Annick Papillon

[Privacy, May 30th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, the Conservatives seem to be having a hard time respecting Canadians' privacy.

The changes they are proposing in the budget bill would allow Canada Revenue Agency employees to transfer taxpayers' personal information to the police without a warrant.

Yesterday, the NDP proposed an amendment to create a judicial oversight mechanism, but the Conservatives voted against it.

Why do the Conservatives have so little respect for Canadians' privacy?

[Royal 22nd Regiment Museum, May 30th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, this week, I was very excited and proud to participate in the launch of the new Royal 22nd Regiment museum at the Citadelle of Québec.

The Citadelle is one of the largest museums to showcase Canada's francophone military heritage, second only to the Canadian War Museum in Ottawa. This year, the Royal 22nd Regiment, also called the “Vandoos”, is celebrating its 100th anniversary. An avant-garde exhibit, entitled “Je me souviens”, teaches about the regiment's history, mission, exploits, and heroes.

I was the only federal representative at the launch because, unfortunately, the Conservative government did not want to send anyone to attend this very special event. It did not want to hear the Royal 22nd Regiment's military music, just like it does not want to hear the military music played at international events such as the International Festival of Military Bands in Quebec City or the Tattoo of Freedom in Caen, France, in honour of the 70th anniversary of the Normandy invasion. It is a disgrace. The Conservatives have abandoned our soldiers, our veterans, and our history.

[Consumer Protection, May 30th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, I think there is still something to be done.

According to Desjardins, the lack of competition in Quebec's gasoline market can drive prices up for motorists, but this still does not explain the widening gap between prices at the pump and the price of oil.

To quote a few figures, in 2008, the price of a barrel of oil was roughly $140 U.S. At the time, fear of a global shortage had pushed prices up. The same barrel today trades at the much lower price of $107 U.S. or thereabouts. Gas prices, however, keep skyrocketing.

This gap in prices is plain for all to see, yet it remains unexplained. Consumers wonder why prices at the pump keep rising. We cannot understand why they keep rising while the price of a barrel remains relatively steady.

I believe there is cause to establish an ombudsman mandated to more closely oversee the Competition Bureau and the enforcement of its rules. That is what the NDP is calling for.

I would like to hear the member's comments on the issue.

[Consumer Protection, May 30th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to rise, even at this time of night, to speak about an issue affecting all Canadians, namely the price of gasoline at the pump, which is far too high.

Each of us has seen gas stations on different streets in the same city and noticed how prices are different from one gas station to the next, and from one city to the next, so much so that sometimes a detour is well worth it. We do not understand why gas can cost a few cents a litre less at a gas station than at another one. There are even websites that indicate where gas is least expensive.

All these gas price variations at the pump are due to mismanagement. It is high time the federal government took action to put an end to these price variations. It is time to appoint an ombudsman to protect consumers from gas price variations and to strengthen Industry Canada's rules on collusion.

The NDP believes the federal government has a responsibility regarding the price of gas, which is once again reaching very high levels, as we have seen over the past few weeks.

The government can and must take meaningful action to counter these abusive price hikes. It is high time we stopped getting gouged at the pumps. We have to fill up every week. It is time to put an end to these hikes. People do not understand why the price of gas keeps going up when the price of oil does not change. At nearly $1.50 a litre in many cities in Quebec, including Quebec City, people are saying that they are paying too much. They are right.

I am calling on the Conservative government to follow the NDP's recommendations and create an ombudsman position to monitor gas prices and receive the growing number of complaints from drivers about this. Of course, that would allow us to put more pressure on the Competition Bureau, ensuring that there is more vigorous, aggressive follow-up.

The NDP also suggests that we strengthen Industry Canada's rules, to more effectively combat collusion among oil companies. The existing rules need to be more vigorously applied. It is unacceptable that the Competition Bureau's collusion cases result in sentences to be served in the community or in fines that rarely exceed $10,000. We are talking about collusion here. I think we need to be a lot tougher.

The federal government continues to subsidize the big oil companies and has significantly reduced their taxes in recent years. Meanwhile, ordinary Canadians, the consumers and taxpayers, are being relentlessly gouged at the pumps, which is appalling. Canadians are being hit with a double whammy, because their taxes are being used to subsidize the Conservatives' gifts to the oil companies. That is essentially what is going on.

[Small Business, May 29th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, the Conservatives are hurting SMEs by abolishing the hiring tax credit. Moreover, they are not doing anything about limiting credit card transaction fees. They have essentially abandoned SMEs.

The NDP is proposing meaningful solutions for our SMEs. We have proposed that we partner with them and consult them. That is completely different from what the Conservatives do.

Why do they Conservatives continue to ignore the needs of our real job creators?

[Business of Supply, May 15th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, my colleague emphasized that it is important to support our public broadcaster.

Many of us believe that Radio-Canada is more than a public broadcaster; it helps create our identity. Thanks to Radio-Canada, we have access to talent from all over and from close to home. We can find out what is going on and share information, our experiences and our knowledge among regions and linguistic communities within the greater Francophonie, thereby building a stronger, more triumphant identity.

Can she comment further on that?

[Business of Supply, May 15th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, it is true that I am not part of the generation that saw the Indian head test pattern on television. I am sorry about that, but I have heard a lot about it.

What I can say is that CBC is adapting. There is a great deal of competition. A lot is happening on the Internet. Having an Internet presence is imperative and I think the corporation is adapting well in that regard. I have become a big fan of tou.tv. In fact, it is a big part of my social life. It allows me to watch what I want any time, day or night.

Fortunately, CBC is using these alternatives to deal with this massive competition. By stopping these cuts, we could give the broadcaster some breathing room and help it keep adapting to the market.

[Business of Supply, May 15th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague. I do not know how many MPs here represent the regions or how many represent urban areas but are from regions like the one I am from, the lower St. Lawrence.

What I do know is that people get regional news from the CBC, which tells people what is going on in their region. It is the leading broadcaster, and this job simply cannot be left solely to the private sector and at the mercy of the market and the whims of advertisers. We must support the CBC in our regions across the country because the broadcaster helps us connect with others.

It also enables francophone communities to connect and find out what they have in common. The government wants to divide and conquer, but there are many ways for us to discover that we have a lot more in common than what others would have us believe. That is what the CBC does.

[Business of Supply, May 15th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, CBC is doing a lot with the little bit it has, so reversing the $45 million in cuts is the very least that can be done. We know that the Conservatives will be sitting on a nice big surplus next year. They are probably sitting on one right now.

I know that for every dollar invested in the cultural industry, $3 or $4 gets injected back into the system. Not understanding that it is important to invest in our cultural industry is therefore very short-sighted. This is also a question of identity. Everyone has a story about the CBC. This is about essential services, and public broadcasting is one of them. Support for these services can continue as they are currently, without endless cuts.

[Business of Supply, May 15th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, what an honour it is to rise today in the House to speak to a fantastic motion on the CBC, moved by my party, the NDP. People may not know this, but I am a journalist by training. I will share my time with the great member for Vaudreuil-Soulanges.

This is about information and freedom of the press, as well as the extraordinary work done by journalists, whose situation is becoming increasingly precarious. Friends often tell me just how difficult it is to be a journalist every day, on many levels. Today, frankly, 10 minutes will not be enough time to say how much the NDP wants to support them and that we care about the CBC and we believe in it.

My colleagues spoke a little about what the CBC means to them. Personally, I am a big fan of Radio-Canada. I watch programs like Enquête and Découvertes. I also listen to radio programs. I could not go without mentioning À la semaine prochaîne, a funny political program that helps me take things a little less seriously each week, when we find that the Conservatives are steamrolling over us.

I rise in the House to support this NDP motion that reminds us that the CBC plays a fundamental role in informing, entertaining and uniting Canadians from coast to coast to coast. This role has been jeopardized, mainly because of the many rounds of cuts in the past 20 years, which is why we are asking the government to reverse the $45 million in cuts for 2014-15 in budget 2012 and provide adequate, stable, multi-year funding to the public broadcaster so that it can fulfill its mandate.

For the third time in four years, the CBC has announced significant budget cuts of over $130 million, which translates into 657 positions. Eleven positions will be cut in Québec, my riding. The CBC's situation is so precarious and difficult that 11 positions in Québec are threatened.

The CBC is at the heart of our cultural ecosystem. It broadcasts programs that are made here and acts as a showcase for creators in all sorts of disciplines. The CBC is also a partner in broadcasting many arts events.

Given these cuts, we are wondering whether the CBC will be able to fulfill its mandate, particularly when it comes to Canada's regions and linguistic minority communities. I am particularly concerned about the regions and linguistic minority communities. They will be harder hit by these cuts, to the point where it will be difficult for them to recover because of the problems the cuts will cause.

In this era of media concentration and cross-media ownership, Canadians need to be able to count on an independent and impartial source of information. We cannot stress enough how important this is. We have seen the importance of public broadcasting in recent years. Without shows such as Enquête, the Charbonneau commission would never have happened. This is one of the most striking examples of the strong and meaningful contribution the CBC makes to our country's democratic health.

Democracy can never be taken for granted. We work every day to make it real and meaningful. That includes freedom of the press.

I would like to make another important point. I read Time for Outrage! by the late Stéphane Hessel. In it, he said that any attack on freedom of the press, or an independent press, erodes the health of our democracy. It is really a step in the wrong direction. Sometimes, we come to this realization too late.

That is why we are sending out a warning today. The government needs to wake up. Today, we want people across Canada to understand this motion and join their voices with ours because it is important to stand up and say, in social media and other forums, that we care about the CBC. One more opinion is never one too many. That is part of democracy.

Alain Gravel, a journalist and the host of the television show Enquête, said:

Today, about 25 people make up the Enquête team. That may seem like a lot, but it is not too many for what we do. We do not keep track of our hours and everyone who works here is extremely dedicated. Conducting investigations takes time and an organizational structure that supports our work. Losing staff will definitely have an impact on our work.

Mr. Gravel goes on to say:

We, along with other investigative news teams, have helped to save Canadians tens of millions of dollars by uncovering corruption [which can happen at any time]. The first year we did the show, the City of Montreal announced that the cost of major public projects had dropped by 30% even before the police had investigated, simply through the power of information.

Alex Levasseur, president of the Syndicat des communications de Radio-Canada, said:

At the end of the day, it is the younger people who will have to leave. However..., when all is said and done..., this means cutting a team that works and delivers results.

The Fédération professionnelle des journalistes du Québec wants a public debate on the CBC's role. Brian Myles, vice-president of the FPJQ, said:

It seems the Conservative government wants to let the CBC die a slow death.

One cut at a time. This is the third time, and that is why we are saying enough is enough.

Actually, ever since they came to power, the Conservatives have been targeting the CBC. Everyone can see that. They appointed Conservatives to top management positions and basically instructed them to take an axe to the institution.

The CBC sports service has also been hard hit by cuts. Fifty hours of original sports programming are being cut. The CBC used to take a special interest in amateur sports. When Louis Lalande, executive vice-president of the CBC's French-language services, was asked about future broadcasts of the games of Université Laval's football team, Rouge et Or, he did not seem very optimistic in his answer:

It will be very difficult because we can no longer afford to have the same level of daytime programming as we do now.

The CBC is one of the least subsidized public broadcasters in the world. The CBC costs every Canadian $29 a year, whereas the BBC, for instance, receives about $111 per capita. That is unbelievable. Our broadcaster is one of the least subsidized broadcasters.

I look at the figures, and when we compare ourselves to other countries, the difference is unbelievable. Our broadcaster is receiving less and less funding. Of course this will affect the quality of information and Canadians' access to this information. That is what bothers me the most. The Conservatives are not able to understand that informed citizens are citizens who actively participate in their democracy, and that is what we want.

There needs to be more public education so that people can react to what is happening. We know that the Conservatives are out to destroy that because they do not want to be challenged. This situation is the result of the Conservative and Liberal governments gradually abandoning our public broadcaster.

The NDP feels that public broadcasting is important. Our motion is not asking for more funding, far from it. Instead, we want to stop the cuts so that the corporation can receive stable, adequate and predictable funding.

By making its budget more predictable, CBC would be able to cope with fluctuations in the current market. In return, we will continue to expect the corporation to meet the highest management and accountability standards, as is the case with all other crown corporations.

We can never stress enough how important it is to support our public broadcaster. The people at CBC have my full support, and I invite all Canadians to express how much they care about CBC. They should contact their MP and tell him or her that it is important to support our journalists.