Laurin Liu

[Business of Supply, January 29th, 2015]

Mr. Speaker, I appreciated my Liberal colleague's speech. This motion is a relevant one, especially at a time when the Conservative government continues to make cuts to provincial transfers. The people of Rivière-des-Mille-Îles are worried about the $36 billion in cuts to health that will be made in the coming years.

The Conservatives also cut disaster assistance to the provinces, without consultation or warning. This Conservative government has a habit of secretly offloading costs onto the provinces, as the Liberals did when they were in power.

My colleagues have already mentioned the Liberal Party's poor record when it was in power. Between 2000 and 2006, Liberal prime ministers only held two meetings with the premiers. It is clear that we cannot really have faith in a Liberal government either.

The NDP is committed to holding at least two meetings a year with the provincial premiers. Would my colleague support such a measure?

[Employment, January 28th, 2015]

Mr. Speaker, we see nothing but job losses under this Conservative government.

The government could provide support to the manufacturing sector through procurement contracts.

The Conservatives are showing absolutely no leadership when it comes to protecting local jobs.

Just recently, we learned that some cities are considering using the federal gas tax fund to buy buses in Belgium. As the workers at Nova Bus in Saint-Eustache say, this makes no sense.

What is the government doing to promote buying locally, to protect our manufacturers and to encourage job creation?

[Labour, January 27th, 2015]

Mr. Speaker, since the introduction of my bill to protect unpaid interns, the government has begun taking this problem seriously. However, we are still waiting for concrete measures to limit unpaid work.

Will the Conservatives take action to ensure that student and other interns are treated as full employees and are protected, as they should be, under the Canada Labour Code?

[Questions Passed as Orders for Returns, January 26th, 2015]

With respect to the Canada Accelerator and Incubator Program launched in September 2013: (a) how much money was budgeted for the program, broken down by year; (b) how many applications have been received, broken down by province and territory; (c) how much money will be allocated, broken down by province and territory; (d) which groups have received funding; and (e) which groups have received a pledge of funding?

[Questions Passed as Orders for Returns, January 26th, 2015]

With regard to government funding for the aerospace industry since 2010: how much has been invested in the form of loans or research and development tax credits, broken down by (i) year, (ii) province and territory, (iii) federal program, (iv) funding type (tax credit, repayable loan, non-repayable loan), (v) individual company?

[Petitions, January 26th, 2015]

Mr. Speaker, I am presenting a petition signed by residents of Saint-Eustache. They are asking the federal government to cancel its plans to eliminate home mail delivery by Canada Post and to stop cutting public services to citizens.

[Questions on the Order Paper, December 11th, 2014]

With regard to proactive enrolment for Old Age Security and Guaranteed Income Supplement benefits: (a) how many persons aged 65 and over who did not receive benefits without applying for them in 2012 are now receiving them automatically, broken down by (i) region, (ii) province; and (b) what percentage of those persons who had to apply to receive their benefits in 2012 now receive them automatically, broken down by (i) region, (ii) province?

[Economic Action Plan 2014 Act, No. 2, December 4th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, that is nonsense. The government says that it listens to Canadians but the Minister of the Environment does not even want to put down her newspaper to listen to the questions about her riding in question period. What is more, the Minister of Veterans Affairs has completely botched his file.

Next year, in 2015, people should remember the number 15, because the NDP listened to Canadians. We are proposing a minimum wage of $15 an hour and child care that costs a maximum of $15 a day. Meanwhile, this government is proposing to cut taxes for 15% of the richest families in Canada. It is completely ridiculous.

Will the member opposite support the NDP's measures to help Canadian families?

[Science and Technology, December 2nd, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, the Conservatives have cut $1.7 billion from science funding over the past five years. The figures speak for themselves. The National Ultrahigh-field NMR Facility for Solids in Ottawa is another research centre that is at risk of being shut down as a result of the Conservatives' blind cuts.

This facility was built in 2005 and it still needs $200,000 to cover its annual operating costs. If this facility shuts down less than 10 years after it opened, $12 million will have been wasted. Why are the Conservatives such bad managers?

[Labour, December 1st, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank my colleague. I know that she has had to stay late tonight in order to answer my question, and I appreciate it.

She says that there is legislation that applies to interns. It is true that there are various provincial laws in this country that protect interns. However, there are no protections in place for interns who work in transportation, telecommunications and banks. We need to fill that gap and create legislation that will protect interns working in those three areas, which fall under federal jurisdiction.

The largest number of unpaid interns are working in telecommunications. A former intern, Jainna Patel, recently filed a complaint because she was doing the same work as paid employees, although she was not being paid herself.

That is why my bill, Bill C-620, is needed. It will protect interns, such as Jainna Patel, who have no recourse under federal law. What is more, unpaid internships penalize young people who do not necessarily come from well-off families and who cannot afford an unpaid internship.

Will the hon. member opposite support my bill, Bill C-620, so that we can protect unpaid interns who are working in areas under federal jurisdiction?