House of Commons photo

Crucial Fact

  • His favourite word was quebec.

Last in Parliament March 2011, as Bloc MP for Manicouagan (Québec)

Lost his last election, in 2011, with 31% of the vote.

Statements in the House

Economic Recovery Act (stimulus) October 2nd, 2009

Mr. Speaker, the member who just spoke talked about the renovation tax credit.

I want to go back to the question asked by the Liberal member. There is a wharf in every village and town in Manicouagan and many of these villages depend on the fishing industry.

A home renovation tax credit is being implemented, but do the member and his government intend to repair their own harbour infrastructure in villages that depend on the fishing industry, like those on the Lower North Shore?

Business of Supply October 1st, 2009

Madam Speaker, I do not know if the member is aware, but this is quite a dilemma. The Liberals introduced a motion of non-confidence in the government, and up until now, the NDP has accused the Liberals of keeping the government in power.

This evening, in a few minutes, the NDP will support the Conservative government. The NDP probably looked at the polls and realized that if there were an election, they could disappear.

The dilemma is this. The Liberals do not have confidence in the government, the NDP is trying to save itself by voting with the Conservatives, and Canadians do not have confidence in the Liberals, the masterminds behind the sponsorship scandal.

Is this not proof that the federal system does not work? It is high time Quebec became a sovereign nation.

Business of Supply October 1st, 2009

Madam Speaker, I listened to my colleague’s speech. He did not manage to get to employment insurance in the short amount of time he was allowed.

In Montmorency—Charlevoix—Haute-Côte-Nord and in Manicouagan, we have fishers, forestry workers and seasonal workers in the tourism industry. There are also some people who work in winter or summer, depending on the season. It is as hard to harvest berries on the North Shore in February as to ski on the Massif de la Petite-Rivière-Saint-François in July. These people often find themselves on employment insurance.

The government's Bill C-50 will not help the people of the North Shore.

I would like the hon. member to tell me whether many seasonal, occasional, temporary or vacation replacement workers in his riding and all over Quebec will receive any employment insurance benefits at all under Bill C-50.

Employment Insurance Act September 18th, 2009

Mr. Speaker, I do not accept the hon. member's premise that he is first and foremost a Quebecker and proud to stand for that within the Conservative Party. Personally, I cannot accept that because, in my riding of Manicouagan, we have workers who become unemployed from time to time due to the fact that industries in our region rely heavily on natural resources. There is the forestry industry, the fishing industry and the tourism industry. Legislation cannot divide unemployed workers into the good and the bad. That cannot be done.

The bill states that claimants are not eligible for benefits if they have not contributed at least 30% of the maximum annual premium in 7 of the past 10 years, or in 12 of the past 15 years. The same bill also states that claimants who were paid more than 35 weeks of benefits over the past 5 years, or an average of 7 weeks of benefits per year, are not eligible either.

Who is this bill meant to help, then? It is directly geared toward Ontario's automotive industry, an industry that has seldom had to make massive layoffs, although it is having to do so during this economic crisis. It is tailored to fit the automotive industry in Ontario and does nothing for the workers in the riding of Manicouagan and many other parts of Quebec.

Business of Supply June 19th, 2009

Mr. Speaker, Quebec's motto is Je me souviens, “I remember”. I remember when Jean Chrétien took power in 1993, he decided to get rid of the Conservatives' $54 billion deficit at the expense of the provinces and the unemployed by downloading responsibilities onto the provinces and slashing employment insurance. That was the Liberal style of government with Jean Chrétien as Prime Minister and Paul Martin as Minister of Finance. When they got together in 1993 and decided to eliminate the deficit, they asked the minister at the time, Doug Young, to squeeze employment insurance by increasing premiums and cutting benefits. It was a tough job that Doug Young started and Liberal minister Axworthy finished.

This week, we witnessed the creation of a Liberal-Conservative coalition. Because of the difficult economic situation, we are calling on the government to eliminate the two week waiting period and reduce the eligibility threshold to 360 hours. While in opposition, the Liberals called for the same thing as the NDP and the Bloc Québécois. The Bloc Québécois is not here just to defend Quebec's rights, but to defend the rights of all workers and the unemployed. While the Liberals were in power, they governed like Conservatives. Now we have a panel made up of Liberals and Conservatives.

Today I am asking the member who will be on the panel if he is ready to commit right now to working very hard to achieve two goals: eliminating the two week waiting period and introducing a single 360-hour eligibility criteria for benefits. If he cannot do that, he should just take a vacation because he will be wasting his time on the panel.

Bill C-429 June 18th, 2009

Mr. Speaker, this morning I introduced a bill to promote the use of wood when building, maintaining and repairing federal buildings. That was one of the Bloc Québécois recommendations that the Standing Committee on Industry, Science and Technology approved last week in its report on Canada's industrial sectors.

Quebec and British Columbia have already committed to similar measures. A number of other countries around the world also have policies for the use of wood.

We have the technical capability to go ahead with this kind of measure, but most importantly, this is a positive step for the environment, particularly with respect to greenhouse gases and energy consumption.

In closing, I would like to thank my colleague from Chicoutimi—Le Fjord for his work on this issue, and I hope that all members of the House of Commons will take some time over the summer to study this bill.

Department of Public Works and Government Services Act June 18th, 2009

moved for leave to introduce Bill C-429, An Act to amend the Department of Public Works and Government Services Act (use of wood).

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to introduce today a bill to amend the Department of Public Works and Government Services Act to promote the use of wood in the renovation and construction of federal buildings.

The current crisis in the forestry sector has been debated for a long time in this House. The bill I am introducing today, seconded by the member for Chicoutimi—Le Fjord, is intended to promote sustainable development. Promoting the use of wood in public infrastructure projects would not only show a commitment to the forestry sector and its workers, but it would also show a commitment to the environment.

I thank my colleagues for considering this bill. The member for Chicoutimi—Le Fjord and I are very hopeful that it will be passed in the near future.

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

The Environment June 11th, 2009

Mr. Speaker, this phenomenon is not limited to Europe and Asia. Climate change will also accelerate erosion of the coasts of the St. Lawrence gulf and estuary. The federal government, which still has no credible plan to fight climate change, is now responsible for the consequences of its failure to act.

Does the minister plan to create a compensation fund to give Quebec the means to finance measures to slow shoreline erosion?

Tobacco Act June 3rd, 2009

Madam Speaker, we are supposed to find ways to eliminate smuggling. I have a question for the member for Laval—Les Îles. Instead of having retailers charge the sales tax on tobacco products, could the government not pass legislation to tax the manufacturers of tobacco products? This way, if aboriginal communities or organized crime groups that smuggle cigarettes want to get supplies from companies that produce cigarettes or cigars, they would be taxed directly at the source, and the tax would be charged to the company producing the tobacco products, instead of to the retailers, who then pass that along to consumers.

Tobacco Act June 3rd, 2009

Madam Speaker, it is all well and good to want to pass laws here in Ottawa, just as laws have been passed in Quebec, but there cannot be one law for whites and one law for aboriginal people. There cannot be a double standard either.

We can tighten laws, make it harder to get cigarettes, raise taxes and try to discourage young people from smoking, but if the only way young people can smoke is to get cheap cigarettes, they are going to go to aboriginal communities.

It is too bad when a small corner store owner, who has a hard time making ends meet and depends on his clients and his environment, is charged because a young person with a false ID bought a pack of cigarettes. The store owner is fined $5,000, yet people can buy cigarettes near certain aboriginal reserves.

The aboriginal police, the Sûreté du Québec and the RCMP go by these businesses every day, but no one controls contraband cigarettes. They are all afraid to shoulder their responsibilities. That is what gives rise to contraband. I was a smoker, and I was asked whether I smoked Indian cigarettes. I did not smoke Indian cigarettes, I smoked real cigarettes.