Jean-François Fortin

[Employment Insurance, May 28th, 2012]

Mr. Speaker, in addition to making the unemployed accept lower-paying jobs that are further from home, the employment insurance reform announced last Thursday risks doing much worse.

By forcing employees trained by seasonal businesses to go elsewhere, it will deprive employers of the skilled labour they need to maintain their activities. This is a direct attack on the fishery, tourism, agriculture and forestry industries that provide a living for the regions of Quebec. One might think that the Conservatives have forgotten that winter comes back every year in Quebec.

Is the government going to respond to the outcry over these harmful measures for the workers and the regions and will it retreat and drop this reform?

[Employment, May 18th, 2012]

Mr. Speaker, the Conservatives obviously see criminals everywhere. Now seasonal workers are considered to be repeat offenders. The Conservatives even intend to punish them financially by forcing them to accept increasingly lower-paid jobs or else lose their employment insurance benefits. This is a frontal attack on regions like mine that depend on tourism, fisheries, agriculture and forestry—sectors in which activity is cyclical. The Conservatives want to shut down the regions that will not go along with their plan.

Why is the government doing all it can to impoverish workers and attack the vitality of the regions?

[Employment Insurance, May 16th, 2012]

Mr. Speaker, the Conservatives can no longer hide the scope of their proposed changes to employment insurance in Bill C-38.

Their new brainwave for weakening the system, according to what the Minister of Finance is saying, seems to be to force the unemployed to take jobs that do not correspond to their aspirations or their qualifications and that are not even in their region. The Conservatives have real contempt for workers' expertise.

Instead of permanently undermining the employment insurance system, why does the federal government not agree to the request of the Conseil national des chômeurs et chômeuses and transfer responsibility for employment insurance to Quebec?

[National Defence, May 10th, 2012]

Mr. Speaker, after the closing of the Quebec City rescue centre, which was able to respond to fishers and pleasure boaters in French, and after the removal of valuable artifacts from Quebec's history to be put on a shelf far from their place of origin, it is now the turn of the military in Quebec to bear the cost of the Conservative government’s cuts.

While members of the military were able to use French-language mediation services at CFB Valcartier and in Saint-Jean, now the Conservatives are eliminating 10 of the 25 mediator positions, including all the positions in Quebec.

Why does the government want to deprive members of the military in Quebec of easy access, in French, to this essential dispute resolution service?

[Cultural Heritage, May 9th, 2012]

Mr. Speaker, the government is not only cutting hundreds of specialized jobs at Parks Canada, but it intends to make off with Quebec's history by taking away artifacts from the days of Champlain, Frontenac, Beauharnois and Vaudreuil, and even artifacts from the Battle of the Plains of Abraham.

The Conservatives want to take away entire pieces of our memory, our identity and our culture by moving everything to Ottawa.

Will the minister drop his plans, listen to the concerns of the National Assembly and keep these objects from our collective heritage in their rightful place, or does he intend to perpetrate a hold-up of Quebec's history?

[Parks Canada, May 7th, 2012]

Mr. Speaker, after being shaken by the budget cuts in 2010, Parks Canada's Quebec Service Centre, which houses archeological and artifact restoration services, is now having to close its doors because of the latest federal budget cuts.

This is disastrous for Quebec's heritage. Not only will highly skilled workers lose their jobs, but thousands of items in Parks Canada's collection, including artifacts dating from the founding of Quebec City, will be sent to Ottawa.

How can the government justify these job losses and the fact that valuable heritage artifacts connected with Quebec's history are being sent to Ontario or elsewhere in Canada?

[Jobs, Growth and Long-term Prosperity Act, May 4th, 2012]

Mr. Speaker, first of all, I wish to add my voice to that of my distinguished colleague to condemn how this budget is being passed—through force and closure. As hon. members know, this is a completely undemocratic measure, especially since this budget contains a huge number of bills that should be debated outside the budget process.

The budget bill also includes a provision to exclude banks from the application of Quebec laws.

I would like to hear more of my colleague's thoughts on this. For instance, Quebec legislation currently sets a limit on interest rates, a usurious rate, which has been established at 35% by case law, while the federal Criminal Code establishes it at 60%.

What does the member think of that?

[Government Priorities, May 4th, 2012]

Madam Speaker, while on the one hand this government blatantly scoffs at our democratic processes—particularly by imposing closure on a bill that is over 400 pages long and will kill the Kyoto protocol, for one thing, and exclude banks from the application of the Quebec consumer protection act, leaving consumers at the mercy of questionable business practices. On the other hand, it is also spending millions of dollars on useless things such as promoting the monarchy and the Queen's jubilee. What an undemocratic regime.

Instead of kissing up to the Queen, why do the Conservatives not show some respect towards Quebec consumers?

[Freedom of the Press, May 3rd, 2012]

Mr. Speaker, May 3 is World Press Freedom Day. According to UNESCO, it is a day to alert the public and make people more aware of this cause. And so, I am sounding the alarm. A new code of conduct has been imposed on CBC, requiring journalists to support ministers in their accountability to Parliament and Canadians. If journalists fail to abide by this new code of conduct, they may be subject to disciplinary measures up to and including immediate dismissal. This reeks of totalitarianism.

How can the government justify the fact that it is secretly trying to make CBC the new Pravda? I am asking the government to allow CBC to maintain its independence. The government already has Sun TV News.

[Safer Railways Act, May 1st, 2012]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank my colleague from Saanich—Gulf Islands for her very apt comment.

We have indeed reached a point where all parties in this House agree on passing this bill. I believe that it is important to improve safety, as my colleague mentioned. There is no doubt about it. Earlier, I alluded to apple pie. Who can be against apple pie?

We need to move on to the next step. The bill must be passed. But I wish to reiterate that it is important for the government to have a clear policy that will provide the railways, no matter where in Canada they might be located, with funds to maintain costly infrastructure, because the railways are invaluable from the environmental, sustainable development and transportation standpoints, whether we are talking about transporting goods or passengers. What is needed is a clear investment policy for the railway network across Canada.