Statements by Members
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…
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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, 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, 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, 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, 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, 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, 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, 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, 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 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, 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 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…
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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, 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 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, 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…
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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, 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, 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, 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, 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, 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 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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Mr. Speaker, unity and connection are exactly what the Canadian federation encourages. That is why in Canada, including Quebec, we are proud to be part of a united country that defends the right and freedom of each and every person to do what they think is best for them. Once again, the Quebec government has jurisdiction over education. I invite our colleague to ask good questions not here, but at…
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Mr. Speaker, the question was indeed irrelevant, but here is one that is relevant. Why does the member not speak for himself? Why does he not speak for his constituents and for the other Conservative members from Quebec? The Conservative leader claims that the affordable housing being built in his riding and in other Conservative ridings does not exist. He says that housing projects do not exist, …
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Mr. Speaker, knowing how to count helps. One, two, three, four, five, six affordable housing units; that is all the Conservative leader built across the country during his entire career as minister responsible for housing. There are 8,000 affordable housing units being built right now in Quebec thanks to the $2-billion agreement we have with the Quebec government. Several hundred of those affordab…
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Mr. Speaker, as our colleague likely knows, education falls under provincial jurisdiction. If he wants to talk about education and how to protect children in the Quebec school system, then he should talk to the Government of Quebec. The House of Commons is not really the proper forum for talking about such issues.
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Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank my colleague for raising an issue that brings the House together. We all have the right, and I would even say the responsibility, to support all the initiatives that we can, as the Canadian government, in order to encourage inclusivity and growth in a great country where diversity has been our strength and pride for many years. We are working with the Quebec gove…
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Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague from Ottawa—Vanier for her excellent question. Indeed, the Conservative leader is very inconsistent. He says he wants to cut taxes, yet he voted against the tax break last week. He says he is against the Canadian dental care plan, which helps three million Canadians. The dental plan clearly exists, yet he says it does not. He is against social housing because he s…
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Mr. Speaker, on the contrary, we love accountability and that is why we thank the Auditor General for all of her work. She did a solid job, and it is important to acknowledge that this morning. It is also important to acknowledge that when the pandemic hit, the only thing the Conservatives wanted to do, according to the Leader of the Opposition, was cut corporate taxes in the hope that corporation…
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Mr. Speaker, as our colleague is well aware, our relationship with the United States is our most important relationship of all in terms of security and the economy. We have been working very well together for years, for decades. That is also what we have done over the past several years. My colleague knows full well that, just 18 months ago, we signed a new safe third country agreement that the Un…
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Mr. Speaker, our colleague is talking about control, jurisdiction and confidence. I just answered his question a few moments ago. One thing that is within his control is asking for his security clearance to protect himself from his own blatant incompetence. He is incapable of protecting himself and his own MPs. That creates a confidence issue. The confidence of Parliament and the confidence of Can…
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Mr. Speaker, our colleague is well aware that the relationship with the United States is the most important relationship that we have when it comes to economic and border security. That is why, for many decades now, we have been working actively and constructively with the Americans. That is what we have done in recent years, particularly with President-elect Trump's previous administration. The P…
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Mr. Speaker, is my colleague familiar with Guillaume-Couture Boulevard in her riding? Through a housing project on Guillaume-Couture Boulevard, 100 affordable housing units are now being built for seniors. My colleague talks about incompetence. The incompetent one is her Conservative leader, who claims that these affordable housing units, the Unitaînés project's 100 affordable housing units for se…
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Mr. Speaker, I have two points I would like to make. First, no federal government has done more for seniors than the Liberal government has done since 2015. That is one reason why the poverty rate among seniors has dropped by 20% since 2015. Second, if we had listened to the Conservatives, who, unfortunately, are often supported by the Bloc, we would not have brought the age of eligibility for old…
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Mr. Speaker, the real scandal would of course be if an opposition party like the Conservative Party or the Bloc Québécois had opposed the Canadian dental care plan, because over 13,000 seniors in my colleague's riding have received a Canadian dental care plan card over the past few months, and thousands of them have been able to see a hygienist, denturist and dentist, often for the first time in y…
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Mr. Speaker, let us talk about what is sad and what is responsible. It is indeed very sad that our Conservative colleagues from Quebec have been muzzled by their leader. They are not allowed to come visit the hundreds of affordable housing units that we are building in their ridings. They are being hidden by their Conservative leader. That is irresponsible. These MPs are unable to defend their com…
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Mr. Speaker, let us talk about incompetence. The Conservative leader built not one, two, three, four or five, but six affordable housing units across the whole country during his entire mandate. That is the definition of incompetence. Today, there are hundreds of affordable housing units being built, including some in our colleague's riding. The bad news is that not only does the Conservative lead…
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Mr. Speaker, the minister has already answered this question multiple times. However, there is one question we have not yet received an answer to. Why is the Conservative leader refusing to get his security clearance in order to protect himself and his MPs and future candidates in the next election? What does the Conservative leader have to hide? What is behind his refusal to be briefed on the ris…
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Mr. Speaker, it is a real shame to hear so many falsehoods uttered in so little time in the House. It is a real shame that the Conservatives are investing so much of their energy in falsehoods that lead the House astray, skew opinion and distract the House from what really matters, which is working for Quebeckers and Canadians. One thing we still do not have an answer to is why the Conservative le…
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Mr. Speaker, the minister has already responded to this slew of falsehoods. What we still have not heard is the opinion of the Conservative MP for Charlesbourg—Haute-Saint-Charles. The Monterosso project is in his riding. Dozens of affordable housing units are being built thanks to the agreement we signed with the Quebec government exactly one year ago. However, his Conservative leader says these …
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Mr. Speaker, our colleague from Charlesbourg—Haute-Saint-Charles seems to be having a hard time expressing himself today. There is something we would like his thoughts on, and that is the narrative of his Conservative leader, who claims that the agreement we have with the Government of Quebec seeking to build 8,000 social housing units is not currently allowing any social housing to be built. Ther…
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