Rosane Doré Lefebvre

[Business of Supply, October 16th, 2012]

Mr. Speaker, as I mentioned earlier, the NDP will be pleased to support the Liberal motion today. We agree with the Liberals' point that when the Prime Minister was in the official opposition a few years ago, he said that the Liberals were wrong in introducing omnibus bills, when that is exactly what the Conservatives are doing now.

Does my colleague not find that the omnibus bills being introduced in the House—which we do not have the time to debate and which are not sent to the appropriate committees—undermine the confidence of Canadians, especially the future generation looking to get involved in politics? I would like to know what he thinks about that.

[Business of Supply, October 16th, 2012]

Mr. Speaker, it is my pleasure to rise again in the House to repeat the question for my colleague.

I will take a simpler approach. Only a few short years ago, when the government was on the opposition benches, it opposed omnibus bills. Yet it now introduces omnibus bills that are longer than ever, without taking into account the fact that some of the items included in these omnibus bills should be examined and discussed in committees other than the Standing Committee on Finance.

Does he not find it a little unusual to have an opposition day on such a topic today, when we should not have to do so?

[Business of Supply, October 16th, 2012]

Mr. Speaker, it is very important that this motion be presented here today in the House. Although this government has opposed the introduction of omnibus bills in the past, it now introduces omnibus bills that are even longer than the ones it once opposed.

Does my colleague believe it is fair and relevant to move such a motion here today and to debate it in greater detail in the House?

[Business of Supply, October 16th, 2012]

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to rise in the House today to speak to—

[Telecommunications, October 15th, 2012]

Mr. Speaker, on May 16, 2012, the Leader of the Opposition asked the Prime Minister about security issues related to the operations of a company called Huawei on Canadian soil.

At the time, the Prime Minister responded that, “the particular concerns that he raised...have been examined and...have been addressed in our mind.” However, five months later, the Prime Minister's spokesman has confirmed that Canada will be invoking a national security exception in the construction of a government telecommunications network.

Why the flip-flop?

[Food Safety, October 5th, 2012]

Mr. Speaker, every day, the minister goes on and on about Bill S-11, which puts off the review of CFIA activities until 2017. The current crisis proves that the agency's activities absolutely must be reviewed immediately. The NDP is calling for it; meat consumers are calling for it; and Canadian families are calling for it. Yet the minister still refuses and continues to delay it.

To respond to the concerns of Canadian families, will the minister promise to review the agency's activities now, and not five years from now?

[Food Safety, October 5th, 2012]

Mr. Speaker, in 2011, XL Foods pocketed no less than $1.6 million from the government to increase its production. The company doubled its production of ground beef, yet the number of inspectors remained the same. Canadian families should be able to feel confident that meat from XL Foods is properly inspected. They also deserve enough front-line inspectors so that they can enjoy their meat pies in safety.

Why have the Conservatives abandoned consumers?

[Royal Canadian Mounted Police, October 4th, 2012]

Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the answers from the parliamentary secretary.

I find it sad is that there is absolutely no mention of sexual harassment in Bill C-42. It is extremely unfortunate because this bill is supposed to deal with sexual harassment.

Also, with respect to the consultations, during his presentation on Bill C-42, the minister confirmed in committee yesterday that he had not formally consulted members of the RCMP prior to introducing Bill C-42. It is unfortunate that members were not formally consulted before this legislation on the RCMP is imposed.

I am sure that everyone here, all the parties, recognize that we must deal with the problem of sexual harassment, especially when it concerns our federal police force. However, we need something more. We need an anti-harassment policy, we need wide-ranging, real action.

I would like to ask the parliamentary secretary why is more not being done, why is an anti-harassment policy not included in Bill C-42?

[Royal Canadian Mounted Police, October 4th, 2012]

Mr. Speaker, I am very pleased to rise today in the House to talk about an issue that is of great concern to me. Unfortunately, this matter has been in the media several times in recent years and especially in recent months.

As the deputy critic for public safety for the official opposition, I recognize the excellent work of the police officers who protect Canadians by risking their lives every day. In the past few years, many Canadians have said that they are concerned by the allegations about the RCMP. For some time, the RCMP has been plagued by scandals involving sexual harassment, among other things, and several female officers have said that they were victims.

On July 30, in Vancouver, 200 women made headlines when they came forward to join a class action suit to bring to light the sexual harassment they allegedly suffered as members of the federal police force. Women such as Officer Janet Merlo, Corporal Catherine Galliford and Constable Karen Katz had the courage to take a stand and denounce the sexual harassment they suffered for years in the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.

For these women, every day was a challenge. Today, I congratulate them for having the courage to report this unacceptable situation. Last November, Corporal Catherine Galliford was the first to report that she has been the victim of sexual harassment. Officer Merlo filed her complaint in March. The lawyers for these women expected a dozen other women to follow suit. Instead, more than 200 women contacted their law firm to join the proposed class action lawsuit.

It has been confirmed that the allegations in question range from sexism in how promotions were awarded to accusations of sexual assault, and that these allegations have been made across the country. On May 10, 2012, I asked this government to take action and give the RCMP the resources it needs to combat sexual harassment. Last week I participated in the debate on Bill C-42, An Act to amend the Royal Canadian Mounted Police Act and to make related and consequential amendments to other Acts. Although this bill gives more disciplinary powers to the commissioner and the ability to establish a more effective process to resolve disputes relating to harassment, the bill itself cannot bring about a change in corporate culture, which is absolutely necessary to specifically address the allegations of sexual harassment.

In fact, this bill does not go far enough to address the concerns of women working in the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. These women are calling for immediate action to create a safer and more open work environment. Unfortunately, the government failed to take initiative and leadership on this issue. It has been in power since 2006, and despite several reports and recommendations, such as Justice O'Connor's 2006 report and David Brown's 2007 report, which proposed major changes to the RCMP, it took six years to decide to address the situation.

Why did the government wait so long to address this situation? Why did it not take the situation of these women seriously and take action to put an end to these crimes as quickly as possible?

[Public Safety, October 2nd, 2012]

Mr. Speaker, this mitigation program will not replace the cuts that the government has already made.

The truth is that they shut down the joint emergency preparedness program. The Conservatives were warned five years ago that, if cuts were made, the safety of the heavy urban search and rescue teams would be compromised.

These teams have saved many lives, as was the case this summer when the Elliot Lake shopping mall collapsed. The Conservatives' budget cuts put first responders and entire communities in danger.

Can they tell us how many rescue teams will disappear?