Safe Streets and Communities Act  Madam Speaker, I thank the Conservative member for her speech. I am particularly touched by the fact that she is concerned about the exploitation of workers. Since I have over 10 years of experience working in human rights and the union movement, the topics of abuse and harsh treatment by employers worry me and worry the entire NDP caucus.

Government Appointments  Mr. Speaker, every day Canadians learn of more pork patronage from that out-of-touch government. Today, its defeated Conservative minister, Jean-Pierre Blackburn, could soon be jetting off to UNESCO in Paris thanks to his buddies. Appointing Conservative friends to important posts undermines all appointments.

Government Appointments  Mr. Speaker, it is hard to be convincing when you are not convinced. I would also remind the House that the Prime Minister promised not to appoint any new unelected senators. Yet one of the first things he did after the election was to appoint not one, not two, but three defeated Conservatives to the Senate.

Copyright Modernization Act  Mr. Speaker, I thank my hon. colleague for the question. We do not want to leave any stone unturned, because many of the issues regarding Bill C-11 are very important. The Conservative government would benefit from broader consultation, a broader public discussion. But that does not appear to be what this government wants.

Copyright Modernization Act  Mr. Speaker, do we need to modernize the act? Yes, of course. Are some parts of the act outdated? Yes, of course. Is this a balanced bill that takes into consideration consumers, students and artists? The answer is no. This bill is completely unbalanced and represents a backward step for copyright and artists' compensation.

Copyright Modernization Act  Mr. Speaker, I have one preliminary remark. I simply must comment on the fact that this important debate on the future of culture in Canada and in Quebec is mostly taking place on one side of the House. No Conservative members are rising to defend the government’s bill. The New Democrats are standing up to defend creators and artists, but the Conservatives are sitting in silence, even though it is their bill.

G8 Summit  Mr. Speaker, we could count the number of times he has not answered the questions put to him in this House. The member for Parry Sound—Muskoka claims that he had no part in eliminating the famous 33rd project. That is untrue. At least three documents prove that and contradict what the member is claiming.

G8 Summit  Mr. Speaker, the President of the Treasury Board claimed that he was not involved in picking projects for the legacy slush fund. Documents the NDP has now obtained show this is simply not true. According to his own office, he was personally involved in selecting projects. We asked the minister at committee if he would table the documents that were sent to his office.

Auditor General's Report  Mr. Speaker, the Auditor General's report has confirmed what the NDP has been saying for quite some time. The Conservatives have a habit of being opaque. They ignore evidence, reject the advice of experts and are not accountable to Canadians. The Auditor General said “that poor information is a widespread, chronic problem in the federal government.”

International Forum on the Social and Solidarity Economy  Mr. Speaker, I would like to draw attention to the success of the International Forum on the Social and Solidarity Economy, which was recently held in Montreal. More than 1,300 people from 65 countries participated in discussions about how to do business differently, by putting people at the heart of their companies.

Keeping Canada's Economy and Jobs Growing Act  Mr. Speaker, I thank my hon. colleague from Hochelaga for her question. Her riding is next to mine on the island of Montreal. I was beginning to address the topic of household and family debt, which is extremely worrisome. We in the NDP are not the only ones who are worried. A study conducted by Moody's said it does not make sense that Canadian families have a debt-to-income ratio of nearly 150%.

Keeping Canada's Economy and Jobs Growing Act  Of course, Mr. Speaker. But when it is not enough, something needs to be said. When it is not working, something needs to be said. Promises were made, but they turned out to be nothing but smoke and mirrors—the increase in the guaranteed income supplement for seniors will help hardly anyone.

Keeping Canada's Economy and Jobs Growing Act  Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank the hon. member for her question. We should be talking about the environment, climate change and problems with the ozone layer. Unfortunately, the Conservative government is not dealing seriously with these issues that will affect more than one parliament, the work we will do here during our four-year mandate.

Keeping Canada's Economy and Jobs Growing Act  Mr. Speaker, thank you for giving me the floor. I would like to thank the hon. member for sharing his time with me. Before I begin to speak about Bill C-13 specifically, I would like to take this opportunity to express my disgust at the current gag orders and reduced debate in the House of Commons.

G8 Summit  Mr. Speaker, thanks to the NDP we now know that the G8 summit resulted in an incredible waste of public money, perhaps the worst since the sponsorship scandal. Canadians want to know why no one has been punished. In addition to the gazebos, Olympic-sized skating rinks, fake media centres—there is no end to the list—we have just learned that the Deerhurst resort received millions of dollars in public money to make cosmetic changes that cost us an arm and a leg.