Nicolas Dufour

[Post-secondary Education, January 30th, 2009]

Mr. Speaker, students are once again among the groups that have been left in the lurch by the Conservative budget. Capping equalization will not solve this problem or correct the $820 million shortfall for post-secondary education in Quebec. What is more, because infrastructure money will be allocated randomly in response to project submissions, instead of taking the form of federal transfers, there is no guarantee that post-secondary institutions in Quebec will get their fair share. Rather than solving the problem of education underfunding, the Conservative government is once again interfering in Quebec's jurisdictions.

Even though the Prime Minister opened a door when he promised in 2005 to correct the fiscal imbalance, which is something all Quebeckers want, the Conservative budget has slammed that door shut by not keeping that promise. For us in the Bloc Québécois and for other education stakeholders, such as the Fédération étudiante universitaire du Québec, the solution to university and college underfunding is to restore federal transfers to 1994 levels. We in Quebec need to give ourselves the tools to exercise our authority in the field of education.

[Economic and Fiscal Statement, November 28th, 2008]

Mr. Speaker, I will ask my question quickly, in case the Conservative Party decides to close the House as well.

Today, the Conservatives are sacrificing democracy on the altar of partisanship. This is unacceptable. I would like the members opposite to explain why they thought they could trick everyone about the $1.95.

[Economic and Fiscal Statement, November 28th, 2008]

Mr. Speaker, I find that extremely funny, because for once, opinion about the Conservative government is unanimous, but not in a good way. Even the National Post, a conservative newspaper, says that the statement is completely absurd and that cutting political party funding is ridiculous. That is the National Post talking.

Ideology is one thing; idiocy is quite another. What is funny is that the government is accusing the opposition of partisanship, while it is being meanspirited. Cutting $27 million from the political parties is clearly an idea taken from the Reform Party. The problem is that the opposition and the people are unanimous: they are against the government. Everyone sees through the Conservative Party's tactic. I am even surprised the government actually believed everyone would buy this. How can a minority government think it can muzzle the opposition just like that?

Eliminating the $1.95 subsidy would take us back to the days of brown envelopes. Quebec understood this and acted accordingly. The proof is that the Prime Minister was guided by Quebec's Act to govern the financing of political parties, which he—

[ECONOMIC AND FISCAL STATEMENT, November 28th, 2008]

Mr. Speaker, for once, I agree with the member for Markham—Unionville. We all agree that the Conservative government's economic statement is a direct descendant of the party's Reform roots.

It is now clear that, for two and a half years, the Conservative government has been managing the country's affairs not in the interest of Quebeckers and Canadians, but in its own partisan interest.

I would like the Conservative government to explain how it can possibly believe that the opposition parties will not band together on this, and I hope that the Liberals, too, will speak out against the Conservative government's utterly abominable behaviour.

[Municipality of L'Assomption, November 26th, 2008]

Mr. Speaker, first of all, I would like to thank the voters of the riding of Repentigny, who put their trust in me in the October 14 election. It is an honour to serve them here.

I would like to take this opportunity to highlight the 25th anniversary of the RCM of L'Assomption. This municipality has been inhabited since the 1640s. The colonists who arrived there were among the first to settle along the banks of the St. Lawrence. Today, the municipality has a population of over 112,000 people, and is growing every year. The municipality has a very diverse and vibrant population.

I would like to honour the commitment of everyone who has helped make this one of the most thriving RCMs in Quebec, and in particular, the commitment of the reeve of the RCM and mayor of Repentigny, Chantal Deschamps. Her hard work has greatly contributed to the development of the Lanaudière region.