Mr. Speaker:

I have the honour to lay upon the table a report prepared by the Office of the Commissioner of Official Languages for the period July, 1983, to March, 1984, in accordance with Section 72 of the Privacy Act.

Mr. Pinard:

Mr. Speaker, I rise on a point of order. I would like to announce a change to House business for today. After consultations with Opposition House Leaders, rather than dealing with the Nova Scotia offshore oil agreement this afternoon, the last item of business after Bill C-8 and Bill C-49 which remain to be dealt with will be Bill C-36. There is an understanding that we would allow second reading to be given today in order to allow Bill C-36 to go to committee for a short meeting, the understanding being that we will give third reading to this Bill later this week in due time.

Tomorrow we will be dealing with two Bills, C-34 and C-33. The understanding is that we will divide the time available for Government business tomorrow into two equal parts to deal with those two Bills. We will deal first with Bill C-34 and the second part of the time available for Government business will be devoted to Bill C-33, it being understood that if there are a few minutes left we could complete third reading of Bill C-36, if possible.

The understanding also provides that we will allow Bill C-34 and Bill C-33 to be adopted through all remaining stages

Business of the House

tomorrow. On Thursday, if a report is made on the Peace Institute Bill on time by consent, we will be dealing with it as a first item of business Thursday morning. It will be followed by Nova Scotia offshore, Bill C-43, which was supposed to be dealt with this afternoon, and the Bank Act, C-30. This business for Thursday is subject to modification depending on the talks we will have, but this is what we are planning for today.

Assuming that all business that I have just indicated is completed by that time, Friday is open to deal with so-called non-contentious matters. We will have to wait until later this week before specifying the order of business for Friday.

Mr. Hnatyshyn:

Mr. Speaker, the discussions have been referred to by the Government House Leader. In terms of Thursday, my understanding would be that all we are talking about is the sequence of legislation. That is to say, if the Peace Institute Bill were to come forward, we would be able to deal possibly with that matter first. Otherwise, we might proceed with the Nova Scotia offshore treaty first, for example, and take that to its conclusion.

In terms of these items of legislation, the Government has decided to bring them forward on its legislative agenda. We are prepared to deal with them but I should say that the proposal for business with respect to Thursday in regard to the Peace Institute and the Bank Act, particularly the Bank Act, remains the subject of negotiation.

With respect to the Bank Act, as the Government House Leader will appreciate, I must have further discussions in terms of the extent of our participation in that legislation. My understanding is that there have been negotiations with the other third Party in the House with respect to their attitude on it. I will be interested in having the definitive statement with respect to their position on that legislation and to have further consultation with my caucus colleagues, in view of the fact that this Bill is now coming forward. As long as it is understood that we are going to consult with respect to the Bank Act, I would like to have a reasonable period of time to debate important issues such as the offshore and the Peace Institute. I do not want those important items and the Bank Act to be dealt with in five-minute periods.

I believe there are important statements to be made with respect to these items of legislation, so I hope that the Government House Leader, in setting forth these items, will allow us a reasonable period to deal with these Bills.

Mr. Young:

Mr. Speaker, in the absence of my House Leader, whom I understand will be returning this evening, our attitude toward the Bank Act will be determined at that time through formal discussions between the Government House Leader and the Official Opposition House Leader. As far as other legislation is concerned, we are prepared to deal with that as the Government brings it forward.

June 26, 1984

Petitions

Mr. Maurice Foster (Parliamentary Secretary to President of the Treasury Board):

Mr. Speaker, I have the honour to present the first report of the Standing Committee on Privileges and Elections.

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

Mr. G. M. Gurbin (Bruce-Grey):

Mr. Speaker, I have the privilege of presenting a petition on behalf of 271 residents of the Province of Ontario and my constituency of Bruce-Grey, who now avail themselves of their ancient and undoubted right thus to present a grievance common to your petitioners in the certain assurance that this honourable House will therefore provide a remedy. These petitioners humbly sheweth that, in keeping with their Canadian ideals of respect for human rights and national sovereignty, they affirm the positive steps taken to date by the Hon. Allan MacEachen to recognize and support the new Government of Nicaragua. They encourage our Canadian Government to establish an embassy in Managua, Nicaragua, to promote dialogue and strengthen our relations. They recommend that the Government of Canada actively support the Contadora Group by consistently and publicly reinforcing their policies for the region; and finally, they request that the Government of Canada communicate clearly to all governments involved in the region that Canada is vigorously opposed to armed interventions into the affairs of Nicaragua.

Therefore, your petitioners humbly pray and call upon the Honourable House to impose such changes. And as in duty bound, your petitioners will ever pray.

Mr. Laverne Lewycky (Dauphin-Swan River):

Mr. Speaker, I have the honour and privilege to present a petition of some 552 petitioners from the areas of Ste. Rose, Ste. Amelie, Ebb and Flow, Rorketon, Winnipegosis, Laurier, Fork River, Crane River, McCreary and Eddystone, who state that whereas human life begins at conception and is a proven scientific fact, and that whereas the present abortion rate is unacceptable, they humbly demand that we as elected officials fulfil our duty in restoring protection to all human life, including the life of the unborn.

Mr. Speaker:

There does not appear to be a royal recommendation with regard to this Bill. Under the circumstances, the Minister cannot introduce it at this point.

Mr. John Evans (Parliamentary Secretary to President of the Privy Council):

Mr. Speaker, the following questions will be answered today: 711 and 761.

1. How many Canadian Broadcasting Corporation personnel attended the 1984 Winter Olympics in Sarajevo, Yugoslavia including all reporters and technical staff?

2. What did it cost the Corporation to (a) fund its personnel while in Sarajevo (b) transport its personnel to and from Sarajevo?

Hon. Francis Fox (Minister of Communications):

I am

informed by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation as follows:

1. The number of CBC personnel attending the 1984 Winter Olympics in Sarajevo, including all reporters and technical staff was 71. This group serviced four CBC networks-English television, English radio, French television and French radio- and provided coverage of Olympic events from seven different venues.

2. (a) and (b) Such costs are components of the over-all cost of the special programming produced for the Olympics, and it has not been customary for Parliament to require the Corporation to provide such details of its internal management and administration. The background to this custom is explained in detail in the reply to question No. 2,530, answered November 6, 1975.

1. Did the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation provide news coverage and documentation of the wolf hunt in British Columbia and, if so, what was the total cost of (a) (i) travel to (ii) accommodation in Fort St. John and Fort Nelson (b) food and other expenses (c) communications (d) the charter of aircraft, cars and other equipment?

June 26, 1984

2. How many persons, employed by the (a) English (b) French network, were involved in this coverage?

3. Did corporate employees, at any time during the event, transport or otherwise assist members of the protest group?

Hon. Francis Fox (Minister of Communications):

I am

informed by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation as follows:

1. (a), (b), (c) and (d) Yes. These expenses are components of over-all program costs, and it has not been customary to require the CBC to provide such details of its internal management and administration. The background to this custom is explained in detail in the reply to question No. 2,530 answered November 6, 1975.

2. (a) Ten. (b) One. In the period January 30, 1984 through March 7, 1984, these employees were in the Fort Nelson/Fort St. John area at various times to provide radio and television coverage of the wolf hunt. It should be noted that the services of, and/or the tape produced by, those recording for English television were shared between the Journal, CBC British Columbia regional television, the National and the CBC's French national television newscast, the Telejournal.

3. No.