Instruments in both official languages, to which, pursuant to Standing Order 69(13), the committee requests a comprehensive response.

[Editor's note: For above report, see today's Votes and Proceedings.]

Hon. D. M. Collenette (Minister of State (Multiculturalism)):

Mr. Speaker, pursuant to Standing Order 46(2), I am tabling herewith in both official languages the response of the Government of Canada to Equality Now, the report of the Special Parliamentary Committee on Visible Minorities in Canadian Society.

Hon. Judy Erola (Minister of Consumer and Corporate Affairs):

Mr. Speaker, as Minister responsible for the Status of Women, I rise in accordance with Standing Order 46(2) to lay upon the Table of the House two copies in both official languages of the Federal-Provincial Territorial Report on Wife Battering to the meeting of Ministers responsible for the Status of Women.

Mr. Jesse P. Flis (Parkdale-High Park):

Mr. Speaker, I have the honour to present a petition of the undersigned members of the Kababayan Community Centre and the Chinese Interpreter and Information Services Agency in the constituency of Parkdale-High Park, who now avail themselves of their ancient and undoubted right thus to present a grievance common to your petitioners in the certain assurance that your honourable House will therefore provide a remedy, and humbly sheweth that the undersigned citizens strongly support recommendations 2, 3 and 6 of the Report of the Special Committee on Participation of Visible Minorities in Canadian Society, supporting the concept of continued funding of community efforts which assist visible minorities and immigrants to become self-sufficient participants in the economic and social life of Canada. And as in duty bound your petitioners will ever pray.

Mr. Irenee Pelletier (Sherbrooke):

Mr. Speaker, I have the honour to present a petition from several hundred constituents of mine.

To the Hon. the House of Commons of Canada, in Parliament assembled. The petition of the undersigned residents of Canada who now avail themselves of their ancient and undoubted rights thus to present a grievance common to your petitioners in the certain assurance that your Hon. House will therefore provide a remedy. The petition was drawn up by the Comite Estrien pour l'Amerique Centrale, an umbrella organization for a number of organizations such as the Carrefour de Solidarity Internationale, the Service d'Entraide Internationale, and Developpement et Paix de Sherbrooke.

Briefly, the petition expresses the desire:

First, that the Canadian Government urge the United States to recall all its troops and advisers from the territory of Central America.

Second, that the Canadian Government accept the hand of friendship offered by the Government of Nicaragua and as of now maintain privileged diplomatic relations by opening an embassy in Managua.

Wherefore your petitioners humbly pray and call upon Parliament to consider the two aforementioned requests made by the Comite Estrien pour l'Amerique Centrale. And as in duty bound your petitioners ever pray.

Mr. Gus Mitges (Grey-Simcoe):

Mr. Speaker, I would like to present a petition from the broadcasters of my riding who are requesting a public hearing on the issue of cable distribution of distant Canadian radio and television signals. It is pointed out in the petition that additional competition in the form of distant radio signals will weigh heavily against a viable future for the industry all across Canada by further reducing interest in local services and that the introduction of more outside stations will increase fragmentation and, at the same time, decrease the penetration of the local stations which would tend to move in the direction of reducing interest in the station serving the area with local programming.

Committee Reports

It is the hope of the petitioners that representation will be made by the Government to the CRTC to oppose any action being taken to further any move by the CRTC in this direction.

Mr. Laverne Lewycky (Dauphin-Swan River):

Mr. Speaker, I have 236 petitioners from the areas of Swan River, Durban, Brandon, Minitonas, Kenville and Benito who ask that the Criminal Code be changed to ensure that the unborn are given the same rights and respect to live as the born.

Hon. John M. Reid (Kenora-Rainy River) moved

for leave to introduce Bill C-252, an Act to grant access to records of the Special Committee on the Defence of Canada Regulations.

Mr. Speaker:

Is it the pleasure of the House that the Hon. Member shall have leave to introduce the Bill?

Agreed.

Mr. Reid (Kenora-Rainy River):

Mr. Speaker, the purpose of the Bill is to make available to the public the records and information acquired by the Special Committee during World War II. Those records are still under lock and key and are not available. It is now 1984 and the war ended in 1945. I believe it is time those records were made available to the Canadian public.

Mr. Speaker:

When shall the Bill be read a second time? At the next sitting of the House?

Agreed.