Alain Giguère

[Canada's Food Banks, November 22nd, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, with the holidays approaching, I would like to take a moment to wish everyone a merry Christmas and a happy new year in advance.

Unfortunately, not everyone shares in this time of joy. A growing number of Canadians rely on food banks to help meet the basic need of having food to eat. At this time, on behalf of everyone here, I would like to thank all those who work or volunteer at food banks, who help those less fortunate put food on the table. During this holiday season, I would also like to congratulate them on their strong sense of community.

My friends, Canada remains a generous country because of the hard work of these extraordinary people. It is true that during the holidays, Canada is a wonderful country.

In order to make the holidays a time of peace and happiness for everyone, I would invite all Canadians to follow the example of those who work and volunteer at food banks and to give generously to those organizations.

[Respect for Communities Act, November 18th, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, today we learned that 4% of Quebeckers have an addiction problem, whether it involves drugs, alcohol or gambling. With all due respect to the Standing Committee on Public Safety and National Security, this is a public health issue. I have a hard time understanding how enforcement will solve a problem that affects 4% of the population. Billy clubs and prison sentences will not make these problems go away. People use drugs in prison.

I would like to know how we can develop a solution to help that 4% of the population through a public health program.

[Prime Minister of Canada, November 8th, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister would have us believe that his chief of staff, several employees, high-ranking members of his party, and some of his closest allies cooked up the whole Senate scheme under his nose without his knowledge. Either he takes Canadians for fools, or he has shown a serious lack of judgment when it comes to choosing his advisers. Fortunately for him, the party flushed ministerial responsibility down the toilet a long time ago. In any private enterprise, a manager who allows his closest employees to break the law, whether he knows about it or not, is quickly shown the door.

The Liberal leader may continue to prefer sexist social events over grilling the Prime Minister. However, the NDP will not give up until we learn the full truth about this Conservative scandal. We will not drop it. Canadians deserve better. They deserve the truth.

[National Diabetes Awareness Month, November 7th, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, as part of National Diabetes Awareness Month, I would like to point out just how difficult this disease can make everyday tasks. It is particularly dangerous because, all too often, people are unaware that they even have the disease. Unfortunately, this disease can ravage the body before the victim is even aware of being ill.

This brief overview of the disease reminds us of just how important it is to invest so that every Canadian can finally have a family doctor. Basic medical monitoring would allow patients to be diagnosed in the early stages of the disease and receive more effective treatment.

I would be remiss if I did not take this opportunity to recognize the outstanding work done by the army of volunteers in the health care and medical and pharmacological research sectors, as well as the volunteers who work hard to provide effective support to the victims of this disease. Their work gives us hope.

[Retirement Income Bill of Rights, November 5th, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, this is reminiscent of the grasshopper and the ant. Unfortunately, the Liberal Party is made up of a bunch of grasshoppers who want to make sure the ant's stockpiles are at their disposal.

I would like someone to explain how they can be talking about helping people avoid poverty without necessarily talking about how much money will be put in the pension fund, who will put it there and when it will happen.

[Business of Supply, November 5th, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, this shows that, when you are in power, people come knocking on your door to abuse that power. No political party will ever be immune from that type of situation. The Duffys of this world will always show up at politicians' doors. The question is how you handle that type of situation.

Clearly, like the Liberals in the past, the Conservatives do not have an answer. I hope that we who aspire to take power will come up with a better answer. However, the last thing you want to do when faced with corruption is to suggest a partisan solution. Right now, what the Liberals are suggesting is to put the Prime Minister on the spot, not find a solution to corruption. That is probably the crux of the issue.

I urge my Liberal colleagues to realize that they are not finding a solution to corruption. What they are suggesting is to put the Prime Minister on the spot and hide their problems. However, the problems of the Liberals and the Conservatives, as well as our problems in the future, will be the same.

On that note, I would like to know how the Liberal Party is going to come up with a long-term solution to all those problems and put a stop to the attempts at corruption.

[Offshore Health and Safety Act, October 31st, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, it is nice to see that this government wants to protect workers for once. However, it could have done better. Unfortunately, the government missed an opportunity.

The minister mentioned all kinds of things in his statement, especially with respect to profits. I remind him that profits do not usually go hand in hand with workplace health and safety. This bill should be about workplace health and safety exclusively, and I urge the minister to honour that.

After the Ocean Ranger incidents and the helicopter crash on March 12 in which 17 people died, why did the government not agree to the 29th recommendation in the Wells report? By the same token, why did the government not express an interest in enhancing the Canadian Coast Guard and increasing the number of rescue helicopters in the Royal Canadian Air Force assigned to offshore rigs?

[Economic Action Plan 2013 Act No. 2, October 29th, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, my question will be very brief.

The President of the Treasury Board is here in the House to talk about aspects of Bill C-4 that affect his department. That is fine.

However, why did he not fulfill his duty as President of the Treasury Board and introduce a bill from his department rather than including these items in an omnibus bill introduced by the Minister of Finance and accompanied by a gag order? That complicates things a bit.

I would have appreciated it if he had come here to explain his own bill rather than the Minister of Finance's bill.

Another rather important aspect of this bill pertains to the designation of essential work during a strike. When there is no strike, are these essential workers safe from job cuts?

[Economic Action Plan 2013 Act No. 2, October 29th, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, that is the problem with omnibus bills, especially when they are accompanied by a gag order. We do not have time to look at what we are voting on. This is terrible, because it allows major errors to slip through, such as the one my colleague mentioned about co-operatives. It also carries more consequences than we could even imagine. We do not know what kind of impact the cuts and decreased services will have on the public affected. That is a tragedy, because we are doomed to repeat Walkerton over and over. This government will no longer be the Conservative government. It will be a government doomed to repeat Walkerton over and over. This is destroying our economy and it is destroying lives, but this government does not care. We will not forget that.

Fortunately, the people of Ontario got fed up with mediocrity and told the fools that enough was enough. They waved the government's record on water pollution in their faces and showed them the door. That is exactly what will happen. They were kicked out of Ontario and will be kicked out of the federal government. If they are mediocre at the provincial level, they will not become intelligent at the federal level. Mediocrity has clearly made its way here, and it will come to an end.

[Economic Action Plan 2013 Act No. 2, October 29th, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, unfortunately, this government believes that growth should be stimulated only by consumption. Instead, it should be stimulated by investment, especially given that businesses are richer than they have ever been, thanks to this government's tax cuts.

Let me give an example. It seems that when many ministers began their career, Ontario was paying equalization transfers. Now, because of their mediocrity, Ontario receives equalization payments. People like the President of the Treasury Board can be proud of putting their province in the red.

That is what this government is about.