Sylvie Boucher

[Rail Transportation, May 3rd, 2018]

Mr. Speaker, on January 29, 2018, I asked a question about the summer jobs program and the personal values test that, in my view and that of many organizations, is inconsistent with our rights and freedoms. I have asked this question repeatedly but, as usual, remain without answers, so I will ask it again.

After I asked the question, some ministers acknowledged that it probably did go too far, but they did nothing about it. They did not scrap the values test. Now that the Canada summer jobs program is over, it seems that some organizations that did not agree to the values test have had their funding cut.

I was very surprised because this has never happened in Quebec. Everyone knows that people in Quebec are pretty open about a lot of things, but the more time passes, the more people are realizing that the government opposite is becoming opaque and forcing people to think like they do. I think that is wrongheaded. We have the right to believe in whatever we like. In Canada, we have the freedom to choose what we want in life. We have the freedom to be who we are. We have the freedom to practice whatever religion we want. We have those freedoms and we want to keep them.

I think it makes no sense for the government opposite to impose a mandatory values test despite the fact that it conflicts with some people's way of thinking. That violates the rights and freedoms of people in Quebec and Canada. I can speak on behalf of my province because I am a Quebecker, and people who know me know I am a “live and let live” kind of person.

I have no business inside people's heads, trying to make them think like me. That is what the government opposite is doing with its values test. Sooner or later, that has to stop. We have called on the government several times to remove this values test. The government acknowledged that things might have gone too far. Now I would like to know why it is forcing Canadians and Quebeckers to think like it does.

[Democratic Reform, May 3rd, 2018]

Mr. Speaker, I will take no lessons from the Liberals on democratic reform. They will not listen to anyone. The Canada Elections Act has been working just fine so far. What do the Liberals do whenever something is working just fine? They find a way to mess it up. With the election just 18 months away, they are only too happy to confuse voters. Across the country, Canadians must identify themselves with at least one piece of official identification, with no exceptions and not excluding anyone.

Why are the Liberals—

[Justice, April 27th, 2018]

Madam Speaker, the parliamentary secretary just said that the government will not legalize hard drugs. I hope this is true. However, if they will never legalize these drugs, does the Liberal Party's Minister of Justice have a specific plan to prove that it will not legalize crack, heroin, or any type of hard drugs?

[Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship, April 25th, 2018]

Mr. Speaker, now that the Prime Minister has said that it is in fact illegal to cross the border, could he tell the House what the plan is and what he intends to do to stop illegal migration at the border?

[Justice, April 23rd, 2018]

Mr. Speaker, all of the charges against alleged notorious gang leader Nick Chan were stayed because of court delays. That means that we are now seeing more and more big criminals go free because the Minister of Justice has failed in her duty. It seems that she is doing a lot more to protect criminals than victims.

When will the minister take her responsibilities seriously and appoint judges so that justice can finally be done?

[Conflict of Interest and Ethics Commissioner's Report, April 17th, 2018]

Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for her infomercial on the Liberal Party. If she thinks that we are not interested in the budget, she is mistaken.

It is important to know two things. First, the current Prime Minister is the first person who has held that position to be investigated for ethical reasons, and not just once or twice, but several times. Second, we have received a report in which he was found guilty. It is therefore important to shed some light on the Prime Minister's conduct, since he represents all Canadians.

Members of political parties, no matter what their stripes, must follow a code of ethics. The Prime Minister did not do that and was found guilty. We are asking this question today because we remember the Gomery commission and the $400 million that was never repaid, as well as a disastrous $436,000 trip.

How can an MP, whether Liberal or not, accept the fact that her Prime Minister is tarnishing Canadians' reputation?

[Conflict of Interest and Ethics Commissioner's Report, April 17th, 2018]

Madam Speaker, I rise on a point of order. We are debating the motion concerning the Prime Minister's ethics and not the budget. I would like my colleague to speak about the Prime Minister of Canada's breach of ethics. That is what we are debating this morning.

[Conflict of Interest and Ethics Commissioner's Report, April 17th, 2018]

Madam Speaker, I thank my colleague for his eloquence. We are accustomed to his passionate speeches, but that passion is blinding him to what is really happening here.

This Liberal Party claimed to be pure as the driven snow. It said it wanted to do things differently. Now we find out that their idea of doing things differently is to revert to the era of the sponsorship scandal, and maybe worse. We will come back to that. How can a member of Parliament, whether Liberal, Conservative, or New Democrat, congratulate the Prime Minister on being the biggest spender and the least transparent and for meeting so many people that when he travels abroad, he becomes an international laughingstock? How can a member elected to speak for his or her constituents stand up in the House to defend this Prime Minister?

[Questions Passed as Orders for Returns, March 29th, 2018]

With regard to the acquisition of land by the government, since November 4, 2015: what are the details of each acquisition, including for each the (i) landowner or entity the land was acquired from, (ii) amount paid, (iii) size and description of the land, (iv) location, (v) date, (vi) reason for acquisition?

[Chief Electoral Officer of Canada, March 28th, 2018]

Mr. Speaker, the leader of the official opposition repeatedly asked the Prime Minister, who is here today, to apologize because his Minister of Finance insulted women in the House by calling them Neanderthals. I would ask that someone on that side of the House have the courage to apologize on behalf of the Liberals.