Annick Papillon

[Questions Passed as Orders for Returns, April 9th, 2014]

With regard to funding of Quebec City's Jean Lesage International Airport, what is the total amount of government funding allocated to the airport from fiscal year 2006-2007 to the current fiscal year, broken down (i) by department or agency, (ii) for each department or agency, by initiative or project?

[Finance, March 25th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, while the Conservatives continue to applaud themselves, we in the NDP are talking to people on the ground.

I am thinking about ordinary people on the ground. I know that bills are going up everywhere. In Quebec City, for example, rents are 40% higher than they were 10 years ago. That just goes to show how difficult things have become. This means that more and more of our income is going to rent, electricity and food, which is constantly rising in price, too. Never have families struggled so hard. Never have they had such a hard time making ends meet.

Thinking of families, thinking of people in our society, those most vulnerable, the middle class, everyone, thinking very much about these people, we in the NDP have proposed some simple solutions. Fifty cents per transaction at ATMs—that is simple. All it takes is a little leadership to make it happen.

We are proposing to limit interest rates on credit cards at prime plus 5% and eliminate paper billing, and not just promising to eliminate it as we have heard the Conservatives do many times. Those are three proposals. I would like the Conservatives to respond to those proposals and not just throw around numbers.

[Finance, March 25th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, for approximately 20 years, increasing household debt has been one of the major economic problems of the western world.

In Canada, in the early 1980s, household debt represented, on average, two-thirds of a household's disposable income. In 2013, that ratio surpassed 160% and today it is closer to 168%. It just keeps climbing, and we have taken on more debt than ever. For each dollar of disposable income, households now owe an average of $1.65.

What is the explanation for this? It is simple: household spending is increasing faster than income. Basically, middle-class salaries have been stagnating for many years. That is why the NDP believes it is time to take action for families and the middle-class. After 13 years of Liberal government and a decade of Conservative government, it is clear that nothing is being done.

The NDP is not the only one criticizing the inaction of previous governments. The Governor of the Bank of Canada, Stephen Poloz, described household debt as a major threat to the Canadian economy.

The NDP is proposing clear, concrete solutions that the government can implement immediately. It just takes a little leadership to put them in place. It is not enough to think only of their little friends, their relatives and the banks. They have to take the consumers' side. That is what the NDP is doing.

That is why, today, I would like to lay out some small measures on which the government can act. The first of those measures would be to put limits on ATM fees. We in the NDP feel that it is time to limit the fee for a withdrawal at an ATM to 50¢. Bank fees are increasingly abusive. With the hidden fees, the situation is becoming a nightmare. Consumers are finding themselves faced with exorbitant fees whenever they want to take their own money out of an ATM. It really makes no sense, and that is why we must act.

Why is the NDP proposing a 50¢ limit per ATM transaction? Because we have an American study showing that operating costs are about 36¢. Allowing a profit margin of 14¢ per transaction, a 50¢ fee would be quite reasonable. Everyone could handle that, banks as well as consumers.

We also think that prohibitive credit card interest rates should be stopped. We will ensure that people have reasonable access to credit cards at prime plus 5%. That is something that we said during the last campaign, and we will say it again in the next campaign in 2015, because it is essential.

Finally, it is time to stop paying to pay. We succeeded in having the Prime Minister commit to legislation that would prevent additional fees for paper bills. Now we have to make sure that he keeps his promise and that he will move really firmly to abolish those $2 fees we see on our bills just because the bill from our telephone company or our bank comes in the mail.

Those are the three measures I am presenting today. I invite the Conservative government to show strong support for these NDP measures.

[Questions Passed as Orders for Returns, March 24th, 2014]

With regard to Canada Economic Development for Quebec Regions, specifically the Québec regional office: (a) what are the existing standards and procedures to be followed by employees and directors of the regional office to respond to funding requests; (b) what changes have been made to the standards and procedures to be followed by employees and directors of the regional office to respond to funding requests in the past 10 years; (c) in which months of which years were the changes to the standards and procedures to be followed by employees and directors of the regional office to respond to funding requests implemented; (d) what are the existing standards and procedures to be followed by employees and directors of the regional office to respond to meeting requests from MPs’ offices; (e) what changes have been made to the standards and procedures to be followed by employees and directors of the regional office to respond to meeting requests from MPs’ offices in the past 10 years; (f) in which months of which years were the changes to the standards and procedures to be followed by employees and directors of the regional office to respond to meeting requests from MPs’ offices implemented; (g) what is the complete list of meetings between MPs and employees and directors of the regional office in the past 10 years, broken down by year and political affiliation of MPs; (h) what is the complete list of meetings between representatives of MPs and employees and directors of the regional office in the past 10 years, broken down by year and political affiliation of MPs’ representatives; (i) what is the complete list of meetings between former MPs and employees and directors of the regional office on a subject other than a former MP’s business, in the past 10 years, broken down by year; (j) what are the existing standards and procedures to be followed by employees and directors of the regional office to respond to requests for information by phone from MPs’ offices; (k) what changes have been made to the standards and procedures to be followed by employees and directors of the regional office to respond to requests for information by phone from MPs’ offices in the past 10 years; (l) in which month of which years were the changes to the standards and procedures to be followed by employees and directors of the regional office to respond to requests for information by phone from MPs’ offices implemented; (m) what is the complete list of phone communications between MPs and employees and directors of the regional office in the past 10 years, broken down by year and political affiliation of MPs; (n) what is the complete list of phone communications between representatives of MPs and employees and directors of the regional office in the past 10 years, broken down by year and political affiliation of MPs’ representatives; (o) what is the complete list of phone communications between former MPs and employees and directors of the regional office on a subject other than a former MP’s business, in the past 10 years, broken down by year; (p) what are the existing standards and procedures to be followed by employees and directors of the regional office to respond to requests for information by email from MPs’ offices; (q) what changes have been made to the standards and procedures to be followed by employees and directors of the regional office to respond to requests for information by email from MPs’ offices in the past 10 years; (r) in which month of which years were the changes to the standards and procedures to be followed by employees and directors of the regional office to respond to requests for information by email from MPs’ offices implemented; (s) what is the complete list of email communications between MPs and employees and directors of the regional office in the past 10 years, broken down by year and political affiliation of MPs; (t) what is the complete list of email communications between representatives of MPs and employees and directors of the regional office in the past 10 years, broken down by year and political affiliation of MPs’ representatives; and (u) what is the complete list of email communications between former MPs and employees and directors of the regional office on a subject other than a former MP’s business, in the past 10 years, broken down by year?

[Questions on the Order Paper, March 24th, 2014]

With regard to the storage of wood pellets and the risk of fire: (a) what safety precautions does the government require federally regulated companies to take to prevent fires; (b) how often are these facilities inspected; (c) what risk assessment carried out by the government was completed with respect to the storage of wood pellets; (d) when were these assessments, if any, completed, what were the findings and which of these studies have been released; and (e) what analyses were completed to study the government’s potential liability in the event of an emergency or major accident on a federally regulated site where wood pellets are stored?

[Consumer Protection, March 24th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, every year, it is the same old story: the banks make record profits while consumers go deeper and deeper into debt.

The banks continue to raise interest rates on credit cards for middle-class consumers. The previous finance minister did nothing to put an end to these unfair practices.

Does the new Minister of Finance intend to bring in legislation to lower credit card interest rates?

[Petitions, March 7th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, I have the honour to present two petitions concerning the protection of Gatineau Park. This issue is very important to the petitioners since there are parts of Gatineau Park that might be severed off or sold without Parliament's review or approval. That is why it is important. I have many signatures.

[Veterans Affairs, March 7th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, the Conservatives claim that cuts to Veterans Affairs Canada will not affect the quality of services provided.

We have a report that states the opposite. On page 11, the Report on Plans and Priorities states that:

...there is a risk that quality service delivery could be affected due to VAC’s increasing reliance on partners and service providers in the federal, provincial and municipal governments as well as private sector.

Why is the minister making decisions that are bad for our veterans?

[Consumer Protection, March 6th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, some credit card companies seem to be reneging on their commitment concerning their zero liability policy. The zero liability policy does not apply in cases of fraud committed with a PIN, nor does it apply when people give their security code for online purchases. Once again, the Minister of Finance must recognize that voluntary measures simply do not work.

When will the minister bring in binding regulations to fix the flaws in the zero liability policy?

[Privilege, March 4th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, I was listening to my colleague and he raised an important point. The NDP believes that apologies are not enough. People have to take responsibility and acknowledge the harm they do. We really have to take this a step further and answer to the people.

My colleague said it very well: it takes more than apologies; we have to take action and take this further. When I see the Conservatives pushing through their election “deform” bill and completely ignoring Canadians and not consulting them, in the belief that the people are going to buy this and all the rest and that their party is going to completely change the country, I tell myself that it does not make sense. I wonder what they are doing.

I would like my honourable colleague to elaborate on the point he raised, that it takes more than apologies and that we must take action. I would like him to tell us again, as he did in his speech, why it is important to refer this case to committee and to take this further so that Canadians can feel reassured about what they are hearing today.