Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, my colleague knows full well that we have a plan and it is called the budget 2025 implementation act, no. 1. We have been seeing obstruction from the opposition, the Conservatives, for far too long. Unfortunately, in these tough times, where the geopolitical situation is very intense and families across the country are struggling to make ends meet, Canadians expect us to be able to wo…
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Mr. Speaker, we have good news today. In fact, the Conservatives are going to vote in favour of our plan to help ordinary people pay for their groceries. It is an important plan. It means that the most vulnerable families across the country are going to receive $1,800 each. We want to thank the Conservatives for finally seeing the light and realizing that our plan works.
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Mr. Speaker, since September we have created 189,000 jobs. This is great news for Canada. That is more jobs created in Canada than in the U.S. We have the second-fastest-growing economy. Let me give examples: Alstom, with 240 new jobs in Thunder Bay, 150 new jobs at Saint-Bruno-de-Montarville and 100 new jobs in La Pocatière; 330 new jobs at Bombardier; 300 new jobs at Vale-Glencore in Sudbury; at…
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Mr. Speaker, I have a lot of respect for my colleague, but she is not referring to all the important data. The data shows there has been an increase in wages year over year of 3.4%, while inflation was at 2.4%. Basically, wages are increasing more than inflation. At the same time, in December, the Bank of Canada maintained its interest rate at 2.25%, and the governor mentioned that the economy was…
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Mr. Speaker, who will get Oshawa's auto workers' jobs back? My colleague is misleading the House, because what she is missing in the Trillium report she is referring to is that in 2016, Japanese automakers were responsible for 44% of auto production in Canada. At this point, it is now 77%. We will invest in those who invest in us, and we will support those who are making sure our auto workers are …
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Mr. Speaker, of course, our hearts and minds are with the auto workers, and we are there for them. Again, this morning, I was on the phone with Premier Ford and with Vic Fedeli, working on new opportunities to bring even more auto making to the country. That being said, what we never hear from the Conservatives is the fact that these auto workers are victims of the unjustifiable U.S. tariffs. Why …
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Mr. Speaker, what is clear from the government is that, notwithstanding the U.S. tariffs, after 10 years, we were able to create 3,000 new jobs at the Windsor NextStar battery plant, which the Conservatives are against. Why are are they against 3,000 jobs in Windsor? We were also able to create 4,000 jobs in St. Thomas in a Conservative riding. Why are they against it? Why are we not all working t…
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Mr. Speaker, I listened to my colleague and, quite frankly, we are already doing many of the things he suggested, including cutting red tape. I find it fascinating that the Conservatives never, ever criticize any of the messaging that comes out of the White House. They will never say the tariffs are unjustifiable and unjustified. They will never say there is a trade war. They will never say the vi…
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Mr. Speaker, clearly the people who work in the lumber and forestry sector are affected by the tariff war. That is why we have introduced several important measures. My colleague, the Minister of Energy and Natural Resources, is working on a plan. In the meantime, we have measures through the Business Development Bank of Canada, or BDC, and through Canada Economic Development for Quebec Regions. I…
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Mr. Speaker, at a time when certain countries are cutting research, at a time when academic freedom is under attack, we believe in science and we believe in research. That is why we have launched our new talent attraction strategy with a budget of $1.7 billion to attract the best and the brightest to the country. This is one of the biggest budgets on earth to make sure that we bring them to our co…
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Mr. Speaker, we are already cutting bureaucracy and taxes. We did so for 22 million Canadians a while ago. In fact, this was a bill that should have gotten more support from our colleagues. Not only are we the second economy in the G7 in terms of growth, but more jobs are being created in Canada than the United States. Since 2025, 189,000 jobs have been created.
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Mr. Speaker, across the country we have great news. There are new jobs in Thunder Bay at Alstom. There are new jobs in La Pocatière in Quebec. There are new jobs in St. Thomas with Volkswagen. There are new jobs at Vale and Glencore in Sudbury. There are new jobs at Bombardier in Montreal. There are new jobs at Hitachi in Varennes. There are new jobs at K+S Potash in Bethune, Saskatchewan. Also, t…
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Mr. Speaker, I have been to Oshawa. I have met with the workers. I know how much they are frustrated and anxious. That is why we are standing side by side with them. That is why, also, I have been in contact with Unifor, their union. I have been in contact with GM itself. That is also why we are getting our money back from GM. That is also why we have restricted GM's access to the Canadian market.…
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Mr. Speaker, we have no lesson to take from the Conservatives, who bailed out GM and protected their executives rather than their workers. That is exactly what they did at the time. What we are doing is coming up with a plan. They have no plan whatsoever. We presented it to Premier Ford. What did he say? He said it was a really good plan. We will have good news soon.
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Mr. Speaker, this government was the first one to create jobs in the auto sector. At this point, there are 3,000 new jobs in St. Thomas because of the Volkswagen battery plant, which they are against. At this point in the last year, 3,000 more jobs were created in Windsor at the Stellantis and NextStar plant because of this government, and they are against it. Stop being against auto workers. We a…
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Mr. Speaker, we will always be there to defend our people working in advanced manufacturing. Again yesterday, I was with Premier Ford. We announced what we would be doing to protect our auto workers. I would like to remind my colleague, with whom I have a good relationship, to make sure that she understands how many jobs we have created since the beginning of September. Actually, it was 54,000 job…
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Mr. Speaker, do members know what gross negligence is? It is when the Conservatives, under Harper, decided to do a deal to bail out GM and Chrysler, and shook hands with these two giants. Two Ford plants closed, a GM plant closed, and Orion Bus closed. We have no lessons to take from the Conservatives. We were the first government to bring jobs back to the auto sector, and there are 3,000 right no…
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Mr. Speaker, we stand with our workers in the auto sector who are victims of the unjustified and unjustifiable American tariffs, and we will continue to fight for their jobs. When it comes to Stellantis, we had a deal, and Stellantis broke it. We will go after the money.
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Mr. Speaker, Quebeckers elected 44 representatives in Quebec so that we could take care of the economy in the face of U.S. tariffs. Our plan is working. GDP growth is at 3.2%. Inflation is under control at 2.2%. In September, 60,000 jobs were created. In October, 67,000 jobs were created. We have the strongest growth in the G7. We still have a lot to do, we know that, but we are growing the econom…
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Mr. Speaker, my colleague is engaging in wilful blindness because he is selectively choosing the figures he wants to report. The reality is that inflation is down to 2.2%. The reality is that wages are up by 3.3%. This means that people have more money to deal with the cost of living. For our part, as a government, we are ensuring a strong social safety net and cutting taxes. We are there with our…
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Mr. Speaker, we take things very seriously when it comes to investing taxpayers' money, and when it comes to Stellantis, we had a deal. They broke it, and we will make sure that we get our money back, period.
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Mr. Speaker, we have no lessons to take from the Conservatives. In 2009, when the Harper government decided to bail out and shake hands with GM and Chrysler. At the time, it gave them $28 billion of Canadian taxpayers' money with no job guarantee. Two GM plants closed, one in Oshawa and another in Windsor, and one Ford assembly plant closed as well. An Orion Bus plant also closed in Mississauga. T…
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Mr. Speaker, first and foremost, I did not admit that; second, I read the contract, and third, the committee members will have all the details. That being said, what we will do is fight for these jobs. We know that the workers are affected in the auto sector and the steel sector by the unjustified and unjustifiable American tariffs. We will make sure that we get these jobs back in Canada, and we w…
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Mr. Speaker, when my colleague is talking about corporate welfare, what I am saying to him is that workers are worth every dime, particularly Algoma ones in light of the American unjustified tariffs. That is exactly why we decided, along with the Conservatives in Ontario, with Doug Ford's government, to support the company as it was facing an existential threat. The company was not going well. We …
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Mr. Speaker, I have three points. First, the member should ask the member for Windsor—Tecumseh—Lakeshore on his side of the House whether she agrees with what he says regarding the Stellantis workers in Windsor. Second, when it comes to the documents, the committee members will have access to all the documents. That is a moot question. Third, when it comes to what is happening with Stellantis in B…
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Mr. Speaker, we do not need any lessons from the Conservatives when it comes to courage and standing up for workers who are unionized. That is why I was in Brampton, along with the workers, and that is why I was even talking to Lana Payne a bit earlier today. What was she telling me? She was telling me how when Harper and the Conservative government at the time, in 2009, decided to bail out GM and…
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Mr. Speaker, I have a news flash: We are in a trade war. Therefore, because of what is happening right now, we are fighting for the jobs at Algoma Steel and across the steel sector in the country. That is why we have been there for the—
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Mr. Speaker, my point is that we will continue to fight for these jobs. The company was clear today: If it was not for that $400 million and the $100 million from Ontario, the very existence of Algoma Steel would be in jeopardy.
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Mr. Speaker, of course, our thoughts are with the workers at Algoma Steel. I have been in contact with the company. I have also been in contact with the union. We know the entire business model of the steel sector in Canada is based on U.S. automakers. Obviously, with unjustifiable tariffs of 50% by the U.S. administration against our steel sector, this can happen. We have been working with the co…
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Mr. Speaker, I have a lot of respect for my colleague and a lot of respect for his dad and for all the people who have worked or are working at Algoma Steel. That is why our priority and my priority is to make sure they can continue to earn a great salary at Algoma Steel as the company is adapting to new types of steel for the defence sector and also for the housing sector. I must say that our buy…
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Mr. Speaker, I have a lot of respect for my colleague. We work together very well. What he and I both know is that ordinary Quebeckers want to be able to get good jobs. At a time when the U.S. administration is imposing a host of tariffs, we must always be there to protect businesses that provide good jobs in Quebec's regions. I am therefore going to keep working with him, especially in summer, so…
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Mr. Speaker, I beg to differ, because the workers do not agree with my colleague's statement. The Unifor unionized workers are completely behind the government's plan to push back against any form of movement at Ingersoll, because we believe GM can act, along with the government and along with Unifor, to bring back a new model. Meanwhile, I have had several meetings. I even went to Ingersoll. I me…
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Mr. Speaker, the 44 members from Quebec are very proud to defend this government and to stand up for the interests of Quebeckers because, during the last election, Quebeckers told us that they wanted us to be able to protect them from what was happening in the United States. Given the changing geopolitical context and given that the United States is also making its own decisions regarding energy p…
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Mr. Speaker, we are all very much aware that auto workers are affected by the unjustifiable and unjustified American tariffs. That is why we have been supporting all of them, working with Unifor and working with Lana Payne, who is on speed dial and to whom I speak pretty much every day. This being said, we will continue to fight against Stellantis to make sure it brings back its operation in Bramp…
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Mr. Speaker, not only did the entire team read it, but we also read what the Harper government did in 2009 when it bailed out GM and Chrysler at the time. What we saw was that there was no job protection in that deal. What we will do now is make sure we fight for these jobs. We will make sure we will put maximum pressure. The Conservatives should stop whining. They should just get on board and mak…
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Mr. Speaker, obviously, our thoughts are with the workers affected by the unjustified and unjustifiable tariffs imposed by the White House. We will continue to work with them as Algoma Steel goes through a difficult situation, to say the least. My team and I have been in contact with Algoma's leadership team. We absolutely have every confidence in the Algoma workers as they are going through this …
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Mr. Speaker, I agree with my colleague. We need to make sure that we work together on making the lives of Canadians more affordable, and that is why we believe in competition. That is why we also took a bold decision when it comes to telecommunications fees and upheld the CRTC's decision to make sure there is more competition and therefore lower fees for Canadians, but we will do more. The member …
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Mr. Speaker, just because my colleague keeps asking the same question does not mean that he expects to keep getting the same answer. Our point is that he is not only talking about imaginary taxes, but he is also failing to mention that we have lowered taxes. We have lowered taxes for the middle class. What is more, the budget being tabled later today in the House will help protect our jobs, our ec…
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Mr. Speaker, the answer is simple. I could just say yes and sit down. However, since my colleague also made reference to the fact that we are still in talks with the U.S. government, I would like to reassure him. Yes, we are at the negotiating table. Of course we expect the Americans to meet us there. Until then, we will continue to help the industry. I know that, in his riding, the forestry indus…
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Mr. Speaker, what I call ideology is when people come up with new imaginary taxes in an attempt to spread falsehoods in the public sphere. As my colleague is well aware, there are no taxes on groceries. One thing is clear: We in the government are working on affordability. That is what we are here for, to protect the Canadian social safety net. What does that mean? It means child care, support for…
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Mr. Speaker, the budget will be about protecting jobs and making sure that we protect our communities. The budget will be about building, building Canada and creating new jobs across the country as we have never seen before. The budget will be about empowering Canadians, making sure they have trust and confidence in their future and in the prosperity of this country. That is why the Conservatives …
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Mr. Speaker, we know there are trade tensions right now. We know that some tariff industries are particularly affected. It would be my pleasure to work with my colleague to make sure we are able to bring support to his community, particularly Holsag and Holsag workers. That being said, the budget will be doing just that, making sure we protect jobs, making sure we build the country and making sure…
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Mr. Speaker, I would like to welcome those representatives to Parliament Hill. I look forward to meeting with them. I already know many of them well. We work with Unifor on other issues. We know that the current situation in the softwood lumber industry is linked to the White House's completely unjustified and unjustifiable tariffs. We will be there for the lumber industry. We will work with them.…
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Mr. Speaker, one thing is clear: Our government will fight for jobs in the softwood lumber industry, period. That is why we are working with people in the sector every day. I had several meetings last week. Just yesterday, I spoke with Christine Fréchette, Quebec's minister of the economy. I have also spoken with Premier Eby. The Minister of Energy and Natural Resources and I, as well as the Minis…
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Mr. Speaker, indeed, my colleague is fighting for the Canadian softwood lumber workers, as we are, as a government. We will stand strong against these unjustified tariffs. We will make sure that we get a good deal, but meanwhile, we are there to give support for them to have access to funding to support their workers, to adapt and pivot, and to eventually make sure that the world knows that Canadi…
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Mr. Speaker, I understand my colleague's anger and I share it, because 55% tariffs on our lumber industry is completely unacceptable. That is why our government is there to stand up for our workers. We are there for the industry. We know that people in the industry are in crisis right now. We will take them by the hand, we will help them through this difficult time, and we will be there to support…
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Mr. Speaker, the answer is simple: Absolutely. Yes, yes, yes, we will be there for the forestry sector because we believe in it. However, that is not all. We know there are things we cannot control. We cannot control the U.S. administration, but there are things that we can control, and we are going to focus on helping our workers and our businesses. We are going to make sure we are there to help …
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Mr. Speaker, we are taking action, and we are willing to work with our colleague. I know there are a number of forestry industry companies in his riding. Financial supports are available through banks. Everything is guaranteed by the BDC. The system is working. The first payments have already been sent out in the past two weeks. We are working to find solutions. That said, we know that more remain…
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Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister is working with Doug Ford, I am working with Vic Fedeli and we are also working with Unifor to bring a new model to Ingersoll. We will make sure to put pressure on GM, as it needs to honour its contracts. Meanwhile, we will make sure that, indeed, the workers we look in the eyes have confidence that we are fighting for their jobs.
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Mr. Speaker, when it comes to the auto workers, they know that we have their backs and that we will fight for every single job in this country in the auto sector. Do colleagues know why? It is because Canadian auto makers and Canadian auto workers are the best in the world. Therefore, we will make sure that Stellantis is held to account. We are meeting with GM tomorrow in Ottawa about bringing bac…
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