Ève-Mary Thaï Thi Lac

[Livestock Industry, February 13th, 2008]

Mr. Speaker, I thank my hon. colleague for her question. The Conservative government is currently in power. I would like to reiterate what my hon. colleague from Richmond—Arthabaska said. I am tired of hearing my colleagues across the floor constantly return to the Liberals' proposals and their failure to act. But the Conservatives are the ones currently in power and in a position to help farmers.

The Bloc Québécois is calling on the government to respond to the needs of our farmers. As my hon. colleague from Richmond—Arthabaska clearly stated earlier, we sometimes agree with the positions taken by our opposition colleagues, but, first, I urge the government to respond quickly to this crisis.

[Livestock Industry, February 13th, 2008]

Mr. Speaker, I am very pleased to speak today in this emergency debate on the current crisis in agriculture. I am also very pleased to support the hon. member for Richmond—Arthabaska in the presentation of his motion and I am pleased the Speaker agreed to hear this debate this evening.

Saint-Hyacinthe is the main city in my riding and it is an agri-food high-tech hub. However, the agri-food and agriculture sector is currently in crisis. I lived on a hog farm for more than seven years. I am very aware of what producers are going through right now.

The incomes of hog producers are atrocious. Soon many of them will have to hand their keys over to the banks because they are being choked by payments. Many farms will have to stop operating and start liquidating in the short term because of the programs the government has implemented and the money the government refuses to release quickly to help the producers.

The steep rise of the Canadian dollar has harmed producers immensely. The high price of inputs is another factor that is harming producers. The very low price producers have been getting for the past 16 months only adds to the catastrophic situation they are in.

The money currently being invested in the programs is not new because the programs have been recycled. The agricultural sector needs help now. Given the huge surpluses that the Conservative government has generated over the last few years and the surpluses that will be generated in the years to come, it has ample means to help farmers out.

In the cattle industry, farmers in Quebec and Canada are finding it very hard to keep up with our neighbours to the south because of all the competition and the fact that the Americans provide outrageous subsidies to their producers. Canadian agriculture is not helped either when food markets here buy meat from our neighbours to the south at ridiculous prices. Maybe the standards are not the same as the ones we impose on our farmers. So our farmers are facing unfair competition. The government should therefore assist the farmers who have been victimized by this.

My riding of Saint-Hyacinthe—Bagot has been hit hard by job losses over the last two years: pork processing plants have closed and many workers have lost their jobs even though they were skilled. It is not easy under current conditions to find a new job, especially in a region where 25% of the jobs that are created are directly related to agriculture and agri-food.

I will fight tooth and nail for this because this sector is vital to my riding.

In addition, Quebec does not get its fair share of the payments. Quebec farmers have a shortfall to make up of more than $150 million. The report tabled yesterday by the Pronovost commission urges the federal government to give Quebec its full share.

I have been sitting since just recently on the Standing Committee on Agriculture and Agri-Food, along with my colleague from Richmond—Arthabaska. I had an opportunity last week to ask the chair of the Canadian Swine Breeders' Association, Mr. Schlegel, if he had received any acknowledgement of the letter he sent to the Prime Minister regarding urgent assistance for farmers and what answer he got. He has not received any answer at all. The Prime Minister still has not replied to his letter. This is a slap in the face of very hardworking farmers. They need immediate help. The assistance currently announced will be available around April, but farmers need that money now.

We can expect to see producers soon on the Hill, showing their disgust at the situation. The member for Richmond—Arthabaska and I will be at their side, and we will support their demands. I will not be there just because I am an elected member of Parliament, but because for many years I made my living from farming, so I feel directly affected. As I have said, I represent a riding that is highly agricultural.

A unanimous report tabled by the Standing Committee on Agriculture and Agri-Food makes recommendations and suggests ways of quickly addressing the farm crisis. I cannot understand why the government does not make funding available immediately, and I mean immediately. Farmers need this money now. The government has the means and the opportunity to act now.

Personally, I believe that the Conservative government is acting in bad faith. I will go into the field and I will keep telling my farmers to fight. I will also tell them that I will be at their side in this crucial fight to keep farming alive in Quebec and Canada. We have always said that food is a basic need. But the crisis affecting farmers across this country is threatening Canada's ability to meet that basic need.

[Black History Month, February 11th, 2008]

Mr. Speaker, each year, in February, we are invited to celebrate Black History Month. Through the involvement of many community organizations and artists, the people of Quebec will gain a better appreciation of the richness and diversity of Black communities, and the unique contribution of a number of their fellow citizens.

I would especially like to congratulate the Maison de la Famille des Maskoutains, a family support organization which, as part of Black History Month, is hosting in conjunction with the Saint-Hyacinthe school board and the local media a gathering where citizens coming from various countries will talk about life in their country of origin in front of students at Larocque elementary school.

On behalf of myself and my colleagues from the Bloc Québécois, I encourage my fellow citizens to take part in the activities marking Black History Month, thus promoting the development of closer ties with that community.

[Supply Management, February 6th, 2008]

Mr. Speaker, the chair of the WTO's negotiating group on agriculture is about to release a report on the modalities for agriculture. The Bloc Québécois shares the concerns of supply managed producers.

Tomorrow, the Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food will address the milk producers who are currently holding their AGM in Ottawa. He is to confirm that the government plans on respecting the full unanimous motion of the Bloc Québécois. The Bloc fought alongside Quebec producers to use article XXVIII in order to limit milk protein imports and to guarantee the protection of supply management.

The Conservative government's attacks on the Canadian Wheat Board have made us very vigilant. Quebec producers can count on the Bloc Québécois to keep fighting.

[Immigration and Refugee Protection Act, January 31st, 2008]

Mr. Speaker, indeed, elsewhere in the world, people have access to a special advocate, for example, in England, where that is part of their code. It has been proven that this method is ineffective.

The Bloc Québécois believes that allowing a special advocate to visit the person being held under a security certificate, but not allowing the advocate to reveal all of the evidence, is not consistent with the law in this country. The advocate should be able to reveal all the evidence to the person being held under a security certificate.

[Immigration and Refugee Protection Act, January 31st, 2008]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank my colleague for his question.

Security certificates cannot be issued against Canadian citizens. However, they could be a threat to any visitor or anyone who has permanent residency but not citizenship, so any individual who was granted permanent residency by the government.

Any foreign national, any visitor or any individual living in or visiting Canada could be incarcerated with no access to a lawyer and without being told what evidence exists, if a security certificate was issued against this individual on our territory.

[Immigration and Refugee Protection Act, January 31st, 2008]

Mr. Speaker, the bill was introduced following a decision handed down by the Supreme Court in February 2007, which stated that the procedure for the judicial approval of security certificates established by the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act was inconsistent with the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms and, furthermore, that it was of no force or effect. First of all, I have serious doubts about five particular provisions of Bill C-3.

First of all, arrest without warrant is a serious concern to us. As we know, a warrant can be obtained very quickly if sufficient evidence is presented to a judge. Why is this not the case here?

Second, are security certificates really necessary? Yes, they are, in very exceptional cases. They should only be upheld if the individual is considered dangerous beyond any reasonable doubt. However, with this bill, reasonable doubt is sufficient grounds for the continuing detention of a permanent resident or foreign national subject to a security certificate.

My third concern is whether it is acceptable for the term of incarceration to be indefinite. People are sent to prison but not told how long they will be there, and that evidence is being gathered. Deadlines keep getting pushed back. We are worried about the fact that people can be detained indefinitely. The mere fact that indefinite detention is possible for subjects of security certificates seems extreme to us.

For how long can a society that claims to abide by the rule of law keep people locked up with no evidence that they have committed a crime? It makes no sense that in a free and democratic society, people can be detained without ever having been found guilty following a trial.

My fourth point is that special advocates are not given access to all of the evidence. We think it is important for a special advocate bound by solicitor-client privilege to have access to all of the evidence. Currently, they may be given only a summary of the evidence, but we think they should receive the evidence in its entirety. We think it is important for advocates to be able to defend the rights of an individual facing deportation.

The people involved should be able to select security-cleared advocates from the Minister of Justice's list. Is it not logical to ensure that special advocates have the resources they need to do their jobs? Special advocates should also be allowed to see their clients more than once so they can get additional information once they have received the evidence.

My fifth point is that, clearly, appeal procedures have to change.An appeal will only be allowed if the judge, having heard the government's and the special advocate's representations, upholds the order for removal or incarceration. If the individual cannot be deported, there can only be an appeal on a question of law or general interest raised by the judge. For the individual concerned, it is not very reassuring to know that the person confirming the deportation is the same one who drafted the notice of appeal.

I do not understand why the government went so far. A similar burden does not exist elsewhere in the law, at least not in our law. I still have a number of very serious reservations about Bill C-3.

[Agriculture and Agri-Food, December 5th, 2007]

Mr. Speaker, in five years, U.S. meat imports into Canada have soared and the Conservative government is maintaining stricter standards for our producers, making them less competitive.

Will the government stop harming our producers and will it demand the same standards of the United States and the other countries that it is imposing on producers here?

[Agriculture and Agri-Food, December 5th, 2007]

Mr. Speaker, the 83rd annual UPA conference is being held in Quebec City this week. With the challenges faced by hog and beef producers and the forestry sector, the government has nothing to brag about. Government guaranteed, no-interest loans are needed in the hog sector. Beef production needs a $50 million aid program over two years because of the costs related to specified risk material rules.

Will the government accommodate the producers' requests?

[Nicolas Beauchamp and Michel Lévesque, November 19th, 2007]

Mr. Speaker, two Quebec soldiers were not able to complete their mission in Afghanistan. Corporal Nicolas Beauchamp, with the 5th Field Ambulance in Valcartier, the son of Robert Beauchamp, a city councillor in Saint-Marcel-de-Richelieu, and of Nicole Robidoux, both constituents of mine, and Private Michel Lévesque, from Rivière-Rouge, with the Royal 22nd Regiment, were killed on Saturday.

An Afghan interpreter was also killed, and three other soldiers were injured. A total of 73 soldiers have now lost their lives in Afghanistan since the start of the mission.

My Bloc Québécois colleagues and I would like to offer our sincerest condolences to the grieving families. We hope this further incident will spur the government to finally make an informed decision about this war.