Orders Of The Day
Madam Speaker, I would like to thank my colleague from Cypress Hills—Grasslands for his speech and ask him a question. He talked about respect for his constituents. I think that is the foundation of the work that we do and I dare imagine that is also the foundation of the work the Prime Minister must accomplish. To me, a big part of this crisis in the national capital has to do with the Prime Mini…
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Madam Speaker, this government has clearly not managed to justify anything. If the order does get adopted, there will need to be a report. This government will have to justify its decision. The Prime Minister has treated Ottawa like any other city, when it is a national capital. He let it all escalate. The Prime Minister has been selectively absent and has demonstrated a lack of leadership.
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Madam Speaker, I would like to offer my most sincere and heartfelt thanks to all municipal and provincial police forces, to the officers of the Parliamentary Protective Service, and to RCMP officers. I am thinking in particular of the Sûreté du Québec officers who were deployed to resolve the impasse, although we cannot yet say it is over. They acted in exemplary fashion at a time when the eyes of…
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Madam Speaker, I thank my colleague for his speech. I would say that in reply to the Prime Minister's question asking whether the crisis was over, I would answer that it is over, and it was over well before he took action. I would answer that, three weeks after the start of this protest, he can now come out of hiding and take the true measure of what he thought was an emergency. He could have seen…
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Madam Speaker, I thank my colleague for his question. I absolutely denounce the presence of far-right groups, no matter where they are. I have to say that this is not new. When I was 14 years old, I was a part of anti-racist and anti-fascist groups. Far-right groups were around back in 1990. It is now 2022 and there are laws that enable us to combat these groups. This is nothing new. What is happe…
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Mr. Speaker, I thank the member for Fort McMurray—Cold Lake for her speech. I would like to hear her speak about the War Measures Act and the Emergencies Act. We have heard several times that they are not the same, and I could not agree more. In my view, both existed and both still exist. There are still links between them. In the House of Commons, it does not do to pretend that certain things do …
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Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague from Leeds—Grenville—Thousand Islands and Rideau Lakes for his comments. I would like to ask him a simple question. Why was the Quebec government able to control and resolve a similar situation in two days, without using the Emergencies Act?
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Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for his speech. My question is about something the government said to him just now about how the Emergencies Act and the War Measures Act are completely different. I think they are brushing off concerns and being a little too simplistic in their attempts to dissociate the two. Could my colleague comment on that? After all, there are a few little similarities betwe…
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Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to rise today to recognize Anticosti Island, which has officially become a candidate to be declared a UNESCO World Heritage site. Anticosti Island is a magnificent and unique place, abundant in natural wealth and home to friendly people, making it a treasure of the North Shore, Quebec and the world. Many people came together and a lot of hard work went into making this hi…
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Mr. Speaker, I must say, I was a little taken aback by the arrogance of the member for Rosemont—La Petite-Patrie when he talked about my leader and the Bloc Québécois. I think my colleague is being disingenuous. He implied that the Bloc leader is not looking at the act in an intellectually honest way, when what we said is that these are two different laws. At this point, it is like using a bazooka…
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Mr. Speaker, the interpreter is saying that the sound quality is not good enough for her to interpret.
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Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for his inspiring speech. We are debating a bill. However, contrary to what my colleague from Longueuil—Charles-LeMoyne was saying, just because we are debating a bill does not mean that we cannot consider items that are not covered by the bill but that are very important to us. I would like to put a simple question to my colleague from Laurentides—Labelle, who ha…
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Mr. Speaker, I would like to begin by thanking my colleague from Winnipeg North for his speech. I always find him very entertaining. I would like to ask him a question. To hear him speak, one would think that PCR tests are the greatest thing since sliced bread. He kept going on about how important it is to take action now. Meanwhile, we hear a conflicting message from the official opposition and t…
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Madam Speaker, the federal government should be better than that. Six months will have passed between the point at which the government publicly admitted it had made a huge mistake in reducing the GIS for the poorest seniors in December and the point at which it will actually stop the reductions, in the payment to be sent out at the end of June. The solution here is not complicated. All the govern…
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Madam Speaker, the federal government has finally realized that it is inhumane to reduce the GIS for the poorest seniors because of CERB. It has introduced Bill C‑12, which will stop the reductions, but not until the July payment, even though seniors have been making sacrifices at the grocery store and even the pharmacy for the past year. Twelve months of daily sacrifices. This is crucial income f…
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Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank my colleague from Lethbridge for her speech. I have a few questions for her. I find that there certainly is a muddying of the waters when we talk about all the provincial jurisdictions. However, she used two words that I appreciated, and they are “courage” and “solution”, words that should be top of mind for everyone. I would like to have her thoughts on two thin…
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Mr. Speaker, 20 years ago, Grand Chief Ted Moses and Premier Bernard Landry signed the Paix des braves, an historic agreement between the Cree Nation and the Government of Quebec. Twenty years ago, the Cree Nation and Quebec entered into a crucial economic partnership that helped both of our nations. More importantly, it marked the official beginning of a genuine nation-to-nation relationship, a r…
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Mr. Speaker, in fact, I will support it a bit because I cannot support it more than that, if that makes sense. In other words, there is room for improvement. Of course, we supported Bill C‑2. We want help to be provided, but that help has to be flexible and based on needs. We have had to pass some bills hastily, even urgently, because businesses were closing. Many filed for protection under the Ba…
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Madam Speaker, I am pleased to rise this evening to speak to the economic update. I have a lot to say, but I will have to narrow it down. Let me start with health transfers. This is important to me as a member for the Bloc Québécois, and it is important to Quebec as a whole, to my riding, Manicouagan, and to Canada as a whole. Obviously, these transfers are not included here, and we are disappoint…
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Mr. Speaker, earlier we spoke about the Canada emergency business account. With regard to help for businesses, I did mention the issue of accountants and tax experts, which could be a solution and would keep them working as well. Maybe we should help businesses with that. There is also the whole issue of paperwork, which can always be reduced. We are in an emergency, and we need to focus on the ti…
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Mr. Speaker, of course I will talk about employment insurance, after all, it is mentioned in the economic update. In fact I hope to see a reform. I thank my colleague because I love talking about this issue. Back home, employment insurance is not just assistance, it is practically a development tool. That is a serious thing to say, but it is what it is. Some people in my riding have not had access…
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Mr. Speaker, I am rising on a point of order. The interpretation service has indicated that the sound quality is not good enough for interpreters to work because the member was not using a headset, so his remarks were not interpreted.
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Mr. Speaker, on behalf of the Bloc Québécois, I would like to congratulate Ghislain Picard for being elected for an eleventh term as the Chief of the Assembly of First Nations Quebec-Labrador. Ghislain Picard is an Innu man from the community of Pessamit. He is a wonderful example of the dedication, perseverance and hope that drive efforts to increase the recognition of first nations' interests an…
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Mr. Speaker, I will answer my colleague's question, which she did not get to finish, but yes, it is due to a lack of funding, a lack of foresight, and a failure to listen to first nations, who have been talking about it for the past 20 years. Quebec alone is short more than 10,000 homes. Those 10,000 homes represent the shortfall that needs to be made up in just the next five years, and that numbe…
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Absolutely not, Mr. Speaker. If we were to ask the Government of Quebec or the Quebec National Assembly whether Quebec needs Canada to tell us how to run our health care system, an area that does not fall under federal jurisdiction at all, we would be told that Quebec is happy with its own standards. Quebec is able to work with what it currently has. All we need is for the money to come back to Qu…
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Mr. Speaker, I want to let you know that I will be splitting my time with my colleague from Laurentides—Labelle. I have not yet thanked my constituents for the last election, so I would like to do that now. I thank them with all my heart. This is the third time they have given me their support and renewed their trust in me. I am honoured. It is always a privilege to work for the people of the Nort…
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Mr. Speaker, at the risk of repeating myself, the National Assembly unanimously supports health transfers. Granted, it is somewhat of a shared jurisdiction, but Quebec is the one with all the expertise. I believe the member talked about playing a role in the health care system, which I always find interesting. The money is in Ottawa, but the needs are in the provinces. There is a fiscal imbalance,…
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Mr. Speaker, the passing of Alexa McDonough at the age of 77 on January 15 is a great loss for Nova Scotia and Canada. It is an especially great loss for all women who go into politics to improve the conditions of the most vulnerable in our communities. On behalf of the Bloc Québécois, I would like to offer my condolences to Alexa McDonough’s family, friends and community. I also send my regards t…
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Madam Speaker, I thank my colleague from Bellechasse—Les Etchemins—Lévis for her speech. I agree with her when she says that this government has huge sails, but no rudder. I would add that there is no wind in their sails, either. Just because you have a sail it does not mean that you are getting anywhere. Speaking of wind, this throne speech is rather insubstantial. I am a college teacher by train…
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Mr. Speaker, the Bloc Québécois agrees to apply the vote and will vote in favour of the motion.
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Mr. Speaker, the Bloc Québécois agrees to apply the vote and is voting in favour of the motion.
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Mr. Speaker, the Bloc Québécois agrees to apply the vote and will vote in favour of the motion.
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Madam Chair, I completely agree with the minister. That would be a luxury for me; I cannot split myself in three. There are just not as many of us, as my colleagues know, so we always have to do more. In fact, as the minister said—and this is just an aside before my next question—the AFNQL has figured it out already and has been aware of these needs for decades now. I invite the minister, his staf…
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Madam Chair, as the indigenous affairs critic for the Bloc Québécois, I do not have the luxury of being able to split the minister across the way into three so I will address him on different topics. First, I would like to talk about housing. In its budget statement, the government allocated $6 billion over five years to be invested across Quebec and Canada. After the announcement, the Assembly of…
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Madam Chair, I would like to talk about another subject: the comprehensive land claims policy. On February 14, 2018, the Liberal government announced a recognition and implementation of indigenous rights framework to replace the policy at the time, the comprehensive land claims policy. Three years on, we are still waiting for that framework, and in the meantime, we passed Bill C‑15 to implement th…
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Madam Chair, I would like to thank the minister and ask him to provide an answer in writing.
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Madam Chair, can the minister tell me the amount of funding requested by the government in the supplementary estimates (B) for the same cause?
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Madam Chair, actually, it's Uashat mak Mani-utenam. Going back to the date, it may have been a few days before. I am not going to argue about the dates, but we can agree that the announcement was made before the election was called. However, whenever we are in an election period, nothing happens; nothing gets done. I understand, of course, that there are a number of projects, and $320 million was …
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Madam Chair, I would remind the minister that I am glad that $6 billion has been invested, but that amount was for all of Canada. Quebec alone needs more than $4 billion over the next five years, as I mentioned earlier. The amount of federal funding is $6 billion, yes, but so far only $2.8 billion has gone out the door for all of Canada. Quebec therefore has a $4‑billion shortfall. We must also co…
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Madam Chair, I am very glad to hear the minister talk about the pandemic, which might have exposed and exacerbated needs and challenges in various sectors. I would like to remind that minister that the Viens commission report said the housing problem had “emerged as the epicentre of many of the issues faced by the First Nations and Inuit”. According to the indigenous leaders I speak to in their ca…
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Madam Chair, the minister is talking about colonialism as a thing of the past, but colonialism still exists today. What I heard was not a clear answer on where things stand. The minister talked about progress, but what meaningful action has been taken since 2018 with regard to reviewing the comprehensive land claims policy?
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Madam Chair, I agree that it can be complex. That is why we separatists like it when things are simpler, when there are fewer levels of government and fewer parties involved. Overall, the AFNQL is representative. It represents its members and knows what is going on. It has an excellent view of what is happening in communities, and it knows what they need. Is the government not concerned that by un…
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Mr. Speaker, on December 4, Quebec lost one of its literary giants. François Hébert co-founded the publishing house Les Herbes rouges in 1968. When we think about Quebec literature and poetry, we cannot help but think about the almost mythical Hébert brothers: Marcel, who died in 2007, and François. With François' death, we have suddenly lost over half a century of literary memory. He gave up his …
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Madam Speaker, last week I had the privilege of participating in the Grand Economic Circle of Indigenous People and Quebec, an event put on by the AFNQL and the Government of Quebec. I would like to thank Quebec's Minister Responsible for Indigenous Affairs, Ian Lafrenière, for his warm welcome. The dozens of inspiring encounters I experienced during this major event prompt me to remind the federa…
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