Anne-Marie Day

[Safe and Accountable Rail Act, May 12th, 2015]

Mr. Speaker, I thank the member for his speech.

Although this bill is a step in the right direction, it is clearly the result of a decade of mismanagement and bad decision-making under this government.

Why do we not have a plan and concrete measures for prevention and rail maintenance? We know what poor condition our rails are in. Rail cars are being added, but as anyone who has studied physics knows, the more cars you add, the greater the force exerted when the train is on a hill.

Why did the government not go further with this bill?

[Privilege, May 12th, 2015]

Mr. Speaker, we cannot talk about this situation without talking about security, given that what caused the delay and the need for further controls was of course what happened on October 22.

In 1868, one of the Fathers of Confederation was assassinated on Sparks Street by a group of extremists who wanted to promote the cause of the Irish and reject the Crown. However, Parliament was not a bunker at the time, and members of Parliament were free to move about and do their jobs, as they should have been.

The member for Sherbrooke clearly explained the division of powers between the legislature and the executive, as well as why we have this right and why we must preserve it.

Would the member like to elaborate on that?

[Privilege, May 12th, 2015]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to talk about a number of things.

My office is on the ninth floor of the Confederation Building. It is the last one, right at the end. When there is a 15-minute bell and I make my way up the road, it is very important that I not be delayed by even a fraction of a second by bollards that are not operating properly. That would prevent me from arriving in time for the vote. We have a majority government now, but in the past, with minority governments in power, such situations could cause major problems.

I feel that this is about privilege and rights. When I arrived here in 2011, the pages who welcomed me at the main entrance greeted me by name. They had not been here long, but they knew our names. I think that the security guards who have been here longer should know our names.

Will the member support us and help us ensure that our access to the Hill remains a basic privilege for all MPs?

[Privilege, May 12th, 2015]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to raise a few points.

First, I would like to talk about security when there is an emergency situation. For example, when Mr. Bibeau attacked Parliament, the entire security system deployed. Under such circumstances, even members lose their rights and that is fairly normal.

However, I would also like to mention the questionable 74 seconds that the Speaker seems to have accepted. That is completely unacceptable, since before that, a shuttle bus could not get through when the new security barriers, which retract into the ground, failed because they are already rusty and corroded from the salt even though they are new.

What does my colleague think about that? Would the member like to add that to the requests that other members are making?

This system jammed. The bus had to do the whole tour and come back to try to enter. The RCMP does not have a checkpoint when we come by shuttle bus to get to the East Block. We have the right to go straight through when the barriers go down and there was therefore no reason for the RCMP to stop the shuttle bus from entering at that time.

[Petitions, May 12th, 2015]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to present these three petitions on respecting the rights of small family farms to store, trade and use seed. The petitioners are calling on Parliament to commit to adopting international aid policies that support small farmers, especially women, thereby recognizing their vital role in the struggle against hunger and poverty.

[Port State Measures Agreement Implementation Act, May 7th, 2015]

Mr. Speaker, few people in the House know this, but I was born near a small coastal village in the Gaspé called Grande-Rivière. My father worked for many years at the fishery school. We talked about the industry at home. Soon, we will pass this bill.

Fisheries have been transformed over the past 50 or 60 years. They have become industrial. Canada has drawn coastal boundaries to protect its fisheries.

We support this bill, but I am worried. Earlier, the whip said that as part of the new action plan, information would be shared with other countries. Can we get a more specific action plan to protect our fisheries?

[Port State Measures Agreement Implementation Act, May 7th, 2015]

Mr. Speaker, Canadians trust the leader of the NDP to manage the economy while protecting the environment. Illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing hurts Canada's economy and fishery.

Can the parliamentary secretary explain why the government introduced this bill in the Senate instead of in the House?

[Petitions, May 7th, 2015]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank the people of Edmonton who signed my petition to eliminate the GST on feminine hygiene products. It constitutes gender-based discrimination.

[Iran Accountability Week, May 5th, 2015]

Mr. Chair, I really appreciated some aspects of of my colleague's speech. I would like to hear what he has to say about the labour movement, which is an indicator of change, regulation and influence among populations.

In his opinion, could the labour movement in Iraq help advance human rights and democracy?

[Iran Accountability Week, May 5th, 2015]

Mr. Chair, as you know, the NDP strongly supports the people of Iran in their efforts to build a greater democracy.

I would like the member to talk about a subject that is of interest to me. Could he tell us more about the balance between democracy, assistance to the public, and obviously, the quest for nuclear disarmament?