Marcel Proulx

[May 29th, 2008]

Mr. Speaker, on April 4, I asked the Minister of the Environment about his appearance before the Standing Committee on Government Operations and Estimates. The Minister of the Environment sidestepped the questions.

I will review the facts. In the fall of 2006, a municipal election was held in Ottawa. The stakes were very high, in particular the light rail project. Members will remember that the municipal council negotiated and approved a contract with Siemens to carry out the project. The council then made a request for $200 million in funding from the Government of Canada.

At the time, the current Minister of the Environment was President of the Treasury Board. It was public knowledge that the President of the Treasury Board did not get along with the then-mayor of Ottawa, Bob Chiarelli. However, a mayoral candidate, the current mayor of Ottawa, Larry O'Brien, seemed to hit it off with the Conservative minister. The two allegedly conspired to offer a job to a third candidate to remove him from the mayoral race.

It could not be more clear: by interfering with the subsidy for the light rail project, the President of the Treasury Board was interfering in the mayoral race. What did he do? He got a copy of the contract and found a weakness. He said he had hit the jackpot. He attacked the reputation of several municipal officials, claiming that these City of Ottawa officials had lied to him.

In his eyes, the light rail project was a fiasco. Why then did federal officials approve the project? Why was the Department of Transport, with its expertise, not called in to advise the Treasury Board president? Why did he not consult his own officials, who had already approved the project? There were many projects on the drawing board, but the light rail project was the only one to get the president's personal attention.

After the election, the new Ottawa municipal council decided to cancel the light rail project. Because of the minister's stubbornness and poor judgment, the City of Ottawa is still waiting for light rail and could be forced to pay hundreds of millions of dollars for breach of contract.

During his testimony at the Standing Committee on Government Operations and Estimates, the Minister of the Environment stated that the Treasury Board had met on October 10, 2006, in the cabinet room to approve his light rail decision. But that was a break week. Government files and media reports confirmed that members of the Treasury Board were not in the city on that day. Instead of clarifying the situation, the Leader of the Government in the House of Commons accused the media of reporting false information. Instead of simply telling the truth or correcting the facts, the minister blamed the media.

The government has had almost two months to respond clearly and act transparently on this issue. I would like to repeat my question from April 4: on what date was this meeting held and which cabinet members were present?

[Canada-EFTA Free Trade Agreement Implementation Act, May 27th, 2008]

Mr. Speaker, I congratulate the member for Ottawa South. It is refreshing to hear from an expert on the matter.

I would like him to elaborate on his concerns about how supply management could be affected by this agreement. We all know that the current Conservative government will not go to bat for supply management. I would like to hear an expert opinion on this subject.

[Portrait Gallery, May 16th, 2008]

Mr. Speaker, all around the world national portrait galleries are displayed in national capitals, but in Canada, our government considers cultural merchandise to be like any other good that is devoid of any national meaning.

Will the government stop neglecting our culture, send a clear message and build a new portrait gallery in the national capital region?

[Portrait Gallery, May 16th, 2008]

Mr. Speaker, since the new national portrait gallery is supposed to be a national institution, it only makes sense to build it in the national capital region. However, this government, which has never cared about promoting Canadian heritage, seems to prefer to leave the construction of the museum in the hands of the company that makes the lowest bid.

Why does this government refuse to build the national portrait gallery in the national capital region?

[Komagata Maru Incident, May 15th, 2008]

Mr. Speaker, I rise on a point of order. I would like you to pay particular attention to the comments made by the member opposite and verify their relevance in a debate that should not be politicized in such a crass manner, as in the case of the comments I believe I heard.

[Sports and Social Association, May 15th, 2008]

Mr. Speaker, on April 12, the members of the Braves du coin sports and social association held their 35th gala to recognize excellence in both sport and volunteerism.

Today I would like to congratulate the gala organizing committee, chaired by Mr. Jean-François Landry, as well as his many volunteers, who made the evening a resounding success. I also would like to congratulate all the winners—young athletes, artists and volunteers—who have distinguished themselves through their passion and dedication.

The Braves du coin have been involved in the Outaouais community since 1962. Under the leadership of Denis Desjardins, the group's more than 400 members continue to support young amateur athletes through scholarships that enable them to pursue their athletic undertakings.

Congratulations to all and long live the Braves du coin.

[May 14th, 2008]

Mr. Speaker, as much as I respect my colleague, I am very disappointed in him because he wasted his four minutes on false rumours fed to him by the Prime Minister's Office. They are all falsehoods. It would be much better to pay attention to the manufacturing sector, which is facing many changes such as the rising dollar, increasing competition from emerging economies and rising energy costs.

Last January we, the Liberals, announced a recovery plan for the manufacturing sector. This plan aims to encourage primary investment, increase assistance for research and development, and lay the foundations for a strong economy.

We, the Liberals, want to help the 130,000 workers who lost their jobs last year. We want to help the 33,000 unemployed workers in the industrial sector—

[May 14th, 2008]

Mr. Speaker, the Conservative government is showing cold indifference to the thousands of Canadians who have lost their jobs in the manufacturing sector.

According to Statistics Canada, the decline in manufacturing jobs has been the sharpest since the recession of the early 1990s. The areas most affected have been Quebec and Ontario, which have seen 90% of the manufacturing job losses nationwide.

In recent years, the value of the Canadian dollar has risen sharply compared to the American dollar. This increase continues to have repercussions on the export market. Indeed, the price of goods produced in Canada is on the rise, which means that our products are becoming less competitive than those of other countries.

Particularly affected are the automotive, machine, textile and clothing industries. The forestry industry has also been seriously affected by the soaring loonie, in addition to being hurt by the softwood lumber agreement with the United States.

When the minority Conservative government tabled its most recent budget, Canadian Manufacturers and Exporters said:

Manufacturing is at risk. We are seeing some of the most productive and competitive operations in the world close because of the dollar. There’s nothing natural about that. But, clearly we can’t rely on this budget to build a competitive advantage for Canada.

That is what the job creators in this sector, which is in crisis, are saying. And what are the Conservatives doing about it? They are abandoning workers.

Last January, we, the Liberals, called for a bill that could have been passed when the House resumed its work. Why? So that our manufacturing sector and affected workers could receive credits as soon as possible and so that the money could be allocated in a way that would really help the situation.

Workers also said that there was no point in having many single-industry cities set up assistance programs for retraining. Simply put, retraining does not solve the problem in places where there is no work.

The aid we provide must focus on long-term solutions for industries affected by the rapid rise of the Canadian dollar. Otherwise, taxpayers' money will be providing mere life support for businesses that can no longer compete in global markets.

What did the Conservatives do? They created a community development trust to help the forestry and manufacturing industries. But, and there is a but, they tied that plan to the next budget. Instead of taking immediate action to help severely affected workers, they took the workers hostage.

The Conservatives had to go back on their decision to tie this measly program to the budget. All parties adopted a motion to accelerate passage of the bill through Parliament.

Nonetheless, the measures are just a drop in the bucket, given the ongoing crisis. These measures help people only when they have lost their jobs.

In closing, in light of the many plant and paper mill closures, including one in the riding of Hull—Aylmer, does the minister intend to expand his aid to workers? Will he improve his program in order to help workers living in one-industry towns?

[Memorial Cup, May 14th, 2008]

Mr. Speaker, last Friday, the Gatineau Olympiques, under the expert guidance of head coach Benoît Groulx, won the President's Cup for the seventh time in their history, a record in the Quebec major junior hockey league. This famous trophy, their third in six years, means the team will proudly represent Quebec at the Memorial Cup.

The 90th Memorial Cup, to be held May 16 to 25, will bring together the country's best junior hockey players. Loyal Gatineau Olympiques fans will turn their attention to Kitchener, which is hosting the 2008 Mastercard Memorial Cup. Naturally, I do not doubt for a moment that this team, from my riding, will be successful in the tournament.

I invite my colleagues in this House to join me in wishing all the players, and especially the Gatineau Olympiques, every success in this 90th Memorial Cup.

[Business of Supply, April 29th, 2008]

Mr. Speaker, I rise on a point of order. The hon. member is not allowed to mention a sitting member's full name. The one that he just mentioned, from LaSalle—Émard, is a sitting member.