Richard Marceau

[Prime Minister, June 10th, 1999]

Mr. Speaker, in the Airbus affair, the Liberals sent the RCMP after Brian Mulroney for less than that.

Why is the solicitor general refusing to ask the RCMP to investigate this affair? Is it to protect the Prime Minister? If not, he—

[Prime Minister, June 10th, 1999]

Mr. Speaker, in the apparent conflict of interest involving the Prime Minister and business people in his riding, the more the Prime Minister tries to answer our questions, the less we understand.

My question is for the solicitor general. Given that doubts remain with respect to this affair, could the solicitor general not just this once do his job and ask the RCMP to investigate the Prime Minister's conduct?

[Criminal Code, June 7th, 1999]

Mr. Speaker, I am voting for the motion.

(The House divided on the motion, which was agreed to on the following division:)

[Monetary Union, June 2nd, 1999]

Mr. Speaker, the Canadian ambassador to the United States and the second in command at the U.S. Federal Reserve Bank have just rekindled the debate on a single currency for the Americas. Even the very skeptical chief economist of the Royal Bank of Canada now admits that the idea intrigues him.

My question is for the Minister of Finance. Does he really want to be the last on the bandwagon, or has he had a change of heart since March and would he now agree that a special house committee should be struck to take a hard look at this issue, which is capturing the interest of more and more people?

[Khalid Butt, June 1st, 1999]

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to be the host, today and tomorrow here on the Hill, of the MP for a day from Charlesbourg, Khalid Butt. He will be with us for 24 hours.

Khalid was the big winner in the second MP for a day contest in the riding of Charlesbourg. He won out over close to 1,200 competitors.

During his time in Ottawa, Khalid will be able to see what being an MP is all about, and will have a taste of the hectic life on Parliament Hill. He and his father, Mahmood Ahmed Butt, will have the opportunity to meet with the leader of the Bloc Quebecois and all of our caucus members. Tomorrow morning, Mr. Speaker, you too will have the pleasure of meeting with this young man.

Khalid, on behalf of all of my colleagues in this House, welcome to parliament. Enjoy your visit.

[Money Laundering, May 31st, 1999]

Mr. Speaker, last week, I asked the solicitor general whether he supported my bill to withdraw $1,000 bills from circulation in the fight against money laundering. By way of response, I got procedural ramblings from the government leader.

We now know that the government will table its own bill to intensify its fight against money laundering.

My question is very simple: Will the bill include the withdrawal of the $1,000 bill? If not, why not? I hope this time the answer will be more intelligent.

[Bill C-435, May 27th, 1999]

Mr. Speaker, on September 24, I introduced Bill C-435, which seeks to have the $1,000 note withdrawn so as to curb the laundering of money in Canada.

This measure is supported, among others, by the Canadian Police Association and the Fédération des policiers du Québec.

My question is for the solicitor general. If he does not want to make life easier for organized crime, why does he not immediately order the withdrawal of the $1,000 note in Canada?

[Orphan Clauses, May 3rd, 1999]

Mr. Speaker, the hon. member read the wrong page from her briefing book.

If the Prime Minister is serious about resolving the orphan clause issue, will he agree to have the government direct the Standing Committee on Human Resources Development to review this issue, particularly as it applies to Canada Post and the CBC? Perhaps this will be an opportunity for the parliamentary secretary to inform herself.

[Orphan Clauses, May 3rd, 1999]

Mr. Speaker, as we know, young people face a difficult situation on the job market. Not only are they excluded from the employment insurance program, but collective agreements have gradually been including so-called “orphan clauses” giving special status to young people, but in a negative sense.

Does the Prime Minister recognize the importance of eliminating these orphan clauses for young people and, to that end, will he support the bill that I tabled in this House and that specifically seeks to abolish such clauses?

[Young Offenders, April 27th, 1999]

Mr. Speaker, when it comes to young offenders, the federal government is at complete odds with the supreme court.

In a recent decision, the court said that the federal government was sending far too many offenders to jail. The court pointed out that Canada had one of the highest rates of people behind bars of any country in the world and that the number of jail sentences handed down by Canadian courts had increased in recent years.

What is the federal government's response? It is scrapping the existing Young Offenders Act, which has been working just fine, and introducing a bill that will now put adolescents in the repressive environment of adult prisons. And it is doing this to keep the Reform Party happy and ape our neighbours to the south.

The Bloc Quebecois urges the Minister of Justice to listen to the supreme court and not impose its new young offenders legislation on Quebec.