Yvon Godin

[Tackling Contraband Tobacco Act, June 13th, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, my question to the minister is, why do we go through elections? Why do we have a Parliament, and why is it that the Conservatives decide how many members will speak on a bill? Why is it that the Conservatives get to decide that 10 is enough?

We belong to a party. The citizens know which party we belong to. They have sent us here to be able to debate and vote on bills.

Well, for the NDP, 10 is not enough. I am sorry, but it is none of his business. It is the business of the member who is elected by the citizens to speak here on their behalf. Who are they to take away my right to speak on a bill? That is the problem. They have used time allocation 48 times to take our democratic rights away to get up in the House and argue on a bill that we want and that we have been elected to speak on.

That is the problem with the Conservative government. They should be ashamed of themselves.

[Prohibiting Cluster Munitions Act, June 11th, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, I want to ask the member a question. He said we have to pass this bill in a hurry. He said he is happy that time allocation was put on it, which means we cannot discuss it in-depth. The same thing will happen at committee when the government wants to move a bill that quickly. Is he discouraged with his own government that we have been waiting since 2008 and we needed the Senate to bring the bill to the House? If it was that important, why did the Conservatives have to wait for the Senate to bring it in? Now that the Senate has brought it in, the elected members of Parliament cannot take the time to discuss it and do the real job that needs to be done. Is he not ashamed of the way his own government is acting on this bill?

[Family Homes on Reserves and Matrimonial Interests or Rights Act, June 4th, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to remind the member for Madawaska—Restigouche, who is the Minister for Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development, that it was the Conservatives who abused their power when they appointed senators to fundraise on behalf of the Conservatives. That is an abuse of the institution of democracy.

I have a question for the minister. If he knows, could he tell us why aboriginal women and chiefs are against his bill? Does he at least know why? Why are aboriginal people opposed to his bill?

The government is trying to get the legislation passed quickly, but the reason the bill has not been passed is that the Conservatives prorogued Parliament and called elections. The bill was not defeated as the result of a democratic debate in the House.

[Petitions, June 4th, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to present a petition signed by 32 people from Prince Edward Island.

This is in addition to all of the other petitions that have been presented in the House in opposition to employment insurance reform. The petitioners are calling on the government to reverse its decision on employment insurance reform.

[Fisheries and Oceans, June 3rd, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Minister of Fisheries and Oceans.

He should know that sandbars along the coast of the Acadian peninsula are blocking port access channels and endangering fishers' lives. Just last week, another four fishers were trapped on sandbars and more were stranded at sea.

What will he do to speed up dredging so that fishers' lives are no longer in danger?

[Petitions, May 31st, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to present several petitions on the same subject. The petitions come from people in Quebec. They are calling on the government to cancel the changes made to employment insurance by the former Bill C-38, which have to do with the power to define the terms “suitable employment” and “reasonable and customary efforts to obtain suitable employment” and with the creation of a Social Security Tribunal.

[Fisheries and Oceans, May 31st, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, Fisheries and Oceans Canada was supposed to dredge the Tabusintac channel one week before the tragic event of May 18 that cost the lives of three people. Even after the dredging began, four boats got stuck in the channel for several hours on Monday and the rest remained offshore. The task of dredging was assigned to the private sector as a result of budget cuts at Fisheries and Oceans Canada. Ever since then, there have been delays in cleanup operations ever year.

What are the Conservatives going to do to deal with the chronic blockage problems in New Brunswick's channels and gullies? That is the question fishers are asking the government.

[Government Appointments, May 30th, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, while the Conservatives are making cuts to employment insurance and six in 10 unemployed workers are not receiving benefits, the Conservatives are handing out gifts to their friends. Enterprise Cape Breton Corporation and the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency are full of friends of the Minister of National Defence. Canadians are the ones paying the salaries of these friends and those same Canadians are having a hard time getting employment insurance benefits. They have the right to know the status of the investigation into these appointments.

Will the minister update us on the status of the investigation into the hiring of the Minister of National Defence's friends?

[Resignation of Member, May 29th, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to rise today to pay tribute to my friend and colleague, the hon. member for Bourassa. We were both elected to the House of Commons on June 2, 1997.

I want to quickly wish his mother a happy birthday. I am sure she is very proud of her son.

Since he was first elected, the member for Bourassa has had many roles. I had the opportunity to work with him when he was an MP, and also when he was minister and secretary of state. I also had the honour to work alongside him at meetings of the Standing Committee on Official Languages and during parliamentary trips. Official languages are very important to the member, and he cares a lot about ensuring that people who speak either language can access government services in both official languages.

The member for Bourassa is known for being outspoken, passionate and dedicated, for having integrity and, of course, for being an active tweeter. He is also known for his voice. Whether he is in the front or back of the House, no one has a hard time hearing him. We will miss hearing his voice as we make our speeches.

He was always available and always jumped wholeheartedly into his work. I will always remember the young hockey player—I am sure he does too—from the Acadie-Bathurst Titan. He had visa problems and could not join his team in Bathurst. The member for Bourassa was the citizenship and immigration minister at the time. He put his whole team to work on the issue. I remember it well. The morning of December 25, Christmas Day, I got a call saying that the issue was resolved and that the young hockey player was able to return to the country that very day and continue playing. What a great Christmas present for the Acadie-Bathurst Titan.

The House will be losing an MP who truly cares about his constituents and about Canadians. After 16 years in Parliament, the member for Bourassa has left his mark, both in the House and in committee.

On behalf of the NDP, I want to wish the hon. member all the best in his new endeavour. I look forward to following him on Twitter and Facebook. Good luck, my friend.

[Employment Insurance, May 29th, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, this is precisely what spurred a constituent of mine from Acadie—Bathurst to start a petition in the fall of 2012, calling on the government to withdraw its EI reform. More than 34,000 people signed this petition. That is in addition to the 30,000 signatures collected in Quebec by the CSN and the FTQ and at the massive demonstrations attended by thousands of workers.

The Atlantic premiers have joined forces to oppose the reform, along with the Quebec premier.

Will the Prime Minister continue to ignore half of the country, or does he not give a damn?