Rosane Doré Lefebvre

[Health, October 2nd, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, two months ago the government announced that it would provide Africa with 1,000 doses of vaccine. That vaccine is still in Winnipeg.

While the Ebola virus is spreading rapidly, the Public Health Agency is saying that the delay is due to logistical problems because the vaccine has to be refrigerated.

If I understand correctly, the Americans are sending planes to Liberia every day, but we are unable to send a cooler. That is ridiculous.

Why has Canada not delivered on its promise to send the vaccines to Africa?

[Privacy, October 1st, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, the Canadian Security Intelligence Service, or CSIS, has no reason to spy on environmental groups. Just because a group is fighting to protect the environment does not mean that it is a threat to national security. The government promised to investigate CSIS's wrongdoing, but we have learned that the organization's lawyer is trying to limit the scope of the investigation. He apparently wants to rewrite the complaint filed by the victims.

Why is the government trying to hide the reasons why it is spying on its own citizens?

[Ethics, September 29th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, the Security Intelligence Review Committee has appointed an oil lobbyist, Yves Fortier, to investigate spying on environmentalists. Spying on law-abiding Canadians is very serious. This requires a rigorous and objective investigation. Mr. Fortier is neither impartial nor credible enough.

The Conservatives have created a conflict of interest. Will they stop making partisan appointments to the CSIS review committee so that investigations can be completely objective?

[Employment, September 26th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, the Social Security Tribunal does not take the time to carefully listen to appellants, and now it is more difficult for Canadians, especially youth, to find employment.

A report by the Conference Board of Canada shows that a wage gap is developing between younger and older workers. This is a danger to our economy and our society.

Will the Conservatives adopt the youth hiring tax credit proposed by the NDP?

[Social Development, September 26th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, a former member of the Social Security Tribunal has confirmed what we already knew. Tremendous pressure is put on members to adjudicate cases as quickly as possible, to the detriment of Canadians. It is important for the Social Security Tribunal to adjudicate cases and to do it well. Once again, the most vulnerable Canadians pay the price.

How can the Conservatives first pillage employment insurance and then scrap the only institution able to correct these injustices?

[Citizenship and Immigration, September 25th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, thousands of immigrants are being detained in deplorable conditions. According to the Red Cross, in 2012, approximately 4,000 immigrants were held in Canadian prisons alongside dangerous criminals. They are sometimes put three to a cell and even have to sleep on the floor. What is worse, children of immigrants, who are also detained, are not treated well and mental health resources are quite simply inadequate.

Will the minister do the right thing and implement the Red Cross recommendations?

[Health, September 25th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, according to the WHO, 1.4 million people could contract Ebola by January 2015 if nothing is done. The international community and organizations such as Doctors Without Borders Canada are calling on Canada to do more and to send medical resources to Africa. We must act now on the ground.

Apart from the announced funding, what resources will actually be sent to fight this deadly virus on the ground?

[Canada-Korea Economic Growth and Prosperity Act, September 25th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank my colleague opposite for her speech on Bill C-41, an act to implement the free trade agreement between Canada and the Republic of Korea.

The NDP takes the time to properly examine every free trade agreement proposed. We use very specific criteria to determine whether a free trade agreement is satisfactory or not. The NDP will support Bill C-41 on the free trade agreement between Canada and the Republic of Korea at second reading.

There are certain criteria that we are feel are important when examining such agreements. The first is whether the proposed trade partner respects democracy, human rights, adequate environmental and labour standards and Canadian values.

Next, we want to know whether the proposed partner's economy is of significant or strategic value to Canada and whether the terms of the proposed agreement are satisfactory.

Since this free trade agreement meets these criteria, or at least appears to, we are going to support this bill at second reading.

[Petitions, September 25th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, today I just want to present a petition calling for the deportation of Michele Torre to be suspended.

[Women in Politics, September 24th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, I had the pleasure of taking part in an evening of seminars with the theme “Laval women in power: models of political engagement”.

The event was organized by the Table de concertation de Laval en condition féminine, or TCLCF, under the auspices of the Réseau Lavalloises d'influence. Women from the education sector at the municipal, provincial and federal levels all came out to talk about the political reality and demystify the decision-making structures, hopefully making them less daunting and less intimidating.

I am proud to be part of the NDP, a party that believes in gender equality. In fact, over 40% of our caucus members are women.

Nevertheless, there is still a lot of work to do. Women are underrepresented in politics. We do politics differently and we do it well. It is up to us as female elected representatives to share our experiences and help women across the country get involved and run for political office.

That is why I support initiatives like the one just led by the TCLCF, and I congratulate them on their efforts. We must take our rightful place immediately; we must not wait.

Women in politics—this is non-negotiable. We must show our pride and break the glass ceiling once and for all.