Parliamentary Speeches
772 speeches by Alexandre Boulerice — Page 6 of 16
Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for his speech as well as for pointing out that facts are facts. Speaking of facts, although the Conservatives are saying that this bill is important and that we must move forward, all we see is obstruction. On one side, we have the Bloc Québécois; everyone knows them. On the other side, we have the “block everything party”, which is the Conservative Party. The Co…
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Madam Speaker, speaking of renewable energy, a very worrisome report came out this morning about the success in achieving greenhouse gas reduction targets. We might be happy that we are eventually getting new offshore wind farms, but we all know that the Liberals' record is no match for the climate crisis and that although there has been a slight 7% decline in greenhouse gas emissions since 2005, …
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Mr. Speaker, another report, another failure. Under this Minister of Environment, Canada will miss its greenhouse gas emissions targets. That is not surprising. Everyone will remember the Liberals' environmental legacy: the purchase of the Trans Mountain pipeline, throwing $34 billion of our money away on one big pipe; the billions more thrown at the oil companies; the waste of public money; the p…
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Madam Speaker, if it was me, I would not be bragging about approving a project like Bay du Nord. The Liberals are clearly talking out of both sides of their mouths. Still, we think that Bill C‑49 is worthwhile. It provides for the development of offshore wind farms, which is compatible with the energy transition. Compared to the United Kingdom and Scandinavian countries, Canada lags behind a bit w…
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Madam Speaker, I was quite surprised to hear my colleague say in his speech that the oceans are not big enough. I understand that the oceans are not infinite, but they are quite large. My colleague says he is concerned about the coexistence of wind farms and fisheries, when Europe has been doing it for a long time with maritime zones that are much smaller than what we are talking about right now. …
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What a day, Mr. Speaker. I am glad the grown-ups are still in the room. One in four Quebeckers is unable to live with dignity. That is a big deal. That is two million people. Some 25% of Quebeckers scrape by on less than a modest income. Money is too tight for them to buy the things they need. Meanwhile, the Liberals are handing out gifts to oil companies. Given that housing is the biggest expense…
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With regard to contracts awarded by the government to TELUS since January 1, 2009: what is the total value of these contracts, broken down by (i) year, (ii) department, agency, Crown corporation or government entity?
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
With regard to the government’s plan to refocus and cut government spending in budget 2023, broken down by department or agency: (a) has the department or agency instituted a hiring freeze; (b) what is the total number of staff who left the department or agency since budget 2023, represented as (i) retirements, (ii) secondments, (iii) temporary leave, (iv) firing for cause, (v) restructuring; and …
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Mr. Speaker, Montreal has experienced its largest rent increase in 30 years. This is a true crisis, and it is making it difficult for Montrealers to put a roof over their heads. What is the Liberal government’s solution? It is to set aside a mere 35% of the Wellington Basin project’s units for affordable public housing, meaning that two-thirds of the housing units built will be unaffordable. Here …
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Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to rise in the House to pay tribute to the longevity and hard work of the member for Bécancour—Nicolet—Saurel, who has been elected 12 consecutive times without ever losing his riding. It is absolutely amazing. He was first elected in 1984 as part of the same Progressive Conservative wave as the late Mr. Mulroney. I wonder where I was in 1984. I was 11 years old, finishin…
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Mr. Speaker, rents are expensive. Groceries are expensive. Everything is expensive. Quebeckers suffer while the CEOs of the big grocery stores line their pockets at their expense. Instead of making these fat cats pay their fair share, the Liberals are giving them a $60-billion gift. Who do we have to thank for this? That would be the Conservatives, who gave away this money, our money, when they we…
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Madam Speaker, I hope my colleague knows that there is no carbon tax in Quebec. I think that would guide him a bit in his remarks. The Conservative Party is so much the party of big oil and big gas, which have seen their profits increase, that when that party was in power, environmental groups were asking us to keep Conservatives out of meetings, because not only were they not helping, they were h…
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Madam Speaker, the Conservatives will not do anything about the climate crisis, but the Liberals are flailing about doing all sorts of conflicting things. I hope my colleague does not count in the $100 billion the $36 billion the Trans Mountain pipeline is costing us, or the authorization of the Bay du Nord gas project, or the $18 billion handed out to oil and gas companies in subsidies every year…
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Mr. Speaker, Canada is in first place. We rank number one. The Liberals should be proud—but wait, first place for what? Canada ranks number one for air pollution. For the first time, Canada is the most polluted country in North America. We are worse than the United States. With the climate crisis and forest fires, people are suffocating. They cannot breathe properly. Pollution is making them sick.…
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Madam Speaker, despite the Liberals' pathetic record on fighting climate change, my colleague is absolutely right that the Conservative Party, and the Conservative Party leader in particular, are giving Canadians bad information. I challenge the member for Carleton and leader of the Conservative Party to quote the Parliamentary Budget Officer, who says that 80% of Canadian households will receive …
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Madam Speaker, the NDP has not shied away from criticizing those measures, which are actually hidden subsidies to oil and gas companies. My colleague from Timmins—James Bay is introducing an important bill on behalf of our party to ban oil and gas advertising, similar to how we banned tobacco advertising. At the same time, we have forced the Liberals to do things they had never done before that ar…
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Madam Speaker, when I said that the Conservative Party is not very good at fighting climate change, I was not suggesting that the member for Laurier—Sainte-Marie is doing a fantastic job on this front. I have to agree with my colleague: Over the past eight years, the Liberal government has failed in the fight against climate change. Even the former Liberal environment minister, Catherine McKenna, …
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Mr. Speaker, the Conservative Party and its representatives in the House can be criticized for many things, and I point that out whenever I can, but I want to start by saying that one thing we cannot fault them for is their lack of determination. There is a definite consistency in their obsession with the price on pollution or the carbon tax. One thing is for sure: They are not giving up. They kee…
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Mr. Speaker, I listened carefully to the speech by my Conservative colleague, and he made no mention of what the Parliamentary Budget Officer clearly said. According to the Parliamentary Budget Officer, the price on pollution puts money back in the pockets of middle‑class families and the least fortunate. What is more, 80% of the people who pay the tax receive more in compensation than they pay in…
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Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank my colleague for his speech. I really enjoyed his comments about propane and diesel and the French language. This is a prime example of the Conservatives' almost pathological obsession with attacking the price on pollution. It is an obsession that blinds them to the climate crisis, which is real and has an impact on forest fires, droughts and floods. What does my…
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Mr. Speaker, obviously, the NDP condemns Hamas and the brutal and horrific attack on October 7, but that does not mean we should give a blank cheque to Netanyahu's regime and government and to his far-right ministers. My colleague talked about the importance of providing humanitarian aid. Right now, on a good day, 200 trucks can enter Gaza. When they can get in, that is. More often than not, only …
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Mr. Speaker, I think we need to use every possible and conceivable tool to put pressure on that government, which is possibly committing war crimes as we speak. In any case, the massacre of the population is real. We see it every day on social media and on the news. It is horrifying. People in my riding of Rosemont—La Petite-Patrie are also extremely worried and concerned. They want the Liberal go…
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Mr. Speaker, it is with deep emotion and a sense of responsibility to history that I rise today to speak to the important motion that my party has moved in the House. History is dramatically unfolding before our very eyes. It is a bloody chapter filled with suffering, violence, fear, pain and death. On October 7, 1,200 Israeli voices were silenced forever, victims of a brutal attack by the Hamas t…
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Mr. Speaker, the people of Gaza are not responsible for the actions of certain groups like Hamas, yet they have been disproportionately suffering the consequences for the past five months. A child dies every 15 minutes in Gaza. Collective punishment is a crime. Using hunger is a war crime too. We are extremely concerned about what is happening right now on the ground. That is why we need to act ur…
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Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for his statement and interventions. He is always knowledgeable and always shows compassion and empathy. We have been witnessing mass killings for months, an absolutely immense humanitarian crisis. Millions of people have been displaced, are starving and are being bombed every day. I would like to hear my colleague's comments on what happens next after tonight's v…
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Madam Speaker, my colleague, it seems, does not have to rely on social programs to send his children to day care. Maybe he has the means to pay $60 or $80 a day for those services. However, not everyone has that kind of money. Not everyone has grandparents or neighbours who can look after their children. That keeps some people, especially women, out of the workforce. How can my colleague consider …
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Madam Speaker, obviously, as Quebeckers, we have known for quite some time now how important it is to have accessible public child care. Not only is this a feminist and forward-thinking policy, but it is also good economic policy because it gives women in particular the opportunity to return to the labour market. Economist Pierre Fortin estimated that, in the first few years of Quebec's child care…
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Madam Speaker, I thank my colleague for his work. To us in the NDP, what was really important in Bill C‑35 was that it prioritizes a public, not-for-profit, co-operative or community child care model. My colleague from Winnipeg Centre has done a lot of work on this and I congratulate her on that. How important is it to my colleague that the private sector not be the one effectively prioritized in …
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, a recent report by the OurCare initiative reveals that 30% of Quebeckers, one in three people, do not have a family doctor. In the last election, the Prime Minister promised to invest and help the provinces hire health care professionals, but people are still waiting for a family doctor. While the Liberals drag their feet on transfers, Quebeckers are paying the price for this governme…
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
Mr. Speaker, my third petition is from citizens who are concerned about human rights abuses and environmental damage caused by companies based here in Canada. They are calling on the Canadian government to require companies to prevent any negative impact on human and environmental rights throughout their global operations and supply chains. They are asking that these companies be required to exerc…
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Mr. Speaker, I have three petitions to present today. The first is signed by more than 70,000 citizens who say that blockades in Gaza have continued for two decades. Since October, air strikes have been carried out in densely populated areas in Lebanon and Gaza, which is a violation of international law. Journalists have been killed by Israeli forces, and thousands of children have died or have be…
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Madam Speaker, I simply want to remind my colleague that, yesterday, I voted in favour of the amendment for advance requests because there is a political and social consensus in Quebec society. I think that the message for the federal government is to find a compromise and a solution so as not to prevent Quebec from moving forward. However, we must also not block the bill, because there is no medi…
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Mr. Speaker, people are feeling the squeeze at the grocery store. Food banks have been over capacity for months. Liberal members from Montreal know this. It is happening in their ridings, just as it is in ours. Unlike the Liberals, the NDP is solution-oriented. Our bill to lower grocery prices passed yesterday, even though the Liberals voted against lowering prices for Quebeckers. The Liberals rea…
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Madam Speaker, I recently met with representatives from a group known as the Table de concertation des organismes au service des personnes réfugiées et immigrantes. They are absolutely overwhelmed, they need money and people, and they want more resources to help asylum seekers and refugees, but they are not getting any answers from the federal government. Does my colleague think that more could be…
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Mr. Speaker, rarely have I been so taken aback. It is not by preventing them from coming here that we will protect foreign students. We need to prevent their exploitation. If my Liberal Party colleague is serious about stopping exploitation, he should look at what is happening to temporary foreign workers who truly are being exploited and are not protected by the Liberal government. He should look…
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Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague and I commend the organizations in her riding that work hard to integrate people who arrive there. That is an excellent question. It is a very complex file. Sometimes there is a tendency to mix apples, oranges and bananas. There are different types of immigrants: economic immigrants, refugees, family members and students. There are also temporary foreign workers. …
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Mr. Speaker, my colleague is absolutely right. If we are serious about giving rights to temporary migrant workers who come here and protecting them, we have to be able to change how things are done. These people have no status and are at risk. In two of the immigration minister's mandate letters, the Liberal government promised a process to regularize the status of undocumented workers. He has don…
Read full speech →Statements by Members
Mr. Speaker, our aerospace sector is something to be proud of. It accounts for 212,000 jobs in Canada and more than 37,000 in Quebec. These are good jobs, often unionized, with unparalleled expertise. We are one of the few places in the world where our companies can create, simulate, manufacture, assemble and certify an airplane, a helicopter or a surveillance aircraft. Yesterday and today, I list…
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Madam Speaker, I wish to inform the House that I will be sharing my time with my wonderful colleague from Vancouver East. I also want to note that the representative from the Conservative Party did not answer her very good question whatsoever. The Conservative Party seems to want to hide its intentions when it comes to immigration objectives. Other than fine speeches, the official opposition remai…
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Madam Speaker, I particularly enjoyed the end of my colleague's speech, the part about compassion. This is because of not her comments or because of the motion the Bloc is presenting, but in some Quebec media, some columnists are using a sort of intellectual shortcut and conflating higher immigration with the housing crisis we are experiencing, as if immigrants arriving today were responsible for …
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, Quebeckers never get a break when it comes to buying groceries. Metro's CEO, Eric La Flèche, is telling people to brace themselves because, starting today, eating is going get even more expensive. What is the Minister of Industry doing? He tells us to keep an eye on the flyers. Then he tells us that he wants to stabilize prices that are already too high. Now he wants another inquiry. …
Read full speech →Private Members' Business
Madam Speaker, I would like to start by thanking our colleague from Madawaska—Restigouche for introducing this private member's bill. Generally speaking, convention dictates that one should begin with compliments and then move on to criticisms. However, I am going to do the opposite. I am going to share my criticisms first and then my compliments. I would like to say that this is an extremely inte…
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Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for his speech and his passion for fighting homelessness, for standing up for people and for getting housing that is not just for the super rich, but social housing and truly affordable housing. He is very familiar with the file. It is always interesting to hear him talk about it. In Canada, we do not have a lot of social or co-op housing. It makes up roughly 3% t…
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
With regard to any polling data obtained by the Privy Council Office, since January 1, 2023: (a) what are the details of all polling conducted, including (i) who conducted the poll, (ii) the start and end dates of when the poll was conducted, (iii) the number of participants, (iv) the topic or subject asked about, (v) the results of the poll, (vi) the value of the contract related to the poll?
Read full speech →Statements By Members
Mr. Speaker, it was almost 8 p.m. on January 29, 2017, and evening prayers had just finished at the Quebec City mosque. Suddenly, a young man burst in and opened fire on those who were there. He killed six men and wounded 19 others in the worst racist terrorist attack in Quebec's history. In the weeks and months leading up to this mass crime, the young man regularly visited the websites of right w…
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With regard to any polling data obtained by the Privy Council office concerning anti-scab legislation or replacement workers, since January 1, 2023: (a) what are the details of all polling conducted, including (i) who conducted the poll, (ii) the start and end dates of when the poll was conducted, (iii) the number of participants, (iv) the questions asked, (v) the results of the poll, (vi) the val…
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Madam Speaker, I thank my colleague for her speech, which clearly set out the Liberal government's inconsistencies and contradictions when it comes to the environment. She had an excellent question for the Conservative leader, who does not talk about the environment and the climate crisis at all. What does she think about the Conservatives' specious solution of using carbon capture to reduce our g…
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With regard to the Phoenix pay system, broken down by fiscal year since its implementation: (a) what is the total number of severe impact claims made, broken down by (i) compensation for individuals on maternity, parental or disability leave, (ii) discriminatory practice, (iii) lost occupational capacity, (iv) lost security clearance, (v) bankruptcy, (vi) significant credit rating impact, (vii) re…
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With regard to any polling data obtained by the Privy Council Office concerning electoral reform, since January 1, 2023: (a) what are the details of all polling conducted, including (i) who conducted the poll, (ii) the start and end dates of when the poll was conducted, (iii) the number of participants, (iv) the questions asked, (v) the results of the poll, (vi) the value of the contract related t…
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Madam Speaker, I would like to congratulate and thank my colleague, the member for Repentigny, for her speech. It was an excellent speech that I would be prepared to endorse any time. I agree with absolutely everything. Bravo. I am also very proud that we were able to force the Liberal government to finally put an anti-scab bill on the legislative agenda. We have waited far too long. It is true th…
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