Alexandra Mendes

[Questions on the Order Paper, September 20th, 2010]

With respect to Objective 8 for the Jacques Cartier and Champlain Bridges Incorporated (JCCBI) in the 2008-2009 Annual Report of the Federal Bridge Corporation Limited: (a) who was awarded the contract for the feasibility study to construct a new bridge along the Champlain Bridge Corridor; (b) what is the cost sharing agreement between JCCBI and the Ministère des Transports du Quebec; (c) what is the financial summary of the agreement in (b); and (d) what is the timeline for the completion of the study?

[Multiple Sclerosis, June 15th, 2010]

Mr. Speaker, last night there was an extraordinary debate in the House about the diagnosis and treatment of multiple sclerosis.

Thousands of Canadians across the country, from all the provinces, suffer from this chronic disease. In fact, we have one of the highest rates in the world.

Those who are suffering from MS are asking for access to the best treatment possible, a treatment that will give them and their families hope.

Why is the Conservative government refusing to take a leadership role and not proposing a national strategy?

[Government Programs, June 14th, 2010]

Mr. Speaker, the minister of fake lakes chose to make cuts to Quebec festivals like FrancoFolies, the New France Festival and the Festival Grand Rire de Québec.

The irony is not lost on Quebeckers who saw a significant amount of support for the tourism industry evaporate, despite the fact that the minister “forgot” to spend $12 million last year.

Can the minister explain how he found the money to drop gazebos into his own riding, but does not have a penny for Quebec culture, nothing for Maillardville and nothing for the people of the Saguenay region?

[Tourism Industry, June 14th, 2010]

Mr. Speaker, it seems the Prime Minister made a big mistake when he gave control of the marquee tourism program to the minister for fake lakes.

Instead of helping promote tourism, we learned the minister decided to choose ideology over economics and cut events like the Edmonton Folk Festival, Caribana and Toronto Pride.

With so much spent on the G8 and G20 summits that no one will remember a month from now, why can the government not support festivals that actually generate tourism dollars?

[Quebec Workers, June 8th, 2010]

Mr. Speaker, I guess the answer to the boycott is no.

The Conservative government has made a point of disregarding Quebec's values and interests when it comes to maternal health, the gun registry, French in the Supreme Court and the environment. It has done nothing about job losses in the petrochemical industry, just as it did nothing to help the forestry industry.

What has the Conservative government done to protect the interests of Quebec workers?

[Shell Canada, June 8th, 2010]

Mr. Speaker, Montreal's petrochemical industry supports thousands of jobs. Closing the Shell refinery puts 500 direct jobs at risk in the eastern part of the island, yet the Prime Minister and his band of Quebec bashers do nothing. Some 500 families are in trouble and this does not even bother the Conservatives. After all, they have already rejected Quebec.

Do the Conservatives at least plan to respect the general boycott on Shell this Friday?

[Questions Passed as Orders for Returns, June 7th, 2010]

Within the constituency of Brossard—La Prairie, what was the total amount of government funding since fiscal year 2005-2006 up to and including the current fiscal year, itemized according to (i) the date the money was received in the riding, (ii) the dollar amount of the expenditure, (iii) the program from which the funding came, (iv) the ministry responsible, (v) the designated recipient?

[Ethics, June 3rd, 2010]

Mr. Speaker, after denying it for months, the former public works minister finally admitted yesterday that he fast-tracked a request for funding from his friend Rahim Jaffer after speaking to him on a cell phone. Within minutes, his staff set to work to organize a meeting with Jaffer and fast-track his request for funding.

Would the minister give his cell phone number to all Canadians, so they may have the same privileged access to him as Rahim Jaffer?

[Aristides de Sousa Mendes, June 1st, 2010]

Mr. Speaker, it is with emotion that I wish to acknowledge today the 125th anniversary of the birth of Aristides de Sousa Mendes.

Sousa Mendes, a man of great courage and extraordinary integrity, deserves our admiration and respect. His acts of bravery in World War II must be remembered and honoured every year, but especially in 2010.

Sousa Mendes, the Portuguese Consul in Bordeaux, France, delivered over 30,000 visas between June and July of 1940 to refugees fleeing the Nazi horrors overtaking Europe. Twelve thousand of those visas were granted to Jews in whose faces doors were being closed one by one.

The heroism of Sousa Mendes and the use of his consular powers lies in the fact that Salazar, the then-prime minister of Portugal, ordered him to stop, an order he ignored and which put at risk the future of his diplomatic career.

Today, in the presence of his grandson Louis-Philippe Mendes, a proud Canadian, I am very pleased to pay tribute to this great citizen of Portugal who embodied humanity and sacrificed his career to save an incalculable number of lives.

[Business of Supply, May 31st, 2010]

Mr. Chair, the Conservative government cancelled a $1.6 billion plan that was announced by the Liberal government in 2005. As a consequence, thousands of people lost their jobs. That is what we are talking about.

Why is the government still refusing to give Quebec's forestry companies the loan guarantees they have requested?