Denis Coderre

[Petitions, December 8th, 2011]

Mr. Speaker, I am honoured to present a petition signed by over 2,000 people calling on the government to reverse its decision to close the marine rescue sub-centre in Quebec City and maintain all marine rescue coordination operations at the Canadian Coast Guard base in Quebec City.

That centre serves an area between Lake St. Francis and Blanc-Sablon, including the Gaspé Peninsula and the Magdalen Islands. I would remind the House that the centre was created in 1977 after many deficiencies were identified in the management of rescue operations, which at the time were coordinated by the centres in Trenton and Halifax. One particular concern was the fact that those centres could not provide services in French. Let us not forget the fishermen from the Magdalen Islands who died on the Acadien II in March 2008.

Despite that tragedy, the Conservative government announced in the last federal budget that it is closing the Quebec City rescue centre in the spring of 2012, and any distress calls from the St. Lawrence River or gulf will be handled in Trenton, Ontario, or Halifax, Nova Scotia. In other words, all marine rescue operations for the St. Lawrence River and gulf will no longer be coordinated in Quebec City. Instead they will be transferred to Halifax or Trenton. It makes absolutely no sense, which is why I support this petition and I call on the government to stay the closure of the marine rescue sub-centre in Quebec City.

[Port of Montreal, December 6th, 2011]

Mr. Speaker, the reason Mr. Abdallah was not appointed president by the board of directors is that his predecessor, Michael Fortier, took a stand and prevented people like Mr. Housakos from attempting to infiltrate. That is what happened. Attempting to infiltrate is as serious as infiltrating, and Mr. Housakos was subsequently appointed as a senator.

Can the Prime Minister tell me about the security report before Mr. Housakos was appointed? Is he prepared to table that report? Was anything said at that time about Mr. Housakos' relationships with a lot of buddies?

[Port of Montreal, December 6th, 2011]

Mr. Speaker, I have a question for the Prime Minister. In the case of the Port of Montreal, there is talk about pressure on the old Port of Montreal when the president was appointed. There is talk about the Rosdev Group, a property case that involved the dynamic duo of Housakos and Soudas, but here we are talking about the port's administration.

I would like the Prime Minister to tell me when he knew there was an RCMP investigation into the Port of Montreal case and whether he personally or the members of his office were questioned.

[Firearms Registry, December 6th, 2011]

Mr. Speaker, December 6, 1989, is etched into our collective memory as the date of one of the most tragic events in Canada's history. Twenty-two years ago today, 14 young women at École Polytechnique who all had dreams of bright futures lost their lives in one of the darkest acts of misogyny we have ever seen.

We all swore that we would do what was necessary to ensure that this would never happen again. That is why we created the firearms registry at the time, to act as an additional measure to help prevent crime. Twenty-two years later, the Conservative government is adding to the tragedy. It plans on destroying the registry and the data it contains as part of a purely ideological and sectarian plan.

Our duty to remember the 14 victims and their families demands that we maintain this registry. Today, we must not only remember these women, but we must also fight to preserve what came out of that tragic event and we must keep fighting to better protect the rights of our sisters and daughters in the future.

[Suicide Prevention, December 5th, 2011]

Mr. Speaker, we cannot remain indifferent to teenage suicide, which has taken the lives of young people like Jaimie Hubley and Marjorie Raymond, two victims of bullying.

The Government of Canada has a role to play in the fight against this scourge among our youth and in suicide prevention. Our children are the true assets of our society.

My question is for the Prime Minister, not only as a politician, but also as a father.

What real steps does he plan to take to ensure peace of mind for young people like Noémie, Joey and Nelka, who appeared on the Quebec program Tout le monde en parle yesterday, so that they and thousands of teens like them can thrive in our society?

[Safe Streets and Communities Act, December 2nd, 2011]

Is he referring to the poll indicating that 42% of Quebeckers believe that the bill will have no effect on crime?

[Safe Streets and Communities Act, December 2nd, 2011]

Mr. Speaker, I find that the member is off to a bad start in his position. At some point, the truth will out. We are talking about immediate safety, and no one here is against protecting people. We are all in favour of immediate safety. I invite the member to come with me to the Centre des jeunes in Montreal. We are talking about rehabilitation and long-term, sustainable safety.

Does he realize that a 15-year-old who is in jail for 20 years will be 35 years old when he gets out? He will attend the school of crime for 20 years. What will happen in society then? Will the member be there to protect society? Instead of spouting nonsense and repeating the party line, he should talk about what he knows.

[Safe Streets and Communities Act, December 2nd, 2011]

Mr. Speaker, I want to pay tribute to my colleague from Mount Royal. He was probably one of our greatest ministers of justice. He has great depth and credibility, not only in Canada, but also on the world stage. It is probably because of this credibility and depth that the Conservatives have viciously attempted to use quite shameful techniques to try and make people believe that the minister would resign at a time when he is needed. His work is extraordinary.

I would like him to say more about the impact on the democratic institution. By playing this game, the Minister of Public Safety has just shown us how little respect he has for Parliament. Amendments cannot be tabled here when parliamentary committees are not even being respected. I would like my colleague to comment on this.

[Service Canada, December 2nd, 2011]

Mr. Speaker, in the “guise” or “stupidity of the day” category, Service Canada decided that in Quebec, to avoid any criticism, it would remove all Christmas decorations. Imagine the Guy-Favreau Complex without Christmas decorations. It is time to turn the judgment switch back on.

Since the Prime Minister likes to lay wreaths everywhere, will he agree to put up some Christmas wreaths as well? What is he going to do about this decision? It is shameful!

[Points of Order, December 1st, 2011]

Mr. Speaker, with all due respect for the Leader of the Government in the House of Commons, you rose as soon as he asked his question. He could at least have risen to say that, but you immediately ruled the question out of order because it did not relate to the administration of government. We want to make sure that when we ask questions and a minister is responsible, he rises and tells us he is not. We already know he is not.