Jean-François Fortin

[Intergovernmental Relations, March 22nd, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, the 2013 budget is a direct attack on the way Quebec does things. Ottawa will take away millions of dollars from Quebec that would help the unemployed find jobs. In its place, the federal government is pushing a program that will force workers and the Quebec government to provide more money if they want the federal government to contribute. In order to hand out cheques with the maple leaf on them, the federal government is ready to axe initiatives that are working well.

Will the Minister of Finance listen to his Quebec counterpart, who has condemned this full-on attack against Quebec, and will he stop the federal government's interference in manpower training?

[The Budget, March 22nd, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, in yesterday's budget, the Minister of Finance should have changed course, but instead he once again unilaterally chose to pursue an Ottawa-centric agenda, one tinged with arrogance and disdain for Quebec and the regions.

Quebeckers wanted the government to change its mind about employment insurance reforms and the Canada pension plan and cancel cuts to economic development for the regions of Quebec, science, and programs and services offered by departments like Fisheries and Oceans Canada. Sadly, the government chose to stubbornly stay the course.

Moreover, the government is once again interfering in areas under Quebec's jurisdiction, including labour. The federal government is tackling the deficit at Quebec's expense and resurrecting the fiscal imbalance.

There is no dialogue happening. As the saying goes, Ottawa wants what is good for you, and it will get your goods as well.

[The Environment, March 19th, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, experts at Environment Canada found a number of errors in the scenario Corridor Resources developed to predict the effects of an oil spill as part of its exploratory drilling plans at Old Harry, in the middle of the Gulf of St. Lawrence. According to the documents submitted by the oil company, its impact study determined that the effects of an oil spill would be very limited and would last less than 24 hours. Any respectable expert would find this scenario laughable.

The work was not done properly. It is clear that the Canadian government is completely incapable of getting all those who would be involved in controlling the spill to agree.

In the absence of any strategy from our government and in the absence of a credible scenario that would show that the government is in control, we are calling for and hope to obtain a moratorium until a full environmental assessment in Quebec is complete and the government has assured the public that there will be appropriate intervention.

[The Environment, March 19th, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, when I spoke in question period on February 7, I shared with the House a major concern that many stakeholders have with regard to the government's current strategy for oil exploration and development in the Gulf of St. Lawrence. This is a valid concern that is shared by the Commissioner of the Environment in his most recent report dated February 2013.

Right now, the people of the Magdalen Islands and eastern Quebec are worried about the serious environmental impact of developing the Old Harry prospect.

As things now stand, a spill could wipe out the regional economy of the islands in one fell swoop and cause considerable damage to both the environment and the area's seasonal economy, which is mainly based on the fishery and tourism.

The Commissioner of the Environment's report is damning in terms of the lack of consultation and the absence of a mandate for stakeholders who would have a role to play in the event of an environmental disaster.

The report confirmed that there are gaps in the risk assessments and that, at present, no one is prepared to respond to an oil spill.

Bernard Richard, former New Brunswick ombudsman, also expressed serious concerns about the Old Harry project. With regard to what we learned from the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, he said that, although we seemed to have learned a lot, we also seem to quickly forget.

Commissioner Scott Vaughan's report is clear. He states that the Canada-Newfoundland and Labrador Offshore Petroleum Board has not obtained adequate assurance that operators are ready to respond effectively to a spill.

In light of the most recent report, and also the unanimous request made by the National Assembly of Quebec in 2010, the federal government, the Government of Newfoundland and the Canada-Newfoundland and Labrador Offshore Petroleum Board are being asked to wait for the results of strategic environmental assessments requested by the Government of Quebec before issuing any drilling and seismic testing permits for Old Harry and to suspend existing permits.

The government must stop shirking its responsibilities and impose a moratorium on the development of Old Harry.

It is one of the largest and most productive marine ecosystems in the world. It is also of great economic significance as it is used extensively for fishing and recreational activities, as well as being an important shipping route.

We also learned in Scott Vaughan's report that the Canadian liability limits in the offshore oil and gas sector are totally archaic.

For example, if an accident were to occur in the Atlantic, the penalty would be $30 million. The public, not the oil companies, will assume the risks of offshore development with their tax dollars and also because environmental impacts will affect coastal ecosystems.

We recently learned that public consultations on the Old Harry project that were to be held by New Brunswick were quietly abandoned. Environmental experts in all areas are criticizing the way in which the government is managing the development of offshore oil in the Old Harry sector.

The request is coming from the Government of Quebec and our party. We are asking the government to impose a moratorium on any current development and exploration until things have been clarified and the concerns expressed by the commissioner have been addressed by the government.

[Lobster Fishing, March 19th, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, people in the Gaspé and the Magdalen Islands are worried. They are wondering if the right to live in the regions is becoming a privilege. They are worried about the federal government, which is imposing an unfair employment insurance reform, slashing regional economic development and, now, weakening one of our flagship industries by cutting next year's funding for the lobster fishery while offloading more of the costs associated with at-sea observation and trap tagging because the federal government pulled out.

Thousands of people work in hundreds of businesses that still need the sustainability measures for the Atlantic lobster fishery. These measures, reduced to $4.8 million for 2013, must be enhanced and extended beyond the coming fiscal year because markets have not yet stabilized and many challenges lie ahead.

With just days before the budget, the government needs to pay attention to the reality faced by lobster fishers.

[Employment Insurance, March 4th, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, on the weekend, the Minister of Industry accused local leaders of spreading misinformation about the EI reform. He has no shame.

This is the same minister who suggested that the system was not viable, while the government was helping itself to billions of dollars from the surplus. He is also the one who claims that the reform is meant to target fraudsters. If we want to target school dropouts, we do not get rid of schools. Employment insurance is no different.

Instead of making wild accusations, will the minister simply tell the truth: that this reform is shoddy and will penalize the unemployed, families and the economy of the regions?

[Employment Insurance, March 4th, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, every day, more and more people are mobilizing against the EI reform. The federal government's contempt for the representatives from the regions has only fueled the fire.

Today, representatives of workers and unemployed workers announced the creation of a Quebec coalition against employment insurance reform. This coalition feels that Ottawa is refusing to consider the disastrous consequences that this reform will have for Quebec's economy.

Will the minister come down from her ivory tower and look at the adverse effects that her new reform and measures will have, and cancel the reform?

[Petitions, March 1st, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, I have the honour of tabling a petition signed by more than 3,500 people who are asking the government to reverse its decision to close the Maurice Lamontagne Institute Library in Mont-Joli.

The library has been very valuable to researchers from Quebec, Canada and the whole world. Fisheries and Oceans Canada does not have another French-language library. The petitioners are asking the government to drop its plan and work with stakeholders so they can find a way to maintain the library's assets, knowing that operating the library costs only $100,000 a year.

[Fisheries and Oceans, March 1st, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, the government is completely disconnected.

The Maurice Lamontagne Institute marine sciences library was slated to close in the fall, but we have credible information to suggest that the department is speeding up the process. The documents could be boxed up and the doors locked up as of next month. We will be losing DFO's only francophone library for the sake of saving a mere $100,000 a year.

Speeding up this closure is a questionable move. It comes at a time when the Government of Quebec is looking at proposals to keep the scientific documents on Quebec soil. Why is Ottawa speeding up the closure of the library instead of working with the stakeholders on keeping the documents in Quebec?

[Employment Insurance, March 1st, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, yesterday, in Rivière-du-Loup, the Prime Minister condemned what he calls misinformation about the impact of the employment insurance reform. He should look in the mirror.

It is his government that claimed to have studies, but does not. It is his government that denies imposing quotas on investigators, when such quotas are mentioned in black and white. It is his government that claims that the reform will benefit the regions, but refuses to listen to employers and workers who suffer the tragic impact of the new measures.

Will the government put a stop to this misinformation which is entirely of its own doing? Will it stop denying the dramatic consequences of the reform and cancel it?