Marc-André Morin

[Jobs and Growth Act, 2012, October 25th, 2012]

Mr. Speaker, I have a good question to ask my hon. colleague.

When the left hand does not know what the right hand is doing, that is serious. When the brain does not know either, it is even more serious. This government's stubborn, obstinate refusal to allow anyone to examine its work leads me to believe that the Conservatives are trying to hide their incompetence. I have worked in several fields in my life and I have a great deal of work experience. Whenever someone refuses to have their work evaluated, it usually means they are trying to hide their incompetence and their mistakes.

I wonder what my colleague's thoughts are on that.

[Strengthening Military Justice in the Defence of Canada Act, October 23rd, 2012]

Mr. Speaker, my young colleague seems to have understood that members of the military are people who volunteer to go into war zones to defend political decisions that Parliament makes. They do not deserve a bit less justice than everyone else; they deserve a bit more.

Can my colleague say who benefits from the authoritarianism and lack of transparency? I get the impression that a number of experts on the other side could answer that question. I also get the impression that secrecy and incompetence are coming into play here.

[Business of Supply, October 16th, 2012]

Mr. Speaker, I have to wonder when I hear the member opposite talk about the government's fabulous track record. Canada has a trade deficit of $50 billion. If she follows her plan, how much further in debt will we be in four or five years? $150 billion? $200 billion? I have my doubts about this plan.

There is one thing that the Conservatives do not seem to consider. By winning a majority, they won the right to do whatever they want. I get the impression that, by abusing procedure, they are trying to give themselves the right to do whatever they want any way they want. Parliamentary procedures and traditions exist so that things are done a certain way. By trying to quickly pass such massive bills, the Conservatives are showing their contempt for other members of Parliament.

[Faster Removal of Foreign Criminals Act, October 4th, 2012]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to hear my colleague's thoughts on the abusive language, the fancy title, the clichés and the extreme cases that people used in drafting this thing.

I grew up in another time, when a majority of Canadians probably regarded immigrants and refugees as a threat and a nuisance. Fortunately, this came to an end around the time the hon. member's parents arrived here as immigrants. Most Canadians now believe that immigrants have important cultural and economic contributions to make to our society.

When I see these fancy titles that never end, like “protecting widows and orphans” and so on, I get the feeling that someone is trying to create hysteria in the community to provoke negative feelings about refugees and immigrants.

What are my colleague's thoughts on this?

[Food Safety, October 3rd, 2012]

Mr. Speaker, what we notice is that reading talking points in the House, saying whatever they want and blaming the opposition is behaviour the members opposite reserve for dealing with people they dislike, like the opposition, or people they choose to ignore, like Canadians.

There are people who are very interested in this issue, such as the beef producer I met in June. He was concerned about the opposition's support for a free trade agreement with Japan. I told him he should not worry about that and that he should instead worry about the health standards that his government was implementing because that is a greater threat to his livelihood than any position the opposition might have on free trade.

It is easy to lay blame, say whatever you want and read talking points, but I think that the people who became ill with E. coli see things differently. It is time to start telling them the truth.

[Business of Supply, October 2nd, 2012]

Mr. Speaker, welcome to the land of confusion. Our colleagues on the other side of the House have forgotten to mention one thing: the sale of Nexen is not an example of foreign investment. It is a hostile takeover of a Canadian strategic resource by a totalitarian regime that will appoint the directors of the future company, which will control an important resource whose value is set to increase tenfold in the upcoming years.

Earlier, my colleague from Burlington spoke about competition. Is China a model when it comes to ensuring competition? Should we not be relying on ourselves instead? China is subsidizing companies left, right and centre and is exceedingly interventionist. I would like the members on the other side to think a little before speaking.

[Business of Supply, October 2nd, 2012]

Mr. Speaker, what worries me is how dim-witted the members opposite appear.

Earlier I heard a minister say that, in the name of freedom, the government cannot intervene to prevent Nexen shareholders from selling their shares. We are told that the government cannot intervene, but on the other hand, the Conservatives are willing to hand responsibility over to the Chinese communist government.

There is something wrong with this picture. This kind of stubbornness will not get us anywhere.

[Business of Supply, October 1st, 2012]

Mr. Speaker, my colleague from Gaspésie—Îles-de-la-Madeleine sees the situation very clearly. He comes from a region that is being specifically targeted, as are all the Atlantic provinces.

The government does not understand what is happening in these regions. I toured Peggy's Cove, which is near St. John's. These people are hard-working and proud, as are all people from Newfoundland, Gaspé, the Magdalen Islands and New Brunswick. All across Canada, most people would prefer to work and are proud of what they do. I am under the impression that the government is basing its decisions solely on prejudices, clichés and cynicism. To the government, I am sure that the beautiful little village of Peggy's Cove represents an expense, a dock to be maintained, bothersome people. The Conservatives believe that it is not important. However, the fishermen from Peggy's Cove are not asking for the government to help them, they are just asking it to stop—

[Business of Supply, October 1st, 2012]

Mr. Speaker, I really admire my colleague's optimism.

On the other hand, I have to wonder if the Conservatives live on the same planet as the rest of us and if they know Canada as I know it. It seems they often tend to ignore reality.

For instance, for someone who lives in Watson Lake, in Yukon, there is a town on both sides of it—one is six hours away and the other is seven hours away. That is a little far to go to work in the next town. The same is true for many towns at the end of peninsulas, at the other end of the province of Newfoundland and Labrador, for instance.

In the day-to-day reality of people's lives, things do not work the way the Conservatives predict they will.

Does my colleague think this is a question of ignorance or apathy on the Conservatives' part?

[Employment Insurance, September 28th, 2012]

Mr. Speaker, the Conservatives are making cuts to employment insurance and although the minister keeps telling us that no one is affected, there are 300,000 more unemployed workers than before the recession.

The only plan the Conservatives have is to make people work 300 km from where they live. Considering the price of gas, the minister better not try to tell us this has no impact.

Why should unemployed Canadians have to pay for the tax breaks being given to oil companies?