Jean-François Larose

[Gaétan Brassard, February 13th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, this week I spoke with Gaétan Brassard, a 61-year-old man from my riding.

Mr. Brassard is in a very difficult position. He earns barely $10,000 a year and has serious health problems. He has to use a walker. His life has been so depressing in the past two years that he admitted that he had considered taking his own life with a gun.

The problem is that he is not the only Canadian in this situation. Millions of people are in the same situation. When I think of the government's cuts and then Canada Post's cuts to services, I think of Mr. Brassard, who will have to go pick up his mail with his walker.

We have a serious problem. Honestly, our citizens deserve better. Mr. Brassard deserves better, and in 2015, the NDP will provide something better.

[Canada Post, February 11th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, the problem is that when they make proposals to ensure Canada Post's long-term viability, the Conservatives censure 86% of a report that proposed solutions.

We in the NDP are prepared to support any proposal that could ensure Canada Post's survival, while saving jobs and maintaining the integrity of service to Canadians.

Why censure this report? What rescue plan did this government dismiss?

[Business of Supply, January 28th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, we are talking about a CEO who earns a great deal of money to make an ordinary decision like this, about $10 million lost and about a sham of a public consultation process.

Canada Post belongs to the people. It provides a public service to seniors and to persons with reduced mobility.

I asked the question once before, but I will put it now to my honourable colleague. They say two-thirds of households while we say one-third. Are those who have been forced to use community mailboxes since the 1980s satisfied with the service they receive?

Oddly enough, in my riding, many of my constituents have told me that they are dissatisfied. Homeowners sometimes have no choice but to have a community mailbox. The fact of the matter is that they do not want one. They want home delivery. The public has not been consulted on this matter. A system that is outdated and unwanted is being forced on people.

Fundamentally, before making any kind of decision, Canada Post must serve the Canadian public, the corporation’s owner. This is part of its mandate.

Could my colleague answer this question?

[Questions Passed as Orders for Returns, December 9th, 2013]

With regard to transfer payments to non-profit organizations (excluding hospitals and universities) and the government’s operational spending (O&M) to manage these transfers: (a) what have been the government’s total expenditures in this area since fiscal year 2006-2007, broken down by fiscal year; (b) what has been the break-down of the government’s expenditures since fiscal year 2006-2007 on internal government operations, on grants, and on contributions, broken down by fiscal year; (c) what has been the breakdown of expenditures by department and agency, broken down by program area, by fiscal year and by nature of expenditure (for example, grants, contributions, O&M); (d) what fiscal changes (for example, legislative changes to the Income Tax Act) have been put into place since 2006-2007 that directly impact the not-for-profit sector and what has been the financial result of each of these changes (for example, amount of costs or savings to the Treasury by fiscal year since the implementation of each change); (e) what cuts to transfer payments were made during each round of the four-year cycle of Strategic Reviews and as a result of the Strategic and Operational Review (also known as Deficit Reduction Action Plan), broken down by i) department and agency, ii) program activity, iii) nature of expenditure (for example, G&C, Capital, O&M); (f) how much has the government spent on the new social finance approach and what are its projected spending plans for the next few years, including a breakdown of this spending on special pilot projects discussed in HRSDC’s 2013-2014 Report on Plans and Priorities—i.e., to test social partnership and social finance approaches in the area of literacy, youth and Aboriginal labour market programming, as well as through the Foreign Credential Recognition Loans Pilot; (g) which not-for-profit organizations and private firms have been chosen to test the new approach and what is the break-down of government expenditures to date and spending plans on each project, broken down by not-for-profit organization and by private firm?

[Taxation, November 29th, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, at a time when its public service cuts are forcing more and more Canadians to rely on charitable organizations, the government continues to refuse to acknowledge the importance of this sector to our economy. Charities account for more than 7% of our GDP, generate more than $100 billion in economic activity every year and create thousands of jobs.

Will the government commit to making it easier for the charitable sector to access assistance for businesses?

[Petitions, November 6th, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, today I am presenting a petition for Development and Peace regarding mining companies abroad. As we know, there is a lack of transparency and accessibility, which has some very serious consequences. We are hearing more and more complaints that Canadian mining companies around the world show a lack of respect. Development and Peace would like the government to bring in an ombudsman who would have significant investigative powers.

[Adult Education Centre, June 10th, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, today I have the honour to rise to talk about the Centre la Croisée.

In my riding of Repentigny, I had the opportunity to visit a vocational school for adults, the Centre la Croisée. I say “adult”, but when I visited, I was sad to see that most students were young people who should normally be in a regular school but had dropped out. The dropout rate is on the rise.

We are very fortunate to have a centre like this, where volunteers and teachers give much more of their time than they should and produce amazing results. These young people are doing well. The centre's program is very flexible. Business people are grateful for what the centre does because it helps them develop a workforce. It creates a future that inspires us all.

I would like to thank Mr. Correia, the director of the Centre La Croisée. We all support you.

[Safe Drinking Water for First Nations Act, June 6th, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, honestly, to see what the government is doing makes me think of South Africa in days gone by. There is a tendency to generalize, as though every first nation were going through the same thing.

The problem is that each community is unique. I am proud that members from all parties are able to talk about their own realities because it is something they care about. Unfortunately, this bill does not take communities' individual realities into account. The government did not bother to listen to these communities or even slightly address their needs.

Why does the minister need to move a time allocation motion again when we are trying to share our ideas? I do not know any other hon. member who keeps using the same rhetoric over and over again. It takes some nerve to say that we are not serious. The word “honourable” is a title. Some have to work hard for it. He should know that. It is too bad.

[Economic Action Plan 2013 Act, No. 1, June 3rd, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, the former parliamentary budget officer repeatedly said that this budget lacked transparency and clarity. The documentation is not available. We often find that we cannot get information from committees. The reports are incomplete and subsequently kept secret. Everything is done in camera. This was understood in Quebec, and the Charbonneau commission was created.

Have we come to this? Honestly, this still feels like an empty shell and an omnibus bill. We want to have more and we can never get more.

[Safer Witnesses Act, May 30th, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, once again, I thank the committee, which did an excellent job of developing an absolutely necessary tool.

I am a former corrections officer and peace officer, so I quite often had the opportunity to see the tools at our disposal. However, there was no budget associated with these tools. Members of the House often have good intentions, but, unfortunately, the money is just not there.

There are plenty of witnesses we could have heard from. I hope that the Senate will do its job and that these witnesses will come talk about the problem.

What does my hon. colleague have to say about how the Conservatives plan to help local police services that do not have the money for this?