House of Commons photo

Crucial Fact

  • Her favourite word was city.

Last in Parliament October 2015, as NDP MP for Québec (Québec)

Lost her last election, in 2015, with 27% of the vote.

Statements in the House

Protecting Canada's Immigration System Act April 23rd, 2012

Mr. Speaker, I am very pleased to speak to Bill C-31 on immigration because much of my campaign last year focused on the idea of having an immigration system that is as transparent as the justice system. Unfortunately, Bill C-31 does not meet these expectations of offering something fairer—not at all.

I received a lot of feedback in Quebec City after Bill C-31 was introduced. Many community agencies, citizens' groups and voters have spoken to me about this issue. They think it is completely ridiculous. It goes too far. We cannot leave everything in the hands of the minister, as the bill intends.

For the Quebec City agencies that are crying for help when it comes to this bill, there is a clear lack of resources to help immigrants in distress. People get lost in red tape and are discouraged most of the time because they do not understand. They see visas getting rejected for strictly administrative reasons—bureaucracy. It is under this government no less.

At first glance, the changes in Bill C-31 seem only to make clarifications to the existing legislation. However, this bill makes draconian changes to situations that are already precarious.

The first thing that jumps out and that I must highlight is the arbitrary power that the minister has clearly given himself. With this discretionary power, he can overturn any decision that has already been made. It is obvious that this will not resolve the issue I am being asked about: why does it take three years for one immigrant to obtain citizenship, and ten years for another? There is a lack of transparency. It is not clear.

The change that scares future immigrants the most, and which we hear about regularly, is the rejection of applications and the pure and simple cancellation of most of the economic class applications. People have been waiting for 7, 8, 9 and even 10 years for positive news about their file, and their applications are going to be returned with a refund of the initial payment—a matter I will not get into at this time—because the minister wants to eliminate the backlog of applications filed since February 2008.

Rapid changes in the demand for labour in Canada would explain this situation. However, what about the people, the human element, the people who have held out hope all these years? The minister will say that they can resubmit their applications and that, if they meet the criteria, they will be chosen quickly. However, what is not being publicized is the fact that, since these people applied, the program has undergone some fine tuning and the law of natural selection now comes into play: the cost of applying has increased. There is no guarantee that the application will be accepted. Hopes are crushed.

Another change would see refugees sent back to their country of origin if the situation there improves. This is what organizations in my riding and people who call and email are telling me. People come here and adapt to life here. They start their lives over in Canada. They make friends and find work here. Their children are raised in Quebec or Canadian culture. Yet the government would send them back to a country they no longer know, a country they fled under difficult circumstances, in most cases. They left everything behind, hoping for a better life. And Canada, which invited them in to give them that opportunity for a better life, would deport them just like that because things have improved in their country? They can live peacefully here. They will want to adapt to our customs. They certainly have the right to that opportunity.

Bill C-31 has yet more shortcomings. For example, there is no mechanism to challenge blunt refusal with respect to family reunification. Families separated by time and borders that are frequently not their own are denied the opportunity to bring their spouse and children because they did not list them when registering. Registration happens in refugee camps where people live in terrible conditions. Once they arrive, they are given a vague one-year window to declare another individual on their application. That makes no sense. Bill C-31 does not address that, but it happens.

Immigration is much more than bringing people through the nation's door, welcoming them and then letting them go.

I recently met with a group of immigrants from my riding. I invited them to my office to discuss their concerns and the problems and issues they faced when they arrived in Quebec.

It is quite simple: they waited and they hoped. They lived the dream and were happy, but even after years, their diplomas are still not recognized and they are still having a hard time finding a good job. Reality bites. There is not enough support. When we really look at it, it seems as though the government believes that it has allowed them in and filled its quota, and now they have to get by on their own. Of course, this summary does not apply to refugees, but I heard this from the mouths of qualified workers who have come here to keep our economy moving and whom we are abandoning. We are not helping them fit in to our Canadian way of life.

Canada is a dream that is often inaccessible and sometimes incomprehensible. People fill out forms, answer questions, put up with delays, and still more delays, pay money and are eventually given the opportunity to fulfill their dreams, and this is all priceless. They are asked to leave everything behind—their house, their culture, their lives—to be submerged in a foreign culture, and they are asked to act like us, to be like us and to thank us. But what tools do we give them?

Just a few hours of French lessons and everything should be perfect? What about life in our society and what about our values? What about support, follow up and a real helping hand? Bill C-31 does not address any of that. Yet that is definitely a reality that many of my hon. colleagues must face in their constituency offices—they must see people going from tears of joy to tears of despair, and get all kinds of calls from people who want to know where to turn.

We see families separated, years of waiting just to be rejected, and hopes dashed. Fortunately, some situations end well. We help people achieve the dream of reunification and staying here. However, I always wonder. I hope everything will go well for them, but we never know. We are in the process of giving the minister more and more discretionary power and that makes no sense.

I also condemn this blatant lack of provincial-federal and interdepartmental dialogue. The government is certainly not known for listening to the provinces. There is no shortage of examples of problems that are only going to get worse under this Conservative government. People have simply lost everything. The federal government requires one thing, the provincial another. One accepts things when the other refuses or vice versa. Costs keep piling up. A federal-provincial dialogue would help people.

The same goes for a dialogue between the federal departments. Is it normal for a person to have his work permit rejected because there is a delay in processing claims at Human Resources and Skills Development Canada? No, that is not normal. The person is not responsible whatsoever for any such delay. The surprising thing is that he has to pay for these delays out of his own pocket every time and usually more than once. As far as I understand, the applicant is certainly not reimbursed.

This Bill C-31 does not reflect our values. This Bill C-31 does not help refugees. This bill is putting everything into the hands of the minister. That is not really a good thing.

I will close on a more positive note because that might be what we should focus on. Recently, in my riding in Quebec City, I met a newly arrived immigrant couple. In fact, it was a spousal reunification. The wife had waited years for her husband to finally be able to join her. To see such happiness is priceless. There are human beings behind all this paperwork.

We have to think of the people.

Search and Rescue April 23rd, 2012

Mr. Speaker, the Commissioner of Official Languages' report is clear: it is difficult to maintain the quality of one's French in Trenton and Halifax, where less than 5% of the population is francophone.

The only way to maintain adequate services in both official languages at all times is to keep the Quebec City marine rescue sub-centre open permanently. I would like to remind the Conservatives that it is an essential service that ensures the safety of people in distress. They cannot take chances with that.

Will the Conservatives take note of this report and reverse their decision to close the Quebec City marine rescue sub-centre?

National Defence April 5th, 2012

Mr. Speaker, in fact, yes, we are talking about budget cuts and job losses at military bases in the province of Quebec and in Quebec City, which is going to be particularly hard hit by the cuts. Nearly 350 jobs are going to be cut in the province, 200 of them in the Quebec City area alone.

However, CFB Valcartier should be spared. We are very proud of all the families who work there. Once again, it is families who have to pay for the poor choices made by the Conservatives.

When will this government come to its senses and re-evaluate these disrespectful layoffs?

Industry March 28th, 2012

Mr. Speaker, first there was trouble at the White Birch mill; now Veyance Technologies, located in Quebec City for 60 years, may move to the U.S. This puts 115 jobs in jeopardy. However, a Quebec firm was interested in buying Veyance Technologies and keeping those jobs in Quebec City. If nothing is done, 115 jobs may be lost and exported to the United States.

Is the government waiting for all the good jobs to move to the United States before taking action, or will it take the lead and keep our jobs here?

Gender Parity March 28th, 2012

Mr. Speaker, at a time when many entities have a gender parity policy for the selection of senior managers and board members, the Conservative government is showing no leadership in this regard.

A number of studies have shown that there is no longer any question about the benefits of parity. What we need to do now is find ways to achieve parity.

To that end, I would like to acknowledge the efforts made by the Quebec City chamber of commerce, which recently won the 2012 equality award from Quebec's status of women office for creating a charter for parity in governance.

Together with the Quebec YWCA, the chamber of commerce invites organizations in the region to sign the charter and provides them with a list of worthy female candidates.

I urge the Conservative government to show its support for parity by doing something tangible. That is why I am calling on the Minister of Transport, Infrastructure and Communities to appoint a woman to the board of directors of the Quebec Port Authority, which is currently an all-male board.

Search and Rescue March 27th, 2012

Mr. Speaker, my colleagues have just demonstrated the importance of an effective search and rescue system, but the Conservatives will not listen.

In Quebec, we have developed expertise in what francophones need when travelling on or living near waterways. The Quebec City marine rescue sub-centre has forged special ties with a number of stakeholders, including staff of the 35 9-1-1 emergency call centres in Quebec.

This relationship with its partners is essential to saving lives. Closing the Quebec City centre will destroy this expertise. When will the minister come to Quebec City to explain the reasons for the decision?

Search and Rescue March 15th, 2012

Mr. Speaker, the Quebec City marine rescue sub-centre is under threat of closure by Fisheries and Oceans, allegedly because that will save $1 million. From now on, calls from Quebec will be handled in Halifax and Trenton, two centres that will require costly expansion work in order to accommodate Quebec City.

What is more, the criteria for selecting francophone agents to answer distress calls have been watered down recently, which is unacceptable. By closing the Quebec City centre, the government is putting the lives of francophones at risk and wasting a lot of money. Can the minister explain the logic behind this decision?

Business of Supply March 8th, 2012

Mr. Speaker, I would be pleased to enlighten my colleague, who may have missed part of my speech. I spoke about Elections Canada receiving 31,000 complaints from across Canada asking it to investigate the problem. Elections Canada decided to make a form available online to simplify the process. It was swamped with calls from Canadians who were concerned that there may have been election fraud in Canada. That makes no sense.

Business of Supply March 8th, 2012

Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for his comments. That really is what we must focus on. As legislators, how can we enhance the Canada Elections Act and provide Elections Canada with more tools? That is the crux of the matter. Democracy is at stake, and it is priceless. It is our duty to Canadians to ensure that this does not happen again.

Business of Supply March 8th, 2012

Mr. Speaker, I would like to point out to members that there is something that I was unable to quantify today: the price of our Canadian democracy. Mr. Speaker, allow me to tell you and all my hon. colleagues that Canadian democracy is priceless. It is about time we strengthened the Canada Elections Act and gave Elections Canada the tools to investigate what seems to be the worst case of election fraud this country has ever seen.