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Madam Speaker, I would like to mention three things. First, we increased assistance for seniors aged 75 and up. As my colleague may know, even if it is not from personal experience, when people age, their needs increase and their income goes down. They find it more difficult to work and have to pay more for medication, housing and transportation. Second, we have always said that we will continue t…
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Madam Speaker, our colleague talks about platitudes. It is not a platitude to say that, as of July 22, 8,022 seniors in her riding were able to get affordable and accessible dental care. Many of them had waited for years for dental care, dentures, exams and cleanings because they are so expensive. Many of them, unfortunately, waited far too long. Indeed, the longer a person waits, the more expensi…
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Madam Speaker, my colleague's question is directed at the leader of the Bloc Québécois, so the leader of the Bloc Québécois will have to answer. However, I am going to give her some very useful information. In her riding, as of July 22, 16,452 seniors had received their member card under the new Canadian dental care plan. The problem is that his Conservative leader said on the radio in Quebec City…
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Madam Speaker, once again, the member is asking questions to the leader of the Bloc Québécois. I do not know why she is looking at this side of the House. In any case, she did not answer my question. Will she call her insulting Conservative leader to order? Yesterday, again, he spent the day hurling insults. Quebeckers are not like that. Will she call her Conservative leader to order and also ask …
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Mr. Speaker, the Conservatives certainly cannot be counted on to defend Quebec's interests, and certainly not those of the Quebec government. The Conservatives, including unfortunately my colleague from the Quebec region, want to cut everything, and this includes cuts to child care, housing, public transit and health transfers. How is making cuts, cuts and more cuts, including cuts to supports for…
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Mr. Speaker, instead of undermining the interests of Quebeckers, my colleague from Mégantic—L'Érable should be looking out for his constituents and correcting the lies told by his Conservative leader, who says that the Canadian dental care plan does not exist. In my colleague’s riding, 11,000 seniors have registered for the Canadian dental care plan, yet he stands by while his leader claims that t…
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Mr. Speaker, like you, I was a page in the House of Commons a few years back, and I would like to congratulate and thank the new cohort of pages we are fortunate to have with us this year. We know how important their responsibilities are. Members of the House appreciate their service. I thank them for being with us in the coming months. As for the Leader of the Opposition, what he is saying is lau…
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Mr. Speaker, unfortunately, we cannot count on the Conservatives' lieutenant to defend the interests of Quebec either. A few weeks ago, he had a good idea. He said that the money for modern public transit should go to the people of Quebec City. A few hours later, his leader rebuked him and humiliated him. He said not to listen to his Quebec lieutenant, that the money going to the Quebec City regio…
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Mr. Speaker, if he spends so much time in Quebec City, then my colleague, the Quebec lieutenant, should have heard what his Conservative leader said on Radio-Canada recently. He said that the Canadian dental care plan does not exist. He said that he cannot say why he is against it because he does not think that it exists, and yet 10,500 seniors in his riding have received their cards for the Canad…
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Mr. Speaker, I apologize. I said something I should not have.
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Mr. Speaker, on the contrary, for the first time in this country's history, the new Official Languages Act recognizes that French is in jeopardy in Quebec and that it must be protected across the country, but especially in Quebec. I have already answered that question. I made it clear that all Crown corporations are subject to the same treatment. I have a few seconds left, so, on behalf of all mem…
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Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for giving me the chance to remind the entire House that all federal institutions, including Crown corporations like Canada Post, are subject to the Canadian government's Official Languages Act. The good news is that this act was strengthened in the past few years. For the first time in this country's history, this act and the Canadian government recognize that we…
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Mr. Speaker, not only is the Conservative leader against the Canadian dental care plan, but he also misled seniors in Quebec City by saying on the radio just a few days ago that the Canadian dental care plan does not exist and that people should not try to register for it. That shows contempt for seniors in Quebec. The good news is that it is not working, because over one-third of the two million …
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Mr. Speaker, it has been a while since we reminded my colleague from Charlesbourg—Haute‑Saint‑Charles that his Conservative leader built six affordable housing units across the country during his entire career as minister responsible for housing, while there are 222 in his riding alone and, in the next few days, we will be announcing the Habitations Charles IV housing project right in his riding. …
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Mr. Speaker, what we can do today is go visit some of the 222 affordable homes built in his riding over the last few months. That figure does not include the thousands of homes that will be built there in the coming years with the support of the Quebec government. Unfortunately, this stands in stark contrast to the six affordable homes that his Conservative leader built during his entire tenure as…
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Mr. Speaker, I would not want to compare the records of Conservative MPs in the Quebec City region. In her own riding of Bellechasse—Les Etchemins—Lévis, 205 affordable housing units have been built in recent years. That is slightly less than the 222 affordable housing units in Charlesbourg—Haute‑Saint‑Charles, but it is far more than the six affordable housing units that our colleague, the MP for…
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Mr. Speaker, I have bad news for the member for Chicoutimi—Le Fjord. A hundred and eighty-one affordable housing units have been built in his riding. Now for the good news: 181 affordable housing units is 30 times more than the six units that the Conservative leader built across the whole country during his entire career as housing minister. He got six affordable housing units built. I know people…
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Mr. Speaker, how can the Conservative leader and chief insult-hurler explain the nonsense of asking someone who earns $500,000 in capital gains to pay less tax than a nurse who earns $50,000? How can he claim that it is common sense to ask middle-class families to pay more tax than those who make huge capital gains?
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Mr. Speaker, unlike Conservatives, who have been treating home ownership like a casino, we put in place a foreign buyers ban so that foreign speculators no longer price out hard-working Canadian families. Unlike the Conservatives, we are working with MPs in the GTA to use public lands for affordable homes and not for the profits of the highest bidders, and our plan for tax fairness is asking wealt…
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Mr. Speaker, my colleague knows full well that that decision and recommendation were made by the National Capital Commission, an independent organization, which has said that it wants to focus on revitalizing downtown Ottawa. It recommended this decision to the Treasury Board, obviously without the Prime Minister's Office, or any other minister not associated with the Treasury Board, having a say …
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Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for that question, which gives me an opportunity to remind the House of the importance of the work of the Auditor General and of all other institutions and officials of the House of Commons. That is why the report that she tabled last week was well received. This report sets out observations and findings that are almost identical to those we have been aware of for…
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Mr. Speaker, I will reiterate exactly the same things I summarized a few moments ago. The Auditor General's work is essential, not only on this issue, but on many other issues where her advice and recommendations are changing the way we can improve services to Canadians, including by increasing integrity and trust in procurement processes. That said, we have many other things to do, including cont…
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Mr. Speaker, I will do so with pleasure. It is hope and hard work. What good news the Prime Minister announced on May 15 about acquiring the Quebec City bridge. What good news it was that this piece of strategic infrastructure that is unique in the world and critical to the Quebec City region will be saved, restored and upgraded. On behalf of my colleague from Louis-Hébert, I thank the Prime Minis…
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Mr. Speaker, that question has already been answered many times. Perhaps I will just add that the Canadian government will, obviously, always co-operate with the RCMP and any other agency to help them do their work. Perhaps the member is not yet aware of the fact that this week has been a very good week for Canadians, since it was announced for the first time in four years and for the first time i…
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Mr. Speaker, my esteemed colleague from Louis-Saint-Laurent is talking about information. Unfortunately, the first piece of information he did not adequately convey is that all the reports, including the Auditor General's latest report, made it very clear that there was no political interference of any kind. Anyone who claims otherwise is, unfortunately, spreading disinformation. Speaking of disin…
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Mr. Speaker, that is nonsense. Eight out of 10 families get more money back in their pockets than they pay as part of the carbon price because of the rebate, in regions where the price applies. It is very simple. All the proceeds from the price on carbon are redistributed equally to all families. The wealthiest pay more than they get back. Middle-class families get more back than they pay. It is a…
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Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for allowing me the opportunity to thank the Auditor General of Canada once again for her important work on this and many other files. Yesterday, we heard the Auditor General reach findings that are very similar, and at times identical, to the findings of reports that the government published about a year ago. Based on these previous shared findings, we have been …
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Mr. Speaker, the Auditor General's recommendations are indeed very similar, and often identical, to those that have already been published and have been known for several months. We have been taking significant action for more than a year now on the issues my colleague mentioned. It bears saying not only that we will continue the work, but that it is important to do so to ensure the integrity of a…
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Mr. Speaker, I have already answered that question several times. A question that has not been answered, however, is why are the Conservatives not sharing today's good news about the interest rate being lowered for the first time in four years, a first among G7 countries? That was possible not only because we have responsible management from a fiscal, economic and social standpoint, but also becau…
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Mr. Speaker, it may indeed be that our colleague was distracted when I spoke about the matter many times during question period. I am happy to repeat the same answer to the same question, which is that we thank the Auditor General for her report. It contains recommendations and views that have been understood and heard in many other reports in previous months. We have been acting on those recommen…
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Mr. Speaker, members on the other side of the House clearly have a listening problem, because I have answered this question many times today. I say it is a listening problem because, a few days ago, other members and I heard the Leader of the Opposition and chief insult-hurler tell Quebeckers in my region that the Canadian dental care plan does not exist. However, there are 9,000 seniors in my col…
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Mr. Speaker, I am happy to repeat what I just said in the other official language. We thank the Auditor General of Canada for her important work on this file. The report reaches conclusions similar to those in the report that was released by the government last year. Nevertheless, we will continue to take the findings into account. For example, standing offers with McKinsey and all similar compani…
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Mr. Speaker, I have answered this question multiple times now. I would just add that, in addition to what I have said, these contracts have been closely examined several times, including by the Auditor General. No indication of political interference was ever found. However, speaking of contracts, may I talk about dental care, about which the Conservative leader has nothing to say, because he beli…
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Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for giving me another opportunity to thank the Auditor General for her very important work. The findings of her report are similar to those we already have seen and heard from Government of Canada agencies and committees of the House of Commons in recent months. In light of the previous findings, we have been taking action for over a year to put an end to all the …
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Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for asking this important question, which allows me to thank the Auditor General for her important work on this topic. The report comes to similar conclusions to those of the report that was released by the government last year. Based on those previous findings, we have been acting for more than a year to end the standing offers with McKinsey and all similar compa…
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Mr. Speaker, this is another great opportunity to thank and congratulate the Auditor General on her important work. Her conclusions, of course, are similar to those we have been hearing in recent months. These conclusions have enabled us, over the past few months, to take those previous findings into account and take action to put an end to standing offers with McKinsey and all other similar compa…
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Mr. Speaker, the member is absolutely right to draw attention to two things. The first is security. The second is spending. Let us begin with spending. The President of the Treasury Board has been very clear over the past few months. We are reducing professional services contracts by 15% to give the public service even more latitude and capacity to serve Canadians. When it comes to security, the A…
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Mr. Speaker, we are grateful to the Auditor General for her important report. Although the report comes to similar conclusions as the reports released by the government last year, it is obviously important input so that we can continue the work that we have done, such as making sure that we are, for instance, removing McKinsey and similar companies from standing offers. We are also introducing str…
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Mr. Speaker, keeping Canadians informed is one of our basic responsibilities as politicians. I would remind members that just a few days ago, the Conservative leader told people in my region that the Canadian dental care plan does not exist. However, two million Canadians, including several thousand in the riding of my colleague from Bellechasse—Les Etchemins—Lévis, have registered for the Canadia…
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Mr. Speaker, I am delighted to answer that question. My colleague is well aware that the Auditor General's work is not only very important, but very much appreciated by the Canadian government. We look forward to her report tomorrow, of course. We already know that it will continue to assist us further in the important work that we all need to do to ensure the proper and timely delivery of public …
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Madam Speaker, let me try a different approach. It was not 10, nine, eight or seven affordable housing units that the Conservative leader built across the country during his entire career as the minister responsible for housing. It was only six. It is surprising to hear about affordable housing and to hear the insults from my colleague from Montmagny—L'Islet—Kamouraska—Rivière-du-loup, whom I real…
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Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague from Lac-Saint-Louis for his question. I would like to share some surprising news with the House. Last week, the Conservative leader announced on Radio-Canada that the Canadian dental care plan does not exist, when two million seniors have enrolled the program and 120,000 of them have already started receiving care since May 1. About 60% of dental care providers i…
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Madam Speaker, that is exactly what is needed here, for them to understand. It is very simple. Eight out of 10 families in Canada receive more money through the Canada carbon rebate than they pay through the price on carbon. The reason for that is very simple: All the proceeds from the price on carbon are returned and redistributed to Canadians. The richest pay more than they receive. The middle c…
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Madam Speaker, we heard some shocking news from the Conservative leader. Last week, on Radio‑Canada in Quebec City, he said that the Canadian dental care plan did not exist. He said, on my radio, in Quebec City, that the Canadian dental care plan did not exist. My colleague is so right to talk about disinformation. The Conservative leader says that the plan does not exist, when two million seniors…
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Madam Speaker, one, two, three, four, five, six, that is the number of affordable housing units that the Conservative leader built across the country during his entire career as housing minister. Meanwhile, the member talks about insults and the people lobbing insults. What about the way that he insults Quebec municipalities by calling them incompetent when Quebec municipalities are building 8,000…
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Mr. Speaker, today we are talking about math. There is one small number that is easy to forget because it is so small: six. Six is the number of affordable housing units that the Conservative leader, the champion insult-hurler, built from coast to coast to coast during his tenure as housing minister. He built six small housing units. In contrast, the Government of Canada funded the construction of…
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Mr. Speaker, the member is talking about building housing. Do members know how many homes the Conservative leader built when he was the minister responsible for housing? It was not 10 units. It was not nine units. It was not eight or seven units. The Conservative leader built six affordable housing units across the country during his entire term as the minister responsible for housing. Municipalit…
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Mr. Speaker, if my colleague does not like the economists at Université Laval, there are plenty of economists across the country he can consult. Three hundred of them signed a letter that explains to the Conservatives, who are a bit hard-headed, that eight out of 10 families get more money back from the rebate than they pay because of the price on carbon. It is not complicated: All the proceeds fr…
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Mr. Speaker, I would like to remind my colleague of something that she already knows and that is that her Conservative leader created only six affordable housing units, whereas 205 were built in her riding alone in recent months. What I would like to ask her, however, is whether she agrees with her Conservative leader that the Canadian dental care plan does not exist, while in her riding, 9,000 se…
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Mr. Speaker, my colleague talks about struggling, but the people in my region, the Quebec City and south shore region, are struggling to understand the Conservative leader who says that the Canadian dental care plan does not exist, when in her region 9,000 seniors have registered for it. Several thousand Quebeckers in the Quebec City region alone have been able to access dental care, in some cases…
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