Crucial Fact

  • Her favourite word was quebec.

Last in Parliament April 1997, as Liberal MP for Madawaska—Victoria (New Brunswick)

Lost her last election, in 1997, with 30% of the vote.

Statements in the House

Referendum Campaign October 23rd, 1995

Mr. Speaker, the contempt with which the Bloc member from Rimouski-Témiscouata referred to francophones outside Quebec is absolutely unacceptable. It illustrates the kind of threat the separatist platform represents for francophones in other provinces.

Canada's francophones now know perfectly well that a separate Quebec would have no interest in introducing measures to promote the French fact in Canada.

Quebecers, however, are very sensitive to the issue of protecting the French language. They will not let the separation of Quebec threaten the future of more than one million francophone compatriots.

On October 30, they will vote no, because they do not want the French language to disappear in Canada. We will not let the separatist magician make us disappear with a wave of his magic wand.

Referendum Campaign October 20th, 1995

Mr. Speaker, yesterday, in Montreal, the PQ leader told a group of young people something that sheds light on the kind of relationship Quebec separatists have maintained with Canada over the past 30 years. This is what the separatist said: "Stop bothering me with this idea of a distinct society. I am not interested. I want a country".

The sacrosanct concept of distinct society that one separatist dream weaver after another cloaked themselves in was really nothing more than a gimmick, a trap, a ruse to create constitutional deadlock. Quebecers are staggered to learn that, for the PQ leader, the distinct society concept was only a separatist gimmick. The people of Quebec are aware of their distinctiveness and, on October 30, they will say No to this man who has been fooling them for all these years.

Referendum Campaign October 19th, 1995

Mr. Speaker, since the beginning of the referendum campaign, Canadian citizenship and the Canadian passport are issues that have been raised repeatedly by the Yes side. And almost every time, the separatists try to make us believe that all Quebecers who so wished would be able to keep their Canadian citizenship and their Canadian passport after Quebec's separation.

However, when the PQ's chief negotiator realized that his arguments were no longer convincing anyone, he started to back down, and now he says he will not negotiate the issue of citizenship for Quebecers. Furthermore, the leader of the Bloc is starting to praise the advantages of a Quebec passport. The only passport the separatist leader can guarantee is a passport to the unknown, a one way ticket to separation. On October 30, Quebecers will again confirm their ties with Canada and say no.

Endangered And Threatened Species Act October 18th, 1995

Mr. Speaker, I welcome the opportunity today to speak to Bill C-275, an act respecting the protection and rehabilitation of endangered and threatened species, standing in the name of the hon. member for Davenport.

The paddlefish, the swift fox and the black-footed ferret have one thing in common: They no longer exist in the wild in Canada.

As for the Labrador duck, the sea mink and the blue walleye, all three have ceased to exist.

The Eastern cougar, the Salish sucker, the right whale, the white Prairie gentian and the spotted owl are endangered in Canada.

The white-headed woodpecker, the blue ash, the western Atlantic harbour porpoise and the spiny softshell turtle are threatened. The polar bear, the eastern bluebird, the orange-spotted sunfish, the pug-nose minnow, the prairie rose, the blue whale and the trumpeter swan are vulnerable.

Canada now has 244 animal and plant species on the endangered list. These species are affected by the loss of essential habitat, excessive harvesting, introduction of exotic species, climatic change and contamination by toxic products.

The time has clearly come for the federal government to release a legislative proposal for a Canadian endangered species protection act. The government has decided to ask for public comment on this proposal before introducing a bill in Parliament because it wants as much input as possible from as many Canadians as possible.

The document is short and straightforward. We have eliminated as much of the legalese as we could in order to allow Canadians to participate in constructive discussions before the final drafting of the bill.

Protection of endangered species is the responsibility of all groups in our society and each and every citizen in this country. We need legislation that will make the Canadian public feel directly involved.

The bill before the House today seeks to regulate the following activities: the killing, wounding, capture, collecting or disturbing of endangered species, including plants, birds, fish, mammals and their embryos. The bill also seeks to establish Canadian controls over the purchase, sale and international trade in endangered species. To me it is quite clear that Canadians want the maximum penalty imposed on anyone who tries to make money by unlawfully importing or exporting endangered species.

The committee on the status of endangered wildlife in Canada, an arm's length scientific body, would assess the species at risk on an annual basis. The Minister of the Environment would be required to establish a list of species at risk in areas of federal jurisdiction.

Response statements outlining a plan of action would be mandatory. Recovery plans, if required, would be prepared within two years for endangered species and within three years for threatened species.

The proposal would also permit emergency measures to be taken to conserve and protect species requiring the equivalent of emergency ward treatment.

The proposed legislation would authorize the Minister of the Environment to enter into financing or conservation agreements in partnership with other governments, agencies and property owners for the purpose of preserving endangered species.

The bill would also provide for strict enforcement and severe penalties.

The federal government has a responsibility to set a benchmark for effective endangered species legislation in all of Canada's jurisdictions, but that is not enough. We also have a responsibility to work with the provinces and the territories to ensure a comprehensive national approach to the protection of endangered species in all parts of Canada. The federal government is committed to doing its part in this shared enterprise. Acting alone however, the federal government cannot come close to solving all of the problems.

I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate Manitoba, Ontario, Quebec and New Brunswick for previously adopting

legislation to protect endangered species. I am convinced that in the coming months we will be able to sign a document setting forth a formal, national approach. And I am fully supported in this conviction by the fact that Canadians expect us to pool our resources for this common cause.

Over the last year of consultations leading up to this legislative proposal, the Minister of the Environment has especially benefited from the wisdom of the Endangered Species Conservation Task Force, a group with representation from wildlife experts, environmentalists, farmers, fishermen, foresters, and the mining, pulp and paper, and petroleum industries. They are the people on the front lines. They have acted in good faith despite their often divergent interests.

She has asked the task force to reconvene to provide advice on some outstanding issues, including a strategy for education programs and the application of the legislative proposals to crown corporations. She would also like further advice on issues of cost and compensation. She is particularly concerned that farmers and aboriginal peoples, the stewards of the land, are treated fairly by a new law.

The minister asked the task force to give thought to how we can ensure the active participation of the maximum number of Canadians in protecting endangered species. In effect, how do we ensure that there is a national safety net for species at risk?

As we prepare for new legislation on the protection of endangered species in Canada, we should feel particularly grateful to the young people in this country. Students across the country have kept up the pressure on the minister. They have circulated petitions and sent thousands of individual letters into which they put a great deal of thought.

The minister means what she says when she wants Canada's young people to continue to help her write this legislation. The bill will be available on Environment Canada's green line on Internet, and the minister urges everyone to send their comments. We want to have the best possible legislation that will support economic growth while protecting genetic diversity and the species and ecosystems that constitute the biological basis of our world. We owe it to endangered species and to future generations of Canadians.

Endangered And Threatened Species Act October 18th, 1995

Mr. Speaker, I rise on a point of order. As a member of the government I should have the privilege of speaking first on this motion.

Privilege October 18th, 1995

Mr. Speaker, my question of privilege is in regard to comments that were made during today's oral question period.

When my colleague from Timiskaming-French River asked his question, part of it was in English and part of it in French. As he was starting to formulate his question, we heard the Bloc member for Roberval's comments. This is a question of privilege, Mr. Speaker, and I want to thank you for hearing me out. We heard the hon. member for Roberval shout in this House to the hon. member for Timiskaming-French River: "In French, please. In French".

My question of privilege is as follows: Canada has the charter of rights and freedoms and the Official Languages Act.

Point Of Order October 18th, 1995

Yes.

Francophones Outside Quebec October 18th, 1995

Mr. Speaker, it was paradoxical, to say the least, to see the separatist member for Rimouski-Témiscouata trying to make political gains at the expense of francophones outside Quebec, when she has missed no opportunity to run them down and attack their credibility.

March 14, on the program Ontario 30 , she had the following to say about the Association des communautés francophones et acadienne: To my mind, it is very clear that the federation has been bought off''. The next day she told <em>Le Devoir</em>Our message to francophones outside Quebec is clear. Leave us alone to make our decision and mind your own business''.

Quebecers have the survival of French in Canada at heart and they will not allow the separatist agenda to threaten the existence of francophone communities outside Quebec. This coming October 30, Quebec will say no to the abandonment of francophones elsewhere in Canada.

Marthe Asselin Vaillancourt October 17th, 1995

Mr. Speaker, I pay tribute to Marthe Asselin Vaillancourt of Jonquière, Quebec, one of the recipients of the 1995 Governor General's award in commemoration of the Persons case.

A long-time educator, researcher and grassroots activist, Marthe Asselin Vaillancourt has never missed an opportunity to improve the status of women.

Over the years, she has spoken out regularly on sexual assault, pornography, employment equity and family violence.

Within her community, she was the initiator of and the driving force behind the establishment of a shelter for women and the development, in cooperation with the Quebec provincial police, of a pilot project to oppose violence against women. This project gave birth to the Centre d'aide aux victimes d'actes criminels de Chicoutimi, which she currently heads.

She has served as national co-chair of the Canadian Panel on violence against women, which conducted the first national study in the world on this serious social problem.

Referendum Campaign October 16th, 1995

Mr. Speaker, over the last few days, the Bloc Quebecois leader decided to focus his campaign on women. However, the message that he is sending to Quebec women is dubious to say the least.

The Bloc leader said: "Do you think it makes sense that we have so few children in Quebec? We are one of the races of whites with the least children. It doesn't make sense. This means that we have not solved family issues".

This statement by the official opposition leader is totally unacceptable and is also an insult to the freedom of choice which Quebec women have been exercising for years regarding motherhood.

The opposition leader is sadly mistaken if he thinks that, in a separated Quebec, women will readily comply with the demographic demands of the government. Separation will not be achieved on the back of Quebec women. On October 30, they will vote no.