Alexandre Boulerice

[G8 Summit, October 17th, 2011]

Mr. Speaker, the President of the Treasury Board used a $50 million slush fund to award untendered contracts, give jobs to his friends and build an Olympic-sized arena, gazebos, a media centre that was never used and a campus that students do not go to. Last week, he described himself as the government's chief operating officer. First, that is very telling. Second, now we know why the President of the Treasury Board is not rising: his title has changed.

Now, can the government's chief operating officer stand up and explain himself?

[G8 Summit, October 6th, 2011]

Mr. Speaker, let us be clear. It is the Muskoka minister who misled the Auditor General. After 119 days, he should explain himself.

The Auditor General said, “We received a small amount of documentation which wasn't, frankly, relevant to the question”. The Auditor General also said that these were unique examples of bureaucrats being shut out.

If the minister will not stand up, will the Minister of Foreign Affairs explain why he approved these projects that broke all the rules?

[G8 Summit, October 6th, 2011]

Mr. Speaker, there is something new. Yesterday, the Auditor General said that he tried to obtain additional information from the President of the Treasury Board. The Auditor General just wanted some documentation explaining the decision-making process, but he came up against a brick wall. We know why: the minister was managing this budget from his riding office.

If he has nothing to hide, why is he refusing to give the Auditor General all the documentation? What is the President of the Treasury Board trying to hide?

[Keeping Canada's Economy and Jobs Growing Act, October 6th, 2011]

Madam Speaker, I would like to take this opportunity to point out that the minister scolded us a few minutes ago for voting against infrastructure investments. But that should not surprise them. We know this government has a habit of bending the rules, diverting funds and using infrastructure programs to shower gifts upon their friends, as the member for Parry Sound—Muskoka has done. It is quite disturbing.

Yesterday, the Auditor General said, yet again, that the rules had been broken. We need a responsible, accountable, transparent government. But that is not what we are getting with the Conservatives. The official opposition, the NDP, is asking for more time to study the budget implementation. This budget makes poor choices, is full of holes, has the wrong priorities and gives billions of dollars in tax cuts to banks and big oil, which have no need for them. This budget does not fulfill any of the real needs of the people. It ignores poverty and social housing. It makes no mention of the environment, research and development or the future. We need more time because we do not want to leave any stone unturned. We want to ask the government all the right questions.

[President of the Treasury Board, October 5th, 2011]

Mr. Speaker, the Minister of Foreign Affairs must be starting to get really tired of standing and answering questions about his neighbour's emails.

The mayor of Huntsville learned his lesson: if you are planning some funny business, make sure you cover your tracks. The Information Commissioner is justifiably worried about that statement and the fact that the minister is determined to cover his tracks.

Does the President of the Treasury Board believe that he, too, needs to learn how to better hide the truth?

[President of the Treasury Board, October 5th, 2011]

Mr. Speaker, if only the member for Parry Sound—Muskoka were capable of defending himself.

We have learned that the mayor of Huntsville is clearly embarrassed by the email exchange between him and the President of the Treasury Board.

Can the minister stand and explain to us how these emails prove that the Prime Minister's Office was involved? How they prove that the minister wanted to block a spending review? Does the President of the Treasury Board agree with the mayor of Huntsville that Bell Canada stocks will go up when politicians like him learn to use the telephone to hide their unsavoury activities?

[G8 Summit, October 4th, 2011]

Mr. Speaker, as usual, the Minister of Foreign Affairs is putting on a good show. However, what Canadians want is transparency and the truth. It was not this minister who wrote those emails. He did not attend the meetings. And, contrary to what the Minister of Foreign Affairs claims, the President of the Treasury Board told the mayor that the Prime Minister's Office would determine the budget. He even wrote that.

Is that why the minister is not allowed to answer the questions? Is it because he revealed that the Prime Minister's office was involved in the scandal.

[G8 Summit, October 4th, 2011]

Mr. Speaker, it sounds as though the Minister of Foreign Affairs is going through customs: he has nothing to declare. I know why, because he was not present at the meetings where the scheme for the G8 summit was worked out. The Auditor General was unable to establish who approved the budget for the G8 slush fund. However, in the documents we obtained, the minister clearly told the mayor that the budget would be determined by the Prime Minister's Office.

If the Prime Minister's Office did not determine this budget, can the minister rise and explain his email?

[Canada Labour Code, October 3rd, 2011]

moved for leave to introduce Bill C-307, An Act to amend the Canada Labour Code (pregnant or nursing employees).

Mr. Speaker, it is with great joy and pride that I rise today in this House to introduce a bill that meets the needs of the workers' movement across the country and responds to the demands of many women's groups. The purpose of this bill, which is completely reasonable, is to correct a great injustice—the differential treatment of female workers subject to the Quebec Labour Code or other provincial labour codes and those working in organizations under federal jurisdiction, who are subject to the Canada Labour Code.

The Canada Labour Code does not include the true right to preventive withdrawal for pregnant or nursing women. This bill seeks to correct this injustice and give all female workers across the country access to the compensation provided for in the provincial legislation so that they can withdraw in health if their work threatens their health and safety or that of their unborn child.

The Canada Labour Code currently provides only for unpaid leave. In other words, it puts the health and safety of certain women or certain fetuses at risk by forcing women to stay at work too long because they do not have the financial means to withdraw in order to protect their health and safety and that of their child.

Since I trust that all members of this House care about the health of women and their unborn children and that they want to stand up for families, I expect nothing less than unanimous support for this bill.

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

[G8 Summit, October 3rd, 2011]

Mr. Speaker, instead of watching over our borders, this government wasted $50 million, and now we know what that money was used for. It went towards building a media centre that the media themselves never used. It went towards building a university campus that still has no students All the towns had to do was go to the minister's constituency office and fill out a form. The President of the Treasury Board does not seem to understand that value for money is not defined as getting himself re-elected.

Will he rise and explain this wasteful spending?