Raymonde Folco

[Government Spending, May 28th, 2009]

Mr. Speaker, the Conservative government is making cuts to culture and the arts, even though every dollar spent has an even greater economic spinoff.

The Conservative government is making cuts to scientific research, when that fuels the innovation that will give our industries the edge over global competitors in the future.

Does the Prime Minister understand that Canadians cannot count on his Minister of Finance, who does not even know how to count, himself?

[Employment Insurance, May 15th, 2009]

Mr. Speaker, 3,500 people in Laval lost their jobs in 2008. And job losses continue to rise.

One unemployed worker who was unable to find long-term employment was forced to accept several, very short-term contracts. Employment insurance does not take his situation into account. Like thousands of unemployed Canadians, he is waiting for the government to make employment insurance more accessible. The Prime Minister refuses to do so.

Can the minister tell this House how she intends to improve employment insurance to help Canadians?

[Gilles Fournier, May 8th, 2009]

Mr. Speaker, I rise here today to pay tribute to Gilles Fournier, who was recently honoured with the 2009 Prix de la Justice award. The first resident of Laval to win the award, he is the president of DIRA-Laval, an organization dedicated to protecting and defending the rights of seniors who have been the victims of violence, abuse or neglect.

Since its founding in 2002, DIRA-Laval has handled over 1,250 cases of abuse, violence or neglect involving seniors. Mr. Fournier's involvement in ensuring the respect and protection of seniors' rights has earned DIRA-Laval recognition from outside its municipal borders, since many cities have turned to that organization for help.

On behalf of everyone in Laval, thank you, Mr. Fournier, for everything you do for the people in our community and for seniors everywhere.

[Official Languages, April 30th, 2009]

Mr. Speaker, why set up an advisory panel on official languages if everything is fine in Vancouver? In February, the Conservative government cut aid to the poorest countries in the Francophonie, and now it is ignoring problems with the Olympic Games organizing committee.

The minister has done nothing to address these issues, and she is still not doing anything. Can she provide assurances to francophones that Canada is prepared to guarantee satisfactory service in their language at the Olympic Games?

[Official Languages, April 30th, 2009]

Mr. Speaker, with just 288 days left to go until the Olympic Games begin, the French language is all but invisible there. An official languages committee was set up to save face. The government seems to have forgotten that French is one of two official languages both in Canada and at the Olympic Games.

Can the Minister for La Francophonie explain why, despite its commitment to promoting the Francophonie, the Canadian government is doing nothing about the lack of French at an event that will focus the attention of the entire world on Canada?

[Citizenship and Immigration, April 24th, 2009]

Mr. Speaker, the Minister of Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism said that his government is working to ensure that graduates with considerable professional experience who come to Canada can work here, but his department refused to renew a work permit for Moulay Lemrini and rejected, on April 20th, his humanitarian grounds application. If he leaves Canada, some 30 people will lose their jobs, and another hundred or so will lose income.

Will the minister take another look at this case so that Mr. Lemrini can keep working in Canada?

[Employment Insurance, April 22nd, 2009]

Mr. Speaker, the Conservatives' neglect of unemployed workers is a farce.

An accountant, whose husband just underwent heart surgery, told me that she was laid off over a month ago and has not received any severance pay. She was told that her employment record was lost. This woman is still waiting for her first employment insurance cheque.

When will this government put some order in the employment insurance system?

[Artists, March 27th, 2009]

Madam Speaker, the motion moved by my colleague from Verchères—Les Patriotes is basically asking the Minister of Canadian Heritage and Official Languages to listen to the people from the arts and culture community, who have been saying from the beginning that he made a very serious mistake by cutting arts and culture budgets.

The Minister of Canadian Heritage eliminated a number of programs, including international programs such as Trade Routes and PromArt, because, he says, they were ineffective. Quite the opposite is true. Not only were those programs effective, they were in fact profitable. The Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage heard from nearly 20 people who came to testify that the programs cut by the minister were good programs and that this decision was a mistake.

For instance, on March 2, 2009, John Lambert, a prominent agent for artists, appeared before the Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage and explained that the elimination of the PromArt program will have a destabilizing effect on the performing arts industry, which is currently highly successful. According to Mr. Lambert, the artistic community has already had to cancel several tours abroad because international festivals do not pay transportation costs for artists or their cargo, such as sets and sound and light equipment. The PromArt program is what allowed artists to travel and perform abroad.

Because of the Conservative government, this is no longer possible.

On March 4, 2009, Pierre MacDuff, executive director of Les Deux Mondes theatre company, told the members of the Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage that he simply could not understand why the PromArt program was eliminated. He said, and I quote:

It took years of work for companies and artists in every province of Canada to develop networks and partnerships with these countries, and all of that is in jeopardy with the elimination of PromArt. Of course, it is our hope that the federal government will provide an immediate injection of additional funding to the Canada Council for the Arts—indeed, there is no one left to manage the PromArt program, since the officials in charge of it have been fired—so that it can pick up the slack and save the co-productions and tours that are now under discussion. The work of organizing an international tour is something that has to begin a long time in advance.

If I remember correctly, one of my colleagues said it well this morning: it takes about two years of organization before a group can perform on stage. Mr. MacDuff continued:

Our projects are now in jeopardy as a result of this program being cancelled. For companies like Les Deux Mondes and many others, this most certainly means cutting back our touring activities...

All the witnesses who appeared before the committee said basically the same thing.

The same day, Alain Dancyger, the executive director of Les Grands Ballets Canadiens de Montréal—he is not just anybody—said this to the committee about PromArt being abolished, and I quote:

This situation threatens Les Grands Ballets in the short and medium terms as regards its financial viability, but it also creates a major image problem for our country outside our borders... [I have] a difficult time understanding the reasons why a country like Canada, a member of the G8, does not support its cultural actors even while they... inspire unprecedented interest from international audiences. If Les Grands Ballets were a dynamic and innovative SME producing electronic components, for example, whose products were in high demand on the international market, it would be logical, even strategic, to support that SME so that it could gain market share, especially in the current economic context. Why would a cultural product be treated any differently?

He said, in closing, that the “consequences of the federal government's decision to eliminate all of its support for export activities are disastrous”.

The government members had no clear answer to give to these 15 witnesses. They say that the government has injected more funding than ever in culture and that the arts sector players should be happy, not complaining.

Such an answer is an insult to the intelligence of those in the arts and culture industry. They always welcome increased government funding, regardless of the party in power. They wanted the government to know that investing is not enough, that it has to invest wisely. Cutting programs that work well and are useful without consulting those concerned or providing any explanation does not seem to be a very wise, let alone responsible, way of investing.

There was almost unanimous support, however, for one recommendation from these groups, and that was for the rollback of the $45 million in government cuts to the Canada Council for the Arts, so that it can manage its programs and restore funding for international tours. Naturally, the Liberal Party of Canada supports that proposal, as well as what is proposed in Motion No. 297. The motion proposes that the annual budget for the Canada Council for the Arts be raised to $300 million. The council is currently receiving $180 million from the federal government, but $300 million would allow the artists, who, for the most part, are living below the poverty line, to get the support they deserve from our Canadian government.

[La Francophonie, March 24th, 2009]

Mr. Speaker, on March 20, 70 governments and member states honoured the French language during the International Day of La Francophonie. Canada took the opportunity to celebrate French as the country's second official language.

Today, the Secretary General of the International Organization of la Francophonie is in Canada. I am delighted that the Université du Québec en Outaouais has honoured him with an honourary doctorate, and I am very pleased that Mr. Diouf has paid us a visit. I hope that this event will prompt our government to confirm its commitment to the international Francophonie.

The Conservative government has withdrawn Canadian aid from several countries that are members of La Francophonie, so it will have a hard time convincing its partners that it keeps its promises to respect democracy and support development in francophone nations.

[Arts and Culture, February 27th, 2009]

Mr. Speaker, the Conservatives may believe this but the problem is that they do not do anything about it.

The CBC and Radio-Canada are taking a direct hit from the economic crisis. Management does not have the option of borrowing, and the Conservatives do not want to help, in spite of those very nice words. They are considering some desperate solutions to balance its books, such as asset sales and less Canadian programming. Can anyone imagine having more American programs? The list goes on and it is not pretty.

We, on this side of the House, care about the CBC and Radio-Canada and its future. Why do the Conservatives not care?