Parliamentary Speeches
534 speeches by Alexis Brunelle-Duceppe — Page 1 of 11
Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, Taiwan is a reliable partner. It is a democracy and a market economy. It is a leader in green technology and AI, fields where trade would be good for Quebec. It is the sixth-largest economy in Asia. It is exactly the kind of middle power that Canada should join forces with to counter the hegemony of giants, according to the Prime Minister's speech in Davos. However, it is the Prime Mi…
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Mr. Speaker, Michel Marc Bouchard, the little guy from Saint‑Coeur‑de‑Marie who became an internationally acclaimed playwright, is making Quebec culture shine on the world stage. His name now proudly appears on the sign of the community and cultural centre of the city of Alma. Michel Marc Bouchard, a giant of Quebec culture, has always promoted love in all its forms in over 25 plays that have earn…
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Madam Speaker, my colleague is a passionate and hard-working member. Indeed, that is the point of my question. In the limited time she has, I would like her to summarize the work that the Bloc Québécois has done regarding what is included in Bill C-16 and what it means to be a passionate and hard-working member like her.
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Madam Speaker, I rise on a point of order. Do we have quorum?
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Mr. Speaker, a part of this bill purports to address court delays, more specifically, the harmful effects of the Jordan decision. This is something the Bloc Québécois has been calling for for quite some time. My colleague is familiar with that part of the bill. Does he believe that passing this part of the bill as drafted will negate the harmful effects of the Jordan decision?
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Mr. Speaker, there are two things to consider. First, the CBSA union has said that there is currently a shortage of between 2,000 and 3,000 officers. Second, according to the union, the government could grant border services officers the power to patrol outside border crossings immediately, through a simple administrative decision, without having to introduce a bill. The union says this measure al…
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Mr. Speaker, I would like to express my gratitude to my colleague whom I have had the opportunity to work with on several committees. He works tirelessly and does so for the right reasons. Even though our views sometimes differ, we are able to debate, make progress and collaborate. Since the government took office, it seems to have forgotten one thing: It is a minority government. It behaves as th…
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Mr. Speaker, what I find fascinating about Bill C‑12 is that the government is telling us that we need a drastic course correction, that we need to modernize border processes, that it is important, that what is happening at the border is terrible and that we need to change our laws on immigration, justice and public safety, because things are not going well. However, this government has been in po…
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Mr. Speaker, first and foremost, it is important to note that in introducing the nearly 130-page document originally known as Bill C-2, an act respecting certain measures relating to the security of the border between Canada and the United States and respecting other related security measures, the government was doing a complete 180°. I say this because, as I am sure members will recall, the Liber…
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Mr. Speaker, indeed, it is the holiday season. We are going to be nice when we ask our questions and make our comments because we do not want to part on bad terms right before Christmas. I understand that the government is introducing Bill C-12. It used to be Bill C-2 and was much more robust. My Conservative colleague and I sit on the Standing Committee on Citizenship and Immigration, where we ma…
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Mr. Speaker, I want to wish everyone a merry Christmas. I also want to thank my colleague, whom I enjoy working with at the Standing Committee on Citizenship and Immigration. We work really well together. I think we are showing that it is possible to do really solid collaborative work together in committee. Speaking of committees, things are not going very well in some of them, such as the Standin…
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Mr. Speaker, a grande dame has left our midst. One of our most distinguished actors, Béatrice Picard, passed away yesterday at the venerable age of 96, yet we all feel that she has left us too soon. Béatrice Picard was a fixture of Quebec's theatre scene for over 60 years. She played iconic roles in over 40 plays at the Duceppe theatre, which will forever be linked to her name. Examples include Fr…
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Mr. Speaker, my colleague compared the current Prime Minister to former prime minister Trudeau, saying that they were exactly the same. Allow me to disagree. These days, Quebec television programs are comparing the current Prime Minister to Stephen Harper. We can look to the budget to see if that is true. That comparison is not far-fetched at all, considering that the budget contains a measure tha…
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Madam Speaker, I want to thank my colleague for his speech, which was thorough and to the point as always. We have talked a lot about things in this budget that are not good for ordinary people. For example, we talked about the $100 billion in tax credits that are still being given to the oil and gas industry, even though it logs record-breaking profits year after year. That said, there is one thi…
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Mr. Speaker, I have been asking a few questions about what is not in the budget. One thing that is missing from the budget is the $814 million that the Bloc Québécois was calling for. We wanted that money to be returned to Quebeckers following the spring rebate on a carbon tax that had never been paid. Cheques totalling $4 billion were sent out across Canada, except to Quebec and British Columbia.…
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Mr. Speaker, as everyone knows, the Bloc Québécois voted against this budget and will be voting against its implementation. I listened closely to every word my colleague said. There is something I have been wondering about from the start. We have been hearing a lot about how this budget wastes public money and does not spend it on the right things. For example, the government just extended tax cre…
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Madam Speaker, I appreciated my colleague's speech. I think he did a good job. He tore apart the budget point by point in an extremely methodical and serious way. Listening to his speech, I felt that he was right on several points. Eventually, a question popped into my head: Why did the Conservative Party allow the budget to pass?
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Madam Speaker, once again, we share many of the Conservatives' concerns about this budget and its implementation. For example, my colleague mentioned the waste of money. If there is one clear and compelling example of money-wasting in this budget, however, it is no doubt the $100 billion we are collectively leaving on the table only to fill the pockets of the oil and gas industry. That is the choi…
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Madam Speaker, I have asked my Conservative colleagues two questions now. I am not sure whether they have been given orders not to answer questions from the Bloc Québécois, but both times their answers completely sidestepped the very specific question I was asking. What I am thinking now is that, if they want to replace the government one day, then they have to be able to answer questions when the…
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Madam Speaker, I really appreciated my colleague's speech. In committee, he and I worked hard, responsibly and collaboratively on amending the bill. The party in power tells us every day how important committee work is. It tells us that we have to work together to conduct thorough studies or to examine bills. That is exactly what we did at the Standing Committee on Citizenship and Immigration. We …
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Mr. Speaker, I understand that the speech I am giving today is probably the most anticipated one of the day. As I was saying, I must have spoken to this bill or another version of it at least 45 times. For that reason, I really have no need of notes. There was Bill S-245 in the previous Parliament and Bill C-71, which was almost identical to Bill C-3. That said, when we invited experts to appear b…
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Madam Speaker, I will be sharing my time with one of my colleagues. It is unbelievable that I am here before the House, just before question period and before the budget is tabled, to once again talk about Bill C‑3. I would remind members that we also discussed Bill S‑245 and Bill C‑71 in a previous Parliament. I have probably given 25 speeches on exactly this issue, which is discussed in Bill C‑3…
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Mr. Speaker, I will continue with my speech. I do not even need my notes to talk about this bill anymore. As I was saying, we worked hard in committee. We did our job as parliamentarians. Our work was thorough and amendments were adopted by the majority of committee members. Those amendments made this bill better than it was when it was referred to the committee. The party currently in power has f…
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That is an excellent question, Mr. Speaker I would remind members that that same colleague just told us that had there been more members, it would have been in the committee. He has a fascinating way of looking at politics. I would also remind members that that same colleague told us to bring amendments at second reading, that the committee would work on the bill, and that we would reach consensus…
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Mr. Speaker, that is a great question from the member for La Pointe‑de‑l'Île. First, the bill only calls for three years, not five. It was our idea to put that over a five-year period. One part of the member's question is very relevant and very important. One of the amendments that was passed in committee was that the government report annually to Parliament on the number of people who become citi…
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Mr. Speaker, I cannot believe my ears. If my grandmother had wheels, she would have been a tractor. “If” can be used to preface any statement. The member opposite has just told me that if there had been New Democratic members on the committee, things might have been different. Yes, but if there had been 78 Bloc Québécois members from Quebec, things might also have been different. If Maxime Bernier…
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Mr. Speaker, the Chinese regime is guilty of genocide against the Uyghurs and Turkic peoples in Xinjiang. This genocide includes forced labour and child labour to make products such as cotton. Their blood is on our hands. This House has formally recognized the genocide, but that has not stopped the Prime Minister from courting China. The Bloc Québécois bill is simple: It follows in the footsteps o…
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Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague from Etobicoke—Lakeshore for his speech. I work with that member on various issues, including those related to Tibet, but we are dealing with something else today. As my colleague knows, the Bloc Québécois is in favour of Bill C‑14 and wants to refer it to committee. However, we are apprehensive. We will propose amendments in committee. There will be discussions a…
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Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for her work. We have been hearing a lot about the work done in committee and how important that work is when legislation like Bill C‑14 makes its way there. Unfortunately, something happened recently with Bill C‑3, which the committee worked on and amended. The bill that came back here was not the same as the original version because we had amended it with Conser…
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Mr. Speaker, Quebeckers are a people like any other, neither better nor worse. We might be a little cooler though. Like all peoples of the world, Quebec deserves to be sovereign at home, it deserves to have its voice heard in the world, and most importantly, it deserves to make all of its own democratic choices. The Clarity Act undermines this principle. English Canada retains the right to oversee…
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Madam Speaker, the Bloc Québécois has concerns about this bill, but we want to study it in committee so we can propose amendments. The Conservatives will probably want to propose amendments too. However, an additional concern has emerged. During the committee's study of Bill C‑3, members of the Standing Committee on Citizenship and Immigration voted in favour of a number of amendments. When the bi…
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Madam Speaker, I have a very simple question. In my colleague's opinion, what kind of risk could the new bail rules pose in terms of regional or systemic disparities?
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Mr. Speaker, this amendment is very important. Obviously, we want to demonstrate that a person who obtains citizenship has a special connection to Canada. That is the first thing. I also think that, when someone of legal age is seeking to acquire citizenship, requiring them to speak one of the two official languages should not even be a question. There are countries where knowing the language is m…
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Mr. Speaker, I participated in the Standing Committee on Citizenship and Immigration meetings on Bill C‑3. We heard from expert witnesses, and we carefully analyzed their testimony. Amendments to Bill C‑3 were proposed, debated and supported by the majority of committee members. Now all of a sudden the Liberals are using some sort of procedural tactic to try to undo, in the House, the amendments t…
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Mr. Speaker, a few months ago, I spoke to Bill C‑3, a reiteration of Bill C‑71, and Senate Bill S‑245, intended to correct a historic injustice by granting citizenship to Canadians whose files had fallen through the cracks. I talked about children, born abroad to Canadian parents, who had lost their citizenship because of changes in federal rules or based on other conditions that seemed to me diff…
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Mr. Speaker, I would say that, true to form, the member for Winnipeg North is not acting in good faith, and that is putting it politely. The amendments introduced by the government are a direct attack on the amendments that were voted on in committee. They simply undo the amendments that were voted on in committee. However, according to the Parliamentary Budget Officer's remarks in committee, we a…
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Mr. Speaker, it is ridiculous that the government will not tell us how many people are currently affected by this law and will obtain citizenship. Worse still, after this bill passes, the government does not want to tell us how many people will be affected year after year. The government is allergic to accountability, no matter what the issue is. It is the opposite of Midas, who turns everything h…
Read full speech →Private Members' Business
Mr. Speaker, in 2023, the Auditor General noted that Global Affairs Canada had failed to demonstrate whether its $3.5 billion in annual development assistance, allocated under the government's feminist policy, had improved the lives of women and girls. Furthermore, only half of the projects funded were included in the annual reports to Parliament. It was therefore impossible for the department to …
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Mr. Speaker, as I was saying, my colleague's motion assumes that international assistance can have a positive impact on our domestic economy. The motion does not say that the government should stop funding international organizations or put a stop to more traditional assistance, but rather that it should encourage projects that are mutually beneficial. On this point, we agree. Of course, there is …
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Mr. Speaker, we are talking about expenditures and revenues. Obviously, the public coffers need to be managed responsibly, but those who manage them must also take into account the people hardest hit by the economic crisis, which seems to be having an impact on a considerable segment of the population. Does my colleague agree with the position of his own party, which supported the member for Sheff…
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Mr. Speaker, yes indeed, the same thing is happening in Lac‑Saint‑Jean. I think this problem exists everywhere, in every region of Quebec and probably in the rest of Canada too. Once again, I want to commend the member for Shefford for all the work she is doing to protect seniors, retirees and the most vulnerable among us. She is so caring and dedicated to helping others. I mentioned caring and de…
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Mr. Speaker, I rise on a point of order. I waited for the conversations to end but there was chatter on both sides while my colleague was asking his question. No consideration was shown for the question asked. The noise was very loud. If people want to talk, I urge them to go outside. One member is shaking his head at me as if to say no, yet he was shouting his head off while my friend was asking …
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Mr. Speaker, there has been some verbal sparring between the various parties since the beginning of this debate. However, there is one thing that has not been mentioned, and that is the fact that this is a minority government. The government received a minority mandate from the people. Normally, in that sort of context, the government must ask an opposition party for help in passing the budget. I …
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Mr. Speaker, it is always fun to sit here and listen to my Conservative and Liberal colleagues argue about who ran the smallest deficit or the largest surplus. The fact is, every time there has been a surplus in Canada, particularly under Paul Martin, the savings came from cutting transfers to the provinces, nowhere else. That is my first point. My second point involves my Conservative friend, who…
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Mr. Speaker, we are having some great discussions today. I have a rather fundamental question for my colleague. The Liberal Party is saying that it is there for the middle class, that it wants to defend the most vulnerable, that it wants to help the poorest members of our society increase their purchasing power and that it wants to put money back in their pockets. What does my colleague think abou…
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Mr. Speaker, I would be happy to elaborate. Former prime minister Justin Trudeau also used to work himself into a frenzy over the carbon tax. I remember how worked up he would get and how passionate his speeches were when he talked about how important it was. The Liberals are criticizing us today for voting in favour of a Conservative motion. However, looking at the Liberal platform, roughly half …
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Mr. Speaker, I will be sharing my time with my colleague from Marc-Aurèle-Fortin. First, I would like to go back to the discussions we just had. Quebec receives equalization payments. We always forget that when a Quebecker buys gas that comes from Alberta, Alberta receives royalties from the oil companies. At some point, we need to set aside the myth surrounding equalization payments and acknowled…
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Mr. Speaker, I was ready to faint just then. It is a good thing I was sitting down. I have been here for six years, and I have lost track of the number of times that that member has worked himself into a frenzy telling the Conservatives how important the carbon tax was, how fundamental it was, and how this government policy was one of the greenest in the world. However, he just stood up and told m…
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Mr. Speaker, two years ago, the unthinkable happened. On October 7, 2023, Hamas attacked Israel, killing 1,219 people, including women and children, with unspeakable violence. It took 251 people hostage, 48 of whom still remain in captivity and approximately 20 of whom are still missing but presumed to be alive. On October 7, the Middle East was plunged into war. On behalf of the Bloc québécois, I…
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Mr. Speaker, I wonder if my colleague could talk more about the fact that the Conservatives want to pass this bill quickly, under a gag order, without giving it reasonable and normal consideration, as we usually do. What implications might such an approach have?
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