Pierre-Luc Dusseault

[First Nations Financial Transparency Act, November 27th, 2012]

Mr. Speaker, I am very pleased to have the opportunity to ask my colleague a question about this issue. I do not have many aboriginal communities in my urban riding of Sherbrooke either. However, I can speak from the perspective of a Canadian observing the Conservatives' interaction with communities. I get the impression that their arguments are reinforcing stereotypes about aboriginal communities even though we know that the vast majority of these communities manage their information very responsibly.

Does he think that the Conservatives are reinforcing stereotypes about aboriginal communities?

[First Nations Financial Transparency Act, November 27th, 2012]

Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for her very interesting comments. Does she agree that this government is not in a position to be lecturing us on transparency? When I saw that this bill was calling for transparency from the first nations, I was flabbergasted. This bill calls for transparency from the first nations, yet this government is the perfect example of a lack of transparency.

Could the member comment on the Conservatives' double standard?

[First Nations Financial Transparency Act, November 27th, 2012]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to take this opportunity to thank my colleague, who is doing great work in this area. She really explained in detail the bill currently before the House. I do not necessarily want her to go into even more detail since she already did such a good job, so instead, my question is about the process.

We know that this bill was introduced, that it is now at third reading, and that it is subject to time allocation. We thus have only one day at third reading to debate this bill, which, in my opinion, will have a significant impact on first nations communities.

Can the hon. member comment on the Conservatives' approach, which always involves introducing bills and then imposing time allocations on them—if I am not mistaken this is the 30th time they have done this—so that there is as little debate as possible?

[First Nations Financial Transparency Act, November 27th, 2012]

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to be able to ask a question.

The parliamentary secretary is saying that the department is already obligated to disclose this information. The information is therefore already available to first nations members who request it.

Based on the speech he just gave, I am having a very difficult time understanding why this bill is useful today.

I would like him to explain a specific sentence in his speech. He said that this was going to promote economic growth and job creation. Can he explain to me how putting this information on a website is going to promote job creation and the economic prosperity of first nations?

[Alberta and Quebec, November 26th, 2012]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to take this opportunity to draw attention to the interesting friendship that has emerged between Alberta and Quebec. Both provinces have often benefited from the hard work of Albertans. In particular, former premier Peter Lougheed and former Progressive Conservative leader Joe Clark come to mind.

Alberta is also a popular and magnificent destination for thousands of my constituents, including young Quebeckers, who have long dreamed of setting off in search of the legendary Canadian west, or people who, perhaps a little more down to earth, go there to learn a trade and leave their sweat on the various work sites in the province.

Despite their obvious differences, Quebec and Alberta share many similarities. Both provinces are stubborn and know what they want. They want to be respected for their convictions and their unique cultures. They also do not want Ottawa to come barging in and trample all over their plans.

We in the NDP believe in a strong, united Canada that embraces the diversity that exists in both Alberta and Quebec.

[First Nations Financial Transparency Act, November 20th, 2012]

Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for her speech.

I would like her opinion on one point. Very rarely in some aboriginal communities do we see that community members do not have access to certain documents. It is very rare. According to the Conservatives, the solution is to publish the information on a website for everyone to see. We know that the Internet is available across the world. It is possible to give this information to everyone in the world, which might not be to the advantage of some business people. I spoke about that earlier today.

Is that the solution? Of course, there must be a way to make this information available to all members of the first nation community, but this is not necessarily an effective method and it will be bad for aboriginal communities.

[First Nations Financial Transparency Act, November 20th, 2012]

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to ask a second question which still has to do with double-talk. It is interesting to see the government's way of doing things. This time, I am referring to double-talk regarding red tape.

On the one hand, departments are saying we must eliminate red tape. Ministers tell us they are trying to cut red tape. But then the government turns around and imposes even more red tape on first nations.

Could the hon. member comment on this aspect of the Conservatives' double-talk?

[First Nations Financial Transparency Act, November 20th, 2012]

Mr. Speaker, I congratulate my colleague on her speech.

People have mentioned the Conservatives' double-talk on transparency. On the one hand, they claim to want greater transparency in local and first nation governments and, on the other hand, they do the exact opposite when it comes to their own policies.

Are they applying the “Do as we say, not as we do” rule? What does my colleague have to say about transparency? Is the government in a position to lecture us?

[First Nations Financial Transparency Act, November 20th, 2012]

Mr. Speaker, I agree, and as I said earlier, this is not the first time a Conservative government has brought in legislation without doing any consultation. This cannot produce anything of substance. A good government does its homework and consults the public before introducing a bill.

In this case, it is as if the government is introducing the bill and then sitting back and watching the reactions. That is the opposite of how it should proceed. A government should consult first and draft a bill based on what it learned. If it had done any consultation, it would have learned that this could put some companies at a disadvantage. It would have known about everything I said in my speech. Perhaps it would not have introduced this bill in its current form and maybe it would have had a little more support from the opposition, if it had done its homework.

[First Nations Financial Transparency Act, November 20th, 2012]

Mr. Speaker, I thought I was quite clear in my speech. I will repeat a little of what I said. This information is already available for first nations; it is already sent to Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development Canada. I was able to provide the figures regarding average salaries because that information is already available and first nations can therefore consult it.

I agree that we need to find a solution to make those documents available to some members of first nations who do not have access to them for various reasons. However, I do not think that the solution is to put those documents on a website that anyone and everyone can consult. This will have the opposite effect and will harm first nations by putting many businesses on reserves at a disadvantage compared to others. This will definitely be harmful to them. The Conservatives are certainly in no position to give lessons on government transparency.