Johanne Deschamps

[Indonesia, May 29th, 2006]

Mr. Speaker, a year and a half after the Christmas 2004 tsunami that caused hundreds of thousands of deaths in many areas surrounding the Bay of Bengal, Indonesia has been struck by another tragedy.

Last Saturday, an earthquake measuring 6.3 on the Richter scale shook the island where Jakarta is located, causing more than 5,000 deaths, according to initial reports.

Unfortunately, that number is likely to rise since it is very difficult, if not impossible, to access most of the villages that were most seriously damaged by the earthquake.

In addition to the 5,000 deaths, more than 20,000 people have been injured and 200,000 have been left homeless.

Unlike what happened after the 2004 tsunami, we hope that the aid promised by the international community will reach the people who need it and that it will bring some relief to their suffering so that they may resume their normal lives as soon as possible.

[President René Préval, May 15th, 2006]

Mr. Speaker, yesterday in Port-au-Prince, René Préval was inaugurated as the new president of Haiti.

The new political stability that René Préval has brought to the country since his election on February 7 is a good thing for Haiti.

It is high time that the international community got involved in the long-term development of this country and supported the new president in introducing the democratic, social and economic reforms he wants to make.

As Mr. Préval stated when he was sworn in, MINUSTAH, the UN stabilization mission in Haiti, must remain because its job is not yet done.

Quebec has always been a friend to Haiti, and we will continue to pressure the Government of Canada to increase its financial aid, in view of its special responsibility to Haiti.

The Bloc Québécois congratulates the new president and joins the 120,000 Quebeckers of Haitian origin in wishing this jewel of the Caribbean a long and peaceful existence.

[Business of Supply, May 11th, 2006]

Mr. Speaker, that is a very long question which I can answer very easily.

The Bloc Québécois is asking Ottawa for an implementation plan for the Kyoto protocol that would reduce greenhouse gas emissions to 6% below 1990 levels.

A series of measures have been proposed that fall within federal jurisdiction: strict standards for vehicle manufacturing in order to improve fuel efficiency; rebates on the purchase of greener cars; financial support for development of renewable energy including wind energy, which Quebec already has through its hydroelectricity and through the wind turbines already in place without federal subsidies; abolition of tax incentives for oil companies; and grants for organizations that contribute to meeting the Kyoto objectives.

What more can we say, other than that Quebec has always had a responsible government, has always been proactive in all the measures and programs it has put forward? We realize today, from a pan-Canadian perspective, that what has been done in Quebec could be replicated elsewhere. However, it is always Quebec that is penalized and that does not derive a monetary return from these programs.

I believe that the Government of Quebec has already done a great deal; it has easily proven itself. If we refer to greenhouse gas emissions chart, we can see that Quebec had the best emissions record in Canada, with 12 tonnes per person. Of all the Canadian provinces, Quebec's rating is the lowest. It is remarkable, and the credit goes to Quebec's many years of efforts.

[Business of Supply, May 11th, 2006]

Mr. Speaker, as the elected representative of a people, I have a duty to talk on their behalf. One of their greatest current concerns is the fight against environmental degradation around the world.

Whether we are from Laurentides—Labelle or any other place on the planet, we are all aware of the need to act. The fight against climate change will be one of the most important planetary issues in the coming years.

The Kyoto protocol is the product of numerous years of work and collaboration within the international community. To date, it is the most effective and the most comprehensive tool for fighting climate change. The motion tabled by my colleague from Rosemont—La Petite-Patrie asks that the Conservative government take some effective action to ensure that Canada meets its objective for greenhouse gas reduction, and that it do so right now.

The Conservative government must act as a responsible government and must undertake to respect the Kyoto protocol, an agreement by which Canada is legally bound. By ratifying the protocol, on December 17, 2002, after a majority vote in the House of Commons, Canada undertook to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions to a level of 6% below its 1990 level. Canada’s record concerning greenhouse gas emissions is far from brilliant since, in 2003, Canada emitted 24% more greenhouse gases than in 1990.

Quebec, where energy production relies chiefly on hydroelectricity, which is renewable and clean, contributed only very slightly to this increase in production of greenhouse gases. Between 1990 and 2003, greenhouse gas emissions increased in Quebec by 8.6%, compared to 34% in Alberta and 45% in Saskatchewan.

Paradoxically, the oil industry has received $66 billion in subsidies over the past 30 years, as opposed to a meagre $329 million for the renewable energy industry.

One year after the ratification of the Kyoto protocol by Canada, the former Liberal government adopted Bill C-48, which made Canada a tax haven for oil companies in North America.

The first budget of the Conservative Party reveals that it intends to continue in the same direction as the Liberal Party of Canada. In my opinion, Liberals or Conservatives, it is all the same. As for the Conservatives, they seem to have found a new passion: Quebec. Since the last election, and even during the election campaign, they have inundated Quebec with promises and commitments. Perhaps they should now focus on the real priorities of Quebeckers. According to a Léger Marketing survey that was made public on February 15, over 90% of Quebeckers support the Kyoto protocol and its objectives. More important, they say they are willing to make concrete efforts to ensure that Quebec reaches the objectives of the Kyoto protocol.

I am trying to understand the Conservatives and I am still very concerned with the arrogant attitude they have taken since their recent election. It did not take them long to get into the same bad habits as the Liberals. One has to wonder if power does not lead to deafness, blindness and amnesia. The position taken by the Conservatives is weakening not only Canada's credibility, but also Quebec's credibility in the international arena. It could definitely put into question the relevancy of negotiating the signing of multilateral agreements. Experts the world over agree that climate change could have catastrophic consequences for ecosystems, animals and human communities.

Several groups have been working for many years to raise public awareness of the importance of reducing our greenhouse gas emissions.

In Montreal last February 16, a number of Quebec leaders gathered at the invitation of Équiterre and Greenpeace to celebrate the first anniversary of the coming into force of the Kyoto protocol.

I would like to quote some of them. Mr. Alban D'Amours of the Mouvement des Caisses Desjardins said:

The recent United Nations conference on climate change will have served to raise considerable awareness of the urgency of acting to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and spurred our concern to protect the environment.

Claudette Carbonneau of the CSN and Henri Massé of the FTQ said:

Tough measures to reduce greenhouse gas emissions must be put in place quickly in all sectors of society, and workers must be an integral part of the solutions for implementing the Kyoto protocol.

And finally, Laurent Pellerin of the UPA:

Global warming is a threat to food security, and may have harmful consequences for the entire planet such as reduction of food crops and potable water resources.

Governing responsibly means looking beyond a political agenda that lasts a few months. It means implementing the conditions necessary to ensure the security, health and prosperity of citizens for the years to come. The Conservative government is doing the very opposite!

If the Conservatives really want to contribute to improving the security and health of citizens, let them give up spending taxpayers’ money on building more prisons. Let them invest that money instead in combating the stealthiest threat, which is at our gates and making its presence known by the increase in such extreme weather events as heatwaves, hurricanes and droughts.

The Conservative government says it does not want to send taxpayers’ money abroad. The Bloc Québécois is in complete agreement. It is rather the rich oil companies that should pay the environmental costs generated by their industry.

To do otherwise would be to leave the bill with all the taxpayers, who already find themselves the poorer as the price of gas goes up, the taxpayers who on top of that would have to bear the cost of the harmful consequences of climate change. The Conservative government cannot remain deaf to the demands of Quebeckers.

Quebeckers believe in the necessity of stopping the destruction of our environment and in the need for clean water, air and soil so that our children and grandchildren may in their turn enjoy what nature has lent to us.

I will close by asking the Minister of the Environment a question, which has to do with her lack of vision for the future.

When your pockets are full, what will you feed on?

[Business of Supply, May 11th, 2006]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank my colleague from Brossard—La Prairie for sharing his time with me.

I will start by stating my primary reasons for entering politics. First, there is my Quebec culture and my desire to protect it. Another reason was my attachment to the values of respect and openness that I inherited from my parents. Finally, I entered politics because of my respect for this earth and not only for Quebec, but for the whole planet. For all these reasons and values, I one day decided to join the Bloc Quebecois, the only party that, in my opinion, really takes Quebec's interest to heart and that really cares about the priorities of Quebeckers.

As an elected representative, I sincerely believe that I have a responsibility to speak out on behalf of the public. One of the main concerns of this public is the fight against environmental degradation worldwide.

[Small Arms and Light Weapons, May 10th, 2006]

Mr. Speaker, this week the 114th Assembly of the Inter-Parliamentary Union is being held in Kenya.

Many subjects will be debated there, including environmental management and combating global degradation of the environment, promoting effective ways of combating violence against women, and strengthening the control of trafficking in small arms and light weapons.

Over 600 million small arms and light weapons are now circulating in the world, and a good many of them are being used in the wars raging in Africa, particularly in countries with natural resources such as diamonds and petroleum. These countries do not manufacture weapons. The weapons come from elsewhere, for the sole purpose of supplying these wars.

Oxfam launched a 100-day campaign last March to mobilize against and denounce armed violence in the world. Light weapons kill over 800 persons every day. There is no international agreement to combat the sale of arms.

The federal government must denounce these violations of human rights at the UN summit on small arms and light weapons in June.

[Petitions, May 9th, 2006]

Mr. Speaker, on behalf of myself and of the member for Vaudreuil-Soulanges, I have the honour to table a petition concerning lives in limbo signed by 4,000 people. The petitioners are asking the government to establish a process that will facilitate granting permanent residency to any individual who has been in Canada for more than three years and who comes from one of the countries under a moratorium, such as Afghanistan, Burundi, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Haiti, Iraq, Liberia, Rwanda and Zimbabwe.

This state of uncertainty is a major cause of human anguish and suffering, so we believe it must be acted on quickly.

[Employment Insurance Act, May 8th, 2006]

moved for leave to introduce C-269, An Act to amend the Employment Insurance Act (improvement of the employment insurance system).

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to rise in this House today to introduce a bill that my colleague from Chambly—Borduas has put a great deal of work into, a bill designed to improve the employment insurance system. The bill provides for reducing the qualifying period to a minimum of 360 hours of work, lengthening the benefit period, increasing the weekly benefit rate to 60%, cancelling the waiting period, increasing the maximum yearly insurable earnings to $41,500 and introducing an indexing formula.

Whether they are in my riding of Laurentides-Labelle, the rest of Quebec or the rest of Canada, workers deserve our respect and our commitment. The Bloc Québécois is listening to Quebeckers, as it has done since it was first elected in 1993, and is attuned to their priorities.

Unfortunately, thousands of people have been hard hit by the cuts and the mission change made to employment insurance by the Liberal and Conservative governments. The Bloc Québécois will try again to correct this situation in order to give those who were left out of the Conservative budget the respect they deserve.

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

[Darfur, May 1st, 2006]

Mr. Chair, I would like to thank my colleague for her comments that supplement what I had to say this evening in the House. She also provided some possible answers to the question asked by my colleague across the aisle a few minutes ago. That is all that I could hope for in this regard.

[Darfur, May 1st, 2006]

Mr. Chair, I thank my colleague opposite for his question and his request. Talks are underway, and the African Union has asked that the negotiations be extended. As I said earlier in my speech, the Bloc Québécois recognizes that the African Union is doing remarkable work at present in Darfur. At this stage in the talks, it is essential that we wait for the outcome of those negotiations.

On the question of the humanitarian aid being supplied in response to the current crisis there, it is imperative that more aid be provided to those people. Their survival and their ability to get through this is at stake. A population that has been fed can then implement measures to secure better health services and perhaps even basic education services. That is also made possible by the activities of community organizations on the ground.

I hope my answer has provided clarification of the Bloc’s position regarding what is currently happening in Darfur.