Marcel Proulx

[Points of Order, June 12th, 2007]

Mr. Speaker, I find the member for Langley's attitude deplorable. He was caught behaving arrogantly and he does not want to admit it.

I will leave it in your hands, Mr. Speaker. We have already judged him, and the people of Canada will judge him too.

[Points of Order, June 12th, 2007]

Mr. Speaker, during question period, immediately following the Minister of the Environment's answer to the second question, his colleague, the member for Langley, gave us the finger.

I would appreciate your asking the member for Langley to apologize for his unacceptable conduct.

[Transportation, June 8th, 2007]

Mr. Speaker, the transport minister should know about this. The granite industry has written a number of times to his department.

The port of Montreal claims that it is turning back granite blocks to avoid soil contamination, but these blocks are washed and inspected thoroughly before being shipped to Canada. With granite blocks being turned back at the port of Montreal, companies are failing to deliver on export orders and losing customers.

How is the industry supposed to work without raw materials? Will the transport minister wait until the Quebec granite industry is driven out of business before taking action?

[Transportation, June 8th, 2007]

Mr. Speaker, in Quebec, the granite and monuments industry is the lifeblood of entire towns such as Stanstead and Saint-Sébastien. The skills of Quebec sculptors, cutters and polishers are a tremendous asset in dealing with increasingly fierce competition from Asia. However, Transport Canada is forcing them to face this competition with their hands tied behind their backs.

Why is Transport Canada ordering blocks of stone, imported and washed according to the rules, to be turned back when they arrive at the port of Montreal, thereby denying the industry its raw material?

[Sidewalk Art, June 8th, 2007]

Mr. Speaker, it was with great pleasure that I took part, on June 1, in the 12th annual Fleurs de macadam happening.

This is a great community event that stimulates imagination, creativity and joie de vivre in thousands of children and adults.

More than 3,500 children from nursery, primary and secondary schools in the area gathered together in Aylmer. Everywhere I went, coloured chalk drawings transformed the grey sidewalks into a giant outdoor art gallery.

The Optimist Club of Aylmer served lunch to over 3,000 students, parents and teachers who took part in this unique cultural activity.

I would like to congratulate the president of the Optimist Club of Aylmer, Marcel Rainville, and his entire team for their dedication and excellent work. Tomorrow the club is celebrating its 35th anniversary of serving youth in the Aylmer community.

Congratulations and long life to the Optimist Club of Aylmer.

[Ministerial Expenditures, May 31st, 2007]

Mr. Speaker, the fact is that the minister is violating the rules of the Treasury Board and of this House by awarding a contract to someone who is already on his staff. Yet, he stubbornly insists in a totally irrational fashion that he did not do anything wrong, while everyone in this House, except him, knows otherwise.

For transparency and accountability's sake, will the Minister of the Economic Development Agency of Canada for the Regions of Quebec admit that it is his chief of staff who approved the contract and related expenditures? Awarding a contract to his assistant is against the rules. Will he pledge to immediately pay back that money?

[Ministerial Expenditures, May 31st, 2007]

Mr. Speaker, over the past several days, whenever we have put questions to the Minister of the Economic Development Agency of Canada for the Regions of Quebec about his expenditures, he has remained rather vague in his replies. It is as though he is hiding something from us. The minister said that the contract had been approved by the department's financial comptroller.

Can the minister confirm that the approval did not come, rather, from his chief of staff? Will the minister assume his responsibilities at last, admit that he did something wrong and pay back to Canadian taxpayers the $24,804 that he gave to his assistant?

[Sacha Bond, May 31st, 2007]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to inform my colleagues and the Canadian public about the sad situation Sacha Bond, a Canadian citizen, is in.

At 22, he is serving a 20-year sentence in a Florida prison. He is not a hardened criminal. At the time his crime was committed, he was 20 and visiting Florida. Sacha Bond was ill at the time: he has bipolar disorder, a serious mental illness.

Sacha Bond requires special medical care, and I do not believe he is receiving it in the Florida prison. This care is available in the Canadian prison system, in particular at the Archambault Institution.

I have appealed to the compassion and understanding of the Minister of Public Safety to allow Sacha Bond to serve his sentence in Canada, but to no avail. Sacha bond requires special care to be able to continue to live a healthy life and to eventually reintegrate into society, without posing a threat.

Let us support the transfer request of young Canadian Sacha Bond.

[Ministerial Expenses, May 29th, 2007]

Mr. Speaker, the rule is clear. Treasury Board policies state that “ministers shall not enter into contracts for the services of individuals when the terms of the contract or the actual work situation would result in an employer-employee relationship”. The Standing Orders of the House of Commons also leave no room for doubt. They say that persons paid out of the consolidated revenue fund cannot provide members with contractual services.

Will the minister admit once and for all that the contract he awarded to his assistant violates the rules of Parliament?

[Ministerial Expenses, May 29th, 2007]

Mr. Speaker, the manipulation by the Minister of the Economic Development Agency of Canada for the Regions of Quebec is not surprising. We knew he had neglected to declare $150,000 in travel expenditures. We learned that he had awarded a $24,000 contract to his riding assistant. In addition, the minister said yesterday that it was just to add to the employee's salary, which is strictly illegal.

Will he repay the money he spent illegally?