SoVote

Decentralized Democracy

Member of Parliament

Jean-Denis Garon

  • Member of Parliament
  • Member of Parliament
  • Bloc Québécois
  • Mirabel
  • Quebec
  • Voting Attendance: 65%
  • Expenses Last Quarter: $114,073.56

  • Government Page
Context: House Hansard - 240 - Oct/26/23
Mr. Jean-Denis Garon
Madam Speaker, the matter of subcontractors and contract workers is important, as we saw with the ArriveCAN app and National Defence. Unfortunately, expanding protection to subcontractors would require a royal recommendation. That was the nature of the amendment that the Speaker had to reject earlier today. However, it is still an important issue and that is why the government must consider it, because it has the prerogative to do so. There is also the constitutionality of the issue. Most subcontractors fall under the governance of provincial labour laws. We will have to examine that issue. Just because it is not included in the bill does not mean that we did not think about it, that we did not try to address it, that it is not important and that we should forget about it.
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Context: House Hansard - 157 - Feb/9/23
Mr. Jean-Denis Garon (Mirabel, BQ)
Madam Speaker, I want to thank my colleagues from all parties for taking the time to consider the bill that I have brought to their attention. There were some constructive and positive comments in absolutely every case. This gives me a lot of hope. I hope to see this bill studied in a non-partisan and constructive way in committee as well. The people who need to be heard are not the MPs, certainly not the MP for Mirabel. Those who need to be listened to first are the public servants, the public service, those who work within the machinery of government and who feel a need to be better protected, even with the current protections in place. Earlier, the parliamentary secretary said that there are not a lot of reprisals. Some people have talked to me about reprisals, demotions and threats within the public service. These people think they need to be better protected. That is why I am standing before my colleagues and before the House today. The ones we should be listening to are the Canadian Bar Association, the unions, the former whistle-blowers, the witnesses of all stripes who came by the dozens to testify before the Standing Committee on Government Operations and Estimates several years ago. To date, none of the report's recommendations have been implemented. The International Labour Organization has pointed out the importance of having a more effective whistle-blower regime. Newspaper columnists and journalists have been raising this issue for years, telling us that it is time to take action, not to hold more consultations first. Of course, we can have consultations. However, the pursuit of excellence is an ongoing process that should not be impeded by holding more consultations. If anyone talked to the whistle-blowers who contacted me and who are the very reason I introduced this bill, they would realize that what we need to do today is listen to common sense and the common-sense recommendations found in the report of the Standing Committee on Government Operations and Estimates. Many recommendations from that report were incorporated into this bill. Essentially, it offers protection for more public servants, for contract workers, for former public servants. It offers more anonymity for those who file complaints as well as witnesses. When someone is called to testify, when someone has noticed irregularities, as a complainant has, they are not protected under the current law. We must be able to entrust certain investigations to the auditor general. As we know, his or her work is fundamental to assessing complaints. It was through the work of Sheila Fraser, the auditor general at the time, that the sponsorship scandal was uncovered. Today we are working to prevent further reprisals, to rewrite and expand the definition of wrongdoing, and to give more time and resources to public servants who want to do their duty with peace of mind, honesty and loyalty to the government, which they must serve first. I have had some positive signals from the government. Clearly, I have received signals that are more than positive from the two opposition parties supporting me today, and I note that, when I introduced my bill, the minister launched a round of consultations for potential amendments to the act. This would result in significant delays in improving a regime that could be improved today. I hope that these consultations, which are most welcome, will not impede the process leading to the amendment and passage of this bill. In conclusion, I would like to remind members that whistle-blower legislation is obviously somewhat of a band-aid solution. It is no substitute in the long term for a profound change in culture in certain departments, Crown corporations and Crown agencies that need to make more significant changes to their way of doing things. I hope that the future coming into force of this bill will help them make changes in their culture that, in some cases more than others, are extremely necessary.
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