Parliamentary Speeches
333 speeches by Marie-France Lalonde — Page 4 of 7
Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, the situation in Sudan is highly volatile, and we are deeply concerned for the safety of Sudanese people. That is why we have announced that we are introducing immigration measures to support Sudanese nationals in Canada who are unable to return home. We are also providing facilitative measures and expediting the processing of their applications, free of charge. We are ready to help t…
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Mr. Speaker, as we are all keenly aware, a Canadian passport is one of the most reliable travel documents around. We can celebrate our history here in the House and across Canada in lots of ways, and we can also ensure that our passports are secure. I think we might be losing sight of the main objective. Our passports have to be secure, which is exactly the task we set out to accomplish. We will k…
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Mr. Speaker, do we know what Conservatives are good at? They are good at pitting Canadians against each other through fear and divisive rhetoric. We are updating the Canadian passport to protect Canadians against fraud, but the Conservatives are good at turning this issue into a cultural war. They are trying to bring a Trump-style war to Canada. We will not be swayed. We will continue to help our …
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Mr. Speaker, just for everyone to know, every 10 years the government updates its passports to protect Canadians from fraudsters and ensure it is hard to counterfeit the passports. This is not a partisan issue. This is about ensuring Canadians get the most secure and reliable passports that they can use around the world. The Conservatives just do not get that.
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Mr. Speaker, let me be perfectly clear. The Century Initiative is not a government policy. The government does not endorse the findings of this independent group. The government does not have a goal of increasing Canada's population to 100 million people. We have announced our immigration thresholds for the next three years. These thresholds were set according to the needs of Canadians and Quebeck…
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Madam Speaker, I am going to reiterate what I was so happy to announce in the House not so long ago. For the first time in history, since we started keeping track, we have met our target of 4.4% francophone immigration outside Quebec. That was in 2022, one year ahead of schedule. I understand very well and I respect my colleague because she supports francophone immigration, and I thank her for ask…
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Madam Speaker, I would first like to mention that I will be sharing my time with my colleague, the member for Vaughan—Woodbridge. I am wondering what the real point of the motion proposed by my Bloc Québécois colleagues today is, if not to sow discord or stir up trouble. What are the real needs of Canada, and what are Quebeckers and Canadians saying about it? I would like to share a bit of what I …
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Madam Speaker, I would like to thank my colleague for his stories and explanation today, but I would also just like to perhaps reassure the House and set the record straight. I lived in Quebec for 28 years and my daughter was born there. I will go back to the question I asked his colleague. Canada transfers significant amounts of money to Quebec for its francization programs and, unfortunately, mo…
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Madam Speaker, I will be quick because I really want to hear my colleague's response to my question. I think he knows that Quebec has an agreement with Canada and that a rather significant amount of financial compensation is transferred from Canada to Quebec, which is the only province to receive this type of compensation. There is also the idea that French integration in Quebec is tied to financi…
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Madam Speaker, we certainly do hear those concerns all across Canada and Quebec. I just want to remind my colleague that, for the first time in Canadian history, our government has put a housing strategy in place, and that policy includes affordable housing. When it comes to speeding up housing construction, the $4‑billion accelerator fund—
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Madam Speaker, on this side of the House, I have many colleagues who represent the interests of Quebec, including the Prime Minister, who is proud to call himself a Quebecker. I know there are many ministers and members of my caucus who have a strong sense of belonging and are proud to be Quebeckers and Canadians. We will always help the Quebec government achieve its goals. Today, what matters is …
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Mr. Speaker, it is with emotion that I join my community of Orléans to express our deepest sympathy to the family and numerous friends of Thomas Allen Tweddle, known as Al, following his passing on May 1. Anyone who has crossed paths with Al would say that it is simply impossible to list all his contributions to our community. His necrology says, “‘Big Al’ was a fixture in the community; much like…
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Mr. Speaker, on April 29, I attended the eighth annual Soirée Saphir, an event organized by the Fondation franco-ontarienne to recognize the commitment, excellence and influence of women in the francophone community. I sincerely want to congratulate the six winners of the gala and all the finalists. I would like to recognize two finalists from my community for their leadership, namely Maïssa Zemni…
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Madam Speaker, I want to thank the member for her question and for her advocacy for caregivers in our country. As a former social worker, I know caregivers' hardship. I have also worked with caregivers in many of my roles before entering politics. We have announced that we are reducing work requirements from 24 months to 12 months to help reduce the barriers in getting PR. We sincerely value the s…
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Madam Speaker, on April 10, I attended the 15th awards gala of the Regroupement affaires femmes, where three women from Orléans were recognized for their leadership. I want to congratulate Lydia Marie Philippe, who received a “young leader” award; Hortense Mvuemba, who received the “community engagement” award; and Sabine Daniel, who was named “icon of the year”. It was also a pleasure to host an …
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Madam Speaker, I thank my colleague, whom I always appreciate because she speaks so eloquently. She touched on several topics in her speech on this very important bill. Bill C-47 is important because I believe we will achieve our government's goal of helping Canadians while being very fiscally responsible. One of the concerns that my colleague talked about is housing, and that speaks to me because…
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Mr. Speaker, I am honoured to stand up today and acknowledge rising star and Orléans ambassador Sophie Grenier. Sophie just won season nine of the Quebec television program La Voix. From the very start, she wowed the show's coaches and fans with her powerful voice and emotional delivery. She owes her win not only to her own talent, of course, but also to years of vocal training at Orléans' Sing Ho…
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Madam Speaker, I want to thank the hon. member for his advocacy. I have said it in the House, and I will say it again today: If it were a matter of will, there would be 40,000 Afghan refugees here already, but we know that in reality, with everything that has been happening, there have been challenges and obstacles. We are working very hard in addressing those, for instance through Bill C-41. Ther…
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Mr. Speaker, it is with sadness but much hope that I join all Franco-Ontarians and my colleagues in the House to pay tribute to an extraordinary man and journalist for the past 32 years at Le Droit, a man beginning an unprecedented battle against an enemy—cancer—he characterized as Goliath in his latest, but not last, column. I am referring to Mr. Denis Gratton, a proud Franco-Ontarian and passion…
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Madam Speaker, as I said, the efforts Canada made certainly resonated in the international world, but we also know there were challenges and obstacles along the way. I represent a beautiful riding called Orléans, which has a very large Afghan community and also has active military persons and military veterans. Canada stood tall. We committed to not 20,000 but at least 40,000 Afghans coming to Can…
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Madam Speaker, it is quite interesting actually that the hon. member asked me that question in the House, when last Friday he and all of his party colleagues could not even stand up when the President of the United States actually made reference to what—
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Madam Speaker, I want to be very clear. In 2021, no one anticipated the fall to occur that quickly. We also need to be very candid here in saying that the government made a huge commitment in actually bringing at least 40,000 Afghans to this country. We are very near 30,000. As this bill is being proposed, and we are engaging with all partners and all NGOs, we certainly want and hope that the Hous…
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Madam Speaker, I thank my colleague for presenting some points of view that are indeed very important. From the beginning, we brought in a number of measures to temporarily fulfill our commitment to help the Afghan people. However, these measures have their limits. When we introduced Bill C-41, representatives from the Red Cross were right there beside us, talking about the additional work they wo…
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Mr. Speaker, I have the privilege of representing a community of active and engaged seniors in Orléans. That is why I was proud to attend the monthly breakfast hosted by the Rendez-vous des aînés francophones d'Ottawa, or RAFO, on March 19 to announce $99,450 in financial aid under the community spaces fund. The RAFO, which has over 600 members, was able to do major renovations to make its buildin…
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Mr. Speaker, I want to reiterate an announcement that we made Friday. We have finally updated the safe third country agreement, the agreement that applies to the entire Canada-U.S. border. On top of that, we will be welcoming 50,000 people from America to promote safe and orderly migration. This is a major victory for Canada.
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Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for the question. I hope that he heard President Biden's speech in the House on Friday. Once again, Canada and the United States just announced an update to the safe third country agreement. That is great news, because this new agreement will allow us to better manage refugee claimants from both our countries and ensure that our refugee system is caring and compas…
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Mr. Speaker, I would like to remind the member of the Bloc Québécois that, every time he asked questions in the House, he asked us to suspend the agreement. Let us be clear. I would like to confirm that with my colleagues today. The Quebec government strongly supports our new agreement. If the Bloc Québécois has some concerns about what is happening in Quebec and to Quebeckers, I invite him to per…
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Mr. Speaker, insofar as Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada, or IRCC, is concerned, the answer is as follows. With regard to part (a), engaging with United States officials is not the exclusive purview of IRCC. As of February 6, 2023, IRCC officials had not made any representations with U.S. officials. With regard to part (b), engaging with U.S. officials is not the exclusive purview of I…
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Madam Speaker, I am pleased to rise in the House today to speak to the legislation that was introduced by my colleague, the hon. Minister of Public Safety. As the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship, I know our team needs to work closely to keep Canadians safe while also responding to the humanitarian crisis and bringing people to Canada. In response to…
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Madam Speaker, the hon. member raises a very good point. We did not expect the Taliban to overtake the government as quickly as it did, but I am very proud of the fact that since then, although we had a significant amount of obstacles facing us, we were able to bring almost 30,000 Afghans to Canada. I have had the pleasure, throughout the past year, to meet and talk to many of the women and girls …
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Mr. Speaker, the month of March symbolizes our francophone pride and our linguistic duality. Yesterday, on March 20, francophones in my community of Orléans, across Canada and throughout the world celebrated the International Day of La Francophonie. My colleague, the Minister of Official Languages came to my community, to the Collège catholique Mer bleue, under the Conseil des écoles catholiques d…
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Mr. Speaker, the world is in turmoil, and we should be very happy with the government and its efforts in protecting and supporting. My heart goes out to all the women and girls who are affected by a regime that we need to condemn, which we will continue to do. Our government will always welcome the most vulnerable individuals.
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Mr. Speaker, with all due respect for my colleague, I know that the Bloc Québécois will never form the government. That is what we hope. However, I want to clarify one thing here in the House. Bilateral negotiations take place in private. Our minister was in Washington. He met with his counterpart. We will continue to strengthen that agreement.
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Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for his question. The United States is our neighbour and closest ally. We are working closely with the Biden administration. As mentioned, the minister had a bilateral meeting with his American counterpart. We will continue to defend Canada's interests. We will not stop now. We will continue to work to strengthen and modernize the safe third country agreement.
Read full speech →Adjournment Proceedings
Mr. Speaker, again, I want to thank the member for his advocacy. Certainly, he and I have had a conversation in the last few weeks on this particular issue. Other members of the community have raised those concerns. As I mentioned before, our assistant deputy minister has been in regular contact with city officials and individuals in our community. We are fully committed to help. That is what we h…
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Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the member for his advocacy. Let me note what Canada is committed to. Canada is committed, through domestic law and international convention, to providing supports to individuals making an asylum claim. That is a fact. We have a duty to protect the integrity of our borders and to manage resources on behalf of all Canadians. Let me be very clear: We continue to encourag…
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Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank my colleague from Sudbury for her question. I am very proud today to announce to the House that our government met the target of 4.4% francophone immigration outside Quebec in 2022. Indeed, 16,300 francophone newcomers have settled outside Quebec. This represents a 450% increase since our government was first elected. This is just the beginning. There is still wo…
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Mr. Speaker, I certainly hope that members actually listened to the Minister of Immigration's appearance at committee. I will repeat what he said. The minister was very clear that he has not met with McKinsey, nor been influenced. However, if the Conservatives want to listen to someone, let us quote someone. I would invite them to listen to their former Conservative leader, John Reynolds. He said,…
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Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the member for his passion and his work on this file. I know he works very hard at committee. Certainly, our government is working to modernize the agreement. That is exactly what we are committed to doing. I thank my colleague for the question. Our government will continue to take appropriate action and modernize the agreement.
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Mr. Speaker, I just want to say that the migrant crisis is not happening only in Canada. It is happening everywhere. This is a global challenge. I know my colleague is well aware of that; I am convinced of that. Now more than ever, we must continue to work with our international partners, with the provinces and territories. Our government has committed to updating this agreement. That is what we a…
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Mr. Speaker, I think that, as Canadians, we all have a duty to do our part to protect our borders and ensure the safety of people who are fleeing for humanitarian reasons, because they are suffering abuse. The safe third country agreement is an important bilateral tool. We will continue to work with our counterparts in the United States to modernize this agreement.
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Mr. Speaker, on Monday a gas leak caused a major explosion in my community that destroyed four houses in construction and affected more than 45 families. Sadly, 12 people were injured. I visited the emergency command centre, where I touched base with our local city councillor, Catherine Kitts. The Salvation Army and Red Cross teams were there on site, coordinating temporary accommodation and provi…
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Mr. Speaker, in my opinion, the Bloc Québécois has lost all credibility, because it believes that asylum seekers cross that border for an all-inclusive vacation package and that the situation asylum seekers must face is a joke. This is no joke to us. It is serious. We are working on it. We are speaking with our American counterparts, and we will modernize this agreement.
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Mr. Speaker, it is absolutely unacceptable to say that asylum seekers are taking advantage of the system. The reality is that these people are fleeing violence and looking for a safe haven. Our government will always work for vulnerable people and we are proud of the work we have accomplished. We hope that the Bloc Québécois is on board.
Read full speech →Adjournment Proceedings
Madam Speaker, again I want to thank the hon. member for his service to Canada. I represent the community of Orléans, where we have a lot of active military members and veterans. It is always extraordinary for me to be a part of that. As I have said on a few occasions, if it was a matter of will, there would be 40,000 Afghans here in Canada. The current situation in Afghanistan is complex, and the…
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Madam Speaker, I would like to thank the hon. member for his passion and service. He is very engaged and, as I understand, has a very personal commitment to vulnerable Afghans. We do not always align in our ideology, but I think it is important for Canadians everywhere to see that when it comes to unwavering support for Afghanistan, we are on the same side. Canada's commitment to Afghanistan repre…
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Mr. Speaker, I am going to be very candid this morning, because in my opinion, the Bloc Québécois has lost all credibility if it believes that asylum seekers are crossing the border for an all-inclusive vacation package or feels that the situation asylum seekers are facing is a joke. This is not a joke to us. We take this situation very seriously. On this side of the House, we continue to protect …
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Mr. Speaker, before I answer the question, I would first like to say a few words about the incident that occurred in my community of Orléans this morning. My thoughts and prayers are with all those who are affected, and I want to sincerely thank the first responders and simply tell them that I am here and that I can help them. To answer the question, the closure of Roxham Road is not a short-term …
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Madam Speaker, I think we can all agree in the chamber that no person with a disability should live in poverty. That is why we are committed to creating the Canada disability benefit, a thoughtfully designed income supplement with the potential to seriously reduce poverty and improve financial security for hundreds of thousands of working-age people with disabilities from coast to coast to coast. …
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Mr. Speaker, February is internationally known and recognized as Black History Month. It gives us an opportunity to recognize the remarkable contributions of Black Canadians to the community of Orléans and to all of Canada. This year's theme, “Ours to tell”, invites us to engage in open dialogue and commit to learning more about the stories Black communities in Canada have to tell about their triu…
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