Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, the Parliamentary Budget Officer did not drink the Liberal generational Kool-Aid. There is no surprise there: His mandate is to conduct non-partisan analyses. That is exactly why the Liberals want to replace him. They posted a job listing for a permanent replacement with “tact and discretion”. They want a low-key parliamentary budget officer who apologizes before he speaks. A little m…
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Madam Speaker, we will soon be called upon to vote on a budget in which the government has decided to redefine what constitutes an investment. It turns out that the government's definition of investment does not exist anywhere else. The budget says so itself. It does not exist in Singapore and it does not exist in the United Kingdom. According to the Parliamentary Budget Officer, we are not talkin…
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Madam Speaker, the member for Winnipeg North and his colleagues from the governing party go around telling everyone that it is important to invest in infrastructure. They talk about hospital infrastructure. However, the budget lays out $5 billion over three years to build hospitals in all the provinces. That comes out to about $1.7 billion a year. For Quebec, this means $300 million a year over th…
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Madam Speaker, the Prime Minister's latest mantra is that he wants to eliminate the operating deficit, in other words, the normal net deficit from his bad investments. However, by his own definition of operating deficit, the Trudeau government achieved a balance or generated a surplus during its first four years. We will overlook the pandemic years. The Trudeau government did not run an operating …
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Mr. Speaker, earlier in the debate, my colleague from Montcalm explained that this budget represents a disengagement from health care funding because the health transfer could potentially increase more slowly than the costs of the system. In response, the member for Bourassa, the great intellectual, and the member for Trois‑Rivières, the great diplomat, shouted names at the member for Montcalm, sa…
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Mr. Speaker, in his speech, my colleague talked about the importance of protecting jobs. Among the first victims of the current crisis are the 300 fathers and mothers who were laid off at Paccar. In a recent interview with Mario Dumont, the Liberal member for Thérèse‑De Blainville told these workers not to take it personally. She encouraged them to visit food banks. She told them to come up with a…
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Mr. Speaker, the budget is kind of the worst of both worlds. It is a Liberal deficit with Conservative ideas: nothing for health, nothing for seniors, cuts to the environment. It is Stephen Harper all over again. I am not the one saying so. The leader of the government said yesterday that this is a budget that Conservative voters can get behind. The Liberals are not even trying to hide it any more…
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Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister and the Minister of Finance have invented this notion of considering a budget balanced on the basis of operational spending. Under the Minister of Finance's newly invented rules, the Trudeau government would have had a budget surplus in 2015‑16, followed by two years of balanced budgets, a surplus in 2018‑19, and a budget surplus the year after the pandemic. If some…
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Mr. Speaker, my understanding is that my colleague has previously served as a city councillor. I would like to know his thoughts on the fact that the federal budget, as presented, includes only $9 billion in new infrastructure funding over five years. Furthermore, within that, there is $5 billion over three years for hospitals from coast to coast. Today, building a single teaching hospital costs m…
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Mr. Speaker, there has been much talk about the $78-billion generational deficit in the budget, and rightly so. What are the key features of this budget? Military is the top priority, the fight against climate change is over, oil companies are getting more tax credits and tens of thousands of jobs are being cut. All of these choices would have delighted Stephen Harper, because they are conservativ…
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Mr. Speaker, a $78-billion deficit will affect future generations in my riding. Worse still, the Liberals are increasing the deficit while announcing cuts to health transfers. They are not investing a penny in seniors who are struggling with the cost of living. They are refusing to offer loans at preferential rates to first-time home buyers. They are replacing the only housing construction program…
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Mr. Speaker, once again, I am pleased to speak here today. This debate is somewhat surreal. I am standing here yet, given the nature of the debate, I feel as though I am somewhere up in the stratosphere, floating in a space shuttle. We know how Liberals think. Liberals have a switch with two positions: “off” and “on”. They think one thing on Monday, switch to “off” that evening and then to “on” th…
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Mr. Speaker, the cat is out of the bag. Yesterday, the government House leader openly threatened a Christmas election if the House does not support his budget as it stands. The Liberals did not hold any pre-budget consultations, did not hear from any witnesses in committee and did not include any of the opposition's demands in the budget. Now, they are already resorting to blackmail instead of try…
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Mr. Speaker, when the Prime Minister and the mathematician across the way said that they were reaching out to the opposition, we thought it was so that we could work together not so that we could get slapped around. That promise is broken with threats of an election. Some will say that this is not the only broken promise. The Prime Minister also promised to protect us from Donald Trump. However, u…
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Mr. Speaker, yesterday we debated a committee report here in the House. The Parliamentary Secretary to the Leader of the Government in the House of Commons stood up and told us the debate had no place here in the House. He said that the committees would handle this, that they were capable of doing their job and that, when the committee in question completes its work, the government would take note…
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Mr. Speaker, in his previous speech, the member for Bourassa was once again a bit theatrical when he said that the amendments adopted in committee would distort the bill. This shows that he is both incompetent and disingenuous. Why do I say “incompetent”? The member knows full well that the amendments were accepted by the Chair. This means that they do not change the nature of the bill. The member…
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Mr. Speaker, I am wondering about the Liberals' tone and attitude in this debate. First, they are trying to turn the debate on Bill C‑3 into a debate on immigration, when it is a debate on the conditions that lead to citizenship. A few seconds ago, the member for Winnipeg North stood up and said that the opposition was out of touch. However, the minister was invited to appear before the committee …
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Mr. Speaker, I rise on a point of order. For the umpteenth time, I think the member for Winnipeg North could quiet down and let my colleague finish his speech.
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Mr. Speaker, on immigration, there needs to be consistency between the various legislative measures. Those hoping to become naturalized have to fulfill certain requirements. They are required to have lived in the country for 1,095 days over a period of five years. A security assessment is done, a language test is administered, and a citizenship test is completed. Those are the rules. That is exact…
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Mr. Speaker, it is sad when debates become personal. What we just heard from the parliamentary secretary is rather appalling. As far as the proposed amendments are concerned, since my colleague has likely spent 1,095 consecutive days in Canada, she would be eligible. Her child may have to take a test to be eligible. I am sure he can pass a test. I would like to know where in this debate anyone acc…
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Mr. Speaker, do you see what is going on? Insults are being tossed back and forth. Here are the facts on these amendments. The committee determined that, for a person to be considered to have a substantial connection to Canada, they must have lived in Canada for a certain number of days over a certain period of time. Anyone over the age of 18 has to be able to speak an official language, undergo a…
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Mr. Speaker, I think it is useful for us as parliamentarians to know how many people will be affected by the legislation. The fact that the government says that it has done no calculations whatsoever gives us some idea of just how unprepared it is. I am concerned that the government is increasingly unwilling to let the opposition know how much things cost. The proof is that it appointed an interim…
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Mr. Speaker, I would never question the Chair's good faith or way of working, but we can still assume that his decision will have consequences. From what I understand, the parties may not share the same opinion on two categories of amendments. The parties do not seem to have the same opinion on the number of days of continuous residence in Canada as on the other qualification criteria, including t…
Read full speech →Private Members' Business
Mr. Speaker, I thank the member for Terrebonne for introducing this bill. This subject is very important to me. As members know, I am the member for the riding of Mirabel. A large part of my riding borders the Lac des Deux Montagnes. Folks in my riding are very familiar with extreme weather events that have a devastating impact on our built heritage and people's lives. As everyone knows, in 2019, …
Read full speech →Statements by Members
Mr. Speaker, this year we are celebrating the 125th anniversary of the pride of Quebec: Desjardins Group. Founded in Lévis in 1900 by Alphonse Desjardins, it was the quiet revolution before the Quiet Revolution. While anglophone banks turned their backs on French Canadians and predatory lending was wreaking havoc, Alphonse Desjardins drew inspiration from the European co-operative model to create …
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, the Liberals met with party leaders about the budget after it had already been written. They did not talk to Quebeckers either. There were no pre-budget consultations. No witnesses were heard in committee. After a year and a half without a budget, the Liberals worked alone, not even meeting with a single stakeholder from Quebec's various social and economic groups. Now they are surpri…
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
Madam Speaker, I am hearing some government members say that we are complaining over nothing and that the arrival of the new Prime Minister in an old government does not change anything, despite the fact that the new Prime Minister was the head of a corporation that has interests in hundreds of companies. Here is what I am wondering: Should everyone be allowed to go into politics? We know that the…
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Mr. Speaker, the situation is not improving at the Canada Revenue Agency, or CRA. Yesterday, the Auditor General confirmed what we already knew, that the CRA is not even answering the phone anymore. Worse still, the Auditor General revealed that when people do manage to get though to the agency, they are only being given correct information 17% of the time. In concrete terms, this means that we ar…
Read full speech →Statements by Members
Mr. Speaker, as you will see, community spirit runs deep in my riding. This year, we are celebrating the 30th anniversary of La Petite Maison de Pointe-Calumet, which was founded in 1995 by Diane Grenier. It has grown over the years thanks to the commitment of passionate people like current director Mélissa Corbeil and her hard-working team. With more than 550 people receiving assistance and dozen…
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Mr. Speaker, we all agree that we need better controls at the border and that this requires many new measures. Bill C‑12 is the new version of Bill C‑2, which created a significant backlash in civil society because many people outside Parliament and in the opposition believed that, in an attempt to strengthen border protections, the government would be infringing on certain rights and trampling on…
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Mr. Speaker, the Bloc Québécois has made six budget-related demands, which can be summarized as follows: Quebec must be given the means to take care of Quebeckers. That means an unconditional increase in health transfers. Due to the cost of living, it means an OAS increase for seniors aged 65 to 74. Quebeckers must also be reimbursed the $814 million that the federal government stole from us to gi…
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Mr. Speaker, this budget also has to tackle the major challenges of our time. One of those challenges is housing, which requires an unconditional, long-term transfer to Quebec for the construction of social and community housing. Another challenge is access to home ownership, which requires loans for first-time buyers to cover their down payment. Then there is infrastructure, which requires a new,…
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Mr. Speaker, Bill C‑12 is the new version of Bill C‑2, with fewer irritants. The reason we have Bill C‑12 before us today is that there has been a huge backlash in civil society against Bill C‑2 and the privacy violations it entailed, particularly with respect to the police opening mail. This led to the introduction of Bill C‑12, which is much more balanced. Many of the irritants that bothered us,…
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Mr. Speaker, allow me to take a second to thank my colleague for her speech. I think it is the kind of speech that sets the tone we need to hear in the House of Commons. Bill C‑10 is an important piece of legislation. It represents a significant milestone in modern treaty implementation and monitoring. Not long ago, we celebrated the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation. I admit that this day…
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Mr. Speaker, I rise on a point of order. I would like to remind my hon. colleague that he is to address the Chair, not his colleagues.
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Mr. Speaker, in March 2015, and I would like to point out that we are in 2025, former Supreme Court justice Marie Deschamps tabled a scathing report on sexual abuse and allegations of sexual misconduct in the armed forces. A month later, the Harper government appointed Jonathan Vance as chief of the defence staff. Then there was the Fish report, but the government was not satisfied with that repor…
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Mr. Speaker, once again, this is an interesting and necessary bill, but we have to wonder why it took 10 years to introduce it. First, the Liberals requested so many reports that they virtually ran out of former Supreme Court justices to ask. They asked for a bunch of reports. Then they introduced a bill and let it die on the Order Paper. It would be fair to ask whether the Liberals were simply no…
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Mr. Speaker, I rise on a point of order. This is not a pub. If people want to talk, they can go somewhere else.
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Mr. Speaker, I would like to bring things back down to earth. That is often necessary with the Liberals. As the leader of the Bloc Québécois said, in the past 43 years, the notwithstanding clause has been used more than a hundred times. Even if we accept the crazy and illogical idea that it cannot be used pre-emptively, which was the reason it was created in the first place, why has this new legal…
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Mr. Speaker, before the parliamentary secretary lectured us on morality, he did something that he does not often do: He opened up to us and told us the truth. He said that when there were constitutional negotiations, he was in the Manitoba legislature. He said that the Constitution was a compromise that included the notwithstanding clause, and that he did not like that compromise because it reflec…
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Mr. Speaker, I will use my turn to denounce the outrageous remarks made earlier by the member for Winnipeg North. He said that if the Bloc did not agree with the Liberal Party line, they had no place here. To the member for Winnipeg North, some elected members have value and others do not. He stands up and gives us lessons in democracy. Beyond that, if he thinks that Bloc Québécois members have no…
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Mr. Speaker, my question has two parts. First, our colleague from Bourassa mentioned earlier that, in his opinion, Quebec's National Assembly is like the leaning tower of Pisa in that it is always leaning in the same direction, against minorities. That is an extremely serious allegation. I would like to know whether the member for Québec Centre shares this opinion about the Quebec National Assembl…
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Mr. Speaker, I will be sharing my time with my colleague from Rimouski—La Matapédia. It is sad to have to speak after the previous member, after hearing a supposedly honourable member. During a debate on a constitutional issue, he initially said in veiled terms that the Bloc Québécois was racist. He said that the Parliament of Quebec was like the Leaning Tower of Pisa and systematically leaned awa…
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May it please the Chair, I would like to withdraw my papers.
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Mr. Speaker, I would first like to stress one thing. We lost seats in the last election. We lose some, we win some. Sometimes it goes up, sometimes it goes down. This teaches us a lesson in humility. I make this appeal to my colleague. We in the Bloc Québécois have come here to table a motion from the Quebec National Assembly. When a Liberal member rises on an opposition day and tables in the Hous…
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Mr. Speaker, our time might be put to better use if we debated these motions. I would like my colleague to table documents in the House. I would like him to table the Hansard for the day that the House recognized the Manitoba nation. I do not know when it took place. This Parliament recognized Quebec as a nation while the member's own government, which has not changed in 10 years, was right here. …
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Mr. Speaker, the Liberal government may not be MAGA, but I think it is populist. It has a lack of respect for the institutions that have been established, a lack of respect for provincial legislatures, a lack of respect for the law, a lack of respect for the Constitution and a lack of respect for precedents. I think that needs to change.
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Mr. Speaker, I would like to take a moment to wish a remarkable young lady from my riding, Arielle Courcy, a happy 13th birthday. That being said, civil society, the media and the government have been very critical of the United States, which is experiencing an institutional breakdown. How can we criticize our neighbours to the south when we ourselves have a government that is backsliding on the e…
Read full speech →Statements by Members
Mr. Speaker, on July 1, we learned of the sudden death of Patrick Charbonneau, the mayor of Mirabel, at the age of 46. Patrick was more than an elected official; he was a caring, passionate man with a real desire to serve his community. After entering politics in 2013, he always worked with integrity, vision, compassion and an approachable warmth. Patrick was a friend, an ally, a trusted partner w…
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, I understood from my colleague's previous intervention that she wanted an apology. My colleague from Berthier—Maskinongé did not ask for an apology. He asked for a simple correction from the minister. Her comments were unbecoming of a minister and unworthy of the status of French as an official language in the House. I think that, in the Liberals' supposed spirit of co-operation, she …
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