Raymond Côté

[Economic Action Plan 2014 Act, No. 2, December 2nd, 2014]

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

I have to seize this opportunity. He talked about some environmental issues, some measures or so-called measures that will be passed with this bill. However, for years now, the people of Beauport—Limoilou have been suffering from the pollutants released by the activities at the Port of Québec.

The legislative changes in part 4, section 16 of the bill will allow the government to use the regulatory process, but on a piecemeal basis.

I would like to ask my colleague why there are no clear legislative measures in part 4, division 16, of the bill that would make provincial laws and regulations on air quality applicable to port facilities, for example? That would have been much simpler.

[Business of Supply, November 27th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, I thank the member for Joliette for her speech. Like all of us here in the House, I was delighted to hear that one of her assistants had a baby. Actually, that is the best example I can think of to start off a speech. Being pregnant and becoming a parent is the best thing that can happen to a person, but when tragedy strikes, particularly a tragedy brought about by circumstances that could have been avoided, it casts a pall on the whole event.

Obviously, we cannot go back and do it over again. We can, however, try to make up for it, as I explained earlier. Fortunately, the House as a whole is reaching out to thalidomide victims and giving them the kind of support that will improve their lives or at least mitigate the injuries inflicted upon them.

One issue here is the time it takes to act. Can my colleague tell us how urgent it is for us to act and to take the first step without getting hung up on the details?

[Business of Supply, November 27th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, I wish to thank my colleague from Saint-Lambert for her remarks.

Now that the harm has been done, it is time to find a way to put things right, and compensate, at least in part, the few remaining victims for what are going through. We know that there are in fact very few of them left in Canada. In a way, the compensation, or what it represents in terms of cost, is thus a very small thing in the final analysis.

Other countries have shown the way, and we are very pleased with the fact that the government is supporting the compensation approach in order to actively support for the victims.

Does my colleague think that Canada should adopt an approach similar to what we are seeing in Germany or the United Kingdom, two countries that have shown great compassion and have acted in a very practical way?

[Business of Supply, November 27th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank my colleague for her speech.

Clearly, thalidomide victims feel that the government needs to take action, but there is the added challenge of getting the Canadian government to focus on the issue. Unfortunately, the past has shown us that the federal government's focus is often elsewhere, no matter what party is in power.

There are some very troubling aspects to this issue. We learned that the thalidomide survivors task force has been trying since March to get a meeting with the Minister of Health. They have been unsuccessful. In September, the group sent the minister a report. This week, the minister admitted to The Globe and Mail that she had not yet read the report.

I would like to know what the hon. member for Parkdale—High Park thinks about that inaction. Is she confident that thalidomide victims will get justice in the future?

[Veterans Hiring Act, November 25th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, I thank the hon. parliamentary secretary for his speech.

Since he raised the issue of honesty, I would ask him to be honest in the context of the debate we are having right now.

Unfortunately, following the events of October 22, the Conservatives refused to change the schedule of the Standing Committee on Veterans Affairs, which has prevented the committee from hearing from some individuals directly involved, specifically, some veterans' groups and representatives of the public service union.

I wonder if the parliamentary secretary can tell me why the Conservatives have been so inflexible and why—there is no denying it—they refused to have a truly open debate on an issue as important as this.

[Health, November 24th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, while toxic dust continues to fall on Limoilou and Beauport Bay, the government insists on allowing ports to evade provincial environmental regulations.

Véronique Lalande, of Initiative citoyenne de vigilance du Port de Québec, is in Ottawa today to share the concerns of the people of Quebec City.

Will the minister finally put an end to her policy of impunity and ensure that environmental laws are obeyed on port property?

[Agricultural Growth Act, November 19th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank my colleague from Shefford for his speech.

My colleague spoke about something that is arbitrary, the power that the minister is potentially giving himself. I have to say that this approach has become pervasive and is apparent in almost every bill studied by the House and by our various committees. The Conservatives are choosing to use the regulatory process to gain full control and deal with many things in an underhanded manner.

I would like my colleague to speak a little more about the Conservative government's approach, which could be detrimental to the public interest because it could be too easily used in the service of special interests.

[Agricultural Growth Act, November 19th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank my colleague for his speech.

Above and beyond the issues he discussed, it is important to remember that we have before us a huge omnibus bill related to agriculture; yet, we are being given very little time to debate it. That is something that is now firmly ingrained in the minds of all Canadians. I saw it again yesterday at the meeting of the Standing Committee on Industry, Science and Technology, when some witnesses said that the process we were using to examine parts of the omnibus budget implementation bill was seriously flawed.

I would like to know why my colleague supports limiting debate and, unfortunately, making it impossible to seriously examine amendments in committee. Why is he so averse to all the opposition's proposals?

[Agricultural Growth Act, November 19th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, the Conservatives have a habit of always arguing that time is of the essence. The members of the official opposition are certainly not responsible for the government's negligence. After all, the Conservatives have been in power for almost nine years.

I remember reading this summer the memoirs of the former Quebec agriculture minister, Jean Garon, who implemented a huge number of measures over nine years. He always held extensive consultations that went well beyond interest groups.

I would like to know what the Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food is afraid of and what is preventing him from thoroughly debating a bill that is basically an omnibus bill. This bill demands much more attention than can be given under a time allocation motion. It seems that they are just blindly forging ahead.

[Petitions, November 4th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, I am very pleased to be presenting a second petition about the problem of contaminated dust coming from the port of Quebec. I also presented a petition last year.

Today's petition has been signed by more than 250 very concerned residents of Quebec City's lower town, who are directly affected and want the Government of Canada to ensure that the problem is resolved.