Nycole Turmel

[Petitions, February 14th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, I am once again pleased to present petitions signed by many constituents in the national capital region who are calling for federal legislation to fully protect Gatineau Park.

[Rail Transportation, February 14th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, the federal officials were aware of MMA's repeated infractions.

Some of them wrote down, in black and white, that they were uncomfortable with the idea of allowing the company to operate with just one conductor. Worse yet, in an email from 2012, a Transport Canada employee expressed concerns about the company not having a system for detecting runaway trains.

Why did the Conservatives ignore theses concerns that could have saved lives?

[Rail Transportation, February 14th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, yesterday the French CBC program Enquête exposed the full extent of the Conservatives' tragic leniency towards MMA before the Lac-Mégantic disaster.

The company had multiple safety infractions, but the federal government kept giving it special permits to soften the rules. One safety expert said yesterday that the Lac-Mégantic victims paid the price for the cuts.

Do the Conservatives realize that there is a cost to neglecting prevention and safety?

[Petitions, February 13th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, I too have the pleasure to present a petition signed by residents of the national capital region who are calling on the government to pass legislation that would give Gatineau Park full protection.

[Petitions, February 12th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, the second petition I am presenting today deals with Gatineau Park. I appreciate the fact that my colleagues have also presented petitions calling for federal legislation to protect this important park that attracts so many visitors from across the country.

I hope that the government will support our initiative.

[Petitions, February 12th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, on behalf of a number of my fellow citizens in Toronto, I am pleased to present a petition about the Rouge National Urban Park.

This park is very important. We must ensure its ecological survival and secure the green corridor between Lake Ontario and the Oak Ridges Moraine.

[Petitions, February 11th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to present a petition signed by many constituents from my riding of Hull—Aylmer in relation to protecting Gatineau Park.

The park currently has no legal protection. It is important that Parliament pass a law to protect our park, which is a gem, not only for the municipality, but also for the nation's capital and Canada as a whole.

[Petitions, February 10th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, I also have a petition from many people in my riding who are calling for legislation to protect Gatineau Park. The park is in my riding, but it is also visited by hundreds of people from across the country. Right now, there is no legislation protecting it. I hope to have the support of this government to pass a law protecting Gatineau Park.

[Democratic Reform, February 10th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, in reality, the new bill limits what information the Chief Electoral Officer can provide the public on four topics: how to become a candidate, how to add one's name to the voters list, the location and date of the vote, and the identification that is required for voting. The bill would even make it illegal for the Chief Electoral Officer to participate in a media scrum like the one he spoke to as he was leaving the Parliamentary committee on Thursday.

Why have the Conservatives added this clause, which violates the basic principles of freedom of expression?

[Democratic Reform, February 10th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, on the weekend, the Chief Electoral Officer said:

My reading of the act is that I can no longer speak about democracy in this country.

That is essentially what the bill says. The Chief Electoral Officer will be forbidden from discussing topics that have not been pre-approved by the Conservatives.

How will muzzling the Chief Electoral Officer promote voter turnout?