House of Commons photo

Crucial Fact

  • His favourite word was conservatives.

Last in Parliament October 2015, as NDP MP for Pontiac (Québec)

Lost his last election, in 2015, with 23% of the vote.

Statements in the House

Ethics June 14th, 2013

Mr. Speaker, Canadians can see right through the strategy of not answering questions. It is not that difficult to see.

Conservatives have turned promises of openness into secret payouts and backroom deals. That is the truth. They turned promises of accountability into a PBO under siege and gerrymandered the hiring involving Conservative staffers. Now they have the gall to hike bonuses for ministerial executives in the midst of layoffs and departmental cuts.

Are there any principles left that Conservatives are not willing to sell out?

Ethics June 14th, 2013

Mr. Speaker, a criminal investigation of the PMO is serious, period.

It is sad to see that the Conservatives have stopped even trying to pretend to be accountable to Canadians.

The question is simple. On what specific date did the Prime Minister's former chief of staff, Nigel Wright, give Mike Duffy the money to pay back his fraudulent claims?

Prohibiting Cluster Munitions Act June 11th, 2013

Mr. Speaker, the member may not know this, but Earl Turcotte, former senior coordinator for Mine Action at DFAIT, was the head of the Canadian delegation to negotiate the convention. He also negotiated the convention on certain conventional weapons and the Convention on the Prohibition of Anti-Personnel Mines. He knows his stuff. He said about this legislation, that “the proposed...legislation is the worst of any country that has ratified or acceded to the convention [on cluster munitions] to date”. What does the minister have to say about that?

Safe Drinking Water for First Nations Act June 6th, 2013

Mr. Speaker, it was a great honour to meet with the Algonquin people in my riding after being elected.

There are two first nations in my riding, namely the Kitigan Zibi Algonquins and the Algonquins of Barriere Lake, or Rapid Lake. From the outset, they told me they faced a lot of challenges in regard to drinking water, especially tap water. At Kitigan Zibi, 60% of the people do not have drinkable tap water. In Barriere Lake, or Rapid Lake, the situation is even worse.

This country is witnessing a water crisis on first nations lands, and this problem will not be solved by half measures or goodwill. A thorough consultation is badly needed, but the Algonquin people in my riding told me they do not think they were consulted.

I appreciated my colleague's speech, but can he rise in the House today and honestly say that this bill will provide real solutions to this problem and the crisis affecting many of our aboriginal peoples in Canada?

Democratic Reform June 6th, 2013

Mr. Speaker, last night, the PMO spokesperson was making up new policy on Twitter. He said that by-elections are needed when a member leaves a caucus, even to become an independent, but when the Conservatives had an opportunity to support my bill to ban floor-crossers and force them to face by-elections, the Conservatives opposed it. They welcomed David Emerson and Wajid Khan when they betrayed their constituents to join the Conservative caucus.

Let us try. Will the Conservatives now support the NDP's bill to ban the practice of floor-crossing, yes or no?

Access to Information June 6th, 2013

Mr. Speaker, I have a very simple question for the Prime Minister.

Why did the government amend Bill C-461 in order to hide information on salaries under $480,000?

Supplementary Estimates (A) June 5th, 2013

Mr. Chair, it is my duty to ask the President of the Treasury Board whether or not this bill is in its usual form.

Main Estimates 2013-14 June 5th, 2013

Mr. Chair, it is my duty to ask the President of the Treasury Board if the estimates bill is in its usual form.

(On clause 2)

Main Estimates 2013-14 June 5th, 2013

Mr. Speaker, I listened carefully to the hon. member's speech. Some of the comments I made during his speech were in favour of some of what he was saying because I did detect a dedication to democratic principles in his speech, which I fundamentally share. I think that on both sides of the House we can recognize when a democrat stands up, but we may disagree.

Where I fundamentally disagree is that if we were to look at the Senate today, because of its partisan nature, it is not functioning as that second House necessary to ensure checks and balances. There is a contradiction between the way it has been created, in that it is unelected, and that it is partisan.

Therefore, how can the member, as the democrat that I know he is, stand up to defend that institution that really does not do its constitutional job?

Main Estimates 2013-14 June 5th, 2013

Mr. Speaker, we have heard a lot of inflammatory language about our motion. I think we are upsetting the status quo. That is sometimes why we are here, to upset the status quo.

Members opposite have not thought through everything. There is no reason why we cannot stop funding the Senate, take the Senate staff, and we are not talking about the partisan staff, and put them with the rest of the public servants. Then any other bill that came forward that had a constitutional nature because of the ramifications of not funding the Senate, could be dealt with at that time.

What we are saying is that we should have a debate on whether or not it is actually appropriate at this time to fund the Senate at a cost of $92.5 million when senators and the Senate itself are not even capable of ensuring the basic respect needed for taxpayers.

I would hope that the hon. member, who actually sits on the same committee as me, would be as worried about taxpayers' money and the abuse of it as I am.