Government Orders
Madam Speaker, as my colleague knows, if it were up to me, there would be an international border along the Ottawa River. Of course, that would not stop me from inviting my colleague for the weekend. I would say that the first thing would be to recognize Quebec as a distinct society and the legal implications that entails.
Read full speech →Government Orders
Madam Speaker, I feel like I am dealing in antiques today. The motion we are debating would amend a Constitution that was ill-conceived and that has aged poorly. The Constitution has so many holes, it looks like moths got at it. The holes in this Constitution are costing the provinces, Quebec and taxpayers a lot of money and preventing the provinces from properly and independently funding their pu…
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Madam Speaker, my colleague from Winnipeg North is so disconnected that I think I will ask a page to take him an adapter. There are 10 provincial premiers, all of whom are asking for an unconditional increase in health transfers and for Ottawa to mind its own business. Would my colleague say they do not represent anyone? Do those people not matter? This is the attitude I am talking about, the Libe…
Read full speech →Emergency Debate
Mr. Speaker, to me it looks like this crisis has everyone going around in circles. People are going around in circles because, on the one hand, we have a government that has decided not to govern, not to assume its responsibilities, and now it is getting too late. On the other hand, we have an official opposition, the Conservatives, that has suddenly abandoned its traditional passion for law and o…
Read full speech →Emergency Debate
Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for his engaging and moving speech and appreciated the focus on his constituents. We cannot help but empathize. Mr. Speaker, if you had not told me, I would never have guessed that my colleague was a member of the party in power. I started counting the number of concrete solutions he proposed, but I did not get past zero. Where is the crisis table with the police …
Read full speech →Emergency Debate
Mr. Speaker, I would like to go back to the first part of my colleague's speech. I, too, support the right to protest and freedom. However, people who believe freedom means financing illegal activities with foreign money, throwing rocks at an ambulance, preventing a child from receiving cancer treatment, setting off fireworks in densely populated areas, or setting fire to the home of someone who h…
Read full speech →Emergency Debate
Mr. Speaker, there are a lot of things that I disagree with my colleague about, but we agree on one thing. It is important to get out and talk to our constituents. I have talked to many of my constituents in many municipalities in my riding. Initially, these people supported the convoy enthusiastically. When I talk to them today, however, they realize that this might not have been the right soluti…
Read full speech →Emergency Debate
Madam Speaker, I agree with my colleague from Brandon—Souris that it is our role as opposition members to criticize the government's policies. We must do that. It is also our role to convey the suffering of our constituents, who have paid a high price during this crisis. I commend the fact that my colleague is openly saying today that protests have to be peaceful and legal. However, we are here th…
Read full speech →Emergency Debate
Madam Speaker, the theme of my colleague's speech today was responsible leadership. However, in order for the leadership to be responsible, there has to be some leadership in the first place. Today, I would like us to talk about perceptions. In a country that is greatly divided, people seem to be unanimous in agreeing that the government was irresponsible, did not show leadership and did not do it…
Read full speech →Emergency Debate
Madam Speaker, I want to thank my colleague for her compassionate speech. It is important to represent the voice of these people who are suffering because of what is happening right now. It is true that some extremely inappropriate and unacceptable symbols have been brandished in this protest. No member of the House has inadvertently or unwittingly taken a photo next to these symbols. It is unacce…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, my Conservative colleagues spend a fair amount of time describing the impact inflation is having on the budgets of families and the middle class. However, it is important to note that inflation will also impact the provincial governments, particularly health care systems, which have to hire people and buy equipment and supplies. Can my colleague tell me why he thinks that the Liberal …
Read full speech →Statements by Members
Mr. Speaker, Jean Bouchard, a former mayor of Mirabel, passed away surrounded by loved ones on December 9 at the Pallia-Vie hospice. For the past 30 years, Jean Bouchard dedicated his life to the city he loved so much, first as a firefighter, then as a building inspector, a city councillor, and finally as mayor, from 2013 to 2021. Without question, Jean Bouchard was a fighter. As he said himself r…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, the Bloc Québécois made a very simple proposal during the last election campaign. It proposed that, year after year and without exception, the government dedicate 1% of the spending budget to housing, not only to affordable housing, but also to social housing. I have not heard much about tenants. In Quebec, however, there are over 400,000 tenants who spend more than 30% of their incom…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Madam Speaker, the Bloc Québécois never said that this motion would fix every problem and address all concerns related to housing, in particular for the most vulnerable. I repeat, and I will say it as often as I need to: The Government of Quebec, which is responsible for municipalities, knows its people and its communities the best and is therefore in the best position to develop a strategy. Unfor…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Madam Speaker, I thank my hon. colleague for his question. He talked about how long it takes to build a building. As we know, when the government introduced the national housing strategy, we expected it to solve all of the problems in the world in five years, when most of those problems originated under Chrétien in particular and have been around since the nineties, so we need to be patient. We al…
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Madam Speaker, I knew my colleague was a gentleman, but he surprised me today with his magnanimity. I thank him for his question to which I will respond that of course he has a role to play. I wish that Quebeckers had 100% of their income and that we did not have to beg Ottawa for that money. I am sorry we have to ask for it. Quebec has its own housing priorities. The Quebec government knows its s…
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Mr. Speaker, I will be sharing my time with the hon. member for Abitibi—Témiscamingue, whose mother is here with us today. When I found out that we would be talking about housing today, the first thing that came to mind was a number since I am an economist. That number was 100,000, which is the number of additional housing units we would need in Canada today for our housing per capita ratio to be …
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, my colleague clearly has a lot of empathy for her constituents in Elgin—Middlesex—London. I want to point out that, between 2011 and 2016, during the Harper era, Canada lost more than 320,000 housing units for the least fortunate Canadians. I would like to know how my colleague defines a housing bubble. Once prices stabilize, will the Conservative Party lose interest in the housing sh…
Read full speech →Speech from the Throne
Madam Speaker, I thank the member for Parkdale—High Park from the bottom of my heart for his speech. I can see that he is quite familiar with the health care system and its funding, as well as mental health. I must make a confession today. The only time I read the Canadian Constitution was the French version, in which health is an exclusive jurisdiction of the provinces. Could my colleague tell me…
Read full speech →Speech from the Throne
Madam Speaker, we are interested in finance that generates long-term investments. Long-term growth is generated by investments that are sustainable. Likewise, long-term pollution is generated by sustained investments in the most polluting markets. We want to increase the banks' transparency because we believe that consumers will respond in an informed way. We also believe that greater use should b…
Read full speech →Speech from the Throne
Madam Speaker, this is a very emotional issue for us, and I thank the former leader of the Green Party for raising it. At this time, it is difficult to know how much of the area in question is polluted. We expect that the Quebec and federal governments will team up and look into this situation and that by working together, they will stop playing ping-pong on this issue. This is a critical issue fo…
Read full speech →Speech from the Throne
Madam Speaker, I thank my hon. colleague for raising this issue. We have been very clear about our proposal over the past several days. We are asking the minister to create a joint task force immediately, because it is within his authority to do so. The fact that we have to keep asking for this clearly shows that the federal government is not doing its job and that there is a lot more to do. For o…
Read full speech →Speech from the Throne
Madam Speaker, I could answer him with the words of Gilles Vigneault: One world ends, another beginsYou can take back your romanceI think I finally understandWe are no longer from the same land
Read full speech →Speech from the Throne
Madam Speaker, I will be sharing my time with the member for Shefford. I would like to take a moment to thank the volunteers at the Centre d'entraide Saint‑Colomban, the parish of Saint Francis of Assisi in Oka, and the Carrefour d'entraide Saint-Placide for organizing their charity drive. This was a tremendous act of selflessness, and I commend them. In passing, I would also like to commend one o…
Read full speech →Statements By Members
Mr. Speaker, in Quebec alone, 600,000 people rely on food assistance each month, according to Food Banks of Quebec. As the holiday season draws near, I would like to highlight the strong community spirit of the people in my riding. No fewer than eight fundraisers are being planned right now in the area. I would like to thank La Maison de la famille de Mirabel, the Knights of Columbus of Sainte‑Ann…
Read full speech →Speech from the Throne
Madam Speaker, there is no hiding it: The Speech from the Throne is a bit like a paint by numbers. There is a general outline, but no colour. Since my hon. colleague wants to work with the other parties, I will take this opportunity to talk about health care funding. This is about caring for people. Quebec and the provinces are asking that transfers for health care, including mental health care, b…
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, while flight schools in Vancouver are only charged 20% of the full rate, Aéroports de Montréal has decided to charge the full rate for flight schools that train French-speaking pilots in my riding of Mirabel. Believe it or not, the plan is to increase the rates from $540 to $38,000 per aircraft. This is not just a stratospheric increase, it is also thinly disguised expropriation. We h…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Madam Speaker, I have a hard time understanding that whole controversy as well, because it never should have happened. There is no controversy over opening arenas, universities or restaurants, but members on the other side of the House are suggesting a government available for delivery. A government to go. Could we not have a flexible solution, as the member for Brossard—Saint-Lambert said? The Ho…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Madam Speaker, as we saw in the Speech from the Throne, we have a government that talks the talk but does not walk the walk. We have a government that talks about science, but that does not act on it. Can someone explain to me why the City of Montreal, the Quebec National Assembly, the City of Toronto and the City of Winnipeg can offer their citizens functioning legislatures and municipalities whi…
Read full speech →Emergency Debate
Mr. Speaker, this government spends as much money every three months on oil and gas subsidies as it plans to spend on its disaster mitigation and adaptation fund for the next 10 years. True, the government is committed to a transition, but it is a transition to fossil fuel energy. Their excuse for maintaining these subsidies is that they are effective. The Liberals should have started eliminating …
Read full speech →Speech from the Throne
Mr. Speaker, allow me to use this first opportunity in the House to address the people of the great riding of Mirabel. I thank them for placing their trust in me. Allow me also to address my partner, my love, Dyhia. She supports me in this endeavour and joins me in this journey. Finally, I would like to acknowledge my predecessor, Simon Marcil, for his commitment to our beautiful riding. After the…
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