Rosane Doré Lefebvre

[Fair Representation Act, December 6th, 2011]

Mr. Speaker, I am grateful to my colleague for her speech, particularly since she gave it in a very human way. We have to understand that this is very important to the progress of our country in terms of the number of seats and the representation of Quebec in the House of Commons.

I noted that my colleague was very mindful of the historical context in Canada in relation to the two founding peoples here and the balance that must be struck.

What does she think would be the appropriate balance, in terms of proportionality and representation, for communities that are somewhat more remote and provinces that are somewhat less populous?

[Minister of National Defence, December 2nd, 2011]

Mr. Speaker, the Minister of National Defence can go ahead and keep saying the same thing, but when he is contradicted by other reports he will have to change his talking points.

We now know that he was collected from an isolated fishing lodge in Newfoundland under the pretext of an imaginary rescue operation. We could say that the minister's story is nautical miles from reality.

Will he admit his mistake and apologize for using a Canadian Forces search and rescue helicopter for personal reasons?

[Minister of National Defence, December 2nd, 2011]

Mr. Speaker, contrary to what the Minister of National Defence said, his limo ride on a search and rescue helicopter was not a demonstration. The military says that it only did it at the minister's request. He was lifted from his friend's fishing lodge in a basket. Our troops crossed their fingers and hoped the helicopter would not be needed to respond to an actual emergency.

Either the Minister of National Defence is saying that the military is lying or he is misleading this House. Which is it?

[Safe Streets and Communities Act, November 29th, 2011]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank my colleague for sharing his thoughts on the bill that the Conservative government has introduced to amend the Criminal Code.

A little earlier, my colleague opposite said, with respect to the legislation concerning marijuana plants, that somebody who is producing six marijuana plants in their basement will produce hundreds of marijuana joints, whereas it is our understanding that when people sell to others, it usually consists of enormous quantities.

I would like to know what he thinks about this provision of the bill. Does he feel that it is logical to consider six plants as contraband?

[Safe Streets and Communities Act, November 29th, 2011]

Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for her speech, which was very representative of reality, especially in her riding, and also across Quebec.

Members know that Quebec has a somewhat different approach to the justice system. Last week, Quebec's justice minister came to see his federal counterpart to propose amendments to Bill C-10. Unfortunately, those amendments were not taken into consideration.

Since Quebec's justice system is working well at this time and the crime rate is going down, what does the member think about the scientific data that Minister Fournier brought forward to support his points of view, and, on the other hand, what does she think about the government, which is using personal experience as its basis? What does she think about this with respect to Bill C-10?

[Safe Streets and Communities Act, November 29th, 2011]

Mr. Speaker, the government is introducing a bill that will increase the prison population in federal institutions.

I have a few questions about that. Several federal penitentiaries are located in my riding. At present, the employees of institutions that house inmates already have many problems in relation to quality of life, health and workplace safety. These institutions are not even at full capacity, yet there are already problems.

Does my hon. colleague believe that the number of employees working in these federal penitentiaries will be increased? Is there anything in this bill to protect the employees already on the ground, given that the prison population will increase and more and more problems will arise in prisons?

[Employment Insurance Act, November 22nd, 2011]

Madam Speaker, thank you for giving me the floor.

I also thank the hon. member for Bourassa for reintroducing this bill which, as he mentioned, is an extremely important measure. I am also pleased that we recognize the non-partisan nature of this initiative because, as the hon. member mentioned earlier, that bill was presented to the House before and the time has come to pass it in a non-partisan fashion.

The hon. member for Bourassa referred to Marie-Hélène Dubé, who is a fellow citizen of mine in the riding of Alfred-Pellan. I salute her today. Marie-Hélène, our thoughts are with you. I wonder if the hon. member could elaborate on the human side of this bill and on its non-partisan nature. I wonder if he could also tell us why it is so important that we all get together to pass this legislation.

[Marketing Freedom for Grain Farmers Act, November 18th, 2011]

Mr. Speaker, I really enjoyed the speech that my colleague just gave on the Canadian Wheat Board, especially the parts about democracy and the impact on Quebec.

I represent a riding where the land is nearly 80% agricultural and where all of the farmers stand together. Currently, 38,000 western Canadian farmers voted to keep the Canadian Wheat Board's single desk—that represents 62% of those who use it—yet the government has still decided to dismantle the Canadian Wheat Board.

Does my colleague feel this decision is democratic? Could she delve a bit deeper and make some additional comments on this subject?

[Pension Plans, November 18th, 2011]

Madam Speaker, by relying solely on the performance of the stock markets to provide retirement funds for Canadians, the government is playing a dangerous game. Families' retirement savings are melting away like snow in the sun. What is the government's solution? It will let big banks speculate with families' money. The Conservatives insist on going ahead with a program that just does not work.

Will this government finally listen to Canadians in order to protect their retirement savings?

[Pension Plans, November 18th, 2011]

Madam Speaker, more and more Canadians are wondering if they will be able to retire one day. For example, I know of a retired nurse in my riding who has a pension of only $520 per month. She cannot even afford her diabetes medication or her mortgage and she is racking up debt.

With the Conservatives' new plan, retired Canadians would be risking their savings by putting them in a flawed program, without any guarantee of seeing their money again.

Instead, why not improve government pension plans such as the CPP and QPP, which are affordable and safe?