Marlene Jennings

[Medical Isotopes, June 11th, 2009]

Mr. Speaker, only months ago the minister said that the opposition was fearmongering when it raised the issue of heavy water leaks and the effects on isotope production at Chalk River. Then, she dismissed concerns that isotope production was unreliable.

The crisis has now hit Canadian patients and their families. They want answers. What is our current total supply of isotopes per day? What is Canada's current daily requirement for isotopes? Can the minister guarantee to fully make up the shortfall?

[Minister of Natural Resources, June 9th, 2009]

Mr. Speaker, as the minister has just said, many people in this House and in Canada have family members who have been victims of cancer.

For this reason, the Coalition Priorité Cancer au Québec has expressed concern over the lack of information to reassure those with cancer and their families.

The minister must understand that Canadians are worried about their cancer diagnosis. She must explain how she could use the term "sexy" in talking about a national health crisis, when thousands of Canadians depend on these isotopes. How—

[Minister of Natural Resources, June 9th, 2009]

Mr. Speaker, now that the courts have ordered a tape of the natural resources minister to be made public, we know that she saw this national health crisis, one she appears to be unable manage, as an opportunity to boost her career. I cannot believe the minister does not relate to the anguish of Canadians waiting for their cancer diagnostic tests.

Would she tell Canadians exactly what she finds sexy about cancer and the devastating impact it has on their lives?

[Business of the House, June 4th, 2009]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to ask the usual question of the government House leader with respect to business of the House for the next few weeks.

As we all know, the end of the current supply cycle is June 23, which means summer adjournment is approaching. The official opposition would like to know which bills the government intends to call, but we would also like to know which days the government intends to designate as opposition days.

I would point out to the government House leader, as I know he is quite aware, that under the Standing Orders there are three opposition days that remain to be designated. I would hope that the government House leader is able to provide some clarification, some details, some facts perhaps.

[Member for Nepean--Carleton, June 1st, 2009]

Mr. Speaker, last Friday, the Prime Minister's hand-picked parliamentary secretary twice used the expression “tar baby”.

As a child, I was taunted with this name by people who wished to demean me and make me feel inferior. The mountain of correspondence I have received in the last few days shows my experience among black children was not unique.

The parliamentary secretary has stated he was unaware the term is also a pejorative description of blacks. I accept his explanation. I am concerned, however, at that MP's tendency to make hurtful statements. One year ago this week, he was forced to apologize for his offensive comments toward first nations people, and now this.

Now that he knows the negative connotation of this expression for blacks, black Canadians hope he will publicly pledge to remove this pejorative term from his vocabulary, and we hope all Canadians will do so as well.

[Minister of Finance, May 28th, 2009]

Mr. Speaker, the minister has just proven that he is capable of reading words, but he has yet to prove that he can read numbers. Just 36 days ago, the Minister of Finance assured Canadians that the numbers were “on track”.

Now he is leading us into the worst deficit this country has ever seen.

The Minister of Finance does not know how to count, and Canadians cannot count on him, the Conservative Prime Minister, or the Conservative government, especially when it comes to public money.

Is that not the case?

[Minister of Finance, May 28th, 2009]

Mr. Speaker, the Minister of Finance has proven once again that he is not up to the job. It was not so long ago that he left Ontario with a surprise deficit of $6 billion. Now, his incompetence has turned a budget surplus into a $50 billion deficit in just a few months.

Will the Minister of Finance take responsibility for once, admit his incompetence and step down?

[Employment Insurance, May 27th, 2009]

Mr. Speaker, there speaks the voice of failure.

Throughout Quebec, paper mills and saw mills have locked their doors and sent thousands of workers home. This Minister of Finance has racked up the largest deficit in Canadian history and has not found one cent to help these workers.

What credibility could this Minister of Finance have with forestry workers who today are unemployed and have no employment insurance benefits?

[Employment Insurance, May 27th, 2009]

Mr. Speaker, in my own province of Quebec, thousands of aerospace workers have lost their jobs in this economic crisis that that Conservative finance minister has so badly managed. What does he offer to these unemployed workers? The biggest deficit in Canadian history and no better access to employment insurance.

How does that Conservative finance minister have any credibility with these unemployed workers today?

[Employment Insurance, May 26th, 2009]

Mr. Speaker, we have heard it all before. Some 40% more Montrealers are collecting employment insurance compared to this time last year. As if that were not bad enough, Montrealers need hundreds more hours of work to be entitled to employment insurance than many other Canadians. Thousands of families in Montreal were counting on employment insurance, but the government has been turning them down.

What are the Conservatives doing to eliminate regional disparities? When will they do something? When will they come up with a—