Routine Proceedings
Mr. Speaker, today is December 6, 2024, and 35 years have passed. This evening, 15 beams of light will illuminate the skies of Montreal a little. We have not forgotten. We have not forgotten them, sisters who were taken from us. We have not forgotten Geneviève Bergeron, 21, mechanical engineering student. We have not forgotten Maryse Laganière, 25, financial services employee. We have not forgotte…
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Madam Speaker, I am rising this morning in place of my extraordinary colleague, the member for Montarville. I would like to take a moment to recognize our fantastic critic for foreign affairs, who also serves as vice-chair of the Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Development. I am speaking here today because my colleague was kind enough to share his speaking time with me, as …
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Madam Speaker, I remember taking part in some of the meetings on this study at the Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Development. What struck me was how religion was brought into the equation and how it skewed the debate on women's right to control their own bodies. Is this not another argument for saying that it is absolutely essential to remember the importance of secularis…
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Mr. Speaker, as I was saying in my speech, it is important to be able to know where the money is going and how it is actually helping women on the ground. Answers are needed to the questions raised by the Auditor General, who is calling on the government to be more accountable when it comes to feminist policy. I would like to add something that I forgot to mention in my speech. According to co-ope…
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Mr. Speaker, I cannot get over all the studies we have to do in the Standing Committee on the Status of Women, studies that remind us that there are real risks of losing ground. In fact, it is already happening. Masculinism is clawing back the rights women acquired thanks to those feminists who paved the way for today's women through decades of struggle. Now we see that, because of misogyny and th…
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Madam Speaker, my colleague and I attended certain committee meetings dealing with this study. I will ask my colleague the same question I asked my NDP colleague a bit earlier. We really saw that certain witnesses had religious motivations. Their faith was the reason they had come to talk about the issue of women's reproductive rights. Why did members of my colleague's party, the Liberal Party, op…
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Mr. Speaker, I am somewhat confused today, because we all remember when, for electoral reasons, the NDP tore up their agreement, saying they no longer had confidence in the government. However, they continue to support it. As for the Conservatives, they have long been saying that they no longer have confidence in the government. The Bloc Québécois was clear and set two conditions pertaining to sen…
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Mr. Speaker, the 12 days of action to end violence against women campaign is in full swing. People have had an opportunity to speak out. As for the debate, we would have had other opportunities to discuss our views on this important issue. My colleague just said that the work of the House has been shut down for months, but we finally have an agreement and we managed to end the impasse and restore …
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Mr. Speaker, the Bloc is well known for its pro-choice positions and support of feminist policies. We have done our committee work on this report. I have said it and I will say it again. Thanks to my colleague from Montarville, we have done our job. Our positions are known. What is happening now involves a procedural matter. This is not the first time I mention this, and we are also seeing this in…
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Mr. Speaker, this is a very sensitive subject. We are talking about resources and the federal withdrawal from health. There are concerns that we will not have the necessary resources. Is that because, over the years, successive federal governments have been decreasing their investments in health since the 1990s? The federal government did not agree to the 35% contribution that Quebec and the provi…
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Mr. Speaker, it is with great humility, sensitivity and heartfelt thoughts for all those who have lost a loved one to breast cancer that I rise today to speak to this report of the Standing Committee on Health. What is unusual is that the report is not even finished, even though the committee began drafting it last spring. I am deeply humbled to speak this evening because I have some big shoes to …
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Mr. Speaker, the Auditor General's report proves that the Liberals do not know what they are talking about when they say that seniors are so rich, they do not deserve support. The Auditor General showed that Ottawa is not collecting any data about whether its programs, such as old age security, are really meeting seniors' needs, and so it does not have that information now, nor will it in the futu…
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Mr. Speaker, again, according to the Auditor General, the federal government has no data it can use to determine whether its programs, like old age security, are meeting seniors' needs. It seems to know for certain that $3 billion for increasing seniors' pensions is too much. At the same time, this same government is telling us that $6 billion in election goodies is just fine. No party agrees with…
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Madam Speaker, I thank my colleague from Abitibi—Témiscamingue for his speech and for his perspective on this issue as a Quebecker. In his speech, my colleague clearly explained the problem with people appropriating government programs to get funds when those funds could have been given to people who really need them. I am looking over the report of the Standing Committee on the Status of Women on…
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Mr. Speaker, my colleague and I serve together on the Standing Committee on the Status of Women, and we have had the opportunity to work together for some time now. I will try to be brief. What bothers me today is that all these false indigenous identity claims are being used to obtain funds that could be going toward reconciliation efforts and nation-to-nation dialogue. As my colleague knows, stu…
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Mr. Speaker, 2024 marks the 30th anniversary of the Corporation de développement communautaire, or CDC, de la Haute‑Yamaska. Recently, 160 people gathered to celebrate the event. We must acknowledge the invaluable contributions that are made every day by the member organizations of the CDC de la Haute-Yamaska. Certificates of recognition were presented to the various member organizations as a than…
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Mr. Speaker, the government introduced its GST holiday bill and set aside the $250 cheques that it had promised to everyone except seniors and those who are struggling the most. It should take this opportunity to take a step back and seriously rethink its priorities. This government is prepared to spend $6 billion to buy votes, but it refuses to improve the old age security pension for seniors 65 …
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Mr. Speaker, it has become standard practice for this government to ignore seniors. The government believes it has done enough for seniors, so it is hanging them out to dry. Some seniors will not even benefit from the GST holiday for Christmas, because all their income already goes towards their basic needs. The government can do something. If it can give $250 to everyone just to show how generous…
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Mr. Speaker, that says a lot about Liberal values. As they see it, giving money to a couple earning $300,000 a year and giving nothing to seniors is fair and equitable. The Liberals see the Conservatives scoring political points without having any sense of social justice or solidarity with people who are struggling, so they decided they would copy that strategy, since it seems to be paying off. Th…
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Madam Speaker, I want to give a nod to my colleague. In his speech, he was comparing MPs to artists, but the examples that he gave were all American artists. If he wants, I can make him a list of francophone artists from Quebec of whom we can be very proud. Obviously, we could talk about Rémy Girard and Patrice Godin. I could name a lot of others like that. I would invite him to take a look at the…
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Madam Speaker, this evening we are debating a bill. As we, Bloc Québécois colleagues, talk to each other about our meetings with constituents in our ridings, we have come to realize that many people are angry about this. Even experts on the economy have said that it is a bad idea. In these inflationary times, the Bloc Québécois pointed out that it has long been calling for action to help the most …
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Madam Speaker, the Conservatives, the Liberals and the New Democrats do not understand the reality of Quebec. With regard to the dental plan, what I am hearing is that seniors did not know where to go, that people were confused, that dentists have changed their minds and that the money was given to a private company. The government could have done many things with that $6.3 billion, such as increa…
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Madam Speaker, I do not think that my colleague heard the rather unanimous comments from Quebec. I gave the point of view of community organizations, citizens and economic organizations. Everyone really is unanimous. Over the weekend, elected officials at the municipal and other levels of government told me that this measure is completely ridiculous. It excludes basic necessities and includes prod…
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Madam Speaker, I can see that neither the Liberals nor the Conservatives have a grasp of Quebec's reality. No one back home talks to me about the carbon tax. People talk to me about meaningful measures, like increasing old age security by 10% for seniors aged 65 to 74. Given the current economic uncertainty and the likely return of inflation, it is more important than ever to restore the purchasin…
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Mr. Speaker, according to FADOQ, the federal government is turning its back on retired people. FADOQ had already denounced the Liberals' refusal to provide equitable OAS to all seniors. Now that organization is furious that they are handing out $250 cheques to almost anyone earning a taxable income of up to $150,000 a year, except pensioners. There is not a penny for seniors, not even those who re…
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Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague from Terrebonne for her speech, but, at the same time, every time I hear this, I shudder. I am a bit shocked, actually. A few months ago, I replaced my colleague from Beauport—Limoilou on the Standing Committee on Government Operations and Estimates. The meeting was on hiring external consultants. This was around the time when we were seeing news reports about the…
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Mr. Speaker, today, the House of Commons started sitting at 11 a.m., as it does every Monday. Every Monday at 11 a.m., the Speaker of the House leaves his office and walks in a solemn parade to open the House so we can start the week's work. It is currently 3:30 p.m. The House has been open for four and a half hours now. That is not very long, but it was enough time for the Conservatives to paraly…
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Madam Speaker, I would like to go back to a particular aspect of my colleague's speech that caught my attention. If I understood correctly, he talked about problems at the border. If I am not mistaken, he cited the Eastern Townships region as an example. I represent a riding in the Eastern Townships. Here is another example of mismanagement. I have to say that the Liberal government is as much at …
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Madam Speaker, the discussion we are having this afternoon is very interesting. At the Standing Committee on the Status of Women, we carried out a study on women's economic empowerment. We are trying to find ways to help indigenous women take better control of their lives. However, we are seeing that there are many barriers related to this and other issues because of the Indian Act, which hinders …
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Madam Speaker, I want to bring us back to the matter at hand today. In my first question, I pointed out that the Standing Committee on the Status of Women often realizes that indigenous women and girls face certain difficulties. The issue of infrastructure and housing has come up repeatedly in our studies. My colleague, the member for Abitibi—Témiscamingue, and I had the opportunity to meet with r…
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Madam Speaker, we have been talking a lot about how infrastructure affects indigenous people and about the lack of infrastructure. We have talked about housing. We could talk about water and the economic impact on communities. Not only is the government not providing the right infrastructure, but there are also negative effects from resource extraction, for example. I am thinking of a study carrie…
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Mr. Speaker, as we stand in solidarity with American women, let us not forget the Iranian women who are fighting for their rights. Let us keep in our thoughts Ahou Daryaei, the new heroine of the resistance. When confronted by the morality police about wearing a veil, she shed her clothing in front of the misogynistic authorities with dignity, pride and courage before she was arrested. Her fate re…
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Madam Speaker, as I said earlier today, my riding is home to many SMEs, businesses and members of the Canadian Federation of Independent Business, or CFIB for short. I am in regular contact with the folks at CFIB, and they talk to me about fees and input costs for businesses and SMEs. These are some of their biggest concerns for the future, because with costs going up across the board, their input…
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Madam Speaker, I know that my colleague works hard at the Standing Committee on Industry and Technology to defend small businesses. Is this not another sign of Liberal incompetence? The government says it took action, but we now learn that there was no agreement and that it was actually just a unilateral, temporary, voluntary decision. All these words confirm that without a stricter law in place, …
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Mr. Speaker, I am going to be a bit biased here. There is a strong entrepreneurial spirit in the riding of Shefford. The Canadian Federation of Independent Business, or CFIB, often reminds me that a great many small and medium-size businesses and merchants in the riding of Shefford are members of the CFIB. I gave an interview on the subject last weekend. A certain journalist found the press releas…
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Madam Speaker, as the status of women critic, I want to draw attention to the presence of one more woman in the House at a time when people are worried about not maintaining women's 30% share in the next election. My feminist parliamentary group colleagues and I signed a letter calling for greater civility in the House. We must set an example. The current climate of highly polarized debates and po…
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Mr. Speaker, the Bloc Québécois is making October 29 its ultimatum on behalf of seniors. Their representatives are in Ottawa today to support our efforts. The FADOQ is here, and so is its Mauricie association. The Association québécoise de défense des droits des personnes retraitées et préretraitées, or AQDR, is here. The Association québécoise des retraités des secteurs public et parapublic, or A…
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Mr. Speaker, I thank the member for Beloeil—Chambly for his wonderful presentation on Bill C‑319. First of all, I would like to say that a young man in his twenties named Samuel Lévesque was the first person who asked me to take action for seniors and sign a petition to address this unacceptable inequality between seniors in the name of intergenerational equity. A few weeks ago, I went to the ridi…
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Mr. Speaker, as coincidence would have it, the Bloc Québécois's opposition day calling for a royal recommendation for Bill C‑319 happens to fall on October 1, the International Day of Older Persons. The bill aims to restore equality among all seniors and eliminate this gross unfairness. We have to recognize that people on fixed incomes are directly affected by inflation and need an increase in the…
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Madam Speaker, we are not keeping the government in power. We are not here to replace one government with another. We are here to get this bill passed. Also, there was no record to set straight. I have always said that there was a majority vote at second reading and that the Conservatives voted in favour of this bill. I thank them. This bill has already made its way through the House. After a majo…
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Mr. Speaker, on this International Day of Older Persons, the Bloc Québécois would also like to highlight the work of community organizations that support retirees. It is inexcusable that they are being denied funding from the age well at home program. It is inexcusable that the government is starving our organizations and depriving Quebec seniors of the money and services that are rightfully their…
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Madam Speaker, I want to begin by answering the member for Lac‑Saint‑Louis by paraphrasing what my colleague from LaSalle—Émard—Verdun said: True power is independence. I wanted to remind the member of that. I am not sure how to approach this issue any more, because, since we came to the House in 2019, the Bloc Québécois has been talking about the importance of equity among seniors and the importa…
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Madam Speaker, I would say this to my colleague. What is the retirement age, in the Liberals' view? Is it 65 or 75? We hear that some seniors have a harder time working. Not everyone can work. The retirement age was set at 65. It is a universal program. Creating two age categories and two separate amounts in a universal program is called a loophole and age discrimination. It is called ageism. Let …
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Madam Speaker, I thank my colleague for her question, which leads me to a final comment about senior women. During a press conference a while back, the Association féministe d'éducation et d'action sociale, or AFEAS, came out in support of the bill. At one time, women could not amass as much capital or prepare for a comfortable retirement. Those women are now between 65 and 74 and are practically …
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Mr. Speaker, if what the minister is saying were enough, FADOQ, AQRP, AQDR and many other groups would not be in Ottawa today. However, they are here to demand a 10% increase in OAS for seniors under the age of 74. All seniors deserve the same support when they are facing the same rising cost of living. Everyone understands that. They certainly do not deserve to be divided into two classes of citi…
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Madam Speaker, I request a recorded division.
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Madam Speaker, what does the minister have to say to the organizations in Argenteuil—La Petite-Nation that welcomed me this summer and that, without knowing why I was coming to see them, told me that they had told their member of Parliament that the idea of creating an OAS loophole made no sense? What does he have to say to the people from the Association québécoise des retraité(e)s des secteurs p…
Read full speech →Statements by Members
Mr. Speaker, in 2024, the Granby branch of the Association québécoise de défense des droits des personnes retraitées et préretraitées, or AQDR, is celebrating 40 years of fighting for the rights and dignity of seniors. The theme of the anniversary celebration was “40 years of struggle and commitment: working together for the rights and dignity of seniors”. It was an opportunity to reflect on the p…
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Mr. Speaker, I will try to make my question shorter. My colleague from Calgary Nose Hill talked a lot about the help that needs to be given to people who are finding the current climate a bit tough. Does she think that the oil companies need as many credits and as much financial support as they are currently getting from this government and got from the previous government?
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Mr. Speaker, that was not the question. The Liberals may not realize it, but October 29 is just around the corner. In the meantime, they can start today by showing seniors and the community organizations that assist them a sign of good faith. The Liberals can promise to reach an agreement with the Government of Quebec and stop withholding funds from the age well at home program. It is unacceptable…
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