Vivian Barbot

[Canadian Heritage, June 14th, 2007]

Mr. Speaker, beyond what the RCMP will investigate, does the government intend to call for an investigation into those at the Department of Canadian Heritage who turned a blind eye when a red flag was raised that something was not right about the former lieutenant-governor's expenses?

[Canadian Heritage, June 14th, 2007]

Mr. Speaker, yesterday, in the Standing Committee on Public Accounts, the Bloc Québécois brought forward a motion calling on former Lieutenant-Governor Lise Thibault to appear before the committee, but to everyone's surprise, the NDP took to defending the monarchy.

To avoid being told, as Lise Thibault said, that some of the money received constituted supplementary pay, does the government not think it would be appropriate to have the lieutenant-governors and the Governor General appear before the Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage to justify their expenses?

[Quebec's Former Lieutenant-Governor, June 13th, 2007]

Mr. Speaker, finally a real answer.

According to Ms. Thibault, it is common practice for lieutenant-governors to not submit receipts for some expenses, given that she considered this supplementary pay.

In light of this statement, does the government plan on modifying the auditing procedure to enable the Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage to require all lieutenant-governors and the Governor General to justify their spending?

[Quebec's Former Lieutenant-Governor, June 13th, 2007]

Mr. Speaker, in light of the findings of the auditors general regarding Lise Thibault, the Government of Quebec has asked Quebec provincial police to conduct, as quickly as possible, an investigation they consider appropriate under the circumstances, given that the government is both judge and judged.

Since the federal government is in the same boat, and moreover, since the $700,000 in question comes from Canadian Heritage, will it follow the lead of the Government of Quebec and ask the RCMP to investigate and get to the bottom of this?

[Haitian Memorial, June 12th, 2007]

Mr. Speaker, on May 18, the Montreal Haitian community gathered to commemorate the 204th anniversary of the Haitian flag and to inaugurate Place de l'Unité, a Haitian memorial in the Saint-Michel neighbourhood.

This public space was designed by the Haitian-Quebec cultural association, La Perle Retrouvée. They have installed statues of Toussaint Louverture, Jean-Jacques Dessalines, Catherine Flon, Alexandre Pétion, Sanite Bélair et Henri Christophe, six historical figures who contributed to the birth of Haiti, the first black republic in history.

This place of gathering and solidarity will allow the Haitian community in Montreal to celebrate its culture and to perpetuate the memory of the heroes of independence.

My Bloc Québécois colleagues and I congratulate La Perle Retrouvée for this vibrant testimony to the Haitian flag and the courage of our ancestors, and to the settlement of the Haitian community in Quebec.

[Business of the House, June 8th, 2007]

Mr. Speaker, on behalf of the Bloc Québécois, I must say that even though we support Bill C-52, we strongly object to this use of Standing Order 53(1). With respect to the matter at hand, we do not agree with how the procedure is being used and we are not at all interested in whether or not there is a precedent in this case. We would ask that you reconsider your decision.

[1995 Referendum, June 8th, 2007]

Mr. Speaker, the more things change, the more they stay the same.

Federal institutions are funding the government's federalist propaganda. The HistoriCanada game has a direct link to Historica Minutes, which present a biased version of Canada's reality.

Will the Conservative government acknowledge that despite its claims, it is still making propaganda, as the Liberals did before it?

[1995 Referendum, June 8th, 2007]

Mr. Speaker, Chuck Guité has confirmed that the federal pamphlet promoting the federalist option was paid for by the Privy Council at a cost of several million dollars. Curiously, the government claims that it cannot put an exact figure on this one operation.

Since the government is saying that it cannot put a figure on its propaganda expenditures, is that not a good reason to set up a public inquiry to clarify things for the government?

[Abdelkader Belaouni, June 7th, 2007]

Mr. Speaker, for a year and a half, Abdelkader Belaouni has lived in a church in the Pointe-Saint-Charles area of Montreal. He is an Algerian national and he never leaves the church, for fear of being arrested and deported from Canada.

Mr. Belaouni, who is diabetic and has been blind since 1992, fled Algeria during the civil war, to live in the United States. In 2003, after being discriminated against in the wake of the September 11 attacks, he applied for permanent refugee status in Canada. Unfortunately, he still has not been successful in obtaining such status.

Mr. Belaouni is very well integrated into Quebec society. He has enough support to guarantee that he will never be a burden on society.

Having myself been a refugee in the Argentinian embassy in Haiti for nearly two years, I am particularly aware of what Mr. Belaouni is going through.

I appeal to the compassion of the Minister of Citizenship and Immigration and urge her to meet with Mr. Belaouni, as he has requested, and grant him permanent refugee status for humanitarian reasons.

[Guy Laliberté, June 5th, 2007]

Mr. Speaker, Guy Laliberté was named World Entrepreneur of the Year last Saturday in Monaco. He is the first Quebecker to receive such an honour and, by sheer coincidence, his fifth child was also born that same evening.

Once an accordionist, stilt-walker and fire-eater, Mr. Laliberté envisioned and staged a new conception of circus art that combines various cultures, and artistic and acrobatic disciplines. Since its inception in 1984, Cirque du Soleil has continued to grow and innovate, and to amaze spectators around the globe.

This award comes in addition to the Ordre national du Québec, the Order of Canada and the title of Grand Montréalais.

On behalf of my Bloc Québécois colleagues, I am very proud to offer my congratulations to Guy Laliberté. This entrepreneur of the year award symbolizes Quebec's influence around the globe. His success is ours.