Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, the issue we are debating is fascinating, but its premise is flawed since freedom of expression is not being infringed upon. Our understanding of the principle of discoverability of Canadian content is being skewed by a lot of rhetoric, semantic manipulation, or what have you. Experts appeared before the Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage to defend every opinion. Some said that t…
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Mr. Speaker, I want to congratulate my colleague from Edmonton Strathcona on her speech. We have the pleasure of serving together on the Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage. She and I have managed to move the bill forward and improve it, sometimes with opposing views, sometimes converging views, sometimes through excellent co-operation. It needed a little help to become a good bill. Over the p…
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Madam Speaker, how is this possible? At the beginning of her speech, my colleague said that she was an artist, a composer, so how can she not automatically be excited about the idea of promoting the talents of Canadian and Quebec artists? That is the purpose of Bill C‑10. The bill is designed to ensure that multinational digital corporations, the web giants, are subject to the same regulations tha…
Read full speech →Statements By Members
Mr. Speaker, yesterday the House voted on a truly extraordinary measure, one to impose time allocation on a committee. The Conservative Party has been obstructing the Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage for weeks on Bill C-10. The Conservative Party is no longer alone, as the NDP has joined in on that obstruction. The NDP is working with the Conservatives to hold up a bill on the cultural sect…
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Mr. Speaker, honestly, it is very unfortunate that it has come to this. We have been working on Bill C-10 in committee for months. Things have been going well for months. Actually, I should say things had been going well for months. There was goodwill from all parties to move forward on this bill. Everyone agrees that it was not perfect at the start, but once we begin working on a bill in committe…
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Mr. Speaker, 30 years have passed since the Broadcasting Act was last updated. That was before social media. Back in 1991, a “web giant” meant a massive spider in a horror movie. The Internet was slow as molasses, and people were more likely to have pagers than cell phones. Thirty years ago, the Conservative Party still had the word “progressive” in its name. My question is for the heritage minist…
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Mr. Speaker, the member for Lethbridge told an Alberta newspaper that Quebec artists support Bill C-10 because they are outdated and rely on government grants as they are not able to make a living off of the art they are producing. She added that Canadians do not want the songs, films and material these artists produce. Offering a weak apology on Twitter is not enough to make up for insulting thou…
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Madam Speaker, I wish to intervene because we often talk about how much we value the work of our interpreters. If my colleague could speak a little slower, it would give the interpreters a chance to do their job more easily and perhaps a little more accurately. That would make it easier for us to follow our colleague's speech.
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Madam Speaker, I must admit that I had to pay very close attention to the parliamentary secretary's speech to ensure that she understood what today's motion is about, since her comments seemed to be all over the place. I find it hard to understand this cavalier attitude towards the lack of transparency shown by the Public Health Agency of Canada, which is actually a very serious issue. It is as th…
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Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague from Sherwood Park—Fort Saskatchewan for his speech. The Liberal government often expresses reservations or seems reluctant to step on the toes of anyone it considers to be a giant. That is what we saw when we asked the government to regulate the web giants. The government tells us that we have to be careful, because they will not agree to be regulated, they will …
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Mr. Speaker, I must tell my colleague from Charlesbourg—Haute-Saint-Charles that it is good to hear people speak to the motion we are debating today. This is not the case with my Liberal colleagues. In fact, we have to wonder if they have read the text. We are debating things today that are of great concern. Earlier, I asked the colleague from Sherwood Park—Fort Saskatchewan what was holding the L…
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Mr. Speaker, I rise on a point of order. To add insult to injury, there was no French interpretation coming through the headset; it must have gotten lost in the woods.
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Madam Speaker, I thank my colleague from Kingston and the Islands for his speech. We are hearing a lot of opinions in this very sensitive debate. What concerns me is that we are still having this discussion, even after all the progress made in recent decades. I know that the hon. member represents a party that claims to be progressive. I think that we are also a party that sees itself as progressi…
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Mr. Speaker, he said it is a top priority. We will keep that in mind. Not long ago on Tout le monde en parle, the Minister of Canadian Heritage seemed open to working with the Bloc Québécois leader to expedite passage of Bill C-10, but it has been radio silence since then. The Liberals are refusing to discuss this issue with the Conservatives, and the cultural industry is paying a heavy price for …
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Mr. Speaker, the cultural community and the media have been waiting for decades for Ottawa to reform the CRTC and compel web giants to co-operate. Quebec culture has waited long enough. Bill C-10 must be passed before the end of the session, here and in the Senate. The leader of the Bloc Québécois offered the government its highest possible level of co-operation. The House leader of the Bloc Québé…
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Mr. Speaker, those fine intentions are music to our ears. However, it seems that the Liberals do not understand the important role they have to play in advancing this work. They are the ones who decide which bills to prioritize on the calendar. They are also the ones who delayed the appearance of two ministers in committee. In the meantime, the future of francophone arts and culture is at stake. T…
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Madam Speaker, I congratulate my colleague for his speech. I had to chuckle when he spoke about the two billion trees that his government promised to plant by 2030. Two years have gone by and, as far as I know, the government has yet to plant a single one of those trees. First, I would like to ask my colleague if there are any studies on the species of trees his government intends to plant, becaus…
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Madam Speaker, yesterday I had a conversation with an extremely bright young girl, my 10-year-old daughter Lily Rose. She asked me why some countries are poor and others are rich. She told me she thought that we here in Quebec and Canada are very lucky to have machines that print money when we do not have enough. I found that very sweet, but obviously, that was from a 10-year-old child. Sometimes …
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Madam Speaker, I thank my colleague for his speech and for evoking some childhood memories of mine by talking about Steve Austin from The Six Million Dollar Man. To my generation Steve Austin is the Six Million Dollar Man, but to another generation Steve Austin is the real name of the professional wrestler Stone Cold. I have to admit that it was the Six Million Dollar Man's female counterpart who …
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Mr. Speaker, on Tuesday, the National Assembly of Quebec unanimously adopted a motion on Quebec culture in the digital age. The motion states that Bill C-10 does not go far enough against the web giants to protect Quebec culture. That is true, and that is why the Bloc Québécois made sure to introduce amendments to meet the expectations of Quebec's cultural community. On Tuesday, the Parliamentary …
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Mr. Speaker, the motion passed by the Quebec National Assembly regarding Bill C-10 also demands the repatriation to Quebec of all powers in the area of culture and communications. That is nothing new coming from Quebec, or even from provincial Liberals. In 1973, Robert Bourassa was already calling for this. He called it “cultural sovereignty”. Jean Charest did the same in 2008, but the federal Lib…
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Madam Speaker, I have big shoes to fill in following my colleague from Shefford, who is always eloquent and on point. It is my turn to congratulate her on her speech. It is unbelievable. I am somewhat appalled to see our Liberal colleagues speak so passionately in this debate on Bill C-19. I think that, had he known they were so passionate about the subject, the Prime Minister might have thought t…
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Madam Speaker, first of all, I would like to tell the parliamentary secretary that if the government really wants to continue to govern responsibly, rigorously and with common sense, as it says, it will have no difficulty at all in adopting our motion, since it goes in precisely that direction. As for whether the Bloc Québécois demanded the Prime Minister's resignation or said that it would vote a…
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Madam Speaker, I thank my colleague for his excellent question. This government has been given a minority mandate. Rather than taking responsibility for its decisions, some of which are better than others, it tries to blame its poor decision-making on the so-called obstruction of the opposition parties. However, the mandate of a minority government is precisely to seek collaboration and consensus …
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Madam Speaker, I think that, in a way, the government's gag order answers that question. The Bloc Québécois is proposing that the leaders of the four main parties represented in the House get together to discuss and negotiate so that they can come to a consensus. We think that this would show some respect for the process and that it is just common sense.
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Madam Speaker, I thank my colleague from Scarborough—Guildwood for his speech. He spoke about inflation and purchasing power. Purchasing power is indeed shrinking, especially under the current circumstances. I wonder what my colleague and his party think about increasing old age security for seniors aged 75 and over. He mentioned numerous complaints, including some from seniors, about the loss of …
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Madam Speaker, I think my colleague's microphone might be positioned incorrectly. Perhaps she could adjust it slightly. We can hear a lot of noise, and although the interpreters are not complaining about it, it is probably making their job more difficult.
Read full speech →Government Orders
Madam Speaker, on a point of order. I would just like to step out of my area of expertise for a moment and give my hon. colleague some technical advice. The microphone boom is flexible. If my colleague tries to unfold it slightly, it will automatically move the microphone the correct distance away from her mouth, which should help solve the problem.
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Mr. Speaker, I will not ask my colleague from Rosemont-La Petite-Patrie too difficult a question. He mentioned taxing the digital giants. A “Netflix tax” that will not apply to Netflix is incredibly ironic. Actually, if it were not so sad, it would be laughable. I would love to hear my colleague's perspective on the consequences of the government's negligence and lack of courage when it comes to g…
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Mr. Speaker, ever since we began our study of Bill C-10, the government has insisted that only social media platforms would be affected by the government's amendments, not their users. On the weekend, the minister stated that users with lots of followers could be affected. No matter how many followers a user has, a user is a user. There is no reason the government should subject people to regulati…
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Mr. Speaker, I would not be afraid to compare my record on the study of Bill C-10 and the defence of the Quebec cultural industry with that of the minister at any time. This bill is vital to Quebec culture and to our artists and artisans. The work on Bill C-10 will be able to continue as soon as the Minister of Justice and the Minister of Canadian Heritage have testified to reassure Quebeckers who…
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
Madam Speaker, I congratulate and thank my colleague from Saint-Hyacinthe—Bagot for his excellent speech. He raised some great points and shared several interesting perspectives, including the idea of rethinking our dependence on fossil fuels. I want to point out that an increasing number of studies have confirmed that places with regulations for zero-emission vehicles see a significant increase i…
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
Mr. Speaker, I find it rather fascinating to see that my colleague from Kingston and the Islands is so desperate to talk about Bill C-19 when, today, we were forced to vote on limiting debate on this bill. Bill C-19 has been around for four months. We could have talked about it, but there was complete radio silence for four months and now, today, the government imposed a gag order. If the Liberals…
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for her speech. In all likelihood, according to what experts are saying, it is very unlikely that we have to worry about Line 5 being shut down on the May 12 deadline, if we are even worried. According to some sources, the Governor of Michigan may be using that threat to force Enbridge to upgrade the pipeline, whose condition has raised some concerns because of it…
Read full speech →Statements By Members
Mr. Speaker, yesterday, the Quebec Liberal Party moved a motion in the Quebec National Assembly to celebrate the 60th anniversary of Quebec's Department of Cultural Affairs. On behalf of the Bloc Québécois, I want to join the Quebec nation's legislature in paying tribute to the men and women who stood up for and promoted our culture. From Georges-Émile Lapalme to Nathalie Roy, Clément Richard to M…
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Madam Speaker, I would like to begin by congratulating my colleague from Shefford for her brilliant speech and for her work on behalf of seniors. Her work can be felt in my own riding, Drummond, which neighbours hers. The work she is doing for seniors is so brilliant and so serious that seniors in my riding recognize that the hon. member for Shefford is doing an outstanding job. I want to commend …
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Madam Speaker, I find it peculiar that the hon. member for Kingston and the Islands would suggest that the opposition should have to make the tough decisions. What a ridiculous thing to say. People have paid into their pension plans for their entire careers and their whole lives, knowing that they would retire at 65. That is often the choice people make when starting their careers, or at least it …
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Madam Speaker, I thank my colleague for his question and comments. First, I believe that our colleague from Kingston and the Islands should have appreciated the impromptu promotion he was just offered. I want to say that I find it quite odd to hear the government speak of making cuts so that the increases are fair, rather than just making the increases fair, especially when it has spent billions o…
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Madam Speaker, I believe that my colleague knows full well what we think of federal interference in provincial jurisdictions. I also believe that money should not be doled out left, right and centre as an election promise. I believe that the money that was promised for programs to help businesses and sectors that urgently need it should not be promises that will be kicked down the road. I was spea…
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Mr. Speaker, for years, the cultural sector and the Bloc Québécois have been demanding that digital giants be taxed on revenues they earn in Quebec and in Canada. We call it the Netflix tax. Can anyone imagine the Netflix tax existing, but not applying to Netflix? I could not make this up. Web giants that make their profits from subscriptions will not have to pay a cent in taxes. Quebec businesses…
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Mr. Speaker, I want to correct my colleague. Netflix is not subject to the digital services tax. He should take a look at page 700 of the budget presented by his colleague, the Minister of Finance. The Liberals always do things halfway if they do anything at all. The Bloc Québécois suggested that the money collected from taxing the web giants be put into a fund for the culture and media sectors. T…
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Mr. Speaker, I always find it fascinating to hear the Liberals talk about their commitments and their environmental convictions. In 2017, this Liberal government established new manufacturing standards for insulation boards that contained a highly polluting foaming agent. Companies that manufacture these boards, including Soprema, near Drummondville, in my riding, had four years, or until January …
Read full speech →Orders of the Day
Madam Speaker, I would like to come back to the question raised by my colleague from Lac-Saint-Jean a little earlier. I too have had discussions with seniors about the controversial $500 payment and 10% increase in old age security. These measures apply to people 75 and over and ignore seniors 65 to 75. I spent half an hour on the phone with a Mrs. Guévin from my riding, who was in tears at first.…
Read full speech →Orders of the Day
Madam Speaker, I want to recognize the excellent work of my colleague from Saint-Hyacinthe—Bagot. Honestly, I have to say that it is a joy and pleasure to talk to him about international trade, the economy and all sorts of business-related issues. He is a very interesting source of information, and his speech was further proof of that. I commend him and invite all my colleagues in the House to giv…
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Madam Speaker, passion is a wonderful thing. I was moved by the speech that my colleague from Mississauga East—Cooksville gave. It reminded me of the fine speeches given by Jean-Marc Chaput, the well-known Quebec speaker who unfortunately passed away last year. In 2017, the Liberal government imposed new greenhouse gas emission reduction standards for highly polluting products used to manufacture …
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Madam Speaker, I congratulate my colleague from Saanich—Gulf Islands on her speech. I really liked hearing the Greens talk about the environment. It reflects more of their true nature, although they have not always been very critical of pipelines. However, that is another story. Instead I want to talk about the issue of Quebec and provincial jurisdictions. Earlier we talked about the national chil…
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Mr. Speaker, earlier, my colleague said in his speech that this budget contains something for everyone. Sorry, that may be true, but that is like me buying my son a geranium for his birthday when he asked for a bike. This budget may contain something for everyone, but it is not what people wanted. The federal government is using this budget to meddle in everyone's business. First, there is the mat…
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Madam Speaker, the main things missing from the budget are of course health transfers and support for seniors. In my view, another important omission is the print media. For over a year now, we have been calling on the government to support the print media industry, especially regional media venues, which are going through an unprecedented crisis. The budget would have been a great opportunity to …
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Mr. Speaker, I do not think the member has the equipment needed to speak because he does not have his headset on.
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Mr. Speaker, I would like to hear what my colleague from Kildonan—St. Paul thinks about the things that were not in the budget and about the fact that the provincial governments and the Quebec government are once again being left with an underfunded health care system, because the federal share is dwindling year after year and the Liberal government refuses to increase health care transfers. There…
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