Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, I, too, would like to congratulate my colleague and friend who will also soon be celebrating 10 years in the House. We were elected at the same time on October 19, 2015, although he served as a member of the Quebec National Assembly before that, and I did not. I also want to thank him for his kind words about the history I gave on this bill. I try to learn as much as I can about the h…
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Mr. Speaker, it is no secret that this bill is a revival of a previous bill and a response to a ruling from the Ontario Superior Court dating from late 2023, which gave the government six months to comply. My question is as follows: Has the six-month deadline passed?
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Mr. Speaker, as I read Bill C-3, its purpose is to resolve this issue. It is not a question of being deserving or not. If the parents and grandparents were temporarily abroad at birth, it should—
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Madam Speaker, nothing has changed. The former minister came up with an $83-billion plan that essentially targeted the oil and gas industry. The striptease continues, and the statement comes up short on new details. For example, the government is now explaining how it plans to support hydrogen production from methane. It says that this is good for the environment. In truth, it is really about supp…
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Madam Speaker, the government is handing out election goodies by eliminating the GST for two months. This measure will benefit the wealthy when they go out to eat or buy alcohol. When the government presented this measure, we saw that it was a pre-election move that would benefit the wealthy and that it was not the right approach to take. That is the new measure set out in the economic statement. …
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Madam Speaker, I thank my colleague for his kind words, but I must correct the record. The mandate that my Bloc Québécois colleagues and I have was not given to us by the Conservative Party or by Conservative voters. We were all elected in our ridings to come here and be the voice of Quebec. Every time we stand up, we are thinking about the people in our ridings and in Quebec, whom we hold in our …
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Madam Speaker, today in the House, the government tabled the 2024 fall economic statement. Whose economic statement is it, exactly? Did the former finance minister, who announced her resignation this morning, draft it? I am not sure, because she chose to resign rather than endorse it. Is it the economic statement of the new finance minister, who was probably just sworn in moments ago and was the M…
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Mr. Speaker, I rise on the same point of order. I just spent the past few hours in camera analyzing the budget documents and preparing to speak in the House because there was an agreement allowing me to present my party's position. I analyzed the document with colleagues and with my entire team. We prepared our position to present in the House. At the very least, each party should be allowed to pr…
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Mr. Speaker, I will be very brief. We have just learned that the Minister of Labour and Seniors is invoking section 107 of the Canada Labour Code to force striking Canada Post workers to return to work. Does the hon. member believe that this government respects the rights of workers and union members?
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Mr. Speaker, if you seek it, I believe you will find unanimous consent to see the clock at 2:30 p.m.
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
Mr. Speaker, in his speech, the parliamentary secretary once again boasted about the merits of the GST holiday that the government adopted with a super closure motion and that we did not even get to study and analyze in committee. In our opinion, the GST holiday does more to help higher-income households. Suspending the GST on diapers and children's clothing is obviously a good measure. However, c…
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Madam Speaker, I would like to correct the record. In his speech, my colleague said that the Bloc Québécois is against farmers because we oppose Bill C‑234. Let us review the facts. The bill was studied in the Senate, which proposed an amendment. To speed up the process, we are prepared to accept the amendment and vote on the bill as is. That was what our agriculture critic said last January. Howe…
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Mr. Speaker, what a day it has been in the House. I have never seen anything like it. I believe if you seek it, you will find unanimous consent to see the clock as 3:00 p.m.
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The hon. deputy leader of the official opposition can continue his intervention and try to come back to the question of privilege being discussed here. Obviously a bit of latitude is always given by the Chair.
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Madam Speaker, I would like to come back to two specific points in my colleague's speech. She talked about the $250 cheque that would go out to those making up to $150,000 in net income, as she said. In Quebec, that is roughly equivalent to $270,000 a year. The government is going to go further into debt to send cheques to these people, and yet it is excluding people with no employment income, who…
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Madam Speaker, the GST holiday does not cover any of the major core expenses for low-income households who could have used some help this Christmas. At least there is a silver lining for lovers of fine wines. If anyone is buying a bottle of the legendary 1945 Romanée-Conti, which sells for over $700,000, the Liberals and NDP will take off $35,000. That is a lot of money. In fact, it is the median …
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The hon. member for Rosemont—La Petite-Patrie is rising on a point of order.
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Madam Speaker, the temporary GST pause helps everyone except the people who need help the most. Low-income households will not save a penny on food, because food is not taxable. They will not save a penny on their hydro bill, because hydro is not covered. They will not save a penny on their rent, phone bill or Internet. The measure does not cover any of their major core expenses. The Liberals and …
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I thank the hon. member. I want to remind all members rising to intervene on this question of privilege to try to go straight to the point, in other words to the points that were raised in this question. The deputy House leader of the official opposition.
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Mr. Speaker, that is not a good example since food is not taxed. The GST holiday also burdens our small businesses. It is nothing for Walmart, Best Buy and so on to pay to adapt their systems to remove the GST. Our small businesses do not have the means to lose thousands of dollars adapting their systems or dealing with the logistical nightmare of figuring out which product is still taxable or not…
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Mr. Speaker, the GST Christmas holiday is a $1.6‑billion gift to people who do not need it. It is a reward for spending money. It will not make much of a difference to low-income seniors, minimum-wage workers or families that receive Christmas hampers, but it will certainly benefit people who have reservations at fancy restaurants or who buy their New Year's Eve champagne by the case. How can the …
Read full speech →Government Orders
Madam Speaker, I will be sharing my time with my colleague and friend, the member for Shefford. Eliminating the goods and services tax, or GST, on diapers and children's clothing is great and should be made permanent. However, we have serious reservations when the government says it is going to eliminate the GST on champagne and fancy restaurants, where only the rich can afford to go. In fact, the…
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Madam Speaker, we cannot even study the bill in committee. We cannot even amend it. We cannot do anything. For example, seniors have been calling my office to talk about the fact that children's diapers will be tax-free, so why not seniors' diapers as well? This is no joke for these individuals. What they are asking for is not even in the measure, but a $100 bottle of champagne is. Now that is usi…
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Madam Speaker, if we include the cheque for $250, the gift from the government to buy people's votes, then this initiative is going to cost more than $6.5 billion. We have been asking the government to address the inequity among seniors with the old age security pension, but the government said that doing so would cost too much. It would cost $3 billion, or half of the amount we are talking about …
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Madam Speaker, first of all, the GST holiday for essentials is great. We have no problem with that. However, why design the measure to include $100 bottles of champagne and $500 restaurant bills? That is short-sighted, and it makes no sense. As for dental care, Quebec was already administering a public program. Now, the government is handing it over to the private sector, to Sun Life, for a total …
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That is clearly a point of debate. We will move on to questions and comments. The hon. member for Longueuil—Saint-Hubert.
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I am sorry to interrupt the hon. member. The hon. member for Edmonton Strathcona is rising on a point of order.
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The hon. parliamentary secretary to the government House leader is rising on a point of order.
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Order. I would ask members who do not have the floor to please show some decorum and respect, especially when the Chair is speaking. The hon. member for Spadina—Fort York.
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The hon. member for London—Fanshawe is rising on a point of order.
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The hon. parliamentary secretary, on a point of order.
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Since the time provided for debate has expired for today, the House will resume consideration of the privilege motion on Monday, November 25, at 11 a.m. Pursuant to Standing Order 94, I wish to inform hon. members that Private Members' Business will be suspended on that day. It being 2:30 p.m., the House stands adjourned until next Monday at 11 a.m. pursuant to Standing Order 24(1). (The House adj…
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We will look into what was said and discuss it if necessary. The hon. member for Saskatoon—University has 15 seconds to finish his answer.
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, that is not really consistent with the facts. Canada was once the 12th major tax haven in the world and this year, under this NDP-backed Liberal government, it ranks fifth. Worse still, Canada is one of eight countries causing actual harm by preventing the UN from developing a framework for international co-operation to crack down on tax havens. Not only is Canada's climbing the ranks…
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Mr. Speaker, to continue on the same topic, it is clear that the Liberal Party is trailing in the polls, so it is desperate. It is going into debt to send people cheques right before an election. They might actually receive the cheques in the first week of the election campaign. As some members might recall, Stephen Harper tried the same strategy in 2015, sending cheques to families in the summer …
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Mr. Speaker, according to the Tax Justice Network, Canada is now the world's fifth major tax haven for multinationals and the uber-wealthy. That means Canada is worse than Bermuda and the big Swiss banks. Every year, the federal government deprives us of $15 billion because of accounting schemes. In the meantime, it keeps telling us that paying fair old age pensions to all seniors costs too much. …
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Questions and comments, the hon. member for Louis‑Saint‑Laurent.
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The Table will look into this and the Chair will address the House if necessary. The hon. member for Edmonton Manning, to finish his answer.
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That is a point of debate. Colleagues, I would ask for a bit of decorum. The debate is getting pretty heated here. The hon. member for Longueuil—Saint-Hubert.
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Mr. Speaker, I have never seen anything like this. Parliament has been dealing solely with the question of privilege for the past month and a half, as my colleague pointed out in his speech. I was under the impression that the Conservatives wanted to trap the government by making Parliament dysfunctional. However, the fact that this has been dragging on for so long seems to suit the government. Th…
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Madam Speaker, I have a question for my colleague. For me, what is happening in the House right now is unprecedented. The House has been seized with this question of privilege for over a month and a half, and things are at a standstill. We know what the government needs to do to resolve this impasse. It can produce the documents, which the majority of elected members are asking it to do, or it can…
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The hon. member for Leeds—Grenville—Thousand Islands and Rideau Lakes on a point of order.
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After consulting with the table officers, I would ask each member to be measured and disciplined in the use of their words. If need be, we can come back and intervene, but for the time being, debates must be respectful. I invite the hon. parliamentary secretary to continue his speech.
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I am sorry to have to interrupt the hon. member. The hon. parliamentary secretary.
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The parliamentary secretary's point was understood. It is more a matter of debate. I therefore invite the hon. parliamentary secretary to continue his speech. He has 14 minutes left.
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I thank the parliamentary secretary. His intervention seems to be more a matter of debate. I invite all members, when rising on a point of order, to specify which standing order they are referring to. The hon. parliamentary secretary has 14 minutes to continue his speech.
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We will check. And the count having been taken: We have quorum. The hon. parliamentary secretary.
Read full speech →Statements by Members
Madam Speaker, November 15 is National Philanthropy Day. It is a day for us to celebrate the agents of change who make an important contribution to our communities. Their engagement makes the world a better place in so many ways. Over and over again, I am impressed by the positive impact that community organizations can have in our communities when given the means to get involved. I am thinking of…
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
Madam Speaker, the subject of the report in question is obviously interchange fees. What we are saying is that, in order to lower grocery prices, the government could take action by regulating the fees the companies are charging merchants. The gist of my speech is that the government is not taking action. The question that was just asked, which has nothing to do with the subject being debated, ref…
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