André Bellavance

[Bois-Francs Community Television, November 4th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, Télévision communautaire des Bois-Francs is celebrating its 40th anniversary. TVC, as it is popularly known back home, is dedicated to showcasing the community of Victoriaville and the surrounding area by producing and broadcasting television programs that focus on local concerns and encourage community involvement in the process.

Dozens of employees are joined by hundreds of volunteers who help produce such shows as Le Kiosque à chansons and Télé-Bingo, city council meetings and, of course, an excellent show called Votre député fédéral vous parle, which is hosted by the great François Houle.

TVC would not be celebrating its 40th anniversary without the people who have been there from the beginning and those who joined them over the years to help showcase our people.

I would like to congratulate all of them, in particular those who fought, and won, the battle to keep TVC alive 14 years ago. I also want to thank those who carefully monitor deregulation issues that could deny us this local content, the rich programming that is both original and grounded in the community.

Long live TVC.

[Champlain Bridge, November 3rd, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, the Minister of Infrastructure found a way to make the name of the illustrious Maurice Richard controversial even though the man detested controversy, according to his son.

Everyone in Quebec knows what Maurice Richard achieved. He was larger than life and deserves the highest honour. However, true to form, the Conservatives have decided to thumb their noses at history and sow discontent.

Does the minister agree with the mayor of Montreal and Maurice Richard's family that he should seek consensus and harmony before launching trial balloons or shooting at his own net?

[Agriculture and Agri-Food, October 31st, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, the parliamentary secretary can try to reassure farmers, but we have reason not to believe him.

We heard the same soothing speech when the Canada-European Union agreement was being negotiated, but the Conservative government opened up the supply management system. Cheese producers can attest to that, and they are still waiting for confirmation of the compensation they were promised.

Will this government, which once again has put supply management on the table in negotiating the trans-Pacific partnership, undertake not to make the same mistake and avoid dismantling the supply management system?

[Public Works and Government Services, October 21st, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, the Quebec National Assembly recently adopted a unanimous motion calling on the federal government to award a shipbuilding contract to the Davie shipyard in Lévis. It was the only shipyard that was denied any part in the $33 billion in contracts.

We have learned that the government has apparently decided to modify its shipbuilding strategy.

Can the Minister of Public Works and Government Services confirm the change to her government's shipbuilding strategy, and can she confirm that the Davie shipyard, which submitted a proposal to convert ships according to navy needs, will receive its fair share of the deal this time?

[Canada Post, October 6th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, a private company is going to make a profit off of Canada Post's decision to eliminate home delivery.

That is not surprising, since the Conservative government has paved the way to privatization, as demonstrated by the secret memo on the privatization of the British postal service, which the Prime Minister gave to senior officials at Canada Post. However, 65% of respondents in a recent poll spoke out against the privatization of Canada Post.

Can the Prime Minister tell us why the public will now have to pay between $20 and $60 for home mail delivery?

[Foreign Affairs, October 3rd, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister is about to announce details about Canada's involvement in Iraq. While military intervention to fight terrorism may be necessary, that alone is never enough if it is not combined with sufficient humanitarian aid, as we saw during the war against Saddam Hussein's regime, which is what gave rise to the fanaticism we are fighting today.

What concrete action does the Prime Minister plan to take to address the root causes of the conflict, such as the lack of democracy and the extreme poverty that are fertile ground for terrorism and fanaticism to grow, as we have seen recently?

[International Trade, September 26th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, while Canada and the European Union are holding a summit to celebrate the fact that negotiations have come to a close, Quebec's cheesemakers are not celebrating.

Every time the cheesemakers raise legitimate concerns, the government says it is holding consultations. However, everyone knows that milk producers will lose $300 million a year because of this agreement.

Will the government finally take action instead of holding consultations and acknowledge that milk producers and cheesemakers will lose income? That is what it did with the fishers in Newfoundland a year ago and with the auto sector in Ontario before the free trade agreement with South Korea was even settled.

[Intergovernmental Relations, September 18th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, the government is already making election promises with its surplus. That is because it is creating a fiscal imbalance, which was condemned just yesterday in a motion by the Quebec National Assembly. According to the Conference Board of Canada, in 20 years, the federal surplus will be $110 billion and the provincial deficits will be $172 billion.

Does the Minister of Finance intend to respond to his Quebec counterpart by restoring health transfers, without which Quebec will lose $7 billion in seven years, and the infrastructure transfers that the municipalities so desperately need?

[Foreign Affairs, April 8th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, on Friday night, Sister Gilberte Bussière, who is from Asbestos and taught in Victoriaville for a number of years, was abducted in northern Cameroon.

Someone who has dedicated her life to the education of African children is now in the hands of armed groups. Her family and religious congregation are concerned for her health and safety, especially since she needs to take medication regularly.

As time is short, can the Minister of Foreign Affairs tell us what steps he has taken to find Sister Bussière safe and sound, and confirm that there is direct contact between his department and Sister Bussière's mother, family and community so that they get regular updates on this sad story?

[Champlain Bridge, April 1st, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, the federal government is in its own world when it comes to the Champlain Bridge. It rejected requests from Quebec, Montreal and Longueuil and all the partners to create a joint office for the project and is obsessed with imposing a toll. This shows that it is out of touch with Quebec. The same goes for economic spinoffs. Yesterday the federal government met with companies from all over the world that are interested in the lucrative contract to build the bridge, but it has not proposed anything to ensure that Quebec companies will be eligible for the contract.

Will the Minister of Infrastructure, Communities and Intergovernmental Affairs guarantee that Quebec companies will get their fair share of the economic spinoffs?