Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, my colleague stressed the importance of the Auditor General's work, and rightly so. The good news is that she tabled a report on Monday with some troubling findings and solid recommendations that we are now implementing or continuing to implement. The member says she is hiding under a rug. That is not true. The Auditor General is in contact with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and a…
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Mr. Speaker, not only did the Auditor General do her job, she did a very good job. We appreciate the work she did and will draw from it. It will help us continue implementing the measures we need, even in times of crisis when situations are extremely complicated for everyone, including Canadians, and when quick action is essential. In these times of crisis, like all other times of crisis, the basi…
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Mr. Speaker, the member is correct to point to the important work of parliamentary committees, which are called to do valuable work to support that of the government in making sure that even in times of crisis, like the pandemic, proper rules are followed, known and monitored by all public servants, including those at the CBSA.
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Mr. Speaker, the member pointed out, again, correctly, the importance of investigations. The good news is that there was an investigation by the Auditor General just a few weeks and months ago. There was an important report tabled on Monday with findings that are totally unacceptable, even in the context of the worst pandemic that we have seen in over a century, the worst economic crisis that we h…
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Mr. Speaker, the member mentioned the word responsibility. In times of crisis, a responsible government has two responsibilities. First, it must protect people's health and ensure their safety. That included the lives of tens of thousands of Quebeckers and Canadians during the pandemic. Second, it must ensure that transportation, in this case within Canada as well as across-the-border transportati…
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Mr. Speaker, we want to thank the Auditor General again, as we did yesterday. We welcome all of the recommendations resulting from her audit of the ArriveCAN app. As our colleague, the Minister of Public Safety, also said yesterday, some of the report's recommendations have already been implemented, including the introduction of new measures to ensure that tasks and deliverables are clearly define…
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Mr. Speaker, as we said yesterday, we again thank the Auditor General for her recommendations on the review of the ArriveCAN application. Some of the report's recommendations have already been implemented, including the introduction of new measures to ensure that tasks and deliverables are clearly defined in professional services contracts. Our departments take very seriously their duty to optimiz…
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Mr. Speaker, we do know several things. First, the RCMP works independently. As the Prime Minister said a few moments ago, we have confidence in its ability to do its work. Second, the Auditor General did describe some shocking behaviour by the public service that was both inappropriate and unwelcome, despite the urgent need to act in the context of a pandemic that was hurting millions of Canadian…
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Mr. Speaker, I am sure my colleague can grasp, now that we have said it several times, that we thank the Auditor General for her report and we acknowledge the significant shortcomings she noted in her report. Many of her recommendations have already been implemented. Others will be implemented in the coming weeks. All of this was put in place under emergency circumstances, when the lives and jobs …
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Mr. Speaker, I thank our colleague for raising this issue. She has already heard the answer several times. We thank the Auditor General for her work and we recognize the significant problems she noted. We know that all of this occurred during a time of crisis. That is no excuse for the lack of information or the lack of record-keeping and sharing of that information. Fortunately, many of the recom…
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Mr. Speaker, at the height of the pandemic, hundreds of people were dying of COVID‑19 and billions of dollars a week were at stake. We had to figure out how to move billions of dollars' worth of goods back and forth across the border. We had to move essential medical drugs, food, and equipment that was crucial to businesses in Quebec and Canada. We had to act fast. Nevertheless, the lack of inform…
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Mr. Speaker, once again, in a free democracy, it is not up to the government or governments to dictate to the police how they should do their job. That is not how things work in a democracy like the one in which we are lucky enough to live. However, in a democracy like Canada, public servants have responsibilities that they must live up to. The Auditor General did note serious flaws in the collect…
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Mr. Speaker, as we already said several times yesterday and again today, we thank the Auditor General for her report. We are taking note of the shocking findings she clearly outlined in her report. We recognize that all of this was done under emergency conditions, but that is no excuse for failing to follow the procedures for collecting necessary information.
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Mr. Speaker, as we said earlier, we are grateful to the Auditor General for her report, which was important and timely. We have accepted all her recommendations. Some of them have already been implemented over the last few weeks. Some are being implemented. We look forward to more opportunities to work with her, so that we can make our procurement system as transparent, equitable and fair as Canad…
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Mr. Speaker, we thank the Auditor General of Canada and welcome her recommendations as part of the audit of the ArriveCAN app. Some of the report's recommendations have already been implemented. Others will be implemented soon, including the introduction of new measures to ensure that tasks and deliverables are clearly defined in future professional services contracts. We are committed to continui…
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Mr. Speaker, as my colleague from public safety said earlier, we would like to thank the Auditor General and welcome her recommendations on the ArriveCAN application. Some of the report's recommendations have already been implemented. Some will be implemented soon, including the introduction of new measures to ensure that tasks and deliverables are clearly defined in future professional services c…
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Mr. Speaker, at the start of the COVID-19 crisis in 2020, Canada's economy was faced with $1 billion in costs. Hundreds of people were dying every week in hospitals and long-term care facilities. We had to act quickly. That being said, the lack of cohesion, quality and data collection and sharing by the CBSA was unacceptable, as the Auditor General demonstrated this morning.
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Mr. Speaker, as our public safety colleague said a few moments ago, it is completely unacceptable to spread misinformation and disinformation. What we do know is that during COVID-19, our borders, including the Canada-U.S. border, had to be shut down. A billion dollars in international trade was at stake. Nevertheless, what we heard from the Auditor General this morning was unacceptable. The task …
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Mr. Speaker, there were 150,000 travellers a day who needed to cross the border into the United States and back into Canada, bringing in medicines, food and essential protective equipment, among other things. We had to quickly find an app to enable all these people to do their job. That said, it was unacceptable that the CBSA did not implement appropriate mechanisms to support the rules already in…
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Mr. Speaker, in times of crisis, the Canadian government has two responsibilities. The first is to keep people healthy and safe. The second is to ensure that its internal processes are effective and efficient. What we know is that, during COVID-19, nearly 70,000 Canadians died, 60 million people needed to cross the border, and we needed to ensure the movement of $1 billion in international trade. …
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Mr. Speaker, I thank our colleague for pointing out how important it is for the public service to manage its information gathering work properly, including during times of crisis, much like the COVID‑19 pandemic we went through. Yes, it is true that billions of dollars in economic activity were lost every week and that hundreds of people lost their lives because of COVID‑19, but that is no excuse …
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Mr. Speaker, again, we thank the Auditor General for her important report, which we are grateful to have seen this morning. However, we have followed many of the recommendations that we find in that report, including improving evaluation requirements and work experience data, increasing record keeping on subcontracting work, and suspending authorities temporarily for task authorization until we ar…
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Mr. Speaker, in a time of crisis, a responsible government has two responsibilities; the first is to protect the health and safety of its citizens, and the second is to ensure the efficiency of its internal systems. What we know from COVID-19 is that $1 billion in economic costs to Canadians was incurred every day. What we also know is that hundreds of people were dying every week. However, at the…
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Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for this reminder of what the obligations of a responsible government are. A responsible government makes sure to protect the health and safety of its citizens, including in times of crisis like COVID-19, the worst health crisis since the last century and the worst economic crisis since the 1930s. We had to act quickly to save hundreds and even thousands of lives …
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Mr. Speaker, one of the Canadian government's duties at the time was to ensure that our border with the United States remained open to the hundreds of thousands of Canadians who were travelling every week and to the billions of dollars in essential medicines, food and critical equipment needed to protect people's health. That is why we implemented the ArriveCAN app, to prevent the border with the …
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Mr. Speaker, it would have been a scandal if the Canadian government had not assumed its responsibility to protect the health and safety of people, including in the riding of Lévis—Lotbinière, where the jobs of hundreds of people depended on efficient and fast transportation at the U.S. border, where $1 billion in trade takes place every day. Nevertheless, the Auditor General's recommendations fro…
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Mr. Speaker, I wish I could be the minister of both health and procurement. I did get to be Minister of Health. As Minister of Procurement and a minister from Quebec, I recognize, as my colleague did, the important contribution that the Government of Quebec and Quebeckers have made over the past few years to advance the discussions, reflections and actions on this very sensitive topic, on which we…
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Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague once again for bringing up this very sensitive issue. We know that freedom of choice, control over one's own life and the choice for a dignified death are options that Canadians already have access to. We also know that we need to work to protect the most vulnerable members of our society. We know that we need to work very closely with health care providers, devel…
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Mr. Speaker, I am very pleased to hear a question from a colleague from the greater Quebec City area. During its 10 years in power, the Conservative government built 24,000 housing units. Over the past five years, we have built nearly 10 times as many. Over the past few months, 500,000 more have been announced. Now, would my Conservative colleagues from the Quebec City area agree to come with me t…
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Mr. Speaker, as my colleague is well aware and as she said so well, it is completely unacceptable for public servants, those who put all their talent and energy into working for the public service, to not be paid properly and on time. That is why we must work harder every day so that people like the person the member mentioned get what they need and what they are owed for the work they do, for the…
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Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank our colleague once again for raising this issue. She is right. We need to invest more in order to pay our public servants on time and correctly, and that is why we are currently hiring hundreds of new compensation officers. We are investing in improved technology that will enable better information flow between the departments concerned and the payroll centre, mo…
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Madam Speaker, I am very happy to hear about Moisson Kamouraska. I would like to know what the folks at Moisson Kamouraska think of the Conservatives, who oppose the Canada child benefit, which reduces child poverty by 40% every month in every riding, including my opposition colleague's riding. What do the folks at Moisson Kamouraska think of the Conservatives opposing affordable, quality child ca…
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Madam Speaker, I thank my colleague for asking this question and for mentioning La Bouchée généreuse in Quebec City, which I know very well. I am sure the folks there are also wondering how the Conservatives can oppose the Canada child benefit, which reduces poverty in the Quebec City region by 40% every month, lifting more than 400,000 children across the country out of poverty every month. How, …
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Madam Speaker, the Conservatives keep talking about the price on pollution. There are some very clear facts. First, pollution exists. Second, climate change exists. Third, the price on pollution will help reduce emissions by one-third over the next few years. Fourth, we know that the Conservatives are no longer welcome in the Magdalen Islands. We know they will not be visiting the Plains of Abraha…
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Mr. Speaker, the minister has already adequately answered this question. What we do not know is why the opposition member, just a few days ago, voted against the dental plan that was announced yesterday. In his riding, nearly 30,000 people will be eligible for this dental plan by 2025. Without this plan, they would not be able to go to the dentist or dental hygienist, which would create the kinds …
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moved that the bill be concurred in.
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Mr. Speaker, the Minister of Environment and Climate Change has done a tremendous job. He has already given very good answers to the many questions posed by the opposition. However, there is one thing that I do not understand. The last battle on the Plains of Abraham took place in 1759, but during the votes last week, we saw that the Conservatives want to wage another battle on those plains. They …
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moved: That Vote 1b, in the amount of $12,053,828, under Royal Canadian Mounted Police — Operating expenditures, in the Supplementary Estimates (B) for the fiscal year ending March 31, 2024, be concurred in.
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Mr. Speaker, let me set the record straight: The price on pollution reduces pollution and puts more money in the pockets of eight out of 10 families in provinces where pricing applies. The number of families in the riding of Beauce who receive the Canada child benefit is 9,470. Nine out of 10 families in the member's riding receive the Canada child benefit. Unfortunately, even though the member wa…
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Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for the opportunity to elaborate on what I was saying earlier. This morning's announcement is good news for the armed forces because they will be better off with equipment suited to their needs and the critical conditions we are facing around the world. This is also good news for the whole country's aerospace sector. Boeing has 550 suppliers and can invest close t…
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Mr. Speaker, benefiting Quebec's economy and the aerospace sector across Canada is precisely one of the objectives of this morning's announcement. That is why we are moving forward over the next few months with the procurement announced today, which will be good for 3,000 jobs, or 3,000 workers, over the coming years. The spinoffs in Canada, including in Quebec, will be roughly $400 million a year…
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Mr. Speaker, what Conservative senators should be telling Conservative MPs is that the price on pollution does three things. One, it reduces pollution. Two, it puts more money in the pockets of eight out of 10 families. Three, it creates jobs we need for the economy of the future. Everyone knows that the Conservative elite's official policy is that climate change does not exist, but this is 2023, …
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Mr. Speaker, as my colleague said, further developing our aerospace industry is exactly what this morning's announcement will allow us to do, while also, obviously, giving the Canadian Armed Forces the tools they need to protect us at home and defend Canada's interests abroad, throughout the world. That is why companies like CAE, Héroux‑Devtek and L3Harris Technologies in Montreal, Mirabel and els…
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Mr. Speaker, I thank our colleague for acknowledging the expertise of aerospace workers not only in Quebec, but also in Canada. That is why the decision we will soon be making is an important one, both for securing the military and geopolitical needs of Canada and the Canadian Armed Forces, but also for continuing to support Canada's aerospace sector. We know that this represents roughly 220,000 j…
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Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for giving me the opportunity to focus on talents and needs, the talents of all aerospace workers in Canada. There are so many of them. We rely on them every day to support the needs of the Canadian Armed Forces. They have done a lot over the past few decades, and we know that we can count on them in the years to come.
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Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for that question. I know he agrees that it is completely unacceptable for public servants to not be paid accurately and on time. That is why we are continuing to ensure that any delays and problematic procedures associated with the pay process are reduced and eliminated to reduce the backlog. That is why we are currently employing about 600 additional employees t…
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Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for that important question. She said that we should do our job. That is exactly what we are doing by combining the requirements and demands of national defence and the interest of supporting our aerospace industry in Canada and Quebec. We know that 20,000 jobs in Canada support our aerospace industry. That amounts to nearly $200 billion in investments and economi…
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Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for pointing out the amazing work that the Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry and all the other ministers from Quebec accomplish for Quebeckers every day. One example that I am sure he knows about is the Davie shipyard, which is very close to my riding. In March 2023, it became part of Canada's new national shipbuilding strategy, all because of the effec…
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Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for taking the time to ask that very important question. This gives me an opportunity to say how important the aerospace industry is in Quebec and across the country. It contributes nearly $25 billion to the GDP every year and provides more than 200,000 aerospace jobs across the country, including, obviously, at every supplier in the huge supply chain. That is why…
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Mr. Speaker, I want to say a big thank you to our colleague for raising the issue of housing. It is both important and timely. This morning, we announced that Canada Lands Company will build 28,000 new homes over the next five years, including 5,000 new affordable housing units, which is twice the amount that has been built in the past 30 years. This is a clear example of how municipalities, non-p…
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