Monique Guay

[Luc Plamondon, May 7th, 2009]

Mr. Speaker, today, the Speaker of the National Assembly of Quebec will present lyricist Luc Plamondon with the medal of honour in recognition of the 30th anniversary of the rock opera Starmania. Mr. Plamondon will be joined by artists who have helped make this work famous in Europe and Quebec.

Mr. Plamondon has written a number of well-known works, including Notre Dame de Paris, but Starmania remains a standard against which other rock operas are measured. In addition to making a name for artists such as Bruno Pelletier, Isabelle Boulay and Jean Leloup, the songs in this opera are some of Mr. Plamondon's best-known compositions. Just think of I Would Love to Change the World—The Businessman's Blues, The World is Stone and Les uns contre les autres—You Have to Learn to Live Alone.

Mr. Plamondon, the brother of the dean of this House, is a prolific artist who has certainly played a major role in musical history, not only in Quebec, but throughout the French-speaking world.

That is why my Bloc Québécois colleagues and I also want to pay tribute to Luc Plamondon.

Long live Starmania!

[Customs Act, May 4th, 2009]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to give an example for my colleague to comment on.

I have been involved with security myself. I was on in transit New York, en route from Ottawa as part of a ministerial delegation. In New York, a particularly zealous officer took my passport and asked for my U.S. green card. I told him that I did not have one and that I had never lived in the United States. He delayed me for at least 15 minutes, demanding to see a green card, which I did not have, and refusing to let me through. The minister was waiting for me on the other side because the delegation was about to board a plane for Africa. That is what I call excessive. As members of Parliament, we all have special passports. I had to tell the officers that I wanted to talk to his supervisor, or I would never have been allowed through. In the end, he took my passport, stamped it and practically threw it in my face.

I hope that that will never happen here, and that we will have enough staff to make sure that it never does. That is what happened there, and it is still happening.

[Beau Dommage, April 28th, 2009]

Mr. Speaker, today, Quebec's National Assembly will honour a legendary musical group from Quebec, Beau Dommage, on the occasion of its 35th anniversary. This well-known group was formed in 1973 and released its first album in 1974. Beau Dommage achieved instant success with its eponymous record, which included recordings of Ginette, Le picbois, and the legendary La complainte du phoque en Alaska.

Pierre Bertrand, Marie-Michèle Desrosiers, Réal Desrosiers, Michel Hinton, Pierre Huet, Robert Léger and Michel Rivard are also much loved in France, where they toured in 1977. They performed at the legendary Quebec national holiday concert on Mount Royal in 1976. The group broke up in 1978, but reunited several times over the following years to record new albums and play concerts.

The Bloc Québécois salutes Beau Dommage, whose tunes have been hummed by thousands of Quebeckers over the past few decades.

[Charles Aznavour, April 22nd, 2009]

Mr. Speaker, on Monday Charles Aznavour was awarded an honourary doctorate by the Université de Montréal for his exceptional contribution to world francophone culture.

Now 85, this prolific artist has composed 1,000 songs, including the famous Je m'voyais déjà, For me, formidable, Emmenez-moi and Je voyage, as well as appearing in about sixty films.

Born to Armenian parents on May 22, 1924, he and his family lived through the economic hardships of the thirties, but this did not stop him from learning to sing and act. In the late 1930s he wrote lyrics for Edith Piaf, the Compagnons de la Chanson and Jacques Hélian, and then branched out into a solo career. By 1954 he had had over 30 hits, with many more to follow. In 1963 he went on a world tour, starting in New York City. He is currently on tour in Quebec.

My colleagues in the Bloc Québécois and myself are proud to take this opportunity to tell the House about this honour paid to Charles Aznavour, and extend our heartiest congratulations.

[Canada-Peru Free Trade Agreement Implementation Act, April 20th, 2009]

Mr. Speaker, in Quebec, we are in favour of free trade and we have always been. However, we must take into account the nature of the two countries involved. Canada is a developed country and Peru is a developing country. When we negotiate agreements, we must sit down and examine the real opportunities for both countries. In our view, the agreement that is proposed does not meet both countries' needs, particularly not those of Canada.

We must take the time needed to reach good agreements. We believe that this agreement has not been examined thoroughly enough to allow both countries to get their fair share.

I would like to hear my colleague talk about that.

[French at the 2010 Winter Games, March 30th, 2009]

Mr. Speaker, a number of recent incidents involving this government are reinforcing our concerns about the future of the French language in this country. First there were the cuts to international cooperation in five francophone African countries. Then the government's refusal to support the CBC forced the crown corporation to sacrifice some of the high quality services it provides for francophones. And now, before the Vancouver 2010 Winter Games have even begun, the Olympic committee has made a serious blunder at the expense of the Canadian francophone population. There were no francophone artists at an official event to begin the countdown in February 2009.

How is it that in this supposedly bilingual country we have to remind the Canadian Olympic Committee that Rule 24.1 of the Olympic Charter stipulates that, “The official languages of the IOC are French and English”?

The Bloc Québécois is calling on the Vancouver Olympic Committee, and by the same token, we also call on this government, to do whatever it takes to ensure that French is given the respect it deserves.

[Dan Bigras, March 9th, 2009]

Mr. Speaker, on March 18, Dan Bigras will be crowned la Francophonie's Richelieu LaSalle personality of 2009. This event will occur during the Semaine internationale de la Francophonie, specifically on the Journée internationale de la Francophonie.

Mr. Bigras is an artist with a deep commitment to the situation of homeless youth. This famed author, composer, performer and actor will be receiving this particular honour for his contribution to the advancement of la Francophonie. Chair of the organizing committee Gilles Dubien has described that mission very aptly by stating that it is the responsibility of each and every one of us to nurture the vitality of our language and ensure that the French culture thrives in our community. I rise today in the House to draw attention to the exceptional role of Dan Bigras in helping our Quebec culture thrive.

Speaking for myself and my colleagues in the Bloc Québécois, I offer our most sincere congratulations to Mr. Bigras.

[Talking Books, February 26th, 2009]

Mr. Speaker, allow me to present Magnétothèque, a unique organization dedicated to making the written word accessible in audio format to clients who are visually impaired. It is the only centre providing this service in Quebec. It records more than 600 books per year.

From its founding, in 1976, until 1985, Magnétothèque helped visually impaired children by providing recordings of educational documents. In 1986, it changed its mission to include the recording of pleasure reading books. In 2001, it developed the Service québécois du livre adapté and, in 2005, it became a production centre for talking books. It recently added a sales arm for talking books and its radio station broadcasts a six-hour loop.

My Bloc Québécois colleagues and I wish Magnétothèque a long life.

[Budget Implementation Act, 2009, February 10th, 2009]

Mr. Speaker, I hope that you still recognize me after all the years that I have spent here. I would like to congratulate my colleague on his speech. He is a talented orator. I have heard many others speak about this as well. Even if he is not a talented artist or singer, I am sure that he would able to hold his own in a discussion on the topic.

That being said, I would like to hear him speak about the two week waiting period. I am sure that in his riding, where poverty definitely exists, this two week waiting period really hurts his constituents and the people who work in different businesses. Perhaps he could tell us a bit about this. He could also tell us what the five extra weeks of employment insurance would do for his riding since, in my view, people will have already found work. I would like to hear his comments about this.

[BUDGET IMPLEMENTATION ACT, 2009, February 10th, 2009]

Mr. Speaker, I thank my NDP colleague for his question. I do not know how they manage to sleep, but they must not be sleeping very well, given the little respect women receive here. They will vote in favour of the bill. The Liberals will vote, with the Conservatives, in favour of the coalition. They formed a coalition and will vote for the bill. So, they have little respect for women.

That is my opinion, it is the opinion of all women and it is the opinion of all the men who will oppose this bill, those of the Bloc and the NDP.

It is both inconceivable and unacceptable to us to lose our rights this way. I will never stop fighting, my life long, so that my children, my daughter, her children, her daughters have the same rights and opportunities as men, one day.

The right to court challenges is vital for women, and it was taken from them. I will never forget that. We will work accordingly to eventually recover that right, which is essential for women facing problems of pay equity.