House of Commons photoLost her last election, in 2021, with 7% of the vote.
Safer Witnesses Act February 11th, 2013
Mr. Speaker, sometimes the protection can be as simple as police protection, but other times it might require a secondary residence at a safe location.
However, there are costs involved. According to the RCMP's website, sometimes the cost of protecting witnesses hinders investigations, especially for small law enforcement agencies that have a tight budget.
Will the government commit to investing more in witness protection in the future?
Government Priorities February 11th, 2013
Mr. Speaker, grassroots are at the heart of democracy. I have travelled across my riding since the beginning of the year, and many of my constituents have told me they are frustrated with the Conservatives.
I met with a number of seniors who no longer receive paper copies of their tax forms. If they do not have the Internet, too bad for them. The Conservatives are once again punishing our seniors. Shame on them.
I also met with a teacher who spoke about her desperation with regard to the EI reform. A number of these professionals work on call and, during the summer and fall, EI is often their only source of income. To maintain a knowledge-based society like ours, Canadians must be able to work in careers at which they excel, and not in jobs that do not correspond to their abilities.
This week, we are celebrating Hooked on School Days, and I want to pay tribute to the wonderful work our partners—in particular our teachers—do in our communities. They deserve to be able to educate the next generation of talented Canadians without worrying about losing their income when they are unemployed.
Faster Removal of Foreign Criminals Act January 30th, 2013
Mr. Speaker, I have a question for my colleague from the Conservative Party.
In my riding, one of my constituents immigrated from Vietnam and moved to Quebec 32 years ago, when he was 8 years old. He and his brother came to Canada aboard a ship. His parents had been killed in Vietnam, so he was an orphan. He grew up here and not long afterwards, he was put in a reception centre because his brother could no longer take care of him.
Of course he learned a few things while he was living at the reception centre. He became a juvenile delinquent here in Canada and he was put in prison when he was 18. Now, this man, who is 40 years old and has six children, is being sent back to Vietnam. He does not even speak the language. He became a delinquent during his youth here in Canada. And he is going to be sent back to Vietnam
What is the member's position on that? Does he believe that this man is a foreign criminal or a Canadian criminal?
Petitions December 11th, 2012
Mr. Speaker, the petition that I am presenting pertains to the protection of Gatineau Park.
Gatineau Park is one of the most visited parks in Canada. It is home to approximately 90 endangered plant and 50 endangered animal species. The boundaries of Gatineau Park are not recognized in Canadian law. Sections of the park can be removed or sold without parliamentary review or approval.
The residents of Canada who signed the petition are calling on the House of Commons to adopt legislation that would give Gatineau Park the necessary legal protection to ensure its preservation for future generations.
Jobs and Growth Act, 2012 November 29th, 2012
Mr. Speaker, when I decided to immigrate to Canada, it was mainly because of the strength of its democracy and its parliamentary system. When one speaks of the parliamentary system, it includes debating ideas.
One thing that bothers me about this bill is that once again, certain commissions are being removed and even more power is being given to ministers.
I would like my colleague to speak about the weakening of Canada's democracy.
Jobs and Growth Act, 2012 November 29th, 2012
Mr. Speaker, my question is about changes to support for businesses conducting scientific research and experimental development. In Montreal, there have been job losses in this sector.
In this bill, the Conservatives are ignoring the need for a meaningful, detailed, coordinated and effective policy for the research and development industry. Does my colleague agree with that?
Jobs and Growth Act, 2012 November 29th, 2012
Mr. Speaker, when I visit my riding, I sometimes go to shopping centres to do some errands, and I speak to the women who work at the Zellers store, which will soon be closing. I ask them if they know what they will do after the store closes and whether they will have a job. They tell me that they have no idea. These are often immigrant women.
Big changes are being made to employment insurance. I would like my colleague to explain how these fundamental changes to EI will affect women, and more specifically immigrant women.
First Nations Financial Transparency Act November 27th, 2012
Mr. Speaker, when I arrived in Canada in 1995, I found it very surprising that there was talk of two founding peoples, as though the first nations did not exist before the arrival of the Europeans.
Now, the House has before it a bill that deals with the financial transparency of the first nations. What does that mean? Does creating a bill on transparency mean that we think there is no transparency? I am getting the same message that I got in 1995, and that is a sort of contempt for and lack of understanding of Canada's first nations.
I would like my colleague to talk about her thoughts on the prejudices we have about the first nations.
Bullying November 20th, 2012
Mr. Speaker, Motion No. 385 moved by my colleague against bullying certainly strikes a nerve. I used to be a high school teacher and I am a mother whose children attend school. Therefore, I am a first-hand witness of acts of bullying and their consequences on our youth and our society at large.
On January 18, 2011, the Public Health Agency of Canada published the following on its website:
The thought of our own child being bullied at school, on the playground or in cyberspace is a huge concern to parents everywhere.
It would be important to define bullying. For that, I will use my document on the bullying prevention strategies used in Alberta.
Bullying is defined as a conscious, wilful, deliberate and repeated hostile activity marked by an imbalance of power, intent to harm or a threat of aggression. Severe bullying can lead to a feeling of terror on the part of the person being bullied.
Bullying affects everyone, even the bullies. From their own actions and the lack of action by their peers, they learn that antisocial behaviours and exerting control over others (verbally, physically, socially or by e-mail) are acceptable and effective.
In fact, at one point or another in our lives, we have all been a victim or a perpetrator of acts of bullying or we have witnessed acts of bullying. Bullying is harmful and is not a normal part of growing up.
Bullying can take various forms such as:
Verbal bullying: name calling, insults and criticism, threats and intimidation.
Social bullying: excluding others from a group, intimidation and teasing by a group.
The bully will say it is just a joke, but the joke cuts like a knife through the other person's heart.
Physical bullying: to hit or injure someone.
Cyberbullying: to use a computer or other technology to harass or threaten someone.
[According to the experts] bullying is the assertion of power through aggression. Its forms change with age…
Bullying starts at elementary school. It is not only a problem among teenagers. It may also occur among the elderly.
Homophobic language is often the most common verbal form of bullying, yet it is the least responded to by students and trusted adults.
In other words, many people stand idly by when others are bullied on the basis of sexual orientation. I would also like to turn my attention to cyberbullying, including being threatened, harassed or humiliated over the Internet. This phenomenon has become a scourge.
Bullying has consequences. Studies show that bullies and their victims are at greater risk of developing emotional problems later in life. When a child in your family has been bullied, you often realize from his behaviour that something is wrong: he does not want to go to school, he is often sad or even aggressive at home. You may wonder what is going on.
When you ask the teacher what is going on in the classroom, she may say that it is nothing serious and that all it amounts to is the games children play. Then, one or two months later, you realize that your child has been excluded or mistreated by his classmates, for months and perhaps for years. Soon, the child is no longer interested in having friends and becomes a loner, because he feels that the other children are mean. And that is that.
Bullying may result in poor self-esteem and a lack of self-confidence. It may have a negative effect on a child's social skills and on his happiness, even as an adult. There is also the matter of guilt. I know of a bully who, as an adult, still remembered how much he hurt a little girl by stealing her candy on Halloween.
Moreover, the bully also has to come to terms with his inability to solve his own problems. He uses aggression as a crutch to solve problems of a different nature.
By tolerating bullying, we are not teaching children to solve their own problems or to behave in an acceptable manner with others.
Other consequences of bullying include depression and missing out on opportunities to grow up. Childhood is a time to learn, to grow and to discover activities that will be useful in adulthood. Bullying can, to a large extent, adversely affect a child's ability to participate in activities, to learn and to have fun both in school and in society in general.
Finally, the most dramatic consequence is suicide. In extreme cases, a child may decide that death is preferable to interminable bullying.
On the subject of bullying, I would like to speak about three groups. Youth are often the focus, but today I would like to talk about immigrants, children and seniors. Often, immigrants are threatened with deportation by their sponsors. I know of a woman who was sponsored by her husband and had a child by him. The man threw her down a staircase and told her that if she reported him he would send her home and keep the child. That is an example of bullying. The woman was afraid.
Let us also consider the case of a Portuguese permanent resident of Canada who was bullied recently. He was threatened with expulsion from the country although he had been living here a long time. Bullying can also be institutional. Think of the temporary immigrant workers with an individual employer, who live in isolated situations and often do not speak either English or French. If they complain about anything at all regarding their working conditions, they will be sent back. What do they do? They keep quiet; they do not even dare to complain.
Some young immigrants to Canada say that they face racism and xenophobia, but admire the freedom of Canada’s youth culture. Because they are subject to discrimination at school, they form groups—that may be called gangs—to find the strength they do not have alone. Sometimes this leads to bad behaviour.
A report on immigrants indicated that in 1999-2000, the latest year for which statistics are available, the vast majority of immigrants in the groups being studied thought it was difficult to feel accepted as Canadians, and most faced ostracism and bullying at school. Many of them indicated that not only the other students but also the teachers and school staff were part of the problem. The report also examined the community support available to immigrants.
Last week I attended a party in my riding with a number of young teens who had just come from Haiti with their families, who were sponsored. They hardly spoke any French and their parents spoke even less. The organizations that welcome these people and give them hope have had to reduce their staff, for lack of funding.
I will go back to the report, which says:
While immigrant youth generally adapt well to Canadian life, problems remain, and many community service providers do not have adequate resources to help young people address these problems.
I now want to talk about older persons, our grandparents and parents. They also are subject to all kinds of violence and bullying. Mistreatment may happen to old people who live at home or in a care facility. It may take various forms: physical abuse, emotional abuse, financial exploitation or neglect. Physical and psychological abuse are forms of bullying. What often happens is that old people are told that if they do not give what is being asked for, no one will visit them and they will not see their grandchildren.
Lastly, I am very concerned about violence and abuse toward children. It has been talked about a great deal. The communication media can play an active role. If there could be television programs where children learn to speak up against bullying and are invited to talk about it, we would all win. To that end, an infrastructure is needed. For that, my colleague’s bill is truly necessary.
First Nations Financial Transparency Act November 20th, 2012
Mr. Speaker, this government is demanding more and more paperwork and justifications from first nations and from anyone who does not share its political views. On the other hand, it does not hold to account polluters, those who contaminate the environment.
Why is there such a double standard, with one set of rules for friends of the government and another set of rules for other people?