Richard Cannings, MP for South Okanagan-West Kootenay, announced last week that he has tabled his first three pieces of Private Members Legislation in the House of Commons.
Cannings tabled Motion M-50, which calls on the Federal government to establish a Department of Peace; Motion M-51, which calls on the Federal government to apologize to Canada’s British Home Children, along with their families and descendants; and Motion M-52, which calls on the government to introduce mandatory labeling of food products containing ingredients that have been genetically modified. Motions M-50 and M-51 were introduced in previous Parliaments by Cannings’ predecessor Alex Atamanenko.
“I am happy to introduce both of these important motions, motions that residents across South Okanagan-West Kootenay have told me they supported in the past and wished to see brought forward again,” said Cannings. “I want to thank Alex Atamanenko for his past work and advocacy on these important initiatives. I’m proud to continue to the work on these issues and call on the government to give them serious consideration.”
Motion M-50 calls on the Federal government to establish a Department of Peace as part of the structure of the federal government and Cabinet with a mandate to advocate for the non-violent resolution of conflict at home and abroad. In previous Parliaments, Mr. Atamanenko’s legislation on this issue received wide support from civil society and religious groups.
Motion M-51 calls on the Federal government to apologize to Canada’s British Home Children, their families and descendants. From the late 1860s to 1939, approximately 100,000 children were sent from the United Kingdom to Canada to be used as indentured farm workers and domestics. Believed by Canadians to be orphans, approximately only two percent actually were. In 2009, the Government of Australia formally apologized for their involvement and in 2010, the Government of the United Kingdom also formally apologized. In November 2009, then Immigration Minister Jason Kenney refused to consider an apology, stating “Canadians don’t expect their government to apologize for every sad event in our history”.
Motion M-52 calls on the Federal government to should introduce mandatory labeling of food products containing ingredients that have been genetically modified. M-52 was tabled in the last parliament by NDP MP Murray Rankin (Victoria).