Pablo Rodriguez

[An Act to establish the Economic Development Agency of Canada for the Regions of Quebec, November 15th, 2004]

Madam Speaker, I thank my colleague for his question. I want to reassure him; I speak regularly with my neighbour. He is a very good friend.

I would like to say that the development strategies of Canada Economic Development are implemented in cooperation with the community and are in fact established with the community. I myself have had the opportunity to see this regularly when I met with community stakeholders, like mayors or project developers, or even when I went to make announcements just recently. People from the community were there and applauded the effort of Canada Economic Development because it was relevant, necessary and based on a consensus within the community.

I would say that there is another clear consensus in Quebec. Perhaps the Bloc is the only one not to agree with this. However, the consensus is that this bill must be approved.

[An Act to establish the Economic Development Agency of Canada for the Regions of Quebec, November 15th, 2004]

Madam Speaker, at the beginning of his speech, my colleague was saying that the federal government was unaware of what the right hand was doing while the left hand was doing something else. I disagree with that.

The reality is that the hon. member would like to cut off both of our hands, in other words, to prevent the Canadian government from intervening in the regions. The fact that Economic Development Canada works so efficiently and that it helps the regions where needed may be a problem for our friends and colleagues of the Bloc Québécois, who want Quebec to withdraw from Canada.

Therefore, if we are successful in the regions, if we are contributing to the creation of jobs and if a presence of the federal government is relevant and deserving to be highlighted, this obviously goes against the ultimate objective of the Bloc, which is to separate Quebec from Canada.

With respect to the cadet camp, I have to say that no decision has been made so far. For the time being, the hon. member is crying wolf and is being an alarmist, but no decision has been made yet in this respect.

[An Act to establish the Economic Development Agency of Canada for the Regions of Quebec, November 15th, 2004]

Madam Speaker, I thank my colleague from the neighbouring riding of Hochelaga for his question. I too think it is clear that the development corporations have a very important role. That is what I said to my colleagues of the Quebec caucus and to my colleague the Minister of the Economic Development Agency of Canada. It is also clear that I will continue to support the development corporations' work and funding.

[An Act to establish the Economic Development Agency of Canada for the Regions of Quebec, November 15th, 2004]

Madam Speaker, I am pleased to rise today in this House to speak to Bill C-9, an act to establish the Economic Development Agency of Canada for the Regions of Quebec.

Our government has set itself the objective of ensuring the success of Canadians in each and every region of our country. Its intention is to support our fellow citizens, as far as is possible, in the realization of their aspirations for prosperity and an enhanced quality of life. This is the context within which the Economic Development Agency of Canada fulfills its mandate to promote the economic development of the regions of Quebec. To that end, it pays particular attention to all the regions of Quebec, especially those with a slower growth rate and insufficient jobs for the size of their population.

In my capacity as a member of Parliament, I have had the opportunity to see for myself the work done by the agency to ensure the regional economic development of Quebec and improve its residents' quality of life. The agency has, for instance, made the financial commitment to provide over $1.02 billion for 2,116 projects during 2003-04. When investments from other funding bodies are factored in, the total value of these projects represents an injection of over $3.9 billion into the economy of the various regions of Quebec.

What is more, these projects have contributed to the creation, conversion or maintenance of close to 13,700 jobs in all of the regions of Quebec, regions such as Chaudière-Appalaches, where $60,000 from Canada Economic Development has enabled Soliroc Metal to enhance its productivity. With this financial assistance, the company was able to acquire more efficient equipment, and as a result to raise its productivity by 60%. This is one example of the kind of projects Canada Economic Development has supported, which have highly positive economic spinoffs for the competitive position of a company, thereby enabling it not only to continue to grow, but also to play a vital role within its community.

In the Quebec City area, the National Optics Institute received a $3.6 million contribution from Canada Economic Development to implement a research program in agrophotonics. The purpose of this research campaign is to bring together two major areas of activity in the region, namely agro-processing and optics-photonics technologies.Canada Economic Development wanted to support this regional initiative because it consolidates the institute's leading position in the industry and paves the way for various economic development projects in many regions of Quebec.

In the Lower St. Lawrence region, a marine biotechnology research centre was set up with a contribution of $7.6 million from Canada Economic Development. To carry out its work, the centre plans to create 24 direct jobs and 75 spin-off jobs. In addition, the centre's activities will bring top researchers to the region as well as new companies. I should add that these research facilities are a priority for the people of the Lower St. Lawrence region.

That is why Canada Economic Development wanted to be involved in carrying out this project as part of its commitment to support initiatives that best respond to the needs of the public and that build on a region's strengths. In turn, such projects help fulfil economic development opportunities in the regions that welcome them and elsewhere in Quebec.

These examples are representative of what Canada Economic Development does. They also show how important promotion and innovation throughout Quebec is to the agency. This priority stems from our government's commitment to building the robust and innovative economy that we all want for our country in the 21st century. In addition, the projects I mentioned illustrate Canada Economic Development's goal, which is to strengthen the niches of excellence specific to each region of Quebec. In all, in 2003-04, the agency invested $54.6 million in 739 innovative projects in Quebec. These investments have led to the creation, transformation or maintenance of 4,796 jobs. Furthermore, even the promoters have said that, without the financial support of Canada Economic Development, 55% of the projects would never have materialized.

In an effort to facilitate a culture of innovation in Quebec regions, Economic Development Canada and Agriculture and Agri-food Canada granted $3.6 million to the Université du Québec en Abitibi-Témiscamingue for its participation in an important research project on the development of a new kind of beef that could meet increased consumer demands.

Again, I would like to specify that the achievement of this project is the product of the desire of the region's researchers and cattle producers. This initiative should not only consolidate 34 jobs but also increase the earnings of companies in this area by 15% to 20%.

As I said earlier, the Economic Development Agency of Canada for the Regions of Quebec also helps communities to take control of their own development by focusing on their assets. The agency tries to facilitate public interest initiatives that could have major regional impacts and create significant snowball effects on regional economic activities. The agency works with a network of collaborators comprised of the 57 Community Futures Development Corporations, the 15 Community Economic Development Corporations and the 9 Business Development Centres.

During budget year 2002-2003, projects that were granted loans by CFDCs generated investments of $135 million in the regions. The loans amounted to $45 millions. The nine BDCs participated in 222 investment projects and 570 technical assistance projects.

It is in the context of the partnership between Economic Development Canada and the CFDC network in Quebec that AFER, Aide aux femmes entrepreneures en milieu rural, was implemented. This pilot project involved establishing a fund to promote women entrepreneurship in rural areas. The 12 CFDCs participating in the initiative represent the following regions: Gaspésie—Îles-de-la-Madeleine, Bas-Saint-Laurent, Abitibi-Témiscamingue, Côte-Nord, Saguenay, Mauricie, Chaudière-Appalaches and Montérégie. To date, the AFER program has made it possible to help 93 businesswomen; 31 businesses were started; and 60 jobs were created in various regions of Quebec.

The AFER Canada fund is consistent with the Government of Canada's commitment to promote greater involvement of women in the economy of all Quebec regions and initiatives to diversify development opportunities in various Quebec communities.

As I said a moment ago, Economic Development Canada is involved in all Quebec regions.

[Committees of the House, November 1st, 2004]

Mr. Speaker, I have the honour to present, in both official languages, the first report of the Standing Committee on Official Languages.

Pursuant to Standing Order 108(3)(f), the committee has reviewed the third report of the Standing Committee on Official Languages called “Impact of the Plan to Strengthen Management of Government of Canada Advertising on the Official-Language Minority Media”, which was presented to the House of Commons during the third session of the 37th Parliament.

On Thursday, October 28, 2004, the committee concurred in the findings of the report. Therefore, pursuant to Standing Order 109, the committee requests that the government table a comprehensive response to this report.

[Official Languages, October 27th, 2004]

Mr. Speaker, my question is directed to the Minister responsible for Official Languages.

Can the minister tell us what progress the Government of Canada has made in implementing the official languages action plan?

[Resumption of Debate on Address in Reply, October 20th, 2004]

Madam Speaker, the hon. member is seeing the whole thing with a great deal of optimism when he says that we will agree on just about everything, that we will have a common currency, that there will be no borders, that there will be a comprehensive treaty between Quebec and Canada. He is putting on very rose-coloured glasses to look at a hypothetical situation.

I have a very short question. Does the hon. member realize that, prior to building his country, he must first destroy mine?

[Resumption of Debate on Address in Reply, October 20th, 2004]

Madam Speaker, first I want to thank the member for his kind words and wishes. I want to express the same to him. I wanted to get back to what he said. I have two short questions.

First, he talked about Quebec's conditions, that is the reason why Quebeckers should vote for sovereignty. He cited a few examples. However, if we solved these problems, which he calls the fiscal imbalance or whatever, would he then decide to become a federalist? That was my first question.

My second question is this: Quebeckers said no twice, in 1980 and in 1995. They will probably say no again the next time. Is there a time when this process will stop or does he think that it should continue until the end of time?

[Riding of Honoré-Mercier, October 13th, 2004]

Mr. Speaker, it is with both pride and humility that I rise for the first time in this House. I must say that, for someone who arrived in Canada at the age of eight, speaking not a word of French or English, it is a particularly moving moment.

My first words will be to thank the men and women of Honoré-Mercier for giving me their confidence and support in the election.

In recent months I have travelled everywhere in the riding to meet people active in diverse economic and social areas. I met women and men who give the best of themselves every day in their respective fields.

There were a number of common threads in these discussions : the Government of Canada should allocate substantial resources to health, contribute to the revitalization of municipal infrastructure, and invest seriously in the environment.

These ideas expressed by people in my riding are certainly valid for the eastern part of Montreal, for other areas in Quebec and even all of Canada.

I am here to work on the realization of these priorities, with all my energy and to the best of my abilities.