Scott Andrews

[Employment Insurance, May 8th, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, government changes to EI are hurting seasonal industries and are causing hardship for middle-class Canadian families.

Premiers, including Conservative premiers, have said the changes are wrong. Conservative business leaders have said it is wrong. Now Atlantic Canada Roman Catholic bishops are saying it is wrong as well. Religious leaders are saying these EI changes are negatively impacting the personal dignity of many seasonal workers.

For heaven's sake, what is the minister going to tell the bishops?

[National Defence, April 30th, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, the Conservative government continues its attack on some of the most vulnerable in our society. It has gone after our seniors, the unemployed and our veterans. Now it continues its direct attacks on another youth service, the Air Cadet gliding program.

Will the minister commit here today to the 320 cadets who receive their pilot's licence each year that gliders will be available and that the government will continue to financially support this important cadet youth program?

[Big Brothers Big Sisters of Canada, April 16th, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to rise to pay tribute to Big Brothers Big Sisters of Canada on the occasion of its centennial.

At a time when role models are in short supply, Big Brothers Big Sisters of Canada has done our society a great service by continuing to offer quality mentorship programs to kids across the country. Big Brothers Big Sisters of Canada believes that by changing the course of young lives, we can in turn be changing the course of a community's future. As a big supporter of programs like the Cadets and the Duke of Edinburgh's Award, I completely agree with this philosophy.

The young person inspired today will be the adult who helps build a better society for all of us tomorrow. Therefore, on behalf of me and the Liberal Party of Canada, I congratulate Big Brothers Big Sisters and their army of mentors, who provide kids with positive reinforcement, good times and a shoulder to lean on in bad times, for their contribution to Canada. Here is to another 100 years of making a difference.

[Ethics, April 15th, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, disgraced former MP Peter Penashue claims he held up funding projects for Newfoundland. That is very interesting, because Premier Dunderdale and a senior Conservative MP were asked about the claim, and neither had any idea what Peter was talking about.

My question is for the Prime Minister. Could he help poor old Peter out and inform the House exactly what projects were held up or was Peter just making it up?

[Questions Passed as Orders for Returns, March 28th, 2013]

With regard to the March 11, 2013, announcement regarding broadband improvements for Labrador communities, what are all the costs associated with the event, including (i) writing, translating, and transmission of press releases, (ii) printing, (iii) production of backdrops, banners, or other visual material, (iv) travel and accommodation for any participants, (v) rental of equipment or facilities, (vi) any other costs?

[Elections Canada, March 28th, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, while ACOA employees were having their jobs cut, the Conservatives were breaking the rules to give one of their cushy cronies an appointment with ACOA. Like the disgraced Peter the cheater, ACOA has now been found guilty of improper conduct and Conservative cabinet ministers have their dirty little fingerprints all over it.

The Public Service Commission has confirmed that Kevin MacAdam got his job with ACOA illegally. Will the Prime Minister remove Mr. MacAdam and have ACOA officials drop its appeal and refer the matter to the director of public prosecutions?

[Elections Canada, March 28th, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, yesterday, Elections Canada asked for more investigators to root out Conservative crime. Surely the member for Peterborough, the Parliamentary Secretary to the Prime Minister, would agree to fast-track this request as he remains under a cloud of deep suspicion for electoral fraud. The member has not showed up for an ethics committee meeting in almost 10 months.

Will the Prime Minister fast-track Elections Canada's request so there is a chance that his parliamentary secretary might show up to work again?

[Infrastructure, March 26th, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, it must be the Penashue loophole.

The Conservatives keep shovelling it into their latest EAP, extravagant advertising propaganda. They are spending tens of millions of dollars again this year on thinly veiled partisan advertising, paid for by Canadians from Labrador to Vancouver Island and supported by Peter the cheater.

Yet there is not a nickel in this year's budget for the long-sought-after regional airports in Nain and Port Hope Simpson, Labrador. Why not?

[Employment Insurance, March 25th, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, the Conservatives are spending hundreds of millions of dollars on wasteful advertising while starving Canadians of the services they need. The Prime Minister is standing behind electoral fraudster Peter Penashue in Labrador because he stood for wasteful Conservative advertising and stood against extending an extra five weeks of EI for the people of Labrador who face seasonal employment.

Instead of standing up for seasonal workers in Labrador, Peter Penashue stood up for Conservative propaganda. Why are the Conservatives willing to spend hundreds of millions of dollars on self-promotion while failing to support the people of Labrador?

[Ethics, March 19th, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, Lance Armstrong will not be participating in the Tour de France this year. Why? Because he cheated and was banned for life. Peter Penashue cheats, and he is made the Conservative candidate in a byelection. There is no mandatory minimum for Peter Penashue's cheating and stealing an election.

Here is my question: Is the Prime Minister aware of a compliance agreement or plea bargain between Elections Canada and Peter Penashue that even allows him to run? Why is the Conservative government so hypocritical on crime and ethics?