Mauril Bélanger

[Latin Women Entrepreneurs Expo, June 3rd, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, on May 25, I had the great pleasure of visiting the first Latin Women Entrepreneurs Expo, an event organized by Mujeres Emprendedoras de Ottawa-Gatineau, MELOG.

This expo drew together multi-talented women entrepreneurs who immigrated to Canada from Latin America. Just as this expo did, future ones will undoubtedly inspire other Latin women entrepreneurs to join, network, support each other and showcase the level of initiative, determination and success the Latin women of the national capital region have and will continue to achieve.

I would especially like to congratulate the three organizers and members of the board: Celia Soonets, a psychologist; Mercedes Valdivia, an educator; and Alejandra Ruiz, a graduate of the Guadalajara medical school in Mexico. I would also like to acknowledge the work of Carmen Chaman, who facilitated this event.

Congratulations to all participants on this great success and best wishes for future years.

[Canada Post, May 31st, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, in November 2011, the Supreme Court ruled that Canada Post had to honour pay equity and compensate more than 6,000 employees. A year and a half later, the matter is still not settled. When I raised the question, I was told that Canada Post is an independent corporation that manages its own human resources. However, in 2011, the Conservatives did not hesitate to intervene, and if Bill C-60 is passed, they will not stop intervening.

Why do they interfere in Canada Post's affairs when it suits them, but they do not intervene to ensure compliance with a ruling by the highest court in the land?

[Petitions, May 30th, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to present another petition signed by Ottawans who are opposed to the interprovincial bridge proposed by consultants hired by the National Capital Commission. They believe that the best option is to invest in public transit, not fund this bridge.

I have the honour of informing the House that similar petitions will follow.

[Fair Rail Freight Service Act, May 29th, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, I am going to ask a question about history as well.

I would like the member for Wascana to tie in what happened in the nineties and the first decade of this century to what happened in the eighties with the changing of the Crow's Nest freight rate. How may that have affected, positively or negatively, rail freight services throughout the country?

[Petitions, May 29th, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, this is the first of what I suspect will be numerous petitions signed by the good citizens of Ottawa asking to bring to the attention of the House and the government the choice that consultants have made for an interprovincial crossing on Kettle Island.

The petitioners state that a bridge that promotes urban sprawl, heavy truck traffic in urban communities, car commuting, and more traffic congestion is an unacceptable 1950s-style planning solution, and a failure of the National Capital Commission's mission to protect and enhance green space and build a world-class national capital region.

The petitioners ask that the Government of Canada not proceed with the funding of this bridge.

[Canada Post, May 29th, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, when I hear that Canada Post is an arm's-length crown corporation and the government cannot do anything about it, I think it is a bit of a crock. In June 2011, the government did not hesitate to interfere by introducing legislation forcing people back to work when the strike had not even begun. On Bill C-60, the Conservatives would not hesitate to interfere in the negotiations; they have given themselves that authority.

Does the gentleman across the way think that if the managers had something owed to them that they would wait a year and a half before it was paid to them? Does he think that the only shareholder, the government, would wait a year and a half before receiving its dividend that it receives annually? Would it wait that long? I do not think so. Therefore, why would they then be treating their employees and their retired employees with such disdain?

Let us hustle a bit here and respect the Supreme Court. Do not negotiate, as there is no negotiation here. It is settled. The Supreme Court decided, so do what is right and pay these people their due.

[Canada Post, May 29th, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, it is fitting that I am speaking to this topic today because this morning I was able to meet with the Association of Public Service Alliance Retirees; its president, Mr. Chevalier; and its executive committee. They wanted to discuss two or three issues, and the government should be worried about one in particular.

In November 2011, the Supreme Court of Canada made a unanimous ruling on pay equity and ordered Canada Post to compensate its employees. Of the slightly more than 6,000 employees who were affected, the majority are women and 80% are now retired. What is worse, this morning members of the Association of Public Service Alliance Retirees told me that 28 of those people are now deceased. There may be more, but the members know that 28 of them have died.

The Supreme Court handed down its ruling a year and a half ago and Canada Post still has not respected the unanimous decision of the highest court in the land.

In 2005, Canada Post set $50 million aside in case it might lose. It lost after a lengthy battle. These people, 80% of whom are retired, live on an income averaging less than $20,000 and the money they are owed would help them a great deal. It would probably add $100 to $150 a month to their pension.

A year and a half after a unanimous Supreme Court decision, Canada Post, backed by the government it seems, refuses to pay what it owes these people. It makes no sense.

I asked the question in April and in response I was told that Canada Post is an independent corporation that is responsible for its own affairs, especially when it comes to human resource management.

I am sorry, but Canada Post has only one shareholder and that is the Government of Canada. When it came to interfering in Canada Post's business in June of 2011, the government did not hesitate to introduce a bill in the House to force the employees back to work before the strike even began. We all remember that saga.

In Bill C-60, which is currently at committee stage, the government also gives itself the right to intervene in collective bargaining processes.

The government cannot tell us that Canada Post is an independent corporation that is responsible for its own affairs when it comes to labour relations and then turn around and say that it can interfere whenever it wants to.

Why does the government not want to interfere to force Canada Post to pay its employees what it owes them, as per the Supreme Court's decision?

Who does Canada Post want to appeal to now? It is trying to negotiate with the unions and the courts to pay less interest than it owes. A Supreme Court judgment cannot be appealed before lower courts. If Canada Post wants to appeal the Supreme Court's decision, it should bring its case before Parliament, where its appeal will be denied rather quickly. Canada Post has to pay that money to over 6,000 current employees and former employees who are now retired. It is not doing so.

As I said the other day, it very unlikely that the bigwigs and managers at Canada Post would agree to wait a year before getting what they were owed.

I hope that the government will take action and force Canada Post to abide by the Supreme Court's decision.

[The Canadian Museum of History Act, May 28th, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, I am sorry I did not get to ask a question of my colleague from Leeds—Grenville, so I will ask it of the member for Northumberland—Quinte West. The member for Leeds—Grenville said something I found very interesting. He said that the main hall of the museum would remain as it is to commemorate the first peoples of Canada. I would have wanted him to elaborate on that and to perhaps share with us the origins of such an assurance in terms of who made it, when and whatever else could be found out. I understand that it may not be a fair question to the member for Northumberland—Quinte West, but I am putting it to him in case he is aware of the origins of the assurances the member for Leeds—Grenville gave us.

[Canadian Museum of History Act, May 28th, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, I have more of a comment than a question. I may have a question tonight when we get into the debate about the bill itself, but the comment is as follows.

I was reading this morning that during his leadership, Prime Minister Louis St. Laurent got into trouble on the pipeline debate when the government invoked closure for the first time in that particular Parliament and that, in part, it led to the defeat of his government later on.

I remember that when the previous Liberal governments also introduced closure, at some point I voted against such measures because I thought it was not appropriate and was against the spirit of democracy and this House, especially when there was no strong, valid reason and urgency to do so.

Now we are in the 41st Parliament, and I cannot recall which significant legislation we have been able to deal with without closure. That is a terrible way of conducting oneself and one's government in any Parliament in this country.

[Haitian Community in the National Capital Region, May 21st, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, in recent years, there has been a notable resurgence of pride and energy from the Haitian diaspora in the national capital region.

I would especially like to congratulate His Excellency, Mr. Frantz Liautaud, Haiti's ambassador to Canada, on the occasion of the 210th anniversary of the creation of the Haitian flag. The anniversary celebrations were held on May 15 at the Canadian Museum of Civilization in Gatineau, where hundreds of guests had the pleasure of listening to Chantale Laville's beautiful voice and David Bontemps's piano performance.

I am taking this opportunity to highlight the creation of excellence scholarships for the Haitian community in the Outaouais. Last year, together with Gatineau city councillor Mireille Apollon and a remarkable committee of volunteers, I launched this initiative at the University of Ottawa, and funds were collected to create an excellence scholarship for the Haitian community at that university. This year, we are holding an event on Thursday, May 23, with all profits going to create a matching scholarship fund at the Université du Québec en Outaouais.

Congratulations and all the best to our friends from the Haitian diaspora and, of course, heartfelt congratulations to all Haitians.