Parliamentary Speeches

Routine Proceedings

Mr. Speaker, I have the honour of tabling a petition today on recognition and support for family caregivers. These women and men play a vital role in supporting people with health conditions who are in the process of losing their autonomy or living with a disability. Their work eases some of the pressure on our health care system. This petition is the outcome of a remarkable grassroots movement le…

Oral Questions

Mr. Speaker, I would like to begin by sincerely thanking you for your work, your patience and your remarkable ability to remain calm. I would also like to thank all the members of the political parties for their tributes, which I thought were almost too generous. I want to thank my leader, the member for Beloeil—Chambly, the member for Ville‑Marie—Le Sud‑Ouest—Île‑des‑Soeurs and the member for Lév…

First Session—45th Parliament

I will now call upon Mr. Francis Scarpaleggia, the hon. member for Lac-Saint-Louis.

First Session—45th Parliament

I will soon suspend the sitting for 30 minutes. Before I do that, I would like to thank my entire team of volunteers for helping me get elected for the 13th time. I thank them for this exalted throne. I also want to thank my whole family. I do love this throne, but I will have to let the King borrow it tomorrow. The King is welcome to it. Actually, he will be sitting on the throne in the Senate. I…

First Session—45th Parliament

Pursuant to the Standing Orders, the House will now proceed to elect a Speaker. After the Clerk has opened the envelope containing the ballots, I will suggest a method of proceeding that will help accelerate the voting process. We will now begin to vote pursuant to Standing Order 4. Please allow me to outline the procedure for all hon. members. The names of the candidates for the election are list…

Oral Questions

Mr. Speaker, ten years ago today, on Wednesday, October 22, 2014, Parliament experienced one of the darkest days in its long history, a day that would forever change life in the House of Commons. Ten years ago, a terrorist killed a man just steps from Parliament before bursting into Centre Block targeting elected representatives with deadly intentions. Ten years ago, Corporal Nathan Cirillo lost h…

Oral Questions

Mr. Speaker, I too would like to honour John Fraser today, whom I had the honour of working with for many years when he was a minister and when he was Speaker of the House. He was the proud representative of the riding of Vancouver South from 1972 to 1993. In 1986, Mr. Fraser was the first MP elected Speaker of the House of Commons by secret ballot. Prior to this first election in the House, the P…

Oral Questions

Mr. Speaker, what can I say after all those kind words? I would like to thank the five speakers from the various political parties who spoke so kindly of me. I have served in the governing party, I have served as an independent, I have served in the official opposition, and I have served as a member of the third party. I have known just about every trend and experienced all the highs and lows. I w…

Routine Proceedings

Mr. Speaker, I have fond memories when I talk about this prime minister. I was elected with him as part of his team on September 4, 1984. He was a great Canadian, a great Quebecker and a great prime minister. On behalf of the Bloc Québécois, I would first like to offer my deepest condolences to his wife, Mila, his daughter, Caroline, his sons, Ben, Mark and Nicolas, and his grandchildren. I rememb…

Oral Questions

Mr. Speaker, on behalf of the Bloc Québécois and as the dean of the House, I have the honour to rise to celebrate the memory of Ed Broadbent, the third leader of the New Democratic Party, who passed away at the age of 87. Canada's big NDP family lost more than a former leader on January 11. It lost the embodiment of a vision that, 35 years after his time as leader of the party, has virtually becom…

Statements by Members

Mr. Speaker, allow me to take a few moments to pay tribute to Danielle Gamelin, director general of Fondation Santé Bécancour–Nicolet–Yamaska. From the time she started running that organization eight years ago, she proceeded to restructuring internal operations to improve efficiency and organizing fundraisers to stabilize the organization's financial health. What is more, she has reached out many…

Statements by Members

Mr. Speaker, Hélène Alarie, the Bloc Québécois member for the riding of Louis-Hébert from 1997 to 2000, passed away last week. Without ever raising her voice or losing her cheerful demeanour, Hélène was a calm but forceful presence and a trailblazer. In fact, she was the first woman agronomist in Quebec. While the pesticide industry was in its heyday, she promoted a kind of agriculture that was mo…

I will now call upon Peter Schiefke, the member for Vaudreuil—Soulanges, to speak.

Before I suspend the sitting for 30 minutes, may I bring to the attention of hon. members that the bells calling the members back to the House will be sounded for not more than five minutes. The sitting is suspended to the call of the Chair for 30 minutes. (The sitting of the House was suspended at 10:44 a.m.)

Pursuant to the provisions of the Standing Orders, the House will now proceed to elect a Speaker. After the Clerk has unsealed the ballots, I will suggest to the House a procedure that will accelerate the voting process. We will now prepare to begin to vote according to the provisions of Standing Order 4. Please allow me to outline the procedure for all members. The names of the candidates eligibl…

All members having voted, I do now instruct the Clerk to proceed with the counting of the ballots, after I have cast my ballot.

Before I suspend the sitting, I wish to remind hon. members that, when the counting has been completed, the bells to call the members back to the House will be sounded. The sitting is suspended to the call of the Chair. (The sitting of the House was suspended at 12:00 p.m.)

It is my duty to inform the House that a Speaker of the House has been duly elected. It is with great pleasure that I invite the hon. member for the electoral district of Hull—Aylmer to take the chair.

I now invite the right hon. Prime Minister and the hon. Leader of the Opposition to escort the Hon. Greg Fergus to the chair. (The Presiding Officer having vacated the chair, the right hon. Prime Minister and the hon. Leader of the Opposition conducted Mr. Greg Fergus from his seat in the House to the chair)

Pursuant to order made on Tuesday, September 26, the House will now proceed to the election of the Speaker. Before I begin, I would like to tell my predecessor, Mr. Rota, how much I admire all of the work he did during his two terms as Speaker. He was a great Speaker, and he will be remembered for a job well done. I thank Mr. Rota. I was very pleased to fill in as Speaker temporarily. My term will…

Further to that statement, the list of candidates is revised accordingly. Pursuant to Standing Order 3.1, the House must proceed to the speeches from each candidate for Speaker. Notwithstanding any Standing Order, any procedure or any practice adopted by this House, and to help the newly elected members identify the candidates for the office of Speaker, I will recognize in alphabetical order each …

I will now call upon Mr. Chris d'Entremont, the hon. member for West Nova.

I will now call upon the hon. member for Hull—Aylmer.

I will now call upon the member for Algoma—Manitoulin—Kapuskasing.

I will now call upon Ms. Elizabeth May, the hon. member for Saanich—Gulf Islands. She is not here with us today, but we can watch her on the screen.

I will now call upon the hon. member for Brossard—Saint‑Lambert.

Statements by Members

Mr. Speaker, on Tuesday, the Gaspé region lost one of its most stalwart advocates. Former member of Parliament Raynald Blais passed away at the age of 69. Elected three times as the member for Gaspésie—Les Îles-de-la-Madeleine, Raynald Blais represented his region in the House of Commons from 2004 to 2011. I had the honour to work alongside him in the Bloc Québécois. He truly distinguished himself…

Oral Questions

Thank you for welcoming me. I am very grateful for your unanimous agreement to grant me the honour of being the interim Speaker for five days. I will remember this forever. During my long, 39-year career, I will no doubt have been the longest-serving member of Parliament but the shortest-serving Speaker. We will now proceed to the weekly statement by the House leader of the official opposition.

Statements by Members

Mr. Speaker, on behalf of the Bloc Québécois and as dean of the House of Commons, I am pleased to recognize Geoff Regan, who served as the Speaker of the House from 2015 to 2019. His portrait will now hang in the halls of Parliament as is the custom. He was the 36th Speaker of the House, but the first Speaker from Atlantic Canada in nearly a century. Mr. Regan proudly represented the people of Hal…

Government Orders

Madam Speaker, Bill C-32 has more bulk than substance. My colleagues were right in saying so earlier. Bill C-32 contains 25 different tax measures and a dozen or so non-tax measures. That may seem like a lot, but there are in fact two kinds of measures. Some are minor amendments, like the ones this Parliament adopts on a regular basis to comply with court rulings, treaties and new accounting polic…

Government Orders

Madam Speaker, I thank the hon. member for raising those points. You mentioned $2 billion, but when the government slashed transfers in half from 50% to 25%, that represented a lot more than the $2 billion you say you provided. Let me remind you that the federal government's role is to transfer the money to the provinces, not to give that money directly or to opine that one type of care is better …

Government Orders

Madam Speaker, I talked about the health transfers that all the provinces have requested. Quebec and all the provinces are calling for a new cost-sharing arrangement with an additional $28 billion going to the provinces. The federal government may say that this is not immediately feasible, but it could at least promise to do it in increments. It could make a two-, three- or four-year agreement to …

Government Orders

Madam Speaker, when it comes to mental health, what is happening is terrible. Mental health problems have increased dramatically, so the amount of money that needs to be invested also needs to increase considerably. Once again, this is a health-related issue, and health is a provincial responsibility. That is very clearly stated in the Constitution, in section 92. If the government wants to be gen…

Oral Questions

Mr. Speaker, on behalf of the Bloc Québécois, I would like to honour the memory of Bill Blaikie, a prominent figure in the New Democratic Party and, more broadly, the Canadian left. When I was elected in 1984, Bill Blaikie had already been the MP for Winnipeg—Transcona for five years. He was a towering figure in the NDP caucus, both figuratively and literally, as he stood at least a head taller th…

Private Members' Business

Madam Speaker, we are winding up debate at second reading of Bill C-237. This bill gives the provinces the right to withdraw when the federal government creates a program that should be the exclusive jurisdiction of the provinces. I found the term “exclusive” in the Constitution. When we speak of exclusive jurisdictions, we are referring to matters that fall under the authority of either the provi…

Private Members' Business

Madam Speaker, I request a recorded division.

Government Orders

Madam Speaker, I listened carefully to my colleague's speech. At the beginning of his speech, he spoke a lot about the need for new housing. However, the housing announced in the budget will not be available for another two or three years, because housing cannot be built instantaneously. Still, there may be a way to help people find housing. For example, in some regions, Airbnb has taken over 20, …

Private Members' Business

moved that Bill C-237, An Act to amend the Federal-Provincial Fiscal Arrangements Act and the Canada Health Act be read the second time and referred to a committee. Madam Speaker, I am very proud to rise today to speak to my bill, Bill C-237, an act to amend the Federal-Provincial Fiscal Arrangements Act and the Canada Health Act. The bill addresses the root cause of the tensions and disputes betw…

Private Members' Business

Madam Speaker, my answer is very simple. It is well established in the Canadian Constitution that education and health are areas of provincial jurisdiction. Manitoba has full authority in education and health, as does Quebec. The federal government needs to stop meddling in these areas of jurisdiction.

Private Members' Business

Madam Speaker, I thank my colleague for the question. That is exactly what I said in my speech. Quebec's entire health care community, like every premier in Canada, is calling for health transfers with no conditions because it is the provinces that manage the hospitals, that organize them and the work. The role of the federal government is clearly stated in the Constitution. It consists solely of …

Private Members' Business

Madam Speaker, that is not how I see it. My bill simply says that the federal government will transfer the funds. It will still be perfectly possible to uphold the principles in the Canada Health Act, since they are quite general. This does not open the door to privatizing health care. Since this is a provincial jurisdiction, it is possible that a democratically elected government may decide that …

Oral Questions

Mr. Speaker, John William Bosley passed away last Thursday. He was the 31st Speaker of the House of Commons. On behalf of the Bloc Québécois, I would like to offer my condolences to his wife Mary and daughter Yanette, his family and friends, and members of his political party. Mr. Bosley was elected in 1979 as a member of the opposition, and he was re-elected in 1984 and 1988 as a member of the Pr…

Government Orders

Madam Speaker, I rise on a point of order. Yesterday evening, Monday, February 28, the Speaker said: I would encourage members who would like to make arguments regarding the requirement for a royal recommendation with respect to [Bill] C-237...to do so at an early opportunity. I am rising on a point of order this evening in relation to that. I admit that I was surprised by this statement. Royal re…

Government Orders

Madam Speaker, I appreciate your intervention. Only the specific conditions of the Canada Health Act are affected. The Speaker has ruled on many occasions that playing within these standards does not generate or reallocate an expenditure and therefore does not require a royal recommendation. In the 27 years since the start of the 35th Parliament, when bills began to be tracked in the LEGISinfo par…

Routine Proceedings

moved for leave to introduce Bill C-237, An Act to amend the Federal-Provincial Fiscal Arrangements Act and the Canada Health Act. Mr. Speaker, the bill I am introducing protects the provinces, especially Quebec, from the biggest threat to their autonomy. This threat is the so‑called federal spending power. First, under this bill, Quebec is exempt from any standards that the federal government imp…

Statements by Members

Mr. Speaker, I would like to invite all art lovers to visit the Musée des cultures du monde in Nicolet to see the work of Sister Jeanne Vanasse who, at the age of 100, is presenting an exhibition called “La Genèse, un début sans fin”. Sister Vanasse studied at the École des beaux-arts de Québec for four years, in the class of the famous painter Jean Paul Lemieux. In the 1960s, she began exhibiting…

Government Orders

Mr. Speaker, I listened closely to my colleague's speech and did not hear him talk much about border controls to stop illegal firearms, such as machine guns and handguns, from being brought across the border. There are some vulnerable areas that the government chooses not to control, for example, in some communities near Montreal. Fewer guns and drugs could be a solution.

Oral Questions

Mr. Speaker, perhaps the minister wanted to show us that he could not be in the House in person because his bicycle had a flat tire?

Government Orders

Mr. Speaker, congratulations on your appointment. I had the honour of sitting beside you for two years. We do not applaud the same speakers, but we had a very good rapport, and I have fond memories of that. I would also like to congratulate the member for his very interesting speech, during which he raised a point about seniors who received financial assistance during the pandemic through the CERB…

First Session—44th Parliament

I now call upon the final speaker, Mr. Anthony Rota, the hon. member for Nipissing—Timiskaming, to address the House for not more than five minutes.