House of Commons photoLost her last election, in 2011, with 26% of the vote.
Forestry Industry October 23rd, 2009
Mr. Speaker, the AbitibiBowater plant in Beaupré shut down indefinitely yesterday. Nearly 360 workers lost their jobs. Bill C-50on employment insurance is designed to help Ontario's auto workers. It does nothing to meet the needs of Quebec's forestry workers. A complete overhaul of the EI system is needed to enhance accessibility and improve benefits.
What is the minister waiting for to help forestry workers?
Criminal Code October 20th, 2009
Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for his speech. I have been listening to all my colleagues for the past two hours and I have a question for my Bloc Québécois colleague. The purpose of the bill, which in fact is necessary, is to address identity theft. After having heard all that has been said, I have the following question for my colleague, who broached the subject briefly. If this bill is passed, will identity theft be a thing of the past?
Of course, criminals can be punished, but as far as prevention goes, what can we do to stop identity theft?
We spoke earlier about collaborating with the provinces. I think collaboration between provincial and federal governments is essential to address this problem. It would have been better if the government had started to collaborate before proposing the new measures in the bill; in other words, establish a coherent strategy before changing the Criminal Code, then implement this strategy at the provincial level and make sure the provinces have the necessary tools and resources.
Can my colleague expand upon the importance of collaborating with the provinces, particularly with Quebec, to make sure that the measures contained in this amended bill can be implemented and that the provinces have enough resources to implement them?
Employment Insurance October 9th, 2009
Mr. Speaker, for two weeks the minister has been unable to assess the impact of her bill on various industry sectors. Yet the Bloc Québécois is already able to say that forestry workers in Quebec are highly unlikely to benefit from Bill C-50, because they have been through a number of periods of intermittent unemployment, which excludes them from these new measures.
Why does the minister not acknowledge that her bill is designed for workers in the auto industry in Ontario?
Employment Insurance October 8th, 2009
Mr. Speaker, we know that the government is preparing to plunder the employment insurance fund because it stacked the board of directors with employer representatives carefully chosen by the Minister of Human Resources and Skills Development. Not one person nominated by the commissioner representing workers was retained by the minister to sit on the employment insurance financing board.
How can the government continue to deny that it has set everything up to plunder the fund?
Employment Insurance October 7th, 2009
Mr. Speaker, not only are officials unable to justify the government's inflated figures on the number of unemployed people affected by Bill C-50, but they are also unable to specify which regions will benefit.
Will the government admit that it does not want to elaborate on this because Bill C-50 favours Ontario's automobile workers and excludes Quebec's forestry workers?
Employment Insurance October 6th, 2009
Mr. Speaker, yesterday, executives of Abitibi-Bowater in Dolbeau-Mistassini announced to workers that they did not know whether the plant would be able to reopen. The Roberval plant is also closed indefinitely. Two plants, two ministers, same results: nothing is happening.
What is the minister responsible for Saguenay—Lac-St-Jean waiting for to make the employment insurance system more flexible in order to help forestry workers?
Employment Insurance October 2nd, 2009
Mr. Speaker, the Conservative government is getting ready to offer parental leave for self-employed workers as part of the EI system. But this will not give Quebec anything more, because the Government of Quebec introduced this sort of leave in 2006.
Will the federal government promise to compensate Quebec, which already offers such leave for self-employed workers?
Employment Insurance September 29th, 2009
Mr. Speaker, according to the Quebec Forest Industry Council, the Conseil national des chômeurs and the FTQ, the proposed measures will have no impact in Quebec, because they will not apply to seasonal workers, forestry workers or vulnerable workers.
What is the government waiting for to propose comprehensive reform in order to improve eligibility for employment insurance?
Employment Insurance September 17th, 2009
Mr. Speaker, according to the Quebec Forest Industry Council, the Conseil national des chômeurs and the FTQ, the measures announced yesterday will have very little impact in Quebec, because they are not available to seasonal workers, forestry workers, young people and vulnerable workers. But what does the Quebec lieutenant say to those who assert that Quebec is poorly served by the program and access criteria are discriminatory and too strict? He says that he cannot give any guarantees.
Is it not increasingly clear that this plan will not help the unemployed in Quebec?
Employment Insurance September 16th, 2009
Mr. Speaker, since April 2005, some 25,000 jobs have been lost in Quebec in the forestry sector, while in the auto sector, which is concentrated in Ontario, thousands of jobs have been lost, mainly in the last year. The economic downturn has been affecting forestry workers for several years now, and they risk being excluded from a program that seems to target primarily the auto industry.
Do the ministers from Quebec realize that they are proposing a program designed mainly for Ontario, and that they have done nothing to help the Quebec forestry industry since 2006?