Diane Bourgeois

[Special Import Measures Act, March 2nd, 2007]

moved for leave to introduce C-411, An Act to amend the Special Import Measures Act (domestic prices).

Mr. Speaker, it is my privilege to table a bill to amend the Special Import Measures Act.

Canadian trade legislation is outdated, and it does not adequately protect manufacturing companies when they are victims of unfair competition. The proposed legislation will set out the conditions required for deeming whether domestic prices in a country are substantially determined by the government of that country and there is sufficient reason to believe that they are not substantially the same as they would be if they were determined in a competitive market.

We know that among the prohibited activities is dumping, or selling a product for less than its fair value. The passing of this bill will help set out what exactly is dumping, and how to calculate it.

By passing this bill, the Canadian parliament will update trade legislation, give a helping hand to companies suffering from the explosion of imports from emerging economies, help limit the damage caused by the laissez-faire attitude of the government, which has abandoned our manufacturing industry, and surely help save a number of jobs.

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

[Summer Career Placements Program, March 1st, 2007]

Mr. Speaker, this government decided to make cuts to the summer career placements program that enabled our young students to become familiar with the workplace and made it possible for community organizations to offer their range of services during the summer months.

Every year, students and organizations count on this support program. They are now experiencing doubt and insecurity because they do not know if this support will be available next summer.

Since last December, the Service Canada website has said that the request form will be available in early 2007. It is still not available. Many organizations have contacted us to find out if the program has been cut or abolished by this government, which has sown seeds of doubt concerning the survival of this program.

Community organizations and students have the right to know. The Bloc Québécois condemns the current government's attitude.

[Canada Transportation Act, February 28th, 2007]

Mr. Speaker, our colleague from the NDP has brought new elements into our debate at third reading. She proposed, among other things, that unused railway lines should be available to the public domain. I find that idea interesting since last summer I went from Montreal to Vancouver by train. I noticed how dirty and littered with all kind of trash and probably with creosote soaked lumber are the lands along our railway lines. I saw mounds of buckets which probably contained tar, which means that land is probably contaminated.

As far as I know, until now, nobody has said that there was a small environment aspect to the bill. However, I found that the idea of giving the lands bordering railway lines back to the population was a good idea. In fact, that has been done in the Laurentides area, where the grounds have been cleaned up. At the time, the municipalities paid for the decontamination.

Considering the contamination there is along the whole railway line, who should pay for the decontamination if we were to decide to give these grounds back to the people?

I am also thinking about Vancouver, where I saw the biggest storage ground for containers and trash. That was dreadful. I had never seen anything like that in all the other cities I went through.

Is there an environment clause in the legislation that would force the cleanup of the land bordering the river and the sea near Vancouver?

[Gaétan Innes, February 27th, 2007]

Mr. Speaker, today I would like to salute a citizen in my riding who has been helping troubled teens for more than 10 years.

Over the years, Gaétan Innes, a street worker in Terrebonne, has been a friend and confidant to those who are far too young to become homeless.

Mr. Innes is very involved in his Les Moulins community. An outstanding model of courage and altruism, he represents hope for these young people who are facing difficulties that seem insurmountable. My Bloc Québécois colleagues and I salute Mr. Innes, who is fighting for the rights of the homeless, and we want him to know how proud we are to be representing him in the House of Commons.

[Scout Week, February 22nd, 2007]

Mr. Speaker, on February 22 each year, scouts in Quebec commemorate the birthday of someone who wanted young people to be everything they could be, the founder of the scouting movement, Lord Robert Baden-Powell.

Through its community involvement and its concern for the environment, the scouting movement is helping to shape leaders in all areas of society, around the world.

Scouts in Quebec are celebrating Scout Week from February 18 to 24, but are also preparing to mark the 100th anniversary of scouting. As part of the anniversary celebrations, scouts will be on the Hill on August 1.

The Bloc Québécois and I congratulate these young people and thank all those who have kept the scouting movement alive for 100 years.

[Quebec Film Festival, February 15th, 2007]

Mr. Speaker, in February 2007, we celebrate the 25th anniversary of Rendez-vous du cinéma québécois, a festival which supports and promotes Quebec film in Quebec, Canada and throughout the world.

Over the past 25 years, we have discovered and enjoyed the quality and diversity of a truly national film industry in Quebec which has produced shorts, feature films, documentaries, animated movies and art and experimental films.

On behalf of my Bloc Québécois colleagues, I would like to pay tribute to those who work in this vibrant industry.

This major Quebec film festival takes place at a time when we are exploring new avenues for the financing and development of the Quebec film industry. We expect the federal government to do its share and to show a real interest in this industry, which is an important component of our culture and an incomparable tool for promoting it worldwide.

[Les Moulins RCM, February 13th, 2007]

Mr. Speaker, on December 5, the Les Moulins RCM celebrated its 25th anniversary.

In 1981, the municipalities of La Plaine, Lachenaie, Mascouche and Terrebonne decided to join together to boost their economic, cultural, tourist and environmental development.

Over the years, various political figures have led our RCM and helped this community of over 130,000 people develop a true sense of belonging.

On behalf of my constituents, to Jocelyne Caron, Micheline Mathieu, Gilles Forest, Irénée Forget, Richard Marcotte and Jean-Marc Robitaille, and to all the current and past staff of the Les Moulins RCM, I say happy anniversary and a sincere thank-you for your dedication and commitment.

[Canadian Television Fund, February 2nd, 2007]

Mr. Speaker, the Canadian Television Fund is in crisis. The minister's meeting with broadcasters this week resulted in a great deal of dissatisfaction because no solutions seem to be forthcoming. Cable companies feel that the minister wants to let the fund die.

The Canadian Television Fund was established to promote the production of Canadian and Quebec content. Producers and artists who are creating, writing and filming series here have the right to know what is going on. Telling them would at least show a modicum of respect for them.

When will the minister have the decency to tell us what is happening and how she plans to deal with this crisis?

The survival of our television culture and thousands of jobs depend on it.

[Status of Women, December 6th, 2006]

Mr. Speaker, yesterday, when we were questioning the Minister of Canadian Heritage and Status of Women about cuts to Status of Women's administration budget, she said, and I quote: "—money saved in administration is going...to help women in the community. For greater clarity, that means an additional $5 million allocated to projects for women".

We do not believe the minister was telling the truth because the budgets for women's programs have not increased. If she really did add $5 million, can she tell us where she put it? Perhaps she can tell us which programs she hid the money in.

[Canada's Clean Air Act, December 4th, 2006]

Mr. Speaker, I think that the member has misunderstood.

I said that we were at the study stage. This is the first time we have discussed this bill in the House. I wanted to raise the concerns of people in my riding regarding certain pollutants and certain toxic substances. I said that the Bloc Québécois and myself were going to support sending it to committee so that the members who sit on that committee will be able to discuss the real problems.

That does not mean that I support or do not support the bill. I want it to be discussed again. However, we must take into account that regulations have been made and laws adopted already, in the past, and have never been applied. I have read the bill brought before us very carefully. There is never anything said about the laws made in the past or about how they are going to be applied.

Environment Canada has never sent out enough inspectors for it to be possible to determine what the situation is. What is being done with the barrels of PERC? Do we know what is being done with them? Quite often, they go to the dump, and this is pollution. The government may have appointed 10 inspectors, at most, for all of Canada, and the industry that produces PERC is not even being inspected. Is it mentioned in this bill? On the other hand, in the 2004 regulations, it was provided that the companies that produce it and those that use it had to be inspected. Has anyone looked to see that the containers where the PERC is discarded do not have holes? This has never been looked at. Never in the bill that is now before us—