Francine Raynault

[Business of Supply, April 26th, 2012]

Mr. Speaker, people I care about who are not quite 50 and have children used to work for companies that have closed their doors. These people have had to find new jobs, jobs that often pay much less. They are very worried about how they are going to manage to save enough money for retirement when their children are heading to CEGEP and university.

I would like to know what the government is doing for them. They will not even be able to retire at 67 because they will not have had the means to prepare for retirement.

[Business of Supply, April 26th, 2012]

Mr. Speaker, I want to thank my colleague for her impassioned speech. On March 10, a public consultation on old age security was held in the riding of Joliette. Many people came out to learn more about this issue, even though the consultation was held late on a Saturday afternoon. Some people also wrote to us.

I would like my colleague's opinion. It is scandalous to cut retirement income without offering an alternative solution. Millions of people will end up living in poverty. How does my colleague propose we help these people? They are quite worried.

[Business of Supply, April 26th, 2012]

Madam Speaker, I want to thank the hon. member for her speech. I would now like to know what she thinks about the following statement: it would seem that this government's priority is to spend billions of dollars on corporate tax cuts, while eliminating support for seniors, women in particular.

Does she have any suggestions to prevent women from continuing to be poor their whole lives?

[Regional Economic Development, April 25th, 2012]

Mr. Speaker, for the Conservatives, Quebec is a little bit like Atlantis: a mysterious country that they know nothing about.

The announced closure of the Canada Economic Development offices in Laval and Montérégie show that the regional mission is being abandoned. The agency's mission is to support communities and SMEs in order to help them to participate in the economy.

The government boasts that the economy is its priority, but this decision is ill-advised. Will the government reverse this decision?

[Citizen's Arrest and Self-defence Act, April 24th, 2012]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank my colleague for her speech. When this bill is studied in committee, will citizens' arrests, self-defence and defence of property really be studied in depth to make sure things do not get out of hand?

[Financial System Review Act, March 27th, 2012]

Mr. Speaker, I thank the member opposite for his speech.

I have a question. This bill leaves out an element that is very important to building a stronger economy: regulation of financial speculation and derivatives. Billions are regularly wagered on the stock markets, which destabilizes the economy and does not benefit Canadians.

Should the Conservative government not use this opportunity to work with other governments to put an end to disastrous speculation in Canada and other countries? Is that what the Conservatives intend to do?

[Protecting Canada's Immigration System Act, March 15th, 2012]

Mr. Speaker, as you might suspect, the NDP is strongly opposed to this bill, which punishes refugees instead of offering them a rapid and equitable system.

I have a question. This bill concentrates more powers in the hands of the minister by allowing him to designate safe countries and to restrict the number of refugees from these countries.

Under the old bill C-11, this decision was made by a group of experts, including experts in human rights. Why is this change being made?

[Conservative Party, February 29th, 2012]

Mr. Speaker, I searched high and low but was unable to find Pierre Poutine of Separatist Street in Joliette. What I did find were angry Quebeckers who now know two things: that the Conservatives will stop at nothing to mislead voters and that, given the opportunity, they will use humiliating and offensive stereotypes about Quebeckers.

Why are the Conservative members from Quebec not outraged? Where is the apology to the people of Joliette?

It seems that the Conservatives woke up one morning and were unable to decide whether to break the law or insult Quebeckers, and so they said to themselves, “You know what? Let's do both.”

The people of Joliette deserve better. That is why they said “no” to scandals and the divisive politics of the past. That is why they said “yes” to the NDP team, because the NDP does things differently and represents Quebeckers with respect. We are firmly committed to defeating these Conservatives, who are mired in scandal, and that is exactly what we are going to do in 2015.

[Business of Supply, February 16th, 2012]

Mr. Speaker, I thank the hon. member for her excellent speech. We appreciate the latest recommendations of the Liberals regarding first nations education. However, we are also aware that they were in office for a long period of time during which they could have implemented many of the policies they are now proposing. The fact is that they chose not to move forward on this issue during that period.

Why did the Liberals wait until the Conservatives took office to decide that first nations education is a priority, considering they had 12 years to take action?

[Business of Supply, February 16th, 2012]

Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for her excellent speech. I have a question for her. The Attikamek live in Manawan in my riding. It is quite far north of Joliette. Apparently, they have no specific budget for language and culture. As a result, all their activities to promote and safeguard their Attikamek identity are funded out of their teaching envelope, which is not very large, and this leads to a direct reduction in teaching services for young Attikamek. What does my colleague think about that?