Christian Ouellet

[Petitions, December 4th, 2006]

Mr. Speaker, I take this opportunity to thank my hon. colleague from Sherbrooke for this petition, which is from Frontier College, a not for profit literacy organization.

These people who have already been hit by the cuts to literacy are now afraid to see their homelessness funding cut. Frontier College has a unique program to reduce homelessness through education.

Lack of education is thought to sometimes exacerbate homelessness and vagrancy. These petitioners therefore ask that the government immediately provide them with assistance.

[Petitions, November 29th, 2006]

Mr. Speaker, I want to thank my colleague from the riding of Drummond for this petition from the Refuge La Piaule du Centre du Québec Inc., which, like previous petitions, calls for the SCPI and RHF programs to be renewed immediately because people are currently living in insecurity—that is how they word it—and will leave their jobs if this program is not renewed immediately.

It is essential to maintain the actions and services of the community agencies that contribute to preventing homelessness and that support people faced with this reality and everything that comes with it.

[Petitions, November 28th, 2006]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank my colleague from Terrebonne—Blainville for this petition, which is, yet again, about the immediate renewal of the national homelessness initiative.

We are still waiting to find out what will happen to the SCPI and RHF programs at the end of March 2007, and we would really like the government to take a position on this.

This petition is from a group at the Café de rue Solidaire in Terrebonne—Blainville. This funding is crucial for them because Café de rue Solidaire receives more than 1,500 emergency food baskets every year, food baskets that will no longer be available if the services are cut.

The organization provides a safe and healthy environment for young people, who will lose their meeting place if funding is cut.

[Business of Supply, November 23rd, 2006]

Mr. Speaker, I congratulate my colleague on having made a very clear and concise presentation, both on our motion and on the motion by the current government.

I would like to ask him a question. Does he believe that the motion of the present Conservative government was tabled in order to please Quebeckers and to give them something specific in terms of this recognition, because based on a recent survey—done about a week ago—it seems that 83% of Canadians in the rest of Canada do not recognize the idea of a Québécois nation?

So, is it to please their electors? In other words, did the government word this motion specifically with electors in mind?

[Petitions, November 8th, 2006]

Mr. Speaker, I am very sad to submit yet another petition calling on the government to immediately renew the SCPI, a homelessness initiative. I have submitted numerous petitions on this issue.

This petition comes from Terrebonne-Blainville, and I would like to thank the hon. member for that riding. She tells us that the street café provides an average of 30 young people each day with a place to live and that the delay in renewing the SCPI will definitely mean a cut in services in that city, which needs its street café, Le Solidaire, for the homeless.

[Petitions, November 7th, 2006]

Mr. Speaker, I wish to present a petition calling on the government to renew the SCPI and the RHF immediately.

These programs must be improved. The government must expand them, because needs are steadily growing. These programs must also be made permanent. At present, the fact that the programs are subject to ministerial discretion can cause insecurity and distress.

This petition was signed in Drummondville by officials of organizations in the network known as the Réseau SOLIDARITÉ Itinérance du Québec. The signatories are from Quebec City, Montreal, Trois-Rivières, Longueuil, Labrie, Chicoutimi, Saint-Charles and Sherbrooke. This program must continue, because people at risk of homelessness need comprehensive support and services, including housing, food, psychological support, education and integration. That is what the petition is calling for.

For all these reasons, all these people in charge of services and organizations are asking that this program be renewed.

[Committees of the House, November 7th, 2006]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank my NDP colleague for her clear comprehension of this issue. I would just like to mention an article published in Montreal in L'Itinéraire on November 1, 2006. I think the article said something very important about this government's attitude toward the status of women. The title of the article was “Prime Minister pulls out all stops to increase poverty in Canada”. It reads:

Once again, the current government has shown that it intends to destroy Canada's social fabric... The government has made cuts to a number of sectors, including literacy, volunteerism, social economy and status of women. These measures will only help to aggravate social problems in Canada.

Today we are talking about the status of women.

We are wondering why this government does not want to pass a law and why it prefers to let market forces sort out the pay equity issue. If that were a viable option, why has the problem not yet been solved?

I would like to ask my hon. colleague whether she thinks the current government is turning this into an ideological debate. If so, perhaps she can help clarify the current government's ideology with respect to pay equity between men and women.

[Committees of the House, November 7th, 2006]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to ask the member who just described how the government views pay equity to clarify for us how the interest of employers will be sparked, how employers will be made to see that this is really their responsibility and that something has to be done. Are we talking only about incentives, as he seemed to be suggesting? Past experience has shown that, with incentives alone, employers tend to put considerations such as the profits they are expected to make to keep their financial backers happy first.

There is a contradiction between what my colleague on the government side hopes for and market reality. I would like him to explain how this leap can be taken. For now, I get the feeling that we are dealing with dreams and pious hopes, and that nothing will ever come of it.

[Petitions, November 6th, 2006]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to table a petition on behalf of the Association pour le Travail de rue D'Autray, in the municipality of Lavaltrie, in the riding of Repentigny.

One hundred and thirteen people signed this petition and truly hope that the government will immediately reinstate the national homelessness initiative, including the SCPI and RHF programs, and that this initiative will be made permanent and receive increased funding.

The Association pour le Travail de rue D'Autray has been subsidized under SCPI since 2001, enabling it to hire a street worker in Lavaltrie.

The young people whose needs are addressed by the association's outreach are directly affected by the loss of services. The problem is worsening, and an increasing number of youth are becoming vulnerable.

[Supporting Communities Partnership Initiative, November 2nd, 2006]

Mr. Speaker, grants awarded by SCPI this year amounted to $135 million, of which $20 million went to Quebec. These amounts were absolutely necessary to provide assistance to the homeless, and, to our knowledge, these funds were well used.

The four little pilot projects announced last week by the Minister of Human Resources and Social Development will not make SCPI obsolete. We support that announcement to the extent that those pilot projects can contribute to enhancing SCPI, but they must not be used as a pretext for reducing SCPI in any way.

There are more than 12,000 homeless people in Montreal and more than 150,000 across Canada. Only an enhanced and permanent SCPI program can help these people, as the Bloc Québécois has been demanding for a long time.

Is the minister’s refusal to act for nine months a matter of ideology or simply a lack of expertise?