Jean Rousseau

[Fair Rail Freight Service Act, February 8th, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to congratulate my colleague on her excellent speech and for having the courage to give it in the language of Shakespeare, which is not her mother tongue.

Arbitration is not an option in every situation. While this bill is a step in the right direction, arbitration should be more flexible, but still have rules. Rules are needed to provide a framework for arbitration and negotiation.

Would it not have been easier to insist that arbitration be used in every dispute?

[Business of Supply, January 31st, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, I congratulate my colleague and the member who spoke before her on their excellent speeches.

One thing keeps coming up when it comes to helping aboriginal peoples, the Assembly of First Nations, better manage funds and get more funds, which is that they must be in a relationship of equals.

We have seen wonderful promises of investments in all kinds of areas, especially economic development and training for young people, but the government has not negotiated or talked, as equals, with the Assembly of First Nations or the aboriginal peoples.

Could my colleague speak to that?

[Faster Removal of Foreign Criminals Act, January 29th, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, I thank the member opposite for her speech.

Our concerns are not about the criminals themselves, but rather how we will determine who is a criminal and who is not. Once again, the minister is giving himself discretionary powers. That is always our concern. This is not the first time this has happened.

How will we tell the good from the bad in this system?

[Questions Passed as Orders for Returns, January 28th, 2013]

With regard to Economic Development Agency of Canada for the Regions of Quebec programs, between 2006 and 2012: (a) what were the eligibility criteria, by (i) program, (ii) year; (b) what were the assessment criteria, by (i) program, (ii) year; (c) did the Agency use assessment grids and, if so, what were these grids, by (i) program, (ii) year; (d) how many proposals were submitted, by (i) program, (ii) year, (iii) administrative region; (e) how many proposals were rejected, by (i) program, (ii) year, (iii) administrative region; (f) how many proposals were accepted, by (i) program, (ii) year, (iii) administrative region; (g) what were the proposals that were accepted, by (i) program, (ii) year, (iii) administrative region; (h) what was the total amount for each project mentioned in (g); (i) what were the proposals that were rejected, by (i) program, (ii) year, (iii) administrative region; (j) what was the total amount for each project mentioned in (i); and (k) what were the processing times, by (i) program, (ii) year, (iii) administrative region?

[Strengthening Military Justice in the Defence of Canada Act, December 11th, 2012]

Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague very much for his question.

It is obvious that for grievances and disputes, it is important to be represented fairly. Our charter states that we must be represented by counsel or a representative who can help us through the court system, whether it is a court that handles grievances or a labour tribunal.

However, the military system does not respect this element of justice, this fundamental right. That makes no sense. If we want to modernize the military justice system, one of the first things we should ensure is that soldiers are fairly represented in the case of a judgment or a grievance. That is essential.

As we have said, minor offences are sometimes put in their file and they will end up with a criminal record for perjury or for offending an immediate superior. I have seen cases in which a young man, on the ground, yelled at his boss. There was a grievance, but it did not become a criminal record.

There is a double standard and it makes no sense.

[Strengthening Military Justice in the Defence of Canada Act, December 11th, 2012]

Mr. Speaker, if we were in government, we would do things differently, certainly in a more human way.

I do not agree with the member's assertion. It is obvious that what we are trying to do is to change the system so that when military members come back to society they can adjust.

They can adjust to civilian life. We certainly do not question the military justice system in the case of serious offences. Today, we are not dealing with serious offences but with minor offences that could have a very unfortunate impact on the future civilian life of military personnel.

[Strengthening Military Justice in the Defence of Canada Act, December 11th, 2012]

Mr. Speaker, it is an honour and a great pleasure for me to try to put in my two cents' worth today in this debate on Bill C-15.

I have studied labour relations. I have also worked as an employee representative in grievance procedures. In my field of studies, I also did human resources management. I have been on the employer side and the union side. So I have been on both sides.

I am going to try to show why it is extremely important that we have a fair and equitable system for our soldiers for handling grievances relating to all the various disputes that arise between them and their superior officers and their institution, the Canadian Forces.

We have a bill that amends eight acts: the Access to Information Act, the Criminal Code, the Financial Administration Act, the Privacy Act, and others.

This bill is in fact 60 pages long. That is almost modest, compared to what we have been used to getting from the government for some time now.

To begin, let us do a review of part of the history of this bill.

In 2003, the Right Hon. Antonio Lamer, former chief justice of the Supreme Court of Canada, submitted a report on the independent review of the National Defence Act. He is not just anybody. He had much to say about judgments concerning grievances that had gone to the labour court, the Court of Appeal, and ultimately the Supreme Court. The Lamer report contained 88 recommendations concerning the military justice system, the Military Police Complaints Commission, the grievance procedure, which I will address at greater length today, and the Canadian Forces Provost Marshal.

Bill C-15 is the legislative response to those recommendations. However, only 28 recommendations have been incorporated into this new version.

Bill C-15 has appeared in several forms over the course of its history.

First, we had Bills C-7 and C-45, which died on the order paper when Parliament was prorogued in 2007—I think we know it is the practice of the Conservatives to cut off debate—and the 2008 election was called.

However, in July 2008, Bill C-60 made a comeback, simplifying the structure of courts martial and establishing a method for choosing the type of court martial that would be most consistent with the civilian justice system. That was precisely the objective that should have guided the sponsors of this reform and Bill C-15. That should be our goal: harmonization with the civilian justice system.

In 2009, the Standing Senate Committee on Legal and Constitutional Affairs considered Bill C-60 and made nine more recommendations to amend the National Defence Act.

In 2010, Bill C-41 was introduced to respond to the 2003 Lamer report and the 2009 Senate committee report. Provisions relating to the military justice system were included, such as provisions relating to sentencing reform, judges and military boards and committees, summary trials, the court martial panel and the Canadian Forces Provost Marshal and certain provisions relating to the Military Police Complaints Commission.

Essentially, Bill C-15 is similar to the version that came out of the Senate committee in the last Parliament. The amendments carried forward include the composition of the court martial panel and the appointment of military judges during good behaviour until the age of retirement.

Since I was elected, in May 2011, I have spent time on many occasions with soldiers of all ages, whether at Remembrance Day ceremonies with our courageous Canadian Legion members or at various meetings with soldiers and cadets in my region. I have met courageous, dynamic people who are very proud of their military profession.

However, when the time comes for them to return to peacetime life, these soldiers’ lives can be full of surprises and sometimes twists. All of them, the generations who lived through the major wars—the world wars, the Korean War or the Vietnam War—and other generations who have worked hard on numerous peacekeeping missions in the Middle East, in Africa, in Europe, or more recently in Iraq, Darfur and Afghanistan, deserve not only our admiration, but also our respect, for doing their duty.

That is why they deserve justice, a justice system in which they will be able to see themselves as individuals who are part of today’s modern society.

All these brave men and women have proudly carried the colours of our Canadian flag and staunchly defended the democratic principles we hold dear. Sometimes, however, and it must be said, the aftermath has left its marks, and sometimes they are heavy marks. When they come home, their life in our industrialized society begins, where the economy is what matters above all else. In this modern civilization, social status, acceptance by others, often comes from a person’s job and of course the pay associated with it, but also, everything depends on an academic background or wide-ranging experience here and there in the real world. Soldiers do in fact have an extraordinary background when it comes to understanding giving and duty. They are capable of great effort and courage.

And then, soldiers return to work in civilian life. This is why I focus on this when I talk about grievances in the military system and the consequences of those grievances. Whether or not it is appropriate, a candidate for a position that is available in a business is judged, most of the time, against objective criteria, I hope, but sometimes the candidate is assessed in a way, and let us not be afraid of the words, that may be more subjective. And so a little notation here or there about a minor problem during the person’s military service or in the performance of their duties during missions can sometimes become a major wrongdoing in the eyes of an employer who decides to make use of this workforce, which is so important to manufacturing and industry, but also to the service sector. That is why the NDP is truly disappointed that some of the amendments it proposed to Bill C-15 have not been incorporated.

I would like to mention the amendments concerning the authority of the Chief of Defence Staff in the grievance process. These amendments were a direct response to a recommendation by the Right Hon. Justice Antonio Lamer, the former chief justice of the Supreme Court of Canada. There are also the changes to the composition of the grievance committee so that 60% of its members would be civilians to make it more objective and to ensure that the grievance process is not conducted strictly by the military. Finally, there is the provision to ensure that a person convicted of an offence during a summary trial is not unfairly subjected to a criminal record. All too often, this criminal record will scare employers who need this labour force. As I mentioned, this workforce is important not only to the future of that business, but also to Canada's future.

As I already said in my speeches here, do not ask what this country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country. Those words are from John F. Kennedy, but they still apply. It is often said that Canada is a land that needs workers. The doors are open. We welcome them. However, we must not create problems for these applicants, for this workforce that is essential to our country's future. Believe me, Mr. Speaker, this kind of situation can seriously undermine a soldier's return to civilian life and his career after the military.

We need this workforce. Yet in this world, they will be subjected to a grievance system essential to justice and to fairness in the handling of disputes. Why not have harmonized the military and civilian justice systems in this respect? It would have been easy to do. This grievance adjudication system is even recognized by the Supreme Court in several decisions.

Bill C-15 on the reform of the military justice system should be based on the fundamental principles of law and justice on which our country was built. It is essential to put things back in place within National Defence and to give that department the means to adapt to the modern workplace, to the 21st century.

Still, the NDP believes this legislation is a step in the right direction—really—to bring the military justice system more in line with the civilian justice system. Other steps will have to be taken, and we hope the government will listen to our amendments.

May justice be done.

[Questions Passed as Orders for Returns, December 10th, 2012]

With regard to security at border crossings between 2006 and 2012: (a) how many officers were assigned to each Canada/U.S. border crossing, broken down by (i) year, (ii) border crossing; (b) how many estimated illegal entries by land were there, broken down by (i) year, (ii) border crossing; (c) how many incidents of use of force were reported at Canada/U.S. border crossings, broken down by (i) year, (ii) border crossing; (d) how many estimated passages were there at Canada/U.S. border crossings, broken down by (i) year, (ii) border crossing; and (e) how many officers were added to the Canada Border Services Agency, broken down by (i) year, (ii) border crossing, (iii) assignment?

[Strengthening Military Justice in the Defence of Canada Act, December 6th, 2012]

Mr. Speaker, I congratulate my colleague on his excellent speech.

My question concerns re-entry into the community. The amendments that we proposed seek to ease the process and ensure that the offences committed do not result in a criminal record. These measures are extremely important in a context of economic development, where employers are searching for good employees.

When a soldier or an officer ends his military service, he can bring an invaluable contribution to the workforce. We are talking about honest people who served their country and who want to continue to do so. We therefore must avoid saddling them with a criminal record. I used to work in human resources, and I still do so occasionally as an advisor. When employers see a small black mark, they set aside the file. By doing so, we exclude people who could do good things for Canada.

The Minister of Human Resources and Skills Development is searching for workers, but we are penalizing ourselves by adopting such measures.

[Jobs and Growth Act, 2012, December 4th, 2012]

Mr. Speaker, I listened very closely to my colleague's speech. She had a lot to say about the environment. A very happy event is approaching for her and her loved ones, but what legacy will we be leaving for future generations if the government undermines environmental legislation and takes away research and development sector subsidies that are crucial to the development of green energy?

There is nothing in this bill for wind or solar power, absolutely nothing for the development of hydrogen-powered vehicles, and nothing to restrict greenhouse gas emissions from the auto industry either. China and the United States now have greenhouse gas emissions standards for vehicles coming off the assembly line. Canada has done nothing. What impact will this have on future generations?

How sad it is to see the government undermine the economy like that. Sometimes, all it takes to stimulate job creation is support for local economies. But the government is not doing anything in this budget.