Parliamentary Speeches
2,337 speeches by Francis Scarpaleggia — Page 42 of 47
Government Orders
Madam Speaker, it is a fact that emissions are starting to decrease, but they would decrease faster if it were not for the oil and gas sector, the sector that is predominant in the member's province and the sector his party is tied to at the hip. There is no carbon tax. It is a price on carbon. Who said that? The Supreme Court said that. In its ruling on the Greenhouse Gas Pricing Pollution Act, i…
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Madam Speaker, it is true that inflation poses a challenge to Canadians. Food inflation poses a challenge to Canadians. However, study after study, rigorous analysis after rigorous analysis, by competent economists has shown that the contribution of the price of carbon pollution to food inflation is negligible. One figure that I read was that it contributes 0.15% to food inflation; that is to the …
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Madam Speaker, let me rephrase that. The Conservatives voted against the free trade agreement because it mentioned that Canada and Ukraine would work together to promote carbon pricing around the world. Ukraine has a carbon price. It needs a carbon price to get into the European economic union. I should have phrased that better. In fact, our own country needs a carbon price to trade internationall…
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Mr. Speaker, tourism drives economic growth in communities across the country. In 2022, tourism supported 1.9 million jobs in Canada. No other sector has such a massive economic impact in every region of the country. The federal tourism growth strategy highlights the opportunity we have here in Canada to attract more international events, such as conferences and conventions. Can the Minister of To…
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Madam Chair, I had the occasion to meet Brian Mulroney only once in my life, and it was just a few short years ago. I was attending the annual lunch of the St. Patrick's Society in Montreal around this time of year. It coincided with Brian Mulroney's 80th birthday, and he was the guest speaker that day at the luncheon. He regaled us with wonderful stories at the start of his speech for what seemed…
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Mr. Speaker, I am disappointed that unanimous consent was not given to table these very important documents, which are very revealing of how the previous government managed things. I am also shocked by the obvious cozy relationship that existed between the previous Conservative government and this firm, and the very lax contracting policies that left us documents with words such as “work unspecifi…
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Madam Speaker, we are proud of our Quebec businesses, which create jobs and support economic growth. The member for Chicoutimi—Le Fjord underscored the importance of funding Quebec businesses in parliamentary committee, and yet the Conservatives voted against our funding measures. Can the minister responsible for the Economic Development Agency of Canada for the Regions of Quebec tell us how our g…
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Madam Speaker, the member and I sat on the third edition of the special joint committee together. I know the member is a lawyer, and my question is really a legal one. I agree with the recommendation of the committee for an indefinite delay, but does he expect that this case will come up at the Supreme Court eventually? What does he think the reasoning of the court might be, given that the definit…
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Madam Speaker, as always, I appreciate the member's interventions, his insights and all that he brings to the table. I would agree with the member in that one of the sticking points for me in this process is the fact that the agenda, and this is undeniable, has been driven by the Senate. There is a big difference between government legislation and Senate legislation, and we are talking about a Sen…
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Mr. Speaker, in issues like this, there is always this tension between the right of the individual and the impacts that individual has on the “culture”, for lack of a better word, and on others in the society when exercising that right. This was brought up by one of the psychiatrists who appeared before the committee when he said that one of the concerns he has with MDSUMC is a possible contagion …
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Mr. Speaker, I am rising for the second time this week to speak to this issue. As I said at the beginning of my speech at second reading, I was so interested in this issue that I offered to sit on the Special Joint Committee on Medical Assistance in Dying when it dealt with the question of mental illness. I felt it was my duty to take part in a debate that is so important for our society. This is …
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Mr. Speaker, indeed, I should have used the correct term, “advance requests”, instead of “advance directives”. It seems to me that, during question period, the leader of the Bloc Québécois was just asking for an amendment to allow advance requests all of a sudden. Regardless of the government's timeline, I do not think the House is really ready to vote on this. Some members of the Special Joint Co…
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Mr. Speaker, I am concerned about it. I do not know what it means and there is much disagreement as to what it means. I would ask a question of the member, which I know he will not have to answer under the rules. Is he okay with track one MAID? A lot of the psychiatrists who went before the committee who were not in favour of MAID for mental disorders were in favour of track one and track two. I w…
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Mr. Speaker, that is a very difficult question. We all believe in personal autonomy and choice. However, as I said in my speech two days ago, sometimes I think that is becoming a bit of an ideology, where we do not recognize that, yes, we are individuals with free will and free choice, but we are born into families and communities. We are influenced not only by the opportunities that families and …
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Mr. Speaker, I joined the latest edition of the Special Joint Committee on Medical Assistance in Dying, which was mandated to deal specifically with the question of the health system's readiness for an extension of MAID to cases of severe mental illness, out of a sense of duty as this is a deeply serious matter for Canadian society, one on which I received correspondence from a great many concerne…
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Mr. Speaker, I do not have a crystal ball. I do not have a monopoly on the truth. As I said in my speech, I am not blessed by absolutism. I am torn by this issue as much as I think anyone in this House is. Even if we hide behind the certainties we put up as political parties, we still question ourselves and we are still torn by this issue. I do not know if we will ever be ready. What I was trying …
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Mr. Speaker, first, I want to congratulate my colleague on the thoughtfulness of his remarks. His speeches, his interventions, offer fresh perspectives. I learned a lot just from listening to him at meetings of the Special Joint Committee on Medical Assistance in Dying or even in the House. It is complex. As I was saying earlier, I am torn. The problem is that this becomes very subjective at some …
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Madam Speaker, I would tell them I would always vote for those kinds of supports, and I am very pleased we have passed Bill C-22 on creating a framework for an eventual disability benefit. It is excellent public policy and I am, quite frankly, hoping the next budget includes something more concrete on that around a figure of the kind of financial support people with disabilities can expect. Yes, t…
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Madam Speaker, I do not, because I am not in the Senate. Now that the Senate is on the other side of the street, it is a little harder to confer with the senators. I understand their position. They are generally for this extension. I would like to believe that they are also responsible, and they would not want to see a void open up after March 2024. Therefore, I expect and hope that they will do t…
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Madam Speaker, in fact, I do not know how to answer that question. We have seen that there is a subjective element. There are some who believe they would make the right call. I guess that confidence is at the root of the perspective they bring to the issue. I am not a medical doctor, much less a psychiatrist, so again, I do not have a definitive answer for the member.
Read full speech →Private Members' Business
Mr. Speaker, it is a pleasure to be able to close this debate on my bill at second reading. First of all, I would like to say how impressed I was by the quality of the speeches from both sides, by members from all parties present in the House this morning. I would also like to circle back to the comments made by my colleague, the member for Repentigny at the end of the first hour of debate, as wel…
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I would like a recorded vote please, Mr. Speaker.
Read full speech →Private Members' Business
Mr. Speaker, there is an elephant in the room, and there is a mouse, but we are talking about the same thing. The elephant is some people's desire to see a reform of Canada's electoral system that would bring it closer to what is known as proportional representation. What is happening is that the elephant is trying to hide by disguising itself as a mouse in the hopes of going unnoticed. Indeed, th…
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Mr. Speaker, before I begin my speech, I would like to point out that I believe there is an error in the wording of the motion. The motion calls on the Liberal government to cancel the April 1, 2024, carbon tax increase. However, there is no carbon tax. It is actually a price on pollution. I believe that both the House and Canadians are being misled on this issue. Why is it not a tax? For it to be…
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Mr. Speaker, my condolences to the hon. member on the loss of his constituent. I am glad that he took the opportunity to mention that. I am sure the constituent's family will appreciate that deeply. The member was just not listening. We do not deny that the price of food is high. We are just reminding the member and his party that it is not because of the price on carbon. There is a war in Ukraine…
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Mr. Speaker, unfortunately, I have not seen the report my colleague is talking about. The Liberal government is obviously not trying to eliminate fossil fuels. We are going to have to live with that for a while yet. Yes, there are clean energy sources. The member for Stormont—Dundas—South Glengarry was talking about green tidal energy. We have to invest, and the government is investing. There are …
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Mr. Speaker, the member is totally correct. There was an article on the CBC website last night about how Alberta farmers are very worried about the loss of groundwater. Therefore, at some point, the Alberta farmers are going to go to see the Alberta government and say, “Look, we have a problem here. We know that the oil industry is important in our province, but think of us for a change.”
Read full speech →Statements by Members
Mr. Speaker, at St. John Fisher Elementary School in Pointe-Claire, music is deep. The school is one of 13 schools to win the 2023 Canadian Music Class Challenge, a competition that salutes music education in Canada, sponsored by CBC Music in association with the music charity MusiCounts. St. John Fisher's grade 3 class, under the direction of music education specialist David Arless, claimed top p…
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Mr. Speaker, our children and all Canadians deserve a safe and responsible sport system that reflects our Canadian values of equality, fairness and inclusion. In other words, we need a system grounded in human rights, accountability, integrity and safety. On Monday, the Minister of Sport and Physical Activity announced important measures that prioritize keeping our kids safe and keeping safe sport…
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Mr. Speaker, I want to congratulate the nine students from Cégep John Abbott who have distinguished themselves by being the only students from North America to sit on the jury for the Prix Goncourt des lycéens. The Prix Goncourt des lycéens enables nearly 2,000 French students, with the exception of one cohort from abroad, to read and study a selection of novels that are in the running for the Gon…
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Madam Speaker, President Zelenskyy gets it, the Prime Minister gets it, the countries of the European Union get it and Milton Friedman got it. A price on carbon is not just good environmental policy that will be responsible for up to one-third of Canada's emission reductions by 2030, but it is also good trade policy, especially for a trading nation such as Canada. All member states of the European…
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Madam Speaker, I do not quite understand why it is a jurisdictional issue. I mean, we are talking about workers and transitions, and the potential loss of jobs, yet EI is run by the federal government. Also, in the past, I believe the federal government worked with stakeholders to create human resource councils in different industry sectors. Can the member clarify why some think this is a jurisdic…
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Mr. Speaker, when I speak to constituents about Parliament, they often focus on question period. They say that it is so chaotic that they lose faith in the system. I reassure them by saying that the real work in this place often gets done in committee; that is where amendments are proposed, and so on. However, I substituted for one meeting at committee, and it was an absolute circus. I would have …
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Madam Speaker, here we are having another debate on carbon pricing. It feels like the only thing we talk about here in the House is carbon pricing. Some claim that it is a “carbon tax”. I know all about taxes. Taxes generate revenues that the government pockets. In the case of the price on carbon, all revenues, all the funds generated are returned to individuals or, in some cases, to businesses to…
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Madam Speaker, the Bank of Canada has said that the price on carbon is not contributing in any significant way to food inflation. Now, I do not know, maybe the hon. member does not accept studies and analyses by the Bank of Canada as legitimate academic studies. I know his leader does not think much of the Bank of Canada and puts the blame of everything on the shoulders of the Bank of Canada. Ther…
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Madam Speaker, I find it unfortunate that some people appear to want to use tactics to draw partisan attention. These tactics can have consequences. That is what happened when two women senators were targeted. Unfortunately, some people react badly when they see things like that on social media. Fortunately, in this case, there were no serious consequences, but it could have encouraged angry peopl…
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Madam Speaker, this is another thing we have been hearing ad nauseam, which is the idea that there are Liberal senators in the Senate. I have been here for quite a while, and I remember, and the hon. member from Winnipeg remembers as well, when we decoupled from the Senate. Now the senators are appointed there by the Prime Minister because they are independent spirits. They are independent thinker…
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Mr. Speaker, across Canada, Canadians are struggling with the cost of housing. Unlike the Conservative leader's plan, we are making the investments necessary to get Canada building again, and it is working. Statistics Canada has reported that investment in multi-unit home construction is up over 8%, with all provinces reporting increases. However, we are not stopping there. The fall economic state…
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moved that Bill C-317, An Act to establish a national strategy respecting flood and drought forecasting, be read the second time and referred to a committee. Mr. Speaker, I believe that a key role of a legislator, especially when society is faced with a growing multiplicity of challenges, many of which require recourse to science to solve, is to act as a conduit, in essence a conduit for bringing …
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Mr. Speaker, I am sure Bob would be very pleased to hear the hon. member mention his long-standing friendship with him. The federal government has been investing in climate adaptation infrastructure, though one can always invest more, and it has recently released its climate adaptation strategy, which is a framework. I would be in favour of as much funding as possible to strengthen the resiliency …
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Mr. Speaker, my hon. colleague is absolutely right. There are various pieces of legislation. The Canadian Meteorological Centre is located off Highway 40 at Sources Boulevard on the West Island. Yes, there are programs in place, but they need to be better coordinated for greater benefit to the country. The purpose of the bill is to ensure that the existing elements are better aligned to increase t…
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Mr. Speaker, the point of the bill is to really require a strategy because, as the member knows, private members' bills cannot require the spending of money. The idea of a strategy is to create a plan or model for how we can move forward with flood forecasting. I believe the model should be based on the National Hydrological Service as opposed to the Meteorological Service of Canada because the Me…
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Mr. Speaker, we all sympathize with the additional challenges that people with disabilities face when they travel, particularly by plane. Recently, we have seen media reports of several cases involving the unacceptable treatment of people with disabilities who were travelling by plane, specifically with Air Canada. The Minister of Transport called a meeting with Air Canada to hear about its detail…
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Mr. Speaker, public policy is a science and an art that relies on both rigorous analysis and an acute sense of the possible. Today, graduate students from McGill's Max Bell School of Public Policy are on Parliament Hill to learn first-hand about government decision-making in a Westminster parliamentary system. They are accompanied by the program's founding director, Professor Christopher Ragan, on…
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Madam Speaker, I will be sharing my time with the member for Pontiac. I think immigrants are poems in Quebec. I will come back to that a little later. Quebec is a welcoming society, much more welcoming than its government's words and actions might sometimes imply. According to a Leger poll conducted in May 2023, which is consistent with the figures quoted by my hon. colleague earlier, roughly 20% …
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Madam Speaker, it is not about blaming the Government of Quebec, even though I think that the Quebec government could well adopt an attitude that is more in line with Gérald Godin's remarks. That is basically what I was trying to say. The article that I quoted was published in Le Devoir, not the Gazette. It was written by a Quebec academic, obviously. Incidentally, I attended a really nice show at…
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Madam Speaker, we must always try to do better, that is for sure. However, that shows how attractive Canada is around the world. It is one of the best countries in the world. It comes out in all the polls. It is clear that many people around the world would like to come to Canada and live in this country that offers so many good things to everyone, including its citizens and people who come to joi…
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Madam Speaker, the member for Laurentides—Labelle put her finger on one aspect of the problem, one resource that is fundamental, and that is to have a roof over our head. The federal government just signed an agreement with Quebec, for example, for monies for housing. Housing is fundamental, and that is why we have put in place a national housing strategy, which I think now totals almost $80 billi…
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
Mr. Speaker, I have the honour to present, in both official languages, the 10th report of the Standing Committee on Environment and Sustainable Development, entitled “Support for Clean Technologies in Canada to Reduce Domestic and International Greenhouse Gas Emissions”. Pursuant to Standing Order 109, the committee requests that the government table a comprehensive response to this report.
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Mr. Speaker, Canada is and always has been a trading nation. Our government's trade commissioner service is an unmatched network of over 1,000 business-savvy experts in 160 cities that helps businesses in my riding and across the country reach new markets. Can the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Export Promotion, International Trade and Economic Development update Canadians on how we ar…
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