Ève Péclet

[Conflict Minerals Act, April 3rd, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, would my colleague be able to elaborate on what is being done by our partners in the area of conflict minerals? What is being done to help develop a clean supply chain? Which of the initiatives would be good ideas for Canada to be inspired by and for us to implement in our own legislation?

[Ethics, April 1st, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, another name has been added to the list of bad appointments by the Prime Minister.

After Nigel Wright, Mike Duffy and the rest, now it is Dimitri Soudas' turn to have had the Prime Minister's full confidence before demonstrating a complete lack of judgment and being shown the door, or resigning, depending on the version of the story. That reminds of something.

In the midst of an unlikely love story straight out of a soap opera, Dimitri Soudas is being accused of misusing the Conservative Party database. It is odd that he is now able to say who used the database because during the robocall scandal, he claimed he did not know who had access to it. In fact, he maintains that claim.

While the middle class, which is not made up just of people living solely off their income, is struggling more and more, the Prime Minister is spending his time settling schoolyard disputes in his party.

Canadians want a government that focuses on what really matters. Unfortunately, they will have to wait until 2015 to vote for the NDP.

[Canada-Honduras Economic Growth and Prosperity Act, March 31st, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for his question.

As he knows, this is an important issue for me. I have been working on it for three years, and I am very pleased to have introduced my bill today to create an ombudsman for the corporate social responsibility of Canadian extractive corporations.

Canadian companies must be subject to the same rules as any government or individual and must respect human rights. It is extremely important for the Canadian government to understand that, at this time, it cannot condone such extensive and significant human rights abuses.

What message is the Conservative government sending the Honduran authorities? Unfortunately, it is not a clear message asking them to immediately pass regulations. It is a meaningless message.

[Canada-Honduras Economic Growth and Prosperity Act, March 31st, 2014]

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

Several of the witnesses who appeared before the Standing Committee on International Trade said that the Conservatives' first mistake was making Canada the first country to recognize the Honduran government.

This proves that they wanted to advance their trade agenda with no regard for the extremely difficult and problematic situation in Honduras. As a result, we have lost our key bargaining chip.

Typically, you do not ask a state to respect human rights after signing a free trade agreement. There are lawyers, economists and business people in the House, and they know that that is not how things work.

We have to ensure that the economic partners are on equal footing before signing an agreement. That is how it should work. The Conservatives' logic makes no sense because it eliminates our key bargaining chip.

No Conservative member mentioned the reports by the UN and various NGOs detailing the extremely serious problems with human rights, journalistic freedom, the highest murder rate in the world and corruption.

Can we trust the Conservatives? No.

[Canada-Honduras Economic Growth and Prosperity Act, March 31st, 2014]

Yes, it is true, Mr. Speaker. I think my colleague across the aisle, who just shouted at me, did not understand what I said. I did not say Canada never got involved; I said that Canada should use its status to initiate change in some countries. I am not saying that Canada was never involved in Honduras. I simply wanted to correct my hon. colleague.

I understand that Canada donates money to Honduras through a number of international co-operation programs. I also understand that it is trying to achieve certain things. However, what message is Canada sending by signing such an agreement? That is what I wonder about. This is not the first free trade agreement the Conservatives have rushed through behind closed doors and with no transparency.

What message are we sending to a government that, unfortunately, does not respect human rights? We will lose our best bargaining chip if we sign this free trade agreement. Then, when we negotiate with the government, what will we say? We will be making our demands after we have already signed the agreement. We need to do that before we sign. We need to ask our economic partner to meet our criteria before we sign the agreement.

I could give all sorts of examples. For one, if we tell a child that we will give him $5 if he does the dishes, then he must do the dishes before he gets the money. That is a basic principle. It is not a political ideology. It is common sense. We must ask our economic partner to meet our criteria before signing the agreement. We must not sign the agreement and then wash our hands of the situation, saying that we have done our duty as a government and as a nation. If we reach out to a country to sign a free trade agreement, does that mean that what happens afterward does not concerns us? No. That is not how things work. That is what is called cheap diplomacy. The Conservatives' international trade policy is basically cheap diplomacy that puts commercial interests before everything else.

I would like to quote a witness who appeared before the Standing Committee on International Trade, Sheila Katz, a representative of the Canadian Council for International Co-operation's Americas Policy Group. I would like to quote what she had to say because she addresses this very point. She said:

The Americas Policy Group has recommended that Canada refrain from concluding free trade agreements with countries that have poor democratic governance and human rights records.

...[Let us take for] example Canada's eager recognition of a president who came to power in a military coup in Honduras in 2009. This is another example of Canada prioritizing the trade pillar of its Americas strategy above the rest. Since the coup, hundreds of regime opponents have been intimidated, arbitrarily arrested, disappeared, tortured, and killed. The Americas Policy Group is concerned that Canada has validated this regime by adopting a business-as-usual approach and signing a free trade agreement with Honduras in spite of its human rights record.

As a number of my colleagues have already mentioned, the homicide rate in Honduras is the highest in the world. Opposing this free trade agreement is not just about political ideology. It is common sense. It is too bad that my colleagues across the way and the Conservative government are ignoring common sense and using easy political attacks just to make us look bad. To me, it is the Conservatives who look bad.

There is no basic principle that could defend Honduras' record when it comes to protection for human rights and individual freedoms, the homicide rate and drug trafficking. The Conservatives cannot justify this agreement.

It is true that it looks good from an economic perspective. However, can we really validate this type of behaviour? We are losing our clout and Canada's fundamental role in this type of negotiations. We must not sign the agreement and wash our hands of everything that is happening. On the contrary, before signing the agreement, we must ask our economic partners to meet the basic criteria recognized around the world as being the fundamental principles of human rights.

My colleagues across the way can attack us all they want. I have no problem rising in the House to say that they made a mistake or to vote against this free trade agreement.

It is true that Honduras is an economic partner of Canada. I understand that. However, Honduras has been widely criticized by all the Latin American countries, the European Union, the United States and the United Nations General Assembly. All of our largest partners have denounced the situation.

Once again, in typical fashion, the Conservatives have decided to ignore the terrible situation and move forward by recognizing a government that does not respect fundamental human rights. It makes absolutely no sense. This is a prime example of the Conservatives' agenda.

Honduras has the highest murder rate in the world. What is more, according to Transparency International, Honduras is the most corrupt country in Central America.

How can the government negotiate a free trade agreement with a country that is considered to be the most corrupt in Central America and not even mention that?

None of my colleagues who spoke today condemned the situation in Honduras. Can we really trust the Conservatives when they tell us not to worry and that they will ask Honduras to abide by our highest standards? No, we cannot trust them. They cannot even condemn the situation in Parliament. They are not even able to say that many NGOs rank the Honduran government as the most corrupt in the world. We cannot trust them.

I just introduced my private member's bill on corporate social responsibility, which is another big problem. The extractive sector is a significant commercial interest for Canada, and the provisions to protect investors are an important part of the agreement. Mining companies, which have gotten caught up in conflicts, are unfortunately at more of an advantage in this free trade agreement than the very vulnerable people of Honduras.

[Canada-Honduras Economic Growth and Prosperity Act, March 31st, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to rise to speak to this free trade agreement. I was a member of the Standing Committee on International Trade when I was first elected, and I think it is a very important committee. I do have to wonder about one thing. Not only should Canada create trade relationships with other countries, but it should also use its status—which unfortunately has diminished since the Conservatives won a majority government in the House of Commons, and even before that—to initiate change in countries where people are more vulnerable and where the political will to do so might unfortunately be lacking.

[Corporate Social Responsibility of Extractive Corporations Outside Canada Act, March 31st, 2014]

moved for leave to introduce Bill C-584, An Act respecting the Corporate Social Responsibility Inherent in the Activities of Canadian Extractive Corporations in Developing Countries.

Mr. Speaker, I am very happy to rise to introduce my bill today.

Canada is in a unique position. Over 75% of all mining corporations and corporations in the extractive sector are incorporated here in Canada.

In most cases, these companies operate in countries with populations that are vulnerable because of factors such as political instability and lack of security. They also operate in countries where workers' rights, human rights and environmental protections are neither adequately respected nor effectively enforced.

Respect for these principles should not be limited by a state's ability to fulfill its obligations in this arena or its interest in doing so. That is why, today, I am introducing a bill that calls for the creation of an ombudsman for the corporate social responsibility of Canadian extractive corporations, to promote the responsible mining development values that all Canadians subscribe to outside Canada.

This bill was drafted in response to a recommendation from the 2007 report of the National Roundtables on Corporate Social Responsibility.

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

[Employment, March 27th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, let us be clear. Kijiji is great if you want to buy a used Sunfire or a Maltese pup, or even if you want to find a drummer for an Iron Maiden tribute band.

However, the Conservatives decided to use the classified ad site in drawing up their employment policy. That is just dumb. They have easy access to hundreds of experts who can give them specific figures on the country's employment situation, but they decided to rely on a website that was designed to sell used fridges.

What will they do next? Will they come up with a housing policy based on apartment-for-rent ads in the Journal de Montréal? Will they advertise for the next Supreme Court justice on Craigslist?

You would think that, once people found out about the Kijiji episode, the Conservatives would have acknowledged how ridiculous it was, but no, the Minister of Employment kept trying, mocked the experts and defended the use of Kijiji data. In the end, he admitted that he had no idea what the current state of the job market is.

Canadians want a competent government that will take its responsibility to manage the employment situation seriously. They do not want people who rely on data from Kijiji when they are deciding how to spend billions of dollars.

In 2015, the NDP will manage—

[Protecting Canadians from Online Crime Act, March 26th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to remind the minister that only five pages of his 70-page bill deal with cyberbullying. This bill goes much further than just addressing cyberbullying.

I would like to remind the minister that we have already asked him to divide the bill so that we can pass a bill on cyberbullying. He knows full well that he is talking through his hat when he says that the opposition is against measures to address cyberbullying.

My colleague from Gatineau mentioned that only 17 people have spoken about this bill. That is 17 of the 308 members of the House. A quick calculation shows that that is only 5% of Canada's population, 5% of the members in the House who were able to speak on this issue.

When does the government believe a democratic debate has occurred? Is it after 1% or 1.5% of members have spoken? Will opposition members no longer have the right to debate bills? When does the government decide that we have talked enough and that a democratic debate has taken place? Is it when only 5% of members have had the chance to speak?

[Ethics, March 4th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister has long feigned ignorance about the Senate scandal. Not only were we expected to believe that nonsense, but now we are also supposed to believe that when Nigel Wright and Mike Duffy met in the Prime Minister's private boardroom, he knew nothing, saw nothing and heard nothing.

Does the Prime Minister often sit, headphones on, staring at the ceiling and whistling while crimes are being committed in his private boardroom?