Mylène Freeman

[Consumer Protection, October 20th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, the Conservatives already promised in the budget and the throne speech that they would put an end to this unfair practice, where consumers have to pay to receive a paper copy of their bills. However, despite that promise, nothing has been done. Consumers are still getting fleeced by the banks and telecommunication companies. That is unacceptable.

When will the Conservatives rein in big businesses and protect consumers from pay-to-pay billing practices?

[International Day of the Girl Child, October 8th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, to mark the third International Day of the Girl Child, my New Democratic colleagues and I are joining this call for action.

Too often, girls and young women are deprived of their right to self-determination.

For girls to achieve self-actualization and live with dignity, they need education, they need food security, they need to live free of violence, and they need to have their reproductive choices respected, but in Canada and around the world, we are still fighting for those rights.

We must keep working toward the independence of girls and women.

We need to enshrine reproductive rights in our laws. Every young woman deserves to choose when, how, and with whom she becomes a mother.

We need to empower all women to seek economic, housing, and food security.

We need to honour indigenous rights and correct the legacy of colonial violence that afflicts the lives of Métis, Inuit, and first nations girls in Canada.

We need a coordinated national action plan to address violence against women.

We must work in solidarity with women and girls in every community to bring these rights and freedoms to indigenous girls, to low-income girls, to girls who face violence, to all girls.

[The Apple of Tomorrow, September 26th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, I am very pleased to inform the House about the efforts of a group of farmers who have been working tirelessly for over 20 years to create a new apple: the Rosinette.

This new variety of apple is now being grown in numerous orchards in Oka, including the Coeur de pomme and Jude-Pomme orchards, and throughout Quebec.

The Rosinette, which is proof of our farmers' leadership, is available thanks to a group called The Apple of Tomorrow, producers and people of various backgrounds who are working to develop and diversify the apple industry. I am very proud of the farmers who make their career their passion, who provide us with the best nutritious foods, and who form the foundation of a sustainable economy in our rural communities.

The Rosinette will be sold in Quebec this fall. Montrealers will be able to find it at the Verger Villeneuve kiosk in the Jean-Talon market.

I invite all my colleagues to join me in congratulating Roland Joannin, of Saint-Joseph-du-Lac, who started this project, as well as all those who have worked so hard to create the Rosinette.

[Protection of Communities and Exploited Persons Act, September 26th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, we should not have to read in the House letters signed by 200 legal experts stating that a bill is contrary to a Supreme Court decision. This government clearly does not know how to govern on behalf of Canadians or how to work with the Supreme Court and respect Canadian law. By contradicting Supreme Court decisions, the Conservatives show that they have no respect for law and order, even though they claim to champion these ideals.

The NDP wants to work in a progressive manner to develop a comprehensive strategy to protect and support the men and women who do this work and to empower them. That is what needs to be done in order to take them out of dangerous situations.

Once again, this government is doing the opposite. It is marginalizing Canadians, our permanent residents, our refugees and members of our trans community. It constantly flies in the face of Canadian law and puts Canadians in danger. That is really appalling. This government has got to go.

[Protection of Communities and Exploited Persons Act, September 26th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, I am disappointed that my colleague did not really listen to my speech.

He thinks it is the Nordic model, but that is not true in the least. This bill actually criminalizes women by taking away the means to do their job. Our priority is the safety of sex workers. It is obvious that this is not the Conservative government's priority with Bill C-36. The bill flies in the face of the Supreme Court's ruling in the Bedford case, which struck down three provisions of the law that put sex workers at even greater risk.

This bill criminalizes these men and women even more and puts them in greater danger. It runs completely counter to what the government claims to be doing, which is helping the people in this trade. It is awful to see this government constantly contradicting the Supreme Court and marginalizing Canadians.

[Protection of Communities and Exploited Persons Act, September 26th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to rise in the House to speak to Bill C-36, An Act to amend the Criminal Code in response to the Supreme Court of Canada decision in Attorney General of Canada v. Bedford and to make consequential amendments to other Acts.

In December 2013, the Supreme Court of Canada ruled unanimously that the Criminal Code imposes dangerous conditions on sex workers, which contravenes the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. The sections prohibiting brothels, living on the avails of prostitution and communicating in public with clients threaten sex workers’ right to security of the person.

This bill is meant to respond to the Bedford decision. However, the exact opposite is happening. The NDP consulted many legal experts, stakeholder groups, sex workers and authorities who are affected by this bill, and that is in addition to the 75 witnesses who appeared in committee. The vast majority of them said that they do not believe the bill is going in the right direction.

Unfortunately, there are many problems with the bill. In short, it forces sex trade workers to work in even more dangerous conditions. They are putting themselves in danger because they have to be more isolated. They will be on the streets and in alleys. The bill perpetuates and exacerbates stigmatization. It does not take into account the opinions of experts, education and advocacy groups or sex trade workers. It will have a negative impact on the important process of negotiating the parameters of the transaction, safety, the client's choice and the consent of the parties involved. What is more, for these reasons and in light of the 2013 Bedford decision, experts have found that the bill is unconstitutional.

In short, the Conservatives want a model where sex trade workers are only approached in the street late at night, where they are unable to ask questions or take safety precautions to protect their bodies and their lives.

I would like to read an open letter signed by more than 200 legal experts from across Canada. They are calling on the federal government to examine the harmful and unconstitutional impact of this bill. The letter reads:

Bill C-36...proposes a legal regime that criminalizes many aspects of adult prostitution, including the purchase of sexual services, the advertisement of sexual services, and most communication in public for the purpose of prostitution.

As the Supreme Court of Canada unanimously held in Canada (Attorney General) v. Bedford (“Bedford”), three of Canada’s current adult prostitution laws are an unjustifiable infringement of sex workers’ right to security of the person, pursuant to s. 7 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms (“the Charter”). These laws were found to create and exacerbate dangerous conditions and prevent sex workers from taking action to reduce or mitigate the risks they face. We are concerned that, for the very same reasons that caused the Court to strike down these prostitution laws, the criminal regime proposed by Bill C-36 is likely to offend the Charter as well.

The prohibition on purchasing sexual services (and communicating anywhere for that purpose) will have much the same effect as existing adult prostitution laws. Targeting clients will displace sex workers to isolated areas where prospective customers are less likely to be detected by police. Such criminalization will continue to limit the practical ability of sex workers to screen their clients or negotiate the terms of the transaction, as there will be pressure from clients to proceed as quickly as possible. Sex workers will continue to face barriers to police protection and will be prevented from operating in a safe indoor space, as clients face the potential of being arrested if they attend such spaces.

As a result, while criminalizing the purchase of sexual services is said to be aimed at protecting sex workers, this type of criminal prohibition will in fact do what the current adult prostitution laws do, which is to subject sex workers to a greater risk to their safety. This constitutes the reason why such laws were invalidated in the Bedford judgment.

Bill C-36 also proposes a law that will prohibit the sex industry from advertising. This type of prohibition will significantly limit sex workers’ ability to work safely indoors, as it restricts their ability to communicate their services to potential clients. This is concerning considering that the Court in Bedford clearly found that the ability to operate in indoor venues is a key measure for sex workers to reduce the risk of violence.

We would also like to address the proposed prohibition on communication to offer sexual services in a public place.... This provision continues to criminalize street-based sex workers, who are among the most marginalized segment of the industry, and is only marginally narrower than what the Court struck down in Bedford. The law will have the same effect of displacing sex workers to isolated areas where they are more likely to work alone in order to avoid police detection, and where they will continue to rush into vehicles without taking the time to screen clients and negotiate the terms of the transaction.

The letter has been signed by over 200 legal experts, and I think it explains very clearly why we, as legislators, cannot support this bill. The letter is readily accessible to all online; it can be found among the press releases on the Pivot Legal Society website. That organization, one of the signatories to the letter, works to address the root causes of poverty and social exclusion through legislation and policy, exploring what forces people to live on the fringes of society and what keeps them in difficult situations.

Whatever my hon. colleagues' personal beliefs are on the matter, we are going to have find a way to agree on how to respond to the requirements set out in the Bedford decision. This letter shows that the measures proposed in the bill go against those requirements.

We also need to guarantee the safety of sex workers, as directed by the court in the Bedford decision. However, this bill does the opposite by treating sex workers like criminals and putting their safety and their lives at risk.

Furthermore, this bill is unconstitutional, like many bills this government introduces, and too often they put the safety of the most marginalized people in Canada at risk. This includes aboriginal populations, women, transgendered people, refugees, people in the LGBTT community, and so on.

Again and again, the Conservatives try to protect the people they judge to be victims. However, in doing so, they marginalize them more. The government takes away their capacity for self-determination, which is just as important to human dignity as it is to protecting oneself, being safe and living a full life.

Everyone in Canada has a right to live free from violence and the risk of violence. As legislators, it is our duty to think about at-risk populations and help them reduce that risk. Bill C-36 flies in the face of this duty by increasing the risk of violence and death for a population working in an extremely dangerous profession.

Almost all experts agree. Not only did the Conservative government fail in its attempt to draft a proper bill, but because of it, we are also faced with the very disturbing possibility that the lives of sex workers will be deliberately and intentionally put in danger.

I therefore ask all of my colleagues in the House to vote against this bill.

[Canada Pension Plan, September 19th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, today I am rising to speak to Bill C-591, An Act to amend the Canada Pension Plan and the Old Age Security Act with respect to pension and benefits.

I am pleased that the hon. member for Chatham-Kent—Essex thought it worthwhile to introduce a bill similar to the one previously introduced by my colleague, the hon. member for Hamilton Mountain. She is an authority on pensions, old age security and the status of women.

I am proud to see that the Conservatives saw fit to bring back her bill, which was originally introduced in June 2010 as Bill C-527. It died on the order paper when the election was called in May 2011. The hon. member introduced her bill again, during the 41st Parliament, and now we have before us Conservative Bill C-591, which is strangely similar.

Compared to the bill introduced by the hon. member for Hamilton Mountain, this one has some flaws. We hope that these will be reviewed in committee. My colleagues spoke about manslaughter because the bill is also intended to eliminate recurring problems in the Canada pension plan legislation and regulations that for years have allowed certain criminals to collect their victims' benefits. Everyone in the House agrees that that is terrible. We could take a look at that and strengthen the bill.

As absurd as this may seem, the bill proposes amending the Canada pension plan to prohibit the payment of the survivor's pension, orphan's benefit or death benefit to a survivor or orphan of a deceased contributor if the survivor or orphan had been convicted of the murder or manslaughter of the deceased contributor.

Clearly, we can all agree how terrible and absurd it is that this has not already been dealt with. It was my colleague, the hon. member for Hamilton Mountain, who first introduced this bill following a disclosure from a concerned citizen. That individual informed the member's office that a family member who had killed his wife and served a very short sentence for manslaughter had nevertheless been receiving CPP survivor benefits for over 10 years.

If one or two women are murdered by their spouse each week, how many men are receiving these benefits? How can such a thing be legal? After conducting some research, my colleague learned that, legally, nothing prevented people who had been convicted of spousal homicide from receiving death or survivor benefits.

Not only are women more vulnerable after they retire because, in general, they earn only about 70% of what men do, but they also live longer. Women are therefore much less financially secure over the course of their lifetime. They are not able to set aside as much for their retirement and they also tend to be victims of crime more often. Thus, the existing legislation deals them a double whammy.

It is imperative that this flaw be corrected. That is why my colleague introduced this particular bill. Much of the credit goes to her and the individual who made her aware of this problem.

In the House, the bulk of our work involves solving problems that arise in our riding offices and dealing with problems in our ridings caused by laws. In our riding offices, we can really do a lot of good and change things for people.

The integrity of pension plans is of great importance to Canadians. Lately, it has been coming up on the news almost every day. The fact that a person who has been convicted of spousal homicide can benefit from such a horrendous crime shows that there is a problem of fundamental justice that must be corrected quickly.

That is extremely appalling, and I am disappointed that the government chose not to work with us over the past three years, after this bill was introduced, to put an end to this problem. However, better late than never. I therefore support my Conservative colleague's initiative.

However, I think that the measures included in this bill should have been taken much earlier. Instead, the government chose to go after workers by lowering the age of eligibility for pension and old age security benefits. It made cuts to government services for seniors. The government made it harder to access services by putting them all online. The services are longer available in paper form. Furthermore, it did not index the guaranteed income supplement. The government left seniors to struggle with a lack of housing and assistance to break their isolation. A number of things could have been done to help seniors, but no action has been taken since this government took power. It has done nothing but hurt seniors.

We know that two-thirds of workers will not have enough savings to retire in basic comfort—above the poverty line, that is—but the government is letting murderers receive these same benefits. Murderers are living off the money they receive from the government, when they killed their spouse. That is really something that all members of the House should find atrocious.

I would like to use this opportunity to say that we should enact every possible legislative measure and make every possible systemic change to reduce the incidence of violence against women, especially domestic violence. We really have to work on this. We have to take positive measures to help women become more independent; that includes pay equity. We have to take steps to ensure that women have access to the job market and can become independent.

Lastly, I am disappointed that the government had the opportunity to introduce this bill in the past but waited so long to do so. It was not drafted in consultation with the House, and it is not a government bill, which it should have been.

In closing, as several of my colleagues have pointed out here, criminals should not benefit from their crimes. That is a common law principle. That is what we are doing today. Pensions and old age security are crucial elements of the Canadian retirement system. We have to protect them. It is our duty as legislators to take every available opportunity to improve them and provide better benefits to the people who need them.

[Petitions, September 15th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, since it was announced that ADM intends to demolish the Mirabel terminal, the community has been very clear that it does not want the demolition to happen. According to information we obtained this summer, the minister gave the go ahead but could still persuade the Mirabel airport administration to stop the demolition.

However, she is refusing to listen to elected officials from the Mirabel, Laurentian and Montreal regions. Let us hope that she will listen to the thousands of people from Mirabel who have signed this petition calling on her to intervene and ask ADM to stop this demolition.

[Air Transportation, September 15th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, tomorrow Aéroports de Montréal will make its final decision regarding the future of Mirabel Airport. The proposal to demolish the terminal, despite the community's objections, is a worst-case scenario. The Liberal fiasco regarding Mirabel Airport is going to become a Conservative fiasco if the minister does not put a stop to the demolition. Instead, another use should be found for the building.

Will the minister listen to the people in our region or will she do what the Liberals did and completely ignore reality?

[Petitions, June 20th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, today, I am presenting a petition on behalf of the people of Argenteuil—Papineau—Mirabel.

They are asking the government, which gutted the Navigable Waters Protection Act, to put the lakes and rivers that it removed from the list of protected waterways back under federal protection. I am presenting this petition today because, yesterday, I was in my riding at the Musée régional d'Argenteuil, which was unveiling a new permanent exhibit on the lakes and rivers in Argenteuil. These rivers and lakes have all been removed from the list of protected waterways, with the exception of the Ottawa River, of course.

Given how important Argenteuil's lakes and rivers are to my riding, I would like to take this opportunity to encourage anyone who is passing through Saint-André-d'Argenteuil to visit this wonderful new exhibit.