Linda Lapointe

[Pierre Descoteaux, April 25th, 2018]

Mr. Speaker, Rosemère lost one of her sons on April 9. Pierre Descoteaux was a former Rosemère municipal councillor, and from 2003 to 2007 he was the MNA for the riding of Groulx, which comprises Sainte-Thérèse, Boisbriand, and Rosemère. Pierre was always very active in his community. For instance, he appeared on a program on TVBL, Thérèse-de-Blainville's community television channel, explaining politics to the people of the Lower Laurentians.

His wife of over 40 years, Marie Beetz, and his three children, Geneviève, William, and Simon, remember him as a proud family man who wanted to spend as much time as possible with his loved ones. His family and friends knew him as a wonderful husband, father, and grandfather.

The people of Thérèse-de-Blainville remember him as a man of conviction who was hard-working, dedicated, and always willing to go the extra mile for his constituents.

I would like to extend my sincere condolences to Marie Beetz, Geneviève, William, and Simon, as well as his extended family and friends.

Pierre, you left us too soon. Rest in peace.

[Business of Supply, April 24th, 2018]

Mr. Speaker, I listened carefully to the speech by my colleague from Mégantic—L'Érable. Of course, being a Quebecker, as I am, he knows that this is a very important issue. We are working with the Quebec government. As I am sure he is aware, Quebec has different agreements with respect to immigration.

I want to make one thing clear: we are talking about irregular crossers, not illegal crossers. It is not the same thing. That is not what we mean. I imagine he knows that we have put together a task force on irregular migration made up of the federal and provincial ministers involved, including the Quebec minister. The task force has regular meetings to promote collaboration, coordinate the response, and address the problems that everyone wants to solve.

As for people with work permits, wait times have dropped from three months to three weeks. With the very low unemployment rate we have right now, these people will at least be contributing to the economy. I want to hear my colleague's thoughts on that.

[Business of Supply, March 22nd, 2018]

Mr. Speaker, speaking of talking, let us talk about the media. I would like to talk about a March 14 article in La Presse.

The High Commissioner of India in Canada and the High Commissioner of Canada in India took part in a Montreal Council on Foreign Relations conference, or MCFR, and I was there.

Here is what was said, according to the papers: “The Prime Minister's visit to India was very important.... However, it ended up in the news for the wrong reasons”.

They also talked about strengthening and expanding trade ties. As I am sure you know, India is a Commonwealth country and a democracy. People there speak English. There is a lot to be done in terms of economic ties, and I would like to hear your thoughts on that.

[Business of Supply, March 22nd, 2018]

Madam Speaker, I will try very hard to address my question to you.

Concerning the trip to India we have been speaking about since this morning, I wonder whether my colleague had the chance to read the La Presse article of March 14 in which the High Commissioner of India to Canada and the High Commissioner of Canada to India are quoted. A conference on international relations took place in Montreal on March 13, and I had the honour of attending. The High Commissioner of India to Canada said that he believed that the Prime Minister’s visit to India was very important, but that it found its way into the news for the wrong reasons.

These are people who know what was going on at the time. The aim was to develop and broaden relations between the two countries, and they succeeded. There were several meetings between ministers, and everything went well.

There are 1.4 billion people in India. It is an English-speaking Commonwealth country. It is one of the countries with which we could do the most business.

Can you tell us about the economic benefits?

[Business of Supply, March 22nd, 2018]

Madam Speaker, my colleague mentioned international trade.

Last week, the Montreal Council on Foreign Relations, or MCFR, welcomed two guest speakers, namely the High Commissioner of India to Canada and the High Commissioner of Canada to India. These two speakers were there to talk about the trip to India. I was there myself. I went to hear the speeches. Their remarks were reported in an article by Alexis Riopel that appeared in La Presse on April 14. Anyone who wants to verify what I am saying has only to go and read it.

This is what the High Commissioner of India said: “I think [our Prime Minister's] visit to India was very important.... However, it ended up in the news for the wrong reasons.... Canada and India complement each other. Canada has the technological and financial resources that India needs. India offers Canada a market of 1.3 billion people”.

The Standing Committee on International Trade just came back from a trip, and we absolutely have to be there. We need to take advantage of the imminent economic progress there. Plus, India is an English-speaking market, so we will have no trouble communicating. It is also a Commonwealth country. The article also reported that “The purpose of the visit was to strengthen and expand the relationship”.

I would like to know what you think of that.

[International Women's Day, March 21st, 2018]

Mr. Speaker, on March 8, 2018, the mayor of Boisbriand and I hosted a meeting of female elected officials from the three RCMs that make up the Lower Laurentians to celebrate International Women's Day. We invited the female elected officials from Mirabel, Deux-Montagnes, and Thérèse-de-Blainville.

Over 25 women attended from nine municipalities, specifically Bois-des-Filion, Blainville, Mirabel, Oka, Sainte-Thérèse, Boisbriand, Deux-Montagnes, Saint-Eustache, and Rosemère. They represented all levels of government, from school boards to municipal, provincial, and federal governments. We took the opportunity to discuss specific challenges facing women in politics. I was very pleased that the four municipalities in my riding are very well represented. The event was so successful that the women from Saint-Eustache decided on the spot to take up the torch and host the event next year, in 2019, in their municipality. I am told that the 2020 event will be held in Deux-Montagnes.

I am delighted to represent the Lower Laurentians region in Ottawa. My region is incredibly dynamic and well represented by some talented women.

[International Trade, March 19th, 2018]

Mr. Speaker, a round of negotiations for a possible agreement with Mercosur will take place here in Ottawa tomorrow, March 20. This is a free trade agreement between Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, Uruguay, and Bolivia. Canada hopes to enter into a free trade agreement with this economic community, Mercosur. The primary objective is to diversity our international trade markets with countries that have similar goals and growing economies.

I wonder if the Minister of International Trade could give us an update.

[The Budget, March 19th, 2018]

Mr. Speaker, I thank my hon. colleague for his question. The aerospace industry has a strong presence in the greater Montreal area. Many jobs depend on all of the large corporations and contractors, such as Bell Helicopter, Bombardier, and L-3 MAS. We do not hear as much about L-3 MAS, but it is the company that maintains our F-18s. It also maintains the American F-18s in Mirabel, which is next door to my riding.

Since the economy is doing well, all of these contractors received a lot of innovation grants. I attended various press conferences to announce these grants with the Minister of Innovation, Science and Economic Development, since they will impact my riding. Earlier I spoke about AP&C, which manufactures titanium powder for 3D printing for the aerospace industry. There are tremendous opportunities available.

[The Budget, March 19th, 2018]

Mr. Speaker, I want to thank my hon. colleague for that excellent question. There is certainly a lot of work ahead. My colleague mentioned children, so I will talk about the children in my riding. Earlier, I was explaining to my colleague that the economy is doing better, and there can be no doubt that the Canada child benefit has made a huge difference. There are more than 10,000 children in my riding. Some families receive over $600 a month. This helps the economy because people have more money left over at the end of the month to pay for extracurricular activities and many other things.

I am also thrilled to hear that the tax-free Canada child benefit is going to be increased.

[The Budget, March 19th, 2018]

Mr. Speaker, I want to remind my hon. colleague that Canada has by far the best debt-to-GDP ratio in the entire G7.

My colleague spoke about debt, but I am going to talk about the economy. At the time of the 2015 election, there were precarious jobs in my riding, in the Lower Laurentians. When I was going door to door, most people were telling me times were hard.

After just three years, we can already see a difference. There are jobs, and unemployment has never been lower. Major investments are being made in aeronautics, a tremendously strong field with many subcontractors.

It is plain to see that this is a balanced budget that paves the way to a better future.