Privacy April 24th, 2013

Mr. Speaker, the minister's answer is cold comfort to the farmers, students, veterans and unemployed whose privacy was compromised. These are privacy problems on a massive scale and now we also learn that the tracking system for dealing with these problems has also failed.

A million Canadians had their privacy compromised on 3,000 separate occasions, yet the Conservatives failed to put a system in place to track this serious problem. Why is no one tracking these breaches of personal data?

Privacy April 24th, 2013

Mr. Speaker, more than a million Canadians have been affected by data and privacy breaches, and that is the government's response? Canadians deserve better. The information about these data breaches was made public because the NDP pushed for it. There have been more than 3,000 privacy breaches, yet only 13% of those cases were reported to the privacy commissioner.

Why did the Conservatives not feel it was necessary to report these breaches to the commissioner?

University of the Third Age in Terrebonne April 23rd, 2013

Mr. Speaker, today I have the distinct pleasure of welcoming many students from the Université du troisième âge de Terrebonne. Affiliated with the Université de Sherbrooke, it offers university courses to seniors, whether their goal is to overcome isolation, to exchange ideas or simply to continue their personal development.

These students continue to play an important role in our communities. They are an inspiration to us all because of their passion and desire to remain active, as well as their thirst for knowledge.

I would like to thank the many volunteers and resource people who get involved every year to enable the Université du troisième âge to pursue its activities across Quebec. They prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that we are never too old to learn.

The Budget March 26th, 2013

Mr. Speaker, I listened with interest to my Conservative colleague's speech, and I would like to ask him a question.

When I returned to my riding on Friday after the budget was tabled, I met with some very angry people. They were angry because, with the elimination of the labour-sponsored funds tax credit, $800 a year is being taken away from people who are trying to plan for their retirement, people who are trying to save some money and invest in a fund. They are losing $800 a month. That is a very hard blow for a family that is planning for the retirement of one of its members.

I would like the hon. member to tell me why the government eliminated this tax credit when he himself said that it is very important to invest and to plan for one's retirement. This seems rather contradictory to me.

Petitions March 21st, 2013

Mr. Speaker, I have a petition here today signed by nearly 3,000 Canadians.

Since today is budget day, I would like to remind the government of the mistake it made when it eliminated the Katimavik program in budget 2012. I travelled across the country to speak with all of these frustrated young people.

I ask the government to think of these young people when it tables this year's budget and to remember the mistake it made last year. Let us hope it will correct this mistake by restoring funding to Katimavik or otherwise investing in our young people.

International Day of La Francophonie March 19th, 2013

Mr. Speaker, tomorrow millions of Canadians will celebrate the International Day of La Francophonie together.

A language is more than just its vocabulary. It is a way of expressing our culture, our values, our traditions, our heritage and who we are.

A language is also a catalyst for social change. Some of the well-known battles that have marked the history of this country were fought specifically to defend the French language, which shapes the identity of so many Canadians.

Whether the battles took place in the 18th century or very recently, whether they took place in Quebec, Acadia or Saint Boniface, whether in our parliamentary institutions or on our streets, I believe it is our duty, as MPs, to reiterate the importance of protecting and promoting this founding culture of Canada.

I wish all Quebeckers, Canadians and francophiles a wonderful International Day of La Francophonie. Let us be proud of our French-Canadian culture.

Response to the Supreme Court of Canada Decision in R. v. Tse Act March 19th, 2013

Mr. Speaker, this proves that the government's strategy is simply to divide people. In this example, it is basically like saying, “You are either with us or you are with pedophiles.”

In this situation, the Minister of Public Safety openly insulted anyone who opposed the bill for privacy reasons. It was clear that the minister did not want to listen to Canadians. It took him a year to withdraw his comments. In the end, he did not even apologize to Canadians.

Such comments really demonstrate how little confidence this government has in Canadians and how it would rather divide people instead of listening to them, even though they might be right.

Response to the Supreme Court of Canada Decision in R. v. Tse Act March 19th, 2013

Mr. Speaker, as I said in my speech, these are important measures, and it is vital that police officers have the tools and measures they need to take action in situations where they could save a life. At the same time, when the need to obtain a warrant is removed, it is truly important to have a system of accountability in place to ensure that those powers are not abused.

Bill C-55 also requires that within 90 days, people be informed that their messages or private communications have been intercepted.

Personally, I would not like my messages to be intercepted without my knowledge. I think this is a serious problem. We need these measures to ensure that section 184.4 is consistent with what is in the charter.

Response to the Supreme Court of Canada Decision in R. v. Tse Act March 19th, 2013

Mr. Speaker, my colleague raises an excellent point. This ruling was made last summer, if I remember correctly. The government waited nearly a year before introducing this bill. Section 184.4 has been in the Criminal Code for years, but the government did not do anything until the Supreme Court said that the section violates the charter. The government is not doing this by choice; it has an obligation.

I hope that in the future, it will take this ruling into consideration and will understand that it cannot violate the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. These rights and freedoms are guaranteed for all Canadians, no matter what the circumstances. That must be respected.

I hope that it has learned its lesson. I do not know if it has really learned anything because it was forced to introduce this bill, but I am optimistic.