Denis Paradis

[Brome—Missisquoi, September 27th, 2005]

Mr. Speaker, two weeks ago, almost 100 representatives of organizations from Brome—Missisquoi and surrounding areas had an opportunity to speak at regional meetings I organized in Orford with colleagues from this House and the other place.

I want to thank all the organizations and businesses that took part. I will mention a few: Abattoir Campbell, Conservation Baie Missisquoi, Conservation Memphrémagog, Iwanna Farm, Brome Fair, Brome-Missisquoi RCM, the Magog revitalization committee, the Bedford business association, the Memphrémagog CLD, Tourism Eastern Townships, the Magog-Orford Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the Cowansville Chamber of Commerce, the Kirkland and Venise beaches, the municipality of Venise-en-Québec, the textile workers, the CSD, the CSN, the roundtable on homelessness, the Maison des jeunes de Sutton, the Corporation Jeunesse Memphrémagog, Découvertes de la chanson de Magog, Festiv'Art and the Saint-Armand world film festival.

To all those who came and told us about their needs and concerns, I say that I stand behind them.

[Magog Region, June 16th, 2005]

Mr. Speaker, the Magog region has been experiencing a serious employment crisis for the past year. After the textile crisis, the recent job losses at SaarGummi and now the closure of Olymel have added to the bad news for workers.

I wish all my fellow citizens affected by these closures to know we have not yet said our last word on this. An industrial revitalization committee has been set up to seek solutions. All of us are working very hard to keep jobs in the Magog region and to see new ones created.

I must also thank a number of my colleagues who have supported us in this. Moreover, tomorrow the Minister of the Economic Development Agency of Canada for the Regions of Quebec will be in Magog to make an important announcement, and we will be meeting community stakeholders to discuss the economic situation in the region. All levels of government must work in close cooperation on this.

Solidarity is needed now more than ever.

[Ruth Lund Kijowski, June 3rd, 2005]

Mr. Speaker, recently, a resident of my riding of Brome—Missisquoi, Ruth Lund Kijowski of Cowansville, travelled to Armenia on behalf of the Canadian Executive Service Organization, known as CESO. This is an organization funded by CIDA through which Canadians share their expertise to stimulate the development of disadvantaged economies.

I commend Ms. Lund's extraordinary involvement as a volunteer with this not for profit organization newly established in Armenia, which provides training in fashion. Her extensive professional experience in management, particularly in the textile sector, has enabled her to share her expertise by conducting training sessions on the development of new products and the selection of fabrics for affordable clothing.

Thanks to Ms. Lund, four women have completed the training and are now ready to work and to share their knowledge.

Congratulations, Ms. Lund, for this great philanthropic gesture. You are a source of pride and inspiration for us all in Brome—Missisquoi.

[Supply, June 3rd, 2005]

Mr. Speaker, I listened intently to what my colleague from Charlesbourg—Haute-Saint-Charles said. I agree with him that it is important that these appointments be made on merit. In fact, I believe they are now made in this way.

I was president of the Quebec bar association in a previous life. I also followed these committees as the representative of Quebec's lawyers. Generally speaking, we have seen these appointments being made on merit.

My colleague from Charlesbourg—Haute-Saint-Charles also mentioned that belonging to a political party does not disqualify a candidate. Thus, it might be interesting to see someone with a varied life experience as a good candidate.

Where I disagree is with this talk about the politicization of the judicial system. I do not believe this is the case, from what I have seen, nor on the provincial level, since our PQ colleagues were in power for several years in Quebec. Consequently, can we say that all judges who were appointed in Quebec during the PQ government were staunch PQ members? I am not sure about this.

Rather than talk about politicizing a system, perhaps we should talk—and my colleague mentioned this earlier—about improving a system so that merit is recognized and is the basis of this system. However, when he mentioned—this is where I disagree a little—that one must belong to a political party to be appointed, I do not agree at all. Appointments are made on the basis of merit and must continue to be made in this way.

I agree more with my colleague's comments when he says that it is not a tie with a political party that disqualifies a candidate.

[Student Employment, May 19th, 2005]

Mr. Speaker, the summer work student exchange program is an initiative I launched in my riding of Brome—Missisquoi. In the beginning, there were only 20 or so participants, students who were eager to learn a second language, get their first job and discover their country.

Ten years later, nearly 9,000 students have taken part in the program, including the 1,375 students registered for the summer 2005 program.

They are our raison d'être. Without all these young people, their participation and their enthusiasm, the summer work student exchange program would not have expanded as much as it did. I thank the Canadian Unity Council for its involvement.

My thanks also to all my colleagues in this House who have supported the program.

For 2005, there are some 193 MPs from all political parties involved in the program. My thanks to the host families, all the stakeholders, and those who, 10 years ago, believed in this project, whose sole purpose was to provide young Canadians with an unforgettable experience.

[Aerospace Industry, May 13th, 2005]

Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Minister of Industry. Can he tell us what action the government has taken today to ensure the future of the aerospace industry, a key sector of our economy?

[Volunteerism, May 9th, 2005]

Mr. Speaker, on Saturday, in Magog, I attended the annual Gala des bénévoles.

I want to congratulate all the winners, and particularly Lucille Pouliot, who was named volunteer of the year for her involvement with the AFEAS Saint-Patrice women's group and the Carrefour du partage community organization for the underprivileged.

More than 500 people got together to celebrate these individuals who generously give their time, which reflects the vitality and community spirit of the Magog area.

I am always impressed by such passionate people, who are prepared to selflessly give their time for a cause they are committed to. Be it with the sick or in social, environmental, sports or cultural causes, you can count on the volunteers.

I admire their dedication, kindness and respect for others. They are an important component of society, our true collective wealth.

Thank you to all volunteers in Magog and elsewhere.

[Bank Act, May 4th, 2005]

moved for leave to introduce Bill C-375, an act to amend the Bank Act (bank fees).

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to table this bill entitled an Act to amend the Bank Act (bank fees). This enactment amends the Bank Act by requiring Canadian banks to lay each year before the House of Commons a detailed statement of all the fees that they charge to their clients.

The enactment also prohibits banks from charging fees other or higher than those recommended by the standing committee of the House of Commons that normally considers matters relating to consumers. Any contravention of this provision constitutes an offence punishable by a fine of not more than $10,000.

It is important to recognize that bank fees have become quite significant over the past few years. All other public services, such as electricity, cable or telephone services, are regulated. Accordingly, it is high time we regulated bank fees.

(Motions deemed adopted, bill read the first time and printed)

[Committees of the House, May 3rd, 2005]

Mr. Speaker, I thank the hon. member for Niagara Falls for some of his comments. Judging overall, I sense that we can expect support, not only from him, but from his colleagues as well.

Since the hon. member has had a great deal to say about marriage, there is one marriage I always find astounding. Hon. members will recall the marriage of the Alliance, there was the Reform Party and now the Conservatives. It is not so much the marriage as the engagement that disturbs me. The Conservatives are in such a hurry to have an election that they are prepared to propose marriage to just about anybody.

At the present time, the Conservative Party is wooing, and definitely going to get engaged to, the Bloc Québécois. The two of them have joined together to get an election called as soon as possible. The Conservatives say the agreement is not that bad; it will leave Quebec to the Bloc Québécois and try to gain votes elsewhere. I think that such an arrangement is rather sad, whether it is an engagement or a marriage, we do not know yet how far the relationship has progressed.

As for the RCMP, my colleague has raised the money issue. Several times in committee the commissioner told us that it was not a matter of money, that things were fine from the financial point of view, that he had enough money to do everything he wanted. He said that it was more a matter of changing mindsets. That it was a matter of moving people who were in the regions somewhere else. The commissioner said this would be more effective. I have some trouble with that concept of greater effectiveness.

According to them it is not a matter of money but of effectiveness, and I challenge that.

[Committees of the House, May 3rd, 2005]

Mr. Speaker, first, I want to commend the hon. member for Saint-Hyacinthe—Bagot. Earlier he mentioned that his region was making real progress. Although progress is being made, RCMP presence is still needed to maintain the positive results. It is important to see police officers and for them to be located in the area.

I also want to commend the former member for Mégantic—L'Érable, Mr. Binet, as well as the new member, who is picking up where Mr. Binet left off. The hon. member for Mégantic—L'Érable mentioned a few points. In the mayors' report, the proximity of the Canada-U.S. border was mentioned—31 km—and the redeployment of RCMP officers to Sherbrooke—130 km from Lac-Mégantic—and to Saint-Georges de Beauce—110 km from Lac-Mégantic. Police officers will no longer be able to do a regular preventive patrol along the border.

The Canada-U.S. border extends 171 km along Maine and New Hampshire. We are talking about quick intervention. I think the hon. member for Mégantic—L'Érable is right to raise the issue of distance. At any given time, it will be practically impossible for RCMP officers to respond to anything they would normally be able to respond to from a local detachment.

I would like to take this opportunity to join my colleague in congratulating the mayor of Lac-Mégantic. I have met her on several occasions. She is extremely involved in this issue and works very actively with all the mayors from the other towns affected by these detachment closures.

In this debate in committee, we also heard from customs officers. They told us that working in a customs office without this support made the situation pretty much impossible. Customs officers made a suggestion to the committee. If the RCMP is not so present locally, then perhaps it would be appropriate to train mobile border patrol teams that would go from one border point to another to cover all the points between them.

I want to know whether the hon. member has any comments on the possible creation of mobile border patrol units like they have in the United States.