Parliamentary Speeches
534 speeches by Alexis Brunelle-Duceppe — Page 6 of 11
Statements by Members
Mr. Speaker, since Hamas's terrorist attacks on Israel, there have been acts of violence around the world that could end up turning the Middle East conflict into a global one. In the space of just a few days, a teacher in France was killed by a radicalized former student, two Swedish tourists in Belgium were murdered in the name of the Islamic State and a six-year-old boy in the U.S. was killed an…
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Mr. Speaker, we want to reiterate that the Bloc Québécois strongly and unequivocally condemns the Hamas terrorist attacks. We reiterate that Israel has a right to defend itself against Hamas. However, we need to distinguish between Hamas and the people of Gaza and Palestine. As early as last Tuesday, the UN was calling for a humanitarian corridor into Gaza for medical reasons. That is the very bas…
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Mr. Speaker, in order to send aid, there first needs to be a humanitarian corridor. We are pushing hard, because lately Canada has been losing ground on the international scene. Once again, Canada is on the sidelines while the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, France and Italy work together. That is unacceptable. When it comes to human rights, Canada has a contribution to make and it mus…
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Mr. Chair, I want to thank my hon. colleague for her very touching speech. I think it moved us all, no matter which party we represent in this House. Canada was one of the first countries to announce humanitarian aid, and I congratulate the government on that announcement. Now it is time to deliver that humanitarian aid. If there is no humanitarian corridor, this aid will not get to the people we …
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Mr. Chair, I would like to thank my colleague for his speech, which was excellent, as his speeches always are. We have seen demonstrations in recent days that have included unacceptable actions and slogans. That kind of thing has no place in a country like Canada, and I say that as a Quebec sovereignist. I have a question for my hon. colleague. Is it not important for us all here in the House to b…
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Mr. Chair, on Saturday, October 7, Hamas launched a coordinated attack against Israel from the Gaza Strip. The attack was sadly dubbed “Operation Al-Aqsa Flood”. It was a large-scale terrorist operation that killed more than 1,400 people, mostly civilians—men, women, children and babies only a few months old—who, according to some sources, were beheaded and burned. In the face of that cruelty and …
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Mr. Chair, as a Quebec sovereignist I want to say that Canada is not a global military or economic power, but it has a history of leadership in international human rights. One need only think about Brian Mulroney during apartheid or of Lester B. Pearson and the peacekeepers. I will give only those two examples to keep things equal between the Liberals and the Conservatives. It has been a long time…
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Mr. Chair, I am going to borrow my leader's words to answer my colleague's question. As I said at the beginning of my speech, Israel obviously has the right to defend itself, and the Bloc Québécois strongly supports that notion. However, international law must be respected. I believe quite honestly that if we ever want the dream of two states in the region to become a reality, the State of Israel …
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Mr. Chair, the answer to that is no.
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Mr. Chair, as I was saying, Israel is the only democracy in the region. Israel has the largest army in the region and is supported by the planet's major powers. Israel obviously has a greater responsibility for resolving the conflict. I believe that it would be possible for Israel, as a democracy, to resolve this situation peacefully. However, it will depend on what happens with Hamas. Is Hamas re…
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Mr. Chair, I thank my colleague for thanking me. Working with the member for Saanich—Gulf Islands is always a pleasure. We are going to keep working together. As we said, we are all human. If there is one good and upstanding person in the House, it is certainly the member for Saanich—Gulf Islands.
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Mr. Chair, I think that there is a pretty clear consensus tonight that what happened on October 7 is unimaginable. It was a terrorist attack that must be condemned in the strongest possible terms. We also agree that Hamas must be eradicated from the Gaza Strip. The Gaza Strip is now blockaded and, under international law, humanitarian corridors must be put in place. Currently, this is not the case…
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Mr. Speaker, I want to thank my colleague for his speech. I enjoy working with him from time to time on committees. I just asked a question a moment ago, but they were unable to come up with an answer. Right now, Gaza is blockaded, and under international law, humanitarian corridors should be set up. Not only should they be set up under international law, but they must be. The Conservatives are of…
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Mr. Speaker, I always appreciate my colleague's speeches, which are both passionate and, above all, intelligent, even if we do not always agree. However, tonight we agree on one point. I think the whole House of Commons and every party agrees that it is absolutely necessary, and urgent, to establish a humanitarian corridor. Everyone here tonight agrees on that. That said, no one is able to give me…
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Mr. Speaker, I thank my hon. colleague for his speech. We have worked together on a number of human rights issues, and that is exactly what we are doing again this evening. I might disappoint some people this evening and this might sound glum, but I doubt there are many people in Israel or Palestine who are watching us right now. I am trying to determine what we can actually do, what impact we can…
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Madam Speaker, in his speech, my colleague talked a lot about the carbon tax, although he should have focused on Bill C-56. I will elaborate on this because, lately, many Quebec Conservatives have said that there is a second carbon tax that applies in Quebec. From what we understand, this is not true. I am sure Quebec Conservatives would never knowingly state falsehoods, so I think they must not b…
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Madam Speaker, I really appreciated my colleague's last comment about how much speaking time certain members get. I want to congratulate him on his speech. I am wondering about something. For some time now, certain Conservative members from Quebec have been passing themselves off as champions of jurisdictional issues in the House. We in the Bloc Québécois are quite accustomed to seeing the Liberal…
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With regard to the approval rate of francophone foreign students: (a) what is the number of study permit applications (excluding applications for extensions) processed by Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada for (i) 2022, (ii) 2023 (most recent data), and broken down by country of residence; and (b) on what figures and according to what calculation did the Parliamentary Secretary to the Mi…
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With regard to the export of military equipment and technology and the repression of widespread protests following the arrest and replacement of former president Pedro Castillo: (a) since December 2022, have officials from the Export Controls Division of Global Affairs Canada (GAC) undertaken an independent review to determine whether Peruvian authorities used any Canadian military equipment, incl…
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Mr. Speaker, there have been consultations among the parties. I think that, if you seek it, you will find unanimous consent for the following motion: Given that (1) according to the report of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe, thousands of children have been forcibly deported by Russia from Ukraine to the Russian Federation; (2) the International Criminal Court has issued ar…
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Madam Speaker, I am a little surprised that there were no questions and comments. My colleague gave an excellent speech, after all. I happen to have the best speaking time, right before question period. I am pretty happy to have this time slot. Since the war in Ukraine began, more than 7 million Ukrainians have had to leave their country, often leaving everything behind in the hopes of finding ref…
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Mr. Speaker, I appreciated my colleague's speech. He seemed quite calm when talking about this evening's debate. It is good to tone down the debate a little. Before being elected, I worked in a pulp and paper mill. I followed the three-two-two-three model. I will explain. I worked three day shifts, had two days off, worked two night shifts, had three days off, worked three night shifts, had two da…
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Madam Speaker, as I said, the best time to speak is just before oral question period. What I was saying is that Quebeckers and Canadians want our country to continue welcoming people fleeing repression or intolerable humanitarian crises. I would like to think that this is the context for Bill S‑8, an act to amend the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act, to make consequential amendments to other…
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Mr. Speaker, that is what the Prime Minister said. People from everywhere, from all political backgrounds, believed him when he said that infamous phrase in 2015. However, the Liberal government spends less on international development than the Harper government did. Canada has never spent so little on international aid. There were even cuts to international aid funding in the last budget. The UN …
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Mr. Speaker, this bill took a lot of hard work and co-operation. Obviously, in the end, it was about compromise. That means that no one is 100% satisfied. However, despite everything, I think that politics is all about the art of compromise. I would like to ask my colleague whether there were any proposals made by opposition members that she thinks should have perhaps ended up in the bill but did …
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Mr. Speaker, all four parties in the House have worked extremely hard on this bill. We reached a compromise, although not to everyone's satisfaction, of course. As I said earlier, politics is the art of compromise. A question that I consider of the utmost importance has been on my mind. On February 7, 2022, I asked an initial question in committee about the issue before us today concerning this bi…
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Mr. Speaker, adversity brings out the best in people. At this time, in the riding of Lac-Saint-Jean, which I have had the honour to represent since 2019, people are coming together in wonderful ways to try to ease the fears of Jamésie residents, who are worried about losing their homes. This huge wave of support demonstrates, once again, how the people of Lac-Saint-Jean pull together. People are l…
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Mr. Speaker, it is quite an honour for me to rise with you in the chair. It is a first for me, and I hope I will live up to your wisdom. I am a bit nervous about my speech and I am worried you will find it is not up to snuff, but we can talk about that later. Last year, many of my colleagues from the other parties and I had the honour to serve on the Special Committee on Afghanistan. I was one of …
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Mr. Speaker, my colleague is right. That is one of the consequences of this bill. I mentioned it and I believe that she, too, understood my point. We have no choice but to pass it now. It is better to have NGOs on the ground than to have no one. At present, people cannot go work in Afghanistan because they would be in violation of the Criminal Code. That will be the case until we pass this bill. I…
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Mr. Speaker, as I have said many times, there was a lot of co-operation and mutual support on this bill. Not everyone is happy with the final product, but it is what it is. I think that the way that we worked and the process that we followed to get to where we are today can serve as a model. The Conservatives, the NDP, the Bloc Québécois and the government all worked on this bill. The next person …
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In 2015, Justin Trudeau said, “Canada is back”. Even the NDP—
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Mr. Speaker, I think they are confused. It is not “Canada is back”; it is more like “Canada is at the back”. I am not sure if I can say it like that. The Liberals are at the back. They have not moved forward; they have fallen back. That is pretty much the only answer I could give my friend. Flying in private jets to attend the coronation of the King of England is not exactly doing international wo…
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Madam Speaker, not only do I love independence, but I love Quebec independence. I know that my colleague from Rosemont—La Petite-Patrie votes for a pro-independence party provincially. He is bound to one day join us on this side of the House. As for water bombers, the problem is that the federal government has never had any policies to support the aerospace industry. Once again, a Quebec industry …
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Mr. Speaker, that is an excellent question. I do not know the exact percentage, but someone is telling me that 100% of that money is used for green energy projects. I think that we have a model that works, that makes sense, that is realistic, that takes into account climate change, and that enables us to work for future generations.
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Madam Speaker, as we speak, forest fires are spreading, especially in northern Quebec, even though firefighters are demonstrating great courage as they work to put them out. This is a worrisome situation with disastrous consequences for the inhabitants of the municipalities that had to be evacuated on an emergency basis in recent days. I want to salute the great solidarity shown by my colleagues f…
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Madam Speaker, today, in response to a question asked by my colleague from Repentigny, who wanted to know why the government was issuing permits to oil and gas companies to allow them to drill in the habitat of the right whale, an endangered species, the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Natural Resources said they were not drilling licenses, but only exploration licenses. That surprised …
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Mr. Speaker, I would like to point out that my colleague from Chicoutimi—Le Fjord talked about the people who are currently giving it their all for the Saguenay—Lac‑Saint‑Jean region and the fact that people are tightly knit over there. That is indeed the case. As members know, there are two kinds of people: those who are not willing to pay the price, as my colleague from Chicoutimi—Le Fjord would…
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Madam Speaker, I do not want to get involved in western provincial politics, but it seems that I have to. Unfortunately, successive governments in western Canada have never had a vision for the future. When things were going well in the western provinces and they were making a lot of money by reselling oil, instead of investing in diversifying their economy for the future or in social programs, th…
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Mr. Speaker, how infuriating, especially since the government has spent all week acting like it has something to teach Quebeckers. Meanwhile, people look at what the government is doing, and I guarantee they are struggling mightily to be polite. This government is breaking the rules, and its only excuse is that these students are from Africa. That is truly appalling. When we prove that its decisio…
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Mr. Speaker, last year, the federal government rejected 72% of francophone students from Africa who were selected by our universities to study in Quebec. That is according to the Institut du Québec. This is not a new problem. The same thing happened in 2020 and 2021, to the point where the Department of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship had to acknowledge, last October, that there was racism w…
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Mr. Speaker, an application refusal rate of 72% is more than triple that in Ontario. Beyond all of these individuals' shattered dreams, the Institut du Québec is concerned that Quebec's activity is threatened. In other words, the federal government is pushing francophones to go study elsewhere when they could be making an invaluable contribution to Quebec. Those who leave after their studies becom…
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Mr. Speaker, on May 17, 1995, a six-year-old Tibetan monk disappeared. He was recognized as the 11th Panchen Lama, one of the most revered leaders in Tibetan Buddhism after the Dalai Lama. The Panchen Lama is a symbol of tremendous importance to the Tibetan community, which is currently being denied its religious and cultural freedom. Most importantly, he was a child. The young Panchen Lama and hi…
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Madam Speaker, my colleague from Chicoutimi—Le Fjord said something interesting in answer to the question from the member for Avignon—La Mitis—Matane—Matapédia. He said that the Bloc Québécois did its job because of pressure from social media and the Conservatives. I am pleased to hear that today. What the member for Chicoutimi—Le Fjord is telling us is that the Bloc Québécois did its job and impr…
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Madam Speaker, I want to say how much I value my colleague. I work with him on various committees. I want to congratulate him on his speech. What I particularly like about my colleague is that when he and I debate, our positions are always based on facts. I am open minded, but now, the Conservatives are telling us that hunters will be penalized if we pass this bill. My question for my colleague is…
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Mr. Speaker, I thank my leader for that excellent speech. This week in the House, when we questioned the Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship he said that he was not using the Century Initiative targets but was choosing his own targets for Canada, without relying on what was established by that same Century Initiative. However, from 2023 to 2025, the federal government's targets are d…
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Madam Speaker, I want to note that I will be sharing my time with the excellent member for Saint‑Hyacinthe—Bagot. I will start by saying this: I am pro-immigration, much to the chagrin of my detractors on social media and probably the member for Rosemont-La Petite-Patrie, who pride themselves on knowing my own thoughts better than I do. As I was saying, I am pro-immigration. The organizations I wo…
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Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank my hon. colleague. I will never be able to congratulate him enough on the fact that his French is improving every day. It is a praiseworthy achievement. I think that it is the first time my colleague has spoken in French for 20 minutes, and I congratulate him. My leader took the floor earlier and explained that there were three options before us. One of them is t…
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Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the Conservative Party leader. He always makes me laugh. Actually, I want to congratulate him. Not only will he vote in favour of the motion, but, by doing so, he will be taking a stand against the position adopted by the former Conservative Party leader, Brian Mulroney, who supports the Century Initiative. I congratulate him on taking a stand against Brian Mulroney. I ha…
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Madam Speaker, I recognize how much work my colleague has done on the immigration file. Indeed, I congratulate her because I agree with much of what she said in her speech, including the parts about francophone immigration. Now I would like us all to look at the motion before us. I kind of have a hard time believing the NDP could vote against this motion. My colleague mentioned first nations in he…
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Madam Speaker, no, that is still the case. People in this party are always telling us the same thing: Quebec and Canada each set their own levels. If Quebec maintains its current levels and Canada increases its levels, Quebec will clearly lose demographic weight, and therefore political weight, within the Canadian federation. I am sure we agree on that. It is simple math. The federal government vo…
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