Lysane Blanchette-Lamothe

[Citizen's Arrest and Self-defence Act, April 25th, 2012]

Mr. Speaker, a little earlier, as I was listening to the Conservative members' comments, I got the impression that they are somewhat confused about the meaning of standing up for victims and supporting victims.

Unfortunately, we often hear statements to the effect that the NDP is against victims and does not stand up for victims. However, in my opinion, there is a clear difference between more severe sentencing for criminals or revenge for victims and real protection, real support, for victims. For example, victims can be given tools to help them react better or better defend themselves.

Could the hon. member explain, for example, the relationship between the bill to make our streets safer and this bill, which provides real support to victims of theft or other crimes? Could she tell us the difference between the two?

[Petitions, April 25th, 2012]

Mr. Speaker, today I have the honour to present a petition signed by people from Sept-Îles who are strongly opposed to increasing the old age security eligibility age from 65 to 67, as announced in the Conservatives' recent budget.

The petition is entitled “Protecting old age security”. I think the message is rather clear, given that experts agree that the program is sustainable. The petitioners are calling for the old age security program, which goes a long to way to fighting poverty among seniors, to remain intact and unchanged.

What is more, in this petition, the people of Sept-Îles are also asking that the guaranteed income supplement be increased in order to lift our seniors out of poverty, something that is very important to many Canadians, including the people of Sept-Îles.

[Status of Women, April 25th, 2012]

Mr. Speaker, on April 15, more than 50 women gathered in Pierrefonds-Dollard at a women's event to take part in a discussion, the theme of which was “Women, Diversity and Community Engagement”.

First, seven inspiring guests—Homa Appanah, Ranjana Jha, Marie-Bernadette Julien, Amita Khanna, Isabelle Sayed, Jasbir Kaur Seyan and Monika Spolia—spoke about their leadership roles, various projects, organizational strategies and ethical issues. The participants then asked questions, initiated discussions, spoke about the various challenges that they have in common and had the opportunity to network according to their needs and common interests.

At the end of the discussion, attendees were invited to enjoy an authentic meal and snacks prepared by the Hindu-Mandir Temple and Projet Communautaire de Pierrefonds.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank all the organizers and participants who took part in this event. I was impressed to meet so many exceptional women from my constituency and I am proud to represent such a dynamic and engaged community.

[Seniors, April 23rd, 2012]

Mr. Speaker, after scandals and ethical problems, this government refuses to be transparent about old age security. Even though thousands of Canadians are worried about their golden years, the minister continues to turn a deaf ear. She refuses to say how much this government will save on the backs of the most vulnerable seniors by pushing the age of eligibility from 65 to 67.

Will the minister finally stop hiding information and start telling the whole truth about this unacceptable measure?

[National Defence, April 5th, 2012]

Mr. Speaker, the Conservatives are indicating that they accept the Auditor General's recommendations, but that is not enough. They are refusing to take any action to prevent mistakes from being made. They are refusing to take responsibility for their failures.

The Auditor General's report on the border infrastructure fund was tabled in June 2011, and since that time, nothing has changed in the way the estimates are presented.

Will the Conservatives allow the Standing Committee on Public Accounts to summon the ministers responsible in order to determine what really happened in the F-35 fiasco?

[National Defence, April 3rd, 2012]

Mr. Speaker, it is not enough to just accept recommendations. It would seem that, instead of preventing mismanagement, the government waits until it is caught in the act before apologizing.

The Conservatives wasted public money on some very questionable projects for the G8 summit, and now the same thing is happening all over again with the F-35 jets. Whether we are talking about border inspections of imports or monitoring of civil aviation, administrative problems continue to come to light.

With such poor management, how can Canadians trust this government?

[Seniors, April 3rd, 2012]

Mr. Speaker, media reports often use vocabulary that stigmatizes seniors as victims or a burden on the state. Yet these are the people who built this country, who have paid taxes their whole lives and who raised their children who are now taking their place in the workforce.

While seniors are on retirement, they are still contributing to their community through volunteer work through social and political engagement, through sharing their knowledge and expertise and above all sharing precious moments with their family and friends.

Yes, our seniors are Canada's richness. They deserve our respect. This is why I will strongly oppose increasing the age of accessibility to OAS from 65 to 67. We can do better to increase seniors' quality of life and I will continue to fight to ensure that.

Today I particularly want to highlight the importance of the Dollard-des-Ormeaux seniors' club and the dynamic men and women who make up its 500-plus membership. Thanks to co-operation from the City of Dollard-des-Ormeaux and the hard work of dedicated employees and volunteers, the club offers weekly physical, social and artistic activities to seniors.

I have fond memories of songs sung by the choir, dancing at the Christmas supper and the warm welcome—

[Pensions, April 2nd, 2012]

Mr. Speaker, that is not going to help the provinces. In any event, experts maintain that the old age security program is sustainable, but this government says it is not. Of course, it will be tempting to take money out of pensions and put it somewhere else.

The government has no money for seniors, but it has money for gifts for profitable corporations. It has no money for seniors, but it has money for F-35s, whose costs keep escalating. Is the government compromising access to retirement at 65 for 65 F-35s?

Can the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Human Resources and Skills Development and to the Minister of Labour explain the logic behind these choices? She should stop coming up with bogus numbers. They do not hold up against the studies done by the Government of Canada's chief actuary and the Parliamentary Budget Officer.

[Pensions, April 2nd, 2012]

Mr. Speaker, increasing old age security eligibility also means that seniors will have to wait until they are 67 to get their guaranteed income supplement.

They really need that supplement. Lower-income seniors will have to turn to social assistance, which is funded by none other than the provinces. Again, it will be the provinces that will have to pay for the Conservatives' bad choices.

My question is simple: do the Conservatives have a plan to help the provinces absorb these additional costs?

[Pensions, March 30th, 2012]

Mr. Speaker, those arguments are misleading, and the parliamentary secretary knows it.

Experts agree that our old age security system is sustainable. The truth is that the Conservatives are trying to balance their budget on the backs of the most vulnerable seniors and on the backs of the provinces.

The Canadian Medical Association maintains that the provinces will have to pay more for health care because the most vulnerable seniors will no longer have the means to pay for their drugs and will therefore become sick more often.

Will the Conservatives do their job and protect seniors instead of making them poorer?