Hélène LeBlanc

[Business of Supply, October 22nd, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to remind the House that more than 600 of my constituents in LaSalle—Émard said they were in favour of abolishing the Senate. Like the NDP, people recognize that the Senate is an archaic institution. We want to work on having it abolished.

In light of the scandals that have been uncovered, we feel that urgent steps must be taken to improve accountability in the Senate.

We also recognize that the current government bears some of the responsibility for the partisan appointments that have been made and the way in which recently appointed senators were used for fundraising and partisan campaigns.

I want to ask my colleague why he is unable to recognize his government's responsibility for the troubles in the Senate in recent months.

[Business of Supply, October 22nd, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, I wanted to point out that over 600 constituents in the riding of LaSalle—Émard have voiced support for abolishing the Senate.

I would also like to congratulate my colleague on his opposition motion, because there is an urgent need to put an end to all partisan activities.

I would like him to expand on this in order to reinforce the importance of the motion he is moving here today regarding measures to end partisan activities and the urgent need to do so immediately.

[Co-operatives, October 18th, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, once again, the Conservatives seem to have forgotten about Co-op Week.

Co-operatives are important economic drivers, but they were completely overlooked by the Conservatives in the Speech from the Throne.

This is Co-op Week, but the Conservatives are not doing anything to help this sector of our economy flourish.

When will the Conservatives finally acknowledge just how much co-operatives contribute to the Canadian economy?

[Co-operatives, October 18th, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, this week we are celebrating National Co-op Week and International Credit Union Day.

I would like to begin by recognizing a new national association, Co-operatives and Mutuals Canada, which, beginning in January 2014, will represent co-operative and mutual enterprises across Canada.

Co-operatives play a strategic role in our society and in our economy. They are major drivers of economic growth and job creation; they teach and promote democratic values; and they are businesses that work for the benefit of their communities and meet community needs.

I would like to take this opportunity to remind the Conservative government of the urgent need for concrete measures to strengthen the co-operative sector and make the federal government an active partner in their development.

We in the NDP will continue listening to the concerns of co-operatives and working closely with them to find solutions to promote their growth and increase funding to them.

[Fighting Foreign Corruption Act, June 18th, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, I want to reiterate that the NDP has always been in favour of responsible, sustainable and transparent management practices. My colleague alluded to this during his speech, and I would like him to reiterate the NDP's commitment to that.

I also appreciated how he mentioned that it was up to each one of us to recognize our responsibility to adopt ethical and responsible measures.

[Fighting Foreign Corruption Act, June 18th, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague from Marc-Aurèle-Fortin for his very eloquent speech.

I would like him to talk a bit more about Canada's international reputation. Indeed, The Globe and Mail reported today that Canada is still seen as the holdout at the G8 summit. It is not willing to make reforms on tax transparency at the international level. It is resisting reform and putting on the brakes.

Could my colleague comment on the way Canada has been doing things over the past few years, resisting reforms that would make us active participants in the global efforts to improve the situation?

[Fighting Foreign Corruption Act, June 18th, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank my colleague for her speech. She did a good job of summarizing Bill S-14.

She mentioned something that we often point out in our speeches. In her opinion, what concrete action could the government take? The House of Commons often votes on budgets that are part of omnibus legislation, which is really disturbing and shows a great lack of transparency on the part of the government.

What resources should be allocated to ensure that the bill is implemented properly, especially with respect to RCMP officers?

[Fighting Foreign Corruption Act, June 18th, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, I am very pleased that the Conservative member who asked the question alluded to the need for resources to tackle the problem of corruption of foreign public officials. As I was saying in my speech, that is the RCMP's job.

I hope that the government will give the RCMP the necessary financial resources and means to tackle the problem of corruption of foreign public officials.

[Fighting Foreign Corruption Act, June 18th, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, I want to thank my colleague for the question.

In fact, Canada often puts up obstacles instead of actively participating in implementing bills that tackle corruption or bills that will improve environmental standards here or elsewhere in the world. The same goes for Canada's participation in fighting climate change or banning terrible weapons such as cluster munitions.

If Canada actively addressed these issues at an international level, that would help make the world a better place.

[Fighting Foreign Corruption Act, June 18th, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to rise in the House today to speak to Bill S-14, An Act to amend the Corruption of Foreign Public Officials Act. The bill talks about corruption and transparency.

I will be sharing my time with the member for Saint-Bruno—Saint-Hubert.

As an NDP member of Parliament and the proud representative of LaSalle—Émard, I want to say that it is very important to my constituents to have a transparent and corruption-free government, whether we are talking about this government or any other level of government. The same goes for all elected officials, at any level of government.

It is ironic that this bill was introduced in the Senate—a point that has already been raised—when we know very well that that place is severely lacking in transparency and ethics when it comes to corruption, for example.

However, when I see my Conservative colleagues rise in the House and say that a bill is a priority for this government, it always makes me wonder why the government did not introduce the bill itself if this was such a priority. I have asked myself that question about all of the bills that have recently come to the House.

This is not the first time this kind of bill has come up. In 1997, Canada signed the Convention on Combating Bribery of Foreign Public Officials in International Business Transactions. Canada ratified the convention in 1998. That was a while ago.

Then, there was the United Nations Convention against Corruption in 2004. This convention was ratified in 2007. That was not all. In 2008, the RCMP created an international anti-corruption unit, made up of two seven-person teams in Ottawa and Calgary. This unit focuses on detecting, investigating and preventing international corruption such as bribery, embezzlement and so on. The RCMP oversees this unit.

Canada and Canadians have been concerned about this issue for many years.

In March 2011, Canada and the Corruption of Foreign Public Officials Act were reviewed by members of the OECD working group on bribery. They welcomed Canada's efforts on this issue, but raised objections to the limits on the legislation's jurisdictional reach, the insufficient number of investigators working to uncover bribery of foreign public officials and the lax penalties that would be imposed upon conviction. These were the two criticisms presented.

Since we are part of this convention, it would be useful to conduct periodic reviews and evaluations on this.

They also made a list of recommendations, which is a little too long for me to read here. I would still like to talk more about some points related to the bill now under debate in the House.

Then, in September 2012, Transparency International, a non-governmental organization, released its eighth annual progress report on the enforcement of the OECD Anti-Bribery Convention, which I mentioned earlier. Moreover, the Transparency International board of directors is chaired by a Canadian, who indicated that Canada was in the moderate enforcement category.

This is one of the problems: despite ratifying these conventions for several years, Canada is still enforcing them only at a moderate level despite what the bill says. However, according to Transparency International, active enforcement is necessary to ensure that the legislation actually enables us to tackle this problem. We think that there are not enough resources specifically allocated to do this.

The report also made some interesting recommendations. It proposed ensuring that charges not fall under territorial jurisdiction, but rather be based on the principle of nationality. That is one of the interesting parts of this bill. In other words, any time a Canadian national bribes a foreign public official, the principle of nationality will facilitate the beginning of the legal process under the Criminal Code.

This recommendation, originally made by Transparency International, has been included in Bill S-14. The hope is that it will facilitate launching legal proceedings dealing with the bribery of foreign public officials. Clearly, whether we work here or abroad, we must always hold ourselves to the highest standards regarding ethics and transparency.

This is important for Canadian industries that operate here in Canada as well as abroad, because there is a cost involved any time Canada's reputation abroad is sullied. There is a high cost for the Canadian economy as well as the industries that operate here or abroad.

Canada also needs to show some leadership. We are a democratic nation that has ethical standards. We have established standards regarding working conditions, living conditions and the environment. It is therefore very important that we continue to lead by example, both here and abroad. It is very important to keep this in mind.

Canadians want businesses representing Canada overseas to do so in a responsible, respectable manner. Canadian companies want clear and consistent standards for international business.