Parliamentary Speeches
1,397 speeches by François-Philippe Champagne — Page 3 of 28
Government Orders
Madam Chair, I am so happy to have that line of questioning. I almost hope that time would stop for a minute, because honestly, I could go on and on. Let us talk about Volkswagen, one of the largest automakers when we landed the gigafactory. It is the largest gigafactory outside of Europe of Volkswagen. In which country did they decide to put it? It was in Canada. It is amazing that, for the first…
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Mr. Chair, it is a pleasure. I know the member knows the sector because she has New Flyer in her riding, which I am still looking forward to visiting because it is a great company, and it is also looking at electric buses. My colleague will be happy to learn we were very disciplined. The Chair will remember this because I know he took note at the time. We were talking about production subsidies. T…
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Mr. Chair, let me talk about Volkswagen for a minute. I can see the smile coming back on the member's face, because Volkswagen will be one of the largest industrial sites in North America. She should be celebrating. I am sure she likes St. Thomas and southwestern Ontario as well. This is going to be an investment that is generational. If she had been with us when we announced that in St. Thomas, s…
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Mr. Chair, I think everyone watching, particularly those in Oshawa and in southwestern Ontario, know that this minister and this government have been standing shoulder to shoulder with them. We can talk to the unions, the local union members, the industry partners and the manufacturers. We have stood with industry and workers every step of the way. When I started in my previous job as minister of …
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Mr. Chair, my colleague is asking questions about space. I think space is an important industry in Canada. I hope he is going to have many more questions. As a former minister responsible for the space agency, I will have a lot to say about that.
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Mr. Chair, I know that my colleague is an experienced member of the chamber. He is making allegations. It is not the first time that he has made allegations like this, but I think he should be careful in his line of questioning. At the same time, he should realize that the space industry is a great place to invest.
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Mr. Chair, the member went after the space industry. He went after a launch site. He is now going after Nova Scotia. I do not know where this is going to end, but one thing I can tell members is that I am going to stand with the people of Nova Scotia. I am going to stand with our astronauts. I am going to stand with the space industry. I will remind him that I am happy to put him in touch with ast…
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Mr. Chair, I am here to answer the questions from the member. What I find sad tonight is that there would be a way to celebrate the great success of our astronauts, the fact that we have launched a Canadian around the moon, the fact that we are investing in our space industry, the fact that we will have a launch site in Canada, and it is going to be part of the resilience of—
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Mr. Chair, I do not know why, when we do these exercises, we need to talk down industry, why we need to talk down Canadians, why we need to talk down what people are doing. Let us talk about the industry. This is an olive branch. I am happy to put him in touch with astronauts—
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Mr. Chair, it is refreshing to hear a colleague who was once a minister of finance talk to us about issues and real things. I think that the people of Laval must be very proud to hear my colleague share his experience. It is a great privilege to serve with a colleague who was once the finance minister of a great province like Quebec. I salute him and thank him for his economic statement. He is rig…
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Mr. Chair, it fills my heart with joy because, here in the House, we often hear the opposition criticizing the government, but when it comes to the International Monetary Fund, we know that it looks at global economies and offers an informed and impartial assessment. In that regard, it can be said that the International Monetary Fund has held up Canada as an example of a country with the strongest…
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Mr. Chair, even my Conservative colleagues should be applauding this evening. I know it is a bit late, but they still have enough energy to cheer on Canada and the resilience of our economy, our workers and our industries. It is a pleasure to build Canada strong together and to build the strongest economy in the G7.
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Mr. Chair, 30 seconds is not very long, because building Canada strong obviously requires a strong team Canada, a strong team of workers who will build this country. The sovereign wealth fund is a unique opportunity to build collective wealth, but in a very Canadian way, since it will enable ordinary people, that is, individual investors, to invest in and own part of this collective wealth that we…
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Mr. Chair, I am pleased to inform my colleague that I have complied with all legal requirements regarding this matter.
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Mr. Chair, as I said, I have complied with all the rules under the law. I will have the opportunity to testify before the Standing Committee on Access to Information, Privacy and Ethics in the coming weeks, and I will be happy to answer any questions my colleagues may have when I appear before the committee.
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Mr. Chair, I would like to quote an excerpt from the letter written by the Office of the Conflict of Interest and Ethics Commissioner on April 7, 2026: Alto is a Crown corporation accountable to Parliament through the Minister of Transport, and as Minister of Finance, you have no decision-making authority over matters of human resources at Alto; you do not have the opportunity to further the inter…
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Mr. Chair, allow me to finish quoting the letter, which says that “there is no risk of conflict of interest and that a screen is not required.” Those are the words of the Office of the Conflict of Interest and Ethics Commissioner. However, in the interest of integrity, I took it upon myself to proactively implement a screen. I will have the opportunity to explain myself before the Standing Committ…
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Mr. Chair, as I said, I followed all the rules required by law, and of course I complied with the screen that was put in place.
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Mr. Chair, as I said, I followed all the rules under the law and I complied with the screen that was put in place.
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Mr. Chair, allow me once again to quote from the letter for the benefit of my colleague. He is an experienced man. I think he is even a lawyer. It comes from the Office of the Conflict of Interest and Ethics Commissioner and it is dated April 7̓. It says that “there is no risk of conflict of interest and that a screen is not required.” In addition, I proactively put a screen in place to avoid any …
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Mr. Chair, I would like to quote those words again because all manner of allegations can be made in this House, but what matters is the truth. The truth is in a message sent on April 7, 2026, by the Office of the Conflict of Interest and Ethics Commissioner, which states, “Alto is a Crown corporation accountable to Parliament through the Minister of Transport, and as Minister of Finance, you have …
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Mr. Chair, I will continue my quote: “...you have no decision-making authority over matters of human resources at Alto; you do not have the opportunity to further the interest of any specific Alto employee”. I was also told that there is no risk of conflict of interest and that a screen is not required. That is what I was told by the Office of the Conflict of Interest and Ethics Commissioner.
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Mr. Chair, the letter in question was forwarded to the Office of the Conflict of Interest and Ethics Commissioner. As I said, I have complied with all the rules under the law. I will continue to do so, as I am required to do and as my colleagues in the House are required to do. We are all subject to the same rules here in the House.
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Mr. Chair, my colleague is an experienced man. He is a very talented parliamentarian, but he is making a lot of allegations. I know that his legal training should lead him to be cautious in what he says and in the allegations he makes against his colleagues, who are all honourable members of the House, as well as their families.
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Mr. Chair, I want to get back to this point because I have been a member of the House for 12 years. I believe that my colleague has been a member for over 10 years as well. We all deserve respect. We all have the right to treat each other honourably. I have conducted myself in an honourable manner. I am answering his questions. I told him that I complied with all the rules under the law and that I…
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Mr. Chair, as I said, we would have seed investments coming from the consolidated fund of Canada. Then, obviously, there will be other assets contributed and other investments made in the fund.
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Mr. Chair, I do not understand the nature of the question. If my colleague already has the answer, I do not see the point of asking. As he says, if the information is in the public domain, he will have the opportunity to obtain all the information he needs. We are here to answer any questions, but when it comes to questions involving information that is in the public domain, I believe my colleague…
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Mr. Chair, like all my colleagues here, in the years I have served in the House, I have always treated my colleagues with the utmost respect. I believe that all members of the House are entitled to the same respect. I have already stated on several occasions that I have complied with all the rules required by law. I will continue to do so, as I am required to do, and as all my colleagues in the Ho…
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Mr. Chair, my colleagues will see that the Government of Canada is making generational investments in infrastructure. The country needs modern infrastructure. That is why, in budget 2025, I presented a major infrastructure plan.
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Mr. Chair, based on the answers I gave earlier, my colleague will understand that these questions should be directed to the Minister of Transport, who is the minister responsible for this project.
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Mr. Chair, my colleague understands that, in a large country like Canada, we need to make generational investments in infrastructure. That is exactly what we presented in budget 2025. I think Canadians understand that if we want to build a resilient country, if we want to export, we need to build infrastructure across the country.
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Mr. Chair, not only am I answering my colleague, but I am giving him a generational answer, as my colleague said. That is a good way to put it. For consistency, with respect to the allegations made by my colleagues, he should direct that question to the minister responsible for the project. I am sure the minister responsible will be happy to answer his question.
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Mr. Chair, I am sure the member can appreciate that, if we are to be consistent with the questions and allegations raised by his colleague, this matter should be addressed to the minister responsible. I know that my colleague is honourable. He understands all the rules of the House. The minister responsible will be happy to provide all the answers my colleague is hoping to get. I will also be happ…
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Mr. Chair, as I said, it is important to get all the information necessary to do our due diligence. I think we are at a time when we need to modernize the way we manage public assets. This measure will allow us to get all the facts and provide a comprehensive analysis so we can make the best decisions in the interest of Canadians.
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Mr. Chair, we can see in my colleague's heart and voice, the passion he has for fishers and for their communities. I want to applaud him. I am sure the people he represents are very proud tonight. I want to thank all my colleagues who have shown up tonight to be here to do the important work of democracy, which is to be held to account. It is what I have been doing for hours, and I will continue t…
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Mr. Chair, this is a really good point. When I was in New Brunswick, I had the privilege of seeing the cold storage. I think it is at the Moncton airport that they have a very large facility. That is the kind of structural investment we need to make in this country. Yes, obviously we need to build infrastructure, but cold storage facilities, like the one I saw, are really making a difference. I wa…
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Mr. Chair, first of all, I want to thank my colleague for her question. She is a very experienced member of the House. I think what the numbers show is that the Canadian economy is far more resilient than people expected. Despite the nature of what we are seeing with respect to uncertainty in the world, Canadians are resilient. Canadian industries are resilient. Canadian workers are resilient. Tha…
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Mr. Chair, I have good news for my colleague. In fact, we have received a record level of investment. I think it is the highest number in the last 20 years. I can reassure her that wherever I go internationally, people value the stability, predictability and opportunities they see in Canada. At this time, the executive director of the International Energy Agency has said that energy architecture i…
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Mr. Chair, my colleague would be happy to know that Canada is seen as an energy superpower. We are attracting a record level of foreign direct investment. Investors around the world are looking for places that offer stability, predictability and the rule of law. I would say Canada stands out in this context, and we will continue to build Canada strong together.
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Mr. Chair, I would say that my colleague should be reassured by the generational investments we are making in infrastructure, housing, productivity and innovation, and the fact that we have the lowest marginal effective tax rate of all the G7 countries. New investments in Canada receive the lowest tax rate in the G7. We are building Canada strong.
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Mr. Chair, Canadians should take credit for being the country that has attracted the largest amount of foreign investment in the last 20 years. It is not about government. It is about workers. It is about industry. It is about this country. What we have been doing is building the conditions for Canada to stand out in the world. I would remind my colleague that if she looked at the uncertainty inde…
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Mr. Chair, I would say global investors see Canada as the place to invest. I would remind my colleague of the International Energy Agency, which mentioned that Canada is playing a big role in the new energy architecture. It is a good thing that Canada is seen as an energy superpower in conventional, renewable and nuclear energy. We are going to build Canada strong together.
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Mr. Chair, I would agree that we have put the conditions in place to attract investment in this country, and the numbers speak for themselves.
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Mr. Chair, my colleague will be pleased to know that the International Energy Agency and international commentators see Canada playing a bigger role when it comes to energy security around the world and that we have taken a number of measures to support the energy industry in this country.
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Mr. Chair, my colleague would know, because he is a very learned colleague, that the energy ecosystem is being redesigned in the world. Like I said, the crisis in the Middle East is calling for countries to redesign their energy ecosystems. That is what we have heard. In that context, Canada is being called on to play a bigger role in terms of energy security.
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Mr. Chair, it is certainly my view that we will see more investment in the energy sector in Canada. We can just look at the recent investment of Shell, which made one of its largest investments in Canada. We have also seen LNG Canada, which is one of the largest of its kind. There are a number of LNG projects that we are seeing, and more will be coming because people—
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Mr. Chair, I am happy to say that the foreign direct investment inflow in Canada in 2025 was $97 billion. Investors around the world see what Canada has to offer. We have one of the most educated workforces. We have very strong industry. We have critical minerals. We have energy, and we are the only country in the G7 with free trade with all other G7 nations. We have what we need to succeed.
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Mr. Chair, my colleague will have the opportunity to vote on legislation that would certainly help to build more in this country, and I think that is what we want to see. We are united in wanting to see more infrastructure and more investment in this country, and it is a great thing for international investors. Like I said, in 2025, FDI inflow was $97 billion. That is a record.
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Mr. Chair, I would invite my colleague to speak to global CEOs. He would be pleased to hear that they very much value investments in Canada. When I travel and speak to global CEOs, they see why Canada is the place to invest in. We just have to follow the dollars, and we are seeing large investments, like the one Shell made recently. They speak with their dollars.
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Mr. Chair, the global CEOs I talk to around the world, and there are many, value investments in Canada. They value predictability, stability and the rule of law. I just have to look at the recent investment of Shell as an example. It sees Canada as playing a big role as an energy superpower.
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