Hon. Herb Gray (Windsor West):

Mr. Speaker, I rise to present a petition on another subject at the request of a number of people in Windsor, Ontario.

This petition requests that the House of Commons pass legislation giving to the people of Canada a referendum on the question of two official languages.

This petition has also been certified by the clerk as meeting the requirements of the rules for this purpose.

Mr. John Manley (Ottawa South):

Mr. Speaker, I have two petitions to present that have been certified by the clerk to be in accordance with Standing Order 36.

First of all I have a petition from Canadians in my constituency and elsewhere in the national capital region who are very concerned about educational matters and have asked that the federal government, together with other levels of government, facilitate the standardized testing procedure for students across Canada.

Mr. John Manley (Ottawa South):

Mr. Speaker, I have a further petition similar to that just presented by my colleague from Leeds-Grenville. I gather there has been a bit of a campaign with these petitions. I was asked to present it by Mr. John Elkin of my constituency. It has 35 names on it and it asks as well for a national referendum on the policy of bilingualism.

Mr. John Nunziata (York South-Weston):

Mr. Speaker, I am presenting this petition in concert with the hon. member for Don Valley East and the hon. member for Oshawa.

June 9, 1993

The petitioners wish to draw to the attention of the House that the Canadian Parks Service of Environment Canada in its development concept for a proposed national historic park on Grosse tie ignores first the tragic truth of the 15,000 Irish men, women and children who, fleeing famine and pestilence in Ireland in 1847, found in Canada only death and mass graves. Second, the service ignores the heroism of the many Canadians who selflessly succoured the sick and the dying, often at the cost of their own lives. Third, it ignores the generosity of the people of Quebec who adopted nearly 1,000 children orphaned that summer and allowed them to keep their own names.

The petitioners call upon Parliament to urge the Government of Canada through the agency of Environment Canada's Canadian Parks Service to ensure that the Irish mass graves are perpetuated as theA main theme of the national historic park on Grosse lie and as a permanent reminder of the Irish role in the building of Canada.

This particular petition was circulated by Miss Ann Looney of Wellesworth Drive in Etobicoke.

Mr. Jim Fulton (Skeena):

Mr. Speaker, I have the honour to table a very lengthy petition on behalf of my constituents from Kitimat. It has been certified pursuant to Standing Order 36.

The petitioners are concerned that as a result of Conservative government policies, Canada Post Corporation is now centralizing the processing of forward mail from Kitimat, B.C. thus creating less work for Kitimat, B.C. postal workers and resulting in the loss of potential jobs for the youth in the community.

The petitioners call upon this Parliament to stop the privatization of postal services and to stop Canada Post from considering any closure of the wicket services in Kitimat, plus ensuring that the citizens and taxpayers of Kitimat, B.C. have a full service post office which is directly run by the Canada Post Corporation.

Routine Proceedings VIOLENCE

Mr. Jim Fulton (Skeena):

Mr. Speaker, my second petition has also been certified pursuant to Standing Order 36 and again is a very lengthy one.

There are more than 30 pages of signatures of concerned citizens from Terrace, Smithers, Kitwanga, Van-derhoof and Hazelton. They are concerned that many studies have shown a link between violence and entertainment and desensitization to violence in our society.

Since the laws of Canada do not deal with the materials portraying torture, rape and murder as fun including the serial killer board game they therefore call upon this Parliament to amend the Criminal Code so that violent and degrading materials such as the serial killer board game can be kept from being distributed in Canada.

Mr. Ken Atkinson (St. Catharines):

Mr. Speaker, I have petitions with thousands of signatures from the St. Catharines-Niagara area supporting the efforts of Mrs. Debbie Mahaffy and her quest to have the importation of killer cards seized at the Canada-U.S. border and to stop their distribution in Canada.

The signers of this petition abhor the crimes of violence against persons and believe that killer trading cards offer nothing positive for children or adults to admire or emulate but rather contribute to violence.

They call on the Parliament of Canada to amend the laws of Canada to prohibit the importation, distribution, sale and manufacture of killer cards in law and to advise producers of killer cards that their product, if destined for Canada, will be seized and destroyed.

Mr. Duane Derreck was responsible for all of these petitions being distributed.

Mr. Eugene Bellemare (Carleton-Gloucester):

Mr. Speaker, at the request of 68 of my constituents who live in Osgoode Township, I am tabling two petitions asking the government to hold a referendum on the issue of official languages. Although I do not share the opinions expressed in this petition, I am still pleased to do my duty as a member of Parliament in a democratic country and to represent all my constituents, even those who think

Routine Proceedings

differently from me, as on the question of respecting the languages of the two founding peoples, French and English, and who do not seem interested in promoting Canadian unity.

Mr. Jim Karpoff (Surrey North):

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to file two petitions pursuant to Standing Order 36.

One has several hundred pages of signatures of residents of North Surrey condemning the post office for closing the mail sorting plant in Surrey which is one of the biggest in western Canada. It will cost the community $2.3 million in lost wages and will slow down the delivery of mail not only in Surrey but in the surrounding Fraser Valley area as well.

Mr. Jim Karpoff (Surrey North):

Mr. Speaker, the second petition I have calls upon the government to certainly not proceed with the free trade agreement, particularly as it will mean that we cannot bring back low cost generic drugs for a period of 20 years.

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

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to table petitions on the very important issue of establishing national education standards.

Having well-educated and literate citizens is crucial to Canada's future competitiveness. It is unacceptable that today about 30 per cent of students drop out before finishing high school and 40 per cent of Canadians have difficulty with everyday reading and arithmetic. These people will find it increasingly difficult to find meaningful and rewarding employment or any employment at all.

The petitioners are calling for the establishment of a national education standards system to protect, promote and improve the quality of education in Canada. A lack of national standards can hide differences in the quality of education offered across this country.

To restore confidence in our educational system I believe along with the petitioners that establishing a national standard is a positive step in that direction.

Mr. Russell MacLellan (Cape Breton-The Sydneys):

Mr. Speaker, I have a petition from residents of my constituency on Cape Breton Island who are very concerned with the recent violent crimes in Cape Breton. They are concerned that this rate of crime is going to increase.

The petitioners call upon Parliament to review the whole question of sentencing people convicted of violent crimes to make sure that the sentences fit the crimes. They also want a review of the Young Offenders Act to see that stricter penalties are applied to violent crimes.

I ask the House for its consideration in this matter.

Mr. Ian Waddell (Port Moody-Coquitlam):

Mr. Speaker, pursuant to Standing Order 36, I wish to present a petition from my constituents.

Twenty-five people have signed this petition and it has been duly certified. My constituents call for the government to enact legislation for a referendum of the people of Canada binding upon Parliament to accept or reject two official languages, English and French, for the government and the people of Canada, the acceptance or the rejection of the proposed amendments to be determined by a majority of the total votes cast in the whole of Canada together with the majority in a majority of provinces, the territories being considered as one province.

I am duty bound to present this petition.

Mr. Ian Waddell (Port Moody-Coquitlam):

Mr. Speaker, the second petition is from a number of people on the Lamont and Spencer case which the Prime Minister mentioned today.

They call upon the Prime Minister to return Christine Lamont and David Spencer to Canada, not to serve 28 years in Canadian jails or to wait for a treaty with Brazil, but to ask for the expulsion of these people right now according to Brazilian law. I am pleased to present this petition.

June 9, 1993

Mrs. Marlene Catterall (Ottawa West):

Mr. Speaker, I too am pleased to present a petition pursuant to Standing Order 36 that has been certified correct by the clerk.

It adds 3,000 names to the 5,000 I have already presented in favour of asking this Parliament to take action to amend the Divorce Act of Canada to prevent the separation without due cause of children from their grandparents. It recognizes that children can be denied the security they need when unjustified barriers are placed between them and the relationship they enjoy with their grandparents.

Mrs. Marlene Catterall (Ottawa West):

Mr. Speaker, I have a second petition from residents from Toronto primarily.

I am pleased to present this certified petition in special tribute to a friend of mine, Mr. Charlie Christie, who worked all his life on behalf of peace.

It calls upon Parliament to establish a peace trust fund which would allow Canadian taxpayers who are conscientious objectors to choose to redirect a portion of their taxes away from military uses to a fund which would use the resources for peace, education, research, humanitarian aid and other peaceful purposes.

Mrs. Marlene Catterall (Ottawa West):

Mr. Speaker, in accordance with the democratic principles of this House and my responsibility to represent the views of all my constituents, I present another petition asking Parliament to hold a referendum binding upon Parliament to accept or reject two official languages, English and French.

Mr. Ronald J. Duhamel (St. Boniface):

Mr. Speaker, in this first instance, petitioners point out that the major challenges facing Canada today are problems such as poverty, unemployment, abuse.

They say that the current merger of the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada with the Canada Council being proposed by the government will not help social scientists resolve these particular problems. They want this decision deferred-there is

Routine Proceedings

still time to do so-and some consultation to take place and then a decision to be taken by government.

Mr. Ronald J. Duhamel (St. Boniface):

In the second instance, these petitioners want child care deductions for families with special needs children and especially for single-parent families with special needs children to be deductible from income.

They point out that some children require facilities which can be very costly and there is really no option. They believe that the current laws are unfair, insensitive and may be discriminatory. They ask that these be reviewed.

Mr. Ronald J. Duhamel (St. Boniface):

In this final situation, I have petitioners who want child care facilities for workers who need them. They want a reform of the unemployment insurance rules to ensure that there is no abuse of workers. They want the government to create situations favourable for jobs for those who are unemployed and for those who are receiving social assistance. They would like as well the promotion of in-home jobs for mothers or fathers who may want them and they request that there be consultation on future budgets with the people of Canada.