André Bellavance

[Agriculture and Agri-Food, March 23rd, 2007]

Mr. Speaker, whereas American farmers have record incomes year after year, our farmers are in the midst of the worst farm income crisis in history. Our farmers also have the right to work in an environment that allows them to turn a profit.

Quebec farmers feel that they have been left behind because, in spite of its promises, the government has only paid them 6.8% of the new money allocated to agriculture in its first budget.

This time, will the minister promise to pay a fair share to Quebec farmers, or about 20%?

[Committees of the House, March 2nd, 2007]

Mr. Speaker, I congratulate the member for Malpeque on making this motion in the House. Hon. members know that the Bloc Québécois supported the motion in committee. Of course, we will do the same now that the motion is before this House.

I would like to tell the member that as recently as yesterday—because the Canadian Federation of Agriculture is meeting here at present—I met again with a number of farmers from western Canada, who are very concerned about what is happening to the Canadian Wheat Board.

We know that the Conservatives decided long ago, even when they were the Canadian Alliance, that the Canadian Wheat Board as we know it today was finished and that the single desk model was not for them. This is an ideology that the Prime Minister obviously shares, because when he was in the Canadian Alliance, he himself made a motion in 2002.

The last election campaign showed us that the Conservative Party had taken up where the Alliance left off. The government set up a task force and only hired or offered positions to opponents of the Canadian Wheat Board. There was the famous ministerial order to muzzle the people at the Wheat Board and prevent them from defending themselves. There was Bill C-300 and, finally, the dismissal of Mr. Measner, the former CEO.

I would like to ask the member what he thinks of the following statement, which comes from a press release issued by the Union des producteurs agricoles du Québec and refers to the federal government's stubborn determination to weaken the collective tool that is the Canadian Wheat Board. This is what the Union des producteurs agricoles du Québec said: “Is this stubborn determination...not consistent with certain statements by the government spokesperson...who, just before Christmas, questioned the future of collective marketing and supply management in Canada?” This is referring to the statements made by the Minister of International Trade.

Does the hon. member believe that people in western and eastern Canada should be concerned about what the government is doing?

[Aviation Safety, March 2nd, 2007]

Mr. Speaker, the minister can keep defending his safety system, but that does not change the fact that he is completely ignoring the recommendations of Mr. Moshansky on the need to have adequate human and financial resources as far as inspection is concerned.

Will he finally realize that a safety management system necessarily goes hand in hand with an effective inspection system, as strongly recommended by this expert?

Why is the minister so bent on eliminating the inspection system that is currently in place?

[Aviation Safety, March 2nd, 2007]

Mr. Speaker, yesterday, the Minister of Transport, Infrastructure and Communities indicated in this House, with regard to Mr. Moshansky's testimony on aviation safety, “This expert's testimony could not have been clearer. He said that the proposed system, the system that is now in place, will improve transportation safety”.

How can the minister ignore the fact that this same expert said, on the contrary, that Bill C-6 will create the perfect conditions for other aviation tragedies?

[Petitions, February 28th, 2007]

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to present a petition, signed by hundreds of people in my riding of Richmond—Arthabaska, asking Parliament to intervene and reverse the decision to axe $55.4 million from the budget of the summer career placements program over two years, and instead to increase the budget.

The summer career placements program enables many organizations, which would otherwise not have the means to do so, to offer work experiences to youth and to continue their activities during the summer months.

This program provides young people with the opportunity to establish a network in their region of origin, which is a recognized means of fighting the exodus of youth.

[Agriculture, February 23rd, 2007]

Mr. Speaker, the minister himself is having a hard time explaining this. Since his secretary of state is unable to justify himself, I will take advantage of the minister's presence to ask him whether he can tell us why he has not made good on his promise to pay Quebec farmers their fair share.

Does he remember that thousands of farmers from Quebec and Canada demonstrated here on the Hill to show their distress at the worst revenue crisis this country has ever seen? Quebec has received 6.8% of the budget, even though it accounts for 20% of Canadian agriculture. Does the minister think this is fair?

[Agriculture, February 23rd, 2007]

Mr. Speaker, last week, the Secretary of State (Agriculture) was unable to explain why farmers in Quebec had received only $50 million out of the $1.5 billion budget for agriculture. In an interview he himself requested, the secretary was unable to justify why Quebec had not received its historical share, when the Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food had promised that it would get its fair share.

Does the secretary not think that, two months after taking office, he should be able to explain to Quebec farmers why they have not received their fair share?

[Agriculture and Agri-food, February 16th, 2007]

Mr. Speaker, it would be a good idea for the parliamentary secretary to also meet with Quebec farmers, because it seems that he lives on Mars.

Quebec received only 6.8% of the total envelope disbursed by Agriculture Canada for the three main income support programs in 2006. There is a problem. Quebec agriculture actually represents 20% of Canada's agricultural sector. The math is simple.

How can the minister disregard what is happening to Quebec agriculture to such an extent?

[Agriculture and Agri-food, February 16th, 2007]

Mr. Speaker, according to forecasts by Agriculture Canada, net farm income will total $784 million in 2007, one of the lowest results, if not the lowest, ever. By comparison, the annual average in the 1990s was about $3 billion.

Does the Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food intend to quickly establish an income support program appropriate for the farm reality and, naturally, the Quebec reality?

[Michaël Boissonneault, February 15th, 2007]

Mr. Speaker, it gives me pleasure today to welcome Michaël Boissonneault, the winner of the first “MP for a Day” contest for political science students at the Cégep de Victoriaville.

As part of the Canada-Quebec politics course, participants were asked to examine Quebec’s traditional demands vis-à-vis the federal government. Michaël submitted the best presentation on this topic, taking care to give equal weight to all demands.

This non-partisan contest is intended to encourage young people to consider a career in politics and helps make them aware of the realities of parliamentary life, as well as enhancing the image of politicians and politics in general, all the while, of course, leaving young people to form their own opinions.

I would like to thank Jean-François Léonard, professor of political science and geography at the Cégep de Victoriaville, with whom I launched this contest. I also want to thank la Société Saint-Jean-Baptiste du Centre-du-Québec and La Capitale Centre-du-Québec for their contributions to a scholarship of $550, which was awarded to Michaël, a young man with a promising future.