Marjolaine Boutin-Sweet

[Agricultural Growth Act, November 24th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, there is one question that I have asked several of my colleagues recently with respect to various bills.

What does he think of this growing trend of giving more and more powers to ministers in all kinds of bills?

[Agricultural Growth Act, November 24th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, just to build on that, does this mean that the government prefers applied research to pure research? That seems to be a trend in several fields lately.

[Agricultural Growth Act, November 24th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, the hon. member for Charlesbourg—Haute-Saint-Charles just asked a question about an amendment proposed by the NDP. However, there was a second part to this amendment, namely the idea of protecting access to public and heritage seeds.

I am mentioning this because in Kahnawake there is someone named Steve McCumber who is known as the guardian of the plants. He saves heirloom seeds and traditional varieties of three plants that are very traditional for the Iroquois. They are known as the three sisters: squash, corn and beans. This is very important for aboriginal cultures and for Iroquois culture in particular.

Another example comes from Montreal, a few years ago, when a variety of melon was rediscovered. The species was grown in the 19th century and was very productive. Once the island of Montreal became more urban, production stopped. However, it produced well and perhaps we could reproduce all of those varieties I just mentioned.

However, I am wondering why this amendment was rejected when it could mean preserving heirloom varieties by, for example, protecting public research instead of focusing only on research conducted by large companies.

[Poverty, November 24th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, I do not see what the Conservatives have to be happy about right now. We rank 20th among the 41 richest countries in the world. A total of 21% of our children are living in poverty, and UNICEF has indicated that conditions are even worse for the most disadvantaged. That is the record of the Conservatives and the Liberals.

Is the minister telling us that she thinks these statistics are acceptable?

[Poverty, November 24th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, 21% of our children are living in poverty. That is one in five children.

Aboriginal and immigrant children are disproportionately affected. We are talking about our country's future, the leaders of tomorrow, who are growing up in unsuitable conditions.

Will the Conservatives listen to UNICEF's recommendations and set goals to ensure that children are not the victims of their poor budget choices?

[Tougher Penalties for Child Predators Act, November 20th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, why are they asking for an exception in this particular case?

The answer that has been given is that it could help in sentencing a person, but that might also be true in the case of a murder, for instance. What is the difference? Why should there be an exception here and not in other cases?

[Tougher Penalties for Child Predators Act, November 20th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, my colleague spoke about the spouse of an accused person who could be compelled to testify in child pornography cases, as well as exceptions to the Canada Evidence Act in this regard.

However, I must admit that I did not really understand what he meant. I would therefore like to ask him to explain to me, in his own words, why an exception is being made for spouses.

[Tougher Penalties for Child Predators Act, November 20th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker I am in complete agreement with my colleague who spoke about prevention, not punishment.

The hon. member for Winnipeg Centre also raised a very good point in the speech he gave earlier. That is, a person who commits a sex crime against a child is probably not thinking, during the crime, about the punishment that will be handed out.

Therefore, I would like to ask my colleague what he thinks about the part of the bill that increases penalties.

[Housing, November 20th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, more than 1.5 million families in Canada have inadequate housing.

One-quarter of Canadians spend more than 30% of their income on rent. Canada is part of the G7, a group of the seven richest countries in the world, and we cannot even provide adequate housing for our families. Come on.

Can the government at least commit to renewing its investments in social housing?

[Housing, November 19th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, this week about 100 municipal officials with the Federation of Canadian Municipalities are in Ottawa to remind the government that a strong Canada is built on strong communities. They are calling for significant investment to deal with the housing crisis in Canada. There are more than 1.5 million families living in inadequate housing in Canada. That is unacceptable. Will the Conservatives finally listen to the NDP and our municipal officials and protect federal investments in social housing?