Statements by Members
Mr. Speaker, filing a tax return is essential for receiving benefits such as the new Canada groceries and essentials benefit, which can provide up to $900 for a single individual and up to $2,000 for a family of four this year. This new benefit will support 12 million low- and modest-income individuals to offset increased expenses related to food inflation. I want to say a big thank you to the doz…
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Mr. Speaker, between February 14 and 22, Quebec City really came alive thanks to the Sun Life Pentathlon des neiges, the largest winter sports event in the country. For over 20 years, this event has served to showcase Quebec's capital region thanks to a dedicated team, hundreds of volunteers and strong partners. I would like to acknowledge the spokespersons for this year's event, Olympic champion …
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Mr. Speaker, on January 1, my friend and canoeing and camping buddy, André Provencher, left us far too soon after a courageous battle with cancer. Mr. Provencher was passionate about local news and a staunch defender of Quebec culture and he held executive positions at TVA, Télé‑Québec and Cogeco. He also launched La Presse Télé, which produced popular television series such as Les Parent, Les che…
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Mr. Speaker, today I would like to pay tribute to all those who helped create the new permanent exhibition “Growing Up with the Ursulines” at the Pôle culturel du Monastère des Ursulines in Quebec City, in the beautiful riding of Québec Centre. The result of more than four years of work, this exhibition pays tribute to 400 years of educational and social engagement by the Ursuline Sisters, women w…
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
Mr. Speaker, I have the honour to present, in both official languages, the second report of the Standing Committee on Public Safety and National Security in relation to Bill C-12, an act respecting certain measures relating to the security of Canada's borders and the integrity of the Canadian immigration system and respecting other related security measures. The committee has studied the bill and …
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Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the member's input, which suggests that she will vote in favour of Bill C-4 because she seems to be supporting the removal of GST on the purchase of new homes for first-time homebuyers. That is excellent news. We look forward to confirming that vote soon in the House. It is great that she supports the measure, and we look forward to seeing that in the House through her vo…
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Mr. Speaker, I have the good fortune of sitting in front of my esteemed colleague, who is an academic and economist by profession. I was a little troubled by his comments on the possible role of a trained economist in politics. The current Prime Minister is a world-class economist. He was the governor of two central banks. I do not know of anyone else in the history of Canada, or perhaps anywhere …
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Mr. Speaker, I was very impressed to hear my esteemed colleague from Madawaska—Restigouche say that last summer, he visited 200 places where people had found jobs through the Canada summer jobs program. I wish him good luck and lots of fun next summer, because the program is increasing the number of funded positions from 70,000 to 100,000. What does he think about the impact this program is having…
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Mr. Speaker, I welcome the new member and obviously commend his important work. However, I would warn him about the things that previous members of the Conservative Party have done over the last few years. The first thing Conservative MPs did in 2016 was vote against the middle-income tax cut at that time. Another thing that other Conservative MPs did, just a few years later, was to again vote aga…
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Mr. Speaker, today I would like to highlight the outstanding work of Craque-Bitume, an urban ecology collective that, for the past 14 years, has helped Quebec City residents embrace an eco-conscious lifestyle. Craque-Bitume is known for its urban and community garden initiatives, its environmental education workshops, and its impressive community composting network that now boasts 34 sites, 18 of …
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Mr. Speaker, my hon. friend knows very well what has taken place over the past few months. A payment was promised to all Canadians in the provinces that participated in the consumer carbon pricing regime, which did not apply to Quebec or British Columbia. The regime no longer exists. Therefore, the rebate does not exist either. That has been very well understood, I think, by everyone who has been …
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Mr. Speaker, I listened with some attention to the member's speech. I wonder how someone from the Conservative Party could vote against a bill that reduces middle-income taxes for 22 million Canadians. How is that possible? In her speech, she said she wants taxes to be removed on new homes for new buyers, and that is exactly what the bill does. How is it possible that she would vote against such a…
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Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of Bill C-4, the making life more affordable for Canadians act. The bill would enact three important measures designed to make life more affordable for Canadians at a time when a range of economic headwinds are combining to pose significant affordability challenges. First, we would cut taxes for 22 million Canadians; second, we would eliminate the GST for most …
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Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague from Beauport—Limoilou, who is now a Liberal member from the greater Quebec City area and who has increased the number of Liberal members from the greater Quebec City area by 50%. It is not complicated. The Conservatives and the Bloc Québécois voted against the Canadian dental care plan and the Canada child benefit. On top of that, the Conservatives called the nat…
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Mr. Speaker, I am grateful and proud of my colleague's speech. I heard her talk about the Canada summer jobs program. I believe that very few members of the House recognize that the proposed budget would increase the number of jobs under the Canada summer jobs program from 70,000 to 100,000 next summer. Could my colleague talk about the impact of this increase in the number of jobs for young peopl…
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Mr. Speaker, at the recent G7 Leaders' Summit, Canada clearly stated that it would be a leader in the global race for critical minerals. Critical minerals are an essential part of manufacturing electric vehicles, clean technologies and information technologies. Controlling critical minerals also means ensuring good jobs for the middle class and economic security for our country. Can the Minister o…
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Mr. Speaker, all experts agree that bail reform needs to be thoughtful and intelligent. Just a few months ago, the Conservative leader ran on a “three strikes and you're out” policy, which I think many people said was unreasonable. Why was it dropped from Bill C-242?
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Mr. Speaker, let me start by saying that I will be sharing my speaking time with my distinguished colleague from Bourassa. I am very pleased to have this opportunity to explain what the government is currently doing to build safe communities and to prevent crime, as well as our plans for the future. Canadians expect the government to be smart about fighting crime. I want to thank and commend the m…
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Mr. Speaker, I would like to congratulate my colleague and thank him for his wisdom in pointing out that, when bills and laws passed by this government are overturned and struck down by the Supreme Court, it has truly harmful consequences for the justice system and for victims. Could my colleague elaborate on the harmful consequences that poorly drafted laws and bills can have on victims?
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Mr. Speaker, we all agree that we want to reform the bail system. That is why, as the Prime Minister said again today, we will very shortly be bringing the House a proposal to reform the bail system that will achieve three known objectives. The first objective is to combat gun violence and organized crime to make it harder for violent repeat offenders to get bail. The second objective is to increa…
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Mr. Speaker, in fact this calls for the support of all members of Parliament on both sides of the House. When it comes, it will come quickly. We need to arrive at a consensus. I think we all share the same objective, a consensus based on reason, efficiency and clear guidance on the part of experts. I am confident. I look forward to broad bipartisan support for the bail reform bill, which is going …
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Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank my colleague for his pertinent and thoughtful comments. The key word here is “thoughtful”. The measures we put in place must be thoughtful measures. Sadly, some of the measures implemented by the Harper government were poorly thought out. They led to court challenges, sometimes reaching the Supreme Court. These measures were struck down, which had a huge impact o…
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Mr. Speaker, I would like to know what my colleague thinks of our Conservative friends' decision to remove what is known as the “three strikes and you're out” provision from their new bill, which was directly inspired by certain American practices. What does he think?
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Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to share my time with the member for Bourassa. I rise today to discuss the Bloc Québécois opposition day motion. First, I would like to congratulate and thank my colleagues in the House for offering many complementary perspectives on this issue. The use of section 33 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, commonly known as the notwithstanding clause, is indeed an…
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Mr. Speaker, that one question contains many questions. I will leave it to my esteemed colleague from Bourassa to give the answer that my colleague obviously deserves. To answer the second question, I would say that it is a matter of striking the right balance between individual rights and freedoms and the collective, social, economic and other objectives that we are able to set ourselves as a gov…
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Mr. Speaker, I applaud my colleague's enthusiasm and passion. I have a quote for him, and I would like to hear his thoughts on it. The great Alexis de Tocqueville said that nothing is more dangerous than citizens' apathy toward the oppression of minorities. What are my colleague's thoughts on that?
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Mr. Speaker, my colleague just raised an important point. Both inside and outside the House, people sometimes tend to lump together the views of Quebeckers as if one political party speaks for them all. Quebeckers are entitled to a wide range of opinions, identities and interests. It is a bit much to claim that one party, perhaps because of its name, speaks for all Quebeckers. No party here repres…
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Mr. Speaker, I have two quick things to say. First, maybe it has taken too long. Maybe 43 years was too long to wait for the Supreme Court to rule on this important issue. Second, it was not the Government of Canada that brought this case to the Supreme Court; it was Quebeckers and Quebec organizations. It was not the Government of Canada that created this case. It was Quebeckers who, rightly or w…
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
Mr. Speaker, I have the honour to table, in both official languages, the first report of the Standing Committee on Public Safety and National Security, entitled “Fighting the Phenomenon of Vehicle Thefts in Canada”. Pursuant to Standing Order 109, the committee requests that the government table a comprehensive response to the report.
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Mr. Speaker, I would like to begin by congratulating my colleague across the way. My colleague said a lot of things, and I will come back to that in a few moments, but he left some things out. I did not hear him talk much about the tax cut, nor did he talk about the expansion of the Canadian dental care plan to cover adults aged 18 to 64, or the school food program, which will benefit 100,000 chil…
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Mr. Speaker, I agree with my colleague that the budget has to be fiscally responsible as well as socially and economically responsible. There will be a budget in the fall of 2025. Between now and then, we have important questions to settle. One of them is whether the member will support the important investments in the armed forces that we announced just this morning. This is an issue that I look …
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Mr. Speaker, I am grateful for the opportunity to participate in today's debate on the timing of budget 2025, a subject that the Canadian government obviously takes very seriously. With that in mind, I am pleased to inform the House that I will be sharing my time with my esteemed colleague from Whitby. We believe it would be both ill-advised and confusing to draft such a major financial planning d…
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Mr. Speaker, no, I would not agree with that. What I would instead add is that it is surprising for his leader, Pierre Poilievre, though I do not believe it would be the member's opinion, to unfortunately declare things such as that the Canadian dental care plan is a communist plan and to describe the school food program as a bureaucratic program, while it is a program that is going to help 400,00…
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Mr. Speaker, our colleague spoke truly about the six affordable homes that Pierre Poilievre built during his entire mandate. However, he did not mention the fact that Pierre Poilievre is against social housing because he says it promotes Soviet-style living. What does the hon. member think about that?
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Mr. Speaker, my colleague is correct. We have to protect the living standards, the well-being, of Canadians, and in particular those Canadians who rely on the benefits and services of the Government of Canada. That is why we have been clear, the Prime Minister has been very clear, that there will not be cuts to transfers to essential programs like child care, pharmacare and dental care, all these …
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Mr. Speaker, it is always such a pleasure to hear my colleague from Acadia speak. Whenever she and I talk, I can sense the enthusiasm and dedication that she demonstrated in a few words just now. Yes, the Canadian dental care plan is making people's lives a lot better. I believe some 15,000 seniors and children in my colleague's riding have already benefited from it, and another 15,000 adults betw…
Read full speech →Speech from the Throne
Madam Speaker, I would like to begin by congratulating my colleague from Davenport on her re-election. I had the good fortune, just a short while ago, to see her at work in her community, in her constituency, where she was present and powerful. I am not at all surprised that she has been re-elected. As I recall, we visited a dental clinic together. We talked about the importance of dental care for…
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Mr. Speaker, it is such a pleasure and honour to greet my colleague, and now my neighbour, the member for Beauport—Limoilou, for the first time. He touched on the importance of building social and affordable housing in his riding. How does he see the future in his riding? He mentioned 369 social housing units. Is he happy with the Government of Canada's contribution to the construction of these un…
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Mr. Speaker, my voice is a little weak today, but any time is a good time to speak on behalf of my constituents. I will be sharing my time with my esteemed colleague, the member for Rivière-des-Mille-Îles. I would like to begin by telling the voters of Québec Centre how proud and grateful I am that, on April 28, they voted for me for the fourth consecutive time. They have given me the opportunity …
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Mr. Speaker, I am delighted to hear my colleague, with whom I had the opportunity to work in various ways over previous years. I agree, as he says, that we will have a budget at the appropriate time. That budget will contain all the updated information of which the hon. member is legitimately in need. He will be seeing these numbers and this budget at the appropriate time with the appropriate rigo…
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Mr. Speaker, as my colleague knows perfectly well, the Canadian government has no intention of maintaining ownership of the Trans Mountain pipeline. It is built, it is operational and it will eventually be passed on to other owners, at the appropriate time. On the issue of trade corridors, my colleague, whom I hold in high regard, also knows that we need more trade corridors between the different …
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Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague from London West whom I hold in high regard. She saw that the people of my riding were happy to welcome her. She also showed the people of my riding, Québec Centre, that there are proud francophones living outside Quebec who are proud of their community, who defend and promote it. The Canadian dental care plan is an extraordinary success story. The reason people a…
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Mr. Speaker, I would need a greater amount of time to speak about the absolutely fundamental need to work on reconciliation and the affirmation of indigenous rights and freedoms. On seniors, as the hon. member knows, it is because of NDP support that we were able to—
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, we know that the Bloc Québécois and the Conservatives have been talking non-stop about an election since September. We have been working for Quebeckers since 2015. That is why, in recent months, we proposed a program like the Canadian dental care plan, which is helping one million Quebeckers and three million Canadians with their dental insurance, something the vast majority of them n…
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Mr. Speaker, once again, the committees of the House are independent. They do the work that they deem relevant to the well-being of Canadians. The second thing I would add is that Quebec universities are also independent and do their work as they see fit, with the skills and responsibilities that are their own.
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Mr. Speaker, the members of the Bloc Québécois are doing everything they can to pick a fight, cause division and stir up trouble. We are not going to get into that kind of discussion.
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Mr. Speaker, I thank our colleague from Ottawa—Vanier for her excellent question. The bad news is when we ask the Leader of the Opposition why he is against the Canadian dental care plan, he says it is because it does not exist and he discourages seniors from registering for it. The good news for Canadians is this deception is not working. More than one million Quebeckers and three million Canadia…
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Mr. Speaker, as my colleague is well aware, committees of the House are independent. They have the right and the duty to do the work they want to do. Obviously, their recommendations are shared publicly. Like all other members of the House, we will review the recommendations and we will see how they can be used or not be used.
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Mr. Speaker, as the Minister of Finance has said many times, it is a question of fiscal responsibility. Canada has the best fiscal record of any G7 country in terms of debt-to-GDP ratio, deficit-to-GDP ratio, interest rates and interest paid on debt. On top of that, interest rates are falling, inflation is dropping and employment is on the rise. What would be irresponsible is to do what the Conser…
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Mr. Speaker, our colleague talks about common sense. I want to talk about their nonsense. In her own riding, 100 affordable housing units are being built on Guillaume‑Couture Boulevard with the Lévis municipal housing office, the City of Lévis and Mayor Lehouillier, as well as Minister Drainville, from the Government of Quebec. They are very proud of these 100 housing units. However, she is allowi…
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