House of Commons photoLost her last election, in 2015, with 24% of the vote.
Employment June 11th, 2014
Mr. Speaker, the government's management of the temporary foreign worker program has been a catastrophe, and today we know why.
In order to approve labour market opinions, the minister must have information about the labour market. However, in their wave of blind budget cuts, the Conservatives have systematically reduced funding for labour market data collection. Last year the budget reduction was about 20%.
How can the minister justify these cuts?
Public Works and Government Services June 10th, 2014
Mr. Speaker, the Conservatives are going to once again put the interests of Lockheed Martin lobbyists above those of Canadians.
While other companies, such as Dassault, are guaranteeing that the aircraft will be assembled in Canada and that it will partner with the aerospace industry, Lockheed Martin is not guaranteeing anything at all. For years, the Conservatives told us that they had a firm contract with Lockheed Martin, which is completely false. There is nothing in their seven-point plan to guarantee a bidding process and nothing to guarantee industrial benefits.
Why are the Conservatives preparing to give billions of dollars to Lockheed Martin without getting anything in return?
Public Works and Government Services June 10th, 2014
Mr. Speaker, it will soon be eight years since the government signed the memorandum of understanding regarding the procurement of 65 F-35s without a bidding process. Eight years later, it is clear that the Conservative government has not learned from its mistakes. It is preparing to repeat the fiasco, which was criticized by the Auditor General, by once again rushing into the arms of Lockheed Martin without a bidding process.
After eight years of dithering and bungling, why are the Conservatives refusing to launch an open and transparent bidding process and guarantee industrial benefits for Canadians?
Canada-Honduras Economic Growth and Prosperity Act June 9th, 2014
Mr. Speaker, I will try to be brief.
I want to thank my colleague for his very enlightening speech. I hope that the government got the message.
Free trade agreements play an important role in our economy, obviously. The fact remains, however, that we are dealing with a special situation here. Honduras is not a democratic country. What message would we be sending the world if we became its trading partner? How could people struggling in a dictatorship ever trust us once they are aware of this free trade agreement?
Strengthening Canadian Citizenship Act June 9th, 2014
Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for his speech. The minister says that this bill is meant to reiterate the government's commitment to reduce backlogs and improve processing times while strengthening the integrity of Canadian citizenship. The examples my colleague gave and the ever-increasing backlogs and processing times prove the opposite. Could my colleague give us some examples he has seen in his riding that prove how wait times have had adverse and negative consequences on his constituents?
Strengthening Canadian Citizenship Act June 9th, 2014
Mr. Speaker, I congratulate my colleague on his speech.
Clearly, everything points to the fact that this bill creates a two-tiered citizenship system. It introduces a kind of double punishment that allows the government to revoke the citizenship of individuals who have already been punished by the criminal justice system. Those individuals will be punished twice.
Can my colleague comment on that?
Strengthening Canadian Citizenship Act June 9th, 2014
Mr. Speaker, I congratulate my colleague on her speech.
She mentioned a provision of Bill C-24 that concerns the declaration of intent to reside in Canada. It is quite obvious that this provision will be challenged in court. This was mentioned by one of the witnesses, who belongs to the Canadian Bar Association, because this provision is contrary to the free movement of people, which is protected by the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
What can our colleague tell us about potential court challenges?
Strengthening Canadian Citizenship Act June 9th, 2014
Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for his speech. He reiterated, as other NDP speakers have, that we want a fair, efficient, transparent and accountable immigration system. Obviously, we completely reject the measures in Bill C-24, which will result in a restrictive immigration system based on arbitrary decisions made in secret.
Could my colleague comment on a quote from the president of the Canadian Association of Refugee Lawyers, Lorne Waldman? He said:
The US Supreme Court got it right over 50 years ago when it said that citizenship is not a licence that the government can revoke for misbehaviour. As Canadians, we make our citizenship feeble and fragile if we let government Ministers seize the power to extinguish it.
Strengthening Canadian Citizenship Act June 9th, 2014
Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for her question. As some witnesses pointed out in committee, there will certainly be some constitutional challenges, and I think this will likely go to court.
We are all familiar with the universal principle that all human beings are born free and equal. Our country has the charter to protect all citizens, and the provisions in Bill C-24 clearly interfere with those protections. There will obviously be challenges.
Strengthening Canadian Citizenship Act June 9th, 2014
Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for his question. As I said in my speech, concentrating powers, such as the power to revoke or grant citizenship, in the hands of the minister, takes us back to a feudal time when seigneurs had the power of life or death over their tenants. Fortunately here we are talking about citizenship.
This raises an ethical problem. We cannot be judge and jury. Before, people had the possibility of appeal, but now they will no longer have that option once their citizenship is revoked. That is quite simply unacceptable in a country that abides by the rule of law as we do.