Government Orders
Madam Speaker, I have not heard very many arguments from the government House leader so far. What I do not understand is why this government is in such a rush to decide about a hybrid Parliament right now, when health measures have been completely relaxed for public transit, precisely where there could be the most problems. I do not understand why we need to decide on this today, when there has be…
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Mr. Speaker, at the beginning of his speech, the member said that Bill C‑21 does not target hunting rifles and that hunters are capable of managing their firearms responsibly. This bill, however, is a half measure. The member said people should feel safe. As a member from the Island of Montreal, he knows that there are neighbourhoods where people no longer feel safe. Does he agree that Bill C‑21, …
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Madam Speaker, I am not sure I understood. Perhaps something was lost in the interpretation. I do not know, but I am going to ask my colleague to clarify what he said. He is telling us that it is all right if Bill C‑21 does not address street violence, because statistics show that there are more gun deaths related to suicide than to street violence. Is the member seriously comparing those two conc…
Read full speech →Private Members’ Business
Madam Speaker, today I am speaking to Bill C-224, sponsored by the member for Longueuil—Charles-LeMoyne. This bill provides for the development of a national framework designed to raise awareness of cancers linked to firefighting and to support improved access for firefighters to cancer prevention and treatment, while also designating the month of January as firefighter cancer awareness month. Thi…
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Mr. Speaker, during the debate on Bill C-5, I often heard colleagues from all parties state that they were in favour of diversion and preventing addicts from being criminalized. However, the problem with this bill is that it combines two completely different issues. Can my colleague tell me why he thinks the government combined these two issues into one bill?
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Mr. Speaker, given that Bill C‑5 mixes two issues, diversion for addiction and simple possession of drugs, and mandatory minimum sentences, I will ask my colleague a two-part question. First, with respect to mandatory minimum sentences, does she not believe that, in the current context of gun violence in Montreal and other areas, it would have been better for the government to accept the Bloc Québ…
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
moved for leave to introduce Bill C‑282, An Act to amend the Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development Act (supply management). Madam Speaker, it is my great pleasure to introduce, seconded by my colleague from Berthier—Maskinongé, a bill whose purpose is to take the symbolic support of the majority of MPs in the House and make it tangible to protect supply management from further dilut…
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Madam Speaker, I want tell my colleague that I truly appreciated his enlightening speech. We both served on the Special Joint Committee on Medical Assistance in Dying. I want to tell him that I agree with his analysis of the work that judges do, especially with respect to sentencing. I would like him to tell me about some of the negative effects of minimum sentences with respect to these changes, …
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Madam Speaker, I will try to remain calm. I am not sure I properly understood the intervention of my colleague, who cynically described people with addictions as criminals who deserve mercy from the government. Is the Conservative member aware of what is happening around the world in the fight against addiction? Does he know how many heroin addicts there were in Portugal before diversion programs …
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Madam Speaker, it certainly was not the idea of the century for the government to introduce within Bill C‑5 two completely different problems, but my colleague did not say much about the issue of diversion measures for addiction. I want to know what he thinks about the fact that we are criminalizing people with addictions. Does he really think that this is the answer to ending the opioid crisis, f…
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Madam Speaker, my colleague mentioned Portugal. He raised the issue of the financial resources that must support such a process. João Goulão was the author of this reform in Portugal. In response to someone who asked if they should go ahead with this diversion, or decriminalization, as he called it, he replied that if the means were not there, and if the necessary funding was not provided for fron…
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Madam Speaker, I would like to begin by reassuring my colleague. I did not say that she was illogical; I said that I was having a hard time understanding her logic, which is not the same thing. That said, the Bloc Québécois stands up every day to tell the government that Bill C-5 is not enough and that we need to fight organized crime and create a registry of criminal organizations. Given what the…
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Madam Speaker, I am having a hard time understanding my colleague's logic. Bill C‑5 is not yet in effect, but she is saying that six people will die today. The current approach is rigid prohibition, rigid enforcement, an approach that has never worked. Does she know that harm reduction specifically means focusing police and judicial resources in order to fight back against traffickers and criminal…
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Mr. Speaker, I have already asked one of her colleagues this question, but perhaps this member could answer it. I have previously spoken with several economists, including Bernard Landry, who was one of my mentors. We have already been in situations where we would have liked to eliminate the gas tax. As he explained, the problem with this approach is that there is no way of ensuring that what is b…
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Madam Speaker, while our public finances have posted huge deficits and SMEs have been forced out of business because of the pandemic, we have seen oil companies, multinationals and corporations making massive profits and, unfortunately, doing very little to pay their fair share of taxes. Since targeted measures will eventually have to be put in place to help people with affordability, does my coll…
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Madam Speaker, my colleague obviously has good intentions. There might be a little problem with the approach, however. Would my colleague agree that a program should be created with the surplus to help workers whose livelihoods are at risk because of the rising cost of diesel and gas? I am talking about farmers, truckers, taxi drivers and everyone who is struggling to make ends meet right now. Doe…
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Madam Speaker, I listened carefully to my colleague across the way. Basically, he is saying what we are also thinking, which is that the opposition motion is a bogus solution for real problems. I understood that he was objecting to one aspect of the motion, which would be to temporarily stop charging the GST on gas and fuel, since it is unclear whether that money would go to consumers. However, wo…
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Mr. Speaker, the Conservative motion calls for action to tackle money laundering and yet, at the same time, the Conservatives also want more investments in cryptoassets, which facilitate money laundering. I am talking about Bill C-249. I am also thinking of one of the leadership candidates who is very much in favour of cryptocurrency. How does the member reconcile that?
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Madam Speaker, I thank my colleague for her excellent and well-articulated speech. I enjoyed it. After listening to the speeches earlier today, I want to remind members that there is one people in Canada that is particularly susceptible to discrimination, the people my grandparents called French-Canadians in Lower Canada, now known as Quebec. We were discriminated against because of our language. …
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Madam Speaker, I would like my colleague to build on what he was saying, because I am tremendously interested in the notion that the ethics of conviction are somewhat inappropriate in the field of research.
Read full speech →Government Orders
Madam Speaker, I thank my colleague from Waterloo for her speech. I also thank her for making an effort to actually discuss. She did not simply try to look for the underlying intent of the Bloc Québécois's opposition day, as if opposition days were named as such because other parties simply needed to oppose them rather than try to participate in what my colleague called the ethics of discussion ea…
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Madam Speaker, since I have been in the House, I have often seen the Conservatives add something to the wording of their motion that makes it so that that only they will vote in favour of it, since it includes inaccurate information. It says here that, “Canada's international allies have moved to lift COVID-19 restrictions”, when one of the worst infection hot spots on the planet has been our neig…
Read full speech →Statements By Members
Mr. Speaker, today, May 19, we are celebrating World Family Doctor Day. I want to congratulate them all for the essential work they do at the heart of our health care system. Family doctors are the closest to patients, with whom they build personalized and lasting relationships focused on prevention. It takes a special person with a lot of empathy and compassion to play this role at the crossroads…
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Madam Speaker, I would like to thank my colleague from Vancouver Kingsway for his speech. I serve with him on the Standing Committee on Health, and what he said about the science is absolutely correct. It is clear that vaccination still protects against developing the serious form of the disease, which is why we must protect our health care systems. That is the main thing. However, does he not thi…
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Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank my colleague for his speech. We agree with several aspects of his analysis. However, when talking about a pandemic that caused many deaths, we must be responsible. Both sides must avoid politicizing—in the least noble sense of the word—a debate like this one. I sat with my colleague on the Standing Committee on Health. Earlier, he said that we should go back to t…
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Mr. Speaker, I have been listening to the Liberals talk about the fight against global warming since 2015, but they bought a pipeline and are still subsidizing the fossil fuel industry. Oil companies are currently raking in billions of dollars in profit while consumers pay over $2 a litre at the pump. Is he not ashamed?
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Madam Speaker, what is disappointing this evening is the sad spectacle put on by the Liberals and the Conservatives. The Bloc Québécois will always oppose muzzling opposition parties and taking away their powers. Yesterday, the delay tactics had consequences not just for the House, but for committees as well. A committee on medical assistance in dying was scheduled to discuss two fundamental matte…
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Madam Speaker, I am finding it difficult to understand my colleague's logic. She said that creating this committee would exacerbate reprehensible actions in the area of human rights. Is she not giving in to bullying?
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Madam Speaker, I am sure my colleague heard the government's argument that there is no need for such a committee because that work could be done by the Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Development. We know that the totalitarianism and foreign policy of the People's Republic of China are creating issues in many different areas. Take, for example, Huawei, the crackdown in Hong…
Read full speech →Private Members' Business
Madam Speaker, it should come as no surprise that the Bloc Québécois will oppose the motion. Let us look at the reasons why. First of all, not everything in motion is bad. For example, to the first point, everyone in Quebec agrees that the COVID-19 pandemic tragically exposed long-standing issues affecting long-term care facilities and the frontline workers who care for residents themselves—
Read full speech →Private Members' Business
Madam Speaker, the second point reads that “we need to make sure the conditions of work reflect the care standards our seniors deserve”. Everyone agrees that we have a collective responsibility to care for our seniors as individuals. However, the conditions of work in long-term care facilities and seniors' residences do not fall under federal jurisdiction. That is the first problem, and I will com…
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister cannot dismiss out of hand the expertise of those responsible for health care. They are the backbone of the health care system. Today, these men and women are calling for a substantial, recurrent, no-strings-attached increase in federal funding. They want to plan the future of health care. They want predictability. Why will the Prime Minister not immediately commit …
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Mr. Speaker, the people speaking out today are the women and men who care for others every day around the clock. They want their voices to be heard. They know what they need, because that is their job. They are not here today to play partisan politics. They are here to be invited to share their experience at a public summit on health care funding. The real experts want to tell us how to care for o…
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Mr. Speaker, at the start of his speech, the member spoke about the Liberal government's goal of maintaining a balanced budget while also adhering to the very worthy plan of safeguarding social programs. However, I wonder why this government is depriving itself of the gargantuan profits made by the big banks in 2021, nearly $60 billion. Why are the Liberals opposed to eliminating tax havens?
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Mr. Speaker, the Conservatives want to cut the deficit and taxes while still taking care of people. It is as though money were falling from the sky. Money does not fall from the sky, but we do know where to find some. Major Canadian banks made fat profits of nearly $60 billion in 2021. Why has his party always opposed abolishing tax havens for major Canadian banks?
Read full speech →Private Members' Business
Madam Speaker, the bill we are debating today has to do with protecting the freedom of conscience of health care professionals and practitioners when it comes to medical assistance in dying. I think we should base our debate on the approach that Quebec took on this matter back in 2010. Quebec studied this issue from 2010 to 2014. The debates were non-partisan. The process allowed for all points of…
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Mr. Speaker, we could, in fact, be on the verge of a resurgence of infections. Quebec is preparing for a sixth wave. We have not yet reached what is referred to as the endemic phase, where the rate of infection levels off and, with the appropriate measures and predictability, we are able to control the vectors and therefore the health care networks. We are a long way from that. Just look at what i…
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Mr. Speaker, my colleague speaks French very well and his question is fundamental. We are in a pandemic. By definition, a pandemic is global. This is not an epidemic; it is a pandemic. I invited members of Amnesty International to appear before a parliamentary committee. They came to speak to us about this waiver, which Canada should support. It is absolutely clear. Canada has good intentions, but…
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Mr. Speaker, as one of my colleagues stated this morning, the Bloc supported the Conservatives' last motion, which called for a plan. Today, we continue to ask for this plan, but we will not support the motion. In light of the situation around the world and here in Canada, vaccination is not the only indicator used to monitor the pandemic. That is why we will be voting against the motion.
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Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for her excellent speech. In debates about the pandemic, it has often been said that the challenge for public health policy has been to ensure that people are willing to comply throughout the pandemic. Does my colleague not think that if the government came up with a plan to ease these restrictions, this would provide some degree of predictability and encourage co…
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, in their agreement, the great experts in the NDP and the Liberal Party chose to tell Quebec and the provinces what they need, specifically how many nurses and doctors should be hired, where the money should go, and how their networks should be managed. However, the real experts are not on this side of the House, they are not across the way, nor are they sitting next to us. Quebec and …
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Mr. Speaker, I would first like to indicate that I will be sharing my time with the member for Rimouski-Neigette—Témiscouata—Les Basques. Since the start of this pandemic, I have often asked myself the following question: What should I do? It is the pre-eminent ethical and political question. In this debate, we must consider the ethical principle of responsibility. That is the approach taken by th…
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Mr. Speaker, it is unanimous. Everyone is asking for increased health transfers with no strings attached. Quebec and the provinces, whether Liberal, NDP or Conservative, are all in favour of increased health transfers. That is called a consensus. I am sorry to be the one to say it, but when the government goes up against consensus and unanimity, it is the one picking a fight. My question for the g…
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Mr. Speaker, without a sound argument, it just sounds like bickering. Pharmacare, home care, long-term care, hiring doctors and nurses—none of this is a federal responsibility. Obviously, the NDP-Liberal deal is about more than just strengthening the minority government. More than that, it aims to weaken the powers and choices of Quebec and the provinces, unless there is an opt-out. In everything …
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Madam Speaker, La Presse newspaper published an excellent article by Paul Journet this morning about the Conservatives' obsession with building pipelines and exporting fossil fuels. He wrote that there are two obstacles standing in Canada's way. First, competing countries are already lined up to supply Germany. He mentioned Norway in particular and wrote that time is not on Canada's side. It would…
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Madam Speaker, unfortunately, history has shown us many times how destructive war can be. A recent Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report shows how destructive the climate crisis can be. The Conservatives are claiming that theirs is an ethical solution. However, replacing one bad thing with another bad thing is not an ethical solution. What does my colleague think of the Conservatives' c…
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Madam Speaker, since the start of the conflict, the Conservatives have been calling on the government to impose strong sanctions. In this morning's edition of La Presse, we learned from a respected journalist that Roman Abramovitch controls 28% of Evraz, which is supplying most of the steel to build the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion and the Coastal GasLink pipeline. We also learned that anothe…
Read full speech →Private Members' Business
Madam Speaker, I rise to speak to Bill C‑216 from the member for Courtenay—Alberni, whom I like very much and have known since 2015. He is a noble-hearted man. I am confident that he brings his bill to us today, at the passage-in-principle stage, because he hopes to address this acutely alarming issue. I will read out the summary because the bill has three parts. I would have thought the governmen…
Read full speech →Statements by Members
Mr. Speaker, I want to pay tribute to Sylvain Racine and his immense contribution to the development of community television in Les Moulins. Sylvain has not only been a community television professional, but also a stalwart supporter. He started in 1983 as a volunteer and saw TVRM through its experimental stage, when staff were creating content with whatever they had on hand. He enjoyed the experi…
Read full speech →Orders Of The Day
Madam Speaker, according to some constitutional experts, it is not enough for the Emergencies Act to be useful for the government to proclaim its application. It must be demonstrated that it is necessary and indispensable. Would my colleague agree that this will be difficult if not impossible to demonstrate, given that the conflict has been allowed to worsen for three weeks, and that not all the l…
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