Ruth Ellen Brosseau

[Petitions, April 22nd, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, I have a petition signed by roughly 1,000 people and initiated by Bruce Gélinas, a constituent of mine who has been working on this issue for a year.

This petition calls on the government to establish a minimum shelf life for every category of consumer goods. I commend him for that.

Let me wish all hon. members a happy Earth Day.

[Employment Insurance, April 19th, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, thank you very much.

For example, a woman taking maternity leave can become ineligible for EI because the government does not consider looking after a baby to be work. Experts have said 2,000 women every year are denied EI benefits because of this unfair policy.

Is the minister really going to stand by an EI program that says looking after a baby is not work?

[Employment Insurance, April 19th, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, these changes hurt seasonal workers, regional economies and provinces, but the Conservatives' mismanagement has disproportionately hurt women, and that is a fact.

For example, a woman taking maternity leave—

[Employment Insurance, April 19th, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, women are being hit particularly hard by the Conservatives' massive cuts to employment insurance. Women already earn less than men. Most seasonal and part-time jobs are held by women. With the Conservatives' cuts, they will be forced to accept 30% less pay.

Of course, the minister would have known all of this if she had conducted a study. Why did she not do one?

[Food Safety, April 17th, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, the minister was unable to manage the two latest crises and his only solution is to make more cuts within his department.

Bill S-11 made a simple promise: more resources for food inspection. Unfortunately, the minister is doing the opposite: he is allocating fewer resources and asking the employees to do more. That is a recipe for disaster. Three hundred food safety employees will be let go.

My question is simple: why is the minister making cuts to food safety?

[Food Safety, April 16th, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, that is not true.

He should read his report on plans and priorities before voting in favour of this budget because it includes $38 million in cuts—$38 million.

It is not just the administration that will be affected. Food inspection services will also be affected, and inspectors who are actually doing the work are the ones who will lose their jobs.

The health of Canadians is in jeopardy, and the industry is concerned about declining health standards.

Will the minister come back and explain to the parliamentary committee how overworked CFIA employees will cope when 300 positions are cut?

[BAN ON SHARK FIN IMPORTATION ACT, March 25th, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to support Bill C-380, introduced by my colleague from New Westminster—Coquitlam. This bill would amend the Fish Inspection Act to prohibit the importation of shark fins that are not attached to the rest of the shark. It would also amend the Fisheries Act to prohibit the practice of shark finning.

This has already been mentioned a number of times today, but it is worth repeating that every year, up to 100 million sharks of all species—even endangered species—die because of shark finning and overfishing. This number far surpasses biologically sustainable levels.

Sharks are vital to the long-term health of the oceans. Their disappearance would have unforseeable consequences for the oceans, particularly for marine habitats and fisheries.

The shark fin trade is a horrific practice that involves cutting off a shark's fins on a fishing vessel and then throwing the living animal back into the ocean. I get goosebumps just thinking about it.

I fully support this bill. A survey carried out by Humane Society International at the beginning of 2013 showed that 81% of Canadians support prohibiting the importation of shark fins into Canada.

I have examined this issue from every angle. I see nothing but good reasons for moving forward with prohibiting the importation of shark fins.

As elected members of Parliament, our job is to represent the interests of Canadians in the House of Commons. The statistics are clear. The importation of shark fins must be banned. Mustel Group's statistics were similar to what the Humane Society of Canada came up with.

In the time I have left, I want to congratulate my colleague from New Westminster—Coquitlam for his work on this issue. He held a number of consultations to prepare a truly balanced bill. I congratulate him on that, and I look forward to seeing the outcome of the vote, since I think this is worthwhile. We are here to protect our ecosystems. We must leave a better world for our children. I look forward to seeing how this turns out. I want to see the bill sent to committee.

[Employment Insurance, March 6th, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, in my riding, the economy depends heavily on seasonal work. This includes agriculture, tourism, construction, forestry, and the list goes on.

The employment insurance reform will have a devastating effect on many regions. The Conservatives did not assess the consequences of such a reform. They refuse to listen to the protesters who are calling on the government to back down. Even worse, the Conservatives have no problem spying on the unemployed.

They campaigned on the slogan “Our region in power”. How soon they forget. Now their slogan should be “The regions—who cares?”

I would ask my colleagues across the floor to use common sense and show some compassion. Honestly, who among them would want to change places with a seasonal worker and accept a job that pays less, is over 100 km from their home and effectively means they have to live below the poverty line, which is the case for over three million Canadians?

[Agriculture and Agri-Food, March 4th, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, while they spout nonsense and say anything at all, they are ignoring the crisis taking shape right before their eyes.

The reality is that the number of young farmers has dropped drastically: more than 50% of Canadian farmers are over 55 years old. In the next 15 years, there will be a massive transfer of farm assets from the baby boom generation to the new generation of farmers.

When will the Conservatives take this situation seriously and propose policies to help the next generation of farmers?

[Enhancing Royal Canadian Mounted Police Accountability Act, February 28th, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for his truly relevant question.

The work we do in committee is quite important. No matter how we add things up, there are simply too few NDP members to move things forward and win votes in committee. Things might change in 2015; let us hope they do.

I would still like to congratulate my colleagues who sit on the committee. It is not an easy job to draft amendments in less than three hours. Several amendments were brought forward without debate, and then a vote was held, but there were only four New Democrats, so we lost the vote.

I would like to point out that, when I was elected on May 2, 2011, I knew there were differences between Conservatives, Liberals and New Democrats, but I was convinced we could find common ground, or at least agree on some potential solutions. We are stronger when we work together.

It sometimes pains me that we cannot see eye to eye.