Government Orders
I thank the hon. member. I spent the last 30 seconds motioning for him to conclude his remarks. He will have time to answer a brief 30-second question. The hon. member for Desnethé-Missinippi-Churchill River.
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Unfortunately, I must interrupt the hon. member for Saanich—Gulf Islands. I need to allow time for the answer. The hon. member for Nunavut.
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Mr. Speaker, yesterday, the government voted against a simple request: a plan for an eventual return to a balanced budget. A plan is not too much to ask. We are not asking the government to cut services to balance the budget. We are just asking for a plan. Everyone knows the first part of the quote from Émile de Girardin: “Governing means planning ahead”. However, he then adds, “and he who does no…
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I thank my hon. colleague for his comments. After verifying with the table officer, this is a point of debate. The hon. member or his colleagues will have the opportunity to participate in the debate. Without further delay, the hon. member for Repentigny has the floor to answer the question.
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Before moving on to the answer, the hon. member for Calgary Centre is rising on a point of order. The hon. member for Calgary Centre.
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I must respectfully interrupt my hon. colleague. In the Speaker's opinion, the member for Calgary Centre's remarks are a point of debate in the House. He will have an opportunity to take part in the debate and ask his questions. Did I misunderstand? Does the hon. member for Calgary Centre want to clarify his remarks?
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Mr. Speaker, I was upset to see the minister remain seated when my colleague asked her question about the terrible matter of exploited foreign workers. It reminded me of comments by columnist Emmanuelle Latraverse, who said that the minister should get busy reforming the immigration system instead of sending out tweets. She also said that he never misses an occasion to be a troll on X, formerly Tw…
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Madam Speaker, the Bloc Québécois will support Bill C‑56, but, as it has said, we need to go much further than the bill does. Currently, when the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation, or CMHC, manages a parcel of land, it must sell it at the going market price. To my understanding, the minister has the power to authorize the CMHC to give away the land or sell it at a lower price. Can the minist…
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Mr. Speaker, the member from the governing party just reminded us that the government has reinvested in housing. However, the federal government prefers the concept of affordable housing over that of social housing, which includes co-operatives. For us, the concept of affordable housing is vague, which means that the money earmarked for it is often not used to build affordable housing. Would my ho…
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Mr. Speaker, I would first like to pay my respects to my colleague, whose personal accounts were very moving. Our hearts go out to Anton's family. As we know, Bill C-314 amends the Criminal Code to provide that a mental disorder is not a grievous and irremediable medical condition for which a person could receive medical assistance in dying. The Bloc Québécois supports access to medical assistance…
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Madam Speaker, can the government confirm that this bill includes respect for jurisdictions and that the way Quebec deals with labour will be respected as well? Did the government think about that when it drafted Bill C‑50? Can my colleague confirm that?
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Madam Speaker, I would first like to thank and congratulate my hon. colleague, the member for Repentigny, for the quality of her substantive speech, as well as for the quality of her answers. When the Conservative member did not like my colleague's answer, she heckled her throughout. However, my colleague maintained her focus and answered frankly. I take my hat off to her.
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Madam Speaker, I thank my colleague, with whom I have the honour of serving on the Standing Committee on Finance. When we were debating—
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Mr. Speaker, three years ago today, Quebec witnessed the death of Joyce Echaquan, a 37-year-old Atikamekw woman—a wife, a mother of seven, beloved, irreplaceable. The shocking circumstances of her death brought to light the racism she experienced in hospital, which led to devastating consequences. The resulting shockwave raised awareness about the urgent need to combat this racism by establishing …
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Madam Speaker, let me start over. I thank my friend and colleague, with whom I have the honour of serving on the Standing Committee on Finance. The Conservative member for Bellechasse—Les Etchemins—Lévis was very critical of the carbon tax that was allegedly charged on a propane bill in Quebec. In doing so, it was not the federal carbon tax she was criticizing, but a policy of the Quebec governmen…
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Madam Speaker, I would like to thank the hon. member for her question, which she asked in French. I congratulate her. It means a great deal to me. The problem is being stuck in the 20th century with a 20th-century economy. The money going to prop up the oil industry should be used for the transition. We must not let workers in Alberta down. We must support them in transitioning to the sectors of t…
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Madam Speaker, my colleagues are applauding me because I am announcing that I will be sharing my time with the member for La Prairie, who is also my esteemed House leader. Populism is proposing simplistic solutions to complex problems in order to pander to the population's most basic instincts. Today's motion is a good example of that. After giving an accurate picture of inflation, household debt …
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Madam Speaker, for a skilled worker wanting to work in Quebec, the wait time is 20 months. Whoever needs a passport might as well bring a lawn chair to the Service Canada offices because that is where they might end up taking their vacation. Whoever has a passport and by some misfortune has been shortchanged by the airline, after waiting forever at the airport because the flight was cancelled or a…
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Madam Speaker, a few years ago, the pandemic happened and the economy shut down. The House was unanimous in stating that we needed to implement protective measures and safeguards. That came at the cost of significant debt. There was a consensus in the House about that. Since then, the spending has continued, however, and that is concerning. What concerns the Bloc Québécois in particular is the int…
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Madam Speaker, I thank and commend the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of National Revenue. It was an immense pleasure and privilege to work with him at the Standing Committee on Finance. He is doing great work in his new job. We do not agree with every argument presented in the motion. What we find there is disingenuous. The motion asks that “the House call on the government to table a pl…
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Before we go to questions and comments, I would like to remind the hon. member that he cannot be disrespectful towards the Chair, even sarcastically. The member for Edmonton—Strathcona.
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The member for Lac-Saint-Jean knows full well that he cannot name sitting members of the House and that he needs to refer to them by their title.
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Mr. Speaker, I thank the hon. member for her speech. Her passion and commitment on this issue are very clear. I would like to better understand her position. I understand that this bill is not really perfect. My colleague from Lac-Saint-Jean said that it was a compromise. I understood from the member's speech that the bill's approach goes completely against the spirit of international development.…
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Madam Speaker, the intrepid member for Jonquière just joked that I should have said no myself. I am going to run out of time for my speech. On July 6, 2013, 47 people died as a result of a train derailment involving 72 tank cars carrying crude oil. This tragic event reminds us of the significant risks associated with this activity. The industry needs to be better regulated. With regard to this tra…
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Madam Speaker, I seek the consent of the House to share my time with the intrepid member for Jonquière.
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Mr. Speaker, I thank my hon. colleague, the member for Yukon, which is an amazing place. I would like to hear what he thinks about the implementation of this bill, which will support subsidized child care. The member spoke at length about the rural nature of his riding. How can we ensure that this program serves both the city of Whitehorse and the more remote communities equally?
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Mr. Speaker, my hon. colleague raised a number of important issues. I would like to hear his thoughts on some of those issues. He talked about the labour shortage. Is it not true that low-cost child care that enables more women to remain in the workforce does more to reduce the labour shortage than expensive child care that encourages women to stay at home with their children? When a parent stays …
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Madam Speaker, I thank my hon. colleague for his speech. Here is what I understand from his speech and the beginning of his last answer. He does not approve of a government urging people to make greater use of child care services rather than looking to other options, such as keeping children at home with a family member. Is he saying that, if a government provides some kind of support, it should b…
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Madam Speaker, economist Pierre Fortin studied Quebec's early learning centres. He found that subsidized child care centres were self-funding in the sense that they resulted in more women remaining in the workforce, earning income and paying income tax. Their income tax exceeded the cost associated with this measure. What does my hon. colleague think about that?
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Madam Speaker, one element of my hon. colleague's speech caught my attention and that is the issue of jurisdiction. We know that one compromise of a federation is equally sovereign levels of government, each with its own areas of jurisdiction. However, what we have seen in recent years, with increasing frequency, is Ottawa interfering in the provinces' areas of jurisdiction. Social services and ch…
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Madam Speaker, I thank my intrepid colleague for yet another excellent speech. I would like to hear more from him about the importance of logistics and access to railcars for the forestry sector. He talked about Chantiers Chibougamau, for example, which is doing excellent work. Of course, our thoughts are with them. When railcars are not available and they have to get materials out—by truck, I sup…
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Madam Speaker, transporting oil by rail is very risky. The problem with pipelines is that they do not replace rail transportation to the pipeline. They actually increase transportation capacity. Pipelines are therefore risky too and do not do away with rail transport. The overall risk goes up. That is very concerning. The government must make the safety of its citizens its top priority.
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Madam Speaker, I thank my colleague for his comment, which was absolutely warranted. I see the same thing in my riding, in the city of Joliette. Obviously, there is no port, but there are rail lines. In any of the federally regulated sectors, companies do not feel accountable to local elected officials, the ones closest to home, the ones who represent us best. They are the ones on the ground, the …
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Madam Speaker, obviously, the Bloc Québécois members support Bill C‑33, and we want it to go to committee so it can be properly studied. Obviously, we feel it is taking a long time. This summer will mark 10 years since the Lac-Mégantic tragedy. Trains are getting longer and heavier. This is a self-regulating industry that is primarily concerned with serving its shareholders and turning a profit. T…
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Mr. Speaker, I would like to begin by congratulating the hon. member for Elmwood—Transcona on his important motion and on the very compelling speech he just delivered. Accountability is important. We need to limit the concentration of power, and I think this motion contributes to that. We know that concentrating power almost systematically leads to abuse. My question for my colleague is about the …
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Mr. Speaker, I thank and I congratulate my friend and colleague from La Pointe-de-l'Île for all the work he is doing to defend and promote French in the House within our party, but also for all the work he has done all his life with various organizations. He has made this his life's mission, and I salute and thank him for it. Bill C-13 contains some good measures for Acadians and francophones outs…
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Mr. Speaker, first of all, I would like to thank my esteemed colleague and friend, the hon. member for Shefford, for all the work she has done in defending the rights of seniors in the House of Commons during this Parliament. No other member in the House defends seniors' rights as much as my honourable and esteemed colleague from Shefford, especially not the parliamentary secretary, even though it…
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Madam Speaker, again, I thank my colleague from Mirabel for his comments. Yes, indeed, we have two levels of government. Because the decisions made here in Ottawa are not consistent with the values held by our distinct society, we have developed a sort of half-state that is more responsive to our needs. Meanwhile, half the taxes we pay come here. Sometimes these funds are spent in useful ways, but…
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Madam Speaker, I thank my hon. colleague from Lévis—Lotbinière. I completely agree with him. There is far too much paperwork. The departments do not communicate with each other. We need to do a lot more than what is set out in Bill S‑6. Bill S‑6 helps a little bit, but there is still a lot of work to be done after that. One thing that the Bloc Québécois keeps bringing up and that I think the Conse…
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Madam Speaker, the discussion we just heard was very moving, and I congratulate both my colleagues. My question is about the delays. Bill S-6 was announced in 2018, and, in 2023, it has only reached second reading stage. We know that there was a pandemic and that this government takes its time, but what does my hon. colleague think about that? Are such long delays acceptable?
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Madam Speaker, over the past few days, my area has had significant rainfall. As a result, numerous rivers are overflowing and there is major flooding, damage and all sorts of issues. Many houses are flooded. People in my riding have lost a lot. Many roads were cut off and are still not passable. A number of communities are isolated. It is a sad state of affairs, and I am deeply distressed. My thou…
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Madam Speaker, I seek the consent of the House to share my time with my unique and extraordinary colleague from Abitibi—Témiscamingue.
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Madam Speaker, Canada is lagging behind when it comes to dealing with tax evasion and tax avoidance. In the United States, the equivalent of the Canada Revenue Agency, or the IRS, has taken legal action. There have been criminal judgments and sentences have been imposed. This has never been done in Canada for tax evasion. More needs to be done. The government says it has more means. Now, we are go…
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Madam Speaker, I thank my colleague and friend from Mirabel for the question. The minister came to committee and told us that she did not want to get involved in this, that she considered the Canada Revenue Agency to be independent. However, Mr. Lareau, a global tax expert, came to committee and told us that the minister was the only person in the country who had the power to launch an investigati…
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Madam Speaker, I would first ask for the consent of the House to share my time with my friend, the one and only member for Abitibi—Témiscamingue.
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Madam Speaker, during the first part of my speech, in March, I spoke in favour of this bill. It is a good bill. It is a step toward transparency that will help fight tax evasion and fraud. The bill is respectful of the provinces. In fact, Quebec's registry has been in place for almost a month. However, the tax cheats who were exposed in the Paradise papers did not create their shell companies in C…
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Madam Speaker, I have a simple answer: Yes, but all that is not enough. I want to talk about the example I gave at the end of my speech. In committee we looked at the issue of who really profited from the Isle of Man trusts created by KPMG for Canadian tax cheats. We worked for a long time on that issue. In the United States, when the same thing was done, there were investigations, criminal prosec…
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Madam Speaker, I thank my hon. colleague for his question, which he asked in excellent French. I really appreciate that. In my opinion, what we are seeing in this bill is a possible harmonization with the provinces. It seems to be respectful of the rights of the provinces. For example, Quebec has had its own registry for a month now. This will require collaboration and information sharing, as with…
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Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for his very interesting speech. I think we share rather similar points of view on this bill. His colleague from Sarnia—Lambton, who spoke before he did, brought up the Panama Papers scandal in her speech to illustrate the fact that the government is not doing enough. I would like to remind the House of some of the figures from that scandal. While the government b…
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Mr. Speaker, I want to start by commenting on the time allocation that was just imposed on us. I just want to remind my colleagues in the House that the Standing Committee on Finance is already doing a pre-study of Bill C-47. It is progressing very well. Work is moving forward. We are sitting until midnight. This allows my colleagues who want to speak to Bill C-47 to do so. There was no need for t…
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