Forestry Industry  Mr. Speaker, the parliamentary secretary should know about the position of Quebec's foresters association. Luc Bouthillier, a professor at the department of wood and forest sciences at Laval University, explained that nothing in the agreement, no specific clause or provision, prohibits loans or loan guarantees, and that, whatever we do, the United States will always use the same argument as grounds for challenge.

Canada-EFTA Free Trade Agreement Implementation Act  Mr. Speaker, the members of the Bloc are in favour of the motion.

Citizenship and Immigration  Mr. Speaker, there have been more accusations concerning the situation of domestic workers. These women are vulnerable to blackmail, economic and sometimes sexual exploitation by their employers, who they cannot leave. These women are often isolated and in an extremely fragile state.

Criminal Code  Madam Speaker, on January 29 the Conservative member for Kildonan—St. Paul introduced a private member's bill, Bill C-268, for first reading in the House of Commons. This bill would add a new offence to the Criminal Code. It would distinguish offences involving trafficking of persons under the age of 18 years from those involving adults.

Criminal Code  Madam Speaker, I share the hon. member's feelings on the issue of human trafficking. Human trafficking is unacceptable. I have a question for her. In May 2006, the justice and public safety ministers were forced to admit that there were no Canadian studies showing that the new minimum sentencing measures are of any help in the fight against crime.

Government Expenditures  Mr. Speaker, the minister is trying to reassure people, but nobody is buying it. This government is about to create a $3 billion slush fund that it can spend between April 1 and June 30 without reporting to Parliament at all. Is the government aware that there is a limit to using the economic crisis as an excuse to spend $3 billion without any criteria, controls or safeguards?

Government Expenditures  Mr. Speaker, in his report, Justice Gomery quoted the former clerk of the Privy Council, Alex Himelfarb, who stated that the lack of criteria was not illegal in and of itself, but that it was dangerous. How can this government, which strongly condemned the sponsorship scandal, ignore Justice Gomery when he says, and I quote, “The absence of clear program criteria opens the selection process to dangerous forces and pressures”?

Jennifer Crawford  Mr. Speaker, on February 12, Jennifer Crawford, a resident of Napierville in my riding, was selected the first winner of the Yves Rocher foundation Terre des Femmes award, which recognizes women committed to the environment. Ms. Crawford is the director of Cyclo Nord-Sud, which was set up ten years ago to collect unused bicycles.

Transfer Payments  Mr. Speaker, that is completely false. I encourage the Minister of Finance to talk to the Government of Quebec. By treating the transportation and distribution activities undertaken by Hydro Quebec and Ontario's Hydro One differently, the federal government is cheating Quebec out of another $250 million in annual revenues.

Transfer Payments  Mr. Speaker, Quebec has been given a raw deal on the environment and on other fronts too. Alfred LeBlanc, of Finance Canada, testified in committee that unilateral changes to the equalization formula would leave Quebec with a $991 million shortfall. This government promised stable equalization funding, so how can it make Quebec's already difficult financial situation even worse by taking this kind of unilateral action?

Emergency Services in a Valleyfield Factory  Madam Speaker, on September 22, the first responders at the General Dynamics factory in Valleyfield received an emergency call over the radio, stating that a man was lying on the floor. The emergency response team quickly began looking for the victim, which is not easy in a factory of that size.

Culture  Mr. Speaker, Quebec's minister of culture, Christine St-Pierre, is asking for new programs to help artists tour abroad. According to the minister, the measures announced in the budget “do not compensate for the reduction in international exposure”. Will the Minister of Canadian Heritage and Official Languages listen to the minister's argument that we have to help our artists tour abroad because they are our best ambassadors?

Culture  Mr. Speaker, according to Minister St-Pierre, an agreement allowing Quebec to decide where and how money for culture should be invested is totally doable. “It worked for health and immigration,” she added. The Government of Quebec submitted an official request for talks on this subject last April.

The Budget  Mr. Speaker, child care is a big topic of debate in Quebec. We have created a child care system that is accessible for women and that we pay for through taxes. All women, all families—men, too—deserve to have adequate, quality child care facilities for their children. I encourage my colleague to exert pressure and to bring forward a motion or bill towards that end.

The Budget  Mr. Speaker, I thank the member for Mississauga—Streetsville for her question. I believe that this decision is a purely mathematical one. We know that 50% of unemployed workers do not qualify and are not eligible for employment insurance. Adding five weeks at the end will cost less than eliminating the two-week waiting period.