House of Commons photoLost her last election, in 2015, with 24% of the vote.
Prohibiting Cluster Munitions Act May 29th, 2014
Mr. Speaker, I have a question for my colleague.
The hon. member knows that half the victims of cluster munitions are children, who are particularly drawn to unexploded sub-munitions because they look like brightly coloured toys.
Does the government agree that we should completely ban this weapon and put our words into action?
Energy Safety and Security Act May 29th, 2014
Mr. Speaker, I would first like to congratulate my colleague on his speech. He recalled a very dramatic and tragic event that occurred in Europe and affected all the neighbouring countries. It was a famous cloud that unfortunately had devastating effects on the health of many people.
The consequences cannot be quantified, and they have a horrible effect on people's lives and health. My colleague spoke about pregnancies and birth defects, not to mention all the blood cancers caused by nuclear radiation.
My colleague also mentioned the $1 billion limit, an artificial limit. As he explained, costs have mushroomed, and an artificial limit of $1 billion is not going to—
Energy Safety and Security Act May 29th, 2014
Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank my colleague for his speech.
He mentioned a number of points, and I would like to hear his views on the fact that economic development and increased liability are not contradictory; in fact, the opposite is true. Norway, a leader in offshore oil development, is an example of this. The unlimited absolute liability regime that Norway has established does not appear to have paralyzed its industry.
Does my colleague agree, and can he comment further?
Employment May 29th, 2014
Mr. Speaker, unlike the Conservatives, McDonald's did a little soul-searching. It hired an external firm to examine its operations and make recommendations in relation to abuses of the temporary foreign worker program.
When will the Conservatives face the fact that a comprehensive, independent reform is needed to fix the problem they created?
Employment May 29th, 2014
Mr. Speaker, one of the problems with the temporary foreign worker program is that the government is relying on vulnerable workers to report abuses.
Saskatchewan's minister responsible said that he gets very few complaints. However, things are very different when the approach is proactive. In 2012, surprise inspections showed rates of non-compliance to be 80% and 95% in some industries.
Why is the government refusing to admit that the program needs a major overhaul to protect both Canadian and foreign workers?
Employment May 27th, 2014
We are not finished yet, Mr. Speaker.
Yesterday, the Minister of Employment claimed that the data in a study on temporary foreign workers were out of date, whereas in reality, the study was on the last 18 months of Conservative rule. He claimed that the problems with wages were limited to live-in caregivers and agricultural workers, but that is wrong.
Instead of attacking the messenger, the minister would do well to examine his conscience and come to us with a complete reform, not just a patch job, as the Liberals so often did before the Conservatives.
When are they going to repair the damage that they themselves caused?
Employment May 27th, 2014
Mr. Speaker, the temporary foreign worker program is so poorly managed by the Conservatives that some employers use it in order to abuse it.
Although the Conservative government received 250 complaints last year, only four employers were placed on the blacklist. There is reason to believe that the problem is even more serious, because only three provinces track complaints made by the workers.
When will the Minister of Employment finally admit that his temporary foreign worker program is a fiasco and needs to be completely overhauled?
Employment May 26th, 2014
Mr. Speaker, the Conservative government does not even follow its own rules.
According to the rule of the industry's median pay rule, foreign workers paid minimum wage should be the exception rather than the rule. According to some studies, in 97% of the cases, temporary foreign workers should have been paid more than minimum wage.
This clearly shows that the program primarily drives down wages.
How could the minister let this program get so out of control? Why did he tolerate all these abuses before taking action?
Employment May 26th, 2014
Mr. Speaker, since the beginning of the temporary foreign worker program saga, the government has been justifying its laissez-faire attitude with claims that there is a shortage of skilled workers.
For example, the Minister of Employment talked about scientists with such cutting-edge skills that they had to be brought in from halfway around the world. Fine, but if we look at the numbers from 2010 to 2014, 15,000 work permits were issued for minimum-wage jobs.
How can the government say that the program is for finding skilled workers when it is really for recruiting minimum-wage workers?
Business of Supply May 15th, 2014
Mr. Speaker, the NDP would like the division to be deferred until Monday, May 26, at the expiry of the time provided for government orders.