Crucial Fact

  • Her favourite word was heritage.

Last in Parliament May 2004, as Liberal MP for Laval East (Québec)

Lost her last election, in 2004, with 40% of the vote.

Statements in the House

Computer Hackers April 6th, 2001

Mr. Speaker, I thank you for this opportunity to take part in the debate on this motion. I will not be supporting the motion because, in my opinion, the criminal code provisions already deal with the offences referred to in the motion.

As a matter of fact, a separate category of offences dealing with hackers was created in 1985 under subsection 342.1 and provisions dealing with mischief under subsection 430.1 specifically cover the transmission of computer viruses.

Even though no amendment is necessary as a result of this motion, I believe it is reasonable to conclude that the Department of Justice reviews its acts on an ongoing basis to ensure they are up to date.

Earlier my opposition colleague asked that we show leadership. I believe the government has shown leadership in the past and again yesterday when it announced new bold measures and the allocation of new money to fight organized crime.

The government was following up on a commitment made in the throne speech. This commitment reflected the work of the House of Commons subcommittee on organized crime and was in response to a number of issues raised by the federal, provincial and territorial justice ministers at their last meeting, in September 2000.

In September 2000 ministers of justice declared organized crime a national priority to be dealt with at all levels through a multidisciplinary approach.

The ministers have agreed to a national program on organized crime, with a very strict timetable in four areas, including national and regional co-ordination, research and analysis, legislative and regulatory instruments, as well as communications and public education.

The criminal code is a national statute that is very important to keep the peace in this country. Therefore, we must amend it with caution. As my colleague was saying, since 1997 the government has not hesitated to amend it when necessary. In fact, it amended it eight times.

It did not hesitate to amend it to give increased powers to police officers with regard to search and to impose restrictions on release on bail. It did not hesitate to amend it to enact provisions dealing with organized crime, including creating a new offence that makes participation in the illegal activities of a criminal organization an indictable offence punishable by up to 14 years in prison.

That particular piece of legislation broadened the investigative powers of police officers, by making it easier, for example, for law enforcement agencies to use electronic surveillance. It also increased public protection by reversing the burden of proof for a person accused of an organized crime offence who is requesting bail.

This government did not hesitate to amend the criminal code to modernize Canadian anti-drug legislation. It also enacted provisions so that persons found guilty of organized crime activities would not be entitled to any sort of accelerated parole review.

In March 1999, new offences under the criminal code connected to fraudulent telemarketing were created. Canada's power to extradite fugitives and to address the problems relating to borderless crimes such as organized crime, fraudulent telemarketing and Internet fraud, was enhanced.

Last year, the government enacted proceeds of crime legislation, which made it mandatory for financial institutions and middlemen to report suspicious transactions and cross-border currency movements.

The act also created the Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre of Canada to receive and administer the information provided.

More recently, in February 2001, the Minister of Immigration introduced Bill C-11, the immigration and refugee protection act. This bill proposes fines of up to $1 million, and a maximum sentence of life imprisonment for people smuggling and trafficking in human beings.

As can be seen, this government was not afraid to adopt measures to strengthen these laws, to strengthen the ability of existing agencies to fight organized crime. In 1997, 13 joint integrated proceeds of crimes units were created. In 1999, $115 million went to the RCMP to modernize the Canadian Police Information Centre.

In June 1999, the RCMP received $15 million to fight organized crime at the three major international airports: Montreal, Toronto and Vancouver.

Again in 1999, we invested an additional $78 million in an anti-contraband initiative to provide resources to the RCMP, the federal Department of Justice and the Canada Customs and Revenue Agency, to help these organizations target contraband and distribution networks at Canada's border.

In budget 2000, an amount of $584 million was allocated to the RCMP, over a three year period. I should also point out that our government passed the Witness Protection Act in 1996. Under that legislation, a formal national program was set up to help protect people who risk their lives to help the police in its investigations.

Incidentally, the new measures announced yesterday by the Minister of Justice and the Solicitor General of Canada provide that an additional $200 million will be allocated to the fight against organized crime. The amendments to the criminal code are major ones.

We are proposing to create three new types of offences and impose harsh penalties on those who participate, in various degrees, in gang activities; to improve the protection of people in the judicial system against acts of intimidation against them and their families; to streamline the current definition of criminal organization; to expand the powers of those involved in law enforcement activities; to confiscate the proceeds of crime, particularly the profits of criminal organizations; and to seize the goods used to commit a crime.

We are also proposing measures to establish an accountability process to protect law enforcement officers against any criminal liability when they take actions relating to an investigation or to undercover activities in a criminal organization.

Clearly, this government is taking on its responsibilities, and I am convinced that it will continue to do so whenever it identifies a need for new measures to prevent the type of crime mentioned in the official opposition's motion.

These are the reasons why I will not support the opposition's motion.

Member For Calgary—Nose Hill April 5th, 2001

Mr. Speaker, the official opposition has gone too far. On Tuesday in this House the member for Calgary—Nose Hill compared our Prime Minister to Slobodan Milosevic, the butcher of the Balkans. This former president of the former Yugoslavia is to face the international tribunal accused of war crimes and genocide.

Such insinuations are inadmissible. They discredit this House and our Prime Minister.

Our Prime Minister is a man of integrity who has served the Canadian public honestly for over 30 years. No comparison may be made between him and Milosevic. The member showed a lack of respect for him and for our institutions.

Supply April 3rd, 2001

Mr. Speaker, I will answer by saying that the assistance provided to Canadian farmers was the result of pressure from the Liberal caucus, not from the opposition.

Since the November 27 election, at every caucus meeting I have attended, members on this side of the House, of the Liberal Party, have been imploring the government to help farmers. It is not the pressure from the opposition—

Supply April 3rd, 2001

Mr. Speaker, I think the member opposite has been reading the newspapers too much and not been meeting enough with his constituents.

My constituents are asking me “When is the opposition going to move to other things? We have problems in our ridings. Our families need money, children are left out. There are numerous problems”. This is what we are told.

I think that reading the newspapers too much these days is just what the opposition wants.

Supply April 3rd, 2001

Mr. Speaker, I wish to advise you that I will be sharing my time with the member for Simcoe North.

These last few months, Canadians have witnessed a most degrading spectacle in the House of Commons, the spectacle of a bitter opposition that has no ideas or constructive solutions to offer and that has totally dropped public policy issues to engage in a relentless smear campaign against one person in particular.

At a time when Canadians want to hear about the state of the economy, the opposition is obsessed with the Prime Minister's personal finances. At a time when Canadians want to know the position of their federal parties on the future of health care services, on support for families and children, on the status of the environment and on the impact of globalization and of the new economy, the opposition is obsessed with inventing allegations, which are becoming sillier and sillier, about a most ordinary commercial transaction which was conducted, from beginning to end, in full compliance with the spirit and the letter of the ministers' conflict of interest code.

Hiding behind the immunity allowing MPs to speak freely in the House of Commons, members of the opposition have made countless unjustified allegations, cast silly innuendoes and tarnished the reputation not only of the Prime Minister and his family, but of all the people who reviewed the facts and cleared him of any wrongdoing. They even questioned the integrity of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. Why? They did it because, as the member for Saint-Maurice, the Prime Minister made representations to the Business Development Bank of Canada to secure a loan for a hotel that created jobs for 20 of his constituents, the Auberge Grand-Mère.

This hotel is located beside the Grand-Mère golf club, which has new owners and in which the Prime Minister ceased to have any financial interest before taking on his current responsibilities.

His trustee and lawyer, in close consultation with the federal ethics counsellor, Mr. Wilson, worked on the recovery of a debt resulting from the sale of his shares in the golf club. Let me repeat that this sale occurred before he became Prime Minister and that it was exempt of all debt and charges, as the documents show. His shares never came back in his ownership or control.

Promoting economic development and job creation for one's constituents is the first priority of all members.

I am working tirelessly so that my constituents in Laval East will have good jobs in the future, and I make sure we get our fair share of any federal help for this. The Prime Minister did the same thing.

People in the Saint-Maurice riding have had high unemployment for a long time. The Prime Minister, in his capacity as member for Saint-Maurice, local municipalities, businesses, and the Quebec government consulted together and decided to give this region a key promotional tool, tourism, to build a better economic future.

The Prime Minister made sure that his constituency would get federal assistance to support many legitimate tourist projects, and that is perfectly appropriate. The same thing occurs in every riding in Canada faced with a similar economic situation. This was his only concern when he supported the expansion project for the Auberge Grand-Mère.

The ethics counsellor, Mr. Wilson, has repeatedly reviewed the sale of the golf club and the Prime Minister's contacts with the Business Development Bank of Canada. He concluded there was no conflict of interest, but that is not what the opposition wanted to hear.

Therefore, it launched a spiteful and bitter attack against the Prime Minister and against the integrity of Mr. Wilson, an outstanding civil servant and a world renowned expert in public ethics.

The opposition asked the RCMP to conduct an investigation. Again, it cleared the Prime Minister of any wrongdoing. The results of the investigation were also rejected by the opposition, which irresponsibly questioned the integrity of the RCMP.

When, in an extraordinary and unprecedented move, the Prime Minister allowed the ethics counsellor to release private documents to prove, without any reasonable doubt, that there was no conflict of interest, the opposition asked for even more documents. As usual, it attacked the integrity of the Prime Minister's trustee and of the person who bought the Prime Minister's shares in the golf club.

The Prime Minister has been sitting in this parliament for 38 years. Throughout the years, he has upheld strict personal integrity standards. During most of his years here in Ottawa, he held key positions of trust in cabinet. Never has there been a whiff of scandal while he carried out his duties.

What our government and our Prime Minister want, first and foremost, is to preserve the confidence of the Canadian public. As far as we are concerned, integrity is more than a nice principle, it is our ideal. It is a way of life. It is the basis of our whole action.

We believe that trust in institutions is as vital for democracy as the air we breath is for us. Once trust is destroyed, it becomes difficult and sometimes impossible to rebuild. Once trust is lost, the system can no longer function.

Under the Mulroney administration, Canadians came to believe that public officials placed their personal financial interest before the public interest. It was precisely to put an end to that perception that the Prime Minister established the office of ethics counsellor in 1994.

The Prime Minister often told us that, very early in his life, his father taught him that a good reputation was more precious than wealth, social position, glory or celebrity. In the end, it is the only thing we really own. It cannot be sold nor exchanged and, once it is lost, it is lost for good.

He made that the creed of his political life. He made it a standard and an example for the members of his government. This is why not a single minister of his cabinet has ever had to resign because of a conflict of interest.

Given the high office to which he was elected and the irreproachable uprightness of his personal conduct, the Prime Minister deserves better than being the target of a deluge of unfounded allegations and slander.

What is more, Canadians deserve better than that. They have a government which is determined to deal with real needs, needs and challenges of interest to Canadians, and they deserve to have an opposition which is prepared to do the same.

École Polymécanique De Laval April 3rd, 2001

Mr. Speaker, as the member for Laval East, I congratulate the Laval school board's École polymécanique, which has just received an award from the OECD, the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development.

This award was presented for the exceptional quality of the school's interior and exterior design. The École polymécanique de Laval received the second international award for an outstanding educational institution. It was competing with 54 other institutions worldwide.

Studies have shown that the quality of a school's interior and exterior design have a beneficial effect on student learning. It is therefore a cause for celebration that the students of the École polymécanique de Laval have such an ideal setting in which to study.

I also wish to congratulate Viau Bergeron, a Laval firm of architects, on its work, and the school's management on its vision for the future.

Organized Crime March 29th, 2001

Mr. Speaker, since opposition members are silent on the important events taking place in the country, I would like to draw the attention of this House to the impressive job done by our police forces to fight organized crime.

By launching Operation Printemps 2001, police forces have destabilized criminal motorcycle gangs. In all, over 200 searches were conducted and 125 arrests were made, this following an investigation that lasted over two years. Let us acknowledge the remarkable work done by our police officers.

The message sent to criminal gangs is clear: criminal activities will not be tolerated in Canada. Our government is very concerned about the activities of criminal gangs. Our communities must not live in fear.

The commitments made during the last election campaign are clear. This week's operation shows more than ever that our government is on the right track.

Winter Sports March 26th, 2001

Mr. Speaker, I rise with great pleasure today to congratulate one of the most acclaimed and recognized of our winter sports figures, Jean-Luc Brassard, a gold medal winner in the 1994 Winter Olympics.

Jean-Luc won the dual moguls event at the 2001 Canadian Freestyle Ski Championships this past Sunday at Mont-Gabriel in the Laurentians.

This is particularly good news, since Jean-Luc had surgery to his knee last year and is coming off rehabilitation.

Congratulations, Jean-Luc Brassard. We salute your perseverance and skill.

I would also like to report on an event I attended this past weekend, as part of the family cup.

For the third year in a row, thanks to the financial participation of our government, competitors from one family have been honoured and rewarded. I saw one race in which a 73-year old grandfather, his son and two grandchildren competed.

Congratulations to all the families that participated, and to the competition champions.

Division No. 36 March 26th, 2001

Mr. Speaker, how can the member believe that this government would pass legislation that goes against the interests of young Canadians? Can she assure the House right now that she has read Bill C-7 in its entirety before making the remarks we just heard?

Division No. 36 March 26th, 2001

Mr. Speaker, the statements of the member are totally irresponsible.

Is she against the fact under the bill young offenders would no longer be brought before adult courts?