Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, a year ago, Canadians thought they were getting a new Liberal Prime Minister, but he is just like all the other Liberals we have seen over the past 10 years. Our investments are not doing well. Today, the C.D. Howe Institute is reporting that industrial investments are down: investment per worker is down 25%, investment in buildings is down by 32% and investment in machinery is down b…
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Mr. Speaker, in the last two months, 100,000 Canadians lost their jobs. That is the reality. While the government blames everything on Donald Trump, the reality is that this government could be taking direct action. Instead, what the government is doing for industry is increasing the Liberal industrial carbon tax. That is the truth. When investments go down, taxes go up. That makes no sense. It is…
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Mr. Speaker, this Prime Minister was elected a year ago on a promise that he would build the strongest economy in the G7. Here we are one year later, and things are still not on track. In the first two months of this year alone, 100,000 Canadians lost their job. Ours is the only G7 economy that is shrinking. We have had the highest spike in unemployment in the G7 and we have the worst food inflati…
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Mr. Speaker, I have bad news for the government, but especially for Canadians: The Liberals' policies are not working. There are 100,000 Canadians—100,000 men and women, 100,000 families—who have lost their jobs. That is the reality after 10 years of Liberal government and after one year of this new Prime Minister. He claims that this is happening all over the world. If the impacts are being felt …
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Mr. Speaker, I would like to remind my colleague that there is a big difference between a subsidy and a tax cut. A tax cut does not cost other taxpayers anything. When the government provides a subsidy, that means taking $2.3 billion of workers' money, which comes out of the pockets of workers who do not earn millions of dollars a year, and giving it away. The government is deciding who gets the m…
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Mr. Speaker, I listened carefully to my colleague's speech. I would like to thank him and congratulate him on his remarks. My colleague spoke about the true nature of Quebec. I would nevertheless like to remind him that, over the past year, the province consumed 20 billion litres of oil, which represents an increase of 2.1%. However, that is not the point I wanted to raise. Has my colleague, who d…
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Mr. Speaker, since my colleague pointed out what said in French, I will repeat it in English. Yes, I am an electric car user. I bought it two and a half years ago. It was a used car, so it was half the price, with no subsidies and no obligation. It answered my needs and it was okay. It is a free market. This is how it works in the real world for people. However, what we have seen is that the gover…
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Mr. Speaker, I want to say in English that the member is one of my political heroes. I want to inform this House and the people in Canada from coast to coast that this gentlemen balanced the budget in Quebec. That is great. I hope those who are opposing us now will listen, be very careful and get inspiration from the Liberal member. He is on the wrong team, because it is the team of the deficit. I…
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Mr. Speaker, I would like to inform the House that I will be sharing my time with my colleague from Windsor—Tecumseh—Lakeshore. As we begin this debate on the auto industry, my thoughts are with the 475 Paccar workers in Sainte-Thérèse who have lost their jobs over the past few months. That is 475 men and women and 475 families who have been directly affected by the collapse of Canada's auto indus…
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Mr. Speaker, I thank my hon. colleague, first and foremost for his passion to fight for Canadian workers in the auto industry. This is a great example that we shall follow each and every time we want to fight for an issue we believe in, as he is doing with auto workers. What we have seen in the last 10 years is that it is only the Liberals who let the car industry crash. In the last year, they did…
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Mr. Speaker, I welcome this question from my true friend and colleague from Kingston, because I am living proof that we can run an electric car on a daily basis without subsidies and without mandates. Yes, Conservatives like their electric cars. What we do not like is subsidies, because subsidies will have some movement inside the market. This is why the Liberals decided to take $2.3 billion of ta…
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Mr. Speaker, unfortunately, numbers do not lie, and the employment figures this morning are especially dismal. We learned that 108,000 Canadians lost their jobs in February. The fact is, 108,000 women, men and heads of households are now looking for work. In the private sector, 73,000 jobs were lost in February. This proves that after 10 years of Liberal governance, the Liberals' policies are not …
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Mr. Speaker, it is so easy to blame the United States. The reality is that Liberal bureaucracy and Liberal taxation are 100% in the hands of this government. It is worth noting that the Prime Minister got elected by saying that the tariffs would be lifted by July 21, that it would be over, but they are still here. We are a long way from elbows up. It is more like thumbs down from the White House. …
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Mr. Speaker, I understand that the Minister of Energy and Natural Resources has been in office for a year, but the minister who just answered that question has been here for 10 years. For 10 years, he and his fellow ministers have snubbed Canadian oil. We are now paying the price. All Canadians are paying the price. There is also food inflation. Sadly, Canada, a major G7 country, has the worst foo…
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Mr. Speaker, yesterday, the Minister of Energy and Natural Resources promised here in the House that Canada would do its part to help release oil reserves in order to stabilize the market. That is a good idea, but we have a bit of a problem: We do not have a strategic oil reserve, in part because for 10 years the fine people facing me right now have shown contempt for Canadian oil. Our party is pr…
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Madam Chair, I want to thank my colleague for always asking relevant questions. I was talking about Irwin Cotler earlier. I know that my colleague knows him well, that Mr. Cotler knows him too, that my colleague has a lot of respect for him and that Mr. Cotler has a lot of respect for him too. Mr. Cotler is currently being targeted by the tyrannical regime of the ayatollahs and by the regime in Te…
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Mr. Speaker, in 2016 in Laval, former mayor Vaillancourt was found guilty of stealing $7 million from the people of Laval. All that money was returned and is back in Laval. Guess what? This Liberal government is now asking the City of Laval to write a cheque for $1 million. Who is it for? It is for Mr. Vaillancourt. That is appalling. Not only were the people of Laval robbed once, but they are bei…
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Mr. Speaker, I want to commend Thomas Gerbet, the Radio-Canada journalist who made the situation public because the mayor of Laval had already spoken to the revenue minister who did nothing. The Minister of National Revenue should have followed the Government of Quebec's example. In 2016, a Quebec finance minister said, “For our government, this is a matter of fairness to the people of Laval who w…
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Madam Chair, absolutely, when diplomacy is done well, it works. It is no coincidence that Canada invented the concept of peacekeepers. However, we cannot rewrite history. We can write it, though. For 47 years, this tyrannical regime has been imposing its abhorrent dictatorship on a nation that does not deserve it. It is time to take action; there are clearly countries that feel directly threatened…
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Madam Chair, in Quebec and across Canada, people are wondering where the Prime Minister is. Where is the Prime Minister in this debate? Where is the Prime Minister in this arena that we call the House of Commons? Davos is all well and good. Travelling around the planet is all well and good. Visiting with the leaders of parties and countries is all well and good. This, however, is the reality. The …
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Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the leader of the Bloc Québécois for his remarks. They are always well thought out and well explained, with truly inspiring language, although sometimes I do not entirely agree or I really disagree with the leader of the Bloc Québécois. The leader of the Bloc Québécois pointed out that, unfortunately, for some, Davos is not the House of Commons and the House of Commons…
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Mr. Chair, pursuant to Standing Order 43(2)(a), I divide all Conservative caucus slots in two.
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Madam Chair, we have come together this evening to talk about the war currently in progress in the Middle East. My late father was a Second World War veteran. He was decorated with the Legion of Honour and wounded twice on the battlefield. He always told me that nothing was uglier in life than war. As a small child, I asked my mother, if war is so ugly, why did Dad go? My mother told me that my fa…
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Mr. Speaker, any time the Liberal government touches a major IT system, it is a disaster. Let me remind the House what happened with ArriveCAN. It was supposed to cost $80,000 and ended up costing $59.5 million. Now, with Cúram, the cost has ballooned from $1.6 billion to $6.6 billion. That is $5 billion more, and $5 billion down the drain. That is what the Liberals do. Why are the Liberals incapa…
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Mr. Speaker, these are 85,000 people, 85,000 seniors, who are among the most vulnerable in our society. These are people who live off their old age pension, and the minister knows it. Unfortunately, that minister said that the program is a success, and 85,000 people are still waiting. He said that it was just a few cases, but it is 85,000 people that are hurting. Why is the minister being so arrog…
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Mr. Speaker, I have a lot of respect for my colleague and he knows that very well. First, he is an example of an immigration success story, just like my parents. Second, for me, he is a hero of government finances in Quebec because he was the last minister to balance the budget. I hope he draws inspiration from his experiences when it comes to doing what needs to be done at the federal level. The …
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Madam Speaker, I would like to begin by sincerely thanking my colleague for her remarks, particularly when she recalled the unfortunate incident when she was accused of racism. I remember the situation very well. I could not believe what I was hearing, especially regarding the hon. member and our friend Alain Therrien. Such things must be avoided as much as possible. I still remember that we were …
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Mr. Speaker, I want to congratulate my colleague from Montmorency—Charlevoix on his first election and his first year as a member of Parliament. He is a great role model and an example to follow. I am particularly impressed by his work, but also by his passion for health, as we heard in his speech. I am in good health and can confirm that I look into all of his suggestions. My colleague talked abo…
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Mr. Speaker, this issue concerns 85,000 seniors in Canada who are currently having trouble with what is essentially their one and only source of income. That is the problem. This situation is affecting 85,000 people. Yesterday, the Minister of Transport said that there were only a few cases, but the number is 85,000. He said, “It is a success story”, but there are 85,000 cases. This is Liberal arr…
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Mr. Speaker, since my colleague stopped on his own, I will give him the opportunity to continue in a few moments. Like me, the member for Bourassa is a member from Quebec. As he knows, a few years ago, what became known as Roxham Road turned into a ordeal overnight. First, it is an ordeal for immigrants, but it is also an ordeal for those around the world who followed the rules and then learned th…
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Madam Speaker, my colleague's speech was, as always, very interesting and well researched. The issues are quite obvious for Quebec. It is clear that 40% of asylum seekers have come to Quebec, even though we represent only 22% of the population. Quebec is overburdened. In addition, in Quebec it can take 40 months before a case is processed, as my colleague so aptly mentioned. However, elsewhere, li…
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Mr. Speaker, the reality is that these people have been in government for 10 years and the public has spent 10 years being disappointed in the government's action or inaction on housing. What is coming down the pike does not look any better. The Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation predicts an 18% decline in housing starts. It is time to grab the bull by the horns. It is essential to come up wi…
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Mr. Speaker, one little-known aspect of the housing crisis is that it is having a direct impact on the birth rate. An article published today in La Presse clearly documents the unfortunate situation of couples who are putting off having kids until they can purchase a home. Louis-Philippe Beaulieu explained the situation clearly, saying he did not want his kids to have any less than he himself had …
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Mr. Speaker, I am very pleased to take part in this debate to clearly demonstrate that we need to take positive action to help the Canadian industry, which is currently in a critical situation. Unfortunately, this is nothing new. It is important to take the right approach, but we know that the government has adopted an approach that, in our opinion, is not the right one for the Canadian auto indus…
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Mr. Speaker, electric cars are undoubtedly part of the future of the automotive world. I am living proof of that. However, the government does not need to subsidize EV purchases, since people are able to buy them without subsidies. I am a living example of this. My car has 120,000 kilometres on it, and I have been driving it for two and a half years. As the member is well aware, I live in Quebec C…
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Mr. Speaker, as a scout, I am also always prepared. Fifty years ago, I was a founding cub of the 112th Château‑d'Eau scout group and my father was the first Bagheera. I am very proud of that. I must admit that the beginning of the member's intervention surprised me a little, but it is very important. Our proposal is twofold. First, the government must remove the GST, but it must also use its exist…
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Mr. Speaker, obviously it is wrong to have the mandate. If we oblige people to buy something, we will force problems with the industry. I am living proof that we can run electric cars without subsidies and without obligation, because I picked up a used car. When one buys a used car, it is half the price, and it is a good occasion right now to pick one up for half the price, with no obligation and …
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Mr. Speaker, the Liberal government has announced a $2.3-billion subsidy for electric vehicles, but that money will come from Canadian taxpayers. Does the government realize that American electric vehicles will in turn also be subsidized? Need I remind the government that we are currently in a terrible trade war because of Donald Trump and that, so far, Donald Trump's actions have cost 5,000 peopl…
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Mr. Speaker, the minister forgot one name in her litany of people who would agree with this: President Trump. Obviously, he and the American industry will benefit from this. If the minister really wants to help workers, help the industry and help Canadian families buy a car, why not take up our proposal to axe the GST on cars made in Canada? That is a concrete measure. That will get results.
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Mr. Speaker, there is nothing more essential than food. People cannot live if they do not have enough to eat. Sadly, though, Canadian families, all Canadian families, are facing the worst food inflation of any G7 country, at 6.2%. Inflation is twice as high as in the United States. Canadian food banks are overwhelmed. When will the government take concrete and effective action to really tackle inf…
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Mr. Speaker, we need measures that have an impact and produce concrete, long-term results, because the situation is getting worse. When I was doing my grocery shopping this weekend, the grocery store manager came up to talk to me. He was discouraged. He told me that moms and dads are now the ones stealing food. That is how bad things have gotten. The Retail Council of Canada has confirmed this, st…
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Mr. Speaker, even though the motion has nothing to do with this, I want to say one thing to the member for Québec Centre, whom I respect and admire. I think it is mutual, because we have always had a good relationship, and all the better. That said, they unfortunately got off on the wrong foot. Notices of consultation were hurriedly sent out for a process that began two days later. It is as though…
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Mr. Speaker, before I respond to the substance of the question, I would just like to commend my colleague for this extraordinary show of bilingualism and for her use of French. I really appreciate it. Everyone stands to gain when we speak both official languages. I do mean both official languages and not just one or the other because, obviously, both are equal, with neither one being above the oth…
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Mr. Speaker, God knows that we have some very serious grievances with our Bloc Québécois colleagues, and I understand that the feeling is mutual. I do not understand why they have grievances with us, but I certainly have grievances with them. The reality is that there are times when we can set partisanship aside because it is a matter of humanity. Yes, these people have suffered terribly; everyone…
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Mr. Speaker, let us be very clear. This government has taken some steps backwards and reversed many of Justin Trudeau's decisions. I invite the current Prime Minister to continue on that path. It is one thing to backtrack on the carbon tax. However, recognizing that an apology is in order for the people of Mirabel would make a difference. Indeed, he needs to do what the 23rd prime minister always …
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Mr. Speaker, it is with great pleasure and some emotion that I rise to take part in this debate today. We are debating a very important motion that deals with one of the tragedies in the history of Canada, which has affected and continues to affect hundreds of families and thousands of children and grandchildren of the farmers who were shortchanged. That is why I will be sharing my time with the m…
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Mr. Speaker, Canadians want real results. They are eager to see real results because Canada's economy has grown weaker during the Liberals' 10 years in office. That is the reality. Food inflation is affecting all Canadian families. It is the worst food inflation in the G7. The minister knows that. It is shameful. The Bank of Canada predicts that businesses will put off their expansion plans and in…
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Mr. Speaker, the prestigious firm Bloomberg is not mincing words. It is reporting that Canada's economy is on life support and the country is in a recession. It is not the Conservatives who are saying this, but rather Bloomberg. In fact, according to a Bloomberg article about housing in Canada, residential construction expenditures remained completely stagnant over the past year. Canadians deserve…
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Mr. Speaker, the forestry sector is very important to Quebec's economy. Some 57,000 people work in the forestry in Quebec. Unfortunately, the news is bad. A few days ago, we found out that Domtar is closing its Outardes sawmill on the north shore. In Amos, in Abitibi, 100 people will be losing their jobs at the Arbec plant. That is the reality today. We need positive and constructive measures that…
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Mr. Speaker, I would also like to tell the minister, whom I might call a friend, that, unfortunately, the policies are not working. Quebeckers want results, not just lip service. I would like to remind her that her Prime Minister said that he was going to fix the tariffs by July 21. The tariffs on wood are 45%. Are you looking for ideas? I have a few: reduce bureaucracy, eliminate anti-development…
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