Raynald Blais

[Resumption of debate on Address in Reply, October 18th, 2007]

I know that some people may not be happy about what I am saying, but I want to wake them up to something that is going on all across Canada. We need to show some empathy toward people living in poverty. I would like the minister to respond.

[Resumption of debate on Address in Reply, October 18th, 2007]

Mr. Speaker, often what makes a good speech is not only the points it touches on, but also those that are forgotten or left out. When we talk about the increase in crime, we are also talking about poverty.

I will therefore direct my question to the minister who just spoke. He is responsible for various issues, but I want to talk about just two: employment insurance and, specifically, a measure designed to add five weeks of EI benefits for a number of regions in Quebec. That would help people in extremely difficult situations. I know what I am talking about, because I come from Gaspésie—Îles-de-la-Madeleine. I also know that many people there have very hard jobs that pay very little.

Take, for example, the people who work in tourism. They work in motels on compressed schedules, 15 to 20 hours a week, for minimum wage, so they earn 55 percent of a full salary. These people, who have families to look after, are automatically living in poverty. All these factors come into play in the situation the minister was describing.

Another factor involves young people and the summer career placement program. This government made a serious mistake. It admitted its error and went a little way toward fixing it, but the damage was done. The message that was sent to the people in my region and elsewhere is that this government does not care at all about unemployed workers living on the verge of poverty or about young people who would like to return to the area they came from. These young people could take the sort of job that would allow them to return to their region and possibly help an organization, as the minister mentioned in his presentation.

[Points of Order, October 18th, 2007]

Mr. Speaker, I listened very carefully to what my colleague had to say.

First off, I would say that we do not agree with requiring a royal recommendation for the creation of an independent employment insurance account.

We should be given another opportunity to address this issue.

[Gaspésie—Îles-de-la-Madeleine Region, June 7th, 2007]

Mr. Speaker, today, the people of Gaspésie—Îles-de-la-Madeleine are highlighting the fact that they live in such a beautiful and great region by dressing in blue, the colour of the sea and rivers so characteristic of the region.

This initiative from the Gaspésie—Îles-de-la-Madeleine youth commission is part of its promotional campaign to make the public aware of the growing number of young people who have decided to settle in the region, and of their involvement in developing their community.

I would like to take this beautiful blue day to invite all of you to come visit the wonderful region of Gaspésie—Îles-de-la-Madeleine. I am sure you will enjoy experiencing island life with the panorama of sky and sea in the Îles-de-la-Madeleine, and that you too will fall in love with the Gaspe Peninsula.

[Canada Elections Act, May 30th, 2007]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to ask my Liberal colleague if the bill before us looks like what I would call a simplistic solution to a complex problem. The voter turnout rate decreases from year to year or from election to election, I should say. But there are opportunities to vote. For example, people can vote at any time, provided they go to a specific place. Unfortunately, in some ridings that place can be some distance away.

We wanted to simplify the process. But despite the solutions that have been proposed, with each election people are becoming uneasy about democracy and participation.

My impression—my colleague perhaps shares my view—is that the proposed solution could be considered simplistic. Adding two days will not automatically resolve the problem of voter turnout.

[Festivals and Special Events, May 30th, 2007]

Mr. Speaker, does the minister realize that her refusal to provide funding has already been harmful? In the Magdalen Islands, the Rendez-vous Aventure Festival, which has been around for seven years, lost its licence because it did not have enough funding. Major economic spinoffs from this festival, including a world cup event, are disappearing, not to mention dozens of jobs.

Will the minister take action or wait for hundreds of events to be cancelled, thereby denying regional communities such important summer jobs and economic spinoffs?

[Sales Tax Amendments Act, 2006, May 14th, 2007]

Mr. Speaker, I believe there is not much time left for what I want to say right now.

I wish my colleague could at least give me his opinion on the comment I am about to make and answer a question I will ask.

My comment concerns the hard work done by the Bloc Quebecois and that all parties should do. I believe we could serve as an example of the way members of Parliament should work. It can be seen that we are treating this issue seriously because it is very important for certain communities. This brings me to a question concerning wines.

The excise tax on wines can affect small businesses. And when we talk about small businesses we are talking about communities. I represent the riding of Gaspésie—Îles-de-la-Madeleine. Last year, the budget contained a measure on microbreweries. The same thing could happen with wine. Such measures help small businesses with one, two or three employees, to consolidate and eventually expand. This could even be made part of the appeal for tourists in certain parts of the beautiful and great future country of Quebec. This is the comment I wanted to make on the hard work being done by the Bloc Québécois.

My question is as follows. Does my colleague believe that wines will get the same treatment as microbreweries?

[Fisheries and Oceans, May 10th, 2007]

Mr. Speaker, quite frankly, that response is insulting to people who are out in the streets today.

Following a task force on the shrimp industry and a forum on fisheries, we expected to see some concrete action on the part of the minister, who, incidentally, has been given a very precise analysis of the problems facing the industry. They include exorbitantly high costs for fuel and permits, marketing problems, a tariff quota that is slowing down exports, and the unfair competition of foreign producers with questionable environmental standards.

The minister has the authority he needs to revive this industry. What is the minister waiting for?

[Fisheries and Oceans, May 10th, 2007]

Mr. Speaker, the conflict between shrimp fishers and processors could force 500 families in the Gaspé who make their livelihood from processing this resource to turn to welfare. While the minister drags his feet, factory workers watch the weeks go by, weeks in which they could be working.

What does the minister intend to do to help resolve this conflict, which profits only the processors in his province?

[Employment Insurance Act, May 9th, 2007]

Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the hon. member for Chambly—Borduas, who is also working hard to bring justice to those who deserve it, who are entitled to being treated with dignity and who are proud of the work they do.

I have had a chance to meet with these people a number of times and I continue to see, in their eyes and in their attitude, the pride of a job well done.

These people have worked for 30 or 40 years, primarily in the fishing industry. They may have started part time and ended up with a permanent job. The conditions are extremely harsh. There is intense humidity. Here in the Ottawa area it is humid, but at least it is a humidity that invites us to bask in the sun. But these people work for an industry, in a steel building that does not necessarily have much ventilation and they stand in water to do a routine job. This goes on for many years. They do this with sweat on their brow and not necessarily for a high salary.

After 30 or 35 years, not only do they have tendinitis or other ailments, but they find themselves in much more serious situations. These people look us straight in the eye and tell us with pride and honesty that they would like to be treated with dignity for what they have done.

We will have an opportunity to talk about that, but I think one way to bring them justice is to offer them an early retirement program. This is part of the other battles we are waging. We have to take action on a number of levels, but we must not forget that these people have worked for 30 or 35 years. They are now 55 or 60. Some are called Madeleine and others Yvonne. They are from the area, from the community, from Rivière-au-Renard or the Magdalen Islands. They are the ones we often see in pictures, the person full of pride and hard work, showing off the fruit of their labour. They say they would like to be treated with dignity one day. I think one way to treat them with dignity, after 30, 35 or 40 years of work, would be to offer them an early retirement program.

Nonetheless, we first have to stop the EI fund from being drained.

I will close by saying that, if we stop this drain, we may obtain one little drop of justice in an ocean of injustice.