Marc-André Morin

[Military Contribution Against ISIL, March 26th, 2015]

Mr. Speaker, does my colleague believe that, by using the same recipe in Syria as in Iraq, there is a slim chance that the outcome will be different?

We are seeing what happens wherever this type of intervention has been undertaken, like in Libya. Libya was freed from a horrible dictator, and it is now under two dictatorships, one in Parliament and one on a boat, off the coast. Libya is now the most unsafe country in the entire region.

Is it not a bit ridiculous to imagine that the same recipe will yield a different outcome?

[Military Contribution Against ISIL, March 26th, 2015]

Mr. Speaker, there is one thing we must not forget. Every time we try to examine the roots of the chaos in that region, the members opposite carefully avoid looking at the past.

When the crisis started in Syria, Canada was the country's second-largest foreign investor. A Canadian company was supplying electricity and managing the entire infrastructure that provided electricity to three-quarters of the country. The company was forced to stop doing that when the United Nations imposed sanctions.

It is easy to accuse us of supporting Bashar al-Assad's regime and ignoring the cruelty of these barbarians. I think we need to look at what our allies are doing. Right now, Wahhabi units are training in the Golan Heights, and when the Syrian army tries to attack them, those units are being defended by the Israeli army.

The situation is more complicated than it looks, and if we act without a plan, we will cause more chaos, which will claim even more innocent victims.

[Business of Supply, March 24th, 2015]

Mr. Speaker, we are not asking them to agree. We are asking them to do something other than wait for the reactions of American universities, international organizations, the European Union, Japan, China and basically everyone. We are always the last to respond when there is a threat, except when it comes to threats that the government has invented and is trying to impose on people.

As to whether it is a waste of time to discuss this subject, it is important to remember that it is a government's job to solve problems. Right now, we are facing an extremely serious environmental problem and we want to do something other than just talk about it. We want the Conservatives to do something to resolve the problem, as other countries have done. We do not have to wait and see what the United States is going to do about DOT-111 cars or wait to hear the opinions of everyone on the planet. We are here to govern. That is why it is called a government. The Conservatives will have to wake up one day.

[Zero Tolerance for Barbaric Cultural Practices Act, March 12th, 2015]

Mr. Speaker, there are a few little things that I do not understand.

From the title of the bill, one has to wonder whether it is attacking certain types of crime or certain cultures. My colleague raised another interesting point in her comments and that is the issue of aboriginal women. The Prime Minister himself has categorically said that this is strictly a crime problem that must be resolved by the police and the justice system, but all of a sudden it becomes a cultural issue.

I do not understand that and I would like my colleague to try to shed some light on the matter.

[Zero Tolerance for Barbaric Cultural Practices Act, March 12th, 2015]

Mr. Speaker, I have one brief question for my colleague. Everyone was horrified when the women in the Shafia family were murdered. What would have happened if Bill S-7 had been in force? The first wife and the young women would have been sent back to Afghanistan, where the husband could have arranged their murder in a country with no security, no justice and no legal system. He could have murdered them with complete impunity. Here at least, he got what he deserved.

I would like to hear my colleague's thoughts on that.

[Zero Tolerance for Barbaric Cultural Practices Act, March 12th, 2015]

Mr. Speaker, there are plenty of examples of barbaric cultural practices in the west, in our fabulous civilization that wants to tell everyone on earth how to live. For example, we have had two world wars, the Holocaust and the war in the Balkans.

Maybe there is a reason that we have been accused of all kinds of things. We should start by fixing our own barbaric cultural problems. For example, we should investigate the murder and disappearance of aboriginal women.

I would like my colleague to comment further on that.

[Business of Supply, February 24th, 2015]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank my colleague for appreciating what Quebec has achieved. I would like him to talk about the fact that the difference is that, in Quebec, despite the fact that there were four political parties involved, none had a moral right-wing base that precluded them from expressing themselves, unlike our friends on the other side who must constantly weigh everything they say, and who cannot really express themselves and say something that is sensible or moderate.

[Business of Supply, February 24th, 2015]

Mr. Speaker, I have had experience in my life working with teams. I have managed construction teams, and I have worked in all kinds of fields. Every time we saw that there was a lot of work to do, we always said that we had to get started right away because we had a lot to do. We never said that we would start tomorrow or later. It is hard to reconcile that with the government's position. I think the only thing that explains this way of thinking is that the government is afraid to debate the subject.

The Conservatives know that they are unable to take any non-partisan action and do something like what Quebec did, with two different governments, over a period of four and a half years, with four different political parties. It is too much for them, and they are even unable to fathom it. I would like my colleague to speak more about that.

[Parliamentary Precinct Security, February 16th, 2015]

Mr. Speaker, when it comes to keeping its word, this government cannot be trusted.

We saw this last week, when the Conservatives voted against a motion that asked the government to keep its word. In fact, we cannot trust their judgment either. People went on strike because they were too tired and they wanted to prevent rail accidents as a result of their fatigue. I heard that things had been settled, but the Conservatives were ready to pass a bill forcing them back to work.

On October 22, I was right beside the door to our meeting room when a bullet struck it. I was very worried. That day, it was our security staff who neutralized the threat. However, we are going to entrust the responsibility for our security to the people who let that man run across the precinct with a rifle. I do not understand that.

I would like someone to explain it to me, if there is an intelligent explanation.

[Rail Service Resumption Act, 2015, February 16th, 2015]

Mr. Speaker, listening to all this, I wonder if a single member on the other side of the House understands what it is like to drive a convoy of 250 rail cars.

The train conductor is constantly under stress; he cannot afford to be distracted for even a split second. Given the length of the train, something can happen one kilometre behind the conductor and he will only find out when the train derails.

If the government were the least bit responsible, it would not be passing a bill to force conductors to be on duty. Instead, it would pass a bill to prohibit people who are overtired or exhausted from going to work because it is not safe.

I would like to thank these workers for bringing a serious threat to our attention.