François Lapointe

[Asbestos, November 23rd, 2011]

Mr. Speaker, a growing number of Conservative MPs are questioning the government's position on asbestos. The government is making them betray their own conscience and support an industry that exports disease. The Asbestos mine recovery plan is not working and the mine in Thetford Mines has closed down its operations. Tomorrow morning, no one in Quebec will be paid for handling asbestos—absolutely no one. The minister's broken record is not creating any jobs.

Will he finally realize that an economic diversification plan is urgently needed to create jobs for the people in his region?

[Asbestos, November 22nd, 2011]

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister's position on exporting asbestos is immoral and is tantamount to exporting disease. Experts around the globe are saying so, Canadians are saying so, many associations in Quebec are saying so, and more and more Conservative members are also saying so. But they are saying so quietly and secretly, because they are afraid of their own boss.

Those Conservatives are betraying their consciences and their constituents. Those members were elected on the promise that they would change Ottawa, but instead, Ottawa has changed them. They have abandoned their ideals and have become exactly what they despised: politicians who are out of touch with reality and who have to suppress what their own conscience tells them to do.

[Business of Supply, November 17th, 2011]

Madam Speaker, the honourable leader of the third party in this House spoke a great deal about the federal government's responsibility in this regard. The hon. member just spoke about Kashechewan—I hope that I pronounced that correctly. According to our research, the water quality was so bad there at the time that residents had to be evacuated. The Liberals' first reaction was to argue with the provincial government about whose responsibility this was. It is therefore a bit surprising to see their reaction today.

In the hon. member's opinion, how is the position of our friends in the third party different now with regard to the federal government's responsibility? Should they have taken action at the time rather than arguing with the province?

[Atomic Energy of Canada Limited, November 4th, 2011]

Mr. Speaker, the government has botched the sale of Atomic Energy of Canada Limited. Furthermore, it was not transparent about the process, and we are now seeing the results. We have learned that the sale of the CANDU reactor division has cost $280 million and that the return on investment was only $15 million. That is a net loss of $265 million for Canadians, who had already paid $21 billion to support Atomic Energy of Canada Limited ever since it was created.

Starting in 2012, will this government stop running Canada's energy resources at a loss?

[Atomic Energy of Canada Limited, November 4th, 2011]

Mr. Speaker, yesterday, the government quietly revealed that it will spend more than $800 million on AECL this year alone.

Many people may say that massive overspending on the nuclear crown corporation is par for the course for the government, but what is different this time is that it has already sold most of the business to a private company.

Why is the minister hanging taxpayers out to dry while subsidizing privatized nuclear power?

[Asbestos, November 4th, 2011]

Mr. Speaker, on Wednesday, a number of Conservative MPs took the moral high ground and chose not to vote against the NDP motion, and I commend them for that today. The hon. members for Sarnia—Lambton, Ottawa—Orléans, Lethbridge, Edmonton—Leduc and London West chose not to spread disease among thousands of workers, not to prevent the creation of an assistance plan for the asbestos regions and not to tarnish the reputation of the House or of Canada.

The same cannot be said about the vast majority of Conservative caucus members, who turned a deaf ear to the colleges of physicians, which insisted that protecting health must come before political interests.

It is time for this government to face the facts and change its position on asbestos.

[Fair Representation Act, November 3rd, 2011]

Mr. Speaker, in between the time of the Charlottetown accord and the current situation, a key event took place in the House: the recognition of Quebeckers as a nation within Canada. It is clear that, for the hon. member, this recognition does not mean that the nation should maintain its political weight in the House.

Is there anything concrete in this recognition, which was supported by his party, with respect to linguistic duality and Quebec's political weight?

[Fair Representation Act, November 3rd, 2011]

Madam Speaker, in his speech a few minutes ago, the hon. member for Compton—Stanstead mentioned only one concern about the bill the government has introduced. And I heard the word “ridiculous”. When the first concern was raised, members of the government, without hesitation, used the word “ridiculous”, off the record. Are we to understand that the goal is to silence debate on a fundamental issue, thus demonstrating clear contempt for democracy and the opposition's opinions? Are we to understand that there will be no debate on an issue as important as representation in this House?

[Asbestos, October 31st, 2011]

Mr. Speaker, it is the inaction of this government that is putting workers in a mess.

The asbestos mine workers are worried. Asbestos is a hazardous product. The industry is dying and is no longer even supported by the entire Conservative caucus. Despite all that, it is not getting any help from this government. This government prefers to put short-term profits ahead of the long-term well-being of the asbestos workers and victims. This is unacceptable.

Will this government do the right thing and facilitate the transition of the workers and their families to other sources of income as soon as possible?

[Asbestos, October 31st, 2011]

Mr. Speaker, the government is tying itself up in knots in trying to justify its position on asbestos.

Here is an interesting quote:

I'm definitely not supporting the mining or exporting of asbestos.... [The natural resources minister] is certainly bringing the issue forward to the cabinet level for more discussion.

Who said that? It was the member for Sarnia—Lambton.

Can the Minister of Labour explain to the House what cabinet decided to do about the Conservative hypocrisy on asbestos and give us something other than a tape recorder?