Private Members' Business
Madam Speaker, I rise on a point of order. I would like to seek unanimous consent to change my vote. I made a mistake. I want to vote no.
Read full speech →Private Members' Business
Madam Speaker, there have been discussions among the parties and, if you seek it, I believe you will find unanimous consent for the following motion: That the House recall Quebec's rich history, punctuated by bold gestures to defend and ensure the vitality of its only official language, French; That it unreservedly affirm that the strength of the Quebec nation certainly does not lie in bilingualis…
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Mr. Speaker, one of the factors driving up food prices is climate change. The Retail Council of Canada representative explained that recent droughts and heat waves in California and western Canada have had a direct impact on the produce aisle. The price of lettuce and cauliflower increased by 30% during major heat waves that devastated crops, including in California, Arizona and Quebec. There are …
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Madam Speaker, the Bloc Québécois is naturally in favour of this bill. I hope this will give citizens effective recourse. I heard about a lot of cases of abuse of power against people who wanted to be served in French, including at the Montreal airport. This seems to be done with impunity. There was even a university professor who was jailed for being a bit too insistent on being served in French.…
Read full speech →Statements by Members
Mr. Speaker, last Thursday was the Canadian Open golf tournament in Hamilton. Clearly that Ontario town learned nothing from the last Grey Cup final and the heartfelt plea from Marc‑Antoine Dequoy. At the Hamilton Golf and Country Club, almost all the signage and ads were in English only. It goes beyond signs. For example, Quebec golfer Marc‑Olivier Plasse was introduced by the former president of…
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, here we go again, having to talk about the Liberals' blunders when it comes to the French language. Last week, the member for Alfred-Pellan wanted to promote English to the status of an official language in Quebec. Obviously, he was criticized by the parties in the Quebec National Assembly. Even the Quebec Liberals described it as an attack on Robert Bourassa's legacy. In this Parliam…
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Mr. Speaker, there is not a penny more for French in his official languages action plan. There is only one francophone state in North America. Only one. However, that is one too many for the member for Alfred-Pellan, who wants us to make English an official language. I will say it again for those sitting at the back who have not yet understood: In order for Canada to be bilingual, Quebec needs to …
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Mr. Speaker, that is nonsense. Unfortunately, it will not be long before the member for Alfred-Pellan's wish to anglicize Quebec comes true. The Liberals are working on it already. The Office québécois de la langue française reports that the federal government is the worst employer in Quebec when it comes to the right to work primarily in French. Quebec's French language commissioner has proven th…
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Mr. Speaker, let us talk about the report from the Office québécois de la langue française. When it comes to upholding the right to work in French, the federal public service ranks dead last across all economic sectors. We asked the Commissioner of Official Languages about this yesterday. He noted that the number of complaints related to language of work has gone up, not down. In fact, the nationa…
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Mr. Speaker, why is the federal government Quebec's worst employer when it comes to French? It is because the Liberals lack political will. By overhauling the Official Languages Act, the Liberals were supposed to impose a regulatory framework that ensured equality between French and English in federal institutions. We are still waiting. The Commissioner of Official Languages said that there needs …
Read full speech →Orders of the Day
Madam Speaker, I would like to know what my colleague thinks about the questions from earlier to the effect that the Bloc Québécois should not criticize the Speaker because he is a Quebecker. I believe that where the person lives should not even come into play. There was another incident with the president of the Assemblée parlementaire de la Francophonie. Some people were saying that the Bloc Qué…
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Mr. Speaker, while the Liberals were making headlines with their contradictions about French, the report of the Office québécois de la langue française slipped by almost unnoticed. However, guess which sector heads the list of workplaces where working in French is often the most difficult? It is the federal government. The federal government is the worst economic sector in Quebec when it comes to …
Read full speech →Private Members' Business
Mr. Speaker, Bill C-356 reiterates the Conservative leader's talking points about the housing crisis. According to him, the municipalities are responsible for the housing crisis by tying up real estate development projects in supposedly needless red tape. One of the Conservatives' proposals is to set a target for increasing the number of housing starts. Beginning on April 1, 2024, the target would…
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Mr. Speaker, according to the Office québécois de la langue française, the federal government is the worst workplace when it comes to anglicizing workers. The impacts are catastrophic. Take Gatineau for example, where the federal government is the largest employer. Between 2016 and 2021, the proportion of people working primarily in French fell from 77% to 62%, a drop of 17% in just four years. Qu…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Madam Speaker, I congratulate my colleague on her speech. Earlier, during oral question period, we heard the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance tell us how important the Quebec nation and the French language in Quebec are for her. However, there is nothing in the budget to subsidize French. From 1995 to 2002, I found that 94% of funding of official languages in Quebec went to support En…
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Mr. Speaker, a leopard cannot change its spots. Yesterday, in committee, the Liberals revealed what they really think about protecting French. According to the Liberals, people who are worried about the anglicization of Montreal are extremists who deserve to be disparaged with vulgar insults, which I will not repeat. That is how the Liberals treated witnesses yesterday because they were talking ab…
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Mr. Speaker, yesterday's insults send a very clear message to Quebeckers. As far as the Liberals are concerned, anyone who cares about the future of French in Quebec is an extremist who deserves to have the worst insults hurled at them. However, yesterday's discussion was about Statistics Canada data. Those folks are not extremists, but their numbers are extremely worrisome for the future of our n…
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Mr. Speaker, this is not the first time the Liberals have gone off the rails. Let us not forget the member for Saint‑Laurent, who claimed that Bill 96 would prevent anglophones from receiving medical care in Quebec; the West Island members, who threatened to vote against their own reform of the Official Languages Act if it better protected French in Quebec; or the Liberals taking pride in all thei…
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Madam Speaker, for three years now, the Liberals have been saying that they recognize the decline of French in Quebec, that they will take steps to promote French in Quebec. However, we have yet to see them take any action. There were no measures in the latest budget either. What does my colleague think? Do they want to protect French in Quebec or do they want it to continue to decline?
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Mr. Speaker, since the Official Languages Act was first enacted, the Canadian government has been saying that it wants to protect the French language in Canada. However, in Quebec, home to 90% of francophones, it has used its official languages legislation to support only English. For two years, the Liberals have been saying that they now want to protect French, even in Quebec. However, we see not…
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Madam Speaker, in this budget, we see a lot of interference in the jurisdictions of Quebec and the provinces. Take, for example, pharmacare and dental insurance. Quebec already has such programs, but the government refuses to provide the right to compensation. What does my colleague think about that?
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Madam Speaker, I would like to ask my colleague a question, but I am not sure it is in her usual area of expertise. We know that 90% of the francophone minority in Canada lives in Quebec. Quebec is in a minority situation, and 96% of the funding allocated by the federal government to official languages is used to support English in Quebec. For the past two years, we have heard the Liberals boast a…
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Mr. Speaker, I commend my colleague from Jonquière on his excellent speech. There is a lot of talk about interference. We know that there are new pharmacare and dental insurance programs that already exist in Quebec. There is a considerable overlap and the Liberals refuse to give a right to compensation. Could the member elaborate on that?
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Madam Speaker, I would like to know why this bill does not comply with the Quebec-Ottawa agreement on labour and why it does not properly respect the collaboration with Quebec's partners.
Read full speech →Private Members' Business
Madam Speaker, Bill C-347 seeks to give members of Parliament and senators a choice regarding the oath they take. They can choose to swear allegiance to a foreign monarch, take the new oath of office or both. I want to commend the member for Madawaska—Restigouche for this bill. He is also the chair of the Standing Committee on Official Languages, of which I am one of the co-chairs. Of course, the …
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Mr. Chair, my colleague from Montarville was wondering earlier about the government's strategy. The government is fearmongering and constantly hinting at the possibility of a Russian invasion. It has also removed all non-essential staff from its embassy in Ukraine, while the majority of European countries have maintained their staff on site as a sign of solidarity with Ukraine. I would like to hea…
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Mr. Speaker, the Bloc Québécois will be supporting the motion. I would like the member to give us more information on the last part, which aims to recognize Palestine as a state, as several other countries have done. We tabled a motion to that effect a few years ago, but we did not have enough support. I would also like the member to tell us about her proposal to try and put an end to the occupati…
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, perhaps French is in decline at the federal level because never before have the Liberals appointed so few francophones to decision-making positions. Francophones were appointed to only 21% of the key departmental positions that are supposed to be bilingual. That is the worst record since 2015. When Liberal ministers make political appointments, they appoint only unilingual anglophones…
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
Mr. Speaker, first of all, I want to congratulate my colleague from Rimouski-Neigette—Témiscouata—Les Basques for his excellent speech and his dedication to the French language. He mentioned a lot of figures, including the percentage of funding allocated to French-language research funds compared to English-language research funds. I think it was something like 95% for English. It reminds me of of…
Read full speech →Statements By Members
Mr. Speaker, after the English-only Grey Cup controversy, and the hockey game in Winnipeg, Manitoba, where Punjabi was used in place of French, Louis Riel must have turned over in his grave. This Saturday, francophones had to endure more disrespect, this time at the NHL all-star game in Toronto, where the national anthem was performed in English only. Need we remind people that Canada is supposed …
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, what we are seeing is a marked tendency to extinguish the francophone presence in Canada. It is happening in the justice system, as my colleague demonstrated. It is also happening with appointments, such as that of Governor General Mary Simon, and in major events, such as the all-star hockey game and the Grey Cup. I am appealing to my colleagues in the national parties. If they choose…
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Madam Speaker, the Bloc Québécois agrees with the principle of the motion. We spoke out against rising auto theft at the port of Montreal before the Conservatives. We think they are taking liberties with the logic underpinning today's motion. They are taking shortcuts that distort reality. For example, claiming that Bill C‑5 is responsible for the increase in auto theft since 2015 is clearly false…
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Madam Speaker, Bill C‑59 mentions the creation of a federal department of municipal affairs, to be known as the department of housing, infrastructure and communities. This could open the door to more interference, more disputes and more delays, despite the urgency of the housing crisis. My colleague also talked about removing the bureaucracy. What are his thoughts on the creation of a federal depa…
Read full speech →Private Members' Business
Madam Speaker, anyone who has experienced a major fire knows how vital firefighters' expertise and specialized equipment are in situations where, often, every second counts. That is why it is not surprising to learn that, according to a 2021 Leger poll, firefighter is the most trustworthy profession, trusted by 95% of respondents. Politicians are trusted by only 31% of the population. All of the m…
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Mr. Speaker, if you seek it I hope that you will find unanimous consent for the following motion: that this House reaffirm that English and French are the two official languages of this Parliament, that it reaffirm that the witnesses invited to committee can use the official language of their choice, that it denounce the comments of the member for Lethbridge, who called into question a witness' ri…
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moved that Bill C‑354, An Act to amend the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission Act (Quebec's cultural distinctiveness and French-speaking communities), be read the second time and referred to a committee. Madam Speaker, the Bloc Québécois's Bill C‑354 seeks to amend the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission Act so that the CRTC must consult with the Go…
Read full speech →Private Members' Business
Madam Speaker, it is indeed deplorable. We see it in many different files. The Liberal government says that it consults Quebec, when in fact it does not listen to Quebec or consult Quebec, despite its claims. In an area like culture, it should be a given. That is why we are introducing this bill to establish a mandatory consultation mechanism for Quebec and the provincial governments in cases wher…
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Madam Speaker, just how independent is the CRTC? We want it to be as independent as possible, but in the case of Quebec's culture and Quebec's telecommunications, it is clear that there is no authority other than the Government of Quebec that can really understand Quebec's telecommunications and broadcasting needs. We are not necessarily saying that the CRTC never consults Quebec, but I think that…
Read full speech →Private Members' Business
Madam Speaker, there is a lot of talk these days about the need to regulate the Internet and digital platforms. I agree with my colleague that this is of prime importance. There is a bill on the way, and apparently a deal has been struck with Google. It is not exactly what we wanted. Regarding the CRTC, I think it absolutely has to consult Quebec as it works to regulate digital platforms. This is …
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Mr. Speaker, $2 billion to boost English in Quebec since 1995: That is what the federal government has done for official languages in Quebec. That is not all, however; the Prime Minister is investing another $800 million in his action plan for official languages, and English is again reaping the benefits. How many times do we need to say it? French is the language in decline in Quebec. The anglici…
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Mr. Speaker, how many times do we need to say it? English is not a minority language. We are surrounded by 360 million anglophones in North America. Even Quebeckers speak English because bilingualism in Canada is a francophone thing. In Quebec, we are fighting tooth and nail to protect the French language and indigenous languages. Meanwhile, the Prime Minister is undoing everything we have done by…
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Mr. Speaker, $2 billion is the total amount that the federal government has invested in strengthening English in Quebec since 1995. It spent $2 billion to support the language of the 360 million anglophones that surround us, and enrich groups that are advocating for Quebec's anglicization. We will say it over and over again until the federal government finally gets the message: French is in declin…
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Mr. Speaker, Ottawa is spending $2 billion to anglicize Quebec, and it does not stop there. In its action plan for official languages, Ottawa has earmarked $800 million for English in Quebec over the next five years, and let the chips fall where they may. This is typical of our Liberals. They say there is a difference between the situations facing francophones and anglophones. They claim to care a…
Read full speech →Private Members' Business
Madam Speaker, to put the court challenges program into context, I will start by providing a bit of history of the linguistic dynamic in Canada and Quebec because a people unaware of its history is like an individual having amnesia. We become easily manipulated. If we do not know our history, if we have amnesia and we are cheated, we can be cheated again. We never remember what happened. There are…
Read full speech →Statements By Members
Mr. Speaker, these are troubled times for Quebec culture, but yesterday's ADISQ gala showed just how vibrant and diverse French-language music is in Quebec. Among the winners were greats like Ginette Reno and Michel Rivard, who won an award for his show Le tour du bloc. What a great name. Félix awards were also handed out to well-versed artists such as Daniel Bélanger, Les Cowboys Fringants and Al…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Madam Speaker, I thank my colleague for his presentation. The purpose of all federal language policy includes providing support for English in Quebec and ensuring that at least a third of newcomers have access to services in English. Quebec is expected to integrate and provide French language training to 90% of newcomers to maintain its demographic weight. I would like to know whether the governme…
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Madam Speaker, my colleague mentioned organizations that advocate for French outside Quebec. In Quebec, however, there are no organizations or groups dedicated to protecting or promoting French that receive funding under the action plan for official languages. Could he tell me what he thinks about that?
Read full speech →Government Orders
Madam Speaker, I would like to know what my colleague thinks. First, does he consider it legitimate that Quebec, the only francophone state in North America, wants to ensure the future of French? The federal government seems unwilling to take account of our capacity to integrate and provide French instruction to newcomers. To sustain the demographic weight of French in Quebec, we have to provide F…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for his excellent speech. There seems to be a rather cavalier attitude here when we talk about being responsible. The government does not talk about the decline of French in Quebec. A number of Liberals gave speeches, but we did not hear a word from them about that, even though it is a reality. The federal government's official languages program is essentially fun…
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for her presentation. I wanted to raise one point. From 1960 to 1994, the federal government supported social and community housing in Quebec. Then it withdrew, leaving it up to the Government of Quebec to manage this file. This is typical of many files. The federal government imposes its conditions without necessarily respecting what is being done in Quebec. Then…
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