Let's take a little trip down private members' motion memory lane ...

Judging from the comments generated in response to last night's post on Libby Davies' private member's motion that would call on the government to remove the 10 year residency requirement to receive OAS benefits, there seems to be a solidifying school of thought that one can evaluate the prospective competency of a government-in-waiting by the actions of its backbenchers during the time it serves as Her Majesty's Loyal Opposition.

It's an interesting theory, but does it hold up on analysis?

To find out, let's take a virtual trip back to the fall of 2005, and the fall of Paul Martin's Liberal government, and look at the private members' motions that stood in the names of Conservative MPs at the time of dissolution.

Oh, come on. It'll be fun!  After all, who among us can forget the zeal with which then-backbench Conservative MP Peter Goldring campaigned for Canada to adopt Turks and Caicos as Canada's eleventh province (M-207)? Or Nina Grewal's pitch for a statue of former Prime Minister RB Bennett on Parliament Hill (M-219)? Or her husband Gurmant's bid to ... remove the ten-year residency requirement to receive OAS payments (M-187)? Oh, dear. Let's move on from that one quickly, shall we? 

Really, it's a bit of a nostalgia tour to read through the list of Conservative-sponsored motions from those all but forgotten days as official opposition, many of which addressed issues on which the Conservative government, once elected, steadfastly declined to act: abortion counseling (M-70), the definition of marriage (M-138 and M-279), desecration of the flag (M-256), the scourge of gambling (M-72), and the mandatory resignation of any MP who leaves his or her caucus to join "the governing party"(M-265).

It's fair to point out that some proposals did eventually become government policy, albeit not through the private members' process: Leon Benoit's efforts to win a tax break for mechanics' tools (M-254) turned out to be a forerunner of a program implemented as part of Canada's Economic Action! Plan, although his caucus colleague Peter Goldring (yes, again, the man was a private-members'-motion-introducing machine back in the day) has yet to see his dream of the GST being stripped from home heating fuels (M-285) become reality.

Interestingly, relatively few of the following motions were resubmitted when the Conservatives returned to the House as government, although Jay Hill's proposal for a National Day of Prayer (M-71) was among the very few to make the cut. That would suggest that the Conservative party may have tightened up what had historically been a largely laissez-faire attitude towards the sort of private members' business that backbenchers could introduce. Then again, one's perspective sometimes changes when one finds oneself sitting on the other side of the Chamber.

In any case, given the NDP's response to the controversy surrounding the Davies motion, the newly installed Official Opposition may decide it would be wise to implement a similar screening process ahead of schedule.

Without further ado, then, the complete list of private members' motions that stood in the name of Conservative MPs at dissolution in 2005. Those that were reintroduced during the next parliament are indicated by an asterisk.

*M-69 -- October 5, 2004 -- Mr. Breitkreuz (Yorkton--Melville) -- That, in the opinion of the House, the government should direct the Auditor General of Canada to review the efficacy of all firearms legislation and firearms related legislation and report to Parliament on any gun control measure that is not cost-effective at reducing violent crime and improving public safety.

M-70 -- December 8, 2004 -- Mr. Breitkreuz (Yorkton--Melville) -- That, in the opinion of the House, the government should work with the provinces to introduce measures requiring that all women considering an abortion be given complete information by their physician about all the known risks of the procedure and that this information be adequately understood by the woman before she is referred for an abortion.

*M-71 -- October 5, 2004 -- Mr. Hill (Prince George--Peace River) -- That, in the opinion of the House, the government should recognize the first Sunday preceding Thanksgiving as a national day of prayer followed by a week of prayer of thanksgiving for all the benefits God has granted us as a nation.

*M-72 -- October 5, 2004 -- Mr. Hill (Prince George--Peace River) -- That, in the opinion of the House, the government should undertake a study to examine the impacts of gambling on society.

*M-73 -- October 5, 2004 -- Mr. Hill (Prince George--Peace River) -- That, in the opinion of the House, it should be unlawful for uniforms, insignia and decorations of the Canadian Armed Forces to be worn by those not authorized to do so, or worn or displayed in a disrespectful or demeaning manner.

M-138 -- October 6, 2004 -- Mrs. Gallant (Renfrew--Nipissing--Pembroke) -- That, in the opinion of this House: (a) the traditional definition of marriage is and should remain the union of one man and one woman to the exclusion of all others; and (b) August 22 of each year should be designated as National Marriage Day in order to recognize this definition.

M-139 -- October 6, 2004 -- Mrs. Gallant (Renfrew--Nipissing--Pembroke) -- That, in the opinion of this House, Canadian Forces personnel serving on Operation Athena in Afghanistan, should be awarded the same medal as members of the 3rd Battalion, Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry, received for their tour in Afghanistan.

M-140 -- October 6, 2004 -- Mrs. Gallant (Renfrew--Nipissing--Pembroke) -- That, in the opinion of this House, all spouses of the Canadian Forces personnel serving on Operation Athena should receive medals recognizing their sacrifices at home.

M-154 -- October 12, 2004 -- Mrs. Skelton (Saskatoon--Rosetown--Biggar) -- That, in the opinion of this House, the government should work with medical students to ensure that they are offered an opportunity to receive specialized national emergency response training with the Public Health Agency of Canada before entering their professions.

M-178 -- October 28, 2004 -- Mrs. Skelton (Saskatoon--Rosetown--Biggar) -- That, in the opinion of the House, the government should add "paramedic" to the definition of "public safety occupation" in subsection 8500(1) of the Income Tax Act regulations.

M-183 -- November 2, 2004 -- Mr. Grewal (Newton--North Delta) -- That, in the opinion of the House, the government should include proposed regulations with all new government legislation to ensure a more open, inclusive, accountable, and transparent legislative process that will permit greater parliamentary scrutiny during debate and review by standing committees.

M-184 -- November 2, 2004 -- Mr. Grewal (Newton--North Delta) -- That, in the opinion of the House, the government should direct Elections Canada to undertake a study of the nomination processes used by federal parties for the selection of candidates for federal elections and consider the merits of establishing rules and regulations governing the selection of candidates.

M-185 -- November 2, 2004 -- Mr. Grewal (Newton--North Delta) -- That, in the opinion of the House, the government should study the merit of introducing a mandatory voting law for federal elections.

M-186 -- November 2, 2004 -- Mr. Grewal (Newton--North Delta) -- That, in the opinion of the House, the government should recognize the importance of respect for religious freedom and cultural diversity in Canada by adopting legislation and regulations permitting the wearing of religious articles of faith, like the Sikh turban, without restriction.

M-187 -- November 3, 2004 -- Mr. Grewal (Newton--North Delta) -- That, in the opinion of the House, the government should end the disparity of the 10-year residency requirement for Old Age Security eligibility.

M-188 -- November 3, 2004 -- Mr. Grewal (Newton--North Delta) -- That, in the opinion of the House, the government should, in co-operation with provincial and territorial governments, eliminate unnecessary, overlapping and duplicate regulations, repeal outdated acts and harmonize and streamline the regulatory process between federal, provincial and territorial ministries and agencies in order to remove regulatory barriers.

M-189 -- November 4, 2004 -- Mr. Moore (Port Moody--Westwood--Port Coquitlam) -- That, in the opinion of the House, the government should introduce a comprehensive plan of action to address the issue of drug-facilitated sexual assault, which should undertake to: (a) recommend to Cabinet that the substances GHB and Rohypnol be identified in the Criminal Code under a separate schedule as date-rape drugs; (b) establish, in cooperation with the provinces and territories, a national initiative to educate women on the dangers of date-rape drugs and related substances; and (c) establish, in cooperation with the provinces and territories, a national task force to establish new guidelines for the collection and documentation of evidence in sexual assault investigations.

M-196 -- November 18, 2004 -- Mr. Thompson (New Brunswick Southwest) -- That in the opinion of the House, Canada would benefit from a greater diversity in the ownership of newspapers and the House calls on the government to bring forward measures to increase competition, including permitting the non-Canadian ownership of newspapers.

M-199 -- November 29, 2004 -- Mrs. Skelton (Saskatoon--Rosetown--Biggar) -- That, in the opinion of the House, the government should immediately appoint a Chief Dental Health Officer to oversee and improve the oral health of Canadians.

M-200 -- December 1, 2004 -- Mrs. Skelton (Saskatoon--Rosetown--Biggar) -- That, in the opinion of the House, the government should offer to take a leadership role to coordinate with all provinces and territories to ensure that all Seniors have reasonable access to vision and oral care.

M-201 -- December 1, 2004 -- Mrs. Skelton (Saskatoon--Rosetown--Biggar) -- That, in the opinion of the House, the government should immediately take the necessary steps to ensure that the National Child Benefit is administered equally within all provinces and territories.

M-203 -- December 2, 2004 -- Mr. Thompson (New Brunswick Southwest) -- That, in the opinion of the House, the government should use all means at its disposal to bar the transit of liquid natural gas vessels through the Canadian waters of Head Harbour Passage between Campobello and Deer Islands.

M-207 -- January 27, 2005 -- Mr. Goldring (Edmonton East) -- That, in the opinion of the House, the government should commence exploratory discussions to determine whether there is a social and economic will for a union of the country of the Turks and Caicos Islands with Canada, as Canada's eleventh province.

M-209 -- January 27, 2005 -- Mr. Casey (Cumberland--Colchester--Musquodoboit Valley) -- That, in the opinion of the House, the government should take a leadership position and create national standards for the regulation of the spreading of bio-solids and other human and industrial waste products on agricultural lands.

M-212 -- February 3, 2005 -- Mr. Johnston (Wetaskiwin) -- That, in the opinion of the House, the government should immediately amend the Navigable Waters Protection Act to include a definition of a navigable waterway in order to prevent waterways being declared navigable that, by almost any standards, cannot and will not support navigation and to ensure the protection of waterways that can support navigation.

M-219 -- March 10, 2005 -- Mrs. Grewal (Fleetwood--Port Kells) -- That, in the opinion of the House, the government should forthwith honour the memory of the Right Honourable Richard B. Bennett by erecting a statue in his likeness on Parliament Hill.

M-220 -- March 10, 2005 -- Mrs. Grewal (Fleetwood--Port Kells) -- That, in the opinion of the House, the Government should amend section 7 of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms to recognize the right of every person to own, use and enjoy property, and not to be deprived of that right without full, just and timely compensation and due process of law.

M-222 -- March 10, 2005 -- Mrs. Grewal (Fleetwood--Port Kells) -- That, in the opinion of the House, the government should introduce both minimum and tougher sentencing for major sexual assaults.

M-240 -- April 18, 2005 -- Mrs. Skelton (Saskatoon--Rosetown--Biggar) -- That, in the opinion of the House, the government should establish an education scholarship programme for the minor children of emergency service workers who lose their lives in the line of duty.

M-241 -- April 18, 2005 -- Mrs. Skelton (Saskatoon--Rosetown--Biggar) -- That, in the opinion of the House, the government should consider the creation of a separate and more serious Criminal Code offence for assault and sexual assault by a person in a trust relationship, such as spouses and family members.

M-242 -- April 18, 2005 -- Mrs. Skelton (Saskatoon--Rosetown--Biggar) -- That, in the opinion of the House, the government should take measures to ensure that those involved in abusive relationships in rural areas have better access to safe houses and recovery programs.

M-243 -- April 18, 2005 -- Mrs. Skelton (Saskatoon--Rosetown--Biggar) -- That, in the opinion of the House, the government should consider legislating anti-theft measures in new automobiles in an effort to reduce crime and insurance costs.

M-244 -- April 18, 2005 -- Mrs. Skelton (Saskatoon--Rosetown--Biggar) -- That, in the opinion of the House, the government should draft legislation to amend the Criminal Code to stipulate that those convicted of organizing child prostitution be subject to a minimum five-year sentence.

M-245 -- April 18, 2005 -- Mrs. Skelton (Saskatoon--Rosetown--Biggar) -- That, in the opinion of the House, the government should take the necessary steps to ensure that in cases of on-reserve aboriginal marital breakdown or domestic violence, all efforts are made to ensure that children and their care-giving parent are able to remain in their existing homes

M-246 -- April 18, 2005 -- Mrs. Skelton (Saskatoon--Rosetown--Biggar) -- That, in the opinion of the House, the government should ensure that a mechanism is implemented at each of Canada's airports to ensure that air travellers, without having to leave the security screening area, can mail items confiscated by airport security officials to a Canadian address.

M-247 -- April 18, 2005 -- Mrs. Skelton (Saskatoon--Rosetown--Biggar) -- That, in the opinion of the House, the government should implement the recommendations of the Canadian Professional Police Association, namely, to ensure that: (a) the maximum penalty for those who assault police officers is doubled; (b) minimum sentences for assaulting police officers are instituted; and (c) the possibility of parole for those who murder police officers is eliminated.

*M-250 -- April 20, 2005 -- Mr. Lunney (Nanaimo--Alberni) -- That, in the opinion of the House, the government should: (a) recognize that adult (non-embryonic) stem cells are already being used to treat over 80 human diseases, and currently used in over 250 human clinical trials; (b) recognize the potential that adult stem cells present toward advancing the treatment of human disease and relieving human suffering; (c) recognize the importance of human umbilical cord and placenta as a rich source of adult stem cells; (d) establish a protocol for collection and preservation of human placenta and umbilical cord blood; and (e) establish and maintain a national cord blood bank for preservation of umbilical cord blood for use in advancing research and treatment of human disease.

M-252 -- May 10, 2005 -- Mr. Benoit (Vegreville--Wainwright) -- That, in the opinion of the House, Elections Canada should oversee all elections on Indian reserves.

M-254 -- May 10, 2005 -- Mr. Benoit (Vegreville--Wainwright) -- That, in the opinion of the House, the government should ensure the provision of targeted tax relief for all those who must bear large expenses as a condition of employment, as is the case with mechanics' tools.

M-255 -- May 10, 2005 -- Mr. Benoit (Vegreville--Wainwright) -- That, in the opinion of the House, the government should allocate funding in the amount of $500,000 annually as requested by the International Association of Fire Fighters (IAFF) to allow "first responders" to participate in the IAFF Hazardous Materials Training Program.

M-256 -- May 10, 2005 -- Mr. Benoit (Vegreville--Wainwright) -- That, in the opinion of the House, the government should make it a criminal offence to wilfully desecrate the Canadian flag.

M-257 -- May 10, 2005 -- Mr. Benoit (Vegreville--Wainwright) -- That, in the opinion of the House, the government should: (a) incorporate a Canadian Tobacco Youth Protection Foundation, a non-profit corporation established for the tobacco industry and publicly accountable, whose mandate would be to reduce the use of tobacco products by young persons in Canada; and (b) impose a levy on tobacco manufacturers in order to provide the Foundation with the necessary funds to carry out its objectives and activities.

M-258 -- May 10, 2005 -- Mr. Benoit (Vegreville--Wainwright) -- That, in the opinion of the House, the government should allow taxes on income from the sale of livestock in a prescribed drought region to be deferred for at least three years and up to five years under certain prescribed circumstances.

M-259 -- May 12, 2005 -- Mr. Kamp (Pitt Meadows--Maple Ridge--Mission) -- That, in the opinion of the House, the Government should call on the Departments of Justice, Health, and Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness to develop, in cooperation with the provinces and territories, a national crystal meth strategy.

M-265 -- June 3, 2005 -- Mrs. Skelton (Saskatoon--Rosetown--Biggar) -- That, in the opinion of the House, any Member of Parliament who wishes to join a governing party between general elections must sit as an independent Member of Parliament for 35 sitting days, upon which a by-election will be held in the Member of Parliament's riding and the electorate will decide if they will re-elect that Member under their new political banner.

M-266 -- June 3, 2005 -- Mrs. Skelton (Saskatoon--Rosetown--Biggar) -- That, in the opinion of the House, grants, contracts, subsidies or loans provided to publishers shall occur only when the work is to be done in Canada.

M-267 -- June 6, 2005 -- Mrs. Yelich (Blackstrap) -- That, in the opinion of the House, the government should: (a) recognize the significance of community-based weather expertise and needs; and (b) immediately re-evaluate the proposed closures of local weather stations while acknowledging their role in the national weather forecasting network.

M-268 -- June 6, 2005 -- Mrs. Yelich (Blackstrap) -- That the Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs be instructed to consider and report on improving order and decorum in the House.

M-269 -- June 6, 2005 -- Mrs. Yelich (Blackstrap) -- That the House call upon the government to appoint a royal commission on the future of education in Canada that would draw upon the resourcefulness of Canadians from all provinces and territories to ensure that our education system meets the challenges of the 21st century.

M-276 -- June 15, 2005 -- Mr. Benoit (Vegreville--Wainwright) -- That, in the opinion of the House, the government should, where the purchase of tools is essential to their employment, deem mechanics to be contractors under the Income Tax Act.

M-279 -- June 22, 2005 -- Mr. Goldring (Edmonton East) -- That, in the opinion of the House, the definition of marriage remains a contentious issue, crossing cultural, religious and partisan lines; and given that the Canadian public has the right to express itself directly on vitally important social and constitutional issues, the government should hold, at the earliest possible date, a binding national referendum on the definition of marriage.

M-280 -- June 27, 2005 -- Mr. Thompson (New Brunswick Southwest) -- That, in the opinion of the House, the government should establish a public inquiry concerning the use of Agent Orange and Agent Purple and other chemical defoliants used between 1956 and 1984 at CFB Gagetown and on the issue of compensation for military and civilian victims and their survivors.

M-282 -- September 22, 2005 -- Mrs. Gallant (Renfrew--Nipissing--Pembroke) -- That, in the opinion of the House, the government should establish a public inquiry concerning the use of the various chemicals labelled by colour-coded stripes on the barrels, an arsenal of herbicides known by the colours of the rainbow, including Agent Blue, Agent White, Agent Purple, and the combination of 2,4-D and 2,4,5-T, Agent Orange as well as any other chemical defoliants and desiccants used between 1956 and 1984 at CFB Petawawa and all other locations in Canada conducted either with or without the cooperation of the United States military and that the issue of compensating all individuals affected by this testing be part of this inquiry.

M-284 -- September 22, 2005 -- Mr. Casey (Cumberland--Colchester--Musquodoboit Valley) -- That, in the opinion of the House, the Minister of Health should take a leadership role and work collaboratively with officials from Statistics Canada, officials in the provincial and territorial cancer registries, and all private brain cancer-related organizations towards the ultimate goal of creating uniform national guidelines on the collection, analysis and reporting of all malignant and benign brain tumours and that the government should provide stable, long-term, funding for all the provincial and territorial cancer registries.

M-285 -- September 26, 2005 -- Mr. Goldring (Edmonton East) -- That, in the opinion of the House, the Goods and Services Tax should henceforth not be applied to the sale of home heating fuels.

M-286 -- September 26, 2005 -- Mrs. Yelich (Blackstrap) -- That, in the opinion of the House, the government should encourage research on endometriosis through increased support for in-depth studies on the disease.

M-287 -- September 26, 2005 -- Mrs. Yelich (Blackstrap) -- That, in the opinion of the House, the government should amend the Corrections and Conditional Release Act to extend the definition of what is considered contraband in federal prisons to include sexually explicit materials.

M-288 -- September 26, 2005 -- Mrs. Yelich (Blackstrap) -- That, in the opinion of the House, the government should recommend that Canada Post Corporation ensure the universality of services through a strengthened commitment to smaller communities throughout rural Canada.

M-289 -- September 26, 2005 -- Mrs. Yelich (Blackstrap) -- That, in the opinion of the House, the government should designate the first week of August National Caregiver Awareness Week to raise public awareness about issues surrounding caregiving and to empower those Canadians who serve as caregivers.

M-290 -- September 28, 2005 -- Mrs. Skelton (Saskatoon--Rosetown--Biggar) -- That, in the opinion of the House, the government should immediately work with the provinces to ensure that during a declared emergency, all medical personnel and first responders have portable licencing, malpractice insurance and benefits coverage in order to be readily available to assist outside of their home jurisdiction.

M-292 -- October 4, 2005 -- Mrs. Skelton (Saskatoon--Rosetown--Biggar) -- That, in the opinion of the House, the government should immediately investigate the feasibility and potential benefits of instituting a 100% goods and services tax (GST) rebate for the construction of new housing which meets a national standard for accessible housing units.

*M-305 -- October 26, 2005 -- Mr. Benoit (Vegreville--Wainwright) -- That, in the opinion of the House, the government should endeavour to protect the interests of Canadian consumers by guaranteeing that Canadian independant automotive aftermarket installers can purchase from the applicable vendor, at fair market cost, the diagnostic and repair software and information needed to repair today's vehicles.

M-309 -- November 1, 2005 -- Mr. Bezan (Selkirk--Interlake) -- That, in the opinion of the House, the government should provide income support payments, expanded parental leave and tax relief to parents, legal guardians or family members leaving work to provide home care to critically and terminally ill children requiring full-time palliative care as certified in a letter from a medical practitioner.


*M-315 -- November 10, 2005 -- Mr. Hill (Prince George--Peace River) -- That, in the opinion of the House, the government should introduce amendments to the Income Tax Act that would enable woodlot owners to carry forward to a future taxation year or years, their taxable income earned on timber harvested prematurely due to damage and/or infestation by the Mountain Pine Beetle.

M-319 -- November 22, 2005 -- Mr. Goldring (Edmonton East) -- That, in the opinion of the House, the government should consider promoting closer political, commercial and cultural relations between Canada, Caricom and the countries of the Caribbean rim, and, in particular, steps should be taken to: (a) provide appropriate port facilities for seaborne transport between Canada and the countries of the Caribbean rim; (b) study the feasibility of new medium-sized shipbuilding in Canada to serve the requirements of increased trade opportunities; (c) investigate the possibility of a political-economic union between Canada and the Turks and Caicos Islands; (d) promote a greater exchange of students between the two areas; and (e) create a regular forum where political, business and cultural leaders of Canada and the Caribbean nations can meet to stimulate trade, reinforce democratic government and encourage the exchange of goods, services and technology.

M-320 -- November 22, 2005 -- Mr. Goldring (Edmonton East) -- That, in the opinion of the House, the government should consider promoting closer political, commercial and cultural relations between Canada and Ukraine, and, in particular, steps should be taken to provide for: (a) freer trade between Canada and Ukraine; (b) a reciprocal preferred-nation status for immigrants and visitors between the two nations; (c) a greater exchange of students between the two countries; and (d) a regular forum where political, business and cultural leaders of Canada and Ukraine can meet to stimulate trade, reinforce democratic government and encourage the east-west exchange of goods, services and technology.