Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, I did not think that we would make it to this point. Sometimes when we are expecting a quiet day, we realize that there can be a lot of excitement in the House. I want to begin by saying that I will be sharing my time with my very entertaining colleague from Longueuil—Saint-Hubert, which means things will be relatively calm and composed for the first ten minutes and then they should g…
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Mr. Speaker, I have never agreed with that position. When this idea of trampling on Quebeckers' and Canadians' freedom of expression and fundamental rights was first brought up, we did our job. To borrow a popular catchphrase, I did my own research. We checked and made sure that the wording of the bill would not endanger consumers' freedom of expression or rights. That is disinformation, and it wa…
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Mr. Speaker, yes, absolutely. My colleague asked an excellent question. It is not only the Liberal government. We had a Conservative government before this one, and we know that the Conservatives are not big on culture, so we cannot expect too much from them. The cultural industry's alarm bells went off in the early 2000s. There was already an urgent need to regulate digital technology at that tim…
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Mr. Speaker, the premise of the question would suggest that the government and the CRTC will interfere with what people can and cannot watch. This shows that the member does not understand the bill's intent. I will leave it at that. Discoverability is not about an open market. Discoverability is about ensuring that our culture has its place. For that, we need a framework and regulations. This does…
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Mr. Speaker, I think the question was for the Liberals, but I will answer it anyway. The Bloc has a principle of respecting the parliamentary process. Using a gag order does the exact opposite. It upends the parliamentary process. Of course, there are exceptions. The Bloc has voted in favour of closure motions in exceptional cases. I do not think this an exception. We are against the principle of …
Read full speech →Statements by Members
Mr. Speaker, I salute the bravery of the member for Richmond—Arthabaska because one has to be brave to challenge the fans of the Drummondville Voltigeurs and, moreover, to call into question a source of regional pride, poutine. I confidently accept his challenge because I believe that our Voltigeurs will give it their all to safeguard our region's honour. Our red team is not like the red team in t…
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
Madam Speaker, I thank the member for Battle River—Crowfoot for his speech, and I hope he feels better soon. He seems to have caught a bug that is affecting his usual tenor. I have an acquaintance of Iranian origin from a past life. He did his military service a few years ago, and he has been refused a visa. How can we prevent Iranian nationals who have done nothing wrong from getting caught up in…
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
Madam Speaker, I congratulate my very esteemed colleague from Joliette on his speech and comments, which are always enlightening, well-thought-out and prepared. We always appreciate the discussions we have with him. Quebec cares deeply about its culture. This week, the Government of Quebec tabled its budget. There are allocations for culture, especially for certain aspects of culture that I apprec…
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Mr. Speaker, as we know, technology is evolving at a frightening and unpredictable pace. It is exponential, according to all the experts. I wonder if my colleague could comment on quantum computing, which is an extremely impressive technology that is evolving at an unbelievable pace. I am wondering whether the contents of Bill C‑26 and the agility we write into legislation are sufficient to respon…
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, once again, we need to talk about Amira Elghawaby, whom the Prime Minister appointed despite opposition from Quebeckers and who began her first tour this week as special representative on combatting Islamophobia. Right away on her first stop in Ontario, she began attacking Quebec's Bill 21 on secularism. In her own words, her job is to attack legislation like that. This is how she cho…
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Mr. Speaker, this is exactly what the National Assembly feared when it unanimously criticized Ms. Elghawaby's appointment. She is not using her position to build bridges, to foster understanding between Muslim and non-Muslim communities, or to fight racism. Ms. Elghawaby is using her position to rally Canada against Quebec's Bill 21 and to feed assumptions that a secular state is a discriminatory …
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Mr. Speaker, filmmaker Claude Fournier passed away last week at the age of 91. An icon of our culture and a pioneer of our film and television industry is gone. He was a member of the generation of filmmakers who created direct cinema, a distinctly Quebec contribution to the history of the seventh art. He directed the classic Quebec film Two Women in Gold, the first of a series of erotic comedies …
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Mr. Speaker, Drummond's troops are at the Saint-Hyacinthe—Bagot border as we speak. I believe this dispute will be resolved. The concern he mentioned is well founded, given that we are seeing interference of all kinds from foreign powers nowadays. There are media outlets putting out dubious propaganda originating from various countries. The CRTC took measures to block some of them, but this is cle…
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Mr. Speaker, as my colleague was saying, we are now in the home stretch of the passage of Bill C‑11. I would like to remind members that Bill C‑11 seeks to ensure that Quebec culture and Quebec and Canadian artists have their place and can succeed in the new digital world. The Government of Quebec shared its demands concerning Bill C‑11. It is asking that Quebec have a say in CRTC decisions that i…
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Mr. Speaker, I want to acknowledge in the House the great honour that Quebec writer Hélène Dorion just received. Throughout her prolific career she has already earned honours as prestigious as the Order of Canada and the Ordre national du Québec, and will now have her work Mes forêts studied as part of the university curriculum for poetry in France. She is not only the first Quebecker to receive s…
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Mr. Speaker, I congratulate my colleague from New Westminster—Burnaby on his speech. In his speech, he talked a bit about certain artists. I was also listening to my colleague from Kingston and the Islands talk about the Tragically Hip. We could talk about Rush, Bryan Adams, the Montreal band The Box, from the 1980s and 1990s. Goodness, there are tons of many Canadian artists who broke through and…
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Mr. Speaker, I thank my hon. colleague from New Westminster—Burnaby for his question. I too really enjoy working with him on the Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage. No, I do not see those things. As I said earlier, misinformation is being used to fearmonger regarding issues like freedom of expression and the freedom to surf the web without impediment or constraints. I think this has more to d…
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Mr. Speaker, at the beginning of my speech just now, I commented on how much I appreciated the collaborative atmosphere at the Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage. To be clear, I was speaking directly to my colleague from Bow River, who is a big fan of culture. He was right at home on the heritage committee. I really enjoyed our conversations. Now, visual arts—painters and that whole side of t…
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Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague from Rosemont—La Petite-Patrie for his great question. I will even add that, once Bill C-11 is passed and the reform of the Broadcasting Act is implemented, it will enable certain TV and radio broadcasters with very specific missions that serve under-represented communities to survive and blossom. As for my colleague's question about the Conservatives' stand, yest…
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Mr. Speaker, that is an interesting question. I think there are a lot of things that are going to have to be uncovered as the act is implemented. I also think this legislation will open the door to more creation, and that includes new types of creation as well. I think digital creators are going to benefit in the long run. I want to tell the digital creators who have expressed concerns to us about…
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Mr. Speaker, as I was just saying, when I heard the comments made by my colleague from Lethbridge suggesting that the artists would not benefit from the reform of the Broadcasting Act, I made a few phone calls. I contacted a few of my artist friends to ensure that the bill would benefit the cultural associations and businesses and not just the broadcasters. They all told me that artists and creato…
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Mr. Speaker, the last time I stood up to speak to Bill C-11, I said that I hoped it would be the last time, so that we could finally get to the final stage of this very important bill that has been long awaited by our broadcasters, our cultural industries. A lot of water has gone under the bridge since the first version of this bill came to us in November 2020. At that time it was introduced by th…
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Madam Speaker, I heard my colleague from Lethbridge make very glowing comments on culture and artists in general. I think she may have wanted to clarify that she was talking about digital artists, digital-first creators, because they really are the ones my colleague defended throughout the work on Bill C‑11. I just wanted to know if her sudden affection for culture and artists extended to Quebec a…
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Madam Speaker, I thank my colleague, the parliamentary secretary, for his speech. I also want to thank him for the very collaborative work we are doing at the Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage. We went through some tough times, battled some strong headwinds during our study of Bill C‑11. I congratulate him on his hard work. Obviously, when we are working on a bill as important as Bill C‑11, …
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Madam Speaker, I think my question will resonate with my colleague. Personal information protection and security are very important to me. I myself was recently a victim of credit card fraud. I bought a nice couch that I did not even shop for myself. Handy, right? Anyway, as much as I recognize the importance of protecting personal information, I also recognize the importance of protecting victims…
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Madam Speaker, I am wondering about something. People have been talking about anonymizing data and the importance of protecting individuals' personal information by keeping it anonymous. That said, we will be working on the online hate issue shortly. I think that, in some cases, we do need that ability to trace Internet users so we can pass legislation and take action if people make statements tha…
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Madam Speaker, I, too, found my colleague from Saskatoon West's comments on Bills C‑11 and C‑18 quite interesting. There will be an opportunity to return to Bill C‑11, likely later. I was particularly surprised by the comments on Bill C‑18, especially in a context where Google is currently blocking access to news content for nearly 2 million Canadians, which is no trivial matter. By the way, we st…
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Madam Speaker, I thank my colleague for his speech. I will repeat the comments I made earlier for another one of his colleagues concerning the very delicate line between the need to protect the personal information of each user on digital platforms and digital services in every business and economic sector. There is also the issue of security and how to protect people who may be more vulnerable or…
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Madam Speaker, I commend my Conservative colleague for his speech. We have heard concerns about the fact that legislating in this manner and governing essential cybersecurity infrastructure could have an impact on the freedom of expression of Quebeckers and Canadians. I would like to ask my colleague whether he believes it is possible to implement such legislation so that we can regulate and gover…
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Madam Speaker, I congratulate my colleague on his speech. The motion before us deals with a matter that is clearly not a federal jurisdiction, but a provincial one. Health care systems fall under the jurisdiction of Quebec and the provinces. I listened to the speech by my colleague that covered a lot of things, which, once again, are the exclusive jurisdiction of the provinces. We are still somewh…
Read full speech →Private Members' Business
Mr. Speaker, I am pleased and honoured to rise today to speak to Bill C-232, which seeks to designate April as Arab heritage month. This is also a good opportunity to recognize the outstanding contributions that Arab Quebeckers make to Quebec society and culture and to direct the focus back to the Arab community, which certainly deserves to be recognized for all that it does for our community. I c…
Read full speech →Private Members' Business
Madam Speaker, I will be brief. I just want to point out that sometimes, when we show a bit of openness in the House, when we introduce a bill that at first may get a lukewarm reception for reasons that have nothing to do with the value or intention of the bill, we see that things can evolve and move forward. I want to congratulate my colleague from Longueuil—Charles‑LeMoyne for her work, and espe…
Read full speech →Private Members' Business
Madam Speaker, I would like to once again express my appreciation for the hon. member for Longueuil—Charles-LeMoyne, the sponsor of Bill C-224. I want to acknowledge the work that was done with the co-operation of all parties. That happens every once in a while, and when it does, we see just how well it works. I want to point that out so we do not forget. When we work together, it can lead to grea…
Read full speech →Statements by Members
Mr. Speaker, we know the films and TV shows we produce are the best. They tell our stories and represent every aspect of who we are. They put our homegrown talent in the spotlight both here and abroad. We know all this, but sometimes it bears repeating. That is why the Canada Media Fund and Telefilm Canada launched the MADE Better campaign, which will air on television in Quebec and Canada. Even p…
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Madam Speaker, the short answer is no. The long answer is that I assume that the Conservatives have read the Bloc Québécois’s motion, that they think that it is simply common sense, and that they are waiting until the end of the day to come out in support of it.
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Mr. Speaker, I thank our colleague for his speech. It is interesting to hear our Liberal colleagues talk about how they see the notwithstanding clause and what they think of it, but it is kind of pointless because the Supreme Court has already ruled on the matter a number of times, including in Ford in 1988, when it said the National Assembly has complete freedom to put the notwithstanding clause …
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Mr. Speaker, I want to respond to the speech by my colleague from Charlesbourg—Haute-Saint-Charles. Let me just say I have no problem with him having an opinion about the subjects the Bloc Québécois brings up on its opposition days. His opinion is fine, but it does not actually matter. Personally, I find the motion we put forward for debate today much more interesting than calling for the cancella…
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Madam Speaker, the only thing to do at this point is to throw my colleague from Trois-Rivières a softball. He gave an excellent speech, I have to say. Perhaps my colleagues are not too eager to rise and speak because his speech was so eloquent and powerful. I would like to ask him whether he thinks Quebec's specificity, distinct identity and way of living together in harmony could be preserved wit…
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Madam Speaker, it is my turn to congratulate my Liberal colleague on his speech. I asked my colleague from Trois-Rivières a question earlier, and I was expecting his answer. I will say that quite candidly. I would like to ask my colleague opposite the same question. Quebec is recognized as a nation in its own right with its own language, culture, values and model for living in harmony, which is di…
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Madam Speaker, let me begin by saying that I am not the star of this part of the show. I am merely opening for my colleague from Berthier—Maskinongé, and I am honoured to do so. I love Quebec. I had the good fortune and great privilege to travel the continent in my previous job, and I have visited places around the world for pleasure. Everywhere we go, when we say we are from Quebec, people are cu…
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Madam Speaker, I will not comment on that specific matter. The fundamental issue is that it is up to the legislatures and to the Quebec National Assembly to determine the use of the notwithstanding clause. Later, if it needs to be contested, it can and will be. The right to invoke the notwithstanding clause also implies that we sometimes make mistakes, which is why the courts can get involved. As …
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Madam Speaker, that is excellent. I was just about to say the same thing. I think that the question is a valid one, because I referred to Bill C-11 in my speech when talking about the differences in views between the rest of Canada and Quebec. In answer to the question from my colleague from Charlesbourg—Haute-Saint-Charles, I would say that there have indeed been concerns about the possible manip…
Read full speech →Statements by Members
Mr. Speaker, the Maison d'Haïti will celebrate its 50th anniversary on Saturday. What began as a summer project has grown into five decades of community building, literacy work, integration activities, newcomer services and revitalization of the Saint‑Michel neighbourhood. Crucial services are generously offered to our large Haitian community and to Quebeckers from around the world. Over the years…
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Madam Speaker, first of all, I would like to give my colleague a bit of advice. I have a few years of experience in marketing, and it is common knowledge that when a slogan is no good, it does nothing for the cause. For francophones in Quebec, “triple, triple, triple” is kind of the equivalent of “Oui, papa” or “Pop-Sac-À-Vie-Sau-Sec-Fi-Co-Pin”, or even “Je n'aurais jamais assez de Sugar-Crisp”. A…
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Mr. Speaker, Yannick Nézet-Séguin won two Grammys last night. When Yannick Nézet-Séguin wins a Grammy, all of Quebec is filled with pride. Orchestra conductors are impressive characters. They are larger-than-life artists, with personalities to match. Yannick Nézet-Séguin is different, though. He has all the talent and stature of the great conductors, but he is so down-to-earth that we sometimes fo…
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Madam Speaker, my Conservative colleague listed some cases of citizens, parents, mothers who do not meet the criteria and are not eligible to receive a child care spot. The proposal to send a cheque to everyone and tell people to figure it out themselves will not create more child care spots in Quebec or anywhere else. I think that the solution is to fund existing services properly. That is what i…
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Mr. Speaker, I commend my colleague opposite on her speech and particularly for saying a few words in French near the end. That is always appreciated. It was very kind. I thank her for that. We have heard this before. Quebec already has a child care system that has been in place for a long time. It was implemented by Pauline Marois, who was the Quebec education minister in 1997. This is not the ki…
Read full speech →Statements by Members
Mr. Speaker, few performers have been able to embody a people quite the way Viola Léger did in the role of La Sagouine. Viola Léger was La Sagouine, and, for many of us, La Sagouine was Acadia. Thousands of times over more than 50 years, Ms. Léger transformed into this wise and insightful woman, deeply marked by a hard life and by the injustices and suffering perpetrated upon the Acadian people. T…
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Madam Speaker, again, I thank my colleague from New Westminster—Burnaby. As I said earlier, it is a pleasure to work with him at the Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage. It is true that the NDP proposed many amendments and spoke for labour representatives, such as representatives from Unifor, who proposed many amendments that were championed by my colleague from the NDP. Several of these amend…
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Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague from Winnipeg North for his comments. I reminisce about the handshake my colleague from Rivière-des-Mille-Îles and I shared with the member for Winnipeg South Centre. It was a poignant moment. I did not realize things would happen so fast after that, and I thank my colleague for his kind words. In answer to his question about publications left stranded by Bill C‑1…
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