Document Information

Date: 1981-11-20
By: Canada (Parliament)
Citation: Canada, House of Commons Debates, 32nd Parl, 1st Sess, 1981 at 12973.
Other formats: Click here to view the original document (PDF).

COMMONS DEBATES — November 20, 1981

[Page 12973]

THE CONSTITUTION

RECOGNITION OF ABORIGINAL RIGHTS — MOTION UNDER S.O. 43

Mr. Jim Fulton (Skeena): Madam Speaker, I rise under the provisions of Standing Order 43 to propose a motion similar to that proposed by the hon. member for Oshawa (Mr. Broadbent), to make sure there is no misunderstanding in this House. Noting that there was unanimous consent given in this House yesterday to urge the government of Saskatchewan to accept the entrenchment of full equality for women in the constitutional accord, I move, seconded by the hon. member for Oshawa (Mr. Broadbent):

That this House now give unanimous consent to urging the Right Hon. Leader of the Official Opposition to contact Premier Lougheed and Premier Bennett, and urge them to accept entrenchment of aboriginal and treaty rights in the same accord.

Madam Speaker: Is there unanimous consent for this motion?

Some hon. Members: Agreed.

Madam Speaker: Hon. members have heard the motion. Is it the pleasure of the House to adopt the said motion?

Some hon. Members: Agreed.

Hon. Erik Nielsen (Yukon): Madam Speaker, the hon. member for Oshawa (Mr. Broadbent), as usual, is a little behind the times. Had he looked on the table when coming into the opposition lobby today he would have seen a stack of press releases put out by the office of the Leader of the Opposition (Mr. Clark), dealing with this matter. A telex was sent yesterday, not just to the premiers set out in his motion but, indeed, to all premiers. The text of that telex sets forth the spirit of the motion that he has moved and which the House has unanimously accepted. I might just read that text into the record, if I have the time.

This is the telex that the Leader of the Opposition sent to all provincial premiers:

The Progressive Conservative Party in Parliament will be offering certain amendments to the governments latest constitutional proposals. The amendments would increase substantially the support in Canada for a full constitutional settlement, within the spirit of the accord of November 5.

In order to meet the stated objections of the government of Quebec, we propose to reinstate the full financial compensation provisions of the April accord. The benefits of that would naturally he available to all provinces.

Further, we believe that it is not in the national interest to exclude from the resolution the reasonable and fair assurances to the aboriginal peoples which were contained in Section 34 of the previous resolution and which were supported overwhelmingly by all parties in Parliament.

Some hon. Members: Hear, hear!

Mr. Nielsen: I am sorry, Madam Speaker, time prevents me from reading the full text, but it deals with those matters, including equality of women, and so on.

Some hon. Members: Hear, hear!

Some hon. Members: Agreed.

Some hon. Members: No.

Madam Speaker: The discussion is over. It is time for oral questions.