Mathieu Ravignat

[Political Party Financing, May 9th, 2012]

Mr. Speaker, we are talking about the government across the floor.

Thanks to the Conservatives, SNC-Lavalin is doing very well, thank you very much, and thanks to SNC-Lavalin, the Conservatives are raking in a lot money. A dozen or so SNC-Lavalin executives and their spouses have donated generous sums to the same association. SNC-Lavalin also happened to win contracts for the Canada Pavilion at the Shanghai International Expo and the Dahla Dam project in Afghanistan.

Do the Conservatives really expect us to believe that there is no connection between the contracts awarded to SNC-Lavalin and the thousands of dollars in donations?

[Political Party Financing, May 9th, 2012]

Mr. Speaker, this morning we learned that SNC-Lavalin executives contributed no less than $25,000 to Conservative riding associations in 2009.

Riadh Ben Aïssa, the former vice-president of SNC-Lavalin who was arrested in Switzerland for corruption and money laundering, was one of the generous donors. The associations then transferred large sums of money to the riding of the then-minister of Public Works.

Did that fundraising campaign influence any contract awards?

[41st General Election, May 8th, 2012]

Mr. Speaker, what Canadians know is that the Conservatives got rid of him only because he accused the Prime Minister of abandoning Quebec, not because he was crooked.

The Conservatives chose a criminal who specialized in money laundering to represent them. They decided that a man who was hand in glove with organized crime was the dream candidate to be the Conservative standard-bearer in peaceable Montérégie.

Are the Conservatives going to admit their mistake and do something to take on their criminal pal who is stealing from people?

[41st General Election, May 8th, 2012]

Mr. Speaker, what is clear is that when it comes to elections, the Conservatives are not very clean.

We are aware of new revelations about the crooks who hide in the Conservatives’ ranks. Their former candidate in Verchères—Les Patriotes was the notary for the West End Gang, a criminal organization in Montreal. The man who posed proudly on Conservative signs signed off on loans with a 60% interest rate.

Will the Conservatives take on the usurers who are ripping off thousands of Canadians, instead of associating with these criminals?

[41st General Election, May 7th, 2012]

Mr. Speaker, Canadians are sick of these bizarre answers.

The fact is, mounting evidence is linking these voter suppression calls to the Conservative Party. Investigators are interviewing more Conservative operatives, Conservative voter lists were accessed from the same IP address Pierre Poutine used to order voter suppression calls, and missing evidence about who accessed the Conservative database may never be recovered.

No one trusts the Conservatives on this. When will the government do the right thing and call an independent inquiry?

[41st General Election, May 7th, 2012]

Mr. Speaker, new information has come to light about the Conservative Party's involvement in the electoral fraud that took place during the last election.

The IP address used to download the lists of voters from the Conservative database is the same as the one used by Pierre Poutine, who made illegal, fraudulent calls. The Conservatives stubbornly deny having any knowledge of this.

When will they take this violation of election laws seriously and co-operate fully with Elections Canada?

[Baha'i Community in Iran, May 7th, 2012]

Mr. Speaker, I am very concerned about the international human rights situation. Still today, too many people are being oppressed because of their religious beliefs, their political opinions or their nationality. The Baha'is are one example, and those in my riding are worried about the fate of the Baha'i community in Iran. Since 2004, 545 people have been imprisoned for no other reason than their religious convictions.

The Iranian government considers these people threats to the nation, even terrorists. For 46 months now, seven teachers have been detained without just cause. Despite a strong show of support by the international community, Iran continues to persecute people who self-identify as Baha'i, even though their religion promotes peace and unity.

Today, I again call on the president of Iran and the chargé d'affaires and head of mission, Mr. Sheikh-Hassani, to put a stop to the oppression and wrongful imprisonment of members of the Baha'i community. I also call on the government to do more to help these people.

[Jobs, Growth and Long-term Prosperity Act, May 4th, 2012]

Mr. Speaker, I thank my distinguished colleague for the question.

That is another example that illustrates how this government operates and how it likes to interfere in provincial areas of jurisdiction. The Conservatives bragged about having consulted Canadians regarding the budget and this bill. Clearly, they did not consult Quebec. The federal government has a duty to respect the measures that are in place to protect consumers and Quebeckers.

[Jobs, Growth and Long-term Prosperity Act, May 4th, 2012]

Mr. Speaker, as I said in my speech, the government's strategy is to make Canadians swallow pills that are hard to swallow by hiding certain measures like this one in omnibus bills.

The NDP is calling for a separate debate regarding the regulations that are to be modified, which could change things for Canada and for our children's future.

[Jobs, Growth and Long-term Prosperity Act, May 4th, 2012]

Mr. Speaker, clearly promoting a greener economy creates jobs. Every expert understands that. If we look at examples in Europe, whether it be Sweden, France or Germany, the green economy is booming and we could do the same.

On the first point the member made about a lack of debate, the reality is we are now at 18 time allocations on bills, the most in history. I do not think the member needs to be congratulating himself.