Mathieu Ravignat

[Government Appointments, April 18th, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, today's integrity commissioner's report on the former head of the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal is nothing short of shocking. The report states that Shirish Chotalia's behaviour as the former head constituted harassment and an abuse of her authority, that she mismanaged through intimidation and that she ordered employees of what should be an arm's-length organization to carry out government policy. It also stated that virtually no vetting occurred before the appointment of Ms. Chotalia.

Who on that side will take responsibility for this patronage debacle?

[Questions Passed as Orders for Returns, April 18th, 2013]

With regard to the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade: (a) over the past six years, how many transactions involving land or buildings, works and infrastructure have been carried out, broken down by (i) land, (ii) buildings, (iii) works and infrastructure, (iv) vehicles; (b) what is the total amount for (a) and for (a)(i), (a)(ii), (a)(iii), (a)(iv); (c) what are the criteria used by the department to determine whether to dispose of these non-financial assets; and (d) what are the actual savings between sale versus the government’s cost of maintaining each of these non-financial assets?

[Questions Passed as Orders for Returns, April 18th, 2013]

With regard to the Department of the Environment: (a) over the past six years, how many transactions involving land or buildings, works and infrastructure have been completed, broken down by (i) land, (ii) buildings, (iii) works and infrastructure, (iv) vehicles; (b) what is the total amount for (a) and for (a)(i), (a)(ii), (a)(iii), (a)(iv); (c) what are the criteria used by the department to determine whether to dispose of these non-financial assets; and (d) what are the actual savings between sale versus the government’s cost of maintaining each of these non-financial assets?

[Franco-Ontarian Newspaper, March 27th, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, the newspaper Le Droit is celebrating its centennial today. Congratulations.

Le Droit is the leading source of news for francophones in the Outaouais and Ontario. The newspaper was founded when the use of French in Ontario schools was banned, and ever since then it has been involved in all battles to defend the francophone community.

As representatives of the region, the members for Gatineau, Hull—Aylmer and Ottawa Centre join me in thanking the newspaper for always being the standard-bearer for the francophone cause.

Over the years, Le Droit has been able to reinvent itself and remain faithful to its readers without compromising its main mission: providing information. Thanks to the great work of the people who put the newspaper together, it has built a solid reputation for independence and rigour. Its daily coverage of political, economic and cultural news speaks for itself. The best compliment we can pay to Le Droit is to say that it has remained faithful to the people who live here, especially through its extensive coverage of local events.

The entire NDP team joins us in congratulating the artisans, past and present, who have made Le Droit an authoritative news source for 100 years.

[The Environment, March 26th, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, as I was saying, it is a great example of Conservative propaganda. The real issue here is how Conservatives are scrambling for a public relations response to what is a policy failure.

British Columbians do not trust the government on environmental protection or on pipeline safety. That is the truth. However, instead of addressing these legitimate concerns, Conservatives are spending millions to sell their unbalanced and unsustainable approach.

Taxpayer-funded Conservative propaganda is wrong. It is that simple. Why are the Conservatives using other people's money to promote these failed economic policies?

[The Environment, March 26th, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, the Conservatives are having a hard time getting people to accept attacks on labour-sponsored funds. They are also having a hard time with the northern gateway project because they were incapable of responding to the concerns of Canadians about their unbalanced and unsustainable approach to developing our natural resources. That is why they spent millions of dollars on advertising to compensate for their inaction.

Does the Minister of the Environment understand that spending millions of dollars on propaganda cannot buy a good reputation?

[The Environment, March 22nd, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, we hoped that the Conservatives would learn from their mistakes. Apparently, that is too much to ask.

As a reminder, the last budget axed environmental assessments, killed the National Round Table on the Environment and the Economy, and put an end to protection measures for our lakes and rivers. Yesterday's budget is so inadequate that it does not even mention climate change.

Why do the Conservatives continue to reduce investment and refuse to tackle environmental issues?

[Regional Economic Development, March 21st, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, a major December snowstorm turned the Gatineau Valley into a disaster zone. While the local economy is in jeopardy, the Minister of the Economic Development Agency of Canada for the Regions of Quebec is not even bothering to respond to the demands of the area's economic stakeholders, members of the SOS Vallée-de-la-Gatineau committee, or even the RCM's elected officials.

Will the minister stop ignoring these individuals and quickly implement a real plan to provide relief to the businesses that are affected?

[Interim Supply, March 20th, 2013]

Mr. Chair, could the President of the Treasury Board confirm to members of the House that the bill is in its usual form?

(On clause 2)

[Supplementary Estimates (C), 2012-2013, March 20th, 2013]

(On clause 2)

Mr. Speaker, I would like to know if the bill is in its usual form.