Carole Freeman

[Infrastructure, October 19th, 2009]

Mr. Speaker, he did not answer the question, but whatever.

The government came up with an economic plan that does not meet Quebec's needs, and now it is hiding information about the true impact of its most recent budget from Parliament and the Parliamentary Budget Officer.

Why is the government hiding the truth from Quebeckers?

[Infrastructure, October 19th, 2009]

Mr. Speaker, when the government refused to modernize the Access to Information Act, it broke a 2005 election promise and ignored repeated requests from both the standing committee and the commissioners responsible for the act. The government said that it would clean house after the Liberals' 12-year regime, but it has all kinds of skeletons in its closet.

Why is the government refusing to be transparent? What does it have to hide?

[Christopher Garneau, October 6th, 2009]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to congratulate Corporal Christopher Garneau, of Saint-Constant, who was awarded the medal of excellence by the Chief of Defence Staff, on September 10, for performing his duties with distinction.

Corporal Garneau is a military policeman and a member of the operational mentor and liaison team of the Kandahar provincial reconstruction team. This group is responsible for training Afghan police, strengthening local governance and is also fighting for access to education for the Afghan people.

It is clear to the Bloc Québécois that the Canadian mission in Afghanistan must show concern for the plight of the Afghan people all the while focusing more on humanitarian aid and reconstruction and development efforts. Corporal Garneau is doing just that.

For that reason, on behalf of the citizens of my riding, I congratulate Corporal Christopher Garneau.

[Exporail, October 5th, 2009]

Mr. Speaker, on February 27, 2007, this House passed a motion calling on the federal government to designate Exporail in Delson as Canada's National Railway Museum with dedicated long-term funding. On June 16, 2009, the Minister of Canadian Heritage and Official Languages refused to do so, saying there were other priorities.

Can the Minister of Canadian Heritage and Official Languages explain what he intends to do to comply with this House's request and to save this precious piece of heritage?

[International Seniors Day, October 1st, 2009]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to take this opportunity on International Seniors Day to acknowledge the contribution seniors make to society and the fine values they pass on. The Bloc Québécois has always had the utmost respect for those who paved the way. I would like to take this opportunity to remind hon. members of the importance of providing better living conditions to the thousands of financially vulnerable seniors.

That is why we continue to call on the Conservative government to take action on the guaranteed income supplement. In addition to full retroactivity of the money the claimants were deprived of, we continue to call for a $110 monthly increase in benefits, automatic registration of persons 65 and older who are entitled to this supplement and continued payments for a period of six months for a bereaved spouse.

We denounce the government's inaction on this matter, which is depriving thousands of seniors living below the poverty line of better living conditions.

[Guaranteed Income Supplement, September 29th, 2009]

Mr. Speaker, we have learned that in addition to spending years depriving tens of thousands of seniors of the guaranteed income supplement, the federal government is maintaining the administrative hurdles for those who experience a drop in income. Some individuals have to wait 28 to 30 weeks for their supplement to be increased.

When does the minister intend to put an end to these unjustified delays and give seniors living below the poverty line the money they are entitled to?

[Access to Information, February 26th, 2009]

Mr. Speaker, the Information Commissioner has criticized the government in matters of access to information and spoken of a disappointing record. The time it takes to process a request continues to lengthen and can take up to 300 days in some cases. The commissioner himself acknowledges that the current legislation lacks teeth.

In light of such a poor record, what is the government waiting for to strengthen the Access to Information Act, as it promised during the 2006 election?

[Privacy, February 25th, 2009]

Mr. Speaker, when she appeared before the Standing Committee on Access to Information, Privacy and Ethics, the Privacy Commissioner stated that she did not know how many countries Canada had exchanged personal information with or the nature of the information shared between responsible officials from each institution.

Can the President of the Treasury Board or the Minister of Justice tell us the nature of the information that was exchanged and which countries it was exchanged with?

[Access to Information, February 23rd, 2009]

Mr. Speaker, it sounds as though the Minister of Justice did not understand the question.

What a paradox. The government demands complete transparency from the media, but when it comes to access to information requests, it charges exorbitant fees and spews red tape, which is contrary to the spirit of the act.

If the government really wants improved access to information, how can it justify implementing a fee structure designed to get around the legislation, which is what is going on at Foreign Affairs?

[Justice, February 23rd, 2009]

Mr. Speaker, Groupe Polygone, which was involved in the sponsorship scandal, is trying to uncover the identity of the journalistic source who brought the whole affair to light. A process has been undertaken to force a journalist to reveal his source, the person known as “Ma chouette”.

Will the Minister of Justice direct his lawyers to uphold freedom of the press and the protection of journalistic sources?