Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, it is a shame that my colleague from Nipissing—Timiskaming did not have more time. She could have started telling us about her government's support for regional media. Oops, there is none. There is no support for regional media in this economic update, particularly for independent regional TV stations. I mention this because in her region and nearby, in Abitibi—Témiscamingue, local TV…
Read full speech →Statements by Members
Mr. Speaker, SOCAN held its 35th gala yesterday in Montreal to honour the outstanding contributions of our composers, authors and music publishers. In particular, it was an occasion to pay tribute to two of Quebec's musical and cultural giants: Marjo and Luc Plamondon. From Diane Dufresne to Céline Dion, from Charlebois to Dubois, from Starmania to Notre‑Dame de Paris, Plamandon's lyrics have been…
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Mr. Speaker, I congratulate my colleague from Saskatchewan on his speech, especially for the few words he spoke in French. I am sure that he will be able to make a speech or provide us with full responses in French in no time. I am optimistic. I congratulate him on his speech on this extremely important topic. The government is treating this issue as if it were a trivial matter, a legislative form…
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
Mr. Speaker, I rise on a point of order. I was very impressed with the Leader of the Opposition earlier for being able to stay focused while the Liberals were leaving. Now it is my colleague from Mirabel's turn to speak. We listened respectfully while members from other parties gave speeches. It might be nice if we could get the same respect from the other parties.
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Mr. Speaker, I was somewhat surprised to hear the member for Winnipeg North refer to parliamentary tradition when asking my Conservative colleague whether he thinks we should follow parliamentary tradition. My colleague just answered the question, but I find that quite rich considering that parliamentary tradition would require, say, that the composition of committees follow the composition of the…
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Mr. Speaker, I find today's debate rather odd. Just a few days ago, by-elections were held in three ridings, one in Quebec and two others in the Toronto area. The next day, the Prime Minister said that he would continue to work with the opposition because that is what Quebeckers and Canadians wanted. What is happening today is the exact opposite of that. We are concerned about increased arrogance …
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Mr. Speaker, I was about to raise a point of order when my colleague stood up. I would like members to show some respect for those who are speaking. There is a very loud conversation happening near the Speaker's chair, and even I am having a hard time hearing my colleague from Saint-Jean. We would appreciate it if members could remain calm and maintain proper decorum.
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Mr. Speaker, I congratulate my colleague from Montmorency—Charlevoix on his speech. He concluded his speech by saying that we need to vote against Motion No. 9. We can debate the substance of the motion, and I would tend to agree with him on that. That being said, what truly bothers me, what irks me and what is so contrary to my values is the way the Liberals are preparing to pass Motion No. 9, in…
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Mr. Speaker, with regard to the whip's somewhat ridiculous argument, I would say that the Liberals should have about 6.2 people on each committee, and usually when rounding, we round to the nearest whole number. That is six, not seven. We do not round up when the number we are rounding is 6.2. It does not work like that. He finally let the cat out of the bag earlier in his speech. We heard him exp…
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Mr. Speaker, I also want to congratulate the Green Party member, who represents a riding in British Columbia. I commend her on her intervention and for having the determination and endurance to rise in the House even though she is her party's only representative. That is entirely to her credit. While I do not want to play up her seniority too much, my colleague from Saanich—Gulf Islands has been h…
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Mr. Speaker, I commend my colleague from Elgin—St. Thomas—London South on his speech. In the speech that he gave here in the House, the Leader of the Government in the House of Commons said, “We are proposing to adjust committee membership proportionally to reflect the party standings in the House. It is as simple as that. There are no games, no untoward tactics and no strategies here.” He also sa…
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Mr. Speaker, the Liberals have moved a motion that will muzzle Parliament. I wonder whether there are enough of us to have this discussion or whether we are doing all this for nothing.
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Mr. Speaker, my colleague from Dufferin—Caledon has been in the House since 2011. He has seen a few other stories involving the Liberals in general, but it does not matter which party is in power. It is very difficult to focus when the chief government whip will not stop talking. If it would be possible to rein him in from time to time, I would appreciate it. I was saying that my colleague from Du…
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Mr. Speaker, my colleague from Kings—Hants can thank me. Because of me, he had a slightly larger audience during his speech. Half of them left afterward, but that was down to him. He will have to manage that with is colleagues. The other comment we heard while you were counting members was that I was interrupting the debate. If there is no one to debate, there is no debate; it is called a monologu…
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Mr. Speaker, I was interested by what my Conservative colleague just said about Stephen Harper's majority, which was won through votes. The last time the Liberals won a majority through votes was in 2015, with Justin Trudeau's promise of sunny ways, and we know where that got them. This was followed by minority governments because Canadians were dissatisfied with this Liberal government's performa…
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Mr. Speaker, for those who just arrived, I was saying that there are a few rules here, including showing respect for those who are talking. They may not be used to having such large numbers in the House. They will get used to it eventually—
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Mr. Speaker, this end to the day's debate is surreal. We have definitely seen just about everything today. There are just a few seconds left and I want to let my Conservative colleague answer the question. My colleague saw the debate. I would like to hear his thoughts on the Liberals' demonstration of what they intend to do with their newly acquired majority. How does my colleague see the coming m…
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, yesterday the Prime Minister announced the members of his new advisory committee for the negotiations on a new free trade agreement with the United States. The committee includes people from almost every economic sector, which is a good thing, but we could not help but notice that there are no representatives from Quebec's cultural sector, even though our culture is clearly in Donald …
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Mr. Speaker, people from the cultural sector are included, but none are from Quebec. There are plenty of good people on this committee. We are not questioning their qualifications. We are questioning the absence of a representative from Quebec's cultural sector. Quebec culture is being threatened by globalization. Netflix, Amazon and Disney+ leave very little room for our creators. Advertising rev…
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Mr. Speaker, we are living in a time when people are worried and are increasingly aware of the need to protect their personal information. The public is becoming more vigilant about these issues, which is something we support. However, Bill C‑22 is worrisome for these people, who are concerned. While the government is asking for easier access to the public's information, it is also cutting $2.7 mi…
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Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to rise to ask a question to my colleague from Gaspésie—Les Îles-de-la-Madeleine—Listuguj. I also want to congratulate him on his speech. Earlier, my Bloc Québécois colleague asked a question about Bill 25 that was passed by the Quebec National Assembly. Although this legislation was necessary and legitimate, it caused a lot of challenges for Quebec businesses when it was…
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Mr. Speaker, it is impossible to overstate the importance of regional news media. However, the last outlets left in Quebec are going to close unless Ottawa takes swift action. When the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission opened the independent local news fund to 15 Global News stations, it added 15 new players, all required to share the same funds. As a result, funding for …
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Mr. Speaker, we are so close. We almost got an answer. The government is presenting an economic update in 12 days. The future of francophone regional news media is at stake. We cannot wait for the web giants to stop challenging our laws in court to avoid paying their fair share. We are running out of time. The government must extend its journalism labour tax credit to electronic media as well as p…
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Mr. Speaker, regional news in Quebec is in jeopardy, especially now that the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission, the CRTC, has added 15 Global News stations to the independent local news fund without increasing the funding. There are more media outlets, but they are all sharing the same amount of funding. Yesterday, when we alerted the minister to this, he accused us of pi…
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Mr. Speaker, it is time to take action. Of course, the solution also requires big tech to contribute. In the meantime, our media outlets are shutting down and Ottawa is not doing enough to prevent that. Right now, big tech is in court fighting to avoid having to co-operate. That is why the government needs to boost the independent local news fund. It needs to make radio and television stations eli…
Read full speech →Private Members' Business
Mr. Speaker, I would like to start my speech by pointing something out. This is the 12th Senate bill to be debated in the House since the beginning of the 45th Parliament. In the Bloc Québécois's view, legislative work should be done by elected representatives. As such, members of the House of Commons should be the ones introducing bills, debating them and sending them to the Senate, which is how …
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Mr. Speaker, by adding 15 English-language Global stations to the ILNF without funding from the web giants, the government is robbing Peter to pay Paul. The result is that 86% of the ILNF money is going to English-language media, and it is the independent regional French-language media outlets that are paying the price. Let us be realistic. There is no long-term solution without contributions from…
Read full speech →Statements by Members
Mr. Speaker, Louis Saia, a legend of Quebec theatre, passed away on April 1. Louis Saia was the co-author of Broue, the most popular play in our history. He also leaves us Les voisins, another play co-written with his longtime collaborator Claude Meunier that still makes us laugh at ourselves 40 years on. Between Ding et Dong, La petite vie, Paul et Paul, and Radio enfer, it is hard to grasp how m…
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Mr. Speaker, I, too, would like to congratulate my colleague on his speech, his knowledge and his mastery of this issue. He clearly knows what he is talking about. Bill C-22 gives law enforcement greater authority to access sensitive information, often personal data, which is concerning in some cases, but may be necessary. We can discuss that. In short, that is the subject of the current discussio…
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Mr. Speaker, I greatly appreciate my colleague opposite, as well as his knowledge of the file. From his remarks, it is clear that he has taken the time to study the issue carefully. We live in an age when people are worried about their personal data. The Quebec National Assembly has passed Bill 25, which regulates the sharing of personal information and data. Bill C-22 is currently causing a great…
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Mr. Speaker, we are living in an era where people are really quite concerned about protecting their personal data. We see what is happening in the United States, where the White House is demanding that Internet service providers and tech giants be completely transparent about the information they retain on their customers and service users, regardless of where in the world those services are used.…
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Mr. Speaker, I commend my colleagues on their enthusiasm for participating in this debate. I also commend my colleague from the Richmond area on his speech. We are discussing a rather sensitive and important topic. Even though it is late in the day, I think we should still give it some attention, because people are watching us. Many people are writing to us about Bill C-22 because they are concern…
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Mr. Speaker, I heard my colleague say in his speech that, with the Bloc Québécois's support, the government was preventing or stifling the debate on that. The Conservatives filibustered nine meetings of the Standing Committee on Justice and Human Rights, thereby preventing constructive debate on this sensitive issue. It is true that the Conservatives have been spreading somewhat distorted informat…
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Mr. Speaker, there are so many issues we could have discussed in committee, so many concerns we could have addressed, had we been able to properly debate Bill C‑9, which, as we all agree, deals with some very sensitive issues. Unfortunately, the Conservatives engaged in extensive filibustering. Nevertheless, we can still ask the government some questions, including, for instance, on subjects that …
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Mr. Speaker, imagine the quality of the debates we could have had if the Conservatives had not filibustered during nine meetings of the Standing Committee on Justice and Human Rights. We could have discussed a great many matters as interesting as this one. I want to go back to the issue of disinformation and the misrepresentation of facts in which the Conservative Party engaged in order to incite …
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Mr. Speaker, I find it very strange to hear my colleague say that there was only one request. We had a number of amendments, and we would have had more if the Conservatives had stopped filibustering and if we had been able to discuss a serious and sensitive bill like grown-ups. That said, the Conservative member, in his speech, and even in his answer to my colleague from Winnipeg North, talked abo…
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Mr. Speaker, I am glad I was here for my colleague's speech. It was surreal. The fact is, we were treated to some name calling and all sorts of veiled insults. My colleague across the aisle listed some of them. It was very entertaining. The member talked about radical secularists, radical separatists and radical socialists. One would think we were listening to Donald Trump or one of his buffoons t…
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Mr. Speaker, since the start of this debate, I have been wondering whether there are any concrete examples of religious discourse by a pastor, a minister or a rabbi, or any texts or contexts that might cause issues. For example, I recall a Conservative MP questioning me about a previous Bloc proposal to remove this religious exemption. He told me that his pastor would no longer be allowed to speak…
Read full speech →Statements by Members
Mr. Speaker, the Drummondville symphonic orchestra has just scored a major coup. It has won another Opus award, this time in the regional impact category, for Mes mers intérieures, presented in 2025. It is safe to say that Drummond cannot help itself from standing out. This award is no small feat. It is presented by the Conseil québécois de la musique to outstanding projects in Quebec. The Drummon…
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Madam Speaker, I would like to begin by saying that I will be sharing my time with my distinguished colleague from Mirabel. In fact, I would even go so far as to say that I will be delivering a preview of, or a preamble to, my colleague from Mirabel's speech, which I am sure will be particularly entertaining. I will not say any more, but I hope my colleagues enjoy this teaser. Before I begin, I wo…
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Madam Speaker, this is not the first time we have seen this kind of behaviour from the Conservatives. They also misrepresented the facts regarding Bill C-11, which they described as an attack on Canadians' freedom of expression, when that was not at all the case. That was not part of the bill's substance or intent. I will respond to one aspect of my colleague's question. What this does is fuel Que…
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Madam Speaker, I do not have the minister's exact words in front of me, but I would be extremely surprised if a minister had said in committee that a pastor who quotes a passage from the Bible could be tried or prosecuted. I cannot imagine in what kind of medieval world something like that could have been said. I will refrain from answering the question because I do not have all the facts. What I …
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Madam Speaker, I would say that, in any bill, there is an opportunity for parliamentarians to debate, discuss, clarify and amend. However, this could not be done as effectively because of Conservative filibustering in committee. There are always protections in a bill. There are always safeguards that are put in place. What is more, there are always remedies available afterwards if a bill is found …
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Madam Speaker, I have the great privilege of serving as a Bloc Québécois member, so I am not faced with that dilemma. However, if I belonged to a party that had members across Canada and that had to cater to all Canadians on an issue like this one, I would likely also be hiding behind the curtains.
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Madam Speaker, I congratulate my colleague from Mirabel on his speech, which was as principled and relevant as it was entertaining. The Conservatives talk a lot about Adil Charkaoui and the fact that no charges have been laid against him. Picking up on that, I would like my colleague from Mirabel to tell me whether, as far as he knows, the Attorney General of Quebec or Quebec's director of crimina…
Read full speech →Statements by Members
Mr. Speaker, Quebeckers have a rich, diverse and unique culture. Our creators have produced music, movies, literature and performing arts unlike any others. All these extraordinary works are the fruit of wonderful and visionary pioneers who have captured the spirit of our people. We should thank them every day and celebrate their creations every chance we get. Unfortunately, it is often when they …
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Mr. Speaker, we have seen situations where the federal government decided to implement programs that are none of its business, that fall under the jurisdiction of Quebec and the provinces. The federal government's task is simply to transfer the funds. However, the Liberals always want to add conditions. In the latest situation involving housing, it took nearly a year and a half before an agreement…
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Mr. Speaker, I congratulate my colleague on his speech. The Conservatives are known for trimming the fat, so to speak, wanting to reduce the size of government and make it more agile. However, we in the Bloc Québécois believe that Build Canada Homes and the Liberal government in general tend to encumber and complicate the system and its processes rather than simply respect the jurisdictions of Que…
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Mr. Speaker, I want to highlight the passion of my colleague from Abitibi—Témiscamingue and his command of the file. People are indeed feeling the effects of these bureaucratic decisions or these kinds of big bureaucratic machines that come to do the work or impose conditions in the regions of Quebec, when the organizations already in place, the municipalities, the regional county municipalities, …
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Mr. Speaker, we have been saying it all day and since the debate began: The Bloc Québécois thinks that the government is making things a lot more complicated than they have to be and that it is preventing the municipalities and the Quebec and provincial governments from doing their work effectively in their own jurisdictions. I want to know whether my colleague agrees with the Bloc Québécois, whic…
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