House of Commons Hansard #159 of the 41st Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament's site.) The word of the day was criminals.

Topics

Port of MontrealOral Questions

2:45 p.m.

Conservative

The Speaker Conservative Andrew Scheer

Order, please. The hon. member for Rosemont—La Petite-Patrie.

Port of MontrealOral Questions

2:50 p.m.

NDP

Alexandre Boulerice NDP Rosemont—La Petite-Patrie, QC

Mr. Speaker, I think—

Port of MontrealOral Questions

2:50 p.m.

Some hon. members

Oh, oh!

Port of MontrealOral Questions

2:50 p.m.

Conservative

The Speaker Conservative Andrew Scheer

Order, please. The hon. member for Rosemont—La Petite-Patrie.

Port of MontrealOral Questions

2:50 p.m.

NDP

Alexandre Boulerice NDP Rosemont—La Petite-Patrie, QC

Mr. Speaker, I think that, at this point, if the hon. member does not stop acting the fool, he will not even be able to ask questions in 2015.

My colleague's line of defence is that Robert Abdallah was never appointed. Should we consider ourselves lucky that the Port of Montreal's board of directors resisted the PMO bullying? If the Conservatives had their way, a man whose name is linked to corruption allegations would be managing one of the largest ports of the country.

Why did the Conservatives think he was the right man for the job?

Port of MontrealOral Questions

2:50 p.m.

Nepean—Carleton Ontario

Conservative

Pierre Poilievre ConservativeParliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Transport

Mr. Speaker, the question is, why does the leader of the NDP think that member is the right man for the job of labour minister when he cannot even state his support for Canada?

Port of MontrealOral Questions

2:50 p.m.

Some hon. members

Oh, oh!

Port of MontrealOral Questions

2:50 p.m.

Conservative

The Speaker Conservative Andrew Scheer

Order, please. I will ask hon. members to hold off on their applause until the parliamentary secretary has finished his response.

Port of MontrealOral Questions

2:50 p.m.

Conservative

Pierre Poilievre Conservative Nepean—Carleton, ON

Mr. Speaker, the problem is not that he donated 29 times to the separatists, including six times this year while he was ostensibly a paid-up member of the NDP caucus. The problem is that he cannot stand up in the House of Commons, even now, and say that he rejects separation and supports Canada. Why?

Port of MontrealOral Questions

2:50 p.m.

Some hon. members

Oh, oh!

Port of MontrealOral Questions

2:50 p.m.

Conservative

The Speaker Conservative Andrew Scheer

Order, please. Order, please. The hon. member for Rosemont—La Petite-Patrie.

Port of MontrealOral Questions

2:50 p.m.

NDP

Alexandre Boulerice NDP Rosemont—La Petite-Patrie, QC

Mr. Speaker, with two ministers who were once involved in sovereignist movements, the hon. member should be careful in making accusations like that.

There are limits to pulling the wool over people's eyes in serious matters.

The Prime Minister's press secretary said that the Conservatives had a preference. Members of the port's board of directors confirmed that Dimitri Soudas tried to influence their decision. Former minister Michael Fortier said that people had exerted pressure on the board of directors.

Zampino, the man involved in the water-meter scandal, wanted Abdallah; Housakos wanted Abdallah; Soudas wanted Abdallah. Why did the Conservatives push for his appointment? What role did Leo Housakos play in all of this?

Port of MontrealOral Questions

2:50 p.m.

Nepean—Carleton Ontario

Conservative

Pierre Poilievre ConservativeParliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Transport

Mr. Speaker, apparently my hon. friend is following the old rule: when in trouble, yell. That is exactly what he has done.

I simply ask, given that the member has donated 29 times to a separatist party, why can he not do what literally every member of this caucus is prepared to do, which is to stand up and say he is a federalist, that he believes in a united Canada, that he wants this country to stay together and wants it to have a bright future. Why can he not do that?

Port of MontrealOral Questions

2:50 p.m.

Some hon. members

Oh, oh!

Port of MontrealOral Questions

2:50 p.m.

Conservative

The Speaker Conservative Andrew Scheer

Order, please. Order, please. The hon. member for Random—Burin—St. George's. Order, please.

Employment InsuranceOral Questions

October 4th, 2012 / 2:50 p.m.

Liberal

Judy Foote Liberal Random—Burin—St. George's, NL

Mr. Speaker, the minister responsible for employment insurance claims that “the vast majority of people who are working while on an EI claim will...be better off”. This is simply wrong.

The government's own report reveals that it plans to cut 57% of the funding for the first year of the working while on claim pilot project compared to last year's project.

How can the minister honestly claim that the vast majority of Canadians who work while on claim would benefit from almost 60% less funding?

Employment InsuranceOral Questions

2:50 p.m.

Simcoe—Grey Ontario

Conservative

Kellie Leitch ConservativeParliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Human Resources and Skills Development and to the Minister of Labour

Mr. Speaker, through the working while on claim pilot project, our government's aim is to encourage EI claimants to pursue and accept more work while collecting employment insurance. We know that when people accept a part-time job they frequently end up in full-time employment.

This government has been focused. We have created 770,000 net new jobs since the downturn of the recession. That is unlike opposition members, such as the New Democrats who want to put in place a carbon tax of $21 billion to kill jobs, or the Liberals who simply vote against every initiative we put forward.

Employment InsuranceOral Questions

2:50 p.m.

Liberal

Massimo Pacetti Liberal Saint-Léonard—Saint-Michel, QC

Mr. Speaker, perhaps she will be able to answer if I ask the question again.

The minister responsible for employment insurance claims that the majority of people who are working while on an EI claim will be better off. This is simply wrong. The government plans to cut 57% of the funding for the first year of the working while on claim pilot project compared to last year's project.

How can the minister claim that the vast majority of Canadians will benefit from 60% less funding?

Employment InsuranceOral Questions

2:55 p.m.

Simcoe—Grey Ontario

Conservative

Kellie Leitch ConservativeParliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Human Resources and Skills Development and to the Minister of Labour

Mr. Speaker, this is like the movie Groundhog Day, so I will say it again. Through the working while on claim pilot project, our government's aim is to encourage EI claimants to pursue—

Employment InsuranceOral Questions

2:55 p.m.

Some hon. members

Oh, oh!

Employment InsuranceOral Questions

2:55 p.m.

Conservative

The Speaker Conservative Andrew Scheer

Order, please. The hon. parliamentary secretary has the floor.

Employment InsuranceOral Questions

2:55 p.m.

Conservative

Kellie Leitch Conservative Simcoe—Grey, ON

Claimants are encouraged to pursue and accept more work while collecting employment insurance. As I mentioned before, we have a robust plan for helping those who are unemployed to find employment. We have created 770,000 net new jobs, unlike the opposition members, who have voted against all of our initiatives to create jobs such as Helmets to Hardhats, and the $21 billion carbon tax of the NDP.

Air TransportationOral Questions

2:55 p.m.

NDP

Olivia Chow NDP Trinity—Spadina, ON

Mr. Speaker, five million Canadians go to U.S. airports to fly because the flights there are cheaper. Why? Because the Conservatives treat airports as cash cows and charge huge fees.

Air TransportationOral Questions

2:55 p.m.

Some hon. members

Oh, oh!

Air TransportationOral Questions

2:55 p.m.

Conservative

The Speaker Conservative Andrew Scheer

Order, please. The hon. member for Trinity—Spadina has the floor now.