Jamie Nicholls

[Respect for Communities Act, February 27th, 2015]

Mr. Speaker, I want to share with the member information from 2013 that people in Prince George have the highest rate of HIV-AIDS from injected drug use in Canada. Has the member consulted with the HIV-AIDS reduction partners, community service partners, and needle exchange people in his riding on the bill?

[Respect for Communities Act, February 27th, 2015]

Mr. Speaker, this is a supplementary question to what was mentioned before. I just want to elaborate on the consultation that is happening.

There are dates in March in Edson, Hinton and Whitecourt. The member could be proactive and not wait for an invitation to consult with people involved in harm reduction in West Yellowhead. He could register right now, today.

Will the member register for this conference and find out what the community is dealing with in terms of addiction and harm reduction? You can do it right now. You can register right now, online.

[Respect for Communities Act, February 27th, 2015]

Mr. Speaker, I listened with great interest to the member's speech, and if he and his party are so concerned with public health, the HIV West Yellowhead is holding seminars into harm reduction in March.

My first question would be whether he will attend these meetings and actually consult with HIV West Yellowhead to see what its members think about the bill. After that consultation, if an organization like HIV West Yellowhead has problems with the bill, will he bring forward amendments to the government bill?

[Official Languages, February 16th, 2015]

Mr. Speaker, unfortunately respecting and protecting our official languages have never been priorities for the Conservatives.

Since 2006, the Conservatives have appointed unilingual people to key positions, such as Auditor General and Supreme Court justice.

The Prime Minister has now appointed a unilingual anglophone foreign affairs minister. Members heard me correctly; nothing was lost in translation. A minister of foreign affairs who does not speak French, the language of diplomacy.

Even the Americans have a secretary of state who speaks French. It is difficult to imagine anything more shameful for a country with French as an official language. Once again, this shows the Conservatives' lack of respect for our country's bilingualism, but especially for francophones.

The NDP will continue to promote respect for both our official languages, and I can assure the House that under a New Democratic government the next minister of foreign affairs will be bilingual.

[Official Languages, February 5th, 2015]

Mr. Speaker, once again, the Commissioner of Official Languages has reported that Air Canada is not fulfilling its official languages obligations. Air Canada was not even able to carry out the action plan it provided. This sure feels like bad faith.

When will the Conservatives make sure that Canadians receive service in the official language of their choice when they do business with Air Canada?

[Petitions, February 4th, 2015]

Mr. Speaker, the two other petitions have to do with rail safety. My constituents are increasingly concerned about the transportation of dangerous goods through Vaudreuil—Soulanges. They want the government to take action and adopt policies that will protect people in my region.

[Petitions, February 4th, 2015]

Mr. Speaker, I am very pleased to present three petitions from my constituents.

The first petition has to do with the creation of a corporate social responsibility ombudsman for extractive companies. These petitioners think that Canada should be a leader in promoting the social responsibility of extractive companies.

[Petitions, December 12th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, I am very pleased to present in the House a petition signed by my constituents calling on the Government of Canada to pass legislation to create an ombudsman for the corporate social responsibility of Canadian extractive corporations in developing countries.

[Points of Order, December 12th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, I noted during question period that there were two instances when the government referred to the absence or presence of members in the House. I would like to remind members of long standing in the House that they cannot refer to the absence or presence of members.

[Victims Bill of Rights, December 11th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, my hon. colleague pointed out wonderful facts and evidence and the fact that these groups are not sufficiently funded. They have unstable funding from year to year, and they cannot really plan for the long-term goals they have.

I think this legislation is just evidence of when facts and evidence get in the way of politics. It has been eight years. The Conservatives want to present themselves as protecting the victims, but it upends their black and white picture of the world. They all of a sudden find that this will be costly. This will cost taxpayers money. It conflicts with their idea that the market can regulate all social ills, except that in this particular instance, a market-based solution is inapplicable.

Could my hon. colleague describe how sometimes Langevin Block comes up with these politically motivated pieces of legislation with nothing to back them up?