Marc Garneau

[Economic Action Plan 2015 Act, No. 1, May 14th, 2015]

Mr. Speaker, first, I have an observation. I am always amused to hear every Conservative MP talk about how there are tons of people in their riding who are benefiting from income splitting. If we added it all up, we would think that the majority of Canadians would get benefits from income splitting. I have news, and here are the facts. Fewer than 15% of Canadians will benefit from it.

I would like to say that I have great respect for my colleague, particularly for his concern for mental illness, which I share, and he has done great work on that. He brought out the concept of hope, which is very important.

However, having brought it up, what hope is he offering to the 14% of young people who are looking for something to do in their lives but cannot find jobs? What hope is he offering to veterans who have, frankly, given up on the government? What hope is he offering to the homeless, and there are many in my riding, who not only have no home, but are suffering with addictions and have mental health problems?

What hope would this budget offer them?

[Manufacturing Industry, May 14th, 2015]

Mr. Speaker, bad news for the manufacturing sector just keeps on coming.

As we all know, this morning Bombardier announced that 1,500 jobs here in Canada would be cut, 1,000 of them in Montreal. That means 1,500 lost jobs here in Canada. Last month, 20,000 jobs were lost across Canada. This government's laissez-faire approach is totally irresponsible. It is time to do something.

Why is the government doing nothing to create jobs here in Canada?

[National Defence, May 13th, 2015]

Mr. Speaker, in her report, Ms. Deschamps made 10 recommendations to deal with the serious problem of sexual harassment in the armed forces.

However, we have just learned that, in February, before the report was even published, General Lawson gave explicit orders rejecting important recommendations in the report. Meanwhile, the Minister of National Defence remained silent.

Why did the minister not order General Lawson to rescind the directive and implement all 10 recommendations?

[Business of Supply, May 11th, 2015]

Mr. Speaker, I remember when I was at staff college and they talked about what we now know is PTSD in the First World War. They actually called it LMF, or lack of moral fibre. Men could be taken out and shot because they had a lack of moral fibre. We have certainly come a long way since that time. Today, we had better recognize the fact that PTSD is not only an important consequence for some people but actually quite common.

I commend the new Minister of Veterans Affairs for his commitment to our veterans. I think he still has a great deal to prove, but he is certainly a great improvement over his predecessor. However, I did hear him cautioning the NDP about, to use his words, “talk and posturing”. We have had nothing but talk and posturing from the Conservative government over the last few years.

I want him to give me a warm feeling that he really understands PTSD and the urgent need to make sure it is addressed by Veterans Affairs for our soldiers coming back from theatres of war.

[Foreign Affairs, May 7th, 2015]

Mr. Speaker, over 200 artists from Quebec have signed a letter from playwright Michel Marc Bouchard asking the Prime Minister to personally intervene in the Raif Badawi case. Mr. Badawi's only crime was defending freedom of expression, human rights and gender equality.

The Prime Minister boasts about having a principled foreign policy, and yet he remains completely silent on this matter.

Will he finally do what we have been asking him to do for months now and personally intervene in Mr. Badawi's case?

[Petitions, May 6th, 2015]

Mr. Speaker, I have the honour of presenting this petition regarding the inclusion of palliative care in the Untied nations' sustainable development goals, specifically recognizing that hospice and palliative care is an essential component of national health systems.

The petitioners ask the Government of Canada to call for the inclusion of hospice and palliative care in the United Nations' sustainable development goals.

[National Defence, May 5th, 2015]

Mr. Speaker, journalists covering the Prime Minister's recent trip to Iraq were lectured about not broadcasting the faces of Canada's special forces soldiers as doing so might endanger them. However, the PM's own online 24/7 propaganda channel has violated that rule. However, this is not the first time. Two months ago, the Minister of National Defence tweeted a picture of special forces soldiers carrying the coffin of Sergeant Doiron.

What is wrong with the government which is endangering the lives of our soldiers? Is it blatant self-promotion or incompetence?

[Anti-Terrorism Act, 2015, May 4th, 2015]

Mr. Speaker, my hon. colleague said that we do not really have to be worried about protecting the rights and freedoms of our citizens, that it is all under control, despite the fact that our very strong security alliance with the Five Eyes are just as concerned about civil liberties and rights, yet they have put in robust oversight to ensure that through excessive zeal, these kinds of abuses of civil liberties are not caused.

Her colleague from Wild Rose said that the reason they do not want more oversight, according to him, is they do not want it to be politicized. The other partners in the Five Eyes have robust oversight, and yes, politicians were involved. In those countries they are just as concerned as we are with civil liberties.

I am curious about why the government does not feel it would be necessary. There is a big tradition of libertarianism in the Conservative government. People do care about their freedoms and rights. Why is it that my hon. colleague sees a problem with having robust oversight to ensure that we do not abuse the rights of citizens?

[Anti-Terrorism Act, 2015, May 4th, 2015]

Mr. Speaker, I listened with interest to what the member for Wild Rose had to say. It seems to me that his main argument with respect to Bill C-51 is that we are doing the same thing that all our allies, our partners, and all those who want to protect against the risk of terrorism are doing.

Therefore, I would like to ask him the following question. We are the very close ally of four other countries—the United States, Great Britain, new Zealand and Australia. This group of five countries is called the Five Eyes. It is remarkable that the four other countries in this group have put in place an extremely robust oversight process to ensure that there is no risk, due to an excess of enthusiasm, that their security services go too far and that people's rights, privileges and privacy are violated.

Why does Canada not adopt this group's approach by having a robust oversight process? This does currently not exist in Canada. We having been asking for this for 10 years. What does the member have to say about that?

[The Budget, May 4th, 2015]

Mr. Speaker, all the talking points in the world will not hide the fact that the Conservative plan is fundamentally unfair, ignores the middle class and gives the most benefits to the wealthy. Whether it is the rise in the TFSAs paid for by raising the retirement age to 67, income splitting which only benefits 15% of Canadians or monthly child benefits that go to the wealthy, Conservatives choose to help those who need it the least.

Why is the Conservative priority the wealthy, instead of the middle class and those trying to join the middle class?