Parliamentary Speeches
1,014 speeches by François-Philippe Champagne — Page 19 of 21
Government Orders
Madam Speaker, as I was listening to the hon. member very carefully, I think he gave all the reasons we need to modernize the law on investment in Canada. A number of examples he mentioned would be addressed by this revamping of a law that was crafted in 2009, the last time we did that. I think I like it, because in a way he listed all the reasons we should be doing that. By providing more agility…
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Madam Speaker, I want to thank my colleague for his question. We are currently working to save the jobs, the technology and the intellectual property. That is the priority today. We are in problem-solving mode. Yesterday, I was in contact with the mayor of Quebec City and our colleagues in Quebec City. I was even in contact with the president of Mitsubishi in Japan. One thing is certain: We are in…
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Madam Speaker, I would like to remind my hon. colleague, for whom I have enormous respect, as he knows, that we were in “prevention mode” at the time. It is important to remember that, at the time, there was not enough scientific data to know what kind of vaccine was needed to fight COVID-19. Canada was one of the few countries in the world to invest in the various families of vaccines to ensure t…
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Madam Speaker, today was a great day for one of our Canadian champions. OpenText, one of the largest software companies in the world, made its debut on the NASDAQ today. Not only that, but for the first time in Canadian history, the bell of the NASDAQ was rung from Canada, from here in Ottawa. I would say to all Canadians and all members that if they know people who are employees of OpenText, it i…
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Madam Speaker, Canada's position is that the seabed and the marine environment require effective protection through rigorous regulatory structures, applying a precautionary ecosystem-based approach, using science-based and transparent management and ensuring effective compliance. As the situation evolves, our government will continue to work with scientists and will work with international partner…
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Mr. Speaker, I would like to say to all Canadians that we agree with the member. Enough is enough. That is why we took action. That is why, way back, I wrote to the Competition Bureau to ask them to investigate to make sure there were not any undue practices. I also spoke to the CEOs to tell them to do what is right to help Canadians at their time of need. We will continue to push them to lower pr…
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Mr. Speaker, the spectrum licence deployment requirements of Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada, or ISED, are based on the provision of wireless services to a percentage of the population in a given service area, known as tiers, at specific times throughout the term of the licence. These graduated deployment requirements facilitate timely deployment of services across the country …
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Mr. Speaker, the government remains in discussion with Telesat on a potential investment in the Lightspeed project. Completion of the government’s investment is dependent on Telesat satisfying a number of conditions, including Telesat successfully concluding agreements with other parties to fully finance the project. Accordingly, none of the government funds referenced in the agreement in principl…
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Mr. Speaker, the government remains in discussion with Telesat on a potential investment in the Lightspeed project. Completion of the government’s investment is dependent on Telesat satisfying a number of conditions, including Telesat successfully concluding agreements with other parties to fully finance the project. Accordingly, none of the government funds referenced in the agreement in principl…
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Mr. Speaker, the National Research Council Canada, NRC, the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada, NSERC, and the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada's, SSHRC, funding is proactively disclosed and published in the Open Government portal at https://search.open.canada.ca/en/gc/, one month after the end of each quarter of a fiscal year for data from 2017 to…
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Mr. Speaker, the Radiocommunication Act does not give the Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry the power to allocate auction payments for a particular purpose. As such, Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada does not keep auction revenues. They are remitted to the consolidated revenue fund, where they are used to support government priorities and initiatives that benefit Canad…
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Mr. Speaker, Statistics Canada does not publish location, facility or establishment-level information for the details of all known blending operations in Canada, nor the countries of origin of the renewable feedstock, nor information on the percentage of renewable fuel used in Canadian blending operations originated from each country. Statistics Canada publishes monthly aggregated statistics for C…
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Mr. Speaker, the following definitions and concepts are taken directly from the 2022 homicide survey user guide, which is distributed to and used by all police services in Canada to aid in the completion of the homicide survey questionnaire, for submission to the homicide survey at Statistics Canada. Further, these definitions are based directly on Criminal Code definitions. In response to part (a…
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Mr. Speaker, for part (a) of the question, letters were sent to households on the following dates to inform them of their eligibility: October 25, 2022, to families; September 29, 2022, to families; March 31, 2022, to families; March 25, 2022, to seniors; February 15, 2021, to families; February 1, 2021, to families; January 18, 2021, to families; December 19, 2019, to families; November 14, 2019,…
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Madam Speaker, we know that economic security is national security—
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Madam Speaker, I can see the enthusiasm on the other side for what we tabled just this week. As I was saying, we know that economic security is indeed national security, something that our colleagues raised this morning. Earlier this week, I was proud to table a bill that would amend the Investment Canada Act so that our government can act more decisively when it comes to foreign investments and n…
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Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for that important question. As he knows, Canada's research councils are independent from government. Canadians and Quebeckers tuning in today should know that our government has invested more in science than any other government, nearly $16 billion since coming to power. I think that is the right thing to do because we all agree that the best decisions are the on…
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Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank my colleague for his question. I think we all agree, as parliamentarians and as Canadians, that this contract should never have been signed. We all agree that national security is everyone's responsibility. We on this side of the House have always taken steps to deal with foreign interference. My hon. colleague will recall that just a few months ago we blocked th…
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Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for his question. We all agree on inclusion and diversity. That is certainly the directive that the research councils have been given. As my hon. colleague well knows, the criteria are determined by the research councils. What we are doing as the government is investing in science and in research chairs. I am sure that, as members of the House, we all want to fost…
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Mr. Speaker, there is one thing I would like to say. There is nothing more important than protecting the health and safety of Canadians, and that is what we did as a government. When we started in government, the fill-finish capacity at the beginning of COVID was around 30 million doses. Thanks to the investments we have attracted in this country, now we can produce and fill and finish more than 6…
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Mr. Speaker, we have attracted a record number of investments. In fact, Bloomberg ranked Canada second in the world for its battery ecosystem. More recently, while I was in Germany, we signed a renewed MOU with Volkswagen at a time when it said it was considering Canada for its first battery cell manufacturing plant in North America. This is good news for workers. This is good news for the economy…
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moved for leave to introduce Bill C-34, An Act to amend the Investment Canada Act. (Motions deemed adopted, bill read the first time and printed)
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Madam Speaker, my colleague probably noticed that just last week we announced in Canada the largest hydrogen plant in the world. This happened in Edmonton. The products of a $1.7-billion investment will make Edmonton, Alberta, the key place in North America when it comes to hydrogen. That is how we build the future.
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Madam Speaker, I would like to again remind my colleague what we did when the German chancellor was in Canada. Not only did we talk about hydrogen, which Canadians have seen on the east coast and across Canada, but we also signed two important things. We signed an MOU with Volkswagen and Mercedes-Benz to look at the future and how we can work more closely together with our German friends when it c…
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Madam Speaker, I want to thank my colleague for asking a very important question. I think that my colleague would agree that if there is a government that works well with the municipalities, including the Union des municipalités du Québec, it is the Liberal government. As the former minister of infrastructure, I can say that we have always been attuned to the needs and we understand the constructi…
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Madam Speaker, I think my colleague attended the same conference that I did. I did not get the same feedback he received, obviously, because I met with a thousand people who were there in the room, and we told the group what investments have been done by this government on science over the last few years. We agree with him we need to do more for our graduate students, scientists and researchers. W…
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Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for his question. This hon. colleague and everyone in the House should stand up for democracy. That is what we do every day by answering their questions. Politics have no place in a discussion about national security, protecting democracy and protecting our institutions. Every member of the House has the same responsibility to defend Canadian democracy every day. …
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Mr. Speaker, I thank the hon. member for his question. I have a great deal of respect for him, but I think that we need to stick to the facts on issues like this one. I think it is dangerous to politicize an issue like this. We are talking about democracy and about foreign interference. I would invite my colleagues opposite not to play politics on these matters, which are very important to all the…
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Mr. Speaker, we fully agree that transparency is required on an issue like this. However, I should point out to my colleague that neither side of the House will ever accept foreign interference in our democracy. All parliamentarians here agree on that point. We will act on it. I would urge every member of the House not to politicize an issue as fundamental as democracy in Canada.
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Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank my colleague for his important question. National security concerns all parliamentarians. It is not a political matter, it is a matter of national interest. That is why we recently implemented restrictions to protect our scientists and research in Canada and, more recently, we blocked three transactions to protect Canada's critical minerals. We take national secu…
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Mr. Speaker, it seems that my colleague was absent for a couple of months. There is nothing more important than ensuring the health and safety of Canadians. That is why we acted. We brought Moderna to Canada to produce vaccines. It was not for COVID-19 but for about 30 families of vaccines that Canadians would need, including for cancer. We have Sanofi investing in Toronto. We invested in Biovectr…
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Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank my colleague for raising such an important question. Nothing matters more to all parliamentarians than national security. My colleague wants to know what action we took. I can tell him that we recently strengthened the rules governing critical minerals across the country. In addition, I recently blocked three transactions to protect Canada's national security. I …
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Mr. Speaker, for part (a), Statistics Canada has limited information on the registration status of recovered firearms that are used in homicides. Statistics Canada is unable to provide a definitive answer on the exact number of homicides committed with registered firearms versus unregistered firearms. For parts (b) and (c), Statistics Canada does not have data on the legal registration status of f…
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Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank my hon. colleague for her thoughtfulness in this regard, because she understands, like I do, how important it is for society to move and to have modern privacy laws that would protect Canadians. This legislation is about giving more power and control to people over their data. With respect to the tribunal, in terms of procedural fairness, we have heard a lot. The…
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Mr. Speaker, I am always willing to listen. We have listened to a lot of people. This is about Canadians. It is not about us. It is about making sure that we have the best privacy laws that are fit for purpose in the 21st century. I invite my colleague and all members to send this to committee as quickly as we can, so that the real work can start. Parents are watching us as we speak this morning. …
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Mr. Speaker, I will answer quickly. First, I want to thank my colleague for all of the work she has done on this file. I also want to thank my parliamentary secretary, who does an outstanding job in committee. I strongly believe in the role of committees. My colleague is absolutely right. This legislation is the equivalent of the EU's General Data Protection Regulation, or GDPR, which is very well…
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Mr. Speaker, it is a pleasure to see you in the big chair. The answer to my hon. colleague's question is absolutely. There are parents listening to us at home today. The greatest gift we could give children is to refer Bill C-27 to a committee so that the questions my colleague raised can be properly studied. What she said in her introduction is correct. There are three simple things behind Bill C…
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Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank my hon. colleague for his question and also for his work. I expect him to be working with us, and there is a simple answer to his question. He will see, when it goes to committee, that the bill recognizes the right to privacy of individuals and their personal information. In a sense, the bill achieves the same goal. I think we are on the same page, and that is wh…
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Madam Speaker, it is a pleasure to be here with my colleagues this morning. Let me start where I left it before we paused for question period on a Friday. Another important component is knowing that companies are committed to the responsible development and deployment of artificial intelligence systems. This is why we have developed the artificial intelligence and data act. Ensuring strong legal p…
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Madam Speaker, obviously, if my colleagues will indulge me, I will continue, because there is so much to be said. I hear that they are clapping, which makes me proud that my colleagues have decided on a Friday to be here to support, attend and listen. I will try to go faster, as I know the House would like to hear from them. After the Digital Charter Implementation Act, 2020 was passed, we heard m…
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moved that Bill C-27, An Act to enact the Consumer Privacy Protection Act, the Personal Information and Data Protection Tribunal Act and the Artificial Intelligence and Data Act and to make consequential and related amendments to other Acts, be read the second time and referred to a committee. Madam Speaker, I thank my colleagues on the other side of the House for their enthusiasm this morning. I …
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Mr. Speaker, there is no point in bringing politics into this. Every member of the House wants to make life more affordable for Canadians. That is what we did. I remind my colleague of what I said earlier this week. Back in May, I wrote to the Competition Bureau to ask it to use all of the tools it has at its disposal to make sure that there are no unlawful practices in the grocery market in Canad…
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Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for the question. My colleague knows full well what we have done, and he does not need to politicize this issue. Everyone here in the House wants to make life more affordable for Canadians. My colleague knows full well that our interest in this is not new. I wrote to the Competition Bureau in May, asking it to do everything in its power to ensure that there are no…
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Mr. Speaker, there is no need to bring politics into something that concerns all Canadians. Everyone in the House wants to do their part to bring prices down for Canadians. I wrote to the Competition Bureau back in May of this year, asking it to use all the tools at its disposal to make sure that there were no unlawful practices in the market, and more recently I asked for an investigation. I spok…
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Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank my colleague for raising a very important issue. This is a matter that should concern every member of this House and all Canadians. As she said, the fact that families are struggling to feed not only their families but also kids is something that is of concern to all of us. That is why, back in May, I asked the Competition Bureau to look at the issue we are seein…
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Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for his important question. Obviously, we are all dealing with this issue. That is why, earlier this year, I asked the Competition Bureau to ensure that there are no unfair practices in the food industry. Recently I called for an inquiry to truly ensure that this was not happening. I have also asked different CEOs from major food chains in the country to do their …
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Mr. Speaker, we share the indignation of my colleague on the other side. Obviously, we all want to do our part to bring prices down for Canadians. The difference is that, on this side of the House, we take action to make that happen. The first thing I did was a few months ago. We asked the Competition Bureau to look at unlawful practices in a sector. More recently, which my colleague should rememb…
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Mr. Speaker, maybe my English is not so good, but one thing I said was that I spoke to the CEOs of the grocery chains in this country. I also spoke to the telcos to make sure that we would reduce prices for Canadians should this merger go forward. Beyond that, this is not a political issue. We are concerned. They are concerned. Every Canadian is concerned. What matters to Canadians is that we all …
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Mr. Speaker, we would all agree that our colleague is bringing forth an important issue. We are all seized with the fact that the price of food in this country has been increasing. That is why we took action. Earlier this year, I asked the Competition Bureau to look at whether there have been any unlawful practices in this country. More recently, I demanded that it start an investigation to make s…
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Mr. Speaker, everyone in the House is concerned about inflation and about the prices Canadians across the country are facing when they go grocery shopping. That is exactly why I called upon the leaders of these supermarkets and grocery chains across the nation to do their part to help Canadians. I called a number of them to say that we want to see action. In addition to that, I demanded that the C…
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