Oral Questions
Madam Speaker, that is precisely why it is time that the Prime Minister assumed his responsibilities as head of the government. The government has been negotiating for 10 days and has nothing to show for it. It is time to change tactics, otherwise another 10 days will pass without any results. Ms. Hamel is disgusted, discouraged, angry and sad. She wrote to me about her poor child who was so eager…
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Madam Speaker, while the Prime Minister is living large in New York with his jet-setting lifestyle, Canadians are being impacted by the ongoing public service strike. In my riding, Ms. Hamel, a mother with a three-year-old, was planning a trip. Unfortunately, she did not receive the passport she needed in time, by a matter of hours. She wrote, “I cried, I asked to stay and wait, but I was thrown o…
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Mr. Speaker, as we speak, there is a Canadian in New York whom I know, whom everyone here knows, and he is out there living it up. Meanwhile, here at home, millions of Canadians are struggling. It is a very serious situation. Over the course of eight years, this government has increased the public service budget by more than 50%. At the same time, there is a general strike right now. It is incredi…
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Mr. Speaker, we do want to talk about the economy. Consider the $22 billion in additional spending. We want to talk about jobs. Consider the 150,000 workers currently on strike. That is Canada's reality under this Liberal government. I want to be fair. I want to give them credit for one thing. In their eight years in power, the Liberals have been unwaveringly consistent when it comes to flouting e…
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Madam Speaker, the late congressman Tip O'Neill said once that all politics is local politics. That is exactly what we heard in that fantastic speech from my colleague from Lethbridge, giving examples of real people with real problems created by the Liberal government. May I ask the member for Lethbridge to explain to us the impact of the Liberal carbon tax on the farmers in her riding?
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Mr. Speaker, it is always good when a member of Parliament talks about his riding on the national level and provides concrete examples. On the other hand, we need to recognize this budget that the member will support has no plan to get back to a balanced budget. We need to remember in 2015 this party was elected saying that there would be three small deficits, a $10-billion maximum and then a zero…
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Mr. Speaker, small and medium-sized businesses are the backbone of Canada's economy. Unlike the government, the men and women behind these businesses are in direct contact with Canadians and know how to run a company. Lo and behold, the Canadian Federation of Independent Business consulted over 4,300 business leaders, and the result is a scathing indictment of this government: 61% of Canadian busi…
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Mr. Speaker, the Liberal government has a talent for ballooning the credit card statements of every Canadian with its compulsive deficits. That same report is rather scathing for other reasons. Again, 4,300 small business leaders say that 40% of them will reduce investments, 45% will cut salaries, and 56% will increase the cost of products. This has a direct, meaningful and very tangible impact on…
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Mr. Speaker, I enjoy listening to my colleague from Joliette because he is very well versed in public finance. I congratulate him on his speech and thank him. I would also like to remind members that the member for Joliette and I were elected for the first time in 2015. He will remember that, in 2015, the members opposite got elected by saying that they would run three small deficits and balance t…
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Mr. Speaker, yesterday, after eight years, the Liberal government clearly demonstrated that the out-of-control spending is not over. We have a $43-billion deficit. That is $43 billion that we do not have. That is $43 billion that our children, grandchildren and great grandchildren will have to pay back. That is $43 billion that will contribute to inflation. Furthermore, taxes will increase on Satu…
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Mr. Speaker, almost exactly a year ago today, the Minister of Finance said, “We are absolutely determined that our debt-to-GDP ratio must continue to decline.” Today, the opposite is true. She said, “Our deficits must continue to be reduced.” Today, the opposite is true. She also said that the debt “must—and will—be paid down”, but the exact opposite is true. Will the finance minister rise from he…
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Mr. Speaker, after eight years of Liberal governance, Canadians have never been more taxed, and it is not over yet. Unfortunately, on Saturday, taxes on wine, spirits and beer will go up, as will the carbon tax. This does not bother the Prime Minister because it does not affect him personally. When the Prime Minister goes home to his riding in Montreal, he chooses the most polluting mode of transp…
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Mr. Speaker, sadly, we all remember when the Prime Minister stated that small and medium-sized businesses were a way for people to pay lower taxes. That is when the Prime Minister looked in the mirror. Real small business owners, however, have their hearts in the right place. When they see taxes going up, they are no longer able to provide the services they believe in. That is why, according to a …
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Mr. Speaker, on a completely different note, after that nice moment courtesy of my colleague from Alberta, I want to go back to the study I cited during question period. The study is from the Canadian Federation of Independent Business, and it is called “Fueling Unfairness: Carbon Pricing and Small Businesses”. I seek unanimous consent of the House to table it.
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
With regard to Medicago, Philip Morris International and the government's investments in Medicago: (a) what are the details of all memorandums, correspondence or briefing materials sent to or received by any minister, exempt staff, or government official in any department or agency in the Health portfolio or the Innovation, Science and Economic Development portfolio, since January 1, 2020, about M…
Read full speech →Private Members' Business
Mr. Speaker, I am very pleased to join this debate on Bill C-226, which was introduced by the leader of the Green Party. I believe she once again holds what I would call a historic title, one she deserves. She took a few breaks during her career and her party has taken a few breaks, but I think that everyone recognizes that the leader of the Green Party, the member from British Columbia, is the em…
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Mr. Speaker, this afternoon, Canadians are witnessing a government that refuses to set the record straight on very specific and troubling information. We will ask the question again, for the umpteenth time, to ensure that Canadians get clear and accurate information. When was the Prime Minister informed of the allegations reported by Global News yesterday to the effect that a Liberal MP wanted to …
Read full speech →Statements by Members
Mr. Speaker, for the past seven years, the Wendake community, which I have the honour of representing here in the House of Commons, has been working on an exciting project for first nations and the entire Quebec City area. It involves developing the National Defence land in Sainte‑Foy, which is located near Laurier Québec and the hospital. This project will create over 1,000 housing units, such as…
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With regard to expenditures related to the government's participation in the Conference of the Parties (COP27) in Egypt, in November 2022: what is the breakdown of the $1,077,126.40 spent on hotels and other accommodations, as referenced in the government's response to Order Paper question Q-1039, including (i) what hotels were used, (ii) how much was spent at each hotel, (iii) how many rooms were…
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Madam Speaker, I am pleased to repeat what I said earlier at the beginning of my speech. We do agree with the principle of the bill because it would open the door to the first nations, which is recommendation number 79 of the Crown commission that we had to address the issues of reconciliation with the first nations. Everything started when the Right Hon. Stephen Harper tabled official apologies t…
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Madam Speaker, I will be sharing my time with the member for Calgary Centre. I am very pleased to take part in this debate on a bill about which we agree on the principle, but where we still have some concerns about the wording and the powers granted directly to cabinet and which may, in our opinion, put our country on an unadvisable tangent. We have, then, the opportunity to delve into this furth…
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Madam Speaker, this is why we support recommendation number 79 from the Crown corporation's report on reconciliation with first nations, which was created by our former government. Yes, we do agree with that. I am very proud to raise that in my own riding I have a historic site, the parish of Notre-Dame-de-Lorette in Wendake, which is part of my riding. I welcome any other historic sites for recon…
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Madam Speaker, I have no authority to make any declarations other than to say that, yes, it would be a good idea. Since February 13, 1947, Alberta and other neighbouring provinces such as Saskatchewan have contributed substantially to the creation of wealth in this country, to say the least. Over $500 billion has been paid out in equalization to all provinces in Canada. Need I remind my hon. colle…
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Mr. Speaker, by interfering in Canada's electoral system, Beijing's Communist Party is subverting our democracy. As parliamentarians, all of us should be seized with this unacceptable affront. There is someone in Canada who knows full well what may have happened. She was in charge of the current Prime Minister's election campaign and is currently the Prime Minister's chief of staff. We want to hea…
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Madam Speaker, I very much appreciate the comments by my colleague from Trois-Rivières. His professional experience is very useful to us in this debate. Earlier he mentioned the rapporteur. I would like to come back to that. I think that all Canadians recognize that the person the Prime Minister appointed as rapporteur is a great Canadian who has had an admirable career and is well known for his c…
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Mr. Speaker, the minister is a seasoned parliamentarian and an honourable man. What does he have to say about the fact that his government members talked non-stop, while saying nothing at all, for over 20 hours to prevent democracy from working? The minister is a strong supporter of full and complete democracy, especially parliamentary democracy. The chief of staff, Ms. Telford, knows things that …
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Mr. Speaker, I was very pleased to hear my colleague, especially when he talked about the fact that we are attacking the institutions. There is a real road map, I would say, from the Liberal government, since it was elected, to attack our institutions. When this Liberal government was in trouble with the WE Charity, what did it do? Well, it prorogued the House. When it had the problem with the SNC…
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Madam Speaker, I would like to begin by thanking my colleague and congratulating him on his impeccable French on this International Day of La Francophonie. However, that is as far as I will go with my thanks and congratulations, because I have some thoughts I want to share with him. He is quite right in saying that we need to do our best to put partisanship aside when it comes to matters of integr…
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Madam Speaker, it is not just about housing. Food is another thing all Canadians need in order to survive. Like many residents of Loretteville, I will be taking food to the community fridge on Racine Street. There are many of us doing this. I can say one thing: The food does not stay on the shelves long because people need it. I would guess that this is happening in the parliamentary secretary's r…
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Madam Speaker, after eight years of Liberal governance, all Canadians are paying more for everything, especially the necessities of life. Take housing, for example. Renters are paying twice as much as they were eight years ago. Homeowners' mortgage rates have doubled in eight years. That is down to Liberal management. For eight years, the Liberals did absolutely nothing to control spending, and th…
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Madam Speaker, I am very happy to take part in this debate about how the Liberal government is taking excessive control over Canadians' choices. Let us not fool ourselves. This bill gives way, way too much power to the federal government, which wants to impose its vision on the choices Canadians make when they use the Internet to watch movies and documentaries and enjoy Canadian culture. The gover…
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Madam Speaker, I would remind the House that I myself worked at Radio-Canada. Our party's objective is not to take money away from the CBC, because it is important to us that the CBC have the means to continue doing what it does, which includes disseminating the French fact throughout Canada. What concerns us about this is that the government wants to exert control. We can see how it already wants…
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Madam Speaker, when it benefits them, as my colleague so aptly pointed out. What is really going on? While we, the Conservatives, stood up 20 times to ask the government to accommodate Quebec's request, the Bloc Québécois maintained radio silence. It is a fitting metaphor, since we are talking about the CRTC. It was radio silence, not a word. They were missing in action, nowhere to be found. Where…
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Madam Speaker, I salute my colleague. I worked with him previously, as we were both journalists. He worked for TVA and I worked for TQS. He had fewer viewers than I did, in Quebec of course. I should not have mentioned it because my friends at TVA will be upset with me, but we were number one when I worked at TQS. What the member said is quite true. However, I would like to remind him why we are s…
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Madam Speaker, it is really incredible to see that a representative of a political party that was taken to task three times in 20 hours by unanimous motions of the Quebec National Assembly actually has the nerve to lecture those of us who did our utmost to defend Quebec's desire to be heard by a parliamentary committee. Why did the member and his party not rise to ask exactly what we, the Conserva…
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Mr. Speaker, we know that this Liberal government likes to be in control. It clearly demonstrated that yesterday when it created a secret committee with secret hearings, secret evidence and secret findings. That is absolute control. This government is showing that same need for control with the CRTC act. However, there is one thing that this government cannot control, and that is Quebec's desire t…
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Mr. Speaker, we, the Conservatives, stand up for Quebec and the provinces. Last April, the Government of Quebec sent a letter to the Minister of Canadian Heritage. What did the Minister of Canadian Heritage do with that letter? He went into his office, looked around to ensure no one was there, lifted his pile of files and put the letter at the bottom. He did nothing for one year. With the collusio…
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Mr. Speaker, I encourage the government to be a bit more consistent. First my colleague says that we are filibustering, and then he says that we have done nothing, that we are asleep. It cannot be both. In any case, what we have done is neither one nor the other. We have done our parliamentary work. As we speak, the National Assembly of Quebec is asking to be heard by this government on Bill C‑11,…
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Mr. Speaker, I rise on a point of order. Earlier, during oral question period, in response to a question from my colleague, the member for Yellowhead, the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Tourism and Associate Minister of Finance and member for Outremont, who we appreciate very much, said that the Conservatives were talking about the carbon tax. I would like to point out that every time …
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Mr. Speaker, the Quebec National Assembly has twice asked to be heard by this government on Bill C-11. However, with the Bloc Québécois's support, co-operation and complicity, the feds just do the work by themselves. The government is maintaining its extremely centralizing, unilateral and heavy-handed position of giving the federal cabinet more powers to tell Quebeckers what the CRTC will let them…
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Mr. Speaker, if the leader of the Bloc Québécois and Liberal Party alliance thinks it is taking too long, perhaps he needs a reminder that it was his own government that called an unnecessary election, which delayed the bill. Even back then, the Bloc Québécois was not interested. I will ask my question again: Can the Bloc Québécois and Liberal Party minister stand in the House and give assurances …
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Mr. Speaker, if the member, or rather the leader of the Liberal-Bloc Québécois party, wants to talk about a caucus, he should maybe look in his own backyard. I am not sure everyone is going to be in the photo of his caucus. I am just throwing it out there. There might be more Bloc Québécois members than Liberals. The reality is that the minister likes to bicker with the Bloc Québécois. The Bloc is…
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Mr. Speaker, for over 10 months now, the alliance between the Bloc Québécois and the centralizing Liberal Party of Canada has scorned Quebec with respect to the bill on the CRTC. Ten months ago, the Quebec government asked to be heard. The Bloc-Liberal alliance refused to respond to that. The Quebec National Assembly voted unanimously on a motion to that effect just this week. There was even one a…
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Mr. Speaker, there is more than a consensus in Quebec; there is unanimity. The National Assembly voted unanimously to demand that this government hear what it has to say on Bill C‑11. We realize that members of the Bloc-Liberal alliance may not have read the bill carefully. Clause 7 gives greater power to cabinet to direct the CRTC. This centralizes power at the federal level, and the Bloc Québéco…
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Mr. Speaker, who would have thought? Not only is the Liberal government no longer bickering with the Bloc Québécois, but now it is bickering with the Government of Quebec at the National Assembly. That is not what it means to speak on behalf of Quebec. The fact is that Quebec is the home of the French fact. The Government of Quebec and the National Assembly want to be heard in parliamentary commit…
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Mr. Speaker, that is a debate for the provinces. It falls under the issue of health care funding, which, as we know, is a provincial responsibility. I will let the provincial legislatures debate the ongoing funding for medical assistance in dying, especially for palliative care.
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Mr. Speaker, in my life as a member of Parliament, and before that as a journalist, I have seen people with so much money and they had deep trouble with mental illness. Also, I have seen people with a huge family and a very tough life, because their income was not as good as expected, but they were happy, all together. Therefore, I do not think that we can put a price on mental illness.
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Mr. Speaker, yes, for once I can agree deeply with my colleague from Winnipeg North. As I said earlier, there are hundreds of good ways to attack an opponent. Let us please not take medical assistance in dying to address a political issue. For sure, we have to be very careful. This is why, when we talk about mental illness, it is very tough to trace the line exactly on what is good and what is wro…
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Mr. Speaker, I rise with great pride and emotion to take part once again in the debate on medical assistance in dying. I have had the privilege of being a member of Parliament for nearly eight years now. I was also a member of the Quebec National Assembly from 2008 to 2015. I, along with my colleague from Bourassa, am one of the few here who have participated in the debate on medical assistance in…
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