Guy Caron

[International Trade, May 8th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, on another matter, the NDP has always said that it would welcome the trade agreement with the European Union, but that it would have to see the details before deciding whether to support it.

We still have nothing concrete. We have been waiting for seven months, and with the upcoming European elections, there is still a lot of uncertainty here in terms of the agreement. Investments in the Quebec cheese industry are on hold because people are waiting to understand the impact of the agreement on the industry.

Could the minister give us an update on this agreement and tell us when we might hope to see the final wording of the agreement?

[Canada-U.S. Relations, May 5th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, I really do not understand the minister's attitude. Canadians deserve more information than that on the implementation of the Canada-U.S. agreement on bank accounts.

Financial institutions will now be required to identify which of their clients have American citizenship, in addition to actively monitoring their bank accounts off U.S. soil. Citizens want to know whether the agreement will apply to them and whether their personal information will be protected. At this point, we still do not even know whether the agreement is constitutional. This is a very complex issue.

We want to know why the minister refuses to take this agreement out of the budget implementation bill.

[Canada-U.S. Relations, May 2nd, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, at yesterday's finance committee meeting, we asked officials from that department how much it will cost Canadians to implement the Canada-U.S. agreement on foreign accounts. They estimate it will cost up to several hundred million dollars, but they do not know exactly how much.

We do know, however, that the agreement will have a huge impact on the private lives of millions of Canadians. The Conservatives want to have this adopted as quickly as possible.

Why is this government in such a hurry to provide Canadians' personal information to the Internal Revenue Service?

[Petitions, April 30th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to present two petitions signed by nearly 400 people. The petitioners are calling on the Government of Canada to contribute to the funding necessary for the repair and maintenance of the track between Bathurst and Miramichi in order to keep the line open and maintain rail service in eastern New Brunswick and Quebec.

[Securities, April 30th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, the government is simply putting off problems so that it can continue to hide its head in the sand.

In December 2011, the courts reprimanded the Conservative government for trying to unilaterally impose a single securities regulator. Three years later, it is clear that the government did not learn from its mistakes. It is again trying to move ahead with this proposal, without the agreement of the provinces and with marked opposition from Alberta and Quebec in particular.

I would like to know if the minister will comply with the Supreme Court ruling and not go ahead with this proposal without the agreement of the provinces, including Quebec and Alberta.

[The Budget, April 29th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, the Parliamentary Budget Officer recently indicated that Conservative cuts are having a negative impact on our economy. By 2016, our GDP will be $9 billion lower than what it would have been without the cuts but, more importantly, 46,000 jobs could have been and will not be created. The Conservatives' cuts directly affect the less fortunate and Canadian families, and have been made just because they want to launch an election campaign without a deficit and hand out lots of election goodies.

I would like to know when the Minister of Finance will stop putting the interests of his own party ahead of the interests of Canadians.

[Petitions, April 29th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, I also wish to present two petitions, joining the other members who have risen today on this issue. The petitioners are demanding that gays be given the right to donate organs. These people currently face systemic discrimination regarding that right. There is no discrimination regarding other factors, such as race and religion. The petitioners and donors, who realize that all donors must be pretested, want this automatic ban to be lifted, giving everyone the same rights as every other donor.

[Taxation, April 28th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, the Conservatives have been telling us for three years that they are developing a strategy to deal with the underground economy, but we still have not seen even a hint of a proposal.

Since 2010, the provinces have been urging the Canada Revenue Agency to get tough on tax evaders. While the provinces are struggling to pay for health and education, the Conservatives cannot even properly collect tax revenue. Fraudsters are using new tricks and new technologies to evade taxes.

How does the minister expect to catch tax evaders with a guide that dates back to 2001?

[Pensions, April 28th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, the Conservatives' record on retirement security is simply atrocious.

They refused to improve CPP and QPP benefits even though the majority of Canadians and all the provinces support that measure. They cut the equivalent of $11 billion from old age security benefits by pushing the age of retirement from 65 to 67.

After doing everything they could to undermine pensions, why are they now considering shifting more of the risk to retirees, instead of adopting a common sense solution and improving the CPP and QPP?

[Petitions, April 10th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to present to the House a petition that has been signed by more than 1,500 people from my riding, Rimouski-Neigette—Témiscouata—Les Basques, and from Lower St. Lawrence and eastern Quebec. They are protesting Canada Post's decision to reduce service and eliminate home mail delivery. They are also protesting other measures such as the drastic increase in postage rates.

These 1,500 people are adding their names to the thousands that have already been collected and presented to the House to call on the Conservative government to take action and force Canada Post to continue serving the rural areas and regions that truly need it.