Agreed.
Mr. LaVar Payne (Medicine Hat, CPC)
Mr. Speaker, I have three petitions to present this morning.
Two of them are asking Citizenship and Immigration Canada to expedite the recognition of Seyamak Naderi as a convention refugee.
In the third petition, petitioners are asking the Government of Canada to assist the current humanitarian crisis by accepting a group of Rohingya people as government-assisted refugees.
Mr. Claude Gravelle (Nickel Belt, NDP)
Mr. Speaker, I would like to present a petition signed by dozens of people in my riding from Alban, Sturgeon Falls, Garson and Blezard Valley. They are calling on the Government of Canada to work actively with the Province of Ontario to maintain and strengthen the public health care system for northerners, specifically through the following measures: investments in better long-term and palliative home care programs in northern Ontario and the creation of a mental health and suicide prevention strategy.
Mr. Adam Vaughan (Trinity—Spadina, Lib.)
Mr. Speaker, I rise today to present two petitions.
The first petition is signed by hundreds of residents in my riding regarding the proposal to expand and put jets at the Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport. The Liberal Party and others are committed not to reopen the tripartite agreement that governs that airport, and in doing so, we protect the waterfront. Therefore, the petition compels the House to act on that position.
Mr. Adam Vaughan (Trinity—Spadina, Lib.)
Mr. Speaker, the second petition is on an equally important issue in the city of Toronto, which is the expiration of the social housing agreements with CMHC, particularly around co-op housing.
Hundreds of residents of the communities surrounding these wonderful places to live have signed a petition asking the government not to allow those agreements to expire and to protect public housing as the housing crisis in this country deepens, as we work towards resurrecting a national housing program. I submit these petitions on behalf of the residents of Trinity—Spadina.
Mr. Alain Giguère (Marc-Aurèle-Fortin, NDP)
Mr. Speaker, I wish to present a petition signed by people from my riding who are calling for the creation of an ombudsman position that will really have some authority when it comes to Canadian mining companies operating abroad.
This problem is tarnishing the image that many people have of Canada. Fixing this situation would be the right thing to do.
Ms. Niki Ashton (Churchill, NDP)
Mr. Speaker, I am honoured to present a petition signed by many incredible women, strong feminists from Newfoundland, who are calling on the government to enact a national action plan to end violence against women. The petitioners are showing their support for a motion that I put forward, Motion No. 444. They do not want to stop at the defeat of that motion, but push for action to end violence against women in Canada today.
Ms. Kirsty Duncan (Etobicoke North, Lib.)
Mr. Speaker, today I present six petitions regarding our most pressing environmental issue and perhaps the defining issue of our generation: climate change.
One petition deals with the science of climate change and five others deal with a few of the projected impacts of climate change, including economic impacts, extreme weather events and rising food prices.
The petitioners call upon the government to accept the science of climate change, adopt a comprehensive climate change plan and help Canadians adapt.
Mr. Speaker, I wish a happy summer to everybody.
Mr. Mathieu Ravignat (Pontiac, NDP)
Mr. Speaker, it is my pleasure to table a petition demanding that Parliament pass legislation to remove all flavours from all tobacco products since they are marketed to youth and create addiction.
Mrs. Carol Hughes (Algoma—Manitoulin—Kapuskasing, NDP)
Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to rise to table two petitions.
The first petition is regarding the creation of the defence of Canada medal.
As members know, many men and women gave countless hours of service to their country as they trained and prepared for an attack on Canadian soil during the Cold War era. The petitioners recognize that these individuals who served in the regular and reserve forces, police forces, emergency measures organizations and civil organizations worked to protect Canada. The petitioners are asking that the House support Bill C-354, which would create a defence of Canada medal in honour of these veterans of the Cold War.
Mrs. Carol Hughes (Algoma—Manitoulin—Kapuskasing, NDP)
Mr. Speaker, the second petition pertains to the Algoma Central Railway. These petitioners signed the petition before the government finally came to its senses and provided the additional dollars that were needed to keep the ACR going. I know there is still some concern about that, and therefore, this petition is still relevant as we need to make sure that the ACR is protected in the long run.
Hon. Irwin Cotler (Mount Royal, Lib.)
Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to rise to present three separate petitions today.
The first is a petition on behalf of Canadians who are calling on the Government of Canada and members of Parliament to take note of the human rights violations perpetrated in Venezuela by the government of President Nicolás Maduro, including the criminalization of dissent, the shuttering of independent media and the imprisonment of opposition leaders.
The petitioners call upon the Government of Canada to further study the human rights situation in Venezuela, including a mission to conduct first-hand evaluations of the situation there.
This is a particularly timely petition as opposition leader Leopoldo López and former San Cristobal mayor Daniel Ceballos have embarked upon a hunger strike to protest their imprisonment and that of other opponents of the regime.
Mr. Speaker, the second petition is on behalf of Canadians who wish the government to apologize to Dr. David Shugar for the human and civil rights violations he suffered, including serious damage to his reputation and loss of employment as a result of false accusations that he was a Communist spy in 1946.
The petitioners call on the government to submit a letter of apology to Dr. Shugar who, as a result of these civil rights abuses, and despite being exonerated of all the accusations against him, was summarily dismissed from his position with the federal Department of National Health and Welfare, unable to secure employment and forced to emigrate to Poland where he resides today. He is close to 100 years of age.
Hon. Irwin Cotler (Mount Royal, Lib.)
Mr. Speaker, the third petition is signed by Canadians who are concerned about the situation of Seyamak Naderi, an Iranian citizen and former political prisoner and resident of camps Ashraf and Liberty, currently living as a refugee claimant in Albania and who is in urgent need of medical care.
The petitioners are concerned about the grave dangers he would suffer if returned to his native Iran. His sister Saeideh, the only member of his family who can provide the needed ongoing care that he requires, is a Canadian citizen seeking his reunification with her here in Canada.
The petitioners call upon the Government of Canada and the House of Commons to do everything in their power to expedite the recognition of Seyamak Naderi as a refugee and reunite him with his sister here in Canada as soon as possible.
Mr. Philip Toone (Gaspésie—Îles-de-la-Madeleine, NDP)
Mr. Speaker, I have the honour to present a petition signed by hundreds of my constituents. They are very concerned about the quality of transportation in our region. They are calling specifically for the return of VIA Rail service, which would make our region far less isolated. There is no doubt that our region is quite remote.
Ms. Elizabeth May (Saanich—Gulf Islands, GP)
Mr. Speaker, I rise today to present three petitions, all of which are from constituents within Saanich—Gulf Islands.
The first petition calls for an aggressive climate strategy. The petitioners have set out the goals that were once accepted in a piece of legislation passed under the name of my colleague, the member for Thunder Bay—Superior North, calling for a reduction by 2050 of 80% of carbon dioxide levels below those of 1990.
The second petition, Mr. Speaker, calls upon the Government of Canada to act on the issue of hydraulic fracturing, or fracking. The petitioners compel the oil and gas companies to disclose all the chemicals that they are currently using and to conduct a comprehensive environmental review, among other measures.
Ms. Elizabeth May (Saanich—Gulf Islands, GP)
Mr. Speaker, the last petition is very timely given that the Supreme Court of Canada has given one year's notice to deal with the issue of end-of-life decisions.
The petitioners call upon the House of Commons to respect the will of Canadians and enact legislation with clear guidelines to physicians to allow competent, fully informed and terminally ill patients the option of physician-assisted death.
Mr. David McGuinty (Ottawa South, Lib.)
Mr. Speaker, pursuant to Standing Order 36, I rise today to table yet another petition regarding the devastating cuts to service and the huge price increases at Canada Post.
I am pleased to table this petition on behalf of concerned Canadians in St. Catharines, Ontario, who are suffering the effects of these changes.
I look forward to the government's response.
Mr. Matthew Kellway (Beaches—East York, NDP)
Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to present two petitions today.
The first is in support of a pan-Canadian food strategy. The signatories point out that Canada is notable among its industrialized comparators in its absence of a comprehensive food policy.
The signatories to this petition call upon the Government of Canada to implement a pan-Canadian food strategy to support farmers, improve access to healthy and local food, and to market Canadian food at home and abroad.
Mr. Matthew Kellway (Beaches—East York, NDP)
Mr. Speaker, the second petition deals with the federal lands in Durham region.
The signatories to this petition point out that the federal lands in Durham region encompass class 1 Ontario greenbelt farmland and the vital watersheds of the Oak Ridges Moraine, but that this land is designated for an airport and economic development and not agriculture.
The signatories call on the House of Commons to rescind all plans for an airport and non-agricultural uses on the federal lands in Durham region and to act instead to preserve the watersheds and the agricultural land of this irreplaceable natural resource for the long-term benefit of all Canadians.
Hon. Mauril Bélanger (Ottawa—Vanier, Lib.)
Mr. Speaker, I have a petition signed by Canadians from across Quebec and Ontario who are calling on the Government of Canada to pressure the Government of Burundi to comply with its constitution, end the violence and abide by the Arusha accord of 2000, which prohibits the president from seeking a third term. The violence is due to the fact that the president is doing just that. The petitioners are also calling on the Government of Canada to temporarily suspend financial aid to Burundi until a legitimate election is held and to suspend the deportation of Burundian citizens to Burundi so as not to expose them to the violence.
However, I must obtain the unanimous consent of the House because this petition was not certified. I am therefore seeking unanimous consent to table this petition.