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Crucial Fact

  • His favourite word was transportation.

Last in Parliament March 2023, as Liberal MP for Notre-Dame-de-Grâce—Westmount (Québec)

Won his last election, in 2021, with 54% of the vote.

Statements in the House

Foreign Affairs April 28th, 2015

Mr. Speaker, many Canadians are stuck in Nepal, where they are exposed to significant risks.

Denis Prud'homme, a Canadian tourist in Kathmandu, said, “The American embassy is doing an excellent job, but we haven't heard anything from our fine government...We aren't doing very well on the world stage when it comes to helping to Canadian nationals caught in disasters.”

The minister can say whatever he wants, but frankly, the government has been slow to react.

Where is the plan to bring Canadians back to Canada?

The Budget April 28th, 2015

Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague. She focused primarily on social housing, which is extremely important, but I know that homelessness is also important to her, and it is to me as well.

I would like to ask her what she thinks about the government's attitude towards the homelessness partnering strategy. The government does not seem to realize that homelessness will, tragically, be around for many years. In fact, the problem is even growing. Furthermore, the agencies that work in this area and could help the homeless need predictable, long-term funding instead of last-minute, piecemeal funding. Of course, this would require a good relationship between the provincial and federal governments. They need to talk to each other.

What does my colleague think about homelessness and long-term funding to combat homelessness?

The Budget April 28th, 2015

Mr. Speaker, I appreciate my colleague's comments today, most of which I agree with.

One of the things we in the Liberal Party have noticed concerning the budget is the total lack of focus on something that is incredibly important, which is economic growth. As we know, in January our economy actually contracted. We heard the Governor of the Bank of Canada's comment about an atrocious start to the year. The CIBC said that we have the worst job quality in 25 years. The numbers are still pretty high on unemployment.

What would the NDP propose in terms of growth? I know New Democrats consider it to be an important aspect of the budget.

Petitions April 28th, 2015

Mr. Speaker, this petition deals with palliative care.

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.

The Budget April 24th, 2015

Mr. Speaker, increasing the TFSA limit will mainly benefit the richest Canadians and will impose a heavy tax burden on future generations. That is not fair or prudent. Canada is facing many challenges: an ageing population, a stagnant economy, a shortage of quality jobs and crumbling infrastructure. We must not mortgage our future and create problems for the Prime Minister's granddaughter to solve.

Why is the government favouring the richest Canadians by mortgaging our children's future?

The Budget April 23rd, 2015

Mr. Speaker, I have to say that I was glad to be here because I have seldom heard such an amusing speech. It was totally unconstrained by the facts and was hyperbolic in every sense of the word.

Let me start with the first comment where my colleague spoke eloquently about the finance minister. She started off talking about him in glowing terms, yet when I heard the finance minister on CBC's The National being asked about what this budget contained in terms of climate change measures, he said that there were some measures with respect to public transit and that more than 60% of greenhouse gases in this country are produced by transportation.

I have to say that more than 60% is not the right figure. I am wondering whether my hon. colleague might set the record straight and tell the House how much in fact transportation is responsible for greenhouse gases in this country. I think it is important for Canadians to know. It is the basis for some of the measures taken in this budget.

We should speak from the facts. Perhaps my colleague could tell us what percentage of greenhouse gases are created due to transportation.

The Budget April 23rd, 2015

Mr. Speaker, last year we proposed an EI holiday for employers that would hire young people in particular. If my hon. colleague is so concerned about creating jobs, which we all are, why is the government keeping the EI premium level artificially high until 2017? That is a job killer.

The Budget April 23rd, 2015

Mr. Speaker, there is no doubt that the current Minister of Finance will not be around to fix this.

However, we do not need to wait for the Prime Minister's granddaughter to find out what happens when you double the TFSA contribution limit. The costs of this measure will soon grow exponentially. The wealthiest Canadians are the ones who will likely benefit from this policy and from the income splitting policy.

Why does the government favour the richest Canadians instead of taking measures that will benefit all Canadians equitably?

Yom Ha'atzmaut April 23rd, 2015

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to celebrate Yom Ha'atzmaut, the anniversary of the founding of the state of Israel. Sixty-seven years ago, barely a few years after enduring the horror of the Holocaust, Jews came together from many countries to build a sovereign state called Israel.

Canada was quick to recognize the new state. The creation of Israel was a remarkable achievement. It represented the determination of a people to build themselves a country.

Over the past 67 years, the Israeli people have worked very hard to develop a modern and prosperous economy, an innovative and ingenious nation and a flourishing culture founded on free democracy, even though they are right in the middle of an unstable region.

Therefore, on this auspicious occasion I would like to extend our sincerest congratulations to Israel for everything it has accomplished as a country in the past 67 years. It can be assured that Canada will remain its friend and ally in the years to come.

Questions Passed as Orders for Returns April 20th, 2015

With regard to exceptions granted under the Policy on Tabling of Treaties in Parliament (the Policy): (a) broken down by year, since the Policy became effective, how many and which specific instruments were granted exemptions; (b) on what basis was each exemption granted in (a); (c) if the exemption in (b) was based on urgency, (i) how was the treaty determined to be urgent, (ii) who made this determination, (iii) when; (d) if the exemption in (b) was for a reason other than urgency, (i) what was the reason, (ii) how was this determined; (e) who determines what constitutes an acceptable reason, other than urgency, to exempt a treaty from the normal tabling requirements under the Policy; (f) have any requested exceptions to the Policy not been granted; (g) broken down by treaties exempted, (i) on what date did Canada sign the instrument, (ii) when did Canada ratify the agreement, (iii) when was the treaty tabled in Parliament; (h) broken down by treaty exempted, was a joint letter drafted "that clearly articulates the rationale to proceed with the ratification, without tabling in the House of Commons"; (i) for each letter described in (h), (i) what is the date of the letter, (ii) to whom is it addressed, (iii) who signed it; (j) broken down by year, what treaties have been exempted from the Policy without a joint letter; (k) broken down by treaty in (j), why was no draft letter created; (l) with respect to the response of the government to part (gg) of Q-816, stating that no joint letter was created with respect to the exemption granted to the Agreement Between the Government of the United States of America and the Government of Canada to Improve International Tax Compliance through Enhanced Exchange of Information under the Convention Between the United States of America and Canada with Respect to Taxes on Income and on Capital, is the lack of such a letter typical; (m) in each case where an exception to the Policy was granted, was the approval of the Prime Minister sought; (n) in each case where approval for an exception to the Policy was sought from the Prime Minister, was the approval granted; (o) if there were any cases where an exception was granted without approval being sought from the Prime Minister or being granted by the Prime Minister, (i) what treaty was at issue, (ii) what happened, (iii) what justified the course of action; (p) has any study or analysis been undertaken with respect to exceptions granted under the Policy; (q) when was the last time the Policy was reviewed and what were the conclusions of this review with respect to exemptions; (r) what is the policy justification for allowing an exception to the tabling policy; (s) is the granting of an exception always indicated in the explanatory memorandum; (t) if the answer to (s) is no, in what cases was a treaty granted an exception to the Policy but this information not included in the explanatory memorandum; (u) when an exception is granted and this is indicated in the explanatory memorandum, is the reason for the exception indicated in all cases; (v) in what cases has an exception been granted but the treaty still tabled for twenty-one sitting days prior to any Parliamentary action to bring it into force, where applicable; (w) may an exception be granted to the Policy without the Prime Minister's approval being sought; (x) may an exception to the Policy be granted without the Prime Minister's approval; (y) what statistics are kept and by whom regarding exceptions to the Policy; (z) by what means, and when in the process, is the public informed that an exception to the Policy has been granted; and (aa) by what means, and when in the process, is Parliament informed that an exception to the Policy has been granted?