House of Commons photoWon his last election, in 1993, with 55% of the vote.
Labour Relations February 24th, 1995
Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Minister of Labour. The workers at Ogilvie Mills Limited, in Montreal, have been on strike for close to nine months now. In the meantime, the employer has been using scabs, with complete impunity.
Considering that she was elected in Quebec, where the use of scabs has been illegal for almost 17 years now, will the minister pledge to table antiscab legislation and, if so, when?
Kingston Prison For Women February 22nd, 1995
Mr. Speaker, yesterday, the CBC's English network aired some deeply disturbing footage of the riot squad in action last April at the Kingston Prison for Women. The humiliation the six female inmates were subjected to at the hands of the male emergency response team raises some serious questions.
In his report yesterday, the correctional investigator denounced the use of excessive force against inmates. The same report completely contradicts the findings of the internal inquiry by correctional services, which condoned the acts of the emergency response team through its complacency, to the disgust of the Elizabeth Fry Society.
The Solicitor General must assure this House that the director at the prison for women who was in charge of the internal inquiry will be suspended immediately for having hidden the truth.
Kingston Prison For Women February 21st, 1995
Mr. Speaker, as part of what needs to be done in order to clearly convey the message that he does not condone this kind of behaviour on the part of correctional authorities, will the Solicitor General seek the immediate suspension of the warden of the prison for women in Kingston, Ontario?
Kingston Prison For Women February 21st, 1995
Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Solicitor General.
Members of the Kingston correctional services riot squad responded to an emergency at the Kingston Prison for Women in 1994. In her report on this incident, the prison warden lied, saying that only female guards responded, when a video proves otherwise.
How can the Solicitor General justify the fact that such degrading incidents occurred at the Kingston Prison for Women and that the prison warden subsequently lied to hide the truth?
Fisheries February 20th, 1995
Mr. Speaker, does the minister realize that the way things are going, the funds aimed at restructuring the industry will be completely depleted when the time comes to shift responsibilities to the provinces, as they are requesting?
Fisheries February 20th, 1995
Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Minister of Fisheries and Oceans.
In 1994, the Minister of Fisheries and Oceans committed $1.9 billion to the Atlantic groundfish strategy. The minister claimed at the time that this amount would be sufficient to restructure the Atlantic fishing industry within five years. Today, with 80 per cent more benefits than forecast, we see that the strategy did not achieve its goals and that the funds may be depleted by 1996.
Does the minister admit that his strategy is a failure and that the funds committed will be depleted well before the deadline?
Communications Security Establishment December 13th, 1994
Mr. Speaker, I rise to speak about the anti-scab bill and the minister's commitment to table such legislation, which was supposed to be done some time in December.
In March 1994, in my riding near Sept-Îles, at the QNS & L Company, 300 employees were in a legal strike position and were locked out. The strike or labour dispute was to go on for three months. As soon as the dispute started, the employer rushed to hire scabs.
So, as you can imagine, this led to violence and did not creative a climate conducive to bargaining with respect and dignity by the workers and the employer. The emphasis was on confrontation throughout the process, and there was no attempt to reach an agreement because scabs had been hired.
Last week, I travelled to Decatur, Illinois, with Ogilvie Mills workers belonging to the CSN, who joined fellow workers who are also on strike, sympathized a little, and tried to meet the head of the business in Decatur, where Ogilvie has its headquarters. To all intents and purposes, I have never seen anything like Decatur in my life, although I have witnessed many labour disputes. I was involved in the union movement for a while before being elected to the House of Commons, so I knew what to expect, but it was the first time I saw anything like that. Decatur could be called Dictature City or Scab City, as the people over there call it. It is the same thing.
If you want to work, all you have to do is show up at Decatur. ADM owners hire, on the spot, workers they then send to one of the many places where there is a labour dispute, to work as scabs, because at Decatur, it is normal to work as a scab. So, this creates a climate of incredible violence. Bargaining is the establishment of a power relationship between two groups and in turn, this power relationship creates respect, which ensures that everything will be done in a dignified manner. Then, once this is established, you can talk about a clean, decent labour contract. But as long as there is no anti-scab legislation in place, this cannot be achieved.
In front of the Ogilvie Mills workers here on Parliament Hill on September 19, the minister promised to amend the Canada Labour Code to ban strike-breaking. He was to bring in a bill making the required changes to the code. This sounded rather interesting. But more recently, on December 4 to be exact, the minister backed away, claiming that his department was preparing another bill, a bill on pay equity, which really has nothing to do with anti-scab legislation.
So, based on that, I wonder, and I repeat the question I asked earlier: how can the minister justify his about-face on the need to incorporate anti-scab amendments into the Canada Labour Code? How does he explain this about-face, as I asked him before, except as an act of obvious lack of political courage?
Canada Labour Code December 13th, 1994
Mr. Speaker, does the minister agree that this situation makes a case for the quick adoption of amendments to the Canada Labour Code that would prohibit the use of scabs during a labour dispute, and that this should be done without waiting for the review announced by the minister?
Canada Labour Code December 13th, 1994
Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Minister of Human Resources Development. Yesterday, I clearly demonstrated to the minister that the Canada Employment Centre in Verdun was instrumental in the hiring of scabs to replace workers now on strike at Ogilvie.
Now that the minister knows what is going on, does he intend to take steps to stop this practice in Verdun and at all Canada Employment centres?
Ogilvie Mills December 12th, 1994
Mr. Speaker, I want to reassure the minister. I will give him proof right after Oral Question Period.
Does the minister not agree that his failure to act and the role played by this Canada Employment Centre in the hiring of scabs only aggravate a labour dispute that has gone on too long already?