Mathieu Ravignat

[Government Accountability, November 19th, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, the Conservatives once talked about transparency and accountability with a passion. They were going to fix the mess the Liberals created and left behind.

Instead, the Conservatives have become part of the problem. They will not even protect the brave employees who blow the whistle on Conservative corruption and mismanagement. They use loopholes to avoid being accountable when they break conflict of interest rules.

Will the minister actually take action and support our proposals to reform and review the Conflict of Interest Act?

[Employment Insurance, November 18th, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, even the person who blew the whistle on the Liberal sponsorship scandal and who ran for the Conservative Party now says the law is not helping people any more than it did during his time.

Conservatives promised to help people who blow the whistle on corruption and mismanagement. Why did they break their promise and when will the Conservatives introduce real protection for our courageous whistleblowers?

[Employment Insurance, November 18th, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, we see how accountable the Conservatives are.

For example, the Conservatives came to power by promising to help whistleblowers. However, they have done quite the opposite. The legislation does not have any teeth, and the Conservatives are ganging up on Sylvie Therrien, who spoke out about the employment insurance quotas. It is high time the law was amended so that public servants who witness serious problems, such as the employment insurance quotas or the sponsorship scandal, can speak out about them without fear of losing their job.

Can the minister commit right now to reviewing the legislation?

[Canadian Museum of History Act, November 6th, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, the minister does not want to admit it, but it is rather clear to the majority of Canadians that the Conservatives have realized that a museum can be used as a propaganda tool for the state.

Basically, the Conservatives want to impose their vision of Canada and its history on Canadians. I am from the Pontiac, an area not far from the Canadian Museum of Civilization. In my region, everyone knows there is no problem. The reality is that Canada's history is diverse and marked by several civilizations.

Thanks to the professionalism of its archaeologists and historians, this museum does excellent work. It is not the government's role to interfere with the work of professionals to rewrite the history of this great country in which we live.

I would like to ask my hon. colleague, who gave a wonderful and very interesting speech, what she thinks of this government's interference, which basically amounts to Conservative propaganda.

[Canadian Museum of History Act, November 6th, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, I fail to see the relevance to this particular debate of the member's comments. I would encourage him to be a bit more focused.

[Economic Action Plan 2013 Act No. 2, October 29th, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, I was listening with interest to the President of the Treasury Board as he glossed over some of the measures that the government will be taking in the next few months, measures that are in fact an attack against the rights of collective bargaining in the public service as well as the right to strike.

The assumption in what the President of the Treasury Board is saying is that the way essential services were negotiated in the past was somehow a problem, as if some essential services were not deemed essential because there was a process in place to consult and negotiate with the employees. In fact, I think employees would be pretty well placed to define what might be essential and non-essential, knowing their place of work.

This is clearly an attempt to centralize this designation in order to use it as a tool ahead of the bargaining process in order to win every single conflict.

I would like the President of the Treasury Board to tell me where the problem is.

[Missing Aboriginal Women, October 28th, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, it is with a heavy heart that I rise today to mark five years since the disappearance of Maisy Odjick and Shannon Alexander, two young aboriginal women from the Anishnabeg community of Kitigan Zibi. As a father of two girls, I can't imagine the ordeal the family has been through and my prayers and hopes are with them.

Unfortunately, too many aboriginal women and girls go missing, and this more often than non-aboriginals. Unfortunately this is still widely considered an isolated matter and not a grave public concern.

I rise today to say that this is indeed a nationwide problem, an issue that we should all be concerned about. In fact, it is a national disgrace, and the inaction of the government is even more so. These families deserve justice just like any other Canadian family and it is not an exaggeration to say that the whole world is watching in shame.

As a father and a strong believer of respect and equality among aboriginal and non-aboriginal peoples, I wonder when this government will stop procrastinating. When will it take its responsibility seriously and start a public inquiry? When, Mr. Speaker? The only humane answer to that question is, “Now”.

[The Budget, October 25th, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, yesterday the President of the Treasury Board said “We do need to have a bureaucracy that works for Canadians, that is competent, that is serving the public interest..”. Yet, the minister did not display any level of competence when trying to answer simple questions about his own legislation.

When will the minister practise what he preaches, stop attacking the public service, and start taking care of the public interest?

[The Budget, October 25th, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, yesterday, I asked the President of the Treasury Board what public service jobs will be affected by the changes in the budget implementation act. His answer is an incredible example of stupidity, and I quote: “that is utterly false”. What a flop. I ask him who will be affected and he says that is false. That is not an answer.

Let me try to ask the question again. Which public servants will be affected?

[The Budget, October 24th, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, this is incredible: one-quarter of the Conservative omnibus budget bill directly attacks public service workers. I am sure we all agree that that is not a budget measure in and of itself.

The President of the Treasury Board sounded like a real amateur on the radio this morning. He could not even explain which jobs they are going to designate as essential services so that they can then withdraw their collective bargaining right.

Does the President of the Treasury Board know what he is talking about now? What jobs will be affected?