Ruth Ellen Brosseau

[Human Resources and Skills Development Canada, February 11th, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, it took several class action lawsuits for the Conservatives to act at all. Now they are offering less than what HRSDC originally recommended. That is a fact.

I know the minister likes to ignore real victims and act like we are just statistics, but I am here standing in front of her. Therefore, can she tell me, along with the half a million other Canadians, who for the rest of our lives are now more vulnerable to identity theft, when she will take the issue of privacy seriously, instead of re-victimizing Canadians?

[Human Resources and Skills Development Canada, February 11th, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, I received a letter from Human Resources and Skills Development to inform me that I was one of the hundreds of thousands of Canadians whose personal information went missing on the Conservative government's watch.

The victims, who, like me, are vulnerable to identity theft, expected this matter to be dealt with quickly, but it took three class action suits for the Conservatives to do anything about it.

Why are the Conservatives providing less credit monitoring protection than was originally recommended?

[Food Safety, February 8th, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, this morning we learned that the XL Foods contaminated meat recall cost taxpayers $2 million. This situation could have been avoided had the Conservatives not cut inspector jobs at the Canadian Food Inspection Agency. They thought they would save money by cutting services, but the recall cost more than the inspector jobs.

Will the Conservatives stop improvising and putting Canadians' lives in danger with their irresponsible cuts?

[International Trade, February 7th, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, supply management is not negotiable because it is essential to the survival of many communities. In Quebec, agriculture is one of the main economic engines of rural communities. People living in the regions rely on these farms to support suppliers and local industries, including the cheese industry.

Consulting these communities must be part of the fundamentals related to the signing of a trade agreement with the European Union.

What protections did the Minister of Agriculture get for these industries?

[International Trade, February 7th, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, that is not reassuring. Supply management is not negotiable because it is essential to the survival—

[Agriculture and Agri-Food, February 1st, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, since 2006, over 22,000 family farms have disappeared. This is a very sad part of the Conservatives' record. While small and medium-sized farms are struggling, the Conservatives continue to attack risk management programs.

The NDP believes that it is time to create a national food strategy in order to secure the economic future of family farms and rural communities.

Will the Conservatives finally play a real leadership role in the protection of family farms and seasonal industries, which are the heart of Canada's economy?

[Agriculture and Agri-Food, January 30th, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, the minister can say what he likes, but the reality is that the new packaging policy will result in American products flooding our markets, which in turn will lead to the closure of many food processing plants.

Political stakeholders are calling for the Conservatives to reverse this decision, which is bad for Canadian farmers and the entire food industry.

It is surprising that the lobbyists' favourite is refusing to listen to experts, entrepreneurs and local communities.

Will the minister reverse his decision to protect our jobs?

[Food Safety, November 30th, 2012]

Mr. Speaker, here are the facts. CFIA officials and the minister attended committee and downplayed serious food safety issues.

The minister refuses to detail his planned cuts to CFIA, and when faced with the cold, hard truth of the memo, what does he do? He denies everything. Canadians are worried about the food they put on their tables, and the minister is not helping to reassure families. When will he hand the food safety portfolio over to somebody who can fix his mess?

[Food Safety, November 30th, 2012]

We will never support these ridiculous cuts to food safety, and neither should the minister.

For four long years, these directives were followed by inspectors at XL Foods, the same plant that was behind the largest meat recall in Canadian history. All this under the watch of this minister, and he has the audacity to blame us.

The Weatherill report recommended an independent assessment of the CFIA. Why is the minister rejecting our requests for this key assessment?

[Food Safety, November 29th, 2012]

Mr. Speaker, the truth is that the minister has no idea what is going on in his department. He has lost control of his department and refuses to accept the consequences of the budget cuts. It is no surprise that Canadians have lost all confidence in him.

How many recalls and lives at risk will it take for the Prime Minister to tell us whether he approves of how the Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food is handling this file?