Robert Aubin

[Energy Safety and Security Act, March 25th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, I listened to my colleague's speech carefully, and I would like to ask her a question directly related to the statement we heard in a previous question having to do with a minimum of $1 billion. That amount is a joke when we consider the magnitude of disasters that occur worldwide.

How can the hon. member explain this approach by the Conservatives, who are trying to tell us that there is $1 billion in protection, while the same bill gives the minister the power to lower the cap for that protection, if necessary, for vague, unknown circumstances?

[Energy Safety and Security Act, March 25th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, I listened carefully to my hon. colleague's speech.

It is all a matter of perspective when it comes to the numbers. One billion is a huge number that really hits home. However, the Fukushima decontamination has cost $250 billion so far, and the cleanup in the Gulf of Mexico has cost over $40 billion. If companies have a limit of $1 billion, this means that 34 million Canadians would have to absorb the other $41 billion in the case of a spill similar to the one in the Gulf of Mexico, or the other $249 billion.

Before we talk about that, could my colleague tell us about any measures in the bill that would allow us to be proactive and avoid such a disaster? We have heard only about the compensation companies would have to pay after the fact, after the disaster has happened.

[Energy Safety and Security Act, March 25th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, to begin, I would like to congratulate my colleague on his new role. I hope that bringing new blood to cabinet might result in a new approach.

I would like to hear the minister's thoughts on one point. We know that many of the government bills stealthily confer additional discretionary powers on various ministers.

The same thing is being done with Bill C-22. In fact, the bill provides for ministerial discretion to reduce absolute liability levels to below $1 billion. The level is being increased from $75 million to $1 billion, so it seems like a tremendous step in the right direction. However, a few lines later, we note that the minister can make changes at his discretion.

What does the minister think of that measure, which allows him to rule unchecked?

[Questions Passed as Orders for Returns, March 24th, 2014]

With regard to Canada Economic Development for Quebec Regions, specifically the Trois-Rivières regional office: (a) what are the existing standards and procedures to be followed by employees and directors of the regional office to respond to funding requests; (b) what changes have been made to the standards and procedures to be followed by employees and directors of the regional office to respond to funding requests in the past 10 years; (c) in which months of which years were the changes to the standards and procedures to be followed by employees and directors of the regional office to respond to funding requests implemented; (d) what are the existing standards and procedures to be followed by employees and directors of the regional office to respond to meeting requests from MPs’ offices; (e) what changes have been made to the standards and procedures to be followed by employees and directors of the regional office to respond to meeting requests from MPs’ offices in the past 10 years; (f) in which months of which years were the changes to the standards and procedures to be followed by employees and directors of the regional office to respond to meeting requests from MPs’ offices implemented; (g) what is the complete list of meetings between MPs and employees and directors of the regional office in the past 10 years, broken down by year and political affiliation of MPs; (h) what is the complete list of meetings between representatives of MPs and employees and directors of the regional office in the past 10 years, broken down by year and political affiliation of MPs’ representatives; (i) what is the complete list of meetings between former MPs and employees and directors of the regional office on a subject other than a former MP’s business, in the past 10 years, broken down by year; (j) what are the existing standards and procedures to be followed by employees and directors of the regional office to respond to requests for information by phone from MPs’ offices; (k) what changes have been made to the standards and procedures to be followed by employees and directors of the regional office to respond to requests for information by phone from MPs’ offices in the past 10 years; (l) in which month of which years were the changes to the standards and procedures to be followed by employees and directors of the regional office to respond to requests for information by phone from MPs’ offices implemented; (m) what is the complete list of phone communications between MPs and employees and directors of the regional office in the past 10 years, broken down by year and political affiliation of MPs; (n) what is the complete list of phone communications between representatives of MPs and employees and directors of the regional office in the past 10 years, broken down by year and political affiliation of MPs’ representatives; (o) what is the complete list of phone communications between former MPs and employees and directors of the regional office on a subject other than a former MP’s business, in the past 10 years, broken down by year; (p) what are the existing standards and procedures to be followed by employees and directors of the regional office to respond to requests for information by email from MPs’ offices; (q) what changes have been made to the standards and procedures to be followed by employees and directors of the regional office to respond to requests for information by email from MPs’ offices in the past 10 years; (r) in which month of which years were the changes to the standards and procedures to be followed by employees and directors of the regional office to respond to requests for information by email from MPs’ offices implemented; (s) what is the complete list of email communications between MPs and employees and directors of the regional office in the past 10 years, broken down by year and political affiliation of MPs; (t) what is the complete list of email communications between representatives of MPs and employees and directors of the regional office in the past 10 years, broken down by year and political affiliation of MPs’ representatives; and (u) what is the complete list of email communications between former MPs and employees and directors of the regional office on a subject other than a former MP’s business, in the past 10 years, broken down by year?

[Qalipu Mi'kmaq First Nation Act, March 7th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank my colleague for his presentation. I would like to ask him, to his knowledge, how many nations want to negotiate or are currently negotiating to obtain recognized status as a band without a land base.

Does he think that the bill now before us provides for measures that should be put in place in the future or does the bill have shortcomings that need to be corrected immediately?

[Petitions, March 7th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, I am presenting a second petition that was given to me by constituents in my riding who are extremely concerned about the practices of Canadian mining companies abroad.

They are calling for the creation of a legal ombudsman mechanism, given that the mandate of the Office of the Extractive Sector Corporate Social Responsibility Counsellor is so weak.

[Petitions, March 7th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, you know how proud I am to represent the riding of Trois-Rivières, which is largely made up of seniors.

Hundreds of these individuals signed a petition proposed to them by the leaders of the Association québécoise de défense des droits des personnes retraitées et préretraitées. They are calling on the government to do more about old age security and the guaranteed income supplement so that seniors, who contributed to the development of this country, no longer have to live below the poverty line.

I am pleased to join with them and support their petition.

[La Francophonie, March 7th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, in this country that is enriched by its cultural diversity, March is the month when we celebrate the Francophonie here and abroad. When we celebrate linguistic diversity, we also celebrate the place and the vitality of one of Canada's founding nations.

By celebrating the Canadian Francophonie, we ensure a greater understanding and sharing of this heritage by everyone. Canada has chosen to be a bilingual country, which is not an easy task. It requires everyone's support, respect for the other experience and a desire to express our Canadian identity in both official languages.

However, la Francophonie is also 77 states and governments on five continents, including 32 that have French as their official language. It accounts for 13% of the world's population and 20% of international trade. La Francophonie has a very bright future because 60% of francophones today are under the age of 30.

Consequently, at a time when many communities throughout the world are in turmoil, I hope that we, francophones and francophiles, will celebrate and work together in order for Canada to become a model of growth and development for the peoples and cultures that share the same space.

[Qalipu Mi'kmaq First Nation Act, March 7th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, there has been such abuse of time allocation motions and closure in the House that I hope I will have enough time to ask my question. I am joking, of course.

I find it very frustrating that Bill C-25 is subject to a time allocation motion. For once, and this is all too rare, our exchanges actually seem more like a discussion than an acrimonious debate. I think that is a great message, one that we should be sending more often to the public and all those who vote to elect MPs.

I would like to take this opportunity to ask my distinguished colleague a question. She has a great deal of expertise on aboriginal peoples. I read that according to article 33 of the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, first nations have the right to determine their own membership.

Having read the bill, does she think that Bill C-25 adheres to that rule and that Canada will therefore live up to its responsibilities as a signatory to the UN treaty?

[Employment Insurance, March 5th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, my colleagues took the time to explain to the President of the Treasury Board that, contrary to what he said, non-votable items are still usually included in the main estimates.

They also explained that projections for employment insurance spending are usually part of the main estimates, so he has no reason to hide those projections.

Why is the minister refusing to give us those numbers? What is he planning to do with the fund? Is he planning to do the same thing the Liberals did?