Ruth Ellen Brosseau

[Presence in Gallery, February 6th, 2018]

Mr. Speaker, in a moment I will be seek the unanimous consent of the House on a motion regarding oral question period, referred to in Standing Order 37 and in greater detail in chapter 11 in Bosc and Gagnon.

Mr. Speaker, you will remember that even during the darkest days of the Mike Duffy scandal, when the leader of the official opposition, my friend from Outremont, was delivering devastating blow after blow to then prime minister Stephen Harper and his government, the prime minister at the time still answered the NDP leader's questions, even the tough ones. However, the current Prime Minister has started cherry picking which leader questions he is willing to answer in the House of Commons.

Yesterday and today he even refused to answer—

[Agriculture and Agri-Food, February 6th, 2018]

Mr. Speaker, it is really interesting to see the Conservative members suddenly standing up for supply management in the House today, considering that it was the previous Conservative government that began chipping away at our supply management system in both the comprehensive economic and trade agreement and the trans-Pacific partnership.

The current Liberal government continues to threaten our supply management system. Our farmers do not deserve this hypocrisy. They deserve better. They deserve to know the truth.

When will the government stand up and really fight for our supply management system and Canadian farmers?

[Democratic Institutions, February 5th, 2018]

Mr. Speaker, I respect the spirit of the Prime Minister's words last week, but there needs to be concrete action to change the culture here on the Hill.

The Prime Minister's plan to elect more women is limited to the Liberal Party. It is also voluntary and mathematically impossible. My friend from Burnaby South proposed concrete measures to have more women elected in all parties, measures that have proven successful around the world.

Will the Prime Minister commit to working with all the parties in the House to ensure that we develop a plan to elect more women in 2019?

[Infrastructure, February 1st, 2018]

Mr. Speaker, two years after announcing the infrastructure bank, the Liberals still do not want to give us the whole story.

What we do know is that the Prime Minister and the Minister of Finance have held several closed door meetings to court investment giants like BlackRock.

We also know that those companies want to invest in Canada because the bank poses less risk and allows them to make maximum profits from user fees.

Will the Minister of Finance finally have the courage to tell Canadians the truth about who will truly benefit from the infrastructure bank?

[Infrastructure, February 1st, 2018]

Mr. Speaker, while creating the Canada Infrastructure Bank, the Liberals courted the most powerful investors on the planet, all behind closed doors. Companies like BlackRock only want one thing, more money in its pockets. Guess what, the Minister of Finance promised it that. An economist at the University of Ottawa, Randall Bartlett, called the scheme a subsidy by another name.

Why do the Liberals keep helping their Bay Street friends, and doing absolutely nothing to help everyday Canadians get by?

[Democratic Institutions, January 31st, 2018]

I am sorry, Mr. Speaker, but this is a moment when we need bold actions, not just platitudes.

The Prime Minister said that he would guarantee that all incumbents could keep their seats. Doing the math, that means he will have to find 116 female candidates for the remaining 155 ridings if he wants to reach parity. I would love to see that. The parties have been making efforts for 151 years, but today we need concrete action.

Can the government tell us what it plans to do to ensure that more women are elected in 2019?

[Democratic Institutions, January 31st, 2018]

Mr. Speaker, it is becoming crystal clear that we are at a turning point in the fight for women's equality. We will not let these moments pass us by. We simply cannot.

We owe it not only to the generations of amazing women who have fought hard to get us where we are today, but more importantly, to the young women and girls who will step up and finish the job, the fight for women's equality.

Time is up for words and platitudes. It is time for action now. What is the concrete plan of the Liberals to make sure that we elect more women in the House in 2019?

[Democratic Reform, January 30th, 2018]

Except for incumbents, Mr. Speaker.

Canada is 64th in the world in terms of gender parity, behind Rwanda, Bolivia, Cuba, Nicaragua, and 59 other countries. The Prime Minister has already rejected two concrete proposals to improve the situation by 2019, namely proportional representation and the candidate gender equity bill put forward by my colleague from Burnaby South.

I will repeat my simple question: what concrete steps is the Prime Minister going to take to ensure parity here in the House of Commons?

[Democratic Reform, January 30th, 2018]

Mr. Speaker, we have to continue the conversation of shifting the culture on Parliament Hill, and I want to thank the Prime Minister for agreeing with us that we need more women elected here in the House of Commons. While I do applaud him for having a gender-balanced cabinet, the fact remains that only 26% of MPs who sit in the House are female, including one in three in his own caucus. Time is up on words and slogans without follow-through. It is time for action now to get many more women elected to Parliament.

My question is simple to the Prime Minister. What is his plan?

[Business of the House, January 29th, 2018]

Mr. Speaker, in a moment, I will ask for the unanimous consent of the House to move a motion.

First, I would like to say how proud I am to rise in the House as member of Parliament for Berthier—Maskinongé and as NDP House leader.

This is my first day in this new role, and it is even more meaningful because the House leaders of all of the recognized parties are currently women. This is a historic moment, and I really look forward to working with my colleagues.

Of course, we know that today there remains still much to be done for the fight for equality, the fight against gender-based violence, and the fight for a workplace that is free from harassment and violence, in all its forms.

Today we are debating a bill that addresses harassment in our own workplace here in the House of Commons, which is in acute need of a culture overhaul from all sides. It is clear that all parties agree that the bill is a positive step in the right direction.

The motion I would like to move would send the bill directly to committee at the conclusion of today's debate. Following conversations I have had with my counterparts from all parties in the House, I believe, Mr. Speaker, you will find unanimous consent for the following motion.

That, notwithstanding any Standing Order or usual practice of the House, when no Member rises to speak on the second reading motion of Bill C-65, An Act to amend the Canada Labour Code (harassment and violence), the Parliamentary Employment and Staff Relations Act and the Budget Implementation Act, 2017, No. 1, or at the expiry of the time provided for Government Orders today, whichever comes earlier, the Bill be deemed read a second time and referred to the Standing Committee on Human Resources, Skills and Social Development and the Status of Persons with Disabilities.