Maria Minna

[Questions on the Order Paper, December 14th, 2010]

With regard to paragraph 3(1)(c) of the Fair Wages and Hours of Labour Act: (a) what is the procedure for imposing penalties on contractors and where are those procedures outlined; (b) how many contractors were penalized under this provision between January 1, 2005 to October 26, 2010; (c) did any contractors fail to pay the penalty and, if so, (i) how many, (ii) did Human Resources and Skills Development Canada pursue further action to collect the penalty; (d) were any contractors who were not penalized investigated and found to be in violation of the Act; and (e) when and where were the procedures for imposing penalties published?

[Questions on the Order Paper, December 10th, 2010]

With regard to Canadian child labour laws: (a) what is the government’s policy regarding ratification of International Labour Organization Convention No. 138 (C138) concerning the minimum age of admission to employment; and (b) has the government studied the impacts of ratification of C138 and the associated costs?

[Human Rights, December 10th, 2010]

Mr. Speaker, exactly 62 years ago, humanity took a considerable step forward when it adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Since then, Human Rights Day is the occasion for people of all races to reflect on the way they treat one another, a day to reflect on how governments treat individuals.

At the same time, never has our country seen so many attacks on human rights on the part of its politicians. Never has a national party so systematically attacked human rights for petty political gain as today. The attacks on the charter, the attacks on women, immigrants and refugees that we have seen from the Conservative government are unworthy of Canada's heritage.

The Prime Minister should take advantage of the opportunity provided by this international Human Rights Day to examine his conscience and reconsider his many authoritarian and undemocratic decisions.

[Status of Women, December 7th, 2010]

Mr. Speaker, 40 years ago today, the historic Royal Commission on the Status of Women paved the way for greater equality for Canadian women with the tabling of its groundbreaking recommendations on everything from pay equity to prohibiting gender and marital status as grounds for discrimination by employers.

Formed by former Liberal Prime Minister Lester B. Pearson, the commission played a major role in defining the status of women as a legitimate social issue. Most of the 167 recommendations tabled under the Trudeau government have been implemented.

Today, despite the progress made by women over the past decades, there are still significant barriers to equality in Canada.

Unfortunately, women’s equality has taken a step back under the Conservative government’s regressive policies, which have led to a growing gender gap in this country.

Equality will only be achieved when we all, including the Conservative government, uphold our responsibilities to the women of Canada.

[International Day of Persons with Disabilities, December 3rd, 2010]

Mr. Speaker, each year on December 3, we celebrate the International Day of Persons with Disabilities.

The International Day of Persons with Disabilities aims to promote a better understanding of disability issues with a focus on equal enjoyment of human rights, as well as ensuring integration into all aspects of political, social, economic and cultural life.

The recent report by the HRSDC committee on the federal contribution to reducing poverty contains excellent recommendations to improve the lives of those living with disabilities, and I encourage the government to implement those recommendations.

The Liberal Party is a proud supporter of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. We believe that together we can help the 650 million people worldwide and the 4.4 million people in Canada living with disabilities today enjoy their full human rights.

[Firearms Registry, December 2nd, 2010]

Mr. Speaker, this Sunday marks the 15th anniversary of Canada's premier gun control legislation, the Firearms Act, created and implemented by the previous Liberal government on December 5, 1995. Since its creation, everyone but this ideological government agrees that it is needed in this country.

Despite the government's repeated attempts to dismiss the positive effects of the firearms registry during its campaign to abolish the registry against the will of the police, victims, women's groups and in fact the majority of Canadians, the facts speak for themselves.

The newest Conservative member, the member for Vaughan, the former OPP Commissioner, has said that keeping the registry, as the majority of parliamentarians have decided, is a “done deal”.

Perhaps the member will encourage his new boss to listen to him and move on.

[Questions on the Order Paper, November 29th, 2010]

With regard to the negotiations between the British Columbia Maritime Employers Association (BCMEA) and the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU): (a) how much did it cost to produce the report by mediators Hughes and Rooney, from the time of their appointment to the end of their mandate; (b) has the Minister reviewed the report, including submissions from the BCMEA and the ILWU; (c) has the Labour Program made recommendations to the Minister on the report and, if so, what were those recommendations; and (d) will the Minister appoint an industrial commission as recommended in the report?

[Conservative Candidate for Vaughan, November 25th, 2010]

Mr. Speaker, this is no small matter. The member was a minister when she signed a petition demanding that the Prime Minister's hand-picked candidate in Vaughan, Julian Fantino, be investigated. She wanted his pay docked. She wanted him suspended and she wanted him fired. Does she still hold the same view now, and if not, what has changed?

[Conservative Candidate for Vaughan, November 25th, 2010]

Mr. Speaker, the Minister of Human Resources refuses to do her duty to disabled Canadians by reviewing allegations of funnelling support money to Conservative ridings. Yet when it comes to Conservative candidate Julian Fantino, she has no problem signing a petition not only calling for an inquiry into his actions, but calling for him to be fired as OPP commissioner.

Why the double standard? Or did she only sign for short-term political gain?

[Points of Order, November 24th, 2010]

Mr. Speaker, I rise on a point of order. Yesterday during question period the Minister of Public Safety persistently mispronounced the name of the candidate in Vaughan, Mr. Genco.

He was told by this side of the House repeatedly the correct pronunciation and that his name is Tony Genco. However, he persisted to mispronounce it despite that. To get the message across, one of our colleagues mispronounced the name of Mr. Fantino.

The problem is the minister persisted throughout question period to mispronounce Mr. Genco's name intentionally. He may think he was poking fun at an Italian Canadian or the Italian Canadian community in general, but I do not find it funny at all and neither does my community.