Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, while the Prime Minister says he is disappointed by Michael Rousseau's unilingual English message, the federal government has spent more than $2.4 billion to strengthen English in Quebec since 1995. Billions of dollars have been spent to anglicize Quebec in the past 30 years, and this continues every year. We do not need to look any further to understand how Michael Rousseau has manag…
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Mr. Speaker, we are celebrating Francophonie Month together. When I say “we are celebrating”, that does not include the Prime Minister, the only one in ages who does not have a francophone speech writer. It also excludes Michael Rousseau, the CEO of Air Canada, who is unable to say more than a few words in French. On the other hand, it includes more than 380 million speakers across five continents…
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Mr. Speaker, with all due respect, I find that a bit ironic. They are saying that there is no need for subsidies for electric cars and that EVs can be bought without them, but at the same time they want to cut taxes for Canadian-made vehicles. If incentives do not work, then why are they good for oil but not for electricity? Basically, the Conservative motion is really all about helping Ontario's …
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Mr. Speaker, once again, with this motion, the Conservatives are prioritizing oil and Ontario's auto industry above all else, at the expense of Quebec. They are even proposing to eliminate EV subsidies and to lower environmental standards to please Mr. Trump. Does my colleague think such a motion will be welcome in Quebec?
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Mr. Speaker, is the Conservative motion not just a move to benefit Ontario's auto industry and put Quebec at a disadvantage by ending EV purchase rebates, among other things?
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Mr. Speaker, the Conservatives are correct in saying that the Liberals do not have a plan to reduce American tariffs, but what they are proposing is not a plan either. It is unconditional alignment with Donald Trump's positions. It is a pre-emptive surrender. How much would it cost to have all these tax exemptions for Canadian vehicles and not for foreign ones? Is it possible that Mr. Trump might …
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Mr. Speaker, my colleague just said that he would speak in English to make sure that everyone understands. I find that unacceptable. He can speak in English or in French. Everyone should be able to understand with the help of the interpretation service.
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Mr. Speaker, we know that 40% of asylum seekers have settled in Quebec, while Quebec makes up only 22% of the population. Does my colleague not think that we should try to find a way to better way to distribute asylum seekers across the country or at least properly compensate Quebec? We know that, in 2024, Quebec had a $700-million shortfall for which it did not receive compensation. What does my …
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Mr. Speaker, we know that approximately 40% of asylum seekers have settled in Quebec, even though Quebec accounts for only about 22% of Canada's population. Does my colleague think that we should find a way to spread asylum seekers more evenly across the country and that Quebec and the provinces should be compensated? Right now, we know that, for 2024 alone, Quebec has a shortfall of $700 million …
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Mr. Speaker, essentially, the motion is trying to address an issue that was largely created by the sudden surge in asylum claims and the lack of resources to process them. In some countries, like France, it takes less than six months to process an asylum claim. In Germany, it takes eight months. Here, it can take up to three or four years. Does my colleague agree that we must press as hard as we c…
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Mr. Speaker, the Conservative motion seems to suggest that, as soon as an asylum seeker is convicted of a serious crime, they should be deported. First, that is already the law. Second, does that mean that somebody who is convicted of a serious crime should not serve their sentence and should instead be deported to a country where it is not certain that they will serve their sentence?
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Mr. Speaker, I would like to know what my colleague thinks about the fact that 40% of asylum seekers have settled in Quebec, while our province represents just 22% of the population. Does he not think that we should find a way to better distribute asylum seekers across the country or at least financially compensate Quebec? We know that, in 2024 alone, Quebec had a $700-million shortfall for which …
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Mr. Speaker, housing is under Quebec's jurisdiction. Local governments, like the Quebec National Assembly or the municipalities, are in the best position to know the housing needs of their population. Now, the government is going to create a new, centralizing entity that will complicate new agreements. This was apparent in the last one that we received in January. There were delays of two to three…
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Mr. Speaker, I think things would move faster if the government acted like a minority government instead of always trying to impose its solutions. I would like to know something. All of this is going to result in a very centralized entity that impedes on Quebec's area of jurisdiction. However, not everyone shares the same vision. Quebec and the municipalities are the ones who are most up to speed …
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Mr. Speaker, I would like my colleague to tell me in what way this is not going to be a new entity that centralizes power and overrides Quebec's jurisdictions. It is always the same old story. Whenever a federal entity is involved, the government always tries to impose its requirements, which only draws out the process. Instead of speeding up housing construction, the government announces it. We s…
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Mr. Speaker, it is true that Statistics Canada has observed a significant increase in extortion crimes in Canada. I would like my colleague to explain the connection between that and asylum seekers.
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Madam Speaker, I want to commend my colleague on his excellent speech, which was very eloquent, as usual. There was a bill on citizenship by descent. In committee, we adopted an amendment that would have required such citizenship applications to be subject to the same criteria as all citizenship applications, including a criminal record check. The Liberals and the NDP voted down that part of the b…
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Madam Speaker, as we have already said, the Bloc Québécois is going to vote against this motion, mainly because we think that refugee claimants or permanent residents with an actual criminal record are already barred under existing legislation. Enforcing the law is all it takes. However, I have a question for my colleague. The processing times for refugee claims are already very long. This could b…
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Mr. Speaker, in several European countries, the standard is to process asylum claims within three or four months. Here, it takes four or five years, sometimes longer. In my colleague's opinion, what are the consequences of such long wait times? It is also a humanitarian issue. Should we not try to reduce these wait times?
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Madam Speaker, as I said earlier, the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act already stipulates that, if a refugee claimant has committed an offence, whether in Canada or abroad, they may be deemed inadmissible to Canada. However, if everyone with a criminal record abroad is systematically banned from entering the country, what would happen to prisoners of conscience, like Raif Badawi?
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Mr. Speaker, I want to know what my colleague thinks about the fact that the motion is devoid of nuance. For example, the Conservatives are saying that they want to bar refugee claimants with criminal records, something that is already provided for in the law. Without further nuance, this means that refugee claimants who are political prisoners or prisoners of conscience would automatically be bar…
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Mr. Speaker, not long ago, the House voted on a bill dealing with applications for citizenship by descent. In committee, an amendment was moved to require that applicants for this kind of citizenship undergo the same citizenship screening as any other applicant, particularly the criminal record check. Why did the Liberals, along with the NDP, vote against this amendment, ensuring it would be defea…
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Madam Speaker, the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act already includes provisions for offences. Refugee claimants who have committed offences, whether in Canada or abroad, are deemed inadmissible to Canada. Are my colleague's demands not redundant?
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Mr. Speaker, I think the new office will be useful because it can provide us with information on treaty compliance. However, I wonder whether it should also have coercive powers to ensure treaty compliance. Does my colleague think that is a good idea?
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Mr. Speaker, we have seen overwhelming support for this bill from first nations. I believe that the commissioner will be a watchdog who will conduct research and provide us with information so that we can enforce the treaties if the government fails to do so. That said, I think the commissioner should also have coercive powers. What does my colleague think?
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Mr. Speaker, it is far from clear that the taxes aimed at preventing pollution from everything oil-related are actually linked to food prices. However, pollution increases climate change and all its impacts, such as floods and forest fires. That creates considerable costs for farmers, and the bill is then passed on to consumers. Has my colleague taken that into account?
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Mr. Speaker, I would like to know what my colleague thinks about the following point. These last two Parliaments, the Conservatives have devoted almost all of their opposition days to abolishing the carbon tax. The Conservatives said it was driving up food prices. The Liberals took a page from the Conservative playbook and abolished the carbon tax for individuals. However, it has not had any impac…
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Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague, who is also a member of the Standing Committee on Official Languages. First, I would like to know how he explains the fact that the Liberals eliminated the carbon tax and yet there has been no impact on the cost of food. Second, does he see a link between climate change and the effects of pollution, like floods and wildfires, which are having an impact on farmers…
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Mr. Speaker, there has been talk about supply. I would like to know what my colleague thinks about the following. To improve the supply of imported fruits and vegetables, the government could promote greenhouse cultivation. It could also stop making cuts to agriculture, particularly to research centres. This would enable farmers to adapt and to develop technology to be more competitive. The govern…
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Mr. Speaker, I would like to know what the Leader of the Opposition thinks about the fact that the government opposite's scrapping of the carbon tax has had no impact on food prices. I would also like to know whether he believes that rising food prices can be attributed to the industrial carbon tax and environmental laws alone. Do any other factors come into play?
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Mr. Speaker, I would like to pass on my regards to my colleague. I would like to know whether he has considered the impact that the proposed measures will have on pollution and climate change, or the impact that climate change, floods, forest fires and other events have on farmers and food prices.
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Mr. Speaker, this measure was not included in budget 2025. It materialized out of thin air. It is a one-time cheque, which means that it is clear it is a vote-buying scheme. It aims to address the increase in the cost of living, which was in fact created in part by the measures of this government. What are my colleague's thoughts on this?
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Mr. Speaker, my colleague was talking about, among other things, reducing the carbon tax. However, the more the government supports the oil industry and subsidizes oil companies, the more greenhouse gases that are emitted, which increases the effects of climate change like flooding, wildfires and so on. This is a cost that trickles down to the people. Climate change has a price. In addition, it is…
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Mr. Speaker, we at the Bloc Québécois have long been proposing an increase to the GST credit, and we think it would have been better to increase this amount regularly starting now, rather than making a single payment by June. We agree with the subsequent 25% increase, but we propose paying the credit monthly because we know that the most vulnerable are really struggling financially. Since credit c…
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Mr. Speaker, I would like to know what my colleague thinks about the fact that, as he said earlier, the Liberals have already adopted several of the measures set out in the Conservative motion, including doing away with environmental protection measures, providing additional support for oil companies and axing the carbon tax. Can my colleague explain why the Liberals are shifting toward favouring …
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Mr. Speaker, I would like to hear my colleague's thoughts on something in the Conservative motion. The motion talks about providing free trade bonuses to remove internal trade barriers, but what are these barriers if not each province's respective language laws, environmental laws, public rules, workforce training and labour standards? This is basically a direct attack on the sovereignty of the pr…
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Madam Speaker, I would like to know what my colleague thinks about the polluter pays principle, which requires polluters, particularly oil companies, to bear the costs associated with managing the effects of the increase in greenhouse gases they produce. As we said earlier, these companies rake in over $130 billion in profits, 60% of which goes to the U.S. Instead of helping to ensure that these c…
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Madam Speaker, I want to know what my colleague thinks about the fact that the Conservatives' motion seems to imply a weakening of provincial sovereignty. The motion encourages investments that would lead them to pull away from their laws and rules in accordance with their priorities in terms of the environment, language and their specific needs.
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Mr. Speaker, the Bloc Québécois agrees with Bill C‑16 as a whole. It includes several of our recommendations. We see that the Liberals want to strengthen certain laws in order to undercut the Conservatives. For example, we rose several times on the issue of the Jordan decision because prosecutions for serious crimes, like murder or sexual assault, were dropped as a result of delays. Fortunately, B…
Read full speech →Statements by Members
Mr. Speaker, Quebec has lost a great patriot. Jean Dorion passed away after a lifetime devoted to Quebec independence. Early on, Jean Dorion was an activist with the Rassemblement pour l'indépendance nationale and a founding member of the Parti Québécois. He served as chief of staff under René Lévesque and was responsible for key portfolios, such as immigration and the enforcement of the Charter o…
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Mr. Speaker, climate change is causing droughts and natural disasters. It is also driving up the cost of living because of the financial repercussions involved. Could my colleague expand on that?
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Mr. Speaker, the MOU with Alberta is proof that the Liberals are abandoning the fight against climate change. It looks like they want to bring Conservative voters on side, but the Conservatives are doubling down with this motion. What does my colleague think of the Liberals' new approach? Does this threaten the Conservatives' base?
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Madam Speaker, my colleague was talking about seniors earlier, but one of the Bloc Québécois's very important requests for seniors is nowhere to be found in Bill C-15. I am talking about the 10% OAS increase for seniors aged 65 to 74. As the House knows, a few years ago, we pressured the government to increase old age pensions, since seniors were losing their purchasing power. There was an increas…
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Madam Speaker, the Conservatives are being criticized for delaying the passage of bills. However, in the case of Bill C‑15, most of our requests were denied. Does my colleague agree that the government, which is a minority government, is behaving like a majority government? It consults very little with the opposition parties and makes very few compromises.
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Madam Speaker, I would like to hear my colleague's thoughts on the fact that Bill C-15 will make the media crisis worse. A few months ago, the government was supposed to impose a 3% tax on foreign digital platforms. That would have generated billions of dollars in tax revenue that could have been used to help private media outlets, which are really struggling right now. Instead, the Prime Minister…
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Madam Speaker, I want to know what my colleague thinks about the fact that this budget will perpetuate a deeply unfair tax situation by refusing to reinstate the digital services tax. Foreign platforms from the U.S. do not pay taxes, while Quebec and Canadian platforms like illico+, ICI TOU.TV and others are required to pay taxes and royalties. What does my colleague think about that?
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, the new Minister responsible for Official Languages is already fed up with his mandate. He thinks that saying that French is in decline is about electioneering. He thinks that saying that Montreal is being anglicized is an identity-based grievance. That is how he is starting his mandate. For him, it is very clear that defending French is a boring file that gives racist, xenophobic sep…
Read full speech →Private Members' Business
Madam Speaker, Bill C-241 raises the major issue of flood and drought prevention. These phenomena are no longer isolated incidents. They have become recurring realities that disrupt our communities, weaken our infrastructure, and threaten our economy. The numbers cannot be denied. Over the past 10 years, the average cost of insured disasters in Canada has been $2.5 billion a year. Last year, we re…
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Mr. Speaker, this bill is poorly thought out. The government is offering a tax cut, but at the same time, this means higher taxes for some seniors and some people with disabilities. What does my colleague think about these flaws in the bill?
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Mr. Speaker, by officially scrapping the carbon tax, Bill C-4 confirms that Quebeckers were robbed. The Liberal government decided to entice voters with compensation for the carbon tax, even though the tax had not even been levied for the period in question. This was funded through taxes paid by Quebeckers, meaning we lost $814 million. What does my colleague think of that?
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