Kevin Lamoureux

“Madam Speaker, I would like to begin by saying that I will be sharing my time with the lovely member for Laurentides—Labelle. What a pleasure it is for me to rise today as the Bloc Québécois critic for veterans affairs on this opposition day, when we are questioning certain government decisions regarding support provided to the Canadian Corps of Commissionaires. First, let us remember that Remembrance Day is just a week away, and MPs from Quebec and Canada will be invited to participate in remembrance ceremonies by their local Royal Canadian Legion branches. In my riding, the ceremony hosted by the Valleyfield branch in Salaberry‑de‑Valleyfield will take place on Saturday, as will the ceremony in Beauharnois. The ceremonies in Huntingdon and Ormstown will take place on Friday. It is important for us, as MPs, to attend, but it is just as important to encourage our constituents to take part in these remembrance ceremonies. This is an opportunity to recognize the sacrifices of those who went to war, sometimes at the cost of their lives, their health or their family life. I encourage everyone to attend the ceremonies in their community and meet with veterans. I will be very pleased to attend, and I will take the time to listen to the veterans, because they have a lot to share with us. The motion before us today is rather long and deals with several subjects, so I chose to focus my remarks on certain issues and on the Liberal government’s choice to turn its back on veterans. I was listening to my colleague, the parliamentary secretary, who argued that veterans are younger, that there is no question of sidelining them, that we need to modernize, that we have to accept this, that many jobs will be available, and that this justifies the right of refusal. I want her to know that these things are not mutually exclusive. Currently, nearly 3,000 veterans work as security guards for the Commissionaires. They are worried right now. These veterans are used to holding a position that could disappear as of April 1. This could in fact be the case if the government’s public tender and specifications do not specify that the Commissionaires have the first right of refusal. This refers to an arrangement where preference is given to companies that commit to hiring veterans for the positions. This agreement has been in place for 80 years. The Canadian Corps of Commissionaires has been around since 1925. It was created specifically to support veterans, help them transition to civilian life and, above all, find employment. As we know, at the end of one’s military career, continuing to be useful and contributing to the development of one’s community is important for self-esteem and for what comes next. Now the Commissionaires are being deliberately abandoned. Frankly, I think I am choosing my words carefully, but I cannot put it any other way. The Commissionaires are being told that it is over. Now the government is awarding security contracts, at the lowest possible cost, to whichever company meets the criteria set out by Procurement Canada, and removing the right of refusal. It is important to remember that this arrangement has been in place for 80 years, as I said, and has never really been a problem. I do not know why the government wants to get rid of it, because there is really no gain for veterans. Alternatively, if we keep it, there is really no loss for the government either. The government keeps saying that veterans are important. A massive recruitment campaign is under way at the Department of National Defence to meet military targets. That means that a growing number of veterans will be reaching the end of their military careers and arriving at Veterans Affairs Canada. I fail to understand the logic of that, apart from saving on a few costs here and there. It is almost as if some public servant crunching numbers somewhere was told to modernize all that, because it mattered more. Veterans, especially the Canadian Corps of Commissionaires, have taken that as a clear and unequivocal sign that veterans are no longer part of the current government’s plans. A lot of people are no longer part of the current government’s plans. The environment might not be either, or Quebec SMEs. Now, it is our veterans’ turn to be told that they are no longer part of the plans. As we know, however, the oil companies are part of the government’s plans. There are data centres all over Alberta. They are part of the government’s plans too, but continuing to support the Canadian Corps of Commissionaires is not. I have a great deal of respect for the parliamentary secretary, but I hear her saying that this is not a particularly serious problem and that the government actually wants bigger things for veterans. It wants them to be more than security guards. It wants them to get more important jobs, value-added jobs. I would simply reply that these things are not mutually exclusive. When I hear the Minister of Finance and National Revenue talk about the loss of the Commissionaires’ contract over a difference of $80,000, as stated in the motion, I am offended. What offended me during this debate in the House was hearing people say that only about 60 employees will be impacted, about half of whom are veterans, and that those who wish to be rehired by the new company that was awarded the contract will have to accept a 14% pay cut. This is serious. The minister argued that this is an agency, that he cannot become involved in its decision-making and that he cannot intervene. He says it is an independent agency that made its own choices. It was the agency that decided not to include the Commissionaires’ right of first refusal in its call for tenders. The Liberal government had no qualms about ordering the CRTC to reconsider its decision to tax the digital giants. It intervened politically because the CRTC had reached a different conclusion than the one the government wanted. Now the Canada Revenue Agency has awarded a contract to a privately owned U.S. company, which does have Canadian subsidiaries, but which has made no commitment to keeping veterans on under the same employment conditions. That response is not only hard to understand; it is totally unacceptable. If the government were truly committed to our veterans, it would have instructed the Canada Revenue Agency and all government agencies to include a requirement to hire a certain percentage of veterans in their calls for tenders. That is what we call political direction. No such direction was given. That is not surprising, given that the government has chosen to eliminate the right of first refusal altogether. This is a serious concern, and it is one of the issues we are highlighting today, seeing as most Quebeckers and Canadians are unaware of it. Another thing that concerns me is that the government is just pumping out new agencies: agencies to handle cybersecurity, one to handle crime and money laundering, and yet another to deal with military procurement. What it all boils down to is that these agencies are all independent and the government is washing its hands of responsibility. When things go wrong, it will be the agencies’ fault. There is no political accountability. That is what is worrisome today. We are seeing this with our veterans. The CRA’s decision to drop the Commissionaires has led to a loss of jobs for our veterans.”