House of Commons photoWon her last election, in 2011, with 32% of the vote.
Petitions June 17th, 2015
Mr. Speaker, I am very proud to present a petition signed by a number of co-operative members in my riding, who are simply calling on the government to maintain federal funding for low-income households, to maintain the $1.7 billion set out in the operating agreements and to reinvest in new or recent housing co-operatives.
The Environment June 15th, 2015
Mr. Speaker, I appreciate what my colleague just said about the criteria and additional measures that the government is bringing in, but I am referring to a specific case today.
What I am saying is that there are criteria, but it appears as though some companies are managing to find loopholes. I have been contacted by some Canadian pilots who tell me that they are out of work and that there are many Canadian pilots who are being forced to work for foreign companies because they cannot find work here in Canada. Why? Because companies like Sunwing Airlines are apparently finding loopholes. We know that the company received some 900 resumés, but it still applied to hire foreign workers. This company is apparently using all sorts of tactics to get around the criteria. That is what I am being told.
Will the government and the department look into this company and other companies that could also be finding loopholes? All I am asking is that the government look into this because there are Canadian pilots out of work right now.
The Environment June 15th, 2015
Mr. Speaker, I rise today to debate a very important issue that I raised in the House regarding an unacceptable situation that affects many Canadians pilots, many of whom are from Ahuntsic.
I learned that many airlines, under dubious pretexts, have been hiring foreign pilots, thereby putting qualified and available Canadian pilots out of work. I also learned that this kind of practice is happening in other areas of the aviation industry and it affects flying instructors, helicopter pilots, bush pilots and aerial spraying pilots, just to name a few.
The excuses that the airlines are giving to the government are absolute nonsense. Some companies, for example, require experience on aircraft that they do not even have in their fleet, or require degrees that have nothing to do with the job in question. The purpose of these requirements is of course to give preference to foreign candidates to the detriment of Canadian pilots.
It was also brought to my attention that some companies are posting bogus job offers on sites that no one visits, so they can pretend that they had no applicants to certain jobs.
Although a number of companies may be audited, Sunwing Airlines is the most questionable. Although that company acknowledges that it received 900 resumés of Canadian pilots, it claims it did not find any qualified Canadian pilots.
What is more, Sunwing Airlines apparently filed new applications for temporary foreign workers for its winter season. That is very suspicious since there would be a well-known pool of qualified Canadian pilots available for their category of plane, according to the information I was given.
When I asked the Minister of Employment and Social Development and Minister for Democratic Reform about this, he said, “Before hiring foreign workers, the company must prove that it attempted to advertise the job in question to determine whether or not Canadians were available.”
He also said that his government put in place harsh penalties for those who break the rules and that his government's policy is to ensure that Canadians are given priority for jobs in Canada. He said any company that breaks the rules will be punished.
We heard those fine words, now we want action.
Let us ask ourselves this question: will the minister order an audit of Sunwing Airlines' practices and, if necessary, impose the harsh penalties he was talking about? Will the minister audit the practices of all other airlines in order to flush out offending companies?
Canadian pilots want action. If the government continues to do nothing about an issue of such importance to the Canadian economy, it is, in my opinion, condoning these unacceptable practices.
ZERO TOLERANCE FOR BARBARIC CULTURAL PRACTICES ACT June 15th, 2015
Mr. Speaker, I vote against the motion.
ZERO TOLERANCE FOR BARBARIC CULTURAL PRACTICES ACT June 15th, 2015
Mr. Speaker, I vote yes.
Incorporation by Reference in Regulations Act June 15th, 2015
Mr. Speaker, I agree to apply the vote, and I vote no.
Incorporation by Reference in Regulations Act June 15th, 2015
Mr. Speaker, I agree to apply the vote, and I vote yes.
Justice for Animals in Service Act (Quanto's Law) June 15th, 2015
Mr. Speaker, I am voting in favour of the motion.
Economic Action Plan 2015 Act, No. 1 June 15th, 2015
Mr. Speaker, I am voting against the motion.
Rail Transportation June 15th, 2015
Mr. Speaker, the CN line runs through the cities of Montreal and Ahuntsic from west to east, and the CP line runs though from north to south. As everyone knows, more and more oil is being transported by rail these days. The Department of Transport and the rail companies have reportedly been given risk studies. In the spirit of transparency, will the Minister of Transport release those risk studies to the public?