Serge Cardin

[Supply, February 8th, 2005]

Mr. Speaker, I listened carefully to the minister's comments. Indeed, the ideas are there, but so is the inadequacy of the means used.

Recently, I talked to people from the clothing and textile industries. They told me about CANtex, the most recent initiative proposed by the government.

In terms of the money invested, they told me that the program was much too cumbersome to operate smoothly. These people need time to diversify. They often cannot make several investments at once. They must do them in sequence.

This has the effect of dragging the transition or modernization period, and we are told that, for all intents and purposes, this program is inadequate. We are talking about $50 million over five years. So, we are looking at what this could mean for Quebec. It is a company from my region which says that this amount is insufficient and that the program is too cumbersome.

[University of Sherbrooke, November 25th, 2004]

Mr. Speaker, for several years now, the University of Sherbrooke's department of history and political science has been organizing a parliamentary matching program for BA students in applied political science.

Currently, about 20 students are matched with a member of Parliament and his or her team on Parliament Hill. The purpose of this initiative is to familiarize these students with the role and concrete tasks that members must fulfill in the House of Commons. I hope that this valuable experience, which complements their university education, will generate an interest in parliamentary life among these students, so that some day they may want to replace us.

The Bloc Québécois wishes to the students of the University of Sherbrooke a stay that will prove very useful in the pursuit of their education.

[The Environment, November 18th, 2004]

Mr. Speaker, yesterday I asked a question of the government concerning the decision by the Vermont Environmental Board to permit the doubling of the Coventry site's capacity. The answer was far from satisfactory.

Why did the government not take this issue to the International Joint Commission when we asked it to, and is it going to do so soon?

[The Environment, November 17th, 2004]

Mr. Speaker, the Vermont Environmental Board has just authorized the Coventry landfill site to double its capacity. The neighbouring Lake Memphremagog risks being contaminated as a result. This is not a new problem. The Bloc Québécois had asked that it be raised with the International Joint Commission so that it could look into it. With this decision, Vermont is denying a request by the City of Sherbrooke and the RCM of Memphremagog to phase out the landfill.

Will the Minister of the Environment intervene?

[Election of Speaker, October 4th, 2004]

I am sure that I informed the proper officials that I did not wish to run for Speaker. I so confirm today and withdraw my name from the list.

[Petitions, May 12th, 2004]

Mr. Speaker, I am tabling a petition signed by several hundred persons. The petitioners are asking for the establishment of a regional passport office in Sherbrooke. This petition is in addition to the one that I tabled previously. This means that there are now over 13,000 people from Sherbrooke and the surrounding region who have signed a petition, which is a very clearly indication of the need expressed by the public.

[Gasoline Prices, May 12th, 2004]

Mr. Speaker, at the moment, the government is standing idly by, watching the dizzying rise in the price of gasoline. The Competition Bureau, we know, is completely ineffective. Neither Parliament nor the government have the necessary tools to bring order to this sector.

While the members of the Standing Committee on Industry propose a mechanism for understanding what is going on in the petroleum sector, how can the Prime Minister claim that a petroleum monitoring agency is a useless concept?

[Gasoline Prices, May 12th, 2004]

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister wants members of Parliament to play a larger role, but he has brushed aside the proposal by the Standing Committee on Industry to create a petroleum monitoring agency, saying that it would be pointless. He prefers to have the Competition Bureau do another study. And that, even though the oil companies say they are in favour of the creation of the monitoring agency.

Will the Prime Minister recognize that giving an active role to MPs and listening to what they recommend in committee are also ways to reduce the democratic deficit?

[Université de Sherbrooke, May 5th, 2004]

Mr. Speaker, on a spring morning fifty years ago, on May 4, 1954, the tree of knowledge took root in Sherbrooke, with the opening of the Université de Sherbrooke. This, the first francophone university in an outlying region of Quebec, was born from the daring and vision of its founders and has since met the academic needs of tens of thousands of students from Quebec and other parts of the world.

Yesterday, I attended the 50th anniversary gala, which celebrated 50 examples of brave and innovative actions, each of which has opened up new perspectives, new fields of action, and new approaches, and has broadened our horizons.

As it has expanded, the Université de Sherbrooke has acquired an international reputation, not only for the quality of its programs but also for the people-friendly campus its 100,000 or so graduates have been able to enjoy.

The Université de Sherbrooke is an excellent example of what can be accomplished if one dares take the first step. Once again, my wishes for a happy 50th birthday to the Université de Sherbrooke, one of the jewels of the Eastern Townships.

[Petitions, April 29th, 2004]

Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleagues in the House for allowing me to table this petition and thus act as the spokesperson for the 12,558 people who signed this petition asking for the establishment of a regional passport office in Sherbrooke. This initiative is also supported by 59 municipalities from the Sherbrooke region.

The need for such an office in Sherbrooke is easy to justify. For example, the number of passport applications from the Sherbrooke region is twice that of the Saguenay region, which already has a passport office.

Many people must travel to Montreal and thus spend time and money to obtain a passport. The population of Sherbrooke has a real need for a passport office. Such an office would be financially sustainable.

This is why I am tabling this petition signed by 12,558 people.