Parliamentary Speeches
680 speeches by Claude DeBellefeuille — Page 12 of 14
Government Orders
Madam Speaker, I thank my colleague from Winnipeg North for his question. My speech seems to have angered him, and I am not really sure why. I can say one thing. I have been a manager before. If I am asked to organize long-term services and ensure that seniors are well taken care of in long-term care facilities, I know that there needs to be predictability. Planning, organizing and providing servi…
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Madam Speaker, I think the member knows my answer. We clearly know that the solution for supporting European countries is not to develop new pipelines to supply Europe. The war would likely be over before the pipelines could even be built. That is not a solution. Investing in carbon capture and storage is not a solution either. We really need to move into energy transition mode. We need to support…
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Madam Speaker, my colleague from Joliette has proposed countless solutions to curb tax avoidance. That fact that it is legal, in a G7 country like Canada, to hide money in tax havens to avoid paying taxes is a serious problem. It is being done in plain sight, for all to see. I therefore agree with my colleague that the government must listen to the recommendations made by my colleague from Joliett…
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Mr. Speaker, I am excited to rise today to congratulate Nicole Thauvette on winning the “Don Quichotte” award, which recognizes individuals who are working hard to build a better, fairer and more humane world. Nicole Thauvette, an amazing woman from Salaberry-de-Valleyfield, Quebec, embodies those goals. Nicole is a smart woman with an intrinsic drive to improve our community, one heart at a time.…
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Madam Speaker, I am not convinced by the argument about the basic premise of this bill. For example, in Quebec, we have a law that protects freedom of conscience for all professionals. Anyone who is a member of a professional association in Quebec has the opportunity to exercise their freedom of conscience and require it be respected. I am a social worker and a member of the professional associati…
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Mr. Speaker, as this is Meals on Wheels Week in Quebec, I want to take a moment to highlight the 50th anniversary of Popote roulante de Salaberry-de-Valleyfield. The organization was created on March 7, 1972, to support seniors who wish to remain at home as long as possible. The Sœurs de Notre-Dame du Bon-Conseil congregation, with the help of volunteers, was responsible for the very first home-de…
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Mr. Speaker, this week, Quebec is recognizing the professional contribution of social workers. Social workers put people first. They make it easier to access basic social services. They make the voices of the most vulnerable and overlooked members of our society heard. They innovate and make lasting improvements to society. They are true agents of change. We see what social work is really all abou…
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Mr. Speaker, perseverance, personal achievement and commitment are precisely what Mélodie Daoust, one of the greatest hockey players of all time, inspires. Passion can carry you far when you keep giving your best. Her recent third Olympic medal, her second gold, is a testament to her tireless work. Mélodie Daoust gets involved to remind people that women's hockey deserves to be played, to be seen,…
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Mr. Speaker, I feel like what we are currently listening to is not a debate, but rather a squabble between two parties that are unable to reach an agreement on such an important issue. The Bloc Québécois believes that it is important that the chair of this committee be as non‑partisan as possible and that both sides be represented, that is, those who voted in favour and those who voted against. We…
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Mr. Speaker, it is always a pleasure to listen to my colleague. He is so eloquent and intelligent and has a passion for literature, the great researchers and the great writers. My question is a little more down to earth. He also comes from a region, Jonquière, which is known as the Saguenay—Lac-Saint-Jean region. Could he explain how people living in sparsely populated, rural and remote areas stan…
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Mr. Speaker, on behalf of the Bloc Québécois members, I would like to salute parliamentary staff for their absolutely exceptional work over the past few days during these extraordinary sittings of the House. While police forces were in the streets putting an end to the siege of Parliament Hill, men and women here worked tirelessly so we could debate confirmation of the Emergencies Act. From the ca…
Read full speech →Orders of the Day
Mr. Speaker, I was listening carefully to my colleague's speech, and I have two questions for him. I did not hear him talk much about his position on the right to demonstrate. I would like him to clearly express whether he believes the right to demonstrate is important. In addition, Wellington Street in Ottawa has been cleared by law enforcement agencies that coordinated and worked together. Does …
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Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for her speech. I was pleasantly surprised that she did not affirmatively state that she would be supporting the governing party's use of this law and that she set out conditions for supporting it. I would like to know her opinion as a member of Parliament. Police have now removed the blockades at the border crossings. As of yesterday, Ottawa is practically free o…
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Madam Speaker, I wish to join my colleague from Manicouagan in thanking the police. I also want to take a moment today to thank the interpreters who have been providing service to us from 7 a.m. until late into the night since Thursday morning and will continue to do so until tomorrow, Monday. I want to recognize them and sincerely thank them. I am the 22nd Bloc Québécois member to speak about the…
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Madam Speaker, I thank my whip colleague for the question. This allows me to clarify that the people who were part of the convoy or the hundreds of people who occupied the streets did not all have the same message. They were not a monolithic group, but we seem to have forgotten that when we focused our attention on one group over another. Like my colleague, I have seen testimonials and I have spok…
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Madam Speaker, frankly, I am flabbergasted by my colleague's question. From what I understand, he is saying that the provinces did not do a damn thing and stood by while the situation got worse, and that the good old federal government had to come in to whip the troops into line and invoke special legislation to get them to do their jobs—
Read full speech →Orders of the Day
Madam Speaker, I am very sorry, but I think the member for Kingston and the Islands is running out of arguments. He has been here arguing for a long time. He is tired and is now taking things too far. All of the police forces came together, teamed up, joined forces and worked together. They are the ones who managed to push the protesters back, with support and coordination from their command centr…
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Madam Speaker, I am a little stunned to hear the minister admit so freely that she made a deal with the third party in opposition to adopt this closure motion on Bill C-12. In exchange, the government will move up payments to seniors who have been unfairly ripped off and had their GIS payments reduced. Is the minister now telling us that if there had been no deal, if the third party of opposition …
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Madam Speaker, I would like to inform you that I will be sharing my time with the brilliant, fantastic and magnificent member from Thérèse-De Blainville. I am happy to be able to discuss and debate the motion concerning Bill C-12 with my colleagues, because I have devoted my life to seniors since I was 23. I spent my career serving seniors, both providing home care in local community service centr…
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Madam Speaker, we now know that the Senate, whose participation in the process is required, will not be sitting this week, and that it was really not necessary to pass Bill C-12 under closure. I am convinced that the legislative process could have taken its normal course and that we could have managed to pass Bill C-12 without a closure motion this week if there had been good will and if we had wo…
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Madam Speaker, in a former life, I was the chief of staff to a minister. Every time we were asked to tighten the budget, IT infrastructure was cut because it has less of an impact in the short term. I do not know if that is why all infrastructure has been neglected. I have noticed this with EI sickness benefits and immigration. I know it is complicated, and I am not saying otherwise. However, I ca…
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Madam Speaker, I believe that the member and I agree that the government must increase seniors' monthly income and give them tax concessions that will let them work to make ends meet, pay their bills and socialize without being penalized by the taxman. The Bloc Québécois has made plenty of suggestions to help seniors contribute without being penalized. I believe that the solution is to increase ol…
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Madam Speaker, I would have liked my colleague, who delivered a very fine speech, to remind the House that the Bloc has also made proposals to support seniors, such as increasing the earnings ceiling for the GIS from $5,000 to $6,000 in order avoid penalizing seniors who want or have to work. Can she explain why this is so important?
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, after eight months of pressure, the government is finally admitting that cutting the guaranteed income supplement for the poorest working seniors was heartless. Now that the government has admitted that it made a mistake and that this mistake plunged seniors into poverty, there needs to be a quick solution. The deputy minister told us that IT problems are making it impossible for the …
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Mr. Speaker, a fault confessed is not half redressed when it keeps people from being able to put food on the table. These seniors have been making sacrifices for eight months. What makes my colleagues think that seniors would be reassured to hear that they still have months of hardship to go through because of an IT problem? As we saw during the pandemic, the government is capable of getting its c…
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Madam Speaker, congratulations to my colleague on her speech. She really underscored the urgent need to agree to the premiers' demands and properly fund the public health care system in Quebec and the provinces. Can she explain why it is so important to the Bloc Québécois that we go through the whole legislative process for Bill C‑10 even though the Bloc supports the bill?
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Mr. Speaker, the federal government must stop cutting the guaranteed income supplement for seniors who collected the Canada emergency response benefit. It is cruel to cut off money for those seniors who need it the most, those who have to keep working during retirement just to feed and house themselves. We know that the minister agrees with us about this, but why is she waiting until June to stop …
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Mr. Speaker, I hear the minister, but it is February and what she is saying will not be done until May and June. We know that the minister will introduce her bill, and we will support it. However, we want her to stop cutting the guaranteed income supplement, the GIS, for workers and seniors today. We have been waiting eight months for this. The problem is that she is still forcing these people to …
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Madam Speaker, I am very pleased to rise today. I would like to thank my colleague for her speech, because we in the Bloc Québécois have a terrific team. I will try not to repeat what she said, but I agree with everything she did say, which I support. I do not know if this has been done today, but I would still like to take the time to extend my condolences and sympathies to the 35,000 families wh…
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Madam Speaker, I thank my colleague for that question. I do not get the sense that the Prime Minister understands the urgency of the situation. This gives me an opportunity to explain to him that all of the provincial premiers are calling for a 35% increase in funding because it is not Dr. Tam or her team or the Public Health Agency of Canada that provides care in hospitals, long-term care facilit…
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Madam Speaker, I feel compelled to say that what has been happening on the Hill over the past two weeks shows a real lack of leadership from the Liberal government. I think that things are crystal clear. Mistakes were made. No crisis task force was put together in advance when it was known that the trucks were coming. A crisis task force should have been set up, and all the various stakeholders sh…
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Madam Speaker, I think that I understand the question that was coming. I think that we sometimes cut corners in our speeches, and I think that our colleagues opposite would have us believe that the Conservatives are demanding an immediate end to all measures as of February 28. That is petty politics. I think that today there was a great opportunity to say that it is time to work together, to join …
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, over the past eight months, the Prime Minister has reduced guaranteed income supplement payments for seniors who legitimately collected CERB. These are not wealthy seniors. They work part-time to pay for rent, groceries and prescriptions. It took months for the Prime Minister to realize that was wrong, and he is going to make it right—but not until May—and he is still going to cut ben…
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Mr. Speaker, seniors are suffering as a result of the cuts to the guaranteed income supplement. Some of them are going hungry, selling their possessions and even losing their homes. These people cannot wait until late spring for the federal bureaucratic machine to get moving. The Prime Minister proved with CERB that he can get cheques out quickly when he really wants to. If the Prime Minister was …
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Mr. Speaker, for the past eight months, the government has been making cuts to the guaranteed income supplement for seniors who received CERB. We are talking about seniors who have to work part time to pay for the basics, such as their rent or medication. This morning, after eight months, the government introduced a bill to right this wrong. Do my colleagues know when this bill will come into forc…
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Mr. Speaker, by the time this government stops making cuts to the guaranteed income supplement for seniors, the government will have been depriving them of the basic essentials for 11 months. During those 11 months, inflation had time to reach the highest levels in 30 years. For 11 months, seniors had to leave more and more food on the shelves at the grocery store because it is too expensive. Thei…
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Mr. Speaker, the interpreter is unable to do their job properly because the sound quality is poor.
Read full speech →Statements by Members
Mr. Speaker, some people are able to make a significant impact by channelling their remarkable commitment and determination. There are great women who have strong convictions and who strive to set an example. These are the kinds of people whose passion for a healthy planet can galvanize and inspire others. There are some people without whom our communities would not be as green, as beautiful, or a…
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Mr. Speaker, right now, the government is cutting the guaranteed income supplement for seniors who legitimately collected CERB. Some seniors are not filling their prescriptions or having a hard time paying the rent. This despite the fact that, in December, the government admitted its mistakes and announced it would compensate the victims of this injustice, though not until May 2022. Now that the g…
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Mr. Speaker, at this very moment, some seniors are having to cut back on groceries because the federal government has taken away their guaranteed income supplement. The people who get the GIS are not rich. They do not have a bunch of credit cards they can max out while they wait for the federal apparatus to give their money back. They make sacrifices every day and have been doing so for eight mont…
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
moved for leave to introduce Bill C-238, An Act respecting the French language. Mr. Speaker, it is with great pride that I introduce this bill, entitled an act respecting the French language. This bill will subject federally regulated businesses to the Charter of the French Language. Members will recall that Quebec workers, except those who are federally regulated, are entitled to all the protecti…
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
Madam Speaker, I thank my colleague. It is interesting and really quite something to listen to an expert in this field, an ethicist who is well known in Quebec, Canada and around the world. My question is quite simple. I am new to this field, but I think the process would have been more transparent if the government, whether it be the Minister of Health or his staff, had been clearer and more fort…
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
With regard to the funding granted in 2020 to United Way Centraide Canada, through the Emergency Community Support Fund, to increase response capacity and expand 211 service coverage to all Canadian residents, with said funding coming to an end on March 31, 2021: (a) what amount was spent to expand coverage of the 211 service across Quebec; and (b) how many referrals were made through the 211 serv…
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Mr. Speaker, experts expect food prices to rise by 7%. Meanwhile, Ottawa wants to cut back the guaranteed income supplement for 183,000 senior workers, many of them among the poorest seniors who received the Canada emergency response benefit. Grocery bills will be going way up, yet the government is clawing back an average of $3,500. In committee on Thursday, the Minister of Finance confirmed that…
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Mr. Speaker, the cost of groceries has increased 7%, but the income of seniors under the age of 75 has not increased at all because the government is denying them the old age security pension increase they deserve. This basically forces seniors, whose health is often fragile, to cut back on the food they buy. I know that the finance minister understands perfectly well that freezing the pension of …
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Mr. Speaker, 32 years ago today, Quebec bore witness to a femicide that left 14 students dead at Polytechnique. Against the background of the 18 femicides this year and the wave of shootings that have shaken Montreal, the lack of progress on gun control since this massacre took place is even more glaring. One Polytechnique survivor, Nathalie Provost, said, “It is a disaster. We are less protected …
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Mr. Speaker, according to the coordinator at PolyRemembers, “There is a weakening of gun control while we are witnessing an increase in femicides and several shootings.” Thirty-two years later, we are regressing instead of progressing. It is so discouraging. That is what the Polytechnique survivors are telling us today. We owe a debt to those women. What strong action will the Deputy Prime Ministe…
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Madam Speaker, I am pleased to congratulate my colleague. During the last Parliament we had the opportunity to work together as whips. I have a simple question. I would genuinely like to understand the reasons behind this decision to have a hybrid Parliament until June 23, 2022. As the government House leader knows, the House Administration and the technical support people would be able to reinsta…
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Madam Speaker, I thank the member for his speech. Something made me prick up my ears. I am a whip, I helped create the hybrid Parliament and I am going to say quite frankly that it is a temporary tool to get through a pandemic. I am hearing that telework is becoming more and more popular, that it is flexible and so on. Am I hearing that the government wants to change how Parliament works? That it …
Read full speech →Statements by Members
Mr. Speaker, when I say that I am proud to be the member for Salaberry—Suroît, it is because I have every reason to be. I have the honour of meeting exceptional people, including the most recent winner of the Coup de coeur des Agricultrices du Québec award. Pioneering, determined and innovative: That is how best to describe Nathalie Lacroix, co-owner of Petits Fruits St‑Louis in Saint‑Louis‑de‑Gon…
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