Denis Paradis

[Resumption of Debate on Address in Reply, October 7th, 2004]

On page 43 of the Debates of the House of Commons :

If we can make cooperation not just rhetoric but reality.

[Resumption of Debate on Address in Reply, October 7th, 2004]

Madam Speaker, first, let me congratulate you on your appointment.

Second, I would like to inform you that I will share my time with the member for Beauce, the Parliamentary Secretary to the Prime Minister.

Permit me to salute and thank my constituents from Brome—Missisquoi for this fourth mandate, for the renewed trust they put in me during this last election. They are certainly proud to have heard the Speech from the Throne delivered to us a few days ago.

Concerning my riding, I will deal with a few issues. Of course, health care is important. The Speech from the Throne talked a lot about it. However, an issue particularly caught my attention in this Speech from the Throne. It is the environmental issue. My riding, concerned a lot about the environment, is facing environmental problems, while, of course, having environmental assets.

Let us start with the negative. There is a problem with the quality of water in Lake Champlain. The government asked the International Joint Commission on Boundary Waters to examine the problems of water quality in Lake Champlain. It did. The commission held hearings this summer and is to meet the local people soon.

As for Lake Memphremagog, everyone has heard about it. In Coventry, Vermont, Americans want to expand a landfill site. Indeed, they want to triple the size of the landfill site. This would be dangerous for our Lake Memphremagog. It should be understood that the people of Magog, Sherbrooke and the whole region drink water from Lake Memphremagog. Thus, the Lake Memphremagog and the Coventry landfill site issues require careful attention.

However, there are also good news. This is an issue on which I worked extensively and which deals with the creation of a reserve at Mount Sutton. This is extraordinary. This is in cooperation with the Quebec government. It is a reserve at Mount Sutton. We have to ensure there is cooperation among the different levels of government to guarantee future generations an abundance of such green spaces in the country.

The Speech from the Throne addressed cooperation at length. What does cooperation mean? It means less bickering. Our friends from the Bloc are not ones to dislike bickering. The Speech from the Throne addresses cooperation at length. Hon. members know that there is always a single taxpayer. He pays at the municipal level; he pays at the provincial level; he pays at the federal level, but it is always the same taxpayer. He asks one thing: that the people he elected agree. In the area of health and municipalities, we saw the desired degree of cooperation, one that works with this government.

In his speech in reply to the Speech from the Throne, the Prime Minister talks about cooperation 11 times.

[Royal Canadian Mounted Police, October 6th, 2004]

Mr. Speaker, mayors gathered in Quebec City today after the closure of several RCMP detachments was announced. They want to make clear that they totally disagree with this decision. And I share their view entirely.

This decision affects not only my riding but several areas of Quebec: Îles-de-la-Madeleine, Coaticook, Baie-Comeau, Lac Mégantic, Granby, Saint-Hyacinthe, Roberval, Rivière-du-Loup and Joliette. The detachments involved are located in remote areas. This is sad news. Once again, the biggest losers will be the people living in regions of Quebec.

At a time when the cultivation of marijuana is at its height and our borders require closer surveillance, the closure of these regional RCMP detachments is announced. This is an unjustified decision, and I ask that it be reversed.

[Election of Speaker, October 4th, 2004]

I will be brief. I simply want to withdraw my name from the list.

[Taxation, May 6th, 2004]

Mr. Speaker, these are the same people who, along with their head office in Quebec City, invested $700 million in Toronto and let it sit, unused, in an account there for who knows how long. When we talk here in the House about equalization, from which Quebec benefits, these are the same people who oppose these bills. The same people.

I will say once again that the Speech from the Throne mentioned the words “cooperation” and “partnership” 14 times, as well as the idea of sitting down with the Liberal government of Quebec and the governments of the other provinces to settle the issues.

[Taxation, May 6th, 2004]

Mr. Speaker, I would simply like to mention some figures, even though this is not the right place for a debate on numbers. For example, the revenue of the provinces last year was $201 billion, while the federal revenue was $145 billion. The federal debt was $510 billion, while that of the provinces was $289 billion.

As the Prime Minister has said, and as the throne speech indicated, why do we not sit down together and end this bickering? Everywhere we have travelled in the provinces, we hear people say they do not want this bickering. The important thing is to sit down together. The Prime Minister has proposed to the provinces that we sit down to discuss health care and other issues and reach an agreement.

[Taxation, May 5th, 2004]

Mr. Speaker, in the Speech from the Throne, the words “cooperation” and “partnership with the provinces” occur 14 times. In his letter, the Prime Minister referred to his desire to assure the National Assembly that the Government of Canada is determined to develop a new partnership with the provinces and territories that will emphasize the interests of Canadians.

In this country, there is only one taxpayer, paying at the municipal, provincial and federal levels, and hoping that the elected representatives can agree among themselves.

[Taxation, May 3rd, 2004]

Mr. Speaker, we have many treaties with a number of countries. The purpose of these treaties is to prevent double taxation and to ensure that all citizens pay their fair share of income tax. We are constantly reviewing these treaties, and it is no different for the countries my hon. friend has mentioned.

[Canada National Parks Act, March 26th, 2004]

moved for leave to introduce Bill C-28, an act to amend the Canada National Parks Act.

(Motions deemed adopted, bill read the first time and printed)

[Trade, March 26th, 2004]

Mr. Speaker, as regards the amount of $60 million over a three-year period to which I just referred, about half of that money should go to the clothing sector. One of the purposes of that amount of $30 million or so is indeed to see if we could not lower tariffs for fabrics that are not produced here.