Parliamentary Speeches
640 speeches by Alexandre Boulerice — Page 2 of 13
Routine Proceedings
Madam Speaker, I thank my colleague for his speech. I am pleased because we do not get to hear from him very often. The NDP suggested a GST holiday on basic necessities. Unfortunately, the Liberals' measure will last for only two months. We would have wanted it to be permanent. They also presented another measure: a $250 cheque for workers, which could be a good thing, but seniors and retirees are…
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Mr. Speaker, people are worried about what will happen to their jobs and whether they will be able to afford groceries or rent. Donald Trump's outrageous tariffs would put jobs at risk and increase the price of everything we buy. Last week, the Prime Minister managed to meet with him, but apart from a nice little photo op, he returned empty-handed. Did he at least make it clear to the U.S. preside…
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Mr. Speaker, the objective of awarding 5% of federal contracts to businesses owned by first nations is obviously commendable from the perspective of reconciliation. However, we realized that 1,100 businesses had been delisted because the Liberal government had done a poor job of designing the list, but also because people are trying to defraud the system and misappropriate funds when they do not r…
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Mr. Speaker, I rise on a point of order. The Conservative member's comments have absolutely nothing to do with the question of privilege that was raised by my NDP colleague from London—Fanshawe. I would ask him to come back to the question before us now and not cause distractions in order to change the subject.
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Mr. Speaker, there are limits to presenting alternative realities and ignoring the facts. The Conservative members are currently making speeches that have nothing to do with the question of privilege raised by my colleague from London—Fanshawe. What the member is talking about was already addressed by the Speaker this morning. The Speaker of the House made a statement about the interactions the Co…
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Madam Speaker, this government is allowing its own Crown corporation to attack workers. Canada Post is laying off striking workers. That is a brutal and illegal tactic for making them back down. It is disgusting. It is intimidation and a violation of the workers' fundamental right to strike. The postal workers are fighting to protect good jobs and decent wages. The minister has to take responsibil…
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Madam Speaker, I listened to my colleague's speech. I think the Conservatives have forgotten that, although it is not perfect, the measure that was passed yesterday will still eliminate the tax on babies' diapers, car seats, children's clothing and shoes, and food that is processed and prepared in grocery stores, like sandwiches or chickens that have been roasted in store. This will really help th…
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Madam Speaker, with your permission, I will leave the year 1867 behind and come back to 2024. There are serious allegations of political interference. Some concern the Liberal Party, but there are also some that concern the Conservative Party. The leader of the Conservative Party refuses to get security clearance that would allow him to know all there is to know about former candidates and the sit…
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Madam Speaker, I listened with interest to my Conservative colleague's speech, and there is something I do not understand. The Conservative Party tells us that we need to reduce taxes and, for once, the Liberals are doing just that. They have taken up the NDP's proposal to help people out with basics and essentials like groceries, food, children's clothing and diapers. The Conservative Party keeps…
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Mr. Speaker, as we know, the NDP had called for the GST to be removed from all essential and basic goods. The Liberals came up with a list that may at times seem far-fetched or over-the-top. What we are seeing, however, is that the Bloc Québécois and the Conservatives are joining forces to keep the GST on in-store prepared foods like sandwiches or roast chicken, as well as on diapers, child car se…
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Mr. Speaker, just as Mariah Carey awakens from her long slumber every November to sing the same Christmas song, so did the Liberals wake up last Thursday with the brilliant idea of doling out $250 cheques. The NDP pointed out they were neglecting a bunch of people, like seniors, people with disabilities and people who were unable to work. In a panic, the Liberals delayed the measure. It is all ver…
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Madam Speaker, before asking my question, I would like to remind my Liberal colleague that he is right to be angry, but he should perhaps refrain from banging on the desk. That can be dangerous for the interpreters, for their ears, as a working condition. We do not bang on the desks. In the Conservatives' 2021 campaign, they said they wanted to pause the GST during the holiday season. They promise…
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Mr. Speaker, my colleague gave a nuanced, thoughtful speech that raised some good points. We in the NDP said that we wanted a permanent tax break on essential items, including heating and cellphone packages. Naturally, the Liberals presented a temporary half measure accompanied by a very haphazard list. However, I have to disagree with my colleague when she says that this will help the rich more t…
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Mr. Speaker, what is wrong with this picture? Danielle is retired for medical reasons. Her disability pension is $45,000. Danielle has a partner who earns $125,000. Guess who is getting a $250 cheque this spring? Well, according to the Liberals, Danielle's partner will get one, but she will not. She is being punished for being too sick to work. It makes no sense, damn it. My question to the Prime …
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Madam Speaker, I thank my colleague for his speech, and especially for the answer he just gave. I just realized that he was actually being sarcastic. The satire, the sarcasm, was his own speech, coming from a party that was found in contempt of Parliament and that used closure motions and omnibus bills over and over and over again. They are lecturing us about respect for the institution, which is …
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Madam Speaker, I rise on a point of order. I am listening to my colleague from the Conservative Party and wondering if he is truly addressing the subject of the privilege motion that his party moved. He is talking about the cost of car insurance. That is not really a question of parliamentary privilege.
Read full speech →Orders of the Day
Madam Speaker, speaking of the use of public funds, we recently learned that the leader of the Conservative Party wants to do away with a housing construction fund. We know that 17 Conservative members applied to that program for funding for their communities. The Conservative leader decided to muzzle those members and prevent them from doing their job by requesting funding that is there to help a…
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Madam Speaker, Quebeckers and Canadians know they can count on us for help when they are struggling to pay their rent and their bills. I really liked it when my colleague said she was getting a little tired of repeating the same speech in the House all the time. I have a suggestion for her. She can simply stop repeating the same speech over and over in the House. That might help. I urge them to vo…
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Mr. Speaker, the cost of living is going up, rents are going up and the price of groceries is going up. The Liberals have let everyone down. The Conservatives are going to make cuts everywhere, and that is going to make life even more expensive. Quebeckers deserve better. They need a break. The NDP is proposing that we get rid of the tax on groceries, children's clothing, heating bills, the Intern…
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Mr. Speaker, people are struggling while CEOs are lining their pockets. Rents have doubled, and grocery prices are really out of control. It is clear that the Liberals have let Canadians down. The Conservatives want to cut everything, including the Canada child benefit and dental care. Who is going to pay the price? Quebeckers will. We in the NDP will take the tax off basic necessities, like food,…
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Madam Speaker, I would like to thank my colleague for his heartfelt interventions on this issue. The whole question of procurement and public contracts is a very sensitive one. We are talking about thousands of contracts and billions of dollars. These are often the places where a lot of corruption and cronyism happens, strangely enough, be it among the Liberals or the Conservatives. As for awardin…
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Madam Speaker, according to the Salvation Army's annual report, one in four parents is cutting back on their own food consumption to ensure their children have enough to eat. Where are we, exactly? Are we in a Dickens novel or Les Misérables? It is unacceptable in our society that parents are having to skip meals to feed their children. What are the Liberals doing about it? They are meeting with w…
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Madam Speaker, my Conservative colleague raises an important point about confidence. Confidence also means the confidence that people have in institutions. In light of the legitimate fears of potential foreign political interference, how is it that every federal party leader here in the House has received their security clearance to find out what is going on with their party and their caucus and t…
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Madam Speaker, women who report domestic violence committed against themselves or their child are often accused of parental alienation. These accusations are based on a scientifically invalid theory that is used to undermine the credibility of mothers who report domestic violence. These accusations result in court rulings that endanger the safety of children, including rulings that force children …
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Mr. Speaker, the government's environmental performance is pathetic. We are in a climate crisis, and the Liberals are not getting the job done. First of all, the minister announced regulations on the emissions cap for the oil and gas sector, supposedly to meet our 2030 targets, but they will not even apply until 2030. Today, the environment commissioner confirmed that the Liberal plan is not worki…
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Madam Speaker, it is funny, but at the end of his speech, my colleague started talking about the concerns of ordinary folks, workers and their families: the housing crisis, the cost of living, the cost of groceries. His party is paralyzing the work of the House, when we should be able to talk about those concerns and work together on finding solutions. I find that a bit odd. I understand that the …
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Madam Speaker, one thing is certain: The solution to meeting our Paris commitments and combatting climate change is not to produce more oil, drive more cars and consume more fossil fuels. The Conservative Party and I have fundamentally different positions on that point. Second, of course we need to have a mix of energy to produce the energy that communities need. However, the current technology of…
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Madam Speaker, I do not wish to speak for my colleague, the member for Victoria, our environment critic. I am not familiar enough with this issue to provide an informed answer. However, I would like to keep speaking to the responsibility of the current and former Liberal governments as it relates to concerns over the commission's independence and potential conflicts of interest. During the testimo…
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Madam Speaker, I thank my colleague from Repentigny for her speech and for all the work that she has done on this really important issue. I have also met with groups of citizens who are extremely concerned about nuclear waste management, particularly when it comes to the Chalk River project, which involves surface disposal near a water table and beside a river. People are understandably concerned …
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Madam Speaker, I have the same concern. I remember back in the day, when Catherine McKenna was the environment minister, and she passed the new environmental assessment bill, Bill C‑69. I asked her directly whether there would be assessments for these small reactors. The answer she gave me at the time was clearly no.
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Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague from Louis‑Saint‑Laurent for his speech. I too am very proud to represent Quebeckers. I would like to ask him a question about the planned radioactive waste dump in Chalk River. There is a great deal of public concern about it. Several municipalities have spoken against the project, as have several Algonquin first nations. What does my colleague make of the issue …
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Madam Speaker, I will start by saying that I will be sharing my time with my outstanding colleague from Windsor West, who will share his thoughts on this critical issue with us. I want to talk about the environment, because the Minister of Environment and Climate Change made an important announcement today about the much-vaunted cap on oil and gas emissions that which we have been waiting for for …
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Madam Speaker, the Chalk River project is meeting with a lot of public resistance. Communities are extremely concerned and want nothing to do with this project. The Algonquin first nations share that opinion, with 10 of the 11 groups opposing the project. What does my colleague have to say about the fact that there is no social licence for the project? Does he want to force people to accept a proj…
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Madam Speaker, I have a whole lot of smart things to say. I wonder what the minister would say if there were no dental care. The Liberals voted against dental care in the last election. We forced them to implement it. Now, 200,000 Quebeckers are reaping the benefits thanks to the work of the NDP. I would like to hear the minister say one thing. I would like him to say “thank you”.
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Madam Speaker, we are hearing big words like “hypocrisy” and “cynicism”, but I think the most cynical thing the Liberals could do would be to vote for Bill C-319 and then not give it a royal recommendation. That way, they could say that they were in favour of the bill, but that they had to prevent it from passing because it would be too expensive. That is political cynicism. Let us talk about the …
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Mr. Speaker, I have already expressed my skepticism about the method being used, but I am not going to answer my colleague's question and give her such an easy out. I will, however, take this opportunity to question the Conservatives' vote on the motion. I find it odd that the Conservatives have decided to vote in favour of the motion for purely partisan reasons and to annoy the government conside…
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Madam Speaker, I am pleased to take part in today's important discussion, since it has to do with our country's seniors. However, while I have the floor of the House for a few minutes, I would like to point out that the NDP, like many tens of thousands of families in Quebec and Canada, is extremely concerned about the situation in Lebanon. My colleague from Edmonton Strathcona asked for and was gr…
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Mr. Speaker, I want to thank my Green Party colleague for his question, which is very compassionate. As social democrats, we in the NDP share his concern. If we want to help a person with a disability, we have to do it for their entire lifetime. My colleague is perfectly right in saying that a person's disability does not end at 65 and that just because old age security exists does not mean that w…
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Mr. Speaker, that is an excellent question. I too am very interested in knowing where the Liberal government is at the moment. It is a minority government. I get the impression that the Minister of Finance is dealing with a hot potato and does not know what to do with it. I would say to my Bloc Québécois colleague that it is a bit risky to bet on a royal recommendation to get help for seniors. I a…
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Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for his question. It is true that the Bloc Québécois sometimes find themselves in a peculiar situation, because they do not want federal programs to succeed, which would undermine the case that they generally make. They think that it is a bad thing to have dental care delivered by the federal government. I have attended about 30 public meetings on dental care in t…
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Madam Speaker, I am very suspicious of the Conservative Party's current position on the pension increase for seniors, given the Conservatives' record of the past few years, whether on raising the age of retirement or on the cuts to health transfers to the provinces. Suddenly, the Conservatives are friends to seniors. I find that a bit suspicious, especially when their main argument is that inflati…
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Mr. Speaker, Pascale is a single mom from Hull who wrote in an open letter, “I'm afraid I will never be able to buy a home. I'm afraid my eldest child will never know the joy of a space that she can truly call her own. I can't get a different apartment because rents have skyrocketed since I moved in...real estate prices in my neighbourhood are up over 150%”. The Liberals and the Conservatives are …
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Mr. Speaker, it is a bit much to say that we did not make any gains for Quebec. Try saying that to the Videotron or Port of Québec employees who were locked out because there was no anti-scab legislation. We defended the cause and won more rights for workers. Paying dentists' bills is not interfering in Quebec's health care system. We are not telling Quebec how to run its hospitals. So far, 205,03…
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Madam Speaker, I am very pleased to rise today to speak right after the leader of the NDP, who gave an excellent speech. He outlined the framework for this discussion and explained where we stand right now as a society, what people need and the risks associated with either the Liberals' inaction or the Conservatives' cuts. Over the past two years, we have seen what can be achieved when NDP members…
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Mr. Speaker, what the NDP actually did was help people who needed it the most through the Canada housing benefit and the dental care program. If the Conservatives ever get into power, what will they do with dental care? They will end seniors' access to dentists after 3.5 million people have already registered for the program and 645,000 people have benefited from it. I have called people who went …
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Mr. Speaker, one thing we know for sure is that the Leader of the Opposition did not ask for access to privileged information about foreign interference. That is very serious, because he says he wants to be prime minister, but he is not doing the work to find out what really happened. That says a lot about the leader of the Conservative Party, who is not who he claims to be. We know that he is no …
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Madam Speaker, I thank my colleague for his speech. I want to address the issue of temporary foreign workers. I have some concerns about their rights and working conditions; sometimes, not always. I am trying to understand. For the past few years, the Bloc Québécois and the Government of Quebec have been calling for less temporary immigration in Quebec. In fact, the member for Lac-Saint-Jean asked…
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Madam Speaker, I am going to ask a question somewhat similar to the one I asked the Bloc Québécois member earlier, concerning the recommendation to pay attention to the management of the temporary foreign worker program. Some people want to see temporary immigration to this country lowered. Others say that an exception may be in order, considering the very important role that temporary workers pla…
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Madam Speaker, I am pleased to hear my colleague admit that grocery prices have risen significantly and that families and individuals are struggling because of it. I hope that she will support the NDP's proposals. Right now, we are the only ones who are saying that we need to stabilize and control prices by capping the price of certain essential foods for families. I am surprised that I did not he…
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Mr. Speaker, I will be sharing my time with the admirable and extraordinary member for New Westminster—Burnaby. I think he will have some very interesting things to share with us about the reality in his region and in his province. I will start this intervention by thanking the Standing Committee on Human Resources, Skills and Social Development and the Status of Persons with Disabilities for this…
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