Diane St-Jacques

[Child Labour, December 2nd, 1999]

Mr. Speaker, the ministers of 135 countries have been meeting in Seattle to prepare the agenda for the next round of negotiations of the World Trade Organization.

The Canadian Minister of International Trade has already indicated that the meeting would be addressing a number of controversial issues. In his exchanges with his counterparts from other countries, I would encourage the minister to keep in mind the child workers of the world.

According to the International Labour Organization, there are close to 250 million children between the ages of 5 and 14 working today, half of these full time. It is unacceptable that some of the goods involved in commercial exchanges are produced by children.

I call upon the federal government to ensure that this issue is indeed on the agenda of the next round of WTO negotiations.

[Supply, November 30th, 1999]

Mr. Speaker, first, I would like to thank the Bloc Quebecois for bringing forward this motion on organized crime.

As is the case for many of my colleagues, organized crime directly affects the riding of Shefford I represent. And like my colleagues from Saint-Hyacinthe—Bagot and Drummond, Shefford is part of the triangle of fertile agricultural land ideally suited for growing marijuana.

I have listened very carefully to today's speeches, especially those on the rumours regarding the closure of the RCMP detachments, because the one in Granby is included in the detachments that are to be closed, according to these rumours.

Since February 1999 we have been stepping up our efforts, our requests to the solicitor general. Also, in May, people in my riding sent a petition to parliament.

Earlier, the Parliamentary Secretary to the Solicitor General of Canada said in answer to a question by a Bloc Quebecois member that he did not comment on rumours. I would like to point out that these are no longer rumours, as I saw the report on the proposed organizational restructuring of division C, which is dated August 16.

It recommends the closure of seven RCMP detachments in Quebec including Granby, St-Hyacinthe, Valleyfield, the Magdalen Islands, Roberval, Baie-Comeau and Joliette. I also happen to know that the rapport was favourably received by the solicitor general.

My question is for my colleague from the Liberal Party. Is he aware of this report and, if so, does he support these recommendations?

[Child Poverty, November 24th, 1999]

Mr. Speaker, I wish to remind the government about some disturbing figures.

Close to one and a half million children are living in poverty. Child poverty now stands at close to 20%. This means that one child in five is living in difficult conditions in Canada, and the situation is getting worse.

There is also an increasing number of young people living on the streets, without a home, without a family and without money. A new generation of homeless people is now taking root on our sidewalks.

The parliamentary resolution passed 10 years ago is not going to be respected. Thus, our government will have failed and will have shown a blatant lack of leadership in this worsening crisis.

Yesterday evening, a number of Canadians gathered around parliament's centennial flame and held a silent vigil to protest against the shameful situation of child poverty. This protest is a reminder to us all that we must work harder to ensure that each child and each young person is entitled to a bright future.

[Petitions, October 27th, 1999]

Mr. Speaker, I am submitting a 902 page petition signed by almost 22,500 people from throughout Canada.

The petitioners are calling on the Government of Canada to take the necessary action to eliminate the national debt, which, in their view, is the primary cause of taxes and widespread poverty, by the year 2000.

These citizens are also calling on the government to stop borrowing from financial institutions and to print the necessary money to pay down the debt, as it is empowered and obligated to do by the Canadian constitution.

[Homelessness, October 26th, 1999]

Mr. Speaker, on March 24, the Minister responsible for the homeless stated in the House that it was her responsibility to ensure that all Canada's children have a safe bed to sleep in.

Unfortunately, the minister has not kept that promise. Why is she condemning homeless children to yet another winter out on the street?

[Homelessness, October 26th, 1999]

Mr. Speaker, on March 25, the minister responsible for the homeless promised to put a strategy in favour of these poor Canadians in place within 30 days. It is now 215 days since the promise was made.

Could she tell us where the strategy and the money are?

[Child Pornography, October 22nd, 1999]

Mr. Speaker, at the present time the people of this country are greatly concerned about their children's safety, having learned that the Supreme Court will not be hearing the case on child pornography until January 18, 2000.

The Minister of Justice tells us children are at no risk whatsoever, while the families await a decision from the nine federal justices.

Given their case load, the final decision by these judges might come only in 2001. If her department had referred this case immediately to the Supreme Court last winter, the public would be less concerned.

According to her, all our children are still protected nevertheless. Can she guarantee that the message these recent decisions are sending to predators is not encouraging them to continue their despicable behaviour? Can she prove to us that the lawyers of these predators are not using the recent court decisions as legal loopholes?

We trust that the minister will not wait for some other dramatic event to make the news before she does something.

[Petitions, May 31st, 1999]

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to table a petition signed by many of my constituents.

The petitioners urge parliament to keep open the RCMP detachment in Granby, and assign enough staff to protect our homes and our rights.

[Quebec Family Week, May 13th, 1999]

Mr. Speaker, on behalf of the Progressive Conservative Party of Canada, I am pleased to recognize Quebec family week.

The purpose of this week, whose theme is “My family, my roots: a lifelong strength”, is to invite Quebeckers from all origins to celebrate the strength of their family network, to renew privileged relations with their close ones, and to cultivate family spirit.

In this international year of older persons, let us rediscover the value of intergenerational contacts and relations. Whether we are talking about adoptive or natural families, the family remains a powerful lever, an infallible denominator to which we go back at one time or another during our life, to find strength, love and support, and to give back some meaning to our life.

I encourage all families to celebrate the strength and richness of the family unit, and I hope that this week will be one of harmony, mutual support and solidarity between generations.

[Children, May 11th, 1999]

Mr. Speaker, the joint committee travelled the length and breadth of the country for months, hearing more than 520 witnesses, including representatives of the provincial governments. We know the government is very fond of consultation, but it also needs to know how to move on to action, particularly when the ones paying for the delays caused by government inaction are children.

Could the minister not invite her provincial colleagues to speed up implementation of the federal strategy for reform?