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Crucial Fact

  • His favourite word was industry.

Last in Parliament March 2011, as Bloc MP for Shefford (Québec)

Lost his last election, in 2011, with 23% of the vote.

Statements in the House

Department of Human Resources and Skills Development Act November 23rd, 2004

Mr. Speaker, I thank the hon. member for his question. The answer is yes. I think I mentioned in my remarks the exact number of days lost under the Canada Labour Code and the Code du travail du Québec.

Between 1992 and 2002, under the Quebec code, 15.9 days were lost. It means that, during this period of time, labour disputes were shorter because there were no replacement workers.

Under the Canada Labour Code, throughout Canada, the average number of days lost to strikes and lockouts was 31.1—95.6% more.

Clearly, strikes and lockouts are much shorter when no replacement workers are used, because the employer's operations come to a halt. He cannot replace his workers.

Naturally, he believes it will be quicker to settle the dispute even at the expense of his company. But at least, there is a fair advantage for both parties, and a consensus, which is good for both, is always reached.

Department of Human Resources and Skills Development Act November 23rd, 2004

Mr. Speaker, in connection with the hiring of replacement workers to take the place of workers on strike or locked out, the Bloc Québécois believes that a Minister of Labour working within the spirit of part 2 of Bill C-23 ought to make a commitment to support Bill C-263. Once again, the Bloc Québécois is the only party in Ottawa defending the interests of the workers of Quebec.

The Canada Labour Code should be amended and brought into line with the Quebec code, so as to ban the use of strikebreakers for once and for all. The best way to acknowledge the exceptional contribution of all those who are involved every day in building our societies is to provide them with the guarantee that everything possible will be done to ensure that Bill C-263, as proposed by the hon. member for Louis-Hébert, is passed. This is a bill to eliminate the outmoded practice of using strikebreakers during strikes or lockouts. The Bloc Québécois will do its utmost to gain the support of the other political parties in this House.

Anti-scab measures are indispensable if there are to be civilized negotiations during labour disputes. Measures against the use of strikebreakers foster industrial peace. They are the cornerstone that ensures a level playing field for employers and employees. They will make it possible to eliminate the existence of two categories of workers in Quebec: those who come under Quebec's jurisdiction and therefore have that right, and those who do not because they work in businesses under federal jurisdiction.

The Prime Minister, who was so anxious to have that position, now needs to show his true colours as far as this bill is concerned. We also need to hear from all of his caucus today. They cannot want to direct the Parliament of Canada and not take part in a debate as important as one on workers' rights. We need to know their intentions. Quebeckers and Canadians can count on the Bloc Québécois to keep after them until a response is forthcoming.

On October 21, a 46,000 signature petition was tabled in the House by my colleague, the former labour critic, in support of workers and asking that the government pass Bill C-328. In solidarity with all workers, the Bloc Québécois adopted a resolution at its last biennial congress recognizing the importance of amending the Canada Labour Code to prevent the use of strikebreakers.

The situation in Quebec and in Canada is that only Quebec and British Columbia have legislation preventing the use of strikebreakers. Four provinces, including Ontario, have included anti-strikebreaker measures in their labour codes.

In Quebec, the passage of the anti-strikebreaker legislation in December 1977, implemented in 1978 under René Lévesque, was unanimously hailed as a great leap forward in workers' rights.

Following a particularly stormy strike at United Aircraft in Longueuil, this measure which seriously limited all employers' abilities to scorn unions with impunity, put Quebec in the vanguard in North America.

In New Brunswick, union leaders have been calling for anti-strikebreaker measures to be added to the provincial labour code for some time now. The same is true in Manitoba and Saskatchewan where unions are trying to convince their governments to adopt such measures.

Section 94(2.1) of the Canada Labour Code contains provisions forbidding replacement workers, but only if the employer uses them for the demonstrated purpose of undermining a trade union's representational capacity. This is a weak provision since the employer need only continue to recognize the existing union and thus not undermine its representational capacity in order to have the right to use replacement workers, strikebreakers or scabs.

In other words, if the employer refuses to negotiate and uses scabs, at that point the Canada Labour Relations Board can forbid the employment of such workers. However, if the employer negotiates or pretends to negotiate with the union in order to avoid this prohibition, it can continue to use scabs. We can see that this is a ridiculous measure and leaves a huge loophole for the use of scabs.

Now I will address the importance of having legislation. There is a general consensus among the various unions as to the importance of having anti-scab measures for both provincial and federal workers. Anti-scab legislation is needed in the current labour climate because it allows greater transparency in labour disputes.

There are many negative effects to having a strike or a lockout and they are enough to illustrate the importance of having anti-scab measures in order to reduce the conflicts. Strikes or lockouts can cause a decrease in local or global economic productivity, in business and government revenues, and in profits, which lowers the purchasing power of the workers directly or indirectly affected by the dispute. In some cases the dispute can cause social problems, debt in the households involved in the dispute, psychological problems caused by stress, and so forth.

I have some thought-provoking numbers. Anti-scab legislation has existed in Quebec since 1977. The average number of working days lost was 39.4 days in 1976. This decreased to 32.8 in 1979. In 2002-03, the number of workers affected by labour disputes in Quebec dropped by 18% and average days lost in 2001 was 27.4. The number of days dropped from 39 to 27 in Quebec with anti-scab legislation.

Anti-scab legislation has existed in British Columbia since 1993. As a result, from 1992 to 1993 the ratio of time lost dropped by 50%. The average number of working days lost between 1992 and 2002 under the Quebec Labour Code was 15.9 days compared to 31.1 days under the Canada Labour Code, which is a difference of 95%. That is the difference between the two. The number of days lost by 1,000 employees from 1992 to 2002 was 121 days under the Quebec Labour Code compared to 266 days under the Canada Labour Code: a difference of 119%.

The 10 month dispute at Vidéotron alone resulted in a loss of 355,340 working days in Quebec in 2002. This is more than a third of all working days lost because of a strike or lockout in 2002 in Quebec. The conflict at Sécur resulted in a loss of 43,400 working days. These numbers certainly do not explain all the circumstances, but they are troubling enough that the government should conduct a serious study of this issue.

The Liberal government should explain to workers its reluctance to support the initiative put forward by members of the Bloc Québécois. But workers know they can always rely on the hard work of the Bloc Québécois to help the government see the light.

I have four more examples of labour disputes that demonstrate the urgency of amending the federal legislation. In May 2001, with the approval of the CRTC, Quebecor bought the Vidéotron cable company with the help of the Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec. In order to clear up financial difficulties related to this acquisition, Quebec undertook shortly thereafter a streamlining process to save $35 million to $40 million a year in its cable company.

The dispute between the 2,200 employees and technicians of the cable company and Quebecor was considered by many like the last big step in a comprehensive streamlining exercise. The 2,200 Vidéotron employees were on strike or locked out from May 8, 2002 until March 2003. Vidéotron facilities were vandalized many times. The end result was a conflict that lasted more than 10 months.

In the Sécur case, after 99% of workers voted against the employer's latest offers, the 900 employees went on strike on July 5, 2002. On that date, the Sécur company held 75% of the market of valuables transport in Quebec, and its annual turnover was $55 million. It was delivering cash to 1,200 of the 6,000 automatic teller machines in Quebec. Since the labour dispute began, this work has been done by the bank employees and some 100 managers of the company.

The situation deteriorated at the end of August: Sécur employees vandalized automated banking machines by caulking them with urethane foam. The dispute ended on October 9, 2002. The result was that the labour dispute at Sécur lasted over three months.

In the case of Cargill, since they had been without a labour contract since 1999 and were not able to reach an agreement on the content of the collective agreement, the management and the CSN union stopped negotiating on March 21, 2000. Because of the deadlock in the negotiations with the union, the management at Cargill, a grain company, ordered a lock out on March 28, 2000, at its Baie-Comeau facilities, thus affecting 42 permanent employees.

On April 28, 2003, Cargill accepted the recommendation of the federal Department of Labour mediator on the whole collective agreement and on the back to work agreement at its Baie-Comeau port facilities.

On April 18, 2003, most of the 42 Cargill workers also approved the mediator's recommendation. Finally, after years of negotiations, an agreement was reached. But the fact is that the dispute at Cargill lasted 38 months.

In the case of Radio-Nord Communications, the union members, who represent three television stations, namely TVA, TQS and the CBC, and also two other radio stations in northwest Quebec, remained on strike from October 25, 2002, until August 2004.

This was the second labour dispute in four years, the first one dating back to 1998. Over the past 15 years, Radio-Nord has eliminated close to 50 positions in Abitibi. Since the last labour contract, 10 unionized jobs were abolished, including two positions of journalists.

SECAT, which is the union for communications employees in the Abitibi-Témiscamingue and which is affiliated with the CSN, condemns the centralization of the various management groups in the Outaouais region.

This means that the decisions affecting the various communities in Abitibi-Témiscamingue reflect the happenings in the region less and less. While the union was open to resuming talks, Radio-Nord continued to rely on replacement workers. The result is that the dispute at Radio-Nord Communications lasted over 22 months.

The labour disputes at Radio-Nord Communications and Cargill, and those that dragged on at Vidéotron and Sécur, have several points in common. They are long disputes in areas governed by the federal labour code and where the use of replacement workers is permitted. I should also point out that the work stoppage at Vidéotron and Sécur led to acts of violence and vandalism.

Violence and vandalism will never be justified and should be condemned outright by workers' representatives. However, the feeling of powerlessness and not seeing an end to the strike or lockout inevitably leads some of them to take illegal and serious steps. It resulted in cut cables at Vidéotron and ATMs stuffed with urethane foam at Sécur.

Under the Canada Labour Code as it stands today labour disputes are longer and tougher, yet Ottawa still refuses to include anti-scab provisions.

Here are a few numbers. 2003 was a record year for the number of lost person-days. It is important to note that this sad record is due for the most part to strikes in companies under federal jurisdiction, which usually last a lot longer.

Indeed, 57% of the total lost person-days in 2003 were at a company under federal jurisdiction, namely Vidéotron.

It is more than ever necessary to ban the hiring of replacement workers during a labour dispute to reduce violence on the picket lines and help reach a fair balance of powers between employers and employees during negotiations.

There is a very broad consensus among various unions on the need to adopt anti-scab legislation.

It is a necessity in today's world because it allows for greater transparency in a labour dispute. This bill would not cost the government anything. The current government interferes in so many files that are not under its constitutional jurisdiction. It should start by assuming the responsibilities that properly belong to it.

I will conclude my short speech by saying that it could be used by our Liberal colleagues across the way as a working paper. It might help them realize how important it would be for the House to pass anti-scab legislation.

This would show the government's interest in workers who are governed by the Canada Labour Code.

We wonder why there is anti-scab legislation in Quebec, when our next door neighbour, which is governed by the Canada Labour Code, is not entitled to these measures. It can be frustrating for someone to see that his work has been taken over by someone else while he is outside, without salary, availing himself of his rights to better working conditions.

This is why unions are with workers. That is the only time that people can stand up and tell the employer that they are unhappy with all the clauses of the collective agreement and that they want to have the right to strike.

They want to tell their employer that theyare doing without their salary for a period of time, but that, essentially, they want better working conditions. How do you expect them to have better working conditions if, while they are on strike or locked out, they are being replaced with scabs who do their work?

I think that, in such a case, the employer is not in a rush to try to solve the conflict. When the union and the employer want to negotiate in good faith, negotiations go on and scabs are always welcome during that period. Frustration sets in and rises as time goes by, while these people are on the sidewalk waiting to go back to their work.

Department of Human Resources and Skills Development Act November 23rd, 2004

Mr. Speaker, part 2 of Bill C-23 deals with the appointment of a minister of labour and his powers, duties and functions “--with the objective of promoting safe, healthy, fair, stable, cooperative and productive workplaces”. This is stated in clause 18 of the bill.

The objective of the Department of Human Resources and Skills Development is to fully participate in an effective and efficient labour market. The purpose of the mandate is to improve the standard of living and quality of life of all Canadians by promoting a highly skilled and mobile workforce and an efficient and inclusive labour market. This means that the department will play a key role by helping build for Canada an economy for the 21st century and by strengthening the country's social foundations.

While the Bloc Québécois recognizes the main virtues of such a statement, it is skeptical as to what the Liberal government really wants to do, particularly considering that, at the federal level, the use of replacement workers is still allowed and that, over the past 12 years, the Liberals have defeated many bills introduced by the Bloc Québécois to amend the Canada Labour Code and prevent the use of replacement workers.

The debates held in the House of Commons always ended up in setbacks for workers, and the Bloc Québécois does not think that this issue should be dealt with under Bill C-23, which seeks to promote fair, stable and cooperative workplaces.

I would like to quote an article published in the November 1, 2004 edition of the newspaper Le Nouvelliste , in which the Minister of Labour is quoted as saying that:

We did not go so far as to prohibit the hiring of scabs, as did Quebec and British Columbia, if I am not mistaken, said Mr. Fontana. I already said that I was open to discussing this issue.

The very purpose of Bill C-263 on replacement workers, which was introduced by Roger Clavet, is to prohibit employers under the Canada Labour Code—

Correctional Officers Week November 22nd, 2004

Mr. Speaker, this week marked the launch of Correctional Officers Week, its theme: We're inside too.

What a sad statement that is, when we see the inaction of the federal government with respect to the negotiations between the correctional officers union and management. Once again, after meetings on November 15 and 16, the Treasury Board has rejected the union's recent proposals out of hand.

The conciliator says only that negotiations with the Treasury Board cannot progress as long as Treasury Board remains inflexible. Correctional officers have been without a contract for more than two years now. When will the President of the Treasury Board make the decisions that will allow settlement of this matter which has been at a standstill for far too long?

Royal Canadian Mounted Police November 18th, 2004

Mr. Speaker, because of the efforts of the Bloc Québécois, the Standing Committee on Justice, Human Rights, Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness has adopted a motion that will enable the mayors of municipalities affected by the closure of an RCMP detachment to make their voices heard.

And so the file remains open. A reprieve has been granted, and perhaps we will be able to compel the government to halt the closures planned by the RCMP.

Despite the fact that the Liberal member for Brome—Missisquoi tried to take all the credit for this decision, the public realizes that this latest reprieve is the work of Bloc Québécois members who introduced the motion and worked hard to ensure its adoption.

Act to establish the Economic Development Agency of Canada for the Regions of Quebec November 16th, 2004

Mr. Speaker, I found it quite startling to hear the member for Pontiac express pride that Peruvian lumber was being exported to the industry in his area.

Before I was an MP, I was a union representative in the forestry industry. I find it aberrant to hear someone from Quebec expressing pride about having Peruvian wood here, when it takes jobs away from the Quebec forestry industry.

I can also tell hon. members that 2,000 to 3,000 jobs have been lost because of the softwood lumber crisis. We are not changing the direction of the debate. He started it and we are continuing in the same vein.

Clearly and simply, the Government of Canada has also helped regional development. Regional, not Canadian. When the region is involved, it goes through Quebec. The minister has just spoken about federal MPs coming into ridings to hand out money. Yes, we see them coming ostentatiously, handing out money, wanting to make nice, wanting to get us on side with them, putting on a good show.

But that is not what a good show is all about. If they want to show us their good side, let them hand the money over to Quebec. I think we are grown up enough to be able to take that money and invest it in companies that will be the pride of Quebec, without having Canada as an intermediary. We do not need that. Let them give us the money and we will look after it.

I do not want to add to what my colleague, the member for Brome—Missisquoi, has said about the single taxpayer. I think that single taxpayer pays too much. If there is a surplus of $9 billion, it is because we have paid too much. So let them give us our money back. That is what the fiscal imbalance is all about. We are capable of economic development, and that development will be sustainable development. We will not go to Peru to get wood, we will get it in Quebec. Let them settle the softwood lumber crisis as well and there will be more jobs, I believe.

Criminal Code November 1st, 2004

Madam Speaker, I listened attentively to the speech by the hon. member opposite. It makes me realize they have not understood the issue.

Investigations have been made. Redeployment occurred in 1997 in Ontario. If they investigated, they would discover that it is not working. There is a problem. Centralizing the forces will not help combat organized crime. That is not the problem. The problem is that no police force remains in the rural areas, and this situation is causing another problem: now organized crime is concentrated in the rural areas.

We have done our homework and we were told that more investigations were done in rural areas than in big cities and most of them are successful. In other words, investigations done in smaller areas are better than investigations in a group of centres.

In that case, what we are asking for is a moratorium only and an investigation. The minister is saying that everyone consulted succeeded in having centralization, and so from then on there was centralization.

With this problem, we cannot say that people in the regions are going to be protected. They will not be protected because the police will not have the time to go the regions. Furthermore, they do not have the money to go there.

That said, I will ask the question again. Will a moratorium be declared so that these levels of the RCMP will be concentrated and do we know whether the RCMP will stay in the region and—

Criminal Code November 1st, 2004

Madam Speaker, the closing of nine regional RCMP detachments in regional Quebec can leave no one indifferent, with the exception of the Minister of Public Security herself. I must point out that the withdrawal of the RCMP leaves us with one less eye out against organized crime in the regions and is as well a cause of major concern to our fellow citizens in the rural areas involved.

The main justification for these closures according to the RCMP brass is rationalization of operations by centralizing personnel at strategic points, where there is a concentration of organized crime in a region, they tell us.

If they want to convince us of that theory, they will also have to convince all stakeholders in the nine regions, including nine MPs and mayors, who are not in the least sold on the justification for these RCMP decisions. There is, however, a very glaring example to the contrary, which I will explain.

In 1997, the federal government abolished the port police. The national police association warned the government about the potential increase in drug and arms trafficking at the ports, but to no avail. Today, the Minister of Transport is injecting $115 million to remedy this mistake by his predecessor.

And is the minister now prepared to commit the same error? They say that wisdom lies in learning from one's mistakes; where is this minister's wisdom?

On October 7, in response to the question asked by the member for Nova Centre, which was repeated by the hon. member for Marc-Aurèle-Fortin this past Friday, the Minister of Public Safety told us that she had held broad based consultations, including the Sûreté du Québec. But where did these consultations take place, and with whom, exactly? Our sources say these consultations never took place. Moreover, they say that rural RCMP detachments had better success rates than urban ones in solving crimes.

The RCMP does not have the financial resources needed to adequately protect the public. I think that the problem lies in the following equation: no money equals no resources. The question answers itself.

The minister keeps saying that the number of RCMP officers in Quebec will remain the same. In fact, budgets will remain the same as well. So, how will we be able to pay the cost of these officers' travel to distant regions without adding new money for transportation expenses? The answer is simple: without the money to travel, the RCMP officers will no longer go out to the regions.

The minister is using Ontario as her model, but intelligence gathered electronically by the RCMP in Ontario reveals that traffickers will be going through northern Ontario, because there are no longer any police officers there. It is clear that closing RCMP detachments is synonymous with opening the doors to crime.

At one meeting between members of Parliament and representatives of the RCMP, we were told that, even if the officers were relocated to urban areas, they would maintain contact with their informants or informers. How can they do that, since they are no longer in the area? What will the informers do if they find out about a deal? Will they take the time to phone the police to inform them about the next shipment of drugs or weapons?

In order for the minister to avoid future blame for her error in judgment in closing these detachments, will she realize today that there must be an immediate moratorium on such closures?

Financial Administration Act October 26th, 2004

Mr. Speaker, I listened carefully while the President of the Treasury Board praised the merits of civil servants. I have two questions for him.

First, why does it take so long to sign a new collective agreement with public servants, if they provide the best service possible to Canadians? Second, why are the correctional officers from Cowansville still without a collective agreement after two years?

Could the President of the Treasury Board answer those questions?

International Interests in Mobile Equipment (aircraft equipment) Act October 18th, 2004

Mr. Speaker, I read the bill. My question is rather complex, and yet it is not.

I read somewhere that this bill will improve airlines' ability to buy aircraft. My understanding is that, under this convention, aircraft can be seized, and lending institutions can take engines and aircraft by way of security in order to get their money back in case buyers do not pay.

Here is my question about aircraft being used to carry passengers. If a carrier does not pay, and if the aircraft is abroad and is seized by the owner, how are the travellers supposed to get back to Canada?