Private Members' Business
Madam Speaker, I want to congratulate my colleague on her moving speech. I believe that rehabilitation is very important. It is the very foundation of our justice system, but it takes resources to provide programs, apprenticeships and rehabilitation initiatives. We need to ensure that correctional facilities and other institutions have the necessary resources to achieve these goals. What does my c…
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Mr. Speaker, I met a business owner in my riding who was a Measurement Canada authorized service provider. He even made his own calibration carts. He had extensive experience and had issued over 450 certificates. One day, Measurement Canada suddenly changed inspectors. The inspector did a test, but it was not based on the specifications of my constituent's calibration cart, which he had invented a…
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Mr. Speaker, to add to what I said earlier, there does not seem to be an independent appeal process at Measurement Canada. Every time a business in my riding has filed an appeal, it is always the same people issuing the same judgment every time. I even participated in a third hearing, which was supposed to be independent, but they completely disregarded the case file and the reasons why my constit…
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Madam Speaker, I commend my colleague and friend, the member for Pierre-Boucher—Les Patriotes—Verchères, on his speech. We talked about the fact that the government does not have an aerospace policy. In the past, we have seen a lack of federal investment in this industry. For example, even though Quebec invested everything it could, we lost out with the Bombardier C Series because the federal gove…
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Mr. Speaker, the bill does not reform political party financing to restore public funding. As we know, the more an individual can donate, the more likely it is to create the appearance of conflicts of interest or corruption. For example, there was a case where a former prime minister authorized the opening of a new bank in Toronto specifically for the Chinese community in British Columbia. The ver…
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Mr. Speaker, I have an important question for my colleague. From my understanding of the bill, the government would be released from the obligation to disclose the names and addresses of donors. Is that indeed the case? If that is so, I think it opens the door to corruption. If people can make donations as high as $1,700 and their names are not disclosed, there is no longer a way to check whether …
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Mr. Speaker, I would like my colleague to tell us a little more about the importance of reinstating public funding for political parties and limiting the scope for donations. Why is that important for democracy and for the fight against corruption and conflicts of interest?
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Mr. Speaker, I congratulate my colleague on her speech. I would like her opinion. The Bloc Québécois is proposing to reinstate public funding for political parties and to cap donations at $500. With public funding, the government contributes an amount based on the number of votes received by each party. Some people will say that the government should not be subsidizing the parties, yet it is happe…
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Mr. Speaker, it seems that the bill would result in the government no longer being required to disclose the names and addresses of political donors. I asked one of my Liberal colleagues about this earlier. He replied that he did not think the bill would have that effect. If that were the case, it would really open the door to conflicts of interest, corruption and so on. If it turns out that the bi…
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Mr. Speaker, one of the proposed measures in the bill stipulates that voters may not sign nomination papers for more than one candidate. In other words, they may sign only one paper. However, this could have an unintended consequence, because, up until now, signing a candidate's nomination paper has not necessarily been seen as an endorsement of the candidate, but rather as support for their right…
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Mr. Speaker, the Bloc Québécois supports this bill, but only insofar as it is a gesture of recognition that does not involve any programs, administrative structures or spending, because the administration of justice is the exclusive jurisdiction of Quebec and the provinces. Does my colleague agree with that?
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Mr. Speaker, Bill S‑226 seeks to designate the second week of May as “Jury Duty Appreciation Week”. On the face of it, this is a small step. However, behind this simplicity lies a fundamental reality of our democracy, which is the critical role that citizens play when they are called upon to participate directly in the administration of justice. The bill's preamble clearly states that jury duty is…
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Mr. Speaker, the Bloc Québécois is in favour of the bill. We think this is a way to right an injustice that has lasted 150 years, since the promise of a treaty to Louis Riel and his provisional government. My question is somewhat similar to that of my colleague. The treaty is with the Manitoba Métis Federation, or MMF, but there are other Métis groups, like the Union nationale métisse Saint‑Joseph…
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Mr. Speaker, I congratulate my colleague on his speech. He spoke at length about the importance of ensuring that this treaty does not conflict with other treaties and that future treaties with other first nations and Métis nations are harmonized. Can he elaborate on the measures he would suggest for ensuring that all first nations are respected in the treaty-making process?
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Mr. Speaker, I congratulate my colleague on his speech. From what I understood from his speech, there was not enough consultation to really ensure that the agreement does not take rights away from other Métis communities or other first nations. Does my colleague not think that the bill could be amended to leave room for future agreements in order to respect the rights of all Métis communities?
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Mr. Speaker, I would like to know if my colleague has accounted for the impact of these measures on the environment and the deficit. It has been estimated that this would increase the deficit by about $7 billion.
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Mr. Speaker, I would like to expand a bit on what my colleague said. The industrial carbon tax has no impact on prices at the pump. Ultimately, this is a gift in disguise to the oil companies, a gift disguised as support for the public, but it will not have any effect. It will just help the oil companies, which are already making billions of dollars in profits.
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Mr. Speaker, I would like to hear my colleague's thoughts on the fact that the Conservative measures do not take Quebec's system into account. Quebec has its own carbon tax system, namely the carbon market. That means that Quebec ended up funding measures for the other provinces. What does my colleague think about respecting Quebec's jurisdictions and providing compensation when Quebec's jurisdict…
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Mr. Speaker, I want to know what my colleague thinks about the fact that there are a number of Conservative measures that would penalize Quebec because they would lower taxes even though Quebec has its own system, which includes the carbon market. Does my colleague not think that, every time such measures are taken, some thought should be given to finding a way to compensate Quebec and respect its…
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Mr. Speaker, contrary to what the Conservatives are saying, eliminating the industrial carbon tax would have no impact on prices at the pump. Prices are based on the global price per barrel, not on extraction costs. Basically, the Conservative measure would be nothing more than a gift to the oil companies and it would have no impact on oil prices. I would like to hear my colleague's thoughts on th…
Read full speech →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…
Read full speech →Statements by Members
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, 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, 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, we have a number of examples where preachers called for the death of Jews and Christians and got away with it without facing prosecution. The same thing happened with Adil Charkaoui in 2024. The director of criminal and penal prosecutions was unable to prosecute him, claiming insufficient evidence under the Criminal Code. Even the vice-president of the Quebec branch of the Centre for …
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Mr. Speaker, Bill C‑9 is designed to prevent religious texts from being used to incite hatred, but by no means does it prohibit anyone from reading or referring to religious texts. Could my colleague elaborate on that?
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Mr. Speaker, I can think of a few examples where religious texts have been used to incite hatred. For example, one time, someone said that Jews were the worst of humanity and should be massacred on judgment day. There have been several such examples. In Quebec, for instance, Adil Charkaoui once prayed for the death of Jews. The director of criminal and penal prosecutions wanted to lay charges and …
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Mr. Speaker, basically, if I understand correctly, my colleague believes that the religious exemption should be maintained. In other words, preachers or other individuals could incite hatred and encourage the killing of members of a nation without being prosecuted.
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Madam Speaker, in my opinion, it is illogical for anyone to be able to invoke religion as a reason for inciting hatred. That seems obvious to me. I think it is a very good thing that the amendment was accepted. I would like to know what my colleague has to add.
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Mr. Speaker, does my colleague agree that, instead of creating a large, centralizing structure like this one, the federal government would be better off respecting Quebec's areas of jurisdiction and transferring the money with no strings attached?
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Mr. Speaker, I will ask a very quick question. Housing is under Quebec's jurisdiction. Why is the government still trying to centralize it? It slows the process down, and the Government of Quebec, provincial governments and local governments know more about what their people need.
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Mr. Speaker, we generally agree that the problem stems from a bureaucratic structure and that it will delay housing construction. The Bloc Québécois believes that the federal government should stay in its lane and stick to transferring money to Quebec and the provinces with no strings attached. What does my colleague think about that?
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Mr. Speaker, we know that the Conservatives would not want to create such a centralist bureaucratic structure. Here is my question. Would they respect the fact that housing falls under the jurisdiction of Quebec and the provinces?
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Madam Speaker, the problem we are facing is largely caused by the skyrocketing number of asylum seekers and the unacceptable processing times for asylum claims. There are countries that have managed to reduce processing times, like France, where a claim takes less than six months to process, and Germany, where it takes less than eight months. Should we not start by really focusing our efforts on p…
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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, 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, 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, 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, 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, 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, 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 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, 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, 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, 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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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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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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