Luc Malo

[Sainte-Julie Golf Tournament, June 2nd, 2006]

Mr. Speaker, on May 29 I participated in the 25th Ville de Sainte-Julie golf tournament, with an illustrious resident of the city, former mayor Yvon Major, as honorary chair.

Mr. Major held public office for over 20 years as a councillor and then mayor. He is known to all as a man of unlimited generosity. Among his other good works was his participation with the South Shore's Alzheimer Society in establishing a home for persons suffering from Alzheimer disease.

I would like to thank Mr. Major—a man with a great heart, a man of conscience and action and a great sense of humour—for his exemplary involvement.

A long-time golfer, Yvon Major has made the Sainte-Julie golf tournament a charity event that benefits organizations in his community. I congratulate Mayor Suzanne Roy, the organizers, volunteers and many sponsors of this tournament, and I wish this wonderful activity continued success.

[Income Tax Act, June 1st, 2006]

Mr. Speaker, I hope that the members will not find it strange if during my speech this evening on the occasion of a debate on a tax measure, Bill C-294, an act to amend the Income Tax Act, I put my calculator aside, smile broadly, and pay homage to all these young people who, at the crack of dawn or late at night, whether Monday or Saturday, strive for excellence.

The purpose of this bill is to support these elite athletes who, in order to outdo themselves, reach new heights, and go as far as their talent will take them, often have to leave their parents and the associated financial advantages—particularly housing expenses—in order to live elsewhere among other young people with whom they can flourish in their sport.

This bill aims as well to recognize that the associations that support them financially do not pay them a salary but allow them to sponge up a bit of the sweat that might appear at the same time as the major financial burdens of practising an elite sport.

Let us just look, very coolly, at all the expenses associated with an elite sport. I am going to list a few just to help us imagine the total cost: housing, food, food supplements, sports equipment and clothing, transportation, educational costs, medical expenses, registering for competitions, training, membership in an athletic club and travel to competitions. It is not unusual to see athletes who, in addition to practising their sport and getting an education, have to work in order to support their lives as high-performance athletes.

I have been speaking for a few minutes already about the modest contribution that this bill would make to some athletes without having formally introduced it. The purpose of Bill C-294 is to amend the Income Tax Act to provide additional support for athletes by excluding from their taxable income allowances from non-profit groups or associations to a maximum of $350 for each month of the year if, first, the taxpayer is registered during the year with the organization as a member of the sports team or as a participant in the sports or recreation program, and second, if membership in the team or participation in the program is restricted to persons under 21 years of age.

That being said, this bill raises the issue of amateur sport funding and the situation of Quebec and Canadian athletes. I would like to point out that there is only one program offering direct financial support to athletes, the Athlete Assistance Program (AAP). The funding allocated to that program makes up only 13% of total sport funding in Canada. That is not right, considering that expectations are very high for the 2010 Olympic Games in Vancouver, and that time and resources have to be invested before a talented young person can measure up against the best in the world, to the point that his performance is better than all others.

For the benefit of all, the AAP is the source of financial assistance paid directly to Canadian amateur athletes who are already among the top 16 in the world, or who have the potential to reach that level. So this program is far from the panacea for the financial needs of athletes, who have glaring needs long before they manage to rank 16th in the world in their discipline.

An athlete is a human being who has dreams and ambitions, but also fears and obligations of all kinds. It is therefore our collective duty to encourage athletes, to show how proud we are of them throughout the long, hard climb to excellence, and not only when they enhance our visibility as they climb to the highest step of the podium.

Of course, this tax credit may seem modest, but it is clearly a step forward in providing direct assistance to athletes who, as I was just saying, often have to work to earn their living, particularly up and coming athletes, who receive very little support, either in terms of money or of visibility or credibility.

Fortunately, there are certain organizations which have long believed in these young people. For if we did not already have teams, or organizations which generously provide money to meet some of the basic needs of these athletes, the legislative measure we are debating this evening would be of no use at all.

So I take this opportunity to congratulate and thank those entities, and above all the men and women who embody them and are their driving force, who create environments conducive to the development of skills and the establishment of positive role models for youth, and who make it possible for these sports talents to emerge.

Their invaluable contribution to creating a better society deserves to be recognized and inspires and motivates all of us to always act in our communities' best interests.

Although the Bloc Québécois supports this bill, some amendments are needed to maximize the bill's benefits and minimize its irritants.

First of all, the Income Tax Act, which this bill amends, gives no definition of “athlete”. It would be helpful to define this term, because the various sports bodies at the provincial, federal and international levels do not always have the same criteria. For Sports Québec, athletes qualify for financial assistance if they are carded by Sport Canada, if they are not carded by Sport Canada but belong to a Canadian team that plays an unsupported Olympic sport, or if they are identified by the Quebec sports federations as being at the elite or developmental level and are considered to be among the most promising and to be making steady progress. What definition will be used to determine who can receive the credit? A clear, precise answer to this simple question is critical to full implementation of this measure and would make it easier for the sports communities in Quebec and Canada to understand the scope of the measure.

In addition, it seems to us that, because of the age restriction, many athletes are excluded who would need the assistance, particularly those registered with university sport teams. We believe that these young people should continue to enjoy the benefits of this tax credit because, despite their youth, the time they can spend on a paying job is probably shorter due to the greater demands of university.

We intend to persuade the committee to which this bill will be referred to assess and support these amendments, which we find highly desirable, in order to make this new tax credit more relevant and effective.

I would be remiss if I concluded this speech without reiterating how much I admire elite athletes in Quebec and Canada for the work and performances they manage to achieve under sometimes less than ideal circumstances. With their intensive training sessions that require leaving any worries in the locker room and focusing on the essential performance, and in team sports, taking on that unfailing sense of solidarity necessary to reach common goals, these young people are models of healthy living which offers a refreshing contrast from sedentary living and all sorts of related illnesses historically rare in young people. Whenever you perform in stadiums, arenas and pools, with dozens or even hundreds of pairs of eyes riveted on you, and show everyone that your goals are within reach, you are bearers of hope. Whenever you demonstrate that a well-controlled sports performance is a source of beauty, excitement and wonder, you spread great happiness all around. Whenever you show that elite sport can be an integral part of an active, modern life, you are a source of inspiration for the generations that follow you.

[Business of Supply, May 30th, 2006]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank my colleague for his question.

Quebec has always been, for very many years, extremely respectful of its anglophone minority. Just think of the exemplary health services for the anglophone community. Or of the network of universities, colleges and all manner of educational institutions. They are quite representative and take into account the needs expressed by Quebec's anglophone community.

Of course Quebec is inclusive. As we said, what Quebec sovereignists and the Bloc Québécois are proposing is a society open to all cultures. Anyone living in Quebec is a Quebecker. And that includes francophones, anglophones, allophones and aboriginal peoples.

[Business of Supply, May 30th, 2006]

Mr. Speaker, I will share my allotted 20 minutes with my colleague from Joliette.

Culture, a vital part of our national identity, is neither inert nor inviolable. To speak of it is to treasure it, to remember its fragility as well as its potential to drive and mobilize us. For these reasons, I am pleased to rise in this House to participate in the debate on a motion that reads as follows:

That, in view of the ratification by Canada of the Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions, the House insist that the government, its departments and agencies maintain the program policies and regulations in support of Canada's artistic sector and cultural industries, in particular, by maintaining or enhancing: (a) existing Canadian cultural content requirements; (b) current restrictions on foreign ownership in the cultural sector; and (c) financial support for public broadcasting in both official languages.

For everyone’s benefit, I would first like to review what the Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions will do; it will: recognize in international law the distinctive nature of cultural goods and services as vehicles of values, identity and meaning; clearly affirm of the right of countries to have cultural policies to ensure genuine diversity of cultural expressions domestically; include provisions by which developed countries undertake to support developing countries in nurturing the development of their own emerging cultural industries; assert the principle of non-subordination—meaning the legal status of the convention in international law will be equal to that of other international treaties, including trade agreements; commit countries to take the provisions of the convention into account not only when entering into other international agreements, but also when applying and interpreting agreements to which they are party; and include a basic dispute settlement mechanism, creating the potential that in the years ahead the convention will accumulate a body of written decisions on issues of cultural policy that will ultimately influence how culture is treated in trade agreements.

When we read that, it is easy to understand why Quebec, its artists and everyone connected with its cultural industry have taken and continue to take a leadership role in promoting this convention.

While the Quebec nation is creative and endowed with a vibrant cultural heritage, it is also up against foreign competitors that have enormous production and distribution systems, and so it is crucial that cultural products and services not be regarded as ordinary, disposable products and services.

Who is in a better position to defend, explain and promote a nation’s culture, in all its forms, than the nation in which it originates? The recognition that Quebec is in the best position to do that is one of the key factors that is missing from this motion, which, all in all, is appropriate, and which the Bloc Québécois will vote in favour of.

The motion addresses three related aspects of the convention.

First, there are the existing Canadian cultural content requirements. At present, 65% of musical performances broadcast by commercial radio stations must be in French, a requirement which, according to recent figures released by the CRTC on May 4, has not prevented FM broadcasters from increasing their profits:

In 2005, FM radio revenues grew by 11.8% over 2004, from $923.7 million in 2004 to a little over $1 billion.

ADISQ, however, recommends other criteria that would allow for a more diverse offering of French-language music. Valérie Lesage, a reporter at Le Soleil, wrote: “Out of an estimated total of 900 new Quebec releases between March 1 and December 31, 2005, radio stations broadcast only 137, barely 14% of the music available”. While she added that half of the artists on the list of the 50 top sellers between 2002 and 2004 were francophone, the Bloc Québécois agrees that broadcasters are entitled to want to increase their revenue, but disagrees with any reduction in Canadian and French-language content.

The big problem in the development of Canadian francophone content on commercial radio comes from the advent of satellite radio. Even though satellite radio is still only a marginal player, the licence conditions granted to it are clearly less demanding than those imposed on commercial radio, and conventional broadcasters are taking their cue from it now and are having a fine time demanding that the conditions imposed on them should be relaxed.

We know that the Liberal government had the power to send the CRTC’s decision back to it, and by not doing so, they approved it

In other words, the Liberals who are introducing this lovely motion today actually helped to weaken Canadian cultural sovereignty and dealt a heavy blow to cultural diversity, despite the deep concerns expressed in particular by the ADISQ, the Union des artistes and SOCAN.

The second part of the motion has to do with foreign ownership in the cultural sector. The Bloc Québécois is opposed to any relaxation of the foreign ownership regulations in telecommunications.

In its dissenting report on the Our Cultural Sovereignty report of June 2003, the Bloc Québécois stated that “increased foreign ownership would not solve the problem of media concentration. On the contrary: weaker restrictions on foreign ownership and an influx of new capital would accelerate the concentration process”.

The Bloc Québécois recommended at the time that the minister of Canadian Heritage should speak with her colleague in Industry and actively advocate the maintenance of the current foreign ownership rules in telecommunications and broadcasting.

That was our position then, and it still is. We will oppose any weakening, which would necessarily have repercussions on telecommunications in Quebec. The study group on the regulatory framework for telecommunications, which submitted its report in March 2006, advised for its part that the foreign ownership rules should be relaxed.

Rest assured that the Bloc Québécois will remain very vigilant in this regard because in September 2005, the Liberal industry minister, now the Conservative Minister of International Trade, said that he was open to relaxing the foreign ownership rules.

In an article published on September 22, 2005, it said that the minister had stated that he was open, however, to a relaxation of the current foreign ownership regulations in the telecommunications sector if that could ever help Canada become more competitive.

We are even more worried because a report signed by the current Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Canadian Heritage, then sitting with the Canadian Alliance, which today is the Conservative Party, supports the relaxation of rules on foreign ownership of Canadian businesses, notably those in the areas of telecommunications and the distribution of broadcasting services.

The final aspect of the motion touches on the funding of radio and television. The Bloc Québécois is in favour of sufficient funding for public radio and television.

Though they were behind this motion, the Liberals blithely cut funding to the CBC. In early February 2005, we learned that the CBC was imposing additional cuts of $13 million on CBC French television—$6 million in general television programming, $3 million in support and regional programming, and $4 million in news and information.

These restrictions have a very big impact on the production of public affairs programs on television. I would therefore point out that we condemn these cuts in news and information programming and remind the Minister of Heritage that she has a duty to hold the CBC to its mandate.

It is clear from part II of the Broadcasting Act that the cuts to the news and information budget are contrary to the CBC’s mandate. The 1991 Broadcasting Act stipulates that: “—the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, as the national public broadcaster, should provide radio and television services incorporating a wide range of programming that informs, enlightens and entertains”.

Obviously we want the CBC to have the funds it needs to fulfill its mandate. The Bloc Québécois is in favour of adequate funding for radio and television services that objectively reflect the reality experienced by people from here and elsewhere in all its subtleties, and that provide news that does not lapse into propaganda.

In closing, I would urge all the members gathered here to promote the Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions among the representatives of all countries that have not yet signed this agreement, so that every nation can flourish and enrich the planet with the distinctive identities that make the world a beautiful place.

[Commonwealth Youth, May 30th, 2006]

Mr. Speaker, I would first like to thank the organizers of the Halifax committee bidding for the games, and wish them the best of luck in the selection process for the 2014 Commonwealth Games host city. Contributing to the development of a group of young athletes who are so disciplined and passionate about their sport is an honourable goal in itself.

Last year, the United Nations proclaimed 2005 the International Year of Sport and Physical Education. According to the UN, the fraternity that comes with playing sports, and the values of sharing and social interaction associated with playing sports, provide excellent models for young people, and sport can even “contribute to [a nation’s] economic and social development, improving health and personal growth in people of all ages—particularly those of young people...Sport can also help build a culture of peace and tolerance by bringing people together on common ground, crossing national and other boundaries to promote understanding and mutual respect”.

We also believe that the spirit of fraternity that is a necessary outcome of playing sports is indeed a source of hope. The hope that harmony can be built among nations, and living conditions for young people everywhere improved. But also the hope that something will be done quickly here at home so that Canadian sport “policy” serves some goal other than “the development of the Canadian sport system to strengthen the unique contribution that sport makes to Canadian identity, culture and society”.

A sport policy does not mean only funding for athletes or visibility for a government, and should not be developed solely on that basis; it should rather be directed toward incorporating physical activity and sports into a healthy lifestyle, with the goal of improving quality of life for individuals and communities.

Sport must therefore be developed within a framework that reflects the responsibilities and areas of jurisdiction of Quebec and the provinces. Quebec must therefore be in charge in this area, an area in which, by virtue of its education and public health network, Quebec can and must promote a healthy lifestyle and stress the importance of an active life.

In closing, I hope that the 2014 Games, like the 11th FINA World Aquatic Championships held in Montreal last summer and countless other sports events that bring people together, along with the role models provided by the athletes who take part in them with their contagious enthusiasm, will encourage young Quebecers and Canadians to get involved in a physical activity and incorporate the benefits and lessons they gain from that experience into their lives as citizens.

[Olympic and Paralympic Athletes, May 15th, 2006]

Mr. Speaker, we are pleased to welcome today on Parliament Hill athletes from Quebec and Canada who participated in the Olympic and Paralympic Games in Turin this past winter.

The greatest accomplishments always start with a dream and the achievements of our Olympic and Paralympic athletes are no exception. Beyond the impressive haul of medals during these games, we want to acknowledge above all their passion for sport and physical activity and the values of perseverance and a fighting spirit, which become a true model for us all.

I want to thank these athletes for being living examples of men and women who excel and exceed the limits to achieve their goals.

May their tenacity, their determination and their motivation be with us always.

We are proud of these athletes.

[Business of Supply, May 11th, 2006]

Mr. Speaker, 90% of Quebeckers support the Kyoto protocol, and this support is very present in my riding of Verchères—Les Patriotes. Wherever I go, I always find individuals and groups who share with me their concerns about the degradation of our planet. They ask me to keep putting pressure on the government so it stops dithering when it comes to protecting our environment.

Young people are also concerned about this major issue, and rightly so. On April 29 of this year, at the Varennes youth festival, Mr. Gaétan Savoie, chairman of the event, recognized the exceptional work of Antoine Fillion, a 12-year-old environmentalist who collected signatures from 250 of his classmates, calling for concrete measures to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and who continues his daily battle to save our environment.

I would like to have my colleague's advice on what I should tell Antoine and his friends and all those who ask me what long-term solutions have been put forward by the Conservative government to fight climate change. For the time being, all we know is that it is eliminating programs to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and to improve energy efficiency, and it is turning its back on Kyoto with nothing but empty words. However, it is too late for empty words alone, and this is very troubling.

[Bloc Québécois Supporters, May 8th, 2006]

Mr. Speaker, voters in a majority of ridings in Quebec selected the Bloc Québécois to represent them in the fifth consecutive federal election.

We owe this victory in large measure to the hard work and determination of generous volunteers, people of all ages, all walks of life and all backgrounds. The diversity of these people, who are defending ideas that reflect their experiences and their beliefs, enables the Bloc Québécois and its parliamentary wing to better defend the interests of Quebeckers. I pay tribute to them for their invaluable work.

I thank them for their involvement and their generosity and specifically I thank the extraordinary group of supporters from my riding, whom we welcome to Parliament Hill today.

We are honoured by your presence and encouraged by your enthusiasm. Thank for not sparing your time or your energy in your efforts to make Quebec a sovereign country.

[Public Health Agency of Canada Act, May 5th, 2006]

Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague from Chicoutimi—Le Fjord for his question.

Indeed, this is quite strange. On the one hand, different government ministers and stakeholders are telling us about the place that the government wants to give Quebec and they assure us that it will now respect the provincial areas of jurisdiction. On the other hand, as soon as this House resumed its work, the government presented us with Bill C-5, which provides for the establishment of a Canada-wide public health agency.

A public health agency in Canada might create confusion in Quebec. Who would now be the main spokesperson? We, in the Bloc Québécois, consider that it is the Institute--

[Public Health Agency of Canada Act, May 5th, 2006]

Mr. Speaker, I thank the parliamentary secretary for his question.

I totally agree with him. Indeed, we must work together to be better equipped to respond to pandemics of deadly diseases. However, this does not mean simply working together here in Canada, with Quebec and the other provinces. We must all work together on a global level.

It is the WHO that establishes guidelines for the various stakeholders in the world to guide them in their choices and in the development of their own policies.

In Quebec, we have an institute, the National Institute of Public Health. It works quite well. Of course, it calls on capabilities from outside Quebec. However, it is this institute that determines the guidelines for Quebec, since it knows its people best.