House of Commons photoWon his last election, in 2019, with 50% of the vote.
Public Services and Procurement March 1st, 2018
Mr. Speaker, Quebec Premier Philippe Couillard is bitterly disappointed in budget 2018. The mayor of Lévis is disappointed as well, because there is nothing in the budget for Davie shipyard workers and subcontractors in Lévis. This is the shipyard that delivered the Asterix on time.
When will the Prime Minister keep his word and start converting the four icebreakers, move forward with converting the Obelix, and include the Davie shipyard in Canada's national shipbuilding strategy?
Business of Supply March 1st, 2018
Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank my colleague. Indeed, I could answer simply that I agree. That is why we started this debate today. We believe that it is important that government programs be based on the principles enshrined in the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, including freedom of conscience and freedom of belief. That is what the government is currently attacking, and we believe that it is a slippery slope.
That being said, I had the opportunity to speak to my colleague earlier. The Liberals are making a mistake with this program, because they shortened the period during which young people have access to the program. This creates a precarious situation for young people during the period when they are not in school, which has the opposite effect of that intended by the program. However, this allows the Liberals to boast of having a wonderful program when, by digging a little deeper, we find that it is an ideological program that does not benefit young Canadians, since the Liberals have shortened the period during which they can work.
Business of Supply March 1st, 2018
Mr. Speaker, I am saddened by my colleague’s question, and especially by its preamble, which is a manifestation of the current government’s partisan approach.
While we should be talking about creating jobs for Canadian youth, here he is launching a tirade bereft of all sense or values. That being said, I would like to apologize for having named the current Prime Minister. I do think that his father, former prime minister Pierre Elliott Trudeau, must roll over in his grave sometimes when he sees the current Prime Minister renouncing the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms by imposing his ideological agenda.
The question asked by the Liberal member only proves it. This is not a question about job creation, it is a partisan question aimed simply at bashing us because we do not think like the Prime Minister. I have the courage to say to the hon. member that here, in our party, we respect diversity and different points of view, while the Liberals are confined to an ideological agenda. I am very proud to be Canadian and a member of the Conservative Party.
Business of Supply March 1st, 2018
Mr. Speaker, thank you for your kind introduction.
I am rising in the House today to explain to those who may be listening that we want to preserve the pillars of our society. We are proud of our democracy and the rights we have acquired. We saw the example of someone from the LGBTQ community asserting their rights and convictions. That is Canada. It is an open, tolerant, and generous country when it comes to the beliefs of each and every one of us.
With this measure, the Liberal government is really imposing its rigid partisan agenda. We saw this last week; it is a partisan straitjacket. We all remember the Prime Minister's disastrous trip to India. The fact that he used taxpayers' money to pay for his vacation is dubious enough already. It is even more dubious considering that he brought along certain MPs to solicit members of a specific community rather than do real business with one of the biggest countries in the world, with which we need to build a strong trade relationship. It is worse still when he plays partisan politics and attacks the integrity of our public service by sending his representatives to defend the indefensible and cover up his blunders. We all remember the case of Jaspal Atwal, who went to India and caused quite a stir. Asking a public servant to get involved was completely unnecessary. Here is what an Indian newspaper had to say about the whole affair:
...a disaster that has little parallel in India’s recent diplomatic history.
It was just last week that public servant Daniel Jean was thrown to the wolves. Because of partisanship, the Liberals are prepared to compromise the necessary separation between politics and the federal public service, not to speak of creating a major embarrassment with India. I hope that, as a country, we will apologize to India, because the Prime Minister’s behaviour has not made us proud. Last week we saw the firm grip of partisanship, akin to a straitjacket.
This week, we were put in a financial straitjacket. The Liberals are driving us into yet another deficit. This will be our third year posting a deficit, this time totalling $18 billion. All this while raising taxes for eight out of 10 middle-class families. Families are paying more tax, and future Canadians will pay off our debt. This is the second straitjacket the Liberals have put us in.
The third is the subject of the motion today. It is an ideological straitjacket. Broadly speaking, it is not complicated, it means that Canadians who do not think exactly like the Prime Minister have a problem. That is what we are denouncing today.
Yesterday, this same Prime Minister and most of his MPs proudly wore pink. Why? To oppose bullying and harassment. That was right here, yesterday. Everyone was spouting rhetoric about respecting diversity and different points of view and building a diverse society. In fact, this principle is so important that it is enshrined in the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
Unfortunately, here is an example of the government trying to impose its ideological agenda on us. It is using a program that is meant to create jobs in my riding, Bellechasse—Les Etchemins—Lévis, as well as in the riding of the hon. member for Kitchener—Conestoga, with whom I will be sharing my time. This is a member who has done excellent work and for whom I have great respect. I am convinced that he will do an impeccable job of addressing a point he deems important.
In this country, and in our political party, we respect every individual’s freedom of conscience and freedom of belief. Unfortunately, the Liberals believe in the Liberal doctrine. It is the Prime Minister’s way or the highway.
In this case, he is excluding organizations that do not endorse the Liberal ideology. Obviously, as I mentioned, this is an approach that runs counter to the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, because we must protect freedom of conscience.
In the case of the Canada summer jobs program, we should be thinking about creating jobs. The aim of the program is to create jobs for Canadian youth. That is not what the government is doing. The Prime Minister says that he is going to create jobs, but only if people think exactly like he does. People have to endorse his beliefs and values, despite the fact that freedom of conscience, freedom of expression, and freedom of religious belief are enshrined in the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
His Majesty the Prime Minister has decided that he holds the absolute truth. If you do not think like he does, you are not entitled to government money. Where is this going to end? Unfortunately, the government has a tendency to impose its partisan agenda on federal public servants. It is driving us into a financial abyss and now it is waging ideological warfare. It is a slippery slope because our political system relies on separate judicial, legislative, and executive systems. However, it appears that the Prime Minister’s omnipotence allows him to interfere with the other pillars of our democracy, in particular by attacking the very fundamental rights that he claims to be upholding. We disagree, and we are not the only ones.
Several Canadian organizations are standing up and saying that they do not want to be told what to think. That is not the government’s role. They are uncomfortable signing a form that places them in a straitjacket. That is why we are asking the Prime Minister to put an immediate end to these ideological constraints he is imposing on organizations applying to the program. We saw several examples today, including summer camp organizations and people with other interesting projects who find themselves in a dilemma because they must make an ethical choice, a choice of conscience. That is what is at stake. The government wants to impose its ideological agenda, and that is unacceptable.
Justin Trudeau is entitled to his opinions and points of view, but he cannot impose them on everyone. This is not complicated; we are saying that the Canada summer jobs program is a program to create jobs. It is not a program for imposing an ideological point of view. What we are asking is that the government withdraw the attestation, withdraw the ideological criteria for a program that is intended for all Canadians, not just those who are on Justin Trudeau’s bandwagon, or who are entitled—
Business of Supply March 1st, 2018
Madam Speaker, I congratulate my colleague for the clarity of her comments on the federal program, which spreads the money it provides so thinly that it puts our young people in a precarious situation.
My question for my colleague concerns the motion before us. I would basically like to know whether we live in a state where there is a separation between rights and the government.
Does she not find that the government is imposing its ideology on people whose beliefs differ from those of the Liberals? Is the Liberal government going down a slippery slope by imposing its ideology on all Canadians when freedom of conscience is a fundamental principle of Canadian society?
Canada Summer Jobs Program February 26th, 2018
Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister is always talking about respecting diversity. Once again, the Liberals are not walking the talk, since organizations must now endorse the Liberals' ideological positions if they want to receive any money to hire a summer intern. This approach flies in the face of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, which protects freedom of conscience from this type of excessive government intervention. Canadians deserve to have the right to apply to participate in a government program without fear that their applications will be rejected simply because they have values or beliefs that differ from the Liberals' doctrine or dogma.
The Prime Minister must immediately remove this ideological requirement and restore the Canada summer jobs program to what it should be: a program to create jobs; not a Liberal ideological propaganda tool.
Public Services and Procurement February 14th, 2018
Mr. Speaker, negotiations between the Canadian Coast Guard and Davie shipyard will begin tomorrow morning at 9 because we need icebreakers. Who said that? It was the Prime Minister himself.
That was in Quebec City in January during the Prime Minister's tour. There has been radio silence ever since. The Davie shipyard workers are being shortchanged despite having successfully delivered the first supply ship, the Asterix, on time and on budget.
When will the shipyard workers get to resume working on the four icebreakers the Prime Minister promised?
Public Services and Procurement February 12th, 2018
Mr. Speaker, more than 20 times—
I am sorry. The Liberals are making the babies cry and I got distracted.
Liberal ministers visited Seaspan and Irving more than 20 times, but made just two quick visits to Davie shipyard. Why do they have such contempt for workers? Why, when the shipyard successfully completed its work by the deadline?
When will the minister honour the Prime Minister's words and deliver the ships, the icebreakers, and the Obelix?
Canada Labour Code January 29th, 2018
Madam Speaker, when it comes to harassment, there must be zero tolerance. We can draw inspiration from the mechanisms put in place to go even further than current laws and ensure that an independent third party investigates harassment cases and makes binding decisions to protect the victims.
Canada Labour Code January 29th, 2018
Madam Speaker, the member mentioned that we were the party that brought forward the victims Bill of Rights. What we want in the process and what we will be very keen on is to ensure we not double-victimizing people who may have been involved in a harassment situation. That is why we feel the independence of the third party involved in the investigation is a very important aspect.
One other issue I would like to point out is that today we have discussed parliamentary staffers and employees of the federal government, but the government also has a lot of civil servants. Unfortunately, there has been a lot of harassment mentioned by civil servants. We have a responsibility because they are the people working for the government.
We certainly have to clean our own house, which includes the civil service. As well, there are those who are working under the federal jurisdiction. This is certainly one aspect we will ask the minister about to ensure we take care of the harassment occurring within the civil service.