Rémi Massé

[Business of Supply, October 17th, 2016]

Mr. Speaker, I thank our colleague for his whole speech.

However, I am surprised at all his criticism of our government, of my colleague, the parliamentary secretary, and of the minister.

Over the past few weeks and months our colleagues have been committed to working non-stop on negotiating with the U.S. negotiating team and with the industry. They have worked tirelessly with the goal of reaching an agreement.

The question I have for my colleague is the following: if this was so important to the Conservatives, then why did they allow the softwood lumber agreement to expire without entering into formal negotiations with the Americans?

[Financial Administration Act, September 29th, 2016]

moved for leave to introduce Bill C-310, An Act to amend the Financial Administration Act (debt recovery).

Mr. Speaker, I am very proud to rise in the House today to introduce a bill to amend the Financial Administration Act with respect to debt recovery.

This legislative amendment would authorize the Receiver General for Canada to provide a debt recovery service for all departments, thereby improving the crown's debt recovery rate. This new service will enable the Government of Canada to recover significant sums owing that it was unable to recover before they were written off. This service will contribute to the sound management of public funds and will help the Government of Canada balance the budget.

I strongly believe that the people who work for the Receiver General's office in my riding have the banking and treasury expertise to do an excellent job of providing this service. This initiative will also help stabilize employment with the Receiver General for Canada while cultivating and establishing national debt-recovery expertise in my region.

I thank my colleagues in advance for supporting this bill.

(Motions deemed adopted, bill read the first time and printed)

[Petitions, September 27th, 2016]

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to rise today on behalf of over 4,000 of my constituents to present a petition calling for better access to Internet and cellphone services.

I wish I could have submitted this document electronically, but our limited ability to access the Internet made that difficult or even impossible. In many parts of my riding, such as the regional county municipalities of Avignon, La Mitis, Matane, and Matapédia, access to these services is inadequate and, in some cases, non-existent. Many communities lack the tools they need to ensure their economic and social development, not to mention their safety.

Everyone knows that, these days, access to Internet and cellphone services is essential to the growth, development and prosperity of our businesses. The people in our cities and towns need this infrastructure. That is why the petitioners have turned to our government.

I will continue to support our fellow citizens' efforts to resolve the access issue.

[Labour, June 9th, 2016]

Mr. Speaker, the Minimum Age Convention, which dates back to 1973, is one of the International Labour Organization's fundamental conventions and is key to promoting decent work. International labour standards have an impact on labour laws and practices and also help improve working conditions around the world.

Could the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Employment, Workforce Development and Labour tell the House about the government's initiatives on labour conditions all over the world?

[Dairy Industry, June 2nd, 2016]

Mr. Speaker, I am proud to see so many farmers gathered here today to stress the importance of supporting Canada's dairy industry and protecting supply management from those who wish to abolish it.

I would also like to acknowledge the presence of farmers from back home in the Gaspé, the Magdalen Islands, and the Lower St. Lawrence.

In the past few weeks, the Minister of Agriculture, his parliamentary secretary, and many members have had very productive discussions with many representatives from Canada's dairy industry who will be helping our government develop a sustainable strategy for the entire dairy industry.

This week, with some Conservative members calling for the supply management system to be abolished, we now understand why the previous government failed to take action.

The government is determined to find a solution for the dairy industry and I can assure hon. members that it will continue to defend supply management. Our government strongly supports our farmers. The dairy industry is vital to our economy.

[Employment Insurance, May 12th, 2016]

Mr. Speaker, Canadians expect their government to provide fast, quality services, whether online, on the phone, or in person.

According to data from Service Canada, far too many Canadians are not receiving the level of service they expect. When people lose their jobs through no fault of their own, they should not have to wait weeks, or even months, to get assistance and benefits from a program to which they contributed while they were working.

That is why we are taking steps and launching a national review to get feedback from key stakeholders and the public on how to improve the services provided to EI claimants.

The comments and suggestions we receive will be very useful in identifying the best way to improve services for EI claimants.

We know that Canadians have something to say, and we cannot wait to hear it.

[Budget Implementation Act, 2016, No. 1, May 6th, 2016]

Mr. Speaker, it was a real treat to hear my colleague, the parliamentary secretary, talk about all of the great things in this budget.

I am from a part of the Gaspé that has been hit hard by the economic situation. Businesses have closed their doors, jobs are getting harder and harder to come by, and families are leaving our regions for larger centres to find work and ply their trades. I was therefore very glad to hear the parliamentary secretary talk about how this budget will help the regions.

I would like him to elaborate on the specific elements in our budget that will help the regions.

[Business of Supply, April 21st, 2016]

Madam Speaker, my riding is extraordinary and vast. It also has a large number of dairy producers. I would like to reassure the House and the dairy producers that we are working harder than anyone in the House to find a long-term solution that will give our producers the help they need to develop their farms.

This afternoon, we had a good opportunity to come to an agreement with the NDP on a motion that would allow us to work together on a long-term solution to the problems facing dairy producers. Unfortunately, the NDP decided to reject our request. It clearly demonstrated openness on our part and it would have made it possible for us to work together.

Why is the NDP refusing to work with us to find common ground on this amendment?

[Business of Supply, April 21st, 2016]

Mr. Speaker, I am very proud of our government. We have a minister who is a farmer. We have a parliamentary secretary who is a dairy producer. He truly understands the problem with diafiltered. This is a major issue, and we certainly understand that significant imports of diafiltered milk have an impact on our farmers' bottom lines.

However, once again, the important thing is to make sure that all of the parties have been duly consulted so that we can understand all of the issues and find the right solution to support our dairy producers in the coming years.

[Business of Supply, April 21st, 2016]

Mr. Speaker, once again, I thank my colleague for his question.

I have a question for him. I would like to know what the Conservatives did in the past three years to fix this problem. We have had a problem with diafiltered milk crossing the Canada-U.S. border since 2013. This problem has been going on for three years. I would like to know what action the Conservatives took.

We are meeting with our farmers. There are more than 200 dairy producers in my riding. They have obviously come to my office, and I had the opportunity to talk to them to understand the issues. Right now, we are working on consulting with them to be sure that we are making the right decisions and bringing in long-term solutions to support the economy and our Canadian dairy producers.