Claude Gravelle

[Business of Supply, May 28th, 2010]

Mr. Speaker, would the hon. member from the Bloc Québécois agree that Canada should review its legislation with a view to bringing it more in line with that of the United States, which provides that drilling permits are granted subject to an environmental study? Also, would the public be welcome to take part in such a study?

[Intergenerational Memoir Project, May 28th, 2010]

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to bring this House's attention to a unique school project created by Ms. Camille Dupuis and her colleague at Lasalle Secondary School.

Created in 2008, the intergenerational memoir project pairs a senior with two students who help record the senior's life story over a period of several months. At the conclusion, the students present the senior with a scrapbook of the senior's life.

I can attest personally to the fantastic work of these students, because two of them, Alexandra Burgess and Alyssa Sabourin, worked closely with my father, Conrad Gravelle, to produce his scrapbook.

What a brilliant project. Students gain empathy toward their elders while learning about their contributions to their community. Seniors get the company they need and the valuable opportunity to record their story.

I commend Ms. Dupuis and the students who have participated over the past three years, as well as the school and the school board for their support of this project.

I hope that other schools introduce the intergenerational memoir project to their students.

[Jobs and Economic Growth Act, May 27th, 2010]

Mr. Speaker, there is another intriguing provision in Bill C-9, and it relates to deregulating Canada Post's monopoly. This is the second time the Conservatives have raised this issue in Parliament, and they were not successful the first time. So they are incorporating it into a budget bill.

Why does the Bloc Québécois member think that they have included this issue in this bill? Is it because their friends are waiting in the wings, wanting to buy up a piece of Canada Post?

[Jobs and Economic Growth Act, May 27th, 2010]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to congratulate the Bloc Québécois member on his speech. Bill C-9 contains a clause on the environment that allows the Minister of the Environment to establish the scope of environmental assessments.

What does the Bloc member think about that clause? Does he think it belongs in a budget bill?

[Jobs and Economic Growth Act, May 27th, 2010]

Mr. Speaker, I have a question for the hon. member. The budget allows the Minister of the Environment to dictate the scope of environmental assessments. It allows the sale of all or any part of Atomic Energy of Canada. Could the hon. member tell me why these two articles are in a budget bill?

Second, putting Atomic Energy of Canada in the hands of private industries and allowing the minister to decide the scope of the environmental assessments, is that not like putting the fox in charge of the henhouse?

[Jobs and Economic Growth Act, May 27th, 2010]

Mr. Speaker, I have a question for the hon. Bloc Québécois member regarding the $57 billion that will disappear from the budget, if it passes. We could use that $57 billion to help many people get out of poverty, including seniors, young people who are still in school and are hungry, and parents who are unemployed and cannot receive EI benefits because there is not enough money in the EI fund. I would like to hear the hon. Bloc Québécois member's thoughts on this.

[Jobs and Economic Growth Act, May 27th, 2010]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to ask the hon. member what he thinks about the $57 billion the government is taking from the pockets of working women and men of this country, something this government is now rubber stamping via this budget.

I would like to know what the hon. member thinks about this $57 billion the government is spending.

[Foreign Investment, May 26th, 2010]

Mr. Speaker, on April 28, the House passed an NDP motion to strengthen the Investment Canada Act regarding foreign investments, so that the process is more transparent, and so that it benefits Canadians and not just foreign companies.

Mr. Speaker, you even issued a ruling that essentially ordered the government to respect decisions made by the House of Commons.

My question is simple: will the government respect the will of this House and amend the Investment Canada Act?

[Workplace Safety, May 13th, 2010]

Mr. Speaker, on May 7, an incident occurred at the Copper Cliff smelter. A smokestack extension collapsed and fell onto oxygen and nitrogen pipelines. This is one of the most complex plants to operate and it is located in a residential neighbourhood.

Unfortunately, the company is using strikebreakers who are not adequately trained. It was only a matter of time before such an accident occurred.

What is the Minister of Labour doing to ensure the safety of workers and other people and to shed light on what caused this accident?

[Fairness at the Pumps Act, May 12th, 2010]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank the hon. member for Vaudreuil-Soulanges for her speech on this bill. Bill C-14 will privatize the inspection of gas stations. But putting that in the hands of private enterprise is a little like putting prisoners in charge of prisons, or the fox in charge of the henhouse. We can see the result of companies being left to regulate themselves right now in the Gulf of Mexico.

I would like to hear the hon. member's opinion on this. What does she think of the fact that private companies will regulate the oil companies?