Journals of the Senate
51 Elizabeth II, A.D. 2002, Canada
Journals of the Senate
1st Session, 37th Parliament
Issue 114
Wednesday, May 8, 2002
1:30 p.m.
The Honourable Daniel Hays, Speaker
The Members convened were:
The Honourable Senators
Andreychuk, Bacon, Baker, Beaudoin, Biron, Bolduc, Buchanan, Callbeck, Carney, Carstairs, Comeau, Cook, Cools, Corbin, De Bané, Di Nino, Doody, Fairbairn, Ferretti Barth, Finnerty, Fraser, Furey, Gauthier, Gill, Grafstein, Graham, Hays, Hervieux-Payette, Hubley, Jaffer, Johnson, Joyal, Keon, Kinsella, Kirby, Kolber, Kroft, LaPierre, Lapointe, Lawson, LeBreton, Léger, Lynch-Staunton, Maheu, Mahovlich, Milne, Moore, Morin, Murray, Nolin, Oliver, Pépin, Phalen, Pitfield, Poulin (Charette), Poy, Prud'homme, Rivest, Robertson, Robichaud, Roche, Rompkey, Rossiter, Setlakwe, Sibbeston, Sparrow, St. Germain, Stollery, Stratton, Taylor, Tkachuk, Tunney, Watt
The Members in attendance to business were:
The Honourable Senators
Andreychuk, *Atkins, Bacon, Baker, *Banks, Beaudoin, Biron, Bolduc, Buchanan, Callbeck, Carney, Carstairs, Comeau, Cook, Cools, Corbin, *Cordy, *Day, De Bané, Di Nino, Doody, Fairbairn, Ferretti Barth, Finnerty, *Forrestall, Fraser, Furey, Gauthier, Gill, Grafstein, Graham, Hays, Hervieux-Payette, Hubley, Jaffer, Johnson, Joyal, *Kenny, Keon, Kinsella, Kirby, Kolber, Kroft, LaPierre, Lapointe, Lawson, LeBreton, Léger, Lynch-Staunton, Maheu, Mahovlich, *Meighen, Milne, Moore, Morin, Murray, Nolin, Oliver, *Pearson, Pépin, Phalen, Pitfield, Poulin (Charette), Poy, Prud'homme, Rivest, Robertson, Robichaud, Roche, Rompkey, Rossiter, Setlakwe, Sibbeston, Sparrow, St. Germain, Stollery, Stratton, Taylor, Tkachuk, Tunney, Watt, *Wiebe
PRAYERS
SENATORS' STATEMENTS
Some Honourable Senators made statements.
ORDERS OF THE DAY
GOVERNMENT BUSINESS
Bills
Order No. 1 was called and postponed until the next sitting.
Reports of Committees
Resuming debate on the motion of the Honourable Senator Kolber, seconded by the Honourable Senator Maheu, for the adoption of the Sixteenth Report of the Standing Senate Committee on Banking, Trade and Commerce (Bill C- 23, An Act to amend the Competition Act and the Competition Tribunal Act with one amendment and observations), presented in the Senate on May 2, 2002.
After debate,
The question being put on the motion, it was adopted.
The Honourable Senator Robichaud, P.C., moved, seconded by the Honourable Senator Graham, P.C., that the Bill, as amended, be placed on the Orders of the Day for a third reading at the next sitting.
The question being put on the motion, it was adopted.
OTHER BUSINESS
Senate Public Bills
Resuming debate on the motion of the Honourable Senator Grafstein, seconded by the Honourable Senator Cook, for the third reading of Bill S-18, An Act to Amend the Food and Drugs Act (clean drinking water).
After debate,
The Honourable Senator Robichaud, P.C. for the Honourable Senator Cordy moved, seconded by the Honourable Senator Milne, that further debate on the motion be adjourned until the next sitting.
The question being put on the motion, it was adopted.
Orders No. 2 to 9 were called and postponed until the next sitting.
Commons Public Bills
Order No. 1 was called and postponed until the next sitting.
Reports of Committees
Orders No. 1 to 7 were called and postponed until the next sitting.
Consideration of the Ninth Report of the Standing Joint Committee on Official Languages (Vote 35 under Privy Council), presented in the Senate on April 25, 2002.
After debate,
The Honourable Senator Gauthier moved, seconded by the Honourable Senator Fraser, that further debate on the consideration of the report be adjourned until the next sitting.
The question being put on the motion, it was adopted, on division.
Orders No. 9 and 10 were called and postponed until the next sitting.
Resuming debate on consideration of the Ninth Report of the Standing Senate Committee on National Finance (study on the role of the government in the financing of deferred maintenance costs in Canada's post-secondary institutions), tabled in the Senate on October 30, 2001.
After debate,
The Honourable Senator Murray, P.C., moved, seconded by the Honourable Senator Moore, that the Report be adopted.
The question being put on the motion, it was adopted.
Orders No. 12 to 14 were called and postponed until the next sitting.
Other
Orders No. 11 (inquiry), 138 (motion), 16, 40 (inquiries), 73 (motion), 46 (inquiry), 44 and 122 (motions) were called and postponed until the next sitting.
Resuming debate on the inquiry of the Honourable Senator Cools calling the attention of the Senate to:
(a) to the public's need for the Senate and the Parliament of Canada to take into their cognizance the current conflict between Ottawa residents with their Ottawa City Council and the National Capital Commission regarding the National Capital Commission's proposal to re-zone a riverfront parkland to build a 244 dwelling housing development on that riverfront parkland, a matter well reported in the media;
(b) to the national capital parkland known as the Moffatt Farm, a riverfront parkland on the heritage waterway, the Rideau River, at Mooney's Bay, near the entrance to the Hog's Back Locks, all of which form a part of the ancient and historic Rideau Canal and the Rideau Canal Waterway System, a parkland which for decades has been held by the National Capital Commission as a commissioned public trust for its protection for the public good and for the public use;
(c) to the meaning in law of a commission, being that a commission is a public body with a public purpose, authorized by letters patent, an act of parliament, or other lawful warrant to execute and perform a public office, and further, that the National Capital Commission is no ordinary entity, or no simple arms length crown corporation but is a commission a peculiar constitutional entity, intended to perform a public duty;
(d) to the current land use designation zoning of Moffat Farm which is zoned as parkland, as are other Ottawa national capital parks such as Vincent Massey Park and Hog's Back Park, parklands whose maintenance and sustenance are of great importance and concern to Ottawans;
(e) to the National Capital Commission contracted agreements with private developers, including that one with DCR Phoenix, regarding the sale for development of the parkland, Moffatt Farm, to the same DCR Phoenix, a private developer currently acting as the National Capital Commission agent before Ottawa City Council and the Ontario Municipal Board in proceedings about the National Capital Commission proposed re-zoning of Moffatt Farm from parkland zoning to residential zoning so as to permit the National Capital Commission's sale of this parkland to private developers;
(f) to Ottawa City Council's unanimous decision on March 27, 2002 rejecting and soundly defeating the National Capital Commission/DCR Phoenix's proposal for re-zoning and development of the Moffatt Farm parkland, to the city government's strong objection to the proposed development, being the building of 244 expensive, luxurious high end houses on the Moffatt Farm parkland, a parkland also known for its environmentally sensitive lands;
(g) the responsible ministry's and the National Capital Commission's own protocol that holds that the National Capital Commission should defer to municipal government on planning issues and land use;
(h) to another motion overwhelmingly adopted by Ottawa City Council on April 10, 2002 expressing the City's wish to purchase the Moffatt Farm parkland, also asking the National Capital Commission to honour City Council's decision and also to withdraw its own appeal to the Ontario Municipal Board asking the Ontario Municipal Board to overturn City Council and force the re-zoning of Moffatt Farm from parkland zoning to residential zoning;
(i) to that same City Council motion of April 10, 2002, which said:
"WHEREAS the Moffatt Farm has been in public ownership for the past 50 years, since its expropriation, and has until 1999, been designated a Capital Park by the National Capital Commission;
AND WHEREAS the NCC has determined that this property is surplus to national needs and intends to sell it;
AND WHEREAS the Moffatt Farm is outside the General Urban Area, and designated as Waterfront Open Space in the Regional Official Plan, which is land in, or intended to be in, public ownership and intended for public recreation and environmental conservation uses;
AND WHEREAS the Moffatt Farm has no `right of development' at this time, being designated Major Open Space, Waterway Corridor and Environmentally Sensitive Area, zoning that offers the highest possible protection;
AND WHEREAS, in the Ottawa Official Plan, the Moffatt Farm is designated as a District/Community Park, a use identified in the 1973 Carleton Heights Secondary Plan as a means to address inadequate parkland for this area of the City;
AND WHEREAS, since 1973, the population of this community has doubled and available parkland has already decreased;
AND WHEREAS the City of Ottawa has a policy to acquire, where possible, waterfront properties that form the Greenway System and preserve these lands for public open space use;
THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the City of Ottawa offer to purchase the entire Moffatt Farm property from the NCC, at a price which will be based on its current and future use as a District Park; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the City request the local Members of Parliament (National Capital Caucus) to urge the NCC to respect Council's unanimous decision and withdraw its appeal to the OMB.''
(j) to the growing public disenchantment and disappointment of Ottawans who perceive the National Capital Commission's corporate culture as running roughshod over Ottawans with wanton disregard for local communities of which the Moffat Farm community is only one of several which include Lac Leamy, Sparks Street redevelopment and others, all of which have resulted in diminishing public respect for the National Capital Commission and its land use proposals in the national capital area;
(k) to the burgeoning public unease about the destiny of Ottawa's precious public lands as many Ottawans are anxious that the National Capital Commission is conducting its affairs in land use matters, more as a private development company and less as a public commission entrusted with Her Majesty's and the public's interest in the proper land use of unique, historical, heritage parklands and properties; and
(l) to the public need for Parliament's study and review of the National Capital Commission in its entirety, including its role, structure, organization, operations, authorizing statute, its parliamentary appropriations, finances, and its relations with Canadian citizens, especially Canadian citizens living in the Ottawa area, its land dealings, its land developments, and its agreements with private developers selected by the National Capital Commission as recipients, buyers, of treasured historic lands.
After debate,
The Honourable Senator Kinsella moved, seconded by the Honourable Senator Stratton, that further debate on the inquiry be adjourned until the next sitting.
The question being put on the motion, it was adopted.
Orders No. 106, 103 and 119 (motions) were called and postponed until the next sitting.
Resuming debate on the inquiry of the Honourable Senator Murray, P.C., calling the attention of the Senate to certain issues related to the redistribution of seats in the House of Commons subsequent to the decennial census of the year 2001.
After debate,
The Honourable Senator Stratton moved, seconded by the Honourable Senator Rossiter, that further debate on the inquiry be adjourned until the next sitting.
The question being put on the motion, it was adopted.
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Ordered, That Order No. 5 under OTHER BUSINESS, Reports of Committees, be again called.
Resuming debate on the motion of the Honourable Senator Kolber, seconded by the Honourable Senator Callbeck, for the adoption of the Fifteenth Report of the Standing Senate Committee on Banking, Trade and Commerce (budget 2002-2003) presented in the Senate on April 30, 2002.
After debate,
The question being put on the motion, it was adopted.
ADJOURNMENT
The Honourable Senator Robichaud, P.C., moved, seconded by the Honourable Senator Kolber:
That the Senate do now adjourn.
The question being put on the motion, it was adopted.
(Accordingly, at 4:00 p.m. the Senate was continued until 1:30 p.m. tomorrow.)
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Changes in Membership of Committees Pursuant to Rule 85(4)
Standing Committee on Internal Economy, Budgets and Administration
The name of the Honourable Senator Stratton substituted for that of the Honourable Senator Forrestall (May 7).
Standing Senate Committee on Transport and Communications
The name of the Honourable Senator Gustafson substituted for that of the Honourable Senator Comeau (May 7).
Standing Senate Committee on Foreign Affairs
The names of the Honourable Senators Moore and Phalen substituted for those of the Honourable Senators Austin and Setlakwe (May 7).
The names of the Honourable Senators Austin and Setlakwe substituted for those of the Honourable Senators Moore and Phalen (May 8).
Standing Committee on Rules, Procedures and the Rights of Parliament
The names of the Honourable Senators Robichaud and Rompkey substituted for those of the Honourable Senators Austin and Bryden (May 8).
Standing Senate Committee on Legal and Constitutional Affairs
The names of the Honourable Senators Hubley and Maheu substituted for those of the Honourable Senators Bryden and Pearson (May 8).
Standing Senate Committee on Banking, Trade and Commerce
The name of the Honourable Senator Mahovlich substituted for that of the Honourable Senator Poulin (May 8).
Standing Senate Committee on National Security and Defence
The name of the Honourable Senator LaPierre substituted for that of the Honourable Senator Baker (May 8).