Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, the Liberal calvary was out in full force yesterday to save the president of the Assemblée parlementaire de la Francophonie. In what was basically—
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, the Liberal calvary was out in full force yesterday to save the president of the Assemblée parlementaire de la Francophonie. In what was basically an unprecedented—
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Mr. Speaker, when the Bloc Québécois defends all francophones against violence, insult and injury, I believe it is working on behalf of all of La Francophonie. Here are some of this morning's headlines: “Confidence vote: [APF president] saved by the Liberal cavalry”; “Full of s***”; “[The member] stays on as APF president”. That is what the Liberals' stunt has led to. Gross insults against witness…
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Mr. Speaker, I am pleased that my colleague opposite sees the glass as half full. If I were on the same side of the House as he is, I would likely try to do the same thing. He also mentioned that the government acted very quickly on Bill C-58. I would like to remind him that the first bill was introduced by my colleague from Bécancour—Nicolet—Saurel in 1990 and that 30 bills have been introduced s…
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Mr. Speaker, the Liberal calvary was out in full force yesterday to save the president—
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, I have all weekend. The Liberal calvary was out in full force yesterday to save the president of the Assemblée parlementaire de la Francophonie, or APF. In what was basically an unprecedented situation, interpreters were needed at the meeting because many of the new members do not understand French. We know the result. The president of the APF kept his position, despite the hurtful, s…
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Madam Speaker, the unfortunate thing about the insults uttered by the member for Glengarry—Prescott—Russell is that they overshadowed opportunities for a substantive conversation about the French language. While he was publicly humiliating himself, the report of the Commissioner of Official Languages went almost unnoticed. However, the commissioner harshly criticized the federal government, descri…
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Madam Speaker, the Liberal member from Glengarry—Prescott—Russell spent his 15 minutes of fame denying the decline of French in Quebec. It is an odd choice at a time when the Commissioner of Official Languages notes that it is from my colleague's region along the Ottawa river that he receives the most complaints, including from federal public servants who are unable to work in French. The commissi…
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Madam Speaker, obviously, I think I am going to make my colleague happier than he sounded when he was asking the question, because we voted against the budget. We voted against the ways and means motion. I think he will be happy to hear that. Obviously, we will respect British Columbia's jurisdictions because the Bloc Québécois is not a party that is against common sense. It is a party that works …
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Madam Speaker, I have the dubious pleasure of addressing Bill C-69 and the implementation of the budget. No one will be surprised to hear that I was quite astonished when I read the budget. I am a member of the Bloc Québécois, a member who believes in Quebec independence, and yet the sheer amount of government interference in provincial areas of jurisdiction managed to exceed even my expectations.…
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Madam Speaker, as members know, the Bloc Québécois is not opposed to good ideas. Our party is in favour of equity, if not equality. However, the merits of this measure were not proven to the National Assembly, which overwhelmingly came out against it. I think that the government can make decisions. I am not sure if I should lump the NPD in with the group, because apparently there are all sorts of …
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Madam Speaker, I agree, the government should just focus on taking care of the things it is responsible for. I think that would be the most efficient way of proceeding. The Quebec government knows what needs to be done. Maybe it needs more resources. Ottawa is spending money in Quebec's areas of jurisdiction because it may have too much money. That is what we call the fiscal imbalance. Ottawa shou…
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Madam Speaker, my colleague's question is a timely one, since an article published yesterday said that the north shore, where I live, is experiencing the consequences of plastic pollution. I am talking about the north shore, but in fact it is in the Gulf of St. Lawrence and its estuary. Any measure aimed at reducing plastic pollution would be welcome. I cannot say “solving” plastic pollution, beca…
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Madam Speaker, I surely mentioned it at some point, perhaps at the end of my speech. I will be sharing my time with the member for Jonquière. I could have shared it with the member for Winnipeg North, but I decided to go with the member for Jonquière. I was talking about something that I have mentioned here in the House on many occasions in recent years: The government's lack of vision, which make…
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Mr. Speaker, the Minister of Canadian Heritage is working on a plan. CBC management is working on a plan too. The two are not communicating and have no idea what each other's plans are. What we have here is another example of the federal government's legendary effectiveness. Are these the people we should be relying on to ensure Radio-Canada's independence from the CBC? Are these the people we sho…
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Mr. Speaker, we fully realize that the plan to bring the CBC and Radio-Canada closer together has only one objective, and that is to protect the CBC from a potential Conservative government that plans to make cuts to English-language public television. This has nothing to do with modernization, digital media or efficiency. It is simply management's defence against a potential Conservative governme…
Read full speech →Statements by Members
Mr. Speaker, together, let us celebrate May 1, International Workers' Day. Let us celebrate the day together and united to make our voices heard. This is a time to remember the major workers' rights movements and the gains they made. It is also an opportunity to highlight the rights still left to be won, like the right to EI for everyone who has lost their job or whose work season has ended; the r…
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Madam Speaker, people in Manicouagan have a lot of needs in the fisheries sector. We have been hit hard lately, and I would say that the future looks bleak. Of course, there was the issue of Mexican temporary foreign workers, who could not come over because of government measures. The government does not think there is a fishing industry here, so it forgot that this would be detrimental to the fis…
Read full speech →Statements by Members
Mr. Speaker, today I would like to pay tribute to a great man from the north shore, Paul Brisson, who died on April 2 at the age of 79. Originally from Les Bergeronnes, Mr. Brisson spent most of his life in Baie-Comeau, where he left his mark. He leaves a considerable legacy in the north shore media community. He began his journey in 1968 as co-founder of the Baie-Comeau newspaper Plein Jour. He w…
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Madam Chair, I am pleased to be here this evening to talk about softwood lumber. I wish to inform you that I will be sharing my time with my colleague from Tobique—Mactaquac. I have had some good discussions with him on the issue of natural resources. Speaking of natural resources, I would also like to thank my colleagues from the Bloc Québécois forestry caucus, including my colleague from Saint-H…
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Madam Chair, the first thing I would say is, what can we do now? For 10 years now, since this party came to power, something has needed to be done about softwood lumber. The Liberals are talking about state-of-the-art products, but it is already hard enough to offload our two-by-fours. The government needs to do two things. First, it needs to talk about the issue. I am not sure that it has. I have…
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Madam Chair, indeed, not having a solution to offer the lumber industry and Quebec, I would say, is a failure of all governments. In my mind, it is just one more reason to gain independence.
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Madam Chair, I would like to thank my colleague for his question and tell him that I hold him in high esteem as well. We have worked a lot together on the Standing Committee on Fisheries and Oceans. In a riding like mine, talking about development always means working in partnership. This makes perfect sense to us. For example, we work with the Innu people and the Naskapi nation. We want that econ…
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
Madam Speaker, I also had the opportunity to sit with my colleague at the Standing Committee on Indigenous and Northern Affairs. I would like him to speak in a little more depth about nutrition north Canada, which was studied in committee. We hear that it cannot resolve the whole situation of food sovereignty or food security in the north. Does my colleague see other possible solutions or arrangem…
Read full speech →Statements By Members
Mr. Speaker, today, I am very pleased to welcome a delegation from my riding on the north shore. I would like to acknowledge the following local ambassadors: Denis Miousse, the mayor of Sept‑Îles; Paul Lavoie, Chantal Pitt and Pascal Langlois from Développement économique Sept‑Îles; and John‑James Blanchette, the director of the Sept‑Îles Uashat mak Mani‑Utenam chamber of commerce. Today, I will n…
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Madam Speaker, last February, the federal government promised to increase health transfers. After a lot of political jousting, it forced Quebec and the provinces to accept six times less money than they needed. A year later, Quebec has not received a cent. There is already a $1-billion gap in health care funding this year because Ottawa is withholding the money. Why is Ottawa withholding it? Becau…
Read full speech →Private Members' Business
Madam Speaker, my mother was a nurse, my father was a volunteer firefighter, and I have a son who wants to be a police officer. I have been personally aware of the violence that we are talking about my entire life, so the bill introduced by my colleague from Cariboo—Prince George is very important to me. Bill C‑321 seeks to amend the Criminal Code to consider the fact that the victim of an assault…
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Madam Speaker, that is not the point. Let me remind members once again that the federal government does not run one single hospital. It has no expertise in health care, but it is withholding the money needed to care for people, because it thinks it can tell health care workers how to do their jobs. Let me also remind members once again that the federal government is withholding nearly $5 billion i…
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Madam Speaker, we have been debating this bill for several days, or several years, even. Sometimes, I get the impression that people are not seeking out the most up-to-date information so we can have an enlightened debate. Earlier, I heard some stereotypes, perceptions and impressions that have no place in this debate. I would like to ask if my hon. colleague is aware that this is not about giving…
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Madam Speaker, obviously, the Bloc Québécois agrees there is a serious auto theft problem. However, this is not the only problem right now. There is an argument behind the Conservative motion, but it lacks a certain intellectual rigour. For example, it says the law arising from Bill C-5 is largely responsible for the surge in auto thefts, yet Bill C‑5 only received royal assent on November 17, 202…
Read full speech →Statements By Members
Mr. Speaker, the former director of Le Devoir, Bernard Descôteaux, passed away on January 13, and people's reactions to this sad news say a lot about the kind of man he was. Mr. Descôteaux, who worked in just about every job there is at Le Devoir, including that of parliamentary correspondent here in Ottawa, was a boss who was well-loved by everyone. He deserves much of the credit for the survival…
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Madam Speaker, I have a few things to say to the member for Winnipeg North about his comment. First, there is a difference between words and actions. Yes, that was part of the Liberal Party's election platform. However, it is important to consider the number of years that the Liberals were in power over the past 40 years and the number of years that they formed a majority government, when they cou…
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Madam Speaker, allow me to repeat it for my colleague from Rosemont—La Petite‑Patrie: We want it to be fair, we want there to be a balance of power. In my mind, there are no exceptions. We are talking about a bill. In the end, it is really what we want. I am focusing on the principle: We want a balance of power, fairness. That is what the Bloc Québécois wants, and we will be prepared to support th…
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Madam Speaker, I have to go through my notes. I always have a plethora of ideas. Of course, I agree with my colleague from Abitibi—Témiscamingue on the timeline. It does not hold water. We are ready. We have been for 50 years, likely. We are voting for the bill and then we are off to the races. Any questions on that 18‑month delay can be asked when the bill is in committee. This could come into fo…
Read full speech →Statements by Members
Mr. Speaker, 2023 was not at all restful at Parliament. However, we made it to the end thanks to the dedicated staff; our own, of course, in other words each of our own teams to whom we owe so much, but also the exceptional House of Commons staff. On behalf of the Bloc Québécois, I want to thank each of these individuals from the bottom of my heart. We thank the clerks, the law clerks, the analyst…
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Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to rise today on behalf of the Bloc Québécois to applaud Bill C‑58, the anti-scab legislation. People have been waiting decades for this bill. I am a Quebecker, and our anti-scab legislation was already in place when I was born. Now, a bill has been introduced. I would not go so far as to say that I was hoping for this back when I was two, but I will say that I have been …
Read full speech →Statements by Members
Mr. Speaker, goaltender Marc‑André Fleury has won the Stanley Cup and the Vezina trophy, but he has just given us another reason to be proud of him. It was first nations heritage night at Friday's game in Minnesota. Since his wife Véronique is indigenous, this goalie from Sorel was planning to wear a special mask designed by Dakota artist Cole Redhorse Taylor. It was covered in a traditional Dakot…
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Mr. Speaker, it is with great appreciation that I rise today to mark the 20th anniversary of Action‑Chômage Côte‑Nord. I want to thank Line Sirois, the board of directors and all those who supported this organization over the past two decades. Their work is essential, not only because they help people in need on the north shore, but also because, through their actions and representations, they kee…
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Madam Speaker, let us talk about Chalk River and the proposal to build a radioactive waste disposal facility on the shores of the Ottawa River. The chiefs of the Kebaowek, Kitigan Zibi Anishinabeg and Mitchikanibikok Inik First Nations are adding their voices to the widespread grassroots opposition campaign in Quebec. They are obviously worried about the impact on the river. They are worried about…
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Madam Speaker, September 30 is the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, a first nations initiative to commemorate the painful history of residential schools. It is an opportunity to remember all those who suffered trauma that then followed them throughout their lives. It also gives us an opportunity to think of all those children who never returned home, as well as their families. On this oc…
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Madam Speaker, the first step would be to show some basic respect for the concerns of first nations. Chief Haymond of the Kebaowek First Nation wrote to the Prime Minister to share the concerns of his people. He never got a response. The federal government must at the very least put the Chalk River project on hold and ensure that first nations are heard. Could Ottawa start by showing the bare mini…
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Mr. Speaker, during the night of Sunday to Monday, the unspeakable happened in my community, off the coast of La Tabatière on the Lower North Shore. The Silver Condor sank in the Gulf of St. Lawrence, taking the lives of three fishermen. Dean Lavallée, Yves Jones and Damon Etheridge worked in one of the most noble, but also the most dangerous, professions. The sea gives, but it can also take away,…
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Mr. Speaker, finally. After the Manicouagan-Uapishka Biosphere Reserve in my riding of Manicouagan, our fabled Anticosti Island has now become a UNESCO world heritage site. This recognition is first and foremost the result of the hard work and dedication of the people of the municipality of Anticosti, the Minganie, the Innu nation and the Côte-Nord. Thanks to their vision, pride and generosity, ou…
Read full speech →Private Members' Business
Madam Speaker, I was saying that I wanted to take a moment, before I began my speech, to thank all the health care workers and first responders who supported the people in my riding and, of course, across Quebec and Canada during COVID-19. They certainly experienced this crisis more intensely than many of us. In a crisis, people are justifiably afraid. Unfortunately, fear can make people behave di…
Read full speech →Private Members' Business
Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to rise in the House today to speak to Bill C‑321 introduced by my colleague from Cariboo—Prince George. This bill seeks to ensure that for the purposes of sentencing, the court considers the fact that the victim of an assault is a health care professional or a first responder to be an aggravating circumstance. Before I go on, I would like to thank the health care workers…
Read full speech →Statements by Members
Madam Speaker, I am immensely pleased today to extend a warm invitation to my colleagues and to all Quebeckers and Canadians to come visit my riding, Manicouagan, this summer. To the people back home, Manicouagan really means the north shore, a true country within a country, its 350,000 square kilometres teeming with so many wonders that the north shore tourism bureau aptly describes it as “nature…
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Mr. Speaker, as the member for Manicouagan and on behalf of the Bloc Québécois, it is with great sadness that I rise to extend my sincere condolences to all those who were touched by the tragedy in Portneuf-sur-Mer. On June 3, a few adults and children were fishing on the edge of the St. Lawrence River when they were surprised by the rising tide that surrounded and trapped them. Six of them were s…
Read full speech →Statements By Members
Madam Speaker, when I was newly elected, I met a great man from Minganie who inspired me. His name is Luc Noël and, in fact, he has made a mark on the entire north shore. Today, as he steps down from his duties as an elected reeve, a position he held for more than 10 years, I want to ensure he understands just how grateful I and the people of the north shore are. His Anticostian, Acadian and Innu …
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