Pierrette Venne

[Dictée Des Amériques, March 12th, 1996]

Mr. Speaker, Jean-François Bouthillette, a student at the international school in Saint-Hubert, will take part in the international finals of the third Dictée des Amériques, which will be broadcast on Radio-Québec and around the world.

On Saturday, March 30, Jean-François will compete against champion spellers from 11 countries in America and Europe. The finalists will meet in the Quebec National Assembly's red room to take the dictation, which will be given by the songwriter Luc Plamondon.

The finalists were chosen among 37,000 secondary IV and V students from 168 schools throughout Quebec. This competition gets more popular with every passing year. This year, close to 6,000 people in Quebec competed in the Dictée des Amériques in the general public category.

Congratulations, Jean-François, on winning this round and good luck during the next one.

[Criminal Code, March 8th, 1996]

Mr. Speaker, since information and education are essential to solve this issue, why does the Minister of Justice, in co-operation with his colleague from immigration, not inform newcomers right away that the excision of the clitoris is considered to be a criminal practice that is not tolerated in Canada?

[Criminal Code, March 8th, 1996]

Mr. Speaker, the Minister of Justice intends to introduce, without amendments, Bill C-119 on juvenile prostitution, sexual harassment and female genital mutilation.

My question is for the Minister of Justice. Why did the minister turn a deaf ear to repeated demands the of the Bloc Quebecois that severe sanctions be imposed on anyone who helps, encourages or incites someone to mutilate a young girl?

[École Nationale D'Aérotechniquein Saint-Hubert, March 7th, 1996]

Mr. Speaker, there are 14 post-secondary aircraft technology training schools in Canada. The largest one was established in 1964 in Quebec. I am talking, of course, about the École nationale d'aérotechnique in Saint-Hubert, which has more than 1,350 students.

In order to promote traineeship outside the country for its students, the school has made alliances with some international networks to which Belgium and France also belong.

Recently, the Saint-Hubert institution signed a co-operation agreement with the Lycée professionnel privé of Blanchet, in Guadeloupe, to develop a training program on aircraft maintenance.

The development and implementation of this program mean that some training equivalency can be arranged between these two institutions. We must support and encourage the efforts made by the École nationale d'aérotechnique so that the qualifications of our graduates are recognized worldwide.

[Judges Act, March 6th, 1996]

Madam Chairman, can the parliamentary secretary tell us if this extension from six to twelve months would increase the expenditures and emoluments of the members of the triennial commission. And if so, by how much?

[Judges Act, March 6th, 1996]

Madam Speaker, I will be brief, since we have already given our consent for this bill to be pushed through the various stages as quickly as possible and since there is no disagreement. I think the House has other meaningful things to do, which is why we should focus on really significant and debatable issues.

[Criminal Code, March 6th, 1996]

moved for leave to introduce Bill C-226, an act to amend the Criminal Code (self-defence).

Madam Speaker, this is a bill on self-defence. At the present time, the Criminal Code allows the instigator of a fight to claim that he acted in self-defence, even if he kills his victim. That anomaly has resulted in a controversial decision being handed down by the Supreme Court on February 23, 1995.

According to the chief justice of Canada, the decision gives illogical and absurd results, since the worse the aggression is, the more the instigator can use the wider ground of defence. Under my proposed bill, the instigator of a fight would no longer be able to use that defence when the victim dies. Only individuals who do not start the fight would be able to say that they acted in self-defence.

(Motion deemed adopted, bill read the first time and printed.)

[Somalia Inquiry, March 6th, 1996]

Mr. Speaker, if the Minister of Justice does not consider this a flagrant conflict of interest, what does he think of the fact that lawyers from his department are concocting both the prosecution and the defence of the senior ranking officers and that, moreover, they are sitting at the same table during the hearings and regularly consulting each other about the course the hearing is taking?

[Somalia Inquiry, March 6th, 1996]

Mr. Speaker, the commission of inquiry on Somalia is just as muddled as the events it is investigating.

On February 29, the Minister of Justice said in this House that, in order to avoid a conflict of interest, and I repeat, in order to avoid a conflict of interest, he had asked certain individuals to be represented by counsel of their choice rather than counsel from the Department of Justice.

How does the Minister of Finance explain the fact that the highest ranking officers currently under investigation, that is, Lieutenant-General Gordon Reay, General James Gervais, General John de Chastelain and Admiral John Anderson along with the former deputy minister, Robert Fowler, continue to be represented by counsel from his department?

[Family Fair, March 5th, 1996]

Mr. Speaker, for the first time in the Montérégie region, a fair will focus exclusively on families living with older relatives. This free activity, which has been organized by the Association des familles soutien des aînés de Saint-Hubert, will take place on March 9.

A number of stakeholders will be present and several mini-conferences will be held on physical and mental health, as well as the rights and safety of the elderly. Legal advice will also be provided.

This family fair is an ideal opportunity for elderly people, and those responsible for them, to get useful information.

I want to congratulate the Association des familles soutien des aînés de Saint-Hubert for its praiseworthy initiative.