Automotive Industry  Mr. Speaker, yesterday, the American government announced that it would retain control of a portion of GM and Chrysler shares. Today, the Conservatives are waking up and saying that they plan to do the same thing. Once again, they have proven that the only thing they know how to

Employment Situation  Mr. Speaker, every day we hear of new layoffs in Quebec: 210 at Gurit in Magog; 225 at SFK Pâte in Saint-Félicien; 145 at Cascades Norampac in Quebec City; 140 at Rio Tinto Alcan in Montreal; 275 at Alcoa in Bécancour; at Bell Helicopter, at the CBC, and the list goes on. Why do

Employment Situation  Mr. Speaker, if that is the plan, no wonder Tory times are tough times, because the list of job losses continues. There are more of them: 227 at Rio Tinto in Beauharnois; 245 at Komatsu America Corp. in Candiac; and we know about all the job losses at Bombardier and Pratt &

Aerospace Industry  Mr. Speaker, the Conservatives made a clear promise during the last election to provide $200 million in new funding for the strategic aerospace and defence initiative. This is a program to develop new technologies for the jobs of tomorrow. We are still waiting. At a time when t

Aerospace Industry  Mr. Speaker, I guess a promise does not mean anything. Are the Conservatives aware that time is short and we must act quickly? We have an aerospace industry and a shipbuilding industry that are patiently waiting for billions of dollars in federal government contracts. The indus

Industry  Mr. Speaker, let us talk about the jobs of tomorrow. Venture capital is critical in financing private sector research and in Canada it is drying up. The Business Development Bank of Canada warns that we could lose hundreds of innovative small companies in their infancy. To quot

Petitions  Mr. Speaker, I also rise, like my colleague from Mount Royal, to present this petition, which deals with escalating attacks on Jewish communal institutions in Venezuela. The petitioners call upon the Government of Canada to redouble its efforts to ensure the protection of human

Automotive Industry  Mr. Speaker, yesterday, I asked whether the government required collateral from GM Canada in the event of a loan. Incredibly, the minister answered that no loans had been made to date, as if that were enough. Yet several months ago his government agreed to lend the automotive s

Automotive Industry  Mr. Speaker, let us try this again. My question for the Minister of Industry is very simple and I trust crystal clear. Could he tell us whether any loans that may be made to GM Canada by the federal government will be backed by any GM assets? In other words, will the Conservative

Automotive Industry  Mr. Speaker, I will try another question. Can the Minister of Industry tell us if the Conservatives are establishing the same loan conditions for our auto industry as our American neighbours? More specifically, has Canada established the same interest rate and loan repayment sch

Science and Technology  Mr. Speaker, the United States has decided to invest $10 billion in medical research, but the Conservatives are going ahead with budget cuts to the Canadian Institutes of Health Research. Many Canadian researchers agree that spending on university infrastructure is all well and g

Science and Technology  Mr. Speaker, the Minister of State for Science and Technology falsely claims that the Conservatives have invested $5.1 billion in science, technology and innovation in budget 2009. We know that $2 billion of that funding is actually for bricks and mortar infrastructure projects t

Science and Technology  Mr. Speaker, as we all know, talent is mobile and gravitates towards the universities where it will be recognized, be it in Canada or abroad. “We are going headfirst into a cement wall,” said Doug Crawford, a neuroscientist at York University. “The very best scientists will le

Science and Technology  Mr. Speaker, the minister of state continues to mislead Canadians about science funding, claiming he has increased spending on research. Statistics Canada numbers are clear as day. OECD numbers point to the same thing. As a per cent of GDP, in real terms Canada is spending hundre

Business of Supply  Mr. Speaker, if I should ever forget the importance of the forestry industry for even a moment, I am absolutely certain that my Bloc colleague would jog my memory. I will add that the Bloc member knows that I sit on the subcommittee of the Standing Committee on Industry, Science