Serge Cardin

[Order of Quebec, June 19th, 2008]

Mr. Speaker, the Ordre national du Québec is the highest honour awarded by the Quebec government. Those included in this order are people who have been awarded the title of grand officer, officer or knight.

Yesterday, 49 people received the Ordre national du Québec. Robert Bourassa and René Lévesque, former premiers of Quebec, were invested into the order posthumously. The premier also bestowed the order insignia on two grand officers, 17 officers and 30 knights. Today he will bestow the grand officer insignia on five other former Quebec premiers, namely, Pierre-Marc Johnson, Daniel Johnson, Jacques Parizeau, Lucien Bouchard and Bernard Landry.

It is with great pride that my Bloc Québécois colleagues and I sincerely congratulate the recipients of this well-deserved distinction.

[Rita Legault, June 3rd, 2008]

Mr. Speaker, today I would like to extend my sincerest congratulations to Rita Legault, who is celebrating her 20th anniversary this year as a journalist for the newspaper The Record.

Ms. Legault was recently invited to the gala of the Quebec Community Newspapers Association, and she did not leave empty handed. She brought home three awards, including the prestigious Paul-Dumont-Frenette award, handed out to the best journalist of all the community newspapers in the association.

She is very deserving of this award, and it is an honour for the entire Sherbrooke community.

On behalf of my Bloc Québécois colleagues and myself, I would like to congratulate Ms. Legault on the important work she has done for our region in the past 20 years.

[Petitions, June 3rd, 2008]

Mr. Speaker, the second petition deals with Bombardier Recreational Products Inc., which has offices in Sherbrooke and the surrounding area.

The petitioners are calling on the government to support this company that respects labour laws, health and safety laws and environmental laws. They are also asking for help and support for companies that want to expand overseas.

In addition, they asked me to tell the government that instead of trying to sign free trade agreements with small countries—which will not produce significant results—it should be signing agreements with organizations such as the European Union, which would help Bombardier as well as other companies.

The thousands of people who signed this document are calling for government support of the economy and international trade.

[Petitions, June 3rd, 2008]

Mr. Speaker, I have the honour to present two petitions on behalf of Sherbrooke-area citizens.

The first deals with the health system and touches on many of its problems, such as the lack of doctors, notably family doctors. The petitioners are calling on the Canadian government to put more effort into health care.

I took the time to explain to them that health is within Quebec's jurisdiction, and that should the federal government give the provinces money for health, it must be done in such a way as to respect provincial jurisdictions, including Quebec's.

[Shipbuilding Industry, May 28th, 2008]

Mr. Speaker, the Standing Committee on International Trade's report on the free trade agreement between Canada and the European Free Trade Association is clear. It says: “—the Canadian government must without delay implement an aggressive Maritime policy to support the [shipbuilding] industry—”. In fact, that is the only recommendation in the report.

How will the Minister of Industry act on that recommendation, and when will he do so?

[Canada-EFTA Free Trade Agreement Implementation Act, May 27th, 2008]

Mr. Speaker, I really enjoy discussing things with my colleague from the Standing Committee on International Trade because of his expertise, his experience and his knowledge.

Businesses in his riding have suffered quite a bit from the Conservative ideology that we have seen in recent years. In his presentation, he mentioned the loss of 150,000 jobs in Quebec, including 80,000 lost since the Conservative regime began.

We are concerned about two factors, as we indicated in our supplementary opinion in the report: supply management and the shipbuilding industry.

My hon. colleague will recall that when we met with representatives from the shipbuilding industry, two important points were raised. One was the accelerated capital cost allowance that the Conservative government readily granted to the oil industry. The shipbuilding industry deserves the same.

The NDP member mentioned it earlier. In the west, the shipbuilding industry represented nearly 31,000 jobs. There are far fewer today. This industry deserves to be supported, however, as it was subsidized in Norway for many years. Businesses have had the time to modernize, restructure and build a strong, lucrative industry.

In the meantime, this government has long since abandoned all types of subsidies. Yet no one is asking for subsidies for the shipbuilding industry, but rather assistance that could be in the form of accelerated capital cost allowance, as mentioned by industry representatives, or loans, loan guarantees or funding through EDC. These are all possibilities.

I would like to know if my colleague believes that the Conservative government will take the necessary action to help the industry develop. People are demanding it. It is possible for the government to do something about this.

I wonder if my hon. colleague can tell us how we can incite the government to do something. Do we have to go as far as replacing the Conservatives with the Liberals, if the Liberals believe in it? For eight years, the Liberals took part in free trade agreement negotiations with the European Free Trade Association. If changes had to be made, which of the two parties would be most likely to implement such measures?

[Canada-EFTA Free Trade Agreement Implementation Act, May 27th, 2008]

Mr. Speaker, my colleague spoke of how the government should be focusing on negotiating a free trade agreement with the European Union. I have a question for him on this. We are already part of NAFTA, which includes Canada, the United States and Mexico. This creates distortions because Mexico has a free trade agreement with the European Union.

Companies in Quebec, including Bombardier, currently have plants in Mexico. Bombardier has a small problem with regard to competition because it can export its product duty free from Mexico, while in Quebec and Canada it cannot export to the European Union without having to pay $800 or the equivalent in duties.

As far as employment is concerned, however, the company is managing quite well considering its performance, its modern equipment, and so on. It can be competitive in terms of its labour force. When it comes to duties, however, it cannot. We agree with the need for a free trade agreement with the European Free Trade Association, but I think there is an urgent need to negotiate an agreement with the European Union.

I would like my colleague to provide more information on this.

[Canada-EFTA Free Trade Agreement Implementation Act, May 27th, 2008]

Mr. Speaker, I can assure the member for Winnipeg Centre that I was also there when we welcomed the representatives of the shipbuilding industry. They were in favour of two important elements concerning phasing out tariffs. There were two conditions.

Of course, there was accelerated capital cost allowance and, through EDC, there was financing, insurance and loan guarantees related to the sales agreements. As much as possible, the government needs to be firmly committed to Quebec- and Canadian-made products for its military needs, coast guard needs or offshore investments.

Now is the chance for the member to question the government and the current Minister of Foreign Affairs, who was formerly the Minister of International Trade, to ensure they are committed to supporting the shipbuilding industry in Canada and Quebec. I think that action can be taken, and that the government should not ignore or be unresponsive to the expectations of the shipbuilding industry. I am convinced that the government needs to be realistic and commit to respecting these elements in order to protect the shipbuilding industry.

[Canada-EFTA Free Trade Agreement Implementation Act, May 27th, 2008]

Mr. Speaker, I would like all the same to reassure the hon. member. If the negotiations were very drawn-out, it was precisely because Norway used to provide heavy subsidies to its shipbuilding industry. The reason why the negotiations have finally reached a conclusion is that we are told—and our negotiators have confirmed—that Norway does not provide subsidies any longer.

We are obviously not going to start providing subsidies that are not allowed by the WTO. However, there are many things that can be done, including loan guarantees, better tax rules on leases, refundable tax credits for shipowners, measures based on maritime transport, and something like a Buy Canadian act for the shipbuilding industry.

I want some confirmations. Apart from the subsidies that used to be available in Norway, what would a Liberal government do tomorrow morning to help develop the shipbuilding industry and strengthen its infrastructure?

[Canada-EFTA Free Trade Agreement Implementation Act, May 27th, 2008]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to ask the hon. member a question about the shipbuilding industry.

The negotiations started in 1998 and finished ten years later, that is to say, early this year. The Liberals were around for eight of these ten years. It is well known that Norway provided huge subsidies to its shipbuilding industry. Now we know that all duties and tariffs will be eliminated over a period of 10 to 15 years.

If we do not want the shipbuilding industry to disappear along with the tariffs that are currently imposed, the government will have to adopt a strategy to re-invigorate and modernize the shipbuilding sector and give it the capacity to face the competition that will increase as duties and tariffs decline.

Since we are in a political situation where the government could change after the next election, would a future Liberal government be prepared to promise that the shipbuilding sector will get the support it needs to strengthen its infrastructure and ensure it will remain competitive in 15 years?

The Bloc Québécois wants to see a formal shipbuilding policy in accordance, of course, with what the WTO allows. There is room for things to be done. Can we expect a possible Liberal government over the next few months to make promises in this regard?