Roger Pomerleau

[Copyright, November 19th, 2010]

Mr. Speaker, the members of the National Assembly unanimously adopted a motion calling for an overhaul of Bill C-32, An Act to amend the Copyright Act, thereby showing their solidarity with the creators and artists who condemn the fact that the bill will create a new group of workers who will be dispossessed of the fruits of their labour to benefit the big distribution companies.

Will the government finally listen to Quebec and amend its bill to protect Quebec artists and culture?

[Soprema and Teknika HBA, November 5th, 2010]

Mr. Speaker, Soprema recently won first prize in the category of companies with 200 to 499 employees in Quebec's Défi Meilleurs Employeurs.

The Défi Meilleurs Employeurs encourages Quebec companies to become better employers by measuring their employees’ productive engagement. It recognizes companies that provide a healthy and stimulating work environment.

Soprema had its employees fill out a survey containing questions on several aspects of the company. According to managers, this award shows that the approximately 275 employees enjoy the work environment at Soprema, which has two factories in my riding in Quebec.

The first prize in the category of companies with more than 500 employees was won for the third time by Teknika HBA, a large engineering consulting firm that also has a branch in Drummondville.

Congratulations to both of these companies, which are now among the best employers in Quebec.

[Bernard Bergeron, October 26th, 2010]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to pay tribute to Bernard Bergeron who, on August 13, retired after practising law for 33 years, including 10 years as the director of the Drummond and Arthabaska legal aid office.

After a short stint in private practice, Mr. Bergeron went to work for the Sept-Îles legal aid office and then joined the Drummondville and Victoriaville teams. He built a solid reputation, especially in criminal law and youth justice.

As a result of his commitment to defending the rights of the disadvantaged, in 2008 he was awarded the Robert Sauvé award for his significant contribution in that area. Among other things, he has fought for the right of accused persons suffering from mental illness to be given adequate resources.

On behalf of my constituents, I thank you, Mr. Bergeron, for your work and dedication, and I wish you a happy and serene retirement.

[Ninon Delude, October 22nd, 2010]

Mr. Speaker, Ninon Delude, a farmer from my riding who lives in Saint-Germain-de-Grantham, has seen her passion for agriculture rewarded twofold. During the annual general meeting of the Syndicat des agricultrices du Centre-du-Québec, which took place in Saint-Wenceslas on September 22, this mother of 12 was named female farmer of the year. In addition, during the Saturn gala held in Drummondville on October 17 by the Fédération des agricultrices du Québec, Ms. Delude was named passionate female farmer of the year.

She and her husband, Pierre Labonté, who specialize in raising grain-fed calves and growing organic crops, have had their work recognized many times over the years. At the Bal des moissons in 2008, they won an environmental farm trophy and they were finalists in the category recognizing good agricultural practices. Congratulations Ms. Delude!

[National Bank Recognition Program, September 24th, 2010]

Mr. Speaker, on September 16, the 17th National Bank recognition awards ceremony for the Drummond-Bois-Francs-Estrie-Mauricie region was held in Drummondville.

I am happy to share that a business from Drummondville, Drummond Électrique, won silver in the category of small business with $0 to $5 million in sales.

With a theme of "The future starts now", the event also highlighted the work being done in the agricultural sector. Ferme C.C.M. inc. in Saint-Bonaventure and its president, Christian Labonté, won bronze in the category of Agribusiness SME--$0 to $40 million in sales.

Équicosta, whose head office is located in Drummondville, won bronze in the category of Small Business.

Congratulations to the regional winners, our local businesses, on their achievements.

[Jobs and Economic Growth Act, May 26th, 2010]

Mr. Speaker, I was listening to my two colleagues who talked about Bill C-9. It is clear that this is an omnibus bill in which we find a million completely different elements lumped together that should each be presented individually. When my colleague talked about security taxes, she pointed out—quite well in fact—the unbelievable number of unanswered questions in this bill.

My colleague who just spoke raised some extremely controversial things in this bill that need to be thoroughly examined. However, they are tucked into a bill that has to do with the budget, which automatically requires a confidence vote. For that reason, many people will hesitate to vote against it. In short, the bill might not be good, but it will be hard to vote against. That is not so for us, but it may be for others.

Is this not completely anti-democratic? Should the elected members not have enough room to manoeuvre and the necessary information to determine the value of the bill? Could my colleague say a few words about that?

[Daniel L'Heureux, May 14th, 2010]

Mr. Speaker, today I wish to acknowledge the retirement of veteran reporter Daniel L'Heureux.

He has been on Parliament Hill for 26 years and has 45 years of journalism experience in total, including 10 years at La Presse and 30 years at Radio Canada. He says journalism was something he just stumbled into at La Voix de l'Est when he was looking for work as a student.

Mr. L'Heureux, who says he loves the art of reporting news as it happens and the spontaneity that live television has to offer, was part of our journalistic landscape on the Hill.

This television reporter is quick to decry the public's cynicism about politics and, as he bows out, emphasizes the importance of getting out and voting.

My Bloc Québécois colleagues and I pay tribute to Mr. L'Heureux's important contribution as a newscaster to public debate. We wish him many happy moments with his family in the years to come.

[Fairness for Military Families (Employment Insurance) Act, May 7th, 2010]

Madam Speaker, I appreciated my colleague's speech. It has made me think that wars have changed quite a bit. If we look back 50 or 60 years, or even further, we saw wars between armies. Back in the day, armies would even meet face to face to battle each other. Those were strictly military wars.

In the past 20 years or so, that is no longer the case. We are seeing civil wars and civilian wars that are nothing like military wars. In fact, our soldiers who are sent overseas end up among civilian populations where the enemy is not easily identifiable. It could be anyone. Children could be carrying bombs, in some cases, for various reasons. Surprise attacks may be carried out by anyone at any time.

This means two things to our soldiers. First, they are under extreme stress, since they cannot identify the people they face. Second, they are under a different type of stress because every day, or nearly every day, they see civilian victims, often children, babies, women, and so on. They have serious psychological wounds. That is what my colleague mentioned earlier this morning, that it could be the soldiers who have returned who will be dying.

I would ask my colleague to explain why the weapons we are purchasing today are less effective than they were during the military wars, and to speak about why we must invest in assistance to our returning soldiers.

[Quebec Entrepreneurship Contest, May 7th, 2010]

Mr. Speaker, the prizes in the 12th annual Quebec Entrepreneurship Contest for the Centre-du-Québec region were awarded in Drummondville on April 29. The students and entrepreneurs who were honoured greatly deserve the praise they have received.

Winners from the Drummond RCM were as follows: in the bio-food category—Moulin La Fine Fleur, owned by Julie Tessier and Étienne Poirier; in the commerce category—Steven Frenette from Boiseries Sir Laurier Inc.; for technological and technical innovation—Marcel Boutin's Produitson Inc.; in the category of business operation, processing and production—Daniel Marcotte from Jeux Modul'Air; and in the category of services to individuals—Isabelle Auger, Jonathan Delorme and Mylène Fillion from the Centre de stomie Lingerie Sérénité.

In the Érable RCM, AZN2 Environnement Inc. won in the category of services to companies. And in the Arthabaska RCM, the Marché de solidarité régionale de Victoriaville won in the social economy category.

Bravo to all the finalists and congratulations to the winners.

[Fairness for Military Families (Employment Insurance) Act, May 7th, 2010]

Mr. Speaker, I agree with my colleague's observation that young people today are not always driven by the same motivation that their fathers and grandfathers were. Many members of my family were in the armed forces 30 or 40 years ago and a number of other family members are in the army today. They each have completely different reasons that motivate them. Young people today realize that it is above all a job and they flat out say that they go oversees to help people in impossible situations and not out of a sense of national pride.

My question for my colleague is the following. We know that soldiers who return from combat with physical or psychological injuries receive lump sums for those injuries. This has even been criticized by the Canadian Forces ombudsman, who said that he did not see why people who have been psychologically injured should have a large sum of money put at their disposal when they are often under the influence of alcohol or drugs. That is what he said. We have the example of General Roméo Dallaire, which does not go all that far back.

Does my colleague not think that implementing appropriate measures to give soldiers the same rights as other workers is a much better way to help those who are defending us abroad, defending the government's positions ?