Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, in his speech, my colleague talked about the contributions needed from Quebec and the provinces. Would he not agree that, when it comes to pharmacare, Quebec is already making a significant contribution with its hybrid program, which does cover everyone? Even people with no income are covered by the public component. We do have a public component. First, I would like to hear my collea…
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Mr. Speaker, as my colleague has clearly demonstrated, Bill C‑64 is much more the expression of an election agreement than of a bill. Why? That would be because a bill of this scope would have required prior coordination, at least with the nation that put a system in place 30 years ago. Here in the House, the Quebec nation has been symbolically recognized on two occasions, but the moment that that…
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Mr. Speaker, Quebec realized a long time ago that it needed pharmacare. The Bloc Québécois is calling for Quebec to have the right to opt out with full compensation, so that it can improve its plan. That is also what the Quebec National Assembly called for unanimously, across party lines. I have a simple question for my Conservative colleague. What are the Conservatives proposing for pharmacare?
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Mr. Speaker, the House recognized Quebec as a nation. Through a unanimous vote in its National Assembly, Quebec is calling for a right to opt out with full compensation to improve its own program, which it has been administering for 30 years. Does the leader of the NDP agree with the Quebec National Assembly?
Read full speech →Statements by Members
Mr. Speaker, in February 2023 the joint committee recommended, by a strong majority, that individuals suffering from such diseases as Alzheimer's or dementia be allowed to make an advance request for medical assistance in dying. Although 83% of Canadians support advance requests, the health and justice ministers are unequalled in their complete lack of political courage and total failure to unders…
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Madam Speaker, I hope that my colleague understood what I said. He talked about the fact that the war on drugs, criminalization, is a model that does not work. We can compare the model used in the United States, where overdoses increased by 100%, to the one used in Portugal. Can my colleague elaborate on that?
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Madam Speaker, saying that we need to do more harm reduction does not necessarily involve doing more to ensure a safe supply. It means that we need to make changes to safe supply. We need more measures to ensure that these drugs do not fall into the wrong hands. Safe supply does not kill. What kills are illicit drugs on the illicit counterfeit drug market. My colleague insinuated that safe supply …
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Madam Speaker, I did not mention the Quebec plan, which has four pillars: more prevention, more treatment with opioid antagonists, more and better harm reduction, and enforcement to dismantle clandestine laboratories. We want a ban on precursors, which are the substances needed to make counterfeit and deadly drugs. These labs add fentanyl and other substances to the drugs. People cannot even toler…
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Madam Speaker, I want to thank my colleague for his thoughtful speech, which also proposed a solution to today's debate. Unfortunately, it was rejected and I am very disappointed. My colleague was talking about the fact that—
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Madam Speaker, in today's debate, we must not forget the over 42,000 people who have died. We must also not forget their families, who have suffered as they watched their loved ones get caught in a downward spiral. I want us to have a respectful debate, where we do not use people who are sick and suffering to further a political or ideological agenda. I want us to work on solutions, while respecti…
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Mr. Speaker, I was listening to the Conservative leader's response to one of my colleagues who was asking him to make the distinction between legalization, decriminalization and diversion. He said it was just semantics, that there was no real difference, that people just made up those distinctions depending on the context. What does the minister think of the Conservative leader's ignorance?
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Madam Speaker, one of the pillars of the strategy is harm reduction. This includes, among other measures, supervised consumption sites and safe supply. Often what we hear from the critics of harm reduction are the negative impacts of these programs. Could my colleague tell us about the positive effects of these programs?
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Madam Speaker, what I should say to add to my earlier answer is that harm reduction existed well before today's overdose crisis. When the Conservatives say that what we are seeing now is the result of harm reduction, they are wrong. The problem is the illicit drug overdose crisis. People working on the ground told us that we needed to do something for people like the mother who came to see us, say…
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Madam Speaker, my colleague is urging us to vote in favour of the Conservative motion. The problem is that the motion muddies the waters. Legalization is not decriminalization. Only Vancouver tried decriminalization. Toronto and Montreal have not done it, nor have they decided to do it. They are trying to set up diversion measures instead. Here is the problem. My colleague may not be an expert, bu…
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Madam Speaker, decriminalization, British Columbia's pilot project, has nothing to do with overdoses, but it did make it possible to divert these people away from jail and the justice system. We need to be careful, though. Yes, this is true, but drug consumption can qualify for diversion too, because in co-operation with community projects, we can ensure that police intervene, that they be authori…
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Madam Speaker, in Bill C‑69, there is, for example, the government's commitment.... Madam Speaker, I have a point of order. I cannot hear myself speak.
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Mr. Speaker, the member for Charlesbourg—Haute-Saint-Charles knows full well that he is deliberately misleading the House by saying that the Bloc Québécois is calling for the legalization of hard drugs in Montreal. Let him prove it by tabling—
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Madam Speaker, if more members across the way attended the debate instead of lingering in the lobby, that would be better.
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Madam Speaker, the bill includes a commitment to introduce dental care and pharmacare. The Quebec nation, speaking unanimously through its national assembly, told Ottawa it did not want this. What we want is the right to opt out with full compensation. We will enhance our own programs ourselves based on our own priorities. Can my colleague tell me how a member from Quebec could possibly ignore the…
Read full speech →Statements By Members
Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize National Nursing Week. As we all know, being a nurse is a calling. It can be seen in a glance, a smile, their care, their presence or the fact that they listen and reassure. They are the heart and soul of our health care system and, too often, they are the ones holding the system together. Day after day, we see them working with those who are sick, the elderl…
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Madam Speaker, is my colleague open to amending his strategy in order to respect the jurisdictions of Quebec and the provinces? Many of the national strategies that are being introduced in the House often overlook that vital requirement. Is he prepared to consider that?
Read full speech →Private Members' Business
Madam Speaker, I will end the suspense by announcing right away that the Bloc Québécois will be voting in favour of the bill. Still, I would like to emphasize our reservations regarding the creation of multiple national strategies. First, they often disregard the jurisdictions of Quebec and the provinces. Second, they sometimes seem to disregard, or at least fail to take into account, what is alre…
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Mr. Speaker, since 2019 the Bloc Québécois has always voted against Liberal budgets, and the same will be true for this budget, since it contains no plan to reduce subsidies for an industry that is making massive, record profits. I am speaking about the oil industry. Will my colleague vote against the budget, since, like us, he opposes funding oil companies with taxpayer money?
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Since 2019 the Bloc Québécois has voted against every Liberal budget, including every Liberal budget update. Once again, the Bloc Québécois will vote against the Liberal budget. One of the reasons is that despite the oil industry’s record profits, the government continues to subsidize it with taxpayer dollars. Does my colleague not find it indecent that the government continues to use taxpayer mon…
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Madam Speaker, the Bloc Québécois has never voted in favour of a Liberal budget or its updates since 2019, or even since 2015. We intend to carry on as usual and vote against this budget. One reason why we are doing that concerns the ongoing subsidies paid to the oil and gas industries, which rake in record profits. Does my colleague not consider it indecent to fund the oil and gas sector, which i…
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Mr. Speaker, how can the member justify the fact that he voted in the House in favour of Bill C‑319, which gives seniors over the age of 65 an increase in their old age security pension, yet there is nothing to that effect in the budget? The budget talks about housing, and seniors also have difficulty finding affordable housing. How can he justify the fact that his government, after voting in favo…
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Mr. Speaker, the Minister of Justice is preparing to challenge the principle of the separation of church and state, a democratic principle in modern democracies. On page 74 of the budget, under the heading “Halal Mortgages”, it reads: Canada is home to a vibrant and growing market of alternative financing products, including halal mortgages, that enable Muslim Canadians, and other diverse communit…
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Madam Speaker, no one will be surprised to hear me say that, by continually oppressing us, by not recognizing that we are a national government, by making sure that any recognition is merely symbolic and has no legislative impact at all, the federal government is making sure that, one day, Quebeckers will decide to take control of their own affairs and make Quebec its own country.
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Madam Speaker, in responding to the member from Quebec's question, the member just proved that he knows absolutely nothing about Quebec's pharmacare program. Everyone gets the same coverage and has access to the same molecules. The example he gave makes it absolutely clear that this government does not know what it is talking about when it talks about pharmacare. They are sorcerers' apprentices.
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Madam Speaker, this is our money. What I just heard is very insulting. My colleague talks about an ATM when it is the government that manages our taxes. All that we are asking for, and what everyone is asking for, is that the Government of Canada make a substantial and recurring investment in health transfers instead of the insignificant amount that has been put on the table. During the third wave…
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Madam Speaker, we will look at the budget. Just yesterday, given Ottawa’s encroachments into areas of Quebec jurisdiction, the Bloc Québécois House leader said that we could not vote for this budget. We will indeed vote against the budget. However, I will let our critics take a position on this. That is not my job, as I am the health critic. I will not presume to take anyone else's job. In princip…
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Madam Speaker, I am happy to see that the NDP member appears to know more about Quebec society than her leader, who said that, if things are not going well with health care in Quebec, it is because we are not investing enough. Since 2018, Quebec's health care budget has actually increased from $40 billion to $59 billion. We are investing in health care. The problem is that the federal government i…
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Madam Speaker, there is not much time left until the election. The Liberals are incapable of hearing Quebec's demands, among other things. Quebec will not prevent the federal government from doing what it wants everywhere else, but it is warning the federal government to be careful, because Quebec requires the right to opt out unconditionally with full compensation. I think that, if the federal go…
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Madam Speaker, the minister spoke about a lot of things. I feel he spoke very little about Bill C-64. However, when we talk to him about Quebec’s interests, he rises in the House and always says that the Bloc Québécois is looking for a fight. Quebec has been administering a mixed drug insurance plan for the past 28 years, but the minister never sat down with Quebec before making his announcement t…
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Madam Speaker, my colleague, the Conservative Party health critic, touched on an important point: access to care and wait times. Would he tell us about the Conservative Party's plan to reduce wait times? After all, when we were talking about health transfer agreements, I did not hear his leader lobby very hard in favour of doing more than what was on the table, which the provinces know will not be…
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Madam Speaker, after what I have heard, I would like to begin my speech by commenting briefly on the answer given by the Conservative health critic, with whom I serve on the Standing Committee on Health. In his answer, he spoke strictly about the jurisdictions of Quebec and the provinces and made no mention of what kind of additional funding the Conservatives would provide for health transfers. If…
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Mr. Speaker, last week we were sad to learn of the passing of the former Liberal member of the National Assembly of Quebec for Chapleau, Benoît Pelletier, a gentleman who was beloved by all. Having had the opportunity to sit with him at the National Assembly of Quebec, I can confirm that. More importantly, no matter how intense his political jousting might have been, Benoît Pelletier never crossed…
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Madam Speaker, the Bloc Québécois agrees to apply the result of the vote and is voting in favour, including the members for Bécancour—Nicolet—Saurel and for Abitibi—Témiscamingue.
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Madam Speaker, the Bloc Québécois agrees to apply the results of the previous vote to this vote and will be voting in favour.
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Madam Speaker, the Bloc Québécois agrees to apply the results of the previous vote and will be voting in favour of the motion.
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Madam Speaker, the Bloc Québécois agrees to apply the result of the previous vote and will be voting yes.
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Madam Speaker, the Bloc Québécois agrees to apply the results of the previous vote to this vote and will be voting in favour.
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Madam Speaker, the Bloc Québécois agrees to apply the results of the previous vote and will be voting in favour of the motion, including the members for Bécancour—Nicolet—Saurel and Abitibi—Témiscamingue.
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Mr. Speaker, my colleague just demonstrated that inflation is not just economic. It is verbal. The Conservatives are hearing the siren song of power. According to the polls, if there were an election tomorrow morning, they would get around 220 out of 338 seats in the House. No wonder they want to have an election immediately. They know full well that there is an NDP-Liberal coalition and that the …
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Madam Speaker, the Bloc Québécois agrees to apply the results of the previous vote and will be voting in favour of the motion, including the members for Bécancour—Nicolet—Saurel and Abitibi—Témiscamingue.
Read full speech →Private Members' Business
Madam Speaker, I think the amendment of my—
Read full speech →Private Members' Business
Madam Speaker, after these speeches, it seems to me that the amendment of my colleague from Vancouver Kingsway is even more necessary. After 6.5 million deaths worldwide and 45,000 deaths across Canada, we must avoid partisan perspectives at all costs. Throughout the work that was done by the Standing Committee on Health during the management of the pandemic, my colleagues—some of whom are here in…
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Mr. Speaker, in 12 days, Ottawa will cut $1 billion in health care funding, if Quebec does not agree to conditions in an area under its own jurisdiction. Quebec has been given 12 days when we are talking about amounts that Quebec and Ottawa agreed on over a year ago. If the federal government's priority was patients, then this money would have been transferred a long time ago, but instead, in 12 d…
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Mr. Speaker, even when Ottawa and Quebec agree on health care matters, the federal government threatens to say no. Quebec has reluctantly accepted the inadequate health transfer increase, but Ottawa is still threatening to turn off the tap if Quebec does not comply with its conditions within 13 days. Even when Ottawa and Quebec have the same goals and agree on things, Ottawa threatens to withhold …
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Mr. Speaker, this government is a broken record of “no”. “No” is its answer to everything, all the time: no to Bill 21, no to full powers over immigration and no to Quebec's ability to manage health care, an area under Quebec's exclusive jurisdiction, on its own. Today, it is saying no to Quebec's autonomy in managing areas under its authority, contrary to a principle recognized in Canada. Do the …
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