Ève Péclet

[Economic Action Plan 2013 Act No. 2, October 28th, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to ask the hon. member a question that I have also put to a number of his colleagues.

On the weekend, the President of the Treasury Board said in an interview that we had to vote for the budget before he would give us the details of the bill. Does the hon. member feel that this is democratic, that it provides the opposition and members of Parliament with information? According to the President of the Treasury Board, we have to pass the budget first and then later we can talk about it and find out about the details in it.

If the NDP were in government and the hon. member were in the opposition, what would he have said if the President of the Treasury Board had told him to vote for his bill before getting any information about it? Is that democratic?

[Economic Action Plan 2013 Act No. 2, October 28th, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, I have a very simple question for my colleague.

We know that one-quarter of the measures in this budget affect the public service and conditions for workers. However, the President of the Treasury Board was very clear: he wants to pass the bill first, and then he will share the details.

Does my colleague think that is democratic? The President of the Treasury Board is forcing us to pass his bill before he reveals any details. Does my colleague think that is truly democratic?

[Economic Action Plan 2013 Act No. 2, October 24th, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, believe the Liberals hold the record for promises not kept. They can take my word for it.

I remember a prime minister who, one day, in order to get himself elected, said that he was going to reduce the federal tax. I will not name him out of respect for his colleagues, but the member knows very well who I am talking about. This prime minister then explained that unfortunately, he could not do so because the financial situation was too grim.

My friend can perhaps continue to spout Liberal propaganda and draw applause from the Conservatives. This shows clearly that between Liberals and Conservatives, there is no difference. The fact remains that the report issued by the Department of Finance unfortunately states that the Liberals balanced their budget only 25% of the time.

I know it pains my colleague, the member for Winnipeg North, to hear it, but the Liberals did not do their homework, while the NDP did.

I know it is frustrating, but that is life.

[Economic Action Plan 2013 Act No. 2, October 24th, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, my colleague wants to know why? It is because the Minister of Finance has a report that says so.

I would just like to read a portion of a press release:

Tuesday the Department of Finance released its annual Fiscal Reference Tables...the NDP comes out on top as the best fiscal managers...since 1980...with a 44.9% record of balancing the budget. Conservatives come in second, with 40.8% record of balanced budgets. The Liberals score lowest as fiscal managers, with a record of only 25.0% balanced budgets.

Why do I believe so? It is because their own ministry says so.

[Economic Action Plan 2013 Act No. 2, October 24th, 2013]

I hear my colleague from Manitoba shouting at me.

Mr. Speaker, I would like to have some respect. I would like to be able to talk without being called names by my Conservative colleagues on the other side of the House. Thank you very much. I am entitled to respect when I am speaking. If they do not agree with what I am saying, that is all right, but I do not want them shouting at me when I am speaking.

The gap between rich and poor is growing. We are seeing an increase in the cost of living, because the Conservatives have forgotten about the middle class in all their budget measures.

We are seeing an increase in the cost of living, and incomes are lower than ever and they keep on dropping. Of course, if you are a highly paid executive, there is no problem. On the other hand, what is the government going to tell the people in the Toronto area, for instance, who cannot find stable employment? Will it tell them to take two or three jobs so they can make ends meet? No, that is not what a government should say.

In September, Statistics Canada announced that Canadian household debt had reached an all-time high of 166%. How is it that since 2006 the Conservatives have not been able to do anything to stop this increase?

This means that for every dollar a person has, he or she owes $1.66 on a loan or a credit card.

In 2008, our neighbours to the south in the United States learned the hard way just how seriously over-indebtedness could hurt their economy.

I think it is time to help Canadian families. Economists agree that Canadian household debt is a threat to Canada’s economy. Clearly, under the Conservatives, we are on the path to jumping in there with both feet.

The economic situation is even worse among young people, where the unemployment rate has reached 14%. This means that the next generation of workers will not be able to acquire the experience they need to replace the generation that went before.

Increased unemployment among young people early in their careers, and the precarious household debt situation—I think I have clearly described the critical situation to which I referred in my introduction and about which the government has refused to do anything.

In other words, they are in favour of justice and democracy, except when it does not suit their purposes.

We support various amendments in Bill C-4 that aim at reducing tax evasion. We support those amendments, but we are very concerned that the Conservatives are not paying serious attention to the issue of tax havens and the people and the companies that are not making a fair or just contribution to the Canadian economy.

As my colleague from Alfred-Pellan mentioned, we have here a budget that is once again a direct attack on the rights of Canadians.

As I have one minute left, I would simply like to tell the Conservatives that although they say we just vote against everything, we are only waiting for them to invite us to work with them in providing Canadians with a budget that is fair and equitable and gives everyone an opportunity to participate in the Canadian economy, not only the people who are on their side, but all Canadians and all Quebeckers.

[Economic Action Plan 2013 Act No. 2, October 24th, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to rise in the House today to speak to Bill C-4, which is of extreme importance to Canadians and Quebeckers.

We are living in critical times. It is time for us to have a productive debate here for Canadians. The situation is critical. I will explain why it is extremely important to discuss this bill without having a time limit imposed on us. Canadians need us today, and they expect us to take action because their indebtedness and that of young Canadians are at critical levels.

First of all, I want to say how disappointed I am with everything the government has done since its throne speech. Today is the first time I have had a chance to rise, and I am doing so under a guillotine. I know that the Conservatives will cite all kinds of reasons for that, in particular that this bill must be passed extremely quickly.

However, the situation is so serious that the government has no reason not to allow a fair and democratic debate in the House of Commons.

I really believed, but wrongly so, that the Conservatives would take the summer and the additional month to reflect and perhaps even consider the importance of democracy and respect for democracy. However, this bill shows that exactly the opposite is true.

This is the fourth omnibus bill. We know how the Prime Minister shouted and tore his shirt when he was in opposition and the Liberal government tried to introduce omnibus bills. Unfortunately, that was then and this is now, as they say.

This bill is 300 pages long and amends at least 70 statutes, some of which have absolutely nothing to do with the budget. We can already see the government’s bad intentions.

It is introducing a budget that, on the whole, attacks workers' rights, amends rules respecting the Supreme Court, and so on. There is not much about tax evasion or young people, for example. As for the government's new approach, it leaves something to be desired.

This is really a shame for democracy and for the Canadians and Quebeckers who are supposed to be represented here. This government's scandals and mismanagement are so unimaginable I no longer know where to turn. I do not even know where to start.

This is a failure. The government's economic plan is a failure. Instead of tackling household debt, it attacks workers' rights and the family itself. However, it is not focusing on the real problems. For example, the Conservatives are going to leave us with the biggest deficit in Canadian history.

It is unbelievable how the Conservatives can boast, but they offer nothing concrete. In 2015, Canadians will see how badly the Conservatives have mismanaged the economy. Canadians will see that the Conservatives have left them to deal with the biggest environmental, economic and social deficit in Canadian history. Canadians will have no trouble seeing that record because the figures prove it.

In addition, what is disturbing is that most of the measures in this budget are not budget measures. They amend the rules for appointing judges to the Supreme Court. Perhaps the Prime Minister just realized he had to correct his own mistakes.

I challenge any Conservative to rise in the House and show me how changing the rules for the Supreme Court will help Canadian families get out of record debt. Can any Conservative explain that to us? I would really like someone to do that. I can hear them laughing on the other side. I do not think this is funny.

Today, my colleague from Gatineau moved a motion to remove the appointment of Supreme Court judges from the budget implementation bill.

I sincerely hope that the government will take this proposal to heart, because it is the kind of proposal that must be discussed. However, this should not be done within the framework of an omnibus bill, because these are things that involve our justice system, not our economic system.

The Conservatives never get tired of saying that Canadians know they cannot rely on the NDP to put their needs first and give middle-class Canadians a well-deserved break. However, the NDP’s view of the economy is one in which we maximize opportunities by drawing on Canada’s enormous advantages, in order to give Canadians the best in everything.

We have the best score on the budget, from sea to sea. This is a fact. It is as simple as that. My colleague has been shouting for a while now that I am being rhetorical, but it is a fact. The proof is in the figures. The NDP governments have the best scores in terms of budgets and finance.

[Prime Minister of Canada, October 24th, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister put on a quite a show yesterday. He played the victim. Poor thing. Too bad his antics do not hold water.

He personally hired Nigel Wright, Ray Novak, Chris Woodcock, and all the other amateur wheeler-dealers. He personally chose Mike Duffy after a selection process that was less rigorous than what Canadians do to vet a babysitter, but apparently he is the victim.

Conservative members know that the Prime Minister's henchmen were involved in this scheming and that he is too much of a control freak to be unaware. The Conservatives like to look tough, but they are too wimpy to stand up to the Prime Minister's Office, except of course, for the hon. member from Edmonton—St. Albert.

Is there someone else, anyone else, who has enough of a spine to tell us what happened behind closed doors in the Langevin building?

Today is my hon. leader's birthday, and I have a gift suggestion for the Conservatives: they can stop appointing fraudster senators. No, wait, they can stop appointing any senators, period.

[Business of the House and its Committees, October 17th, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, I do not quite agree with my colleague, and I will explain to him why.

It is not really about fear. I think it is more about denial. It is like a teenager who will not let anyone contradict his opinions and who absolutely refuses to own up to his mistakes. It is really more about denial than fear. That is why the Conservatives are hiding: they are afraid of facing the facts, of being proven wrong.

I will move on to my question. Generally, a government prorogues Parliament because it wants a new beginning, a clean slate. How strange then, that according to its 24-page throne speech—a very long one compared to other throne speeches—the Conservative government is actually bringing back all of the old bills that arose from the previous throne speech. I find that very strange.

Does that mean the government wants to backtrack? Does it simply not have the will to move forward? I am sorry, but the victims' bill of rights is something they have been talking about for a long time. It is nothing new. Cyberbullying and all that was on the agenda long before this throne speech.

I would like my colleague to comment on what I just said.

[Government Appointments, June 18th, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, this is strange. They hired someone who is now facing criminal charges, but they do not seem bothered by that.

Saulie Zajdel is being investigated for fraud, corruption and breach of trust for acts dating back to a period between 2006 and 2011. The last federal election was in 2011. When did the Conservatives approach Mr. Zajdel and ask him to run? What was the exact date that he became a Conservative Party candidate?

[Government Appointments, June 18th, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to come back to the Conservative minister's former assistant, who was arrested yesterday.

Did the Minister of Canadian Heritage personally interview Saulie Zajdel before hiring him? If not, can he tell us who interviewed him?