Government Orders
Madam Speaker, I congratulate my colleague, who is always very reasonable, on his speech. I really appreciate the fact that he is always so measured. I was shocked earlier to hear the Leader of the Opposition say that he did not know that Quebec had its own carbon exchange. Seriously? A party leader who wants to become prime minister does not know that Quebec has its own carbon exchange. Does my c…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Madam Speaker, I have great respect for my colleague from Mégantic—L'Érable. I would like to take this opportunity to extend my condolences to him on the death of his mother. We have but one mother, and she is a significant figure in our lives. I want to come back to what he said earlier. I did say to the Leader of the Opposition that I thought his motion was hypocritical. The reason I said that i…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Madam Speaker, the Conservative Party's ideas never cease to amaze me. Canada's largest greenhouse gas emitter is the oil and gas sector. During an opposition day in March, the Conservative Party proposed temporarily reducing the GST and the QST on gas, ostensibly to give consumers a break, but doing so would just help the oil and gas sector. They like the idea; I see them nodding. Today's proposa…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Madam Speaker, I would like to inform you that I will be splitting my time with the member for Rivière-des-Mille-Îles. For my first speech after the summer break, I would have liked to talk about something a bit more divisive, but, unfortunately, Bill C-30 is fairly uncontroversial. It goes without saying that the Bloc Québécois will vote in favour, since it is a suggestion that was set out in all…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Madam Speaker, I completely agree with my colleague. The government could do more. I would reiterate the solutions I mentioned earlier. If we stop dumping money down the bottomless fossil fuel well, maybe we will have more money to support our communities.
Read full speech →Government Orders
Madam Speaker, I am not an economist. However, what I am hearing from economic experts is that we are in a supply crisis, not a demand crisis. Very high fuel prices and labour shortages are what got us into this supply crisis, which is driving inflation. How can we address labour shortages? The Bloc Québécois has made a number of proposals. Allowing seniors to return to work and providing incentiv…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Madam Speaker, I will try to respond to my colleague while I finish my speech, talk about what needs to be done and suggest some solutions. I never thought I would have to say this, but I think that we need to protect the independence of the central bank. I never thought a politician would have to say this, but in light of the attacks by the member for Carleton, I have to say that we must indeed p…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Madam Speaker, earlier my NDP colleague said that there is the Bloc Québécois and the “block everything” party, in other words, the Conservatives. What he forgot to say is that in politics the primary principle is to establish a balance of power. Since the marriage between the NDP and the Liberal Party that balance of power no longer exists. That leads my colleague from Mirabel to believe that the…
Read full speech →Statements by Members
Mr. Speaker, on June 13, a house in the beautiful area of La Baie was destroyed by a major landslide. Since then, 95 homes have had to be evacuated, which means 192 people do not know if or when they will be able to return home. My region is no stranger to natural disasters. In 1996, 600 residents of La Baie lost all of their worldly possessions in a flood and, in 1971, a landslide in Saint‑Jean‑V…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Madam Speaker, I quite like my friend from Brandon—Souris, who serves with me on the Standing Committee on Natural Resources. He said at the end of his speech earlier that we should not try to regulate the Internet. However, regulating the Internet is not the purpose of the bill. I am sure my colleague is well aware that if Quebec wants its culture to flourish in a sea of anglophones, it needs sup…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, I congratulate my colleague on her speech, but I would like to come back to what my colleague from Saint-Jean and my colleague from Rivière-du-Nord said earlier. One thing that is missing from Bill C‑9 is the judicial appointment process. Members will recall the uproar caused by the Liberal government's use of the infamous “Liberalist” database. I would like to know if my colleague ag…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Madam Speaker, I think my colleague got some things mixed up in his speech. I believe that we must work to stop profiling by police. However, I do not think that eliminating mandatory minimums with Bill C‑5 for people who discharge a firearm with intent will help eliminate racial profiling. I think that this sends a mixed message in Quebec, which is seeing a surge in gun crimes. Could my colleague…
Read full speech →Statements by Members
Mr. Speaker, my friend Sylvain Gaudreault has just a few days left at the Quebec National Assembly as the MNA for Jonquière. A professor and historian who was first elected in 2007, Sylvain has filled almost every role a parliamentarian can hold, including serving as a “super-minister” in the Marois government from 2012 to 2014 and as interim leader of the Parti Québécois. However, by his own admi…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, earlier, I pointed out to my Conservative colleagues that it was rather shameful to ask the government to lift the GST on gas, particularly since oil companies are making record profits right now. Big oil companies are the ones robbing the middle class of what little wealth it had managed to accumulate. I am wondering whether my colleague is aware that the government is supporting oil…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, I read in the Journal de Québec this morning that Suncor's profits are basically set to triple from $4 billion to $11 billion for the coming year. The same is true for Imperial, which will have profits of $6.2 billion. As we know, Boris Johnson's government has imposed a 25% tax on oil companies' profits. Earlier, I heard my colleague say not to vote for the Conservatives, but to vote…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Madam Speaker, I agree with my colleague. Carbon pricing is certainly a worthwhile way to fight climate change. However, given what we have learned today and what I read in Le Journal de Montréal on the huge profits that oil companies like Suncor will be making—to the tune of almost triple the profits—I think the Conservatives' proposal is shameful. I also think it is shameful that the government …
Read full speech →Government Orders
Madam Speaker, I totally agree with my colleague, especially given that the Minister of Environment told us that he was going to end the fossil fuel subsidies since they are inefficient. I now have the impression that all this talk of inefficient subsidies is nothing but rhetoric. What the government is trying to say today is that the oil and gas sector is synonymous with green development, which …
Read full speech →Government Orders
Madam Speaker, yes, absolutely. However, my main concern is that all this public money is going to the oil and gas sector, which is making money hand over fist. I cannot understand why any public decision-maker would decide to financially support an industry that is currently reaping eye-watering profits, an industry that also contributes to putting us all at risk, since it is the industry that pr…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Madam Speaker, I just want to tell my colleagues that repeating a falsehood does not make it true. One reason the price of gas is skyrocketing today is refining margins. Big oil producers have boosted their refining margins significantly. Suggesting that the government should cut taxes to give big oil more room to manoeuvre when these greedy corporations are siphoning off what little money the Can…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Madam Speaker, I am pleased to rise today to speak to Bill C-19, especially since it might give me a chance to reconcile with the member for Winnipeg North. We had a bit of a discussion about Quebec's political weight this week. I am soft at heart and did not want to offend him, so I thought to myself, why not try to be optimistic for 10 minutes? I will start by saying that there is a pretty big r…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Madam Speaker, my most sincere apologies. How rude of me. I got carried away, and I apologize. I cannot finish without speaking about what is missing from Bill C‑19. This bill provides $2 billion for health, but this is a one-time, non-recurring payment. Has a nurse ever been hired on a non-recurring basis? We cannot say that we need a nurse or medical specialist for the year 2022-23 but will no l…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Madam Speaker, I want to correct my colleague. It is true that there was an indication from Canadians during the election campaign. That does not stop at the end of the campaign, however. The government needs to listen to what civil society is saying now. Not too long ago, we showed up with representatives from all health care sector unions. All of these big unions called for health transfers to b…
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
Mr. Speaker, could our colleagues please move their conversations somewhere outside the House? Even though I am next to the member for La Prairie, I cannot hear what he is saying.
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
Mr. Speaker, I listened carefully to the member for Winnipeg North, who I find very interesting and enjoy hearing from. I do not mean to insult him, but I noticed something in his presentation that I see frequently and that I would describe as “predatory federalism”. I apologize for using that phrase, but it means that the Quebec nation and the French language are great as long as they remain a qu…
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
Mr. Speaker, my colleague is asking why we are in such a hurry. Simply put, we have been waiting a long time for the Quebec nation to be recognized. Earlier, I was talking about the Laurendeau-Dunton commission, which was in 1963, if I am not mistaken. It proved to be a failure for us. Then, in 1982, the Quebec nation suffered another setback with the patriation of the Constitution. Then there was…
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
Mr. Speaker, the procedure is very straightforward. We want this assembly to vote on the motion moved by my colleague. It is as simple as that. We can talk about it now. We spent an entire day doing so. As members know, there was an opposition day about Quebec's political weight during which we discussed an issue similar to this morning's issue. The House had a chance to vote then. This is very si…
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
Mr. Speaker, I find the hon. member for Winnipeg North’s approach very interesting. Actually, I am not the only one to mention the Constitution. Earlier this week, we spoke about Bill 21 on state secularism. His colleague from Mont-Royal said that the notwithstanding clause should never be applied. However, it is part of the Constitution. Does this colleague not respect his voters, since he talks …
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
Mr. Speaker, I would like to answer my colleague by saying that informed politicians who are familiar with Quebec and Canadian politics would know that we have been talking about these issues for more than 50 years. At some point we need to stop debating; we need to do something. We are moving this motion today. I do not think it is illegitimate or irrational to ask that a nation like the Quebec n…
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
Mr. Speaker, I just wanted to point out to my colleague from Winnipeg North that he and I are the only ones debating the Constitution. The motion is specifically about Quebec's political weight, not the Constitution. I would also point out that it was his party that raised the constitutional issue by saying that the notwithstanding clause should not be used. It was his party that raised this, not …
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
Madam Speaker, according to the hon. member for Winnipeg North, defending the Quebec nation means playing politics and obstructing Parliament. I will be frank: Earlier, I referred to history, by saying that in 1963, Quebec was sidelined by the Laurendeau-Dunton Commission. In 1982, when the Constitution was repatriated, Quebec was sidelined. In the Meech Lake and Charlottetown accords, Quebec was …
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, not only does the Prime Minister want to challenge Quebec's Bill 21, but the Liberals are even planning to use the case to put Quebec under federal control. On Friday, his colleague from Mount Royal said that the notwithstanding clause should be completely abolished and that this article has no place in the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms and should never be used. He wants to …
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, cases like Bill 21 are the very reason why the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms includes a notwithstanding clause. It is there specifically to prevent Canadian institutions from unilaterally overturning the democratic rights of Quebec and the provinces. It is there specifically to prevent the Prime Minister from blocking Bill 21 and imposing his own vision of state secularism, …
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, I will pick up where I left off earlier. To begin, I want to repeat what my colleague from Rosemont—La Petite-Patrie said earlier today. According to my colleague, if the Bloc members' priority is to defend white men who want a job at a university, then we need to own that. This makes me think of something I often accuse the Conservatives of, and that is taking a populist approach. If…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Madam Speaker, I am just as perplexed as my colleague. Earlier I spoke about Max Weber's essay “Politics as a Vocation”. Weber makes a marked distinction between the role of politics, which is to set directions for society, and the role of a vocation, which is to further knowledge. What happens with something like EDI is that politics dictates what should be studied, but that is not how it works. …
Read full speech →Government Orders
Madam Speaker, the problem is that science cannot be beholden to an ideology, no matter how noble that ideology may be. While I see the worth of the ideology of diversity, which I adhere to myself in many aspects of society, what we are seeing here is an attempt to dictate how university research should be conducted. That is not how this works, and if we allow it to happen, knowledge will become i…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Madam Speaker, that would mean that the committees awarding research chairs have members who are insensitive to diversity. That is what you are saying.
Read full speech →Government Orders
Madam Speaker, my colleague is being very kind. This raises a question for me. For example, today's “diversity ideology” raises the following question: Are there fields of study that may now be off limits? Can a person who is non-indigenous specialize in studying indigenous communities? The definition of EDI suggests that this is not a possibility. One thing scares me. What I wanted to say earlier…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Madam Speaker, I would like to mention that I will be sharing my time with the ever‑charming member for Manicouagan. This is the best time of day, right before question period, when no one is listening and we can say stupid things, although I will not do that. I would like to begin with a reflection on the issue of positive discrimination. When research chairs are being selected, should positive d…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, I would like to begin by telling my colleague from Thornhill that I think she is a very dynamic person and that I think highly of her. I hope she will not take offence at the comments I am about to make. On the last Bloc opposition day, my Conservative colleagues talked a lot about the relevance of our motion, which had to do with prayer. They wondered why we had raised that subject a…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, I know that we need to listen to science, but pandemic science is not a monolith. There is not one united opinion and many experts disagree. It is up to the government to sift through the opinions, but it is certainly not required to base its decisions solely on the rumblings of some people who feel that their freedom is being violated by the restrictions on travel and on how we live …
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, that was a judicious intervention. I apologize for offending my colleague. It is an unflattering play on the word inflation and the Prime Minister's name that I feel conveys that populism. Before I go on, I would like to define the word “populism”. Generally speaking, it is a style of politics that divides by attempting to simplify issues and amplify antagonism. It is us versus them. …
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, my colleague's thoughts were poorly expressed. A person can ask questions whether they are a member of the Bloc, a Conservative, a papist or whatever else, but those questions have to be rational. We need to listen to the science. You can please somebody by saying that global warming does not exist and that they can keep burning gas until the end of time and nothing will ever happen t…
Read full speech →Government Orders
What a mind-boggling question, Mr. Speaker. What does this mean? Does it mean that every restriction that people do not understand must be lifted? If someone wants to drive at 200 kilometres per hour because they think that they are a good driver, should we remove speed limits because this person does not understand that there are restrictions in society? I cannot believe that question.
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, one thing the evidence does show is that we need to increase screening measures. I agree with my colleague that all members in the House need to do some soul-searching and move away from populism, which is eating away at our democracy and plays too big of a role in our debates. I think that is the best short-term solution.
Read full speech →Government Orders
Madam Speaker, I am wondering whether my colleague from Winnipeg North believes himself when he speaks. I really wonder about that. With regard to investments in the energy transition, let us not forget the much-touted $17‑billion green recovery plan. The government is investing $17 billion for its entire green recovery plan, but it is investing $30 billion in a single oil project, Trans Mountain.…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Madam Speaker, I understand my colleague's question, but I would like to come back to what he said by way of introduction. He said that he has never seen the Bloc side with the Conservatives more. What I have seen over the past few weeks is my colleague from Timmins—James Bay refusing to allow the deputy minister of the environment to come back to talk to the committee about Bay du Nord. I cannot …
Read full speech →Government Orders
Madam Speaker, I apologize: I should have said “my friend”, or simply “the hon. member for Timmins—James Bay”. We could count on the NDP on issues concerning the oil and gas sector. However, they will be obliged to support the budget, which earmarks $2.6 billion for carbon capture strategies. I will get back to that later. That prompted the mischievous member for Mirabel to say that the NDP is spe…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Madam Speaker, I agree with my colleague from Timmins-James Bay, whom I quite like. Often the Conservatives are puppets of the oil and gas sector, but my colleague from Timmins-James Bay is often a puppet of the Liberal Party. The Standing Committee on Natural Resources received an assistant deputy minister of the environment. Unfortunately, he pretended to have technical problems to avoid answeri…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Madam Speaker, before I begin, I would like to mention that I will be sharing my time with the mischievous member for Mirabel. What to say about this motion? First, I will tell my NDP colleagues that the Bloc Québécois will support their motion, since putting an end to subsidies for fossil fuels is something we have long defended. When it comes to the issue of oil and gas in Canada, it seems to me…
Read full speech →