Robert Lanctôt

[Amateur Sport, May 7th, 2001]

Mr. Speaker, the Secretary of State for Amateur Sport is boasting about working for sport at the grassroots.

The government of Quebec and the city of Montreal indicated how much money they will contribute to relocate the Tazmahal, a skateboard and roller blade centre.

If, as he claims, the secretary of state truly cares about promoting access to sports to the largest possible number of people, could he tell us what he is waiting for to announce the federal government's contribution to this project?

[Supply, May 1st, 2001]

Mr. Speaker, I must say that we have learned more about this in the space of 15 minutes than from all the explanations given us by the government. My colleague, the member for Joliette, was very clear in his remarks about chapter 11 on investment, which includes several aspects. He was not able to cover them all, but he mentioned several of the most important.

Given that the government's position is unknown—and a position must be known when a debate as important as this is involved—I hope that people really took in the remarks of the Bloc Quebecois critic, which were very clear. I hope that the government will also take note of these remarks, which are truly well thought out.

I would like the member for Joliette to explain succinctly why this chapter 11 must not exist or whether it is really possible to improve on it. I personally see no possibility that it can be improved, as the government claims. Should this chapter exist or not?

[Héritage Saint-Bernard, April 30th, 2001]

Mr. Speaker, last Friday a community organization in my riding, Héritage Saint-Bernard, won the Mérite municipal award given by the Ministère des Affaires municipales et de la Métropole du Québec.

Héritage Saint-Bernard was founded to ensure the protection and development of fauna habitats along the shores of the St. Lawrence in the Châteauguay region, as well as to make these unique spaces accessible and raise public awareness of the importance and fragility of the biodiversity of ecological environments in the metropolitan region.

Last year, Héritage Saint-Bernard won the Phénix award, and in 1999 the Black Duck waterfowl management award, North American sector.

Our most sincere congratulations to this organization which has the interests of our future generations at heart and is working to leave them the heritage of a unique spot of which we can all be proud.

[Official Languages, April 27th, 2001]

Mr. Speaker, how can there be any consensus when the phrase “Building Canada” is already there? Forget this policy.

Instead of making use of the national summit on sport as a propaganda tool focussing on Canadian unity, will the minister ensure that the Secretary of State for Amateur Sport reviews the summit discussion document and immediately implements the recommendations of the commissioner of official languages?

[Official Languages, April 27th, 2001]

Mr. Speaker, the government's inaction over the years in connection with the official languages issue in amateur sport has had a negative effect on the efficiency and performance of francophone athletes. They are being discriminated against on the basis of language, not performance.

Now that the summit on sport is over, what concrete actions do the minister responsible for official languages and the Secretary of State for Amateur Sport intend to take to eliminate the obstacles faced by francophone athletes within the Canadian sports system?

[Synchro Canada, April 24th, 2001]

Mr. Speaker, the Bloc Quebecois wishes to draw attention to the courage of Raymond Côté, the president of Sports Quebec, whose resignation from the appeal committee looking into the conflict between Synchro Canada and Synchro Quebec has focussed attention on the lack of openness at Synchro Canada.

Synchro Canada has long refused to hand over certain documents relating to the dispute, despite repeated requests from the committee investigating the situation.

With his resignation, Mr. Côté is pointing a finger at Synchro Canada's lack of flexibility and its categorical refusal to take into account the input of Quebec athletes in the process of selecting the new training centre. We hope his action will result in concrete steps being taken to put an end to discrimination toward Quebec athletes.

The Bloc Quebecois hopes this decision will make other Canadian sports organizations that continue to systematically ignore the input of Quebec athletes rethink their position. This attitude compromises the future of many Quebec athletes, who have not only to master their discipline but also to cope with the closed-mindedness of the federal agencies.

[Supply, April 24th, 2001]

Madam Speaker, I have heard government members talk about space. I think they are way up in the clouds, and so much so that they do not see things clearly. Actually, they do not see a thing. They have shown a lack of respect for the Quebec government. This is a breach of the integrity and sovereignty of Quebec's jurisdictions.

Will they allow Quebec to participate in the negotiation tables, in all the sectoral groups so that, at last, areas under exclusive provincial jurisdiction can be really represented, and their interests really looked after? They are showing us that the only way for Quebec, as well as Canada, to have international negotiations is for Quebec to achieve sovereignty.

[Criminal Code, April 23rd, 2001]

Mr. Speaker, I congratulate the hon. member for her speech in this debate.

A very important issue has been raised. The hon. member is saying that we must act quickly with this bill, so that it will be passed and become law. I agree with my colleague.

It is said that 80% of the bill is the result of previous discussions or proposals generated by the Bloc Quebecois. There is 20% missing. Could that 20% be dealt with quickly, through amendments in committee? What would be a reasonable timeframe for this bill becoming law?

[Criminal Code, April 23rd, 2001]

Mr. Speaker, I appreciate my colleague's speech and comments.

I also want to point out that, at last, this anti-gang bill, for which the Bloc Quebecois has been asking for a long time, will give more teeth to what is already in place. It is much more specific, but it could have been even more specific.

In a society such as ours, besides police officers, there are several members of parliament here in the House who were threatened because they tried to give more teeth to the legislation. But how can legislation become effective? It is, of course, when we have the necessary funding to implement it.

All legislation involves funding. But this one will involve major funding. It will not just be a facade where the government will say “We have said yes to the government. We have heard the requests and today we are introducing legislation”. The bill has teeth, but not enough. It is not specific enough to protect people such as members of parliament, public figures and even city councillors. This goes beyond the people mentioned in the bill.

I ask the member of the Alliance to indicate who, apart from members of parliament, these people might be, so that this can be clarified during the committee hearings and the bill can be amended accordingly, besides, of course, providing the necessary funding. I would like him to comment further on this issue.

[World Book And Copyright Day, April 23rd, 2001]

Mr. Speaker, on this World Book and Copyright Day, I wish to remind hon. members that books are one of the greatest paths to knowledge and learning. I congratulate and thank all those who create these paths.

The Government of Quebec decided to help facilitate this means of access to knowledge by eliminating its sales tax on books, whereas the federal government refuses to follow suit with the GST, despite its huge surplus.

What is more, this government has not yet remedied the Minister of Industry's lack of sensitivity in inflicting chronic underfunding on the Copyright Board.

In order to put this situation right, the hon. member for Québec and Bloc Quebecois heritage critic will this afternoon be introducing a bill placing responsibility for the Copyright Act under the Department of Canadian Heritage, something that has been called for virtually unanimously by copyright holders.