Roger Clavet

[World Congress Against the Death Penalty, October 8th, 2004]

Mr. Speaker, from October 6 to 9, Montreal is hosting the 2nd annual World Congress Against the Death Penalty. The Bloc Quebecois wants to acknowledge the event and particularly to reiterate its full support for the abolishment of the death penalty.

This week, hundreds of people, activists, diplomats, academics, NGO officials, parliamentarians and celebrities descended on the city to debate strategies for encouraging more countries to remove the death penalty from their penal code. Numerous debates are on the program, as are artistic, cultural and educational events.

Even though the death penalty has been abolished in Canada since 1976, Amnesty International has made it clear that the global fight is far from over; it reported 1,146 executions in 2003.

The Bloc Quebecois wishes to add its voice to all the participants at the congress and calls upon the international community to say no to the death penalty.

We wish the congress much success and join with all those who oppose capital punishment.

Chicoutimi

[Resumption of Debate on Address in Reply, October 7th, 2004]

Madam Speaker, I just listened with amazement to the member's comments. We almost need a magnifying glass to read the throne speech. When it comes to the situation of the unemployed, we have to search for information, we really need to look extremely closely. The government's only commitment in this respect is to “review the employment insurance program to ensure that it remains well-suited to the needs of Canada’s workforce”. That is a little hard for those who are out of work and for seasonal workers to swallow.

In the riding of Louis-Hébert, we have young workers who do not qualify for employment insurance because of an arbitrary threshold set at 910 hours. These people are wondering why a throne speech, which is supposed to be a statement of intentions, contains so few of them and such little food for thought. A long and hard look is needed. The unemployed are forgotten. They are cast aside. This throne speech does not say much about what will be done to help them.

Reference was made earlier to seasonal workers. My colleague from the Conservative Party mentioned it; and it is also true for several regions, including the Quebec City area. Some people would like to see a little more content in it.

I hope that the Liberals who are running the country will be able to put their words into action and to flesh this throne speech out. Frankly, as it is, it leaves us unsatisfied. There is nothing in it for the unemployed. No remedies are provided; it is a mere statement of facts. This is absolutely deplorable. The unemployed may have been overlooked, but they will not forget the government's decisions or lack of decision.