Lysane Blanchette-Lamothe

[Ethics, June 12th, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, this is getting more ridiculous every day.

The Conservatives are dragging their feet on electoral reform, just as they are dragging their feet on Senate reform. They are making things up as they go, to try to divert attention away from their scandals.

The Prime Minister says one thing, while the Minister of Canadian Heritage says another. The Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Transport and the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of National Defence contradict each other in public.

If they would just tell the truth, it would be much easier for them to get their stories straight.

Why do the Conservatives find it so difficult to be transparent and tell the truth?

[Ethics, June 11th, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, how can the parliamentary secretary answer the question, when he was the one who was initially saying there was no secret fund, that he did not know what we were talking about? One of his colleagues said there definitely is one, and no one is contradicting him. It is no longer a secret. Thank you, but I am not sure that the parliamentary secretary can really answer these questions without talking through his hat.

However, perhaps he can answer the following question. Did Nigel Wright still have access to the account that the Conservative Party made available to the Prime Minister's Office when he was negotiating to buy Mike Duffy's silence?

[Ethics, June 11th, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, do the Conservatives believe that the chief of staff of the Prime Minister's Office, whose salary is paid by taxpayers, also works for the Conservative Party? It appears that the line separating partisan activities from government activities has disappeared.

We would like a clear answer. Did anyone at the Prime Minister's Office discuss the possibility of using funds transferred by the Conservative Party to the Prime Minister's Office to reimburse Nigel Wright and, consequently, pay for Mike Duffy's fraudulent claims?

[First Nations Elections Act, June 11th, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, I heard my colleague, once again, express how disappointed she is in the government's paternalistic approach to this bill.

Does she know exactly what role the first nations played in the drafting of this bill?

[First Nations Elections Act, June 11th, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, I am a member of the Standing Committee on Public Accounts. About a year and a half ago, we examined the auditor general's report on a 10-year study of the quality of life in Canada's first nation communities.

The observations in that report were really hard to believe. The auditor general pointed out that, despite the investments and good intentions behind all the bills introduced in the House, we are just not seeing any results. Living conditions in aboriginal communities have not improved at all in the last 10 years.

Why? The auditor general mentioned some structural barriers that must be overcome:

We recognize that the federal government cannot put all of these structural changes in place by itself since they would fundamentally alter its relationship with First Nations.

The next sentence is very important:

For this reason, First Nations themselves would have to play an important role in bringing about the changes.

What does my colleague think of the role that first nations have played in developing the bill currently before us, Bill S-6? Did they play enough of a part? Was this bill created in a true spirit of co-operation? If not, what impact could this lack of real co-operation have?

[Ethics, June 10th, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, that is quite amusing. Before, we were imagining things, but now it is more of a secret. There is no secret fund according to the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Transport, but there is one according to his Defence colleague. Come on, the other side is either making things up or just playing with words to try to mislead Canadians, which would be nothing new.

Did someone in the Prime Minister's Office discuss the possibility of using the Conservative Party fund, which was managed by the PMO, to pay Mike Duffy's expense claims or reimburse Nigel Wright, yes or no?

[Ethics, June 10th, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, the Conservatives claim that the PMO's secret fund was not used to buy Mike Duffy's silence. However, was it used to reimburse whoever bought Mike Duffy's silence? That is still a mystery.

We know that the Prime Minister's Office had access to a million-dollar fund provided by the Conservative Party. This fund was managed by Nigel Wright.

Did he use this money to repay himself, yes or no?

[Quebec Blood Services Agency, June 10th, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, I gave blood last Friday.

On June 7, fire station 56 in Île-Bizard hosted a blood drive to collect blood donations that will save hundreds of lives. This was possible thanks to the invaluable co-operation of the firefighters at fire station 56, the generosity of the people of the West Island, the contributions of the many volunteers and the professionalism of the staff at Héma-Québec.

Did you know that last year, in the West Island alone, 105 blood drives were held, that blood drives are organized about a year in advance and that the hardest time to collect blood is during the summer holidays, at Christmas and on New Year's Day?

Héma-Québec is doing critically important work, but it depends on the generosity of donors and community co-operation. Having access to volunteers, networks and free facilities is crucial.

That is why I wish to congratulate all the community groups that have become involved in blood drives. This includes, among others, schools such as Riverdale High School and École le savoir, places of worship such as Hindu Mandir Temple of DDO, and municipalities such as Dollard-des-Ormeaux and Île Bizard.

I thank all of them very much.

[Ethics, June 7th, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, how much money has been spent from this secret fund, managed by the Prime Minister's chief of staff, since the Conservatives have been in power?

[Pensions, June 4th, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, the Minister of Finance has been dragging his feet on this issue for far too long. Meanwhile, many Canadians are still not receiving enough pension benefits.

The pension issue will not magically disappear just because the Conservatives do not know what to do about it. The minister committed to addressing this issue with the provincial ministers in June. Surprise. It is now June.

When can we expect this meeting to happen? What will the government propose at this meeting?