Government Orders
Madam Speaker, I want to make an observation. Until last spring, only one party in the House was concerned about inflation: the Bloc Québécois. For years now, inflation in health care costs has been running at 6%. Year after year, the Bloc Québécois has fought for what the provinces and Quebec want, specifically increases in health transfers, because this inflation prevents us from providing care …
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
Mr. Speaker, recently the Chair sought the members' views on whether my bill about public sector integrity, Bill C-290, might require a royal recommendation. The Chair did not specify which part of the bill warranted its intervention, but I surmise that two sections merit analysis. There is clause 5, which states that the chief executive must provide support to the public servant making a disclosu…
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Mr. Speaker, I have been thinking about history, going back a bit and realizing that Brian Mulroney's government actually resorted to putting a price on pollution to address critical environmental problems at the time. We need only think of acid rain and CFCs. I was wondering why it worked under Brian Mulroney and why, suddenly, under these new Conservatives, this pricing mechanism that allowed us…
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Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for his speech. I know that he travelled a lot this summer in his electric car. He passed through Montreal and ordered his poutine in French. I checked. The carbon tax does not affect us in Quebec because we already have an emissions trading mechanism in place. It is true that some sacrifices must be made. It is true that western Canadians must make sacrifices to …
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Mr. Speaker, it is important to point out that the member for Saint-Hyacinthe—Bagot certainly does not have terrible colleagues.
Read full speech →Private Members' Business
Madam Speaker, I am very pleased to see you back here in the House. I sincerely hope you had a nice summer. It was probably much like mine, with a lot of time spent resolving problems with passport applications. Of course, we always enjoy helping our constituents. We are considering a bill with noble goals and intentions. Bill C-252 deals with the prohibition of food and beverage marketing directe…
Read full speech →Private Members' Business
Madam Speaker, I have been following this morning's debate and, in my view, there seems to be a bit of a cat fight in the House between Bill C-238, which seeks to comply with the will of the Quebec National Assembly on matters relating to Quebec's only official language, and Bill C-13. I was surprised to hear the parliamentary secretary say earlier that Bill C-238 takes a Quebec-centric approach a…
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Madam Speaker, I would like to know whether the parliamentary secretary, who seems to fancy himself as having some sort of monopoly on empathy for children, realizes that Bill C‑31 does not provide dental care. In fact, it denies children in Quebec the increase in the Canada child benefit and makes families have to wait for the Canada Revenue Agency, wait for officials, and wait for forms to be en…
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Madam Speaker, to begin, I would like to acknowledge the presence of the member for Richmond—Arthabaska, who reminds us that bullying has no place in politics. With respect to Bill C-31, I would like to know whether my colleague from Richmond Hill is comfortable with the fact that the poorest parents are the ones who will suffer the most from this bill. In order to receive the increased Canada chi…
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Madam Speaker, I am seeking the unanimous consent of the House to share my speaking time with my admirable colleague, the hon. member for Beauport—Limoilou.
Read full speech →Government Orders
Madam Speaker, I would like to take a moment to thank my constituents in the beautiful riding of Mirabel for putting their trust in me one year ago today. Every day, I am reminded what an honour it is to represent them. I have been thinking about my constituents. I was thinking about them yesterday. I was thinking about them this morning. I was thinking that last year, the people of Mirabel, along…
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Madam Speaker, I apologize. I am sorry for having to be told and I will be sure not to do it again. Bill C-31 has no teeth and has nothing to do with dental health. It does not meet dental needs. It is not insurance, and it is not dental insurance. This bill reflects a total lack of understanding of the existing programs in Quebec and also in other provinces. I am going to explain what Bill C‑31 r…
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Madam Speaker, I am starting to have some experience here, so I know not to expect the member for Winnipeg North to actually listen to my speech. I said that the bill is full of cavities, but, speaking of care, there might be a way to make it better. I understand that the member comes from a province that does not have a progressive provincial dental insurance program like Quebec does. I understan…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Madam Speaker, the NDP member just demonstrated the problem. The member for Rosemont—La Petite‑Patrie is going to tell his constituents that they have dental insurance. However, when parents in Rosemont—La Petite‑Patrie go to the dentist with their nine-year-old child, they will realize that they still have the same insurance they had before, the one from Quebec, and they will have to ask for a sl…
Read full speech →Statements By Members
Mr. Speaker, today I have the honour of acknowledging the 60th anniversary of the creation of the chamber of commerce and industry in Deux-Montagnes RCM, also known as CCI2M. With hundreds of active members, the CCI2M has become a key player in economic and business development in the Lower Laurentians over the decades. It is no accident that, in 2010, this particular chamber of commerce and indus…
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
With regard to the tax audits conducted by the Canada Revenue Agency, broken down by industry, administrative region, electoral district and year from 2015 to 2021: how many audits were conducted (i) for small and medium-sized enterprises, (ii) for charities, (iii) by audit programs?
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, the party of the hon. member for Kingston and the Islands throws a motion in our face on Saint-Jean-Baptiste Day, while also saying that if the debate goes on too long, it will be our own fault because we talk too much. I would like to know whether the member for Joliette would prefer that the member for Kingston and the Islands speak a little less once in a while.
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, as we have said many times, there are a lot of good points in this bill. However, the weapons involved in all these incidents that keep happening in Montreal are weapons that have crossed the border illegally. It turns out that people are buying these weapons, and the people buying them are members of criminal groups. Police services need to have the tools to take action against these…
Read full speech →Private Members' Business
Madam Speaker, I will not be disarmed. The Minister of Transport is not even able to sign a sheet of paper to start the construction of a seniors' residence in Mirabel, but the Liberals can come up with a motion on this subject to meddle in our affairs. With respect to greenhouse gas emissions, the Minister of Environment is incapable of knowing that oil is brown and black and that a pipeline carr…
Read full speech →Private Members' Business
Mr. Speaker, Motion No. 47 is a very interesting motion. I read it carefully. There are many items and observations in this motion on improvements the governments of Quebec and the provinces need to make to long-term care. We know that many people suffered during the pandemic. We really need to keep their interests in mind when we legislate. When I read the motion, my first thought was to grab my …
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, in 2017, when the minister was asked if charges would be brought against KPMG, she said: “Yes, because setting up schemes is criminal too.” Today, the Canada Revenue Agency is letting them slip through the net. After clearing the fraudsters, the minister is clearing KPMG. It is unacceptable. Under the law, the minister can order a new investigation and require a third party to direct …
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, if someone owes the Canada Revenue Agency $20, the CRA will hunt them down to the ends of the earth, but not so for companies like KPMG, which helps millionaires hide their income in the Isle of Man tax haven. Today we learned that KPMG has been cleared by the Canada Revenue Agency. In contrast, in 2005, the United States fined KPMG for the same financial arrangement and filed crimina…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Madam Speaker, there are a lot of good things in the bill and we will have the opportunity to propose amendments at committee. However, the bill will not allow for the seizure of weapons being used to commit crimes. We know that the weapons being used right now in Montreal are, in many cases, being wielded by criminal groups and that they have been smuggled across the border illegally. For several…
Read full speech →Private Members' Business
Madam Speaker, it is a pleasure to see you today, as always, and it is very interesting to debate Bill C-245 and the Canada Infrastructure Bank. The bank is a newly designed institution. It has only been around for a few years and, even though it is still in its infancy, there is already talk about a lack of transparency and changes to the management approach and the board of directors. This insti…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Madam Speaker, everyone has heard about the case of Justice Girouard, who committed wrongdoing two weeks before his appointment in 2010. After all the appeals, his sanctions process took 10 years. I am wondering if the timeline could be tightened up drastically through the changes proposed by the Bill C-9. That would improve public confidence in the justice system. I would also like to know whethe…
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
moved for leave to introduce Bill C-290, An Act to amend the Public Servants Disclosure Protection Act. Madam Speaker, today it is with great pride that I introduce the public sector integrity act, which puts some teeth into the Public Servants Disclosure Protection Act. Public servants who witness wrongdoing must be able to speak out without fear, in the knowledge that their anonymity will be pro…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Madam Speaker, the Conservatives think that the private sector is the solution for everything. That is because they took economics 101, but did not bother with economics 102. Public goods is a real thing. The governments that are the closest to the people on the ground, providing them with services to support them, are the governments of Quebec and the provinces. That is why I invite our NDP colle…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Madam Speaker, I thank my colleague from Saint‑Hyacinthe—Bagot for that excellent speech. I have here the Conservatives' opposition day motion. The motion is quite detailed and long. It includes all their failed initiatives from this parliamentary session. For their sake, I am glad it all fits on a letter-sized page. It includes a number of whereases that are hard to argue with, especially the one…
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Madam Speaker, my colleague is a great person and I thank him for his question. They have the right idea. They identified a problem and they want to find solutions. However, the Bloc Québécois and I find that these solutions are short term and not a good fit for the situation. These are not the right solutions. I realize that this is not a Conservative budget, thank God. However, it does give us s…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Madam Speaker, I just spent 10 minutes proposing solutions that were not in the motion, as I said. The Bloc Québécois has obviously been proposing plenty of solutions. However, the government keeps saying that inflation is temporary, that we are in a supply and affordability crisis because of what is happening in Ukraine. In question period every day, when ministers read their talking points prepa…
Read full speech →Statements by Members
Madam Speaker, I am proud to rise in the House to speak for the residents and elected officials of Mirabel who are visiting Parliament Hill today. They are here for one reason only, and that is to tell the Minister of Transport that they need a seniors' residence in their community, in Sainte‑Scholastique. Of course, I am thrilled to have them here, but I cannot help but think it is not right. It …
Read full speech →Government Orders
Madam Speaker, speaking from my own university experience, especially on the research side, it is an extremely competitive environment. Never—or hardly ever—would a university turn down a candidate with high research potential who will publish and make the university look good regardless of that candidate's skin colour or ethnic origin. My sense is that the Liberals and the NDP think our motion pr…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Madam Speaker, today I will be sharing my time with my colleague from Saint-Hyacinthe—Bagot. We are talking about research funding in a provincial jurisdiction, meaning Quebec's jurisdiction, and we are talking about it here in the federal Parliament. Clearly, there is already a problem. What is even more problematic is that these criteria for awarding Canada research chairs are not a lesson in de…
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Madam Speaker, I do not have a question for my colleague since I doubt that he will answer it. I simply want to inform him that when he throws out statistics, within faculties, for example, he is referring to professors who might have been hired in 1987, 1988 or 1989, and not just ones who were hired recently. I am a university professor, so I am part of the academic community. It worries me that …
Read full speech →Government Orders
Madam Speaker, people are putting words in my mouth again. That might be because my speech was so good. Eliminating these rules will not break down years of work. People want inclusion and integration, and I can attest to that based on my own career experience and my colleagues'. Every province, like Quebec, is responsible for funding and managing post-secondary education. Ottawa cannot tell the p…
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Madam Speaker, we hear about all kinds of averages and the Canadian average. Research facilities do not reflect society perfectly. They have evolved with the times. We need to be very careful about all the statistics used to apply averages to this, that and the other thing. That does not work. My colleague is right. It has been harder for minorities and women for many years. Scholarships have been…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Madam Speaker, let us be clear. Education and the funding of universities and university research fall under provincial jurisdiction, and thus are Quebec's responsibility. Judging from the questions from the other side of the House, there would be no inclusion and diversity in Quebec unless Ottawa imposed conditions. It is as though they are saying that letting Quebec do its job results in racism …
Read full speech →Government Orders
Madam Speaker, the member is putting words in my mouth. Members know, and I will repeat, that I spent my life in academia. It is a place where we find the people who are most educated about, open to and aware of diversity. It is not true that we are opposed to having inclusion criteria, but it is not up to the federal government to set out such criteria. This is not the right legislature for that.…
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Madam Speaker, today we are talking about lifting restrictions. The Bloc Québécois has proposed we look at lifting the restrictions gradually, but our Conservative colleagues refuse. They want to lift all restrictions at the same time. If another wave were to come this fall, would my colleague agree to use the same method proposed in the motion and reinstate all of the measures immediately, all at…
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Madam Speaker, I currently serve on the Standing Committee on Health. Two or three weeks ago, the committee heard from public health officials, including Dr. Tam. We asked her whether she thought that Canada was in the endemic phase of the pandemic, and she told us that she did not think so. My colleague says that he wants to follow the science, but I think public health officials have a lot more …
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Madam Speaker, no one is perfect, but I am obviously very proud of the efforts made by Quebec and Quebeckers. I am even more proud that you, too, are a member from Quebec, Madam Speaker. When we achieve sovereignty, you will be with us in Quebec's National Assembly.
Read full speech →Government Orders
Madam Speaker, I did not read the motion because there was no French version available during the reading and I was unable to consult it. I see that my colleague is very sensitive to the matter of subsidies and that he spends a lot of time asking how they are calculated. He is wondering whether it is 14:1. One day, I would like him to tell me which he would prefer: 13:1, 12:1 or 11:1. How long wil…
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Madam Speaker, my grandfather had a fantastic saying: “Be careful not to squeeze the toothpaste out of the tube, because it is awfully hard to get it back in.” Once again, the hon. member for Winnipeg North is telling us that the future of the oil sector is growth and the extensive use of carbon capture. In his head, that is the solution. He is squeezing the tube of toothpaste so hard that there i…
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Madam Speaker, climate change is real. It is a documented scientific fact. It is a measurable reality from which none of us will be safe if it gets any worse. That is why every person, member of Parliament, Canadian and citizen of the world must take action. That is why the Conservatives must acknowledge it. Once they have recognized it, they will have to act accordingly.
Read full speech →Government Orders
Madam Speaker, I thought it was a nice day today when I got up, obviously because you are presiding over our proceedings. It was also because, when I looked at the NDP’s motion, I was pleased to see that it contained the Bloc Québécois’s platform. Therefore, this will not be complicated, we will be able to support the motion and everything will go smoothly. In fact, I am certain that the Conservat…
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Madam Speaker, Alberta has one of the most inefficient tax systems in the country because it has a fuel tax but no value-added tax. On March 31, Alberta decided to pause collection of the fuel tax. We see that this idea is gaining momentum here among our Conservative friends. I would like to know what my colleague thinks of the Conservatives' idea to stop imposing the GST on fuel, even if temporar…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Madam Speaker, it is rare to see the member for Winnipeg North so out of sorts. He was so out of sorts that he had to read notes, because his government has forced him to say that the oil subsidies are investments in the environment. In committee, the oil companies told us that they needed public funding because they do not have the means to pay for their own investments. Does the member for Winni…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Madam Speaker, I am very pleased today to share my time with my hon. colleague from Longueuil—Saint‑Hubert. When I was asked to come to the House today to talk about Quebec's political weight, I wondered if I would be here for 10 minutes, because it is so simple; we take Quebec's weight and we maintain it. On reflection, though, I thought that if it had not been understood by now, I might have mor…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Madam Speaker, spending a weekend in Charlevoix does not make one an expert on Quebec. Quebeckers know that we can do two things at once, and they support our efforts to defend Quebec's political weight. The correct weight would be 100%, and we would no longer be here.
Read full speech →Government Orders
Madam Speaker, I thank my hon. colleague from Lévis—Lotbinière, who is also my office neighbour. He knows how much I like him. The Liberals enjoy making us sit until two o'clock in the morning. They say they like to debate and move things forward. If we work quickly and effectively, we will be able to determine exactly the right thing in time.
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