House of Commons photoLost his last election, in 2011, with 33% of the vote.
World Trade Organization May 29th, 2006
Mr. Speaker, as I understand that we will not have texts before the accord is nearly final, I ask the following question: can the government reiterate as of now that there is no question of altering in any way the Canadian position at the WTO respecting supply management in agriculture and cultural diversity?
World Trade Organization May 29th, 2006
Mr. Speaker, at the Bonn conference on the extension of the Kyoto accord, the Government of Quebec did not have access to the texts of the Government of Canada, and this is totally unacceptable.
At the meeting of the World Trade Organization, where agriculture and services are being discussed, which could threaten supply management and cultural diversity, will the texts be available this time for the Government of Quebec?
Criminal Code May 29th, 2006
Mr. Speaker, I congratulate the member on his remarks. I am particularly grateful to him for making us aware that Bill C-9 would have a very significant impact on aboriginal communities.
There is an aboriginal community in my riding. I believe that it is entirely correct to say that there is a discriminatory and punitive view of society behind this. I would very much like to hear his comments.
In my view, the Conservative government is conflating two things. First, making our society a better place to live, an objective on which we are all in agreement, there must be security and a lot of other things, like social programs, jobs and social cohesion.
The second is the notion that in order to achieve security, punishment is the only option. All of the rehabilitation programs, or the flexibility that might be available in sentencing, including conditional sentences, are seen as giving in to crime, to criminal behaviour and to criminals.
By conflating these two things, we end up aiming for one objective, security, but at the expense of making our society a better place to live. We can put up walls to protect the rich, but we will never prevent people who live in poverty from sometimes trying to get out of it by routes that are not, unfortunately, honest.
The problem is poverty. It is not necessarily security. I would like to hear his comments on this question.
Criminal Code May 29th, 2006
Mr. Speaker, I would first like to congratulate my colleague on his speech.
I was told that Bill C-9 was relatively complex and technical. From what my colleague says, the issues of the bill are very clear. I would like to speak to them, because he has made it clear.
The government is denying the judiciary the option of conditional sentencing: it is creating an arbitrary list of crimes that will automatically result in prison terms.
As my colleague put it so well, they are increasing punishment with little thought to rehabilitation. A society's prime objective should be to ensure the security of its citizens. We in the Bloc Québécois support this objective.
The government is also going to allocate more resources to this repressive system. The provinces will be obliged to invest more in building prisons. This, too, will be to the detriment of prevention.
Perhaps I could suggest to my colleague that there is a certain view of society behind Bill C-9? It is not unlike that of the current administration of the United States. According to this vision, security is achieved less by social programs, the fight against poverty and the creation of jobs than by repression, the construction of prisons and the establishment of police forces. In addition, the Conservative government is not only adopting this model for itself, but it is turning it into an instrument of partisan politics. The announcement of harsher sentences may appear very simple to the public, whose feeling of insecurity, however, is not supported by statistics, as my colleague pointed out.
So this is a sort of right-wing populism that spells extreme danger for the future of Canadian and Quebec democracy. I would therefore like to hear my colleague's comments in this regard.
Softwood Lumber May 16th, 2006
Mr. Speaker, will the Prime Minister agree that the debate and passing of a bill to implement tax on exports before the softwood lumber agreement is finalized and accepted by the industry would send an odd signal to the Americans, suggesting that Canada is prepared to accept anything and would prejudge the final result of the negotiation?
Softwood Lumber May 16th, 2006
Mr. Speaker, in response to a question from the Leader of the Bloc Québécois last Thursday, the Prime Minister said that no bill to implement tax on the export of softwood lumber would be tabled before the text of the agreement is finalized. Yesterday, in committee, the Minister for International Trade said that he intended to table the bill in spring without making any reference to the final agreement.
Can the Prime Minister confirm in this House that there will be no bill implementing a tax on softwood lumber exports as long as the agreement is not finalized?
Softwood Lumber May 11th, 2006
Mr. Speaker, people in the industry expect that this will take several months; it may take until December. The Bloc Québécois has checked with the Office of the Auditor General of Canada. Loan guarantees provided by the Canadian government that are secured by the $4 billion that the Americans have agreed to repay to lumber companies do not cost the Canadian government anything and do not need to be recorded as expenses in the financial statements of the Government of Canada.
Given these facts, why is the government refusing to provide these loan guarantees to companies that need them? Are they waiting until there are bankruptcies in the forest industry?
Softwood Lumber May 11th, 2006
Mr. Speaker, the agreement in principle on softwood lumber provides for the repayment of $4 billion to Canadian companies. Despite the Prime Minister's optimism, we know that it will take several months to finalize the agreement. By then it may be too late for a number of the companies that are in serious financial difficulty. In addition, several banks are refusing to provide loans secured by these future repayments until the final agreement with the Americans is signed.
Will the government finally come to the assistance of these companies by providing loan guarantees to tide them over these months?
Quebec Cystic Fibrosis Association May 11th, 2006
Mr. Speaker, on May 13, 2006, the Quebec Cystic Fibrosis Association will host “a breath of life for William”, an event to raise awareness and funds for their organization. This event will be held simultaneously at six McDonald's restaurants in the Lanaudière region: in Berthier, Lavaltrie and Rawdon, and at the three restaurants in Joliette. I am delighted to serve as the honourary president of the fundraising event, whose spokesperson is Mr. Jacques Demers.
All of the money raised that day will be given to the Quebec Cystic Fibrosis Association for medical research in order to help young people like William who have this fatal, genetic disease that affects the lungs and digestive system.
I encourage everyone from the entire Lanaudière region to come out in force and participate. I thank Mr. Martin Harvey, the owner of the McDonald's restaurants in the Lanaudière region, for his generosity.
Business of Supply May 11th, 2006
Mr. Speaker, following up on what the hon. member said, I think that the federal government must really assume its responsibilities, especially in the automobile manufacturing sector.
I was speaking about the oil lobby a little while ago, but this lobby and the North American automobile manufacturers’ lobby are very close. Some things seem unachievable to us. But as my colleague for Rosemont—La Petite-Patrie was saying, in Europe these things have been done, not just in regard to vehicle manufacturing but in everyday life.
I will provide an example, although unfortunately it does not have anything to do with greenhouse gases. In Canada and the United States, the little pieces used to align wheels are made of lead. We know that lead is extremely harmful from an ecological standpoint. In Europe, beginning this year, lead will no longer be allowed. Our Canadian and Quebec manufacturers who export to Europe are going to adapt to this new reality. In North America, though, they will continue using lead to make these little pieces used for aligning wheels, as if it were impossible to find some other alloy.
It is the same thing in regard to energy. Substitutes do exist. There are technical solutions. What is missing is the political will. I think that by passing this motion, all the members of Parliament here will be sending a clear message to the Conservative government that we want compliance with the Kyoto protocol agreements that Canada signed and a real action plan by October 15.