Consumer Protection  Mr. Speaker, Canadian consumers believe in and benefit from a fair and open competitive marketplace. A few days ago, Club Coffee filed a complaint with the Competition Bureau, seeking an investigation into the behaviour of the largest foreign corporation operating in Canada in

Co-operatives  Mr. Speaker, in 2012, the government ended the $4 million co-operative development initiative, the only national program for co-ops. In January 2013, the government announced a $400 million venture capital action plan. To date, the investment funds that have received contributio

Questions on the Order Paper  With regard to the renaming of the Rockcliffe Parkway to the Sir George-Étienne Cartier Parkway: (a) was this change preceded by public and private consultations; (b) what was the consultation process and what were the methods involved; (c) when was the consultation process launc

Questions on the Order Paper  With regard to the Department of Finance’s Venture Capital Action Plan: for the years for which data are available, (a) what investments were made; (b) what organizations benefited from the funds and what was the total amount invested in each case; (c) was a certain amount set as

Business of Supply  Mr. Speaker, it is the long-standing practice of the Parliament of Canada to do that when facing a situation. We did it for Afghanistan and other situations. It demonstrates a respect by the government for Parliament and its role. That is all we are asking. We are asking it to go

Business of Supply  Mr. Speaker, I would usually wash my dirty linen in private, not in public. Two weeks ago, the organization we are talking about, the Canada-Africa Parliamentary Association, held a briefing on Ebola, which included representatives from the Department of Foreign Affairs, the Pu

Business of Supply  Mr. Speaker, Canada has a fairly well-developed and well-functioning health care system. However, it must be prepared and equipped to control Ebola should someone contract the virus. We want the federal government to play its roles properly. It has several roles, including shari

Business of Supply  Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to speak today on this very important and very urgent issue. Over the past 12 years or so, I have been very involved in the Canada-Africa Parliamentary Association. I am co-chair and Senator Andreychuk is the other co-chair. This association brings toge

Taxation  Mr. Speaker, when budget 2013 was presented, credit unions and caisse populaires were surprised to see the government cut a 40-year-old measure that helped them build capital and be competitive with the big banks. The Credit Union Central of Canada and Mouvement Desjardins are p

Petitions  Mr. Speaker, I am presenting two petitions signed by people in the Ottawa area asking the Minister of Health and the House of Commons to support Bill C-356, an act respecting a national strategy for dementia, tabled by the member for Nickel Belt. The petitioners are asking also

International Summit of Cooperatives  Mr. Speaker, the first International Summit of Cooperatives was held in October 2012, in Quebec City. The second summit, which I was pleased to attend this week, from October 6 to 9, again in Quebec City, was another success. There were more than 3,000 participants from 93 countr

Franco-Ontarian Day  Mr. Speaker, September 25 is an important date in the history of francophones in Ontario because it was on that day in 1975 that the Franco-Ontarian flag was raised for the first time, in Sudbury. Some 35 years later, in 2010, the Government of Ontario commemorated the event by

Official Languages  Mr. Speaker, during the International Year of Co-operatives, the government put an end to the co-operative development initiative, the only national program for co-ops. Five organizations filed a complaint, since this decision is harmful to the development of official language m

National Anthem Act  moved for leave to introduce Bill C-624, An Act to amend the National Anthem Act (gender). Mr. Speaker, it is my honour to table a bill entitled “An act to amend the National Anthem Act”. It is seconded by my colleague from St. Paul's. The bill proposes a simple change in the

Interparliamentary Delegations  Mr. Speaker, pursuant to Standing Order 34(1), I have the honour to present to the House, in both official languages, the report of the Canadian delegation of the Canada-Africa Parliamentary Association respecting its bilateral mission to the Republic of Madagascar and the Republ