Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank my colleague from Kitchener—Conestoga, who is himself an artist. I would like him to explain to all Canadians client why it is so important that web giants compensate artists and content creators. Can he explain how the financial framework changed in the space of a generation and why this bill is important?
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague from Saanich—Gulf Islands for her speech. I agree that the fight against climate change is very important. It is the greatest existential challenge of our generation. I hope that she will also agree that everyone needs to work together to fight climate change, and that doing so takes social cohesion. It is very important, especially for minority groups, such as ra…
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
Mr. Speaker, this matter has been addressed in the House of Commons. For further context, please visit https://www.ourcommons.ca/DocumentViewer/en/44-1/house/sitting-58/hansard#Int-11636457.
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, I am rising on a point of order. During question period, I and a number of members on this side of the House heard the member for Kildonan—St. Paul make an intemperate if not incendiary remark in response to an answer the Prime Minister was making with regard to the over-incarceration of indigenous peoples and Black Canadians. I am confident that this member will not want those remark…
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, I am very reluctant to repeat those comments because they were so incendiary and intemperate. If I may, I might ask you, Mr. Speaker, to review Hansard and to review the comments that I am certain our reporters heard. To answer the member's question, it was not a question that she posed to the Prime Minister. Rather, it was a statement that she made while the Prime Minister was answer…
Read full speech →Adjournment Proceedings
Madam Speaker, we are fortunate in Canada to have a world-class public service. Whether on the front lines of our communities, from a home office, from a laboratory or in many other workplaces, federal public servants across the country continue to provide Canadians with the critical services they rely on and have not wavered since the start of the pandemic. Indeed, the federal public service is a…
Read full speech →Adjournment Proceedings
Madam Speaker, I would be very pleased to repeat the point I made during my speech. The federal government has required vaccination for the entire core public administration of the federal government. We believe that the most fundamental responsibility of any government is to ensure the health and safety of its citizens. As the largest employer in the country, we have an obligation to ensure that …
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, Canada has, of course, one of the finest public services in the world. We have professionals who have been able to help support Canadians throughout the troubling times that we have had during the pandemic. We are very proud of our public service. Of course, we want to make sure that public servants are compensated fairly and if they have a compensation system that if they do meet the…
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Mr. Speaker, I am just trying to understand my hon. colleague who knows the many issues regarding Canada's public service. Is he suggesting that we should compensate folks who do not meet their targets? I am certain that is not what he suggested. What we are really talking about is our fabulous public service that has worked very hard and has helped Canadians through very tough times. We are certa…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, all stakeholders were listened to. Politics is about making choices, and I think that we arrived at a good compromise that reflects the vast majority of the suggestions we received.
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, let me answer in the language in which the member addressed her question. I thank the member for Nunavut for the incredible work she has done. The member for North Island—Powell River is an extraordinary member of Parliament, but I have to say that the contributions the member for Nunavut has made in terms of what we are looking at on indigenous languages will truly be historic. In th…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, I will never admit to that. We took the time that was needed to do things right. I think it is important to make the right changes when modernizing this act. The last time the act was reviewed was in 1988 under the Mulroney government. I commend Mr. Mulroney for updating the act, but that was 34 years ago. Back in 1988, I was a parliamentary page. I remember when this bill was amended…
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Mr. Speaker, I am very pleased to have the opportunity to speak to Bill C‑13, an act for the substantive equality of Canada's official languages. This is an important bill. As we know, along with indigenous languages, English and French are at the heart of Canada's history and identity. They are a major part of our country's social, cultural and economic vitality. Our government has always emphasi…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank my colleague from Mégantic—L'Érable for his speech. However, I would like to apologize to you, Mr. Speaker, because I just assumed that you had learned French, but you are a francophone by birth from an Acadian community. On that note, I would like to ask my colleague from Mégantic—L'Érable what he thinks about the importance of passing Bill C‑13 today to help mi…
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Madam Speaker, having a fully vaccinated workforce makes our work sites and communities safer. When we asked employees of the federal public service to stand up and do their part, 99% said yes. We are committed to review this policy every six months. Right now, we are in the middle of a review. We will make our decisions based on science and on facts. I look forward to keeping this House updated o…
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Madam Speaker, our government believes those who disclose serious wrongdoing should be protected. The Office of the Public Security and Integrity Commissioner of Canada is an independent agency of Canada. It is mandated to allow anyone to disclose wrongdoing in the federal public service. I have been advised that information has been removed by the Federal Court, and a new certified tribunal recor…
Read full speech →Statements By Members
Madam Speaker, 2022 was a difficult year for Hull—Aylmer. I would like talk about Claude LeBlanc, who died suddenly on March 20 at the age of 67. For almost 40 years, Claude was Garage Grande-Rivière's mechanic and owner. He was honest, hard-working and generous. He loved a good joke. He was the most generous of men. He was always there to help the less fortunate in our community. Not only did Cla…
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
Mr. Speaker, the Government of Canada is committed to ensuring that the access to information process supports the transparency and accountability of Canadian federal institutions. The Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat, TBS, welcomes the Information Commissioner’s observations and recommendations on how the government can continue to ensure that the right of access to information for Canadians …
Read full speech →Statements By Members
Mr. Speaker, I would like to talk about my extraordinary former assistant, Olivier Duhaime. We met in the summer of 2015 while running in Gatineau Park. He became my first political aid on the Hill. Olivier is an ultra-marathoner. For the 150th anniversary of Canada, he ran from Quebec City to Ottawa in five and a half days. He is extremely intelligent, which explains why he left me to join the te…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Madam Speaker, I would like to thank my NDP colleague for his question. I think that French needs a lot of support, since it is very fragile. If you look at the situation closely, I agree that we can do better. That is why I am supporting the Minister of Official Languages, the hon. member for Moncton—Riverview—Dieppe. I think that there is always a way to help strengthen, promote and safeguard th…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Thank you, Madam Speaker. I rise today in the House to share my perspective, not only as a member with official duties here in Parliament, but also, more importantly, as a Quebecker. I am speaking today as a proud member of Parliament from Quebec, my home province, the place I grew up in and the place my parents immigrated to. They settled and started a family in Quebec. Quebec is where I have had…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Madam Speaker, I am very pleased to rise in the House today to speak to this Bloc Québécois motion. I was introduced as the Parliamentary Secretary to the Prime Minister, which is one of my roles, but I am speaking—
Read full speech →Government Orders
Madam Speaker, I have great respect for my friend from Beauport—Limoilou, but I would like to ask her a question. I imagine she was always a great supporter of the Bloc Québécois, which was founded in 1990. How did she vote in the 1992 referendum? What was the Bloc’s official position on that referendum? I myself voted “yes” in the referendum, but I am certain that many of the members of the Bloc …
Read full speech →Government Orders
Madam Speaker, I am happy to answer the question asked by my friend from Winnipeg North. I agree with him wholeheartedly. Immigration is truly an extraordinary tool for our culture, our demographic growth and our economic development. As they say, more immigration is always good news. When immigrants arrive here, they create jobs, use fewer social services, establish companies and help diversify o…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, I just want to ask my colleague whether francophone immigration could help bolster Quebec's demographic weight and whether immigration would be a strength or a weakness.
Read full speech →Government Orders
Madam Speaker, I would like to thank my colleague, or should I say my constituent, for his questions. I will answer several right now and keep his final question for last, so that I can give a more thorough answer. The answer is yes. Not only do I recognize that Quebec is a nation, but I am very happy that it is recognized as such. This is my answer, and so on for all the other questions, except t…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Madam Chair, I thank my colleague from Montarville for his excellent speech. I also thank him for his show of solidarity on behalf of all parliamentarians in the House and certainly on behalf of his political party. I was planning to offer him some time to finish his speech because I thought it was good. However, he was able to add a few words at the end. I have a question for my colleague. If the…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Madam Chair, I would like to thank my colleague from Edmonton Griesbach for his speech and his point of view. I put this question to my colleague from Montarville. I am sure my colleague from Edmonton Griesbach also agrees that we need to push back against the idea that might makes right in international relations. Does he agree with me that economic sanctions are more effective than military forc…
Read full speech →Orders of the Day
Mr. Speaker, that was just a real “Tour de France” style of speech. I would like to offer the member the chance to sum up his support for the motion.
Read full speech →Orders of the Day
Mr. Speaker, I was very interested in my hon. colleague's comments. I found that his speech was supported by several arguments. That said, I have a question for him about what he said at the end of his presentation. Is that a good enough excuse to do nothing about what he too described as the far right that exists here, that has the money and the tools to do damage? In 50 years' time, we may regre…
Read full speech →Orders of the Day
Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank the hon. member for his question. Again, the answer is yes. In the news, we clearly saw a trucker who was part of the blockade here in Ottawa saying that he had to leave because he had received a notice from his bank informing him that if he did not leave the illegal blockade, his assets could be seized. He added that he employs 55 people. It has worked. It will …
Read full speech →Orders of the Day
Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank my colleague from Ontario for his excellent speech. I would like to ask him a fairly simple question. Is he, like me, prepared to conduct an inquiry to get to the bottom of this matter, understand what happened and why the situation was misjudged, and find ways to ensure that this never happens again?
Read full speech →Orders of the Day
Madam Speaker, I would like to thank my hon. colleague for his speech. I appreciate his candour in voicing his concerns. I also appreciate the fact that he is open to the opinions of others. I too am not 100% certain that this is the absolute best course of action, but there is one thing I sincerely recognize. I hope my hon. colleague can tell me about it. I do not want to trivialize the decisions…
Read full speech →Orders of the Day
Mr. Speaker, what I really like about this piece of legislation, and I would like to congratulate Brian Mulroney and his government for having introduced it, is that the Charter of Rights applies to it at all times. It is fixed for a certain amount of time and parliamentarians have to come together to talk about it. I have every confidence because it is targeted, it is appropriate and especially i…
Read full speech →Orders of the Day
With great ease, Mr. Speaker, because this money is not going to normal political speech. Let them give donations to those who want to support this, but they are giving money that is anonymous, that is unverified and that can come from foreign sources to get to politics through the back door as opposed to the front. Who were the people collecting and distributing this money before it was shut down…
Read full speech →Orders of the Day
Mr. Speaker, I want to say hello to all of my colleagues on this Saturday morning. It is unusual for the House to sit on a Saturday, but our entire country is dealing with a situation that is quite out of the ordinary. We are here to participate in a very important debate on the use of these emergency measures. I am not a lawyer. I do not know and cannot figure out all of the little details, but i…
Read full speech →Orders of the Day
Madam Speaker, I am rising on a point of order. I am sure it was an oversight by the person who wrote the speech for the hon. member, but it is the common practice of this House to refer to members by their constituency or by the title they hold and not by their proper names.
Read full speech →Statements by Members
Mr. Speaker, earlier today, the Canadian women's hockey team won the gold medal, but I would like to talk about the next generation of players here in the Outaouais. The Intrépide, a peewee AAA team, is made up of 17 of the best players from my beautiful region. The team has qualified for the Quebec international peewee hockey tournament. To be invited to this prestigious tournament, the Intrépide…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, I would like to inform you that I will be sharing my time with the hon. member for Scarborough—Agincourt. I am very pleased to participate in this debate, but I must admit that I am wondering why we are debating this motion tonight when we could quickly take action. If there is one time when members should be unanimous, it is this evening on this bill. We are here to debate Bill C-12,…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, I thank my friend from Trois-Rivières for his question. We work together at the Standing Committee on Access to Information, Privacy and Ethics, and it is a pleasure for me. I agree, we must be very diligent. However, we are talking about five lines here. It is not complex. It is very simple. Not only do we all agree on the principle, but I am sure that we all agree on the text itself…
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Mr. Speaker, I am a really big believer in the parliamentary process. Usually, when we come to this place, we examine very complex pieces of legislation. It makes sense that we cannot always consider things as 338 people, so we send them to committee to be looked at. Those 12 people look very carefully at legislation. The bill is just five lines. It is not going to take us a long time to figure th…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, we are not perfect, but we try our best. We came up with many innovative ways to help support Canadians. I would like to thank the opposition parties, because during the beginning of the crisis, they were also there and Parliament did its best in supporting Canadians. I am very pleased to be part of a government that proposed these ideas and took on the best ideas of the opposition. W…
Read full speech →Statements by Members
Mr. Speaker, every February, I normally rise to encourage parliamentarians and Canadians to celebrate Black History Month. These are not normal times. This past weekend, a small minority thought it acceptable to bring swastikas and Confederate flags to Parliament Hill. Let us not mince words: The Confederate flag is a symbol for slavery. Whips deformed Black bodies. Forced labour mangled limbs. To…
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
Mr. Speaker, the following is the response by the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat, TBS, on behalf of the Government of Canada. In response to (a), each fiscal year, TBS collects data on the number of requests received, completed, closed and responded to according to legislative timelines, 30 days; extensions taken, broken down by length of time taken, 30 days or less, 31 to 60 days, 61 to 120…
Read full speech →Statements by Members
Mr. Speaker, last Saturday, the parliamentary community lost one of its most beloved members. Nicole Beaudin worked at the House of Commons for more than 50 years, 20 of them in the office of the Speaker, serving speakers Milliken, Scheer and Regan, as well as our current Speaker. Nicole was a cherished friend and colleague, a woman filled with energy, generosity and joie de vivre. A fan of Elvis,…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Madam Speaker, I am pleased to rise in the House to speak to Bill C-5. This bill was introduced during the previous Parliament. It is very important for all Canadians, but especially for Black Canadians and indigenous people. It is also important for the safety of Canadians in general, because Bill C-5 seeks to address two problems with our system. First, it is important to do away with minimum ma…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Madam Speaker, first of all, let me thank the member from Edmonton for her work and support on these files. I certainly have heard her throughout the last Parliament advocating for this. I will be very, very quick. We do not all start off with an equal playing field. We do need to make sure that we invest in ways that can respond to the individual needs of the people and not a cookie-cutter approa…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Madam Speaker, I thank my colleague from Beauport—Limoilou. We had the opportunity to work together before this past election and I truly appreciate her wisdom. We agree on the basic premise of her question. We want to reduce mandatory minimum penalties, so I commend her on that. We also want to increase funding for the community groups that help these people; we do not want to needlessly incarcer…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Madam Speaker, first I would like to congratulate my colleague for being elected to the House of Commons. From the comfort of our living room at home, wherever we might be in Canada, we believe that incarcerating people and toughening sentences will magically make Canadians safer. However, that is just not true, as the data collected over a generation has shown us. We need to focus on another appr…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank my colleague for her excellent speech. I have a simple question for her. Minimum sentences have been in place for more than a generation now, and in that time we have seen an increase in the use of guns and in the incarceration of Black and indigenous people. Is it time for something new? Should we try a new approach to really address the problem?
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