Christiane Gagnon

[Middle East Protest Movements, February 15th, 2011]

Mr. Speaker, after the jasmine revolution in Tunisia and the popular democratic protest movement in Egypt, the movement is now expanding to other countries in the Middle East, such as Iran.

After the massive demonstrations that were held in the country in 2009 to protest the results of the presidential election won by Ahmadinejad, the green movement has mobilized yet again. A demonstration was held yesterday in Tehran, in support of the Egyptian and Tunisian people, at which the existing Iranian regime was also protested. This demonstration was harshly repressed: people were shot dead, tear gas was fired and opposition leaders were put under house arrest.

The Bloc Québécois supports these popular and democratic protest movements and denounces the conservative elected officials in the Iranian Parliament who now want the death penalty for the opposition leaders accused of leading yesterday's demonstration. The Iranian people must be able to freely express themselves.

[Points of Order, February 14th, 2011]

Mr. Speaker, for the third time, I will say that I withdraw the word, but the member continues. Her specialty seems to be misleading the House and spewing nonsense when answering during question period.

[Points of Order, February 14th, 2011]

Mr. Speaker, I rise to apologize if I called the member for Louis-Saint-Laurent a liar. Instead I would like to say that she misled the House. Indeed, misleading people is very serious. The press release definitely stated that the renovation was for the Toronto Olympic Games bid, and not for Vancouver.

She misleads the House so often that we have every right to be offended by her responses.

[Points of Order, February 14th, 2011]

Mr. Speaker, since the word “liar” is unparliamentary, I would say that the minister from the Quebec City region misled the House when she said that the press release was not for the Vancouver Olympic Games and that it was false. She therefore misled the House. I would replace the word “liar” with “misleading the House”.

[National Defence, February 14th, 2011]

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister's Office is insisting that one of the five Canadian Forces airbuses be painted white and red; however, the Department of National Defence opposes this request because the use of such bright colours could be dangerous when these aircraft are used for transporting soldiers and materiel during high-risk missions.

Does the Prime Minister not find it contradictory that he is arguing with his Minister of National Defence about an unnecessary expense, the paint colour of an aircraft, when he is asking everyone to tighten their belts and use restraint?

[Quebec City Arena, February 11th, 2011]

Mr. Speaker, the multi-purpose arena proposed by Mayor Labeaume is a major engine of economic development for our national capital. It will attract important international events. In addition, it is part of a larger project to revitalize the neighbourhood.

When will the government undertake to do its share to complete the financing for the Quebec City multi-purpose arena? When will it show up with some money?

[Quebec City Arena, February 11th, 2011]

Mr. Speaker, the Conservatives repeat ad nauseam that it takes Conservative MPs to move matters forward in Ottawa.

In the case of the multi-purpose arena, they even donned hockey jerseys to make us believe that the Conservative government would fund Mayor Labeaume's project. However, when the time comes to foot part of the bill and return part of our taxes, it is all hot air.

Will the federal government finally undertake to do its fair share?

[CEO of VANOC, February 8th, 2011]

Mr. Speaker, one year after the Vancouver Winter Olympic Games, the CEO of VANOC, John Furlong, is attacking all those who dared to criticize the lack of French during the opening ceremonies.

Denying any responsibility, he has the audacity to even accuse the great Quebec songwriter, Gilles Vigneault, of being responsible for the lack of French because he did not want his song, Mon pays, to be misrepresented. He also has scathing comments about the Commissioner of Official Languages, sports journalist Réjean Tremblay, and the Bloc Québécois for asking him to speak French.

The reality is that Mr. Furlong is incapable of admitting that he failed to plan an opening ceremony that also reflected the French fact, which makes us doubt his sincerity when he said that he wanted French to figure prominently.

Mr. Furlong's comments demonstrate a serious lack of sensitivity and understanding regarding the decision by francophones to communicate in their own language, and he is reverting to an old habit of blaming those who wish to express themselves in French.

[Nuclear Safety, February 7th, 2011]

Mr. Speaker, the shipment of radioactive waste on the St. Lawrence will endanger one of the world's largest freshwater resources as well as millions of shoreline residents.

Does the government not believe that the provinces that have opted for nuclear energy should also manage the waste and keep it in their own province?

[Nuclear Safety, February 7th, 2011]

Mr. Speaker, the Bloc Québécois has indicated its opposition to shipping radioactive waste on the St. Lawrence River. Completely ignoring the environmental risks, the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission has given Ontario's Bruce Power the go ahead to ship radioactive waste on the St. Lawrence. The government has shown that it can reverse the commission's decisions when it wants to, as we saw with Chalk River.

So, will the government use its discretion this time to cancel the permit that was given to Bruce Power?