Françoise Boivin

[Libya, June 14th, 2011]

Mr. Speaker, I commend the hon. member for Haute-Gaspésie—La Mitis—Matane—Matapédia on his speech, which I paid close attention to. I should point out that I felt it was somewhat contradictory, in that the hon. member put a lot of emphasis on humanitarian aid and diplomacy, yet he is fully supporting the Conservative motion.

Does he not feel that this motion is like handing the government a blank cheque? Would it not be more prudent and more in keeping with the will of Quebeckers to go with the NDP's amendment?

[Libya, June 14th, 2011]

Mr. Speaker, I congratulate my esteemed colleague on his re-election.

I was happy to hear a lot of references in his speech to veterans. I was on the Hill last November when there was a big support action led by the ex-ombudsmen, Pat Stogran and Mike Blais. They had made some very strong demands of the government to help veterans. We often think of veterans as being in World War I, World War II and so on, but many veterans come back from some of our missions like Afghanistan and likely after Libya.

What I did not hear much about in my esteemed colleague's speech was a reference to more diplomatic and humanitarian assistance. Is he satisfied with just the military mission?

[Libya, June 14th, 2011]

Mr. Speaker, I really appreciated my colleague's speech.

I am worried about seeing the mission expand without any real parameters. Everyone here is stressing the importance of diplomacy and humanitarian aid. Does the hon. member for Beauséjour believe that the motion, as it stands, sufficiently covers the two aspects of diplomacy and humanitarian aid?

[Libya, June 14th, 2011]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank the minister for her speech. I agree with most of what she had to say, especially in regard to the totally wanton, disgusting violence committed by Gadhafi’s troops against women and girls in Libya.

We all know that the UN mandated NATO-led mission has three objectives: an end to all attacks against civilians, verifiable withdrawal of the regime's military and paramilitary forces to bases, and full and unhindered access to humanitarian aid for all of those who need it across Libya.

The NDP's position is clear. We support the clear UN mandate to protect civilians in Libya from government attacks and to negotiate a ceasefire. However, we have concerns about mission creep and want to see the government do more on the diplomatic and humanitarian assistance fronts.

Can the minister address those concerns about the mission?

[Status of Women, June 13th, 2011]

Mr. Speaker, I want to congratulate the minister on his first speech in the House.

That being said, this government's position on the issue of pay equity completely abandons women in our country.

In 2011, Canadian women are still earning 71¢ for every dollar earned by a man. Even worse is that we know what to do to remedy the situation.

When will this government implement the recommendations of the 2004 pay equity task force?

[Status of Women, June 13th, 2011]

Mr. Speaker, two years after the government passed an attack on pay equity for women in the public service, with the help of the Liberals, it has emerged that the law is too complicated and the rules too severe to be implemented.

When will the government stop playing games with women's income and commit to treating pay equity as a right, not as a bargaining chip?

[The Budget, June 9th, 2011]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to welcome the hon. member for Beaches—East York whose constituents will be very well represented. We heard how thorough his speech was. I agreed with it. I would like to give him the opportunity to talk a little more about this issue since I know he represents a riding with many pockets of poverty.

What could the budget have included to provide more assistance to the people of Beaches—East York, particularly its seniors? Does the hon. member believe that an amount of less than $2 per day is sufficient to help many seniors get out of poverty?

[The Budget, June 9th, 2011]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to commend the hon. member for Mount Royal for his victory and for withstanding the orange wave. That being said, I know that he was always very open to questions about the status of women when he was the justice minister.

The Minister of Finance will be very pleased to know that I am reading the budget; I am almost finished. I have only a few pages left to read and I did not see much about the status of women.

Did the hon. member read anything about the right to equality, for example, was there any additional funding allocated to the status of women in order to promote pay and other types of equity?

[The Budget, June 9th, 2011]

Mr. Speaker, I also thank the two members who just spoke for their reference to the orange wave. Indeed, I am very pleased that the hon. member was re-elected. Despite everything, I have had some good discussions with him over the years.

Personally, I think both members are wrong. We are once again going through what happened in 1995. For instance, in Gatineau we have our share of problems in health care. We have not recovered from those cuts. No one in Quebec will say otherwise. Whether we blame the Conservatives or not for eliminating the deficit on the backs of the provinces, through cuts to vital programs like health care and education, the fact remains that we are still feeling the repercussions.

Drastic cuts have been made to the public service here in this region, even though it is the driving force of our economy. No one says that often enough. It hurt, and it continues to hurt. People are even more afraid to see what the Conservatives will cut next after all the reviews.

I agree with the member's comment that we do not know where the next cuts will be. Furthermore, that is perhaps the only difference I see in the two versions of the budget. They adopted the slower approach of a one-year review. In a year's time, they will hit us hard.

Does the hon. member think that the 1995 cuts are no longer being felt?

[The Budget, June 9th, 2011]

Mr. Speaker, I want to congratulate the hon. member for LaSalle—Émard on her passionate speech. I know her remarkable character and I know that the people of LaSalle—Émard will be extremely well represented by her. I heard our Conservative colleague say:

“A strong mandate was given by Canadians.”

Although I do not deny the fact that a majority of Conservatives were elected, 60% of the population did not vote Conservative.

That being said, the hon. member represents a riding where there are several pockets of poverty. In her opinion, what could the Conservatives do to improve life for the less fortunate in society? The homelessness partnering strategy has a strong presence in Montreal and in the Outaouais region. What can be done to help the less fortunate? Does helping them necessarily mean increasing taxes?