Andrew Cash

[Employment, April 8th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, dozens of workers have lost their jobs at Pearson International Airport and have been replaced by temporary contract workers. Gate Gourmet is responsible for handling food for airlines. Its employees work in high-security areas. This work should be and has been done by full-time permanent employees who make a good wage. Now Gate Gourmet is contracting out 120 good jobs. This is another example of Conservative outsourcing gone wild.

Why is the government not standing up and protecting full-time permanent jobs in this country?

[Petitions, April 8th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, finally, notwithstanding the government's decision to clamp down on pay-to-pay fees, there are still a multiplicity of examples of companies charging their customers money just to receive their bill in the mail. This unfairly targets seniors and people on fixed incomes.

[Petitions, April 8th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, the second petition pertains to the fact that in Toronto right now, up to 50% of all workers cannot find a full-time stable job, a job that comes with benefits, a workplace pension, and job security. The petitioners are expressing concern for that and support for my private member's bill calling on a national urban workers strategy.

[Petitions, April 8th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, I have three petitions to present on behalf of my constituents.

The first petition centres around the GE Hitachi plant on Lansdowne Avenue. The petition is signed by residents, some of whom have lived around the plant for 40 years and never known exactly what it produced, notwithstanding a condition in the licence that required the plant to tell everyone who lived around the plant. The petitioners are very concerned about the lack of oversight in the enforcement of the licence.

[Citizenship and Immigration, April 2nd, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, the role of the Minister of Citizenship and Immigration should be to protect families, not to break them up, yet that is exactly what will happen if the government goes ahead with the deportation order for Oscar Vigil. Oscar Vigil has raised a family in Canada. His wife and children are Canadian citizens. He is a hardworking journalist and a leader in the Hispanic community in Toronto.

The minister has the authority to overturn this decision and keep this family together. Will he do so?

[Petitions, March 31st, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, notwithstanding the decision of the National Energy Board, residents of Toronto are very concerned about the decision to reverse the flow of Line 9. The petitioners are calling on the government to look at that very seriously.

[Petitions, March 31st, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, my second petition is from residents of my city of Toronto. This is a focused petition around the issue of precarious work and the need for Parliament to address this issue through a national urban worker strategy.

[Petitions, March 31st, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, I am proud to rise on behalf of the residents of Toronto to present three different petitions.

Given the widespread opposition to the government's unfair elections act, it becomes even more crucial that we work in Parliament toward proportional representation. The first petition calls on Parliament to do exactly that.

[Offshore Health and Safety Act, March 27th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, we see with this agreement a progressive and comprehensive collaboration between the federal government and provincial jurisdictions. We see the results when the federal government works with other jurisdictions to solve some of the very important issues we have before us.

I would like the hon. member to comment on the importance of the federal government working with the provinces, sitting down and rolling up their sleeves, and dealing with the issues at hand, collaboratively, with the provinces.

[Citizenship and Immigration, March 24th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, notwithstanding what the minister said, Syrian refugees are facing a humanitarian crisis and the government has failed to live up to its promises.

The Conservatives are also failing immigrant families here in Canada. Their latest attack will mean that spouses would have to meet stringent new language requirements just to reunite with their loved ones. Family reunification wait times have skyrocketed under the Conservative government. This measure would only make matters worse.

Will the minister reassure Canadian immigrant families that he is not considering this measure?