Marc-André Morin

[Business of Supply, June 4th, 2015]

Mr. Speaker, my colleague is a descendant of Innu caribou hunters from the north shore. The government would do well to learn from aboriginal values.

Caribou hunters in the north shore were not starving beggars. They sought out their own food. They had a long tradition of sharing their game. When they were in the forest they had a system for communicating with other hunters travelling in the area to let them know that there was meat available for other families. They had a network and no one died of hunger.

Individualism is a European invention. The worst insult in Innu means “individualistic”, or someone who does not care about others—my colleague knows how to pronounce the word. I would like to learn that word so I could use it for the other side of the House.

[Port State Measures Agreement Implementation Act, May 28th, 2015]

Mr. Speaker, I have a question.

Only 11 countries have ratified the agreement. The government likes to brag about having signed free trade agreements with 38 countries. I am just wondering how many free trade agreements it has signed with non-signatory countries. Has it not missed out on an opportunity to put some pressure on those countries to ratify the agreement?

[Petitions, May 27th, 2015]

Mr. Speaker, I have the honour to present a petition signed by several hundred people in Laurentides—Labelle. The petitioners are calling on the House to ensure that Canada's policies and programs protect the right of small family farms in the south to use and trade their seed.

[Privilege, May 12th, 2015]

Mr. Speaker, I am sure that the guards stationed up there in the gallery can recognize anyone in the House. That is how safe I feel. If chaos were to break out, I am sure that they would recognize me and any of my colleagues no matter the circumstances.

However, there is more to it than that. The new mentality fostered by the Conservatives challenges the concept of separation of powers.

I would like my colleague to tell us a bit about that.

[Second World War, May 8th, 2015]

Mr. Speaker, today, as we celebrate the 70th anniversary of the end of the Second World War and the defeat of Nazism, we should think of the generation of people who sacrificed themselves to save humanity from the worst scourge in history.

The Laurentian region provided a large contingent of volunteers, sometimes all the sons in the same family, such as the five Bélair brothers from Nominingue and the three Chapeleau brothers from Prévost. Some of them were too young, but they still left for the front at 17 years of age. They accomplished amazing feats.

They were men like Jacques Viger, from Nominingue, of the Royal 22nd Regiment and André Rousseau, from La Minerve, of the Royal Canadian Navy.

With the same courage they showed in combat, they rebuilt their lives and became model citizens in their communities. No one gave as much and asked for so little in return. We are very fortunate: these two young men are still with us. They are visiting the site where in 1939 a decision was made that changed their lives.

[Anti-terrorism Act, 2015, May 5th, 2015]

Mr. Speaker, for the past few days, we have been treated to a show of mental gymnastics. The government is trying to convince us that our rights will be protected by a law that actually seeks to eclipse them. That makes no sense. We have learned one thing, and that is the difference between the Liberals and the Conservatives. In fact, they both want to make the same mistake, except the Liberals claim that they are aware of it. That is all we have learned to date.

[Citizen Voting Act, May 1st, 2015]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to point out something that is remarkable: this is the 95th time we have had a gag order imposed on us.

My colleague spoke earlier about some other major countries' practices. There are many interesting practices used elsewhere in the world that we could adopt here. Under the current conditions, however, we cannot even discuss them here, let alone in committee, where the Conservatives have the same attitude as they do here. There is no way to discuss them.

This bill only complicates matters for Canadian citizens living abroad. Just look at the situation in Nepal, where the government cannot even seem to locate Canadians in order to evacuate them. We can only imagine its indifference to their desire to vote.

[Common Sense Firearms Licensing Act, April 1st, 2015]

Mr. Speaker, what worries me is that anyone could have access to weapons that were previously classified as restricted weapons—for example, semi-automatic and fully automatic weapons—and which are combat weapons. I own six weapons and they are all registered. Not one of them can shoot more than three bullets. That is all a hunter needs. No one is going to go moose hunting with an AK-47, which would cut a moose in half. That would be pointless and entirely stupid.

Anything can happen with bills that include regulation by reference. It would be hell. I would like my colleague to comment on that.

[Safe and Accountable Rail Act, March 31st, 2015]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to know what my colleague thinks about the state of the tracks throughout the railway system.

Last summer I was at a railway crossing along the trans-Canada railway between La Tuque and Senneterre in the town of Parent. Every time an axle passed over a particular spot, the rails bent about an inch. Then, the train passed over a wooden bridge that is about 75 years old.

If our tracks are maintained according to the same standards used in Siberia, I am wondering whether we actually have any kind of safety in transportation.

[Military Contribution Against ISIL, March 30th, 2015]

Mr. Speaker, there is one thing I do not understand because we are already seeing the results of that tactic in Libya and Yemen, and the cause is always the same. What started in Iraq has spread throughout the region and contaminated it.

The Conservatives need to realize that the movie Top Gun was not based on historical fact, and that if they want to find the real causes of the situation, they should watch Lawrence of Arabia instead. That would help them understand how the artificial borders that were created led to chaos throughout the 20th century.

We cannot wage war without a contingency plan. If we do not know what we are going to do after the war, the inevitable result will be even more chaos without end.