Christiane Gagnon

[Patro Laval and Centre Durocher, February 3rd, 2011]

Mr. Speaker, I rise here today to commend the excellent work of two organizations in my riding. In 2010, they both celebrated important anniversaries.

Patro Laval celebrated 100 years of community involvement. Unconditional acceptance, mutual assistance and a sense of family are just some of the values one can expect from this Quebec City organization, where recreational activities are the focus.

Also, Centre Durocher celebrated its 60th anniversary and can be proud of having had such deeps roots in the community for so many years. Through recreational activities, community action and public education, the centre allows residents of Quebec City's lower town to improve their living conditions.

Patro Laval and Centre Durocher are both active community centres where authenticity and openness to youth and family prevail. I would like to congratulate them on their longevity and thank their staff and volunteers for serving the people of Quebec City with such dedication and passion.

[January 31st, 2011]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to remind my Conservative Party colleague, who sits in the House of Commons and represents the people of Beauport—Limoilou, that the $60 million she is talking about, which gave people access to clean water, did not just magically appear.

A number of questions were raised in the House and the members exerted pressure. Remember, the government was obliged to pay money out because it acted in bad faith on this issue. We recall the Radio-Canada report that condemned the attitude of the Department of National Defence and its irresponsibility on this issue. As if by chance, the minister finally decided to pay out a certain amount of money. And another thing I know about this issue and this money is that several million dollars has not yet been paid out to the municipality of Shannon.

My colleague may say that her government and the minister responsible for national defence are acting in good faith, but the citizens' committees were part of—

[January 31st, 2011]

Mr. Speaker, the court case related to the contaminated water in Shannon, a class action suit against the Attorney General of Canada, is under way. The case is meant to bring justice to several citizens from Shannon who drank TCE-contaminated water as a result of National Defence negligence.

I rise here today to denounce this government's contempt regarding its obligations and responsibilities when it comes to the groundwater contamination in Shannon. On November 24, 2010, I successfully forced a vote in the House of Commons and all opposition parties voted in favour of a motion ordering the government to produce analysis reports from the Valcartier military base's water supply system dating back to 1970, documents that the lawyers representing the class action suit filed by the people of Shannon have been trying to obtain for some time. That motion also received the unanimous support of the Quebec National Assembly. As we know, the Conservative government is an expert at refusing to honour the motions adopted by the National Assembly.

The next day, on November 25, the Minister of National Defence said that he would comply with the House's order to table those documents. He replied yes, and we thought those documents would be tabled in the weeks leading up to the break for the holiday season.

On December 15, since I had my doubts about the minister's willingness to table the documents in the House, I asked him again. The minister was changing his story and used the excuse that the matter was before the courts. As usual, he replied, just as the Liberals did when they were in power, that the documents would be released in due course. They have misled the people of Shannon.

I do not need to point out that we have yet to see these documents. I also sent a written request to the government for these same analysis reports that I mentioned earlier. But once again, the government, led by the minister, has acted in bad faith and almost completely ignored my demands.

Instead of compensating the victims of contaminated water in Shannon, being proactive and helping them track down as many potentially contaminated people as possible, what did the minister do? Nothing. The U.S. Navy did the opposite. When something similar happened at Camp Lejeune in North Carolina, the American government helped track down the victims. In this case, what did the government do? Nothing. What contempt for the people of Shannon.

My questions today are clear: when will the Minister of National Defence make public the documents that the House ordered him to produce on November 24, 2010? The class action lawyers are waiting for these documents. In addition, will the government take responsibility for these citizens and try to contact as many people as possible to conduct analyses and obtain a full sample of those who developed a cancer that, in many cases, led to their death?

I have also introduced a private member's bill that is along the same lines. Will the government stop being stubborn and stop forcing the people of Shannon into a class action lawsuit to obtain compensation?

[The Environment, January 31st, 2011]

Mr. Speaker, the National Round Table on the Environment and the Economy believes that it is time to act. The round table has criticized the government's approach, which consists of tying itself to the American agenda. If the government really wants to assume its environmental responsibilities, it must bring in a cap and trade system immediately.

Will the government finally come up with a comprehensive plan to effectively fight climate change?

[The Environment, January 31st, 2011]

Mr. Speaker, after saying in all seriousness that the oil extracted from the oil sands is ethical, and after promising a comprehensive plan to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, the Minister of the Environment is now telling us that he does not need one. In short, the government's approach when it comes to the environment is simple: it does nothing.

Are we to understand that the minister will continue, like his predecessors, to settle for inaction in order to better accommodate the oil companies and other major polluters?

[Port of Quebec City, December 15th, 2010]

Mr. Speaker, yesterday the Minister of Transport told us that the Quebec City port authority is an arm's-length body, implying that he has no intention of shouldering his responsibilities in terms of the controversial appointment of the Quebec City port authority's CEO.

Will the minister do more than just write a letter to the board of directors, and will he personally ensure that the Canada Marine Act and the Quebec City port authority's code of conduct are followed?

[Contaminated Water in Shannon, December 15th, 2010]

Mr. Speaker, on November 25, after a motion was adopted by the majority of the House ordering that reports on the analysis of the Valcartier base water supply system dating back to 1970 be produced, the Minister of Defence promised me that he would make these documents publics.

Notwithstanding the documents received last week, which have nothing to do with those mentioned in the motion, can the minister commit to making public the documents requested by the House before the trial beings in January 2011, as is being called for by the lawyers in the class action suit by the victims of contaminated water in Shannon?

[Plan Nagua, December 14th, 2010]

Mr. Speaker, on October 5, Plan Nagua, a company in the riding of Beauport—Limoilou, won the 2010 Desjardins entrepreneur prize in the sustainable development category.

Plan Nagua, which was created by eight students who had been on an internship in the Dominican Republic, has worked in the field of international solidarity for 40 years and is active on four fronts. It supports nearly 10,000 co-operatives in the southern hemisphere, primarily in the area of coffee growing and fair trade. It plays an active role in international co-operation projects in communities in Haiti and the Dominican Republic. It educates Quebeckers about north-south dynamics. And it provides opportunities for international internships and equitable tourism.

I am proud to salute Plan Nagua, which has sales of $2.5 million and spinoffs of close to $1.5 million in the national capital region. This company has broken new ground in Quebec in sustainable development and fair trade.

[The Environment, December 9th, 2010]

Mr. Speaker, this Conservative government lacks leadership on the environment. We already knew this. It was confirmed by the Commissioner of the Environment and Sustainable Development in his report tabled this week.

This disturbing report concludes that the government does not have a climate change adaptation strategy, in spite of a commitment to that end made 18 years ago; that the government does not adequately monitor freshwater resources on federal lands and as a result cannot even guarantee the quality of the water; that if an oil spill were to occur on federal lands, the government would not be able to respond; and that it actually is unaware of its response capacity and does not even know how many spills occur every year.

This appalling assessment of the situation comes as the Cancun conference is under way, where the Conservatives are a laughingstock for attempting to torpedo the Kyoto protocol.

It is not surprising that with this attitude, the Conservatives are amassing Fossil of the Day awards.

[Questions Passed as Orders for Returns, December 8th, 2010]

With respect to the decontamination of the former property of Canadian Arsenal in Valcartier, Quebec, has the Department of National Defence or another department received a request for funding by the former operator of this factory, SNC Tech. Inc., its parent corporation or a sister corporation of the SNC-Lavalin Group and, if so: (a) when was the request received; (b) who received the request; (c) what was the amount of funding awarded; (d) what documents were submitted in support of the request; (e) on what dates was the funding allocated by the government; (f) on what date was the funding distributed; (g) what was the method of payment; (h) to which company was the funding paid; and (i) who performed quality control of both the proposed and accomplished work?