House of Commons photoLost his last election, in 2015, with 30% of the vote.
Jobs and Growth Act, 2012 December 3rd, 2012
Mr. Speaker, I would like to congratulate my colleague. Earlier today, I, too, tried in vain to ask the House for unanimous consent to add the rivers in my riding to the list of protected rivers. The Conservatives refused. I would like to ask my colleague why the Conservatives are refusing to protect my riding's rivers?
Jobs and Growth Act, 2012 December 3rd, 2012
Mr. Speaker, from the beginning, we have been suggesting splitting up this bill, because there is no common thread among it various components. It eliminates the commission on hazardous products. What does that have to do with the budget? We cannot help but wonder. I have no answer to that, but clearly, that commission gave workers handling hazardous products information about those products and how dangerous they are. Yet the Conservatives are eliminating that, which is completely inconceivable. Why did they throw everything into one bill?
My greatest fear is that this will set a precedent. It started with 60 laws. One day they will introduce a bill that amends 300 laws. They will pass the bill and MPs will have nothing left to say for the rest of the year because everything will have been said. I refuse to accept that kind of parliamentary process.
Jobs and Growth Act, 2012 December 3rd, 2012
Mr. Speaker, my colleague is twisting my words. The Navigable Waters Protection Act has been around for some time. It provides crucial protection to fragile marine habitats. We cannot let just anything happen.
You are playing with facts that you do not understand. Right now I am looking at how much the Fisheries Act has been modified and how much trawlers are decimating miles and miles of seabed. It will take hundreds of years to recreate favourable environments for species to reproduce.
You said that it takes time to conduct assessments. I am not saying that the process is perfect, but in this situation, you are throwing the baby out with the bathwater, along with the fly in the bathwater.
Jobs and Growth Act, 2012 December 3rd, 2012
Mr. Speaker, I would appreciate it if you would warn me one minute before the end of my speech.
What will history say about this government?
In the spring, the government already trashed numerous economic, social and environmental laws, by forcing the passage of Bill C-38, the budget bill, a 400-page brick we voted on for 26 hours. We presented a number of amazing amendments, but were unable to change so much as a comma. This government thinks it has the truth and the right line.
After the challenges resulting from Bill C-38 in the spring, we thought the government would make honourable amends, and this time it would allow for broader debate on the budget implementation bill. Unfortunately, that is not the case. They came back with the same kind of shenanigans: they introduced a bill that would significantly amend 62 statutes. This is again a 400-page bill that they want to have us pass as quickly as possible, and for which they have imposed a gag order. That is perhaps what this government will be remembered for the most in 10, 15 or 20 years. It will be the gag order government. Our colleagues across the way will have participated in this travesty of democracy for months.
We are talking here about a bill that amends 62 statutes. We have looked for the common thread among the statutes in the budget, but there is none. This is a way of forcing the machine to work, of putting us on the ropes, of cutting the work of Parliament down to size, and ultimately making a mockery of it.
If we look at the content, we quickly realize that the measures proposed by the Conservatives do not reflect the values of Canadians. Ironically, Bill C-45, called the Jobs and Growth Act, 2012, contains no effective measures to create jobs or to stimulate economic growth in Canada.
In fact, the Conservatives claim that the 2012 budget is going to create jobs, but the Parliamentary Budget Officer, the best friend of people in Canada who exercise critical thinking, claims, rather, that it will result in the loss of 43,000 jobs, which will have a domino effect and have an impact on 102,000 jobs in Canada. That is the overall effect of this budget implementation bill.
In the meantime, the unemployment rate is going up, and instead of making the rules more flexible to allow working people to receive support when they are unemployed, the rules are unfortunately being toughened.
I should point out that Bill C-45 is a threat because the changes it proposes in relation to the environment show disrespect for Canadians and their awareness of environmental issues.
At a time when the world is becoming more aware of the importance of sustainable development, or in other words, our capacity to meet our needs while allowing future generations to meet theirs, the Conservative government does not understand this logic and stubbornly insists on weakening environmental regulations.
After withdrawing Canada from the Kyoto protocol, making cuts to research programs at Environment Canada and Fisheries and Oceans Canada, and dismantling the round table on the environment and the economy, the Conservatives are continuing down the same path with Bill C-45, which once again weakens the Canadian Environmental Protection Act and guts the Navigable Waters Protection Act.
It is important to note Canada's place when it comes to environmental matters. Recently, Canada was ranked 57th of the 60 countries included in the Climate Change Performance Index. In order to find Canada, hon. members should start at the bottom of the list instead of the top. We have dropped quite far. On the international stage, many countries do not envy us when it comes to the environment.
The Conservatives will boast that they have eliminated two small fossil fuel subsidies in this budget and improved two tax credits for certain types of equipment for green energy production. Proportionately speaking, these two measures are minimal compared to the $1.3 billion in assistance that the Conservative government continues to give to the oil and gas industry each year.
Environmental protection seems to be a nuisance to the Conservatives. We have to wonder whether this is a Conservative government strategy to facilitate co-operation with big business.
We also see that power is becoming more and more concentrated in the Conservative cabinet. We saw it with the reform of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act reform, and we are seeing it with environmental reforms. We had panels of independent experts. Now, assessments will basically be subject to the minister's approval.
Bill C-45 guts the Navigable Waters Protection Act. The consequences are imminent since thousands of lakes and rivers will no longer be protected. Of the 37 designated Canadian heritage rivers, only 10 will now be protected. I checked the list for the rivers in my area—Rivière du Diable, Rivière Rouge and Rivière du Nord—but none of them are mentioned.
I hope I am going to be able to include them in that list. And I wonder when we will have a chance to put new rivers and new lakes on the list. I would like to preserve the rivers in my riding in their purest possible natural state, because they are an essential part of the beauty of the region that brings tourists there. Beautiful rivers and beautiful lakes: that is what tourists come to see.
The Minister of Transport said the objective of the act was to reduce obstacles to navigation on navigable waterways and added that navigable waterways that do not appear in the new list will be protected by other federal legislation, by the provinces and by cities. Have funds been set aside for the provinces in connection with the role they will have to play, given the additional workload they will have? We are divesting ourselves of our obligation to protect rivers and lakes. In fact, that is a responsibility that is set out in the Canadian Constitution.
I am going to quote Tony Maas, director of the national freshwater program of the World Wildlife Fund. The government is trying to make a distinction between navigation and navigable waters, for legislation to facilitate navigation.
Picking navigation apart from the waters that enable it is very much artificial [and I would say “absurd”]. The two are part of a bigger whole. Their separation is as artificial as thinking you can protect a fish without protecting its habitat....
The government puts everything in little boxes, as if things were no longer connected to one another.
Because I had prepared to make a 20-minute speech, my time is nearly up. Before beginning this last part, I am going to request the unanimous consent of the House to move the following motion:
I move that, notwithstanding any Standing Order or usual practice of the House, Bill C-45, in clause 321, be amended by adding after line 13 on page 291 the following: “The addition of the navigable waters listed below is deemed to be in the public interest and the governor in council shall, by regulation, as soon as is reasonably practicable after the day on which this act receives royal assent, add those navigable waters to the schedule”, and I would like the list to include the Rivière du Nord, the Rivière Rouge, the Rivière du Diable and the Rivière Pashby, all of which are rivers that run through my riding.
I request the unanimous consent of the House to move this motion.
Jobs and Growth Act, 2012 December 3rd, 2012
Mr. Speaker, people at home are truly worried. They are worried about what is in the budget and especially about the attitude of this government, which amended 70 acts with Bill C-38 and will amend 62 acts, without debate, with Bill C-45.
My question is for the minister. In light of the Conservatives' strategy, will they one day introduce a bill to automatically amend 200 or 300 laws, and then bid farewell to Parliament and parliamentarians for the rest of the year?
That is the kind of distortion of democracy we are seeing. People at home are worried about the Conservatives' brand of democracy.
Questions Passed as Orders for Returns November 30th, 2012
With regard to Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC): (a) how many CIC positions will be eliminated in 2012 and subsequent years, broken down by (i) year, (ii) province; (b) how will the Fédération des francophones de la Colombie-Britannique, which co-chaired the CIC’s British Columbia region, fit into the new structure if the British Columbia region disappears; (c) has the impact of merging services for the Atlantic region with the Quebec region been analyzed and, if so, what were the findings; (d) what impact will merging services for the Atlantic and Quebec regions have on francophone immigration; (e) what structures will be implemented to avoid competition between the Atlantic and Quebec regions for francophone immigrants if the decision-making centre is transferred to the province of Quebec; and (f) how will cuts to the Destination Canada Job Fair budget be offset in order to ensure that the Atlantic provinces can continue to attract francophone immigrants in light of competition from the province of Quebec for francophone immigrants?
Employment Insurance November 8th, 2012
Mr. Speaker, this week, Luxorama in Saint-Jérôme filed for bankruptcy without notice under the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act, brutally dismissing 200 employees. With a just a few weeks left before the holidays, the employees are devastated. Not only are they losing their jobs without warning, but they are also finding out that the average wait time in Quebec to get the first employment insurance cheque is 39 days, when the wait time should not exceed 28 days.
For weeks I have been listening to the Minister of Human Resources tell us that she is working on improving service delivery. I am sorry, but this minister has to stop taking Canadians for fools. She is not working—
Questions Passed as Orders for Returns November 5th, 2012
With regard to the use of French by Canada Border Services Agency: (a) how many officers at the various border crossings are able to work (i) only in English, broken down by border crossing, (ii) only in French, broken down by border crossing, (iii) in both official languages, broken down by border crossing; (b) what was the amount spent on French as a second language training for border services officers from 2008 up to 2013, broken down by year; (c) what was the amount spent on English as a second language training for border services officers from 2008 up to 2013, broken down by year; (d) how many border services officers have taken or will take French as a second language training from 2008 up to 2013, broken down by year; (e) how many border services officers have taken or will take English as a second language training from 2008 up to 2013, broken down by year; and (f) what proportion of border crossings have been able to provide service in French at all times (24 hours a day, 7 days a week), from 2008 to 2012, broken down by year?
Normand Robert November 5th, 2012
Mr. Speaker, I would like to pay tribute to Normand Robert, a pillar of the Rivière-du-Nord community. As a community organizer at the Saint-Jérôme health and social services centre, Normand was a strong advocate for the poor and the marginalized. In good weather and in bad, our bearded activist would travel around town with his backpack, calling on one organization after another.
He was always very vocal about the fact that community groups are essential components of the public health care system, an incredible web of support. He is the type of man who would question conventional wisdom and challenge those who believe that poverty exists elsewhere. Normand knew that street people cannot wait for the government to suddenly be struck by compassion and that sometimes you have to rattle the cage.
That is the kind of humanist Canada needs. The community of Saint-Jérôme recognized his exemplary commitment by presenting him with the Coup de coeur award at the 23rd homelessness awareness night.
Jobs and Growth, 2012 October 30th, 2012
Mr. Speaker, I want to congratulate my distinguished colleague for his speech. In a week, I will join my constituents in participating in a food drive for food banks in the region, in particular those in Saint-Jérôme.
I have been listening to all of the comments on the budget. I hear about navigable waters. We are not living on the same planet. I am being asked to support this budget; meanwhile, I am collecting food for people who have to use food banks. This year, 882,000 people visited food banks and there is nothing in this budget to support food banks.
I would like my colleague to comment on this situation. How can we pass a budget like this?