House of Commons photoLost her last election, in 2015, with 20% of the vote.
Petitions April 27th, 2015
Mr. Speaker, I am tabling three petitions from the constituents in my riding who are calling on the government to ensure that Canada's policies and programs are developed through a consultative process with small farmers and that they protect the rights of small family farmers in the global south to preserve, use and freely exchange seeds.
Business of Supply April 27th, 2015
Mr. Speaker, Quebec's motto is “Je me souviens”, or I remember. We remember the sponsorship scandal. We cannot forget it.
Today's motion moved by the third party seeks, among other things, to make things more transparent. We are not against greater transparency. The current government has spent $750 million on advertising.
Does the hon. member think that this motion will rub out the stain on the Liberal Party caused by the sponsorship scandal?
Business of Supply April 27th, 2015
Mr. Speaker, I was quite surprised to hear this kind of proposal for a review from the Liberals, especially on a special day like today, because the Liberals have a history of problems with sponsorship, as everyone recalls. This is a little like a criminal suggesting a new law to prevent crime. It is quite strange.
Would the Liberal member agree that is it rather ironic that they are criticizing the government, considering that his party was responsible for the sponsorship scandal?
Business of Supply April 27th, 2015
Mr. Speaker, I have a question for the member.
At the height of the advertising campaign to commemorate the War of 1812, I would sometimes take the train, and the wine I was served was called '1812'. However, it was not really a wine from 1812; that was just a label. The government helped pay for that wine to be served on VIA Rail.
Can the member explain that?
Employment April 22nd, 2015
Mr. Speaker, yesterday, the Minister of Finance forgot to explain to the House that the $720 for teenagers is taxable, as are the amounts it is giving for young children. What will be left once families pay their taxes? This means that half of that money, more than 30%, will go back to the government and be taken away from these families again.
Nine years ago, the Prime Minister also promised to foster work-life balance. That was more wishful thinking and a white lie. Consequently, parents of preschool children are having difficulty achieving work-life balance, which is costing Canadian companies billions of dollars a year and hurting our economy. However, there was nothing about work-life balance in yesterday's budget.
Furthermore, when it comes to women's entrepreneurship, one thing is very clear: more men than women run their own companies, in all age groups. It is important to invest in women's entrepreneurship, but without child care, women will not succeed.
Employment April 22nd, 2015
Mr. Speaker, on December 5, I asked a question that is very important to me because it has to do with something that has been the focus of my entire professional life, and that is women's rights. However, as has been the case a number of times when I have asked this government a question, I was not impressed with the answer.
Nonetheless, I am glad that we are having a debate on the employability of women in Canada as we assess the new budget.
Since the beginning of my mandate, I have been meeting with the people of Charlesbourg—Haute-Saint-Charles, and I have always listened to their concerns. What they tell me is very clear and echoes what we are hearing throughout the province and across the country, from coast to coast. Middle-class families are suffering; household debt has never been higher; there has been a series of significant layoffs in the country; the price of food is skyrocketing; and there is a serious shortage of child care spaces.
In yesterday's budget speech, the Minister of Finance was talking about the opportunity for Canadians to work hard, dream big and make their dreams come true. However, families are not going to be able to do any of that under this government.
The NDP submitted a number of recommendations to the Conservative government for the budget, and many of them were unfortunately left out. The Conservatives like to steal the NDP's good ideas when it comes to the economy. However, they forgot about the ones that have to do with child care.
In 2006, however, the Prime Minister promised to create 125,000 new child care spaces. My question is simple: where are those spaces?
After nine years of waiting, we can say that the Prime Minister did not honour his commitments to Canadian families. Let us come back to what the Minister of Finance said about the importance of dreaming big and achieving those dreams. In the NDP's view, families will be able to do that when every child has a space in child care for which parents pay no more than $15 a day.
The statistics are clear: affordable child care helps families and stimulates the economy. In Quebec, 70,000 more women have been working since affordable child care was introduced. Furthermore, our economy grows by $2 for every dollar invested in child care. We cannot afford to lose our workforce because of a lack of child care spaces.
Some mothers and fathers will be forced to quit their jobs or their studies for these reasons. Too many women are putting their careers on hold because they cannot find affordable child care in this country. At this time, 900,000 children do not have access to affordable child care. That means 900,000 families are suffering because of this situation.
Child care costs are sometimes too much for families to bear, since they can run to more $2,000 a month. How are families supposed to pay the rent and pay for their car on top of that? How are they supposed to pay off their student loans and their mortgage? How are they supposed to have any purchasing power to stimulate the economy?
Petitions April 21st, 2015
Mr. Speaker, the second petition is about respect for the rights of small family farmers to save, exchange and use seeds.
Petitions April 21st, 2015
Mr. Speaker, thank you for allowing me to table two petitions today.
The first calls for lowering credit card fees, which are too high, capping ATM user fees at 50 cents, and prohibiting additional fees that penalize people who receive their bills online.
Bank Act April 2nd, 2015
moved for leave to introduce Bill C-663, An Act to amend the Bank Act, the Cooperative Credit Associations Act and the Trust and Loan Companies Act (charges for keeping an account in Canada).
Mr. Speaker, I am proud to rise in the House today to introduce a bill to amend the Bank Act, the Cooperative Credit Associations Act and the Trust and Loan Companies Act. More specifically, we want to reduce bank charges, which we consider to be excessive.
First, banks will have to be more transparent. Every bank will have to provide an annual report that shows all fees charged to clients and the real costs of those services.
The banks will also have to communicate more with clients by establishing a set period of time before fees can be charged for transactions with insufficient funds. Our goal is to regulate the banks in order to stop them from charging excessive fees to everyone who is having difficulty making ends meet. We must do better for our families.
I hope that this initiative will garner the enthusiastic support of our colleagues.
(Motions deemed adopted, bill read the first time and printed)
Official Languages March 31st, 2015
Mr. Speaker, once again, we have many criticisms of this government's handling of official languages.
This morning we learned that more than 1,000 internships are in jeopardy in Canada. The new Canadian rules put in place by the Conservative government without consultation could undermine a historic agreement between France and Quebec.
More than 1,000 French students who come and invigorate our schools and businesses as part of internships in Quebec could be denied visas. Canada could become less attractive to francophone students, which is very worrisome.
These francophone students enhance the vitality of our francophone communities, and they are likely to help maintain the demographic weight of Canada's francophones.
Can the Minister of Citizenship and Immigration explain why he is not fulfilling the promises made by the Minister of International Trade to attract more than 450,000 students by 2022?