Marjolaine Boutin-Sweet

[National Defence, September 19th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, today's announcement that four ships are going to be decommissioned means that the navy will have only one 50-year-old resupply ship. The minister knows full well that if the government had not cancelled the resupply ship contract in 2008, our resupply capabilities would not be as limited as they are now. What is worse, thanks to the Conservatives' mismanagement, the last of the resupply ships will be decommissioned two years before the new ships become available.

Is the minister going to rely on a foreign country to supply our troops?

[Red Tape Reduction Act, June 19th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, my colleague mentioned fair decisions in his speech. I would like to ask him whether he thinks that giving more powers to the President of the Treasury Board is the solution that provides healthy public administration and fair decisions.

[Red Tape Reduction Act, June 19th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, I will be supporting the bill too because lots of the individuals and businesses in my riding complain about red tape. However, there are also groups that are not small businesses that have to cope with a lot of red tape issues.

For example, an organization in my riding called Ateliers bon débarras does social reintegration work with young people. They used to apply for funding from the skills link program every year. Now they have decided to stop applying because the red tape got to be overwhelming. It got too complicated. It was a very good program though.

Plenty of other community organizations do not always have the time to apply to programs because they do not have enough people to do it. Just like small businesses, many groups could benefit from this kind of bill.

We saw a great example of increased red tape recently. Bill C-2 on supervised injection sites uses red tape to make sure that this kind of service is not offered. It contains so many criteria that it will be impossible for anyone to create such a centre.

What does my colleague think of all this?

[Red Tape Reduction Act, June 19th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to talk credit cards with my colleague. When I meet store owners or people in my riding who have small businesses, they also talk to me about red tape. However, most of the time they talk about credit card fees and not much else. Some of them have even decided not to accept credit cards because it costs too much. It is hurting businesses. Fewer people are paying with cash these days, meaning that fewer people will do business with those companies. It is harming consumers and businesses.

I am imagine that it is the same in my colleague's riding. Does she see that as a problem? The NDP already suggested that an ombudsman regulate credit card fees. Could that be a solution?

[Respect For Communities Act, June 17th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, I have waited a long time to speak.

In my neighbourhood, there are a lot of addicts. I heard some Conservative ministers ask whether we would want such sites in our backyard. Oh yes, I would.

Moreover, out of the four sites that are planned for Montreal, one will be in my riding. We find a lot of syringes in the parks and that is dangerous for the children. In Hochelaga, there are unfortunately a lot of bad drugs, which affect a lot of people.

An organization called Dopamine is already helping protect children and adults by picking up the syringes. It also gives clean syringes to addicts to stop people from getting sick. However, there is nothing Dopamine can do about bad drugs.

At a supervised injection site or a supervised injection service, specialists would be on site to ensure that people who inject too many drugs are protected, do not die and do not transmit diseases to others.

That is what we call harm reduction. That is what these sites are used for, and it has been proven effective in a number of cities.

I would like to know what my colleague thinks about that.

[Victims Bill of Rights Act, June 13th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, it is not a question, it is a comment.

I am completely disgusted by what I have just heard and by the hypocrisy of a government that, on the one hand, says it wants to protect victims with a bill and, on the other hand, does these types of things. The big brother of the MP next to me, the member for Abitibi—Baie-James—Nunavik—Eeyou, died in one of those schools. His mother found out by chance several years later. The family had no idea of what had happened.

Therefore, it is appalling that one part of the population is being protected but that another large part is not. I am thinking of all the aboriginal people and the missing and murdered women for whom they do not even want to set up an inquiry. That is hypocritical.

I would like to hear my colleague's comments on that, please.

[Victims Bill of Rights Act, June 13th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, my colleague rightfully noted that there is a general lack of funding. Community groups do very good work and are very generous, but their resources are limited. There is going to be a big problem.

Speaking of resources, this will take police training or legal training. Will the provinces or municipalities have to cover these costs through their police forces? The bill does not seem to provide funding for training, but I would think that funding is required.

I would like to hear what my colleague has to say about that.

[Victims Bill of Rights Act, June 13th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, the Conservatives always say that they are tough on crime and that they stand up for people affected by crime. However, my colleague just said that the people targeted by this bill will not necessarily be aware of the recourse they have.

Will victims advocacy groups be required to give them that information? What does my colleague think the government could do to ensure that there is greater awareness of victims' rights and that the law is fully implemented?

[Economic Action Plan 2014 Act, No. 1, June 11th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, according to the announcement about the new Building Canada fund, there was $6 billion left over from the 2007 plan even though Canada has a major infrastructure deficit.

How is it possible that $6 billion was left over from the 2007 budget?

[Economic Action Plan 2014 Act, No. 1, June 11th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, I have some good statistics to give the member.

First, one in four Canadian households spends more than 30% of its income on housing. Second, 30% of the population rents an apartment, but only 10% of new construction is in the rental market. Third, people spend 5 to 10 years on a waiting list for social housing. Lastly, rents have increased by approximately 40% over the past 20 years, while people’s incomes have remained virtually the same.

Yes, the government has invested money in affordable housing, but it does not always renew social housing agreements, which could affect 600,000 households in Canada. Many people could wind up in the street. It looks as though the Conservatives’ policies do not work that well.