Meili Faille

[Poverty in Canada, November 18th, 2010]

Mr. Speaker, an increasing number of Quebeckers and Canadians are going hungry. According to Food Banks Canada, last year more than 80,000 people walked into a food bank for the first time, which represents an increase of 9.2%. The most shocking statistic is that 38% of food bank clients are children. This is disturbing news that comes two days before Universal Children's Day.

The Conservatives can go ahead and boast about their economic action plan, but according to the executive director of Food Banks Canada:

...the recession is not over for a large number of Canadians. ... Many people who lost their jobs during the recession have now exhausted their unemployment benefits....

By rejecting many of the Bloc Québécois bills that would provide real help to affected workers, the Conservatives have chosen to put on rose-coloured glasses and spend almost $858 million on the G8 and G20, including $20,776 for an ice sculpture. The government's sense of priorities is evident.

[Public Works and Government Services, November 17th, 2010]

Mr. Speaker, a number of anomalies were detected in a major information technology contract renewal by public works and government services Canada. As soon as the company questioned the practices of Public Works and Government Services Canada, the Conservative government threatened to bar the company for three years.

Can the former minister of Public Works and Government Services and current Minister of Natural Resources tell us whether he approved this strategy to silence a company for criticizing a bidding process that it felt favoured a firm full of Conservative party donors?

When will there be an impartial public inquiry?

[Infrastructure, October 27th, 2010]

Mr. Speaker, the Auditor General noted that a number of infrastructure projects will not meet the deadlines set by the federal government because of departmental delays in approving projects.

Will the government acknowledge that it is partly responsible for delays on job sites and extend the deadline for all infrastructure projects as called for by Quebec municipalities?

[Guaranteed Income Supplement, October 22nd, 2010]

Mr. Speaker, according to an Environics poll, Quebeckers feel that the federal government is not doing enough to provide adequate retirement income for our poorest seniors. Eighty per cent of respondents support increasing the guaranteed income supplement. The results of this poll clearly show that people are worried. If the government does not act quickly, more and more seniors will be living in poverty.

Why is the government refusing to increase the monthly guaranteed income supplement benefit by $110, which is what the Bloc Québécois and FADOQ are calling for?

[Census, October 8th, 2010]

Mr. Speaker, the long form questionnaire was eliminated for purely ideological reasons. The proof: the member for Beauce, the libertarian guru, is gloating. He is even suggesting that all Statistics Canada surveys no longer be mandatory.

Will the Prime Minister put an end to this folly and reinstate the mandatory long form census questionnaire so that we have access to reliable data?

[Census, October 8th, 2010]

Mr. Speaker, while the former industry minister uses imaginary complaints from the public to justify the elimination of the long form census, hundreds of very real complaints, many from Conservative ranks, have been sent to the Prime Minister's office denouncing this ideological decision.

Will the government listen to the people, the National Assembly of Quebec, francophones living outside Quebec, women and aboriginal peoples, and reinstate the long form?

[Public Safety, October 7th, 2010]

Mr. Speaker, the government plans on spending $2 billion over the next five years to expand the prison system. The Minister of Public Safety believes that Quebec and the provinces should deal with the additional costs incurred as a result of its repressive approach.

Does the minister not find it irresponsible to inflict the negative consequences of his approach to crime on others?

[Public Safety, October 7th, 2010]

Mr. Speaker, the government plans on spending $2 billion over the next five years to expand the prison system. The Minister of Public Safety believes that Quebec and the provinces should deal with the additional costs incurred as a result of its repressive approach.

Does the minister not find it irresponsible to inflict the negative consequences of his approach to crime on others?

[Questions Passed as Orders for Returns, June 15th, 2010]

With regard to the Integrated Relocation Program (IRP), the contract for which was awarded to Royal Lepage Relocation Services since 1999 and Brookfield Relocation Services in 2009: (a) how many quarterly reports has the contractor submitted to the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat, the Department of Public Works and Government Services (PWGSC) or any other department since the program was first implemented in 1999; (b) for each of the following periods, did the contractor produce a quarterly report detailing the breakdown of real estate transactions for each agency, were the reports submitted to the Treasury Board Secretariat, PWGSC or any other department, and what is the number of relocations of federal public servants, (i) April 1, 1999 to June 30, 1999, (ii) July 1, 1999 to September 30, 1999, (iii) October 1, 1999 to December 31, 1999, (iv) January 1, 2000 to March 31, 2000, (v) April 1, 2000 to June 30, 2000, (vi) July 1, 2000 to September 30, 2000, (vii) October 1, 2000 to December 31, 2000, (viii) January 1, 2001 to March 31, 2001, (ix) April 1, 2001 to June 30, 2001, (x) July 1, 2001 to September 30, 2001, (xi) October 1, 2001 to December 31, 2001, (xii) January 1, 2002 to March 31, 2002, (xiii) April 1, 2002 to June 30, 2002, (xiv) July 1, 2002 to September 30, 2002, (xv) October 1, 2002 to December 31, 2002, (xvi) January 1, 2003 to March 31, 2003, (xvii) April 1, 2003 to June 30, 2003, (xviii) July 1, 2003 to September 30, 2003, (xix) October 1, 2003 to December 31, 2003, (xx) January 1, 2004 to March 31, 2004, (xxi) April 1, 2004 to June 30, 2004, (xxii) July 1, 2004 to September 30, 2004, (xxiii) October 1, 2004 to December 31, 2004, (xxiv) January 1, 2005 to March 31, 2005, (xxv) April 1, 2005 to June 30, 2005, (xxvi) July 1, 2005 to September 30, 2005, (xxvii) October 1, 2005 to December 31, 2005, (xxviii) January 1, 2006 to March 31, 2006, (xxix) April 1, 2006 to June 30, 2006, (xxx) July 1, 2006 to September 30, 2006, (xxxi) October 1, 2006 to December 31, 2006, (xxxii) January 1, 2007 to March 31, 2007, (xxxiii) April 1, 2007 to June 30, 2007, (xxxiv) July 1, 2007 to September 30, 2007, (xxxv) October 1, 2007 to December 31, 2007, (xxxvi) January 1, 2008 to March 31, 2008, (xxxvii) April 1, 2008 to June 30, 2008, (xxxviii) July 1, 2008 to September 30, 2008, (xxxix) October 1, 2008 to December 31, 2008, (xl) January 1, 2009 to March 31, 2009, (xli) April 1, 2009 to June 30, 2009, (xlii) July 1, 2009 to September 30, 2009, (xliii) October 1, 2009 to December 31, 2009, (xliv) January 1, 2010 to March 31, 2010; (c) on what dates did the Treasury Board Secretariat, PWGSC, the Department of National Defence and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police conduct verifications to ensure that the contractor had distributed the “federal public servants to be relocated” equally among all the third-party suppliers; (d) which agencies are on the list of third-party suppliers participating in the IRP and what is the breakdown of real estate transactions for each agency; (e) what is the rate for real estate commissions; (f) what is the name of the departmental official or project officer who manages the files submitted by the contractor and how can this person be reached; (g) on what dates were the audits and verifications of the IRP carried out, were they carried out internally or externally, and who is the person or contractor responsible for carrying them out; (h) what information is contained in a standard invoice submitted by the contractor and under what headings would details on additional costs be found; (i) who within PWGSC is responsible for checking each invoice submitted by the contractor and monitoring the contract to ensure the contractor complies with all clauses therein; and (j) how much has the government saved to date through the IRP and how is this amount calculated?

[Questions on the Order Paper, June 15th, 2010]

Regarding the Integrated Relocation Program (IRP) and the reimbursement of excess broker fees paid by federal employees: (a) how many National Defence employees were reimbursed by the Royal LePage Relocation Services contractor; (b) what is the total dollar amount that was reimbursed; and (c) what methods were used to contact employees who were likely to have overpaid broker fees to the contractor or third-party IRP suppliers?