Statements by Members
Mr. Speaker, it is with immense pride that I rise to mark an exceptional occasion: the 100th anniversary of Premier Tech, based in Rivière-du-Loup. Premier Tech has forged a reputation for excellence with 100 years of history, determination and daring. The story began when the Bélanger family purchased a small business. It moved into horticulture with sphagnum peat moss and is now known for automa…
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Mr. Speaker, this government's policies have forced the Bank of Canada to increase the interest rate 10 times, with devastating effects. Here is the latest example. Approximately 20% of mortgages at the country's big banks are in negative amortization. What does that mean? It means that people's monthly payments are not enough to cover the interest. The unpaid interest is growing and being added t…
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Madam Speaker, the Bloc Québécois said it wanted to drastically increase the carbon tax. The Liberals got their wish. A second carbon tax now applies in Quebec. According to the Parliamentary Budget Officer, it will cost 17¢ more per litre. This Bloc-Liberal alliance is always looking for ways to take more money from Quebeckers' pockets. It is just ridiculous. Will the Prime Minister put an end to…
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Madam Speaker, the Bloc Québécois is scrambling to convince Quebeckers that the carbon tax will have no impact on Quebec. Nothing could be further from the truth. Everything that is transported from one province to another and ends up in our shops costs more because of this tax. Everything, including voting for the Bloc, costs more. After eight years of this government, many Quebeckers are being s…
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Mr. Speaker, after eight years of this government, our country is broken. Inflation is already hurting families, and food prices are expected to rise by 34% over the next two years. Repeated interest rate hikes have doubled mortgage payments. One in two Canadians lives paycheque to paycheque. What is the government's response? It is adamant about going ahead with its plan to increase the carbon ta…
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moved for leave to introduce Bill C-351, An Act to amend the Corrections and Conditional Release Act (maximum security offenders). Madam Speaker, I am proud to rise in the House today to introduce a private member's bill. Canadians were shocked to learn that Paul Bernardo, a dangerous criminal, had been transferred from a maximum-security prison to a medium-security prison. This bill amends the Co…
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Mr. Speaker, all of this is quite interesting. Historically speaking, since the time of Tommy Douglas right up to Thomas Mulcair, the NDP has supported time allocation motions only 14 times in 17 Parliaments. If we multiply 17 Parliaments by four years each, that is a lot of years. It averages out to 1.2 times per Parliament, which is very reasonable. Today marks the 37th time that the NDP has sup…
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Mr. Speaker, this Prime Minister is running deficits like there is no tomorrow and that has driven up inflation. Inflation prompted the Bank of Canada to raise interest rates nine times over the past year. Homeowners who are making mortgage payments know all about it. The International Monetary Fund has warned Canada: The country is at risk of defaulting on its payments. That is where we are. It i…
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Mr. Speaker, for the past eight years, this Prime Minister and this government have been spending recklessly, and this is having a devastating effect on Canadian families. Accumulated deficits drive up inflation. Everyone knows that. Inflation has led to higher interest rates. The Bank of Canada had to raise its key interest rate. The result is ever-higher mortgage payments. When will the Prime Mi…
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Madam Speaker, my response will be brief: absolutely.
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Madam Speaker, I am trying to think about the question I was just asked. As we speak, there is a Canadian political coalition. I did not draw up the deal, nor did I sign it. It is between the Liberals and the NDP. Perhaps my colleague should look in the mirror and figure out which party he belongs to. As far as I know, he is from the NDP. The question he just asked me has nothing to do with what w…
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Madam Speaker, I did not say whether I would support the bill or not. What we hope to do here this evening, as we have done since the beginning in committee, is to potentially improve this program and how it is implemented. We want to avoid using smoke and mirrors to fool Canadians without actually delivering what was promised. It is always the same thing. The best example is the one I gave earlie…
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Mr. Speaker, there are some good bakeries in my riding. Four years ago, I could still get a loaf of bread for less than $2. That was perfectly normal. I go grocery shopping regularly. I am also very pleased to tell my colleague that. In the past four, five or six years, I have seen prices skyrocketing, particularly in the past two years. The inflationary taxes that the government continues to impo…
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Mr. Speaker, we believe in the science of technology. It is actually surprising that the NDP and Bloc Québécois members do not want to believe in new technologies. It is as if we were going back in time. We only have to look at communications technologies, for example. We hold those in our hands every day. We did not have that 25 years ago. We were still sending letters by mail, as my colleague po…
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Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for his important question. The carbon tax was effectively put in place by the government to get people to change their behaviour. The people who pay this tax were to receive the equivalent amount in the form of a rebate. Obviously, that is not what is happening, because the math does not work. Furthermore, the government has had environmental targets in place to …
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Madam Speaker, we are here this evening to discuss Bill C‑35, or what the Liberals like to call the universal child care plan. In particular, we are talking about the report presented by the Standing Committee on Human Resources, Skills and Social Development and the Status of Persons with Disabilities, which studied this bill. One of the reasons the Conservatives are here is to ensure that parent…
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Mr. Speaker, if I am not mistaken, my colleague is an economist and has taught economics. As recently as February of this year, the Minister of Finance said that higher deficits would add fuel to the fire of inflation. That statement from the finance minister is the exact opposite of what she proposed in the last budget. Does my colleague think that makes sense? Does he believe that the government…
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Mr. Speaker, I am very pleased to rise today to share my thoughts on budget 2023, which is at report stage. This government, under this Prime Minister, who has turned out to be the biggest spender in history, has delivered a reckless, irresponsible and free-spending budget. It has upset the fiscal balance that Stephen Harper's Conservative government had managed to restore. Let us remember that in…
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Mr. Speaker, contrary to what the Liberals are saying, the carbon tax will have an impact on Quebec—we just have to talk to farmers and truckers. As if that were not enough, this government wants to add a second tax, a tax on a tax. That tax represents $436 per family per year in Quebec. Canadians are already struggling with rising interest rates and inflation. People are sick and tired of this. W…
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Madam Speaker, since the Prime Minister took office, violent crime has increased by 32%. As an aside, I would just like to remind the House that the Conservative government lowered the crime rate by 23%. This situation is a direct result of this Liberal government's soft-on-crime policies. It is incredibly easy for criminals to get out on bail. Will the Prime Minister finally get the message and m…
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Madam Speaker, I would just like to say to my colleague that we are not in government, and, unlike them, we do not use speech writers.
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Madam Speaker, I thank my colleagues for the debate that we are having this evening on Bill C-21 and that we will likely continue tomorrow. I want to approach this issue from a completely different angle, from my perspective as a hunter. I have been a proud hunter since the age of 15 and I am 61 years old now. I started hunting with my brother Pierre. He is the one who introduced me to hunting, pa…
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Madam Speaker, the member's condescension is totally unacceptable. Political parties raising funds in connection with various issues is routine. The Liberals do the same thing, as a matter of fact. There is absolutely nothing wrong with that. Of course Conservatives want to protect the public, but this is about taking aim at the right targets, so to speak. The truth is, hunters, sport shooters and…
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Madam Speaker, the member made a joke, so I will make one too. Good jokes always carry a deeper truth. We see how the Bloc Québécois positions itself: It no longer wants people to go hunting. No, it is not true. In fact, I will respond to my colleague anyway. I could almost quote what her colleague from Rivière-du-Nord said when the amendments were proposed last fall. He said that he could not hav…
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Madam Speaker, my colleague talked about the head office of a federation in his riding that represents hunters from all over Quebec. There are obviously other associations across Canada that do the same thing, and all of these associations have a very specific goal. My colleague talked about their goals and objectives in his speech. I do not know whether my colleague is a hunter, but since he is f…
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Mr. Chair, the reality is that, after the minister spent all of that money on his plan for housing in Canada, 32% fewer homes will be built in the coming year. Could the minister explain why there will be 32% fewer homes built after he spent $92 billion?
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Mr. Chair, I am a very patient person. I think I am a smart enough man to ask questions that I consider intelligent. I have a very simple question for the minister. How many federal buildings and property are available for conversion to social housing?
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Hell, Mr. Chair, am I being naive? I asked him a simple question.
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Mr. Chair, once again, the minister is taking us for fools for asking him simple questions that I believe are intelligent enough to be answered intelligently. Instead of accusing us of all kinds of nonsense, he really should try to answer the questions we ask him. How many federal government buildings and properties would be available for social housing in Canada now? Can he give us a simple answe…
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Mr. Chair, how many federal government buildings are available for social housing in Canada?
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Mr. Chair, I will repeat my question. Has the target for the number of houses that were planned to be built with the money spent in his 10-year plan been achieved?
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Mr. Chair, I have a very simple question. I hope that the minister will have the number for us. How much of the money allocated under his 10-year plan has been spent to date? How many houses were expected to be built with the money that was spent? How many houses will be built in the coming years?
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Mr. Chair, I am going to take a slightly different tack. All evening, the minister has been saying that we are asking ridiculous questions. However, he has not answered any of the questions that he has been asked since the evening began. I am going to ask him a very simple one. After spending $92 billion on his housing plan, does he think that he knows more than everyone else?
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Mr. Speaker, Canadians cannot take it anymore. We have said it over and over in many different ways. They are fed up. What is this Prime Minister doing? He is planning to increase the carbon tax again. Contrary to what he says, it will have an impact across Canada, including in Quebec. Quebec is not separate from the rest of the country, it is part of it. Everyone will inevitably be affected. This…
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Mr. Speaker, to answer the last question my colleague asked, because he asked several, yes, a Conservative government would review the act, likely within 10 years. We believe that a central agency is absolutely fundamental to managing official languages in this country. Our leader, the member for Carleton, has said very clearly that the act is not strong enough and does not go far enough and, most…
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Mr. Speaker, I want to congratulate my colleague, with whom I sit as a member of the Standing Committee on Official Languages, as well as all the parties who worked on Bill C‑13 in committee. The committee members worked for some time on studying the bill. I sincerely think that my colleague did extraordinary work and that we did everything we could to improve this bill, unlike the coalition betwe…
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Mr. Speaker, during the process, at the last minute, less than 12 hours before a meeting of the Standing Committee on Official Languages, we were presented with a series of amendments proposed by the Government of Quebec, so we were able to speed up the bill's passage, because it was about Quebec's demands. Once again, it was a game of ping-pong between the two ministers, one in Quebec and one in …
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Mr. Speaker, Canadians are stretched to the limit. They are struggling to get by. They are at the end of their rope, they are fed up and they cannot take any more. Meanwhile, this government is digging in its heels and taking even more money out of their pockets and off their paycheques. It is continuing with its plan to increase the price of gas, groceries and housing. The people in my riding tal…
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Mr. Speaker, I would like to ask my friend a question. There was a consensus within the Canadian francophonie about setting up a central agency in charge of overseeing enforcement of the act within Treasury Board. Everyone was in agreement. Unfortunately, the Liberals rejected this option in multiple ways. Still, it would have been the best approach. Having two authorities in charge of oversight d…
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Mr. Speaker, ever since this Prime Minister came to power, everything costs more. A family of four will have to hand over $1,065 more for food. One in five Canadians is skipping meals, and more and more people are turning to food banks. What is this Prime Minister doing? He is making things worse by increasing the carbon tax. Contrary to what he is saying, this increase has an impact across the co…
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Madam Speaker, last Saturday was the seventh edition of the spaghetti dinner fundraiser in Montmagny. This charity event, organized by Enfants d'cœur, finally made a comeback after a forced three-year break. The evening was a resounding success. In total, 1,356 tickets were sold and over $17,000 was raised. The proceeds from the dinner will go towards supporting the foundation's primary mission, w…
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Madam Speaker, Canadians in our big cities are feeling less and less safe on the streets and when taking public transportation. The Prime Minister's soft-on-crime policies are to blame. Violent offenders are back out on the streets the same day they are arrested and others are serving their sentence from the comfort of their living room instead of in prison. Will the Prime Minister and his governm…
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Mr. Speaker, since the Prime Minister took office, violent crime has increased by 32% and crime related to street gangs has jumped by 92%. Sex offenders can serve their sentences in the comfort of their own homes while watching Netflix. Together with police forces, we are calling for tougher legislation so criminals go to prison rather than staying at home. Instead of gallivanting around the world…
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Mr. Speaker, at a time when inflation is eating away at more and more taxpayers' paycheques, families are being forced to pay $1,000 more each year to put food on the table, and mortgage payments are doubling, causing untold stress for Canadians, the Prime Minister sees nothing wrong with taking a luxury vacation to Jamaica. Can he at least tell us how much he paid out of his own pocket for his lu…
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Mr. Speaker, 24% of Canadians say that they cannot take a vacation this summer because of inflation. They are definitely not impressed when they see their Prime Minister vacationing in a Jamaican paradise at taxpayers' expense. The average Canadian dares not even dream of such luxury. This Prime Minister is so used to living on another planet that he does not even realize how this is perceived by …
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Mr. Speaker, I must lower the member's expectations. I am far from being appointed minister. We are far from that. Actually, only one person can do that in a government, and that is the Prime Minister himself. The member is right to say that the Prime Minister is waiting. We hope he will not be waiting too long. The future Prime Minister of Canada is sitting on this side of the House. He was once …
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Mr. Speaker, I want to begin by saying that I will be sharing my time with my colleague from Mission—Matsqui—Fraser Canyon. He told me that his was the most beautiful riding in Canada. I am sorry to tell him that mine is the most beautiful. Sadly for him he represents the second most beautiful riding. This morning I have the pleasure to rise to speak to the report of the Standing Committee on Indu…
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Mr. Speaker, I understand my colleague's question, that the pandemic had a global impact on the industry. The impact in Canada is even greater. The Canadian industry is so developed that we are not only supplying aircraft to Canadian companies such as Air Canada, WestJet and others, but we are selling aircraft, and aircraft engines and parts around the world. Obviously there was an impact. My coll…
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Mr. Speaker, since this Prime Minister took office, the average cost of mortgage payments has doubled in this country. Worse yet, because of the successive increases in interest rates, the cost of interest on mortgage payments was up by 26.4% in March compared to February. It is the largest increase ever recorded. Canadians continue to go into debt and have to give up their dream of home ownership…
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Madam Speaker, today the Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry announced the merger of Rogers and Shaw, communications companies, which forces Videotron, another company involved in the transaction, to lower its prices in Quebec. However, the other companies involved in this transaction were not forced to lower their wireless prices. Why?
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