Statements by Members
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…
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
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…
Read full speech →Speech from the Throne
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…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, the Bloc Québécois agrees to apply the vote and will vote in favour of the motion.
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, the Bloc Québécois agrees to apply the vote and will vote in favour of the motion.
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, the Bloc Québécois agrees to apply the vote and is voting in favour of the motion.
Read full speech →Government Orders
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?
Read full speech →Government Orders
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…
Read full speech →Government Orders
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…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Madam Chair, I would like to thank the minister and ask him to provide an answer in writing.
Read full speech →Government Orders
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 …
Read full speech →Government Orders
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…
Read full speech →Government Orders
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…
Read full speech →Government Orders
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…
Read full speech →Government Orders
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…
Read full speech →Statements by Members
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 …
Read full speech →Statements by Members
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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