Parliamentary Speeches
511 speeches by Maxime Blanchette-Joncas — Page 1 of 11
Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, I do not understand part of my colleague's argument, and I would like her to explain it. She criticized the government for shutting down debate and shutting off the cameras. However, in June of last year, the Liberals did the same thing during the study of Bill C-5 on projects of national interest. Who supported that closure motion? It was supported by her party, the Conservative Part…
Read full speech →Private Members' Business
Mr. Speaker, I first want to take a few moments to acknowledge a tragedy that deeply shook my region, the Lower St. Lawrence, yesterday morning. A major fire ravaged the Fibel et fils farm in Saint‑Éloi in Les Basques RCM. Our thoughts are with the Filion family and the entire team at Fibel et fils farm, who have been deeply affected by this tragedy. The farm lost its herd and the result of 45 yea…
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Madam Speaker, I want to begin by pointing out that June 15, 2026, marks the 35th anniversary of the founding of the Bloc Québécois. In Sorel, on June 15, 1991, in the wake of the failure of the Meech Lake accord, Lucien Bouchard and members from Quebec from various backgrounds chose to come together to give Quebec its own voice in Ottawa. Lucien Bouchard put it very clearly, in a way that has sto…
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Madam Speaker, what the parliamentary secretary just said is extremely insulting. He now says he is offering it to everyone, but the measure he is offering to seniors is temporary. The purchasing power of seniors is a permanent problem, however. If he does not understand that after all these years as a member of Parliament, I wonder what he is doing here. I invite my colleague to go out into the c…
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Madam Speaker, it comes as no surprise that the member for Louis‑Saint‑Laurent—Akiawenhrahk will be voting “no” in the next referendum. I, on the other hand, will be voting “yes” in case anyone was wondering where my political interests lie. That said, what is even more ridiculous is that my colleague is asking me these types of questions when he knows full well that this is not a matter for debat…
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Madam Speaker, I commend my colleague on his French. It is fairly easy to understand. The Liberals have rigged a majority. That is not insignificant. It is a historical first. Does anyone know what else is a historical first? The government has run the biggest deficit in history, totalling $78 billion. That said, they have done such outstanding work that that deficit will be $10 billion less. This…
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Mr. Speaker, I am privileged to sit with my colleague on the Standing Committee on Science and Research. We share certain rural boundaries and we have an awareness of some of our mutual realities. I would like to talk to him about the EI issue. The Liberals, who were in power back then, have been promising a reform since 2015. The Trudeau government said so in 2015. Then, during the 2019 campaign,…
Read full speech →Private Members' Business
Mr. Speaker, before I address Bill C‑265, I would like to take a few moments to highlight a major milestone for my region: the 50th anniversary of Culture Bas-Saint-Laurent. I would have liked to be there with its members to celebrate the anniversary in person, but I wanted their contribution to be recognized here in the House of Commons. The 50th anniversary of Culture Bas-Saint-Laurent is an ess…
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Madam Speaker, I have a fairly simple question for my colleague. Why did the Liberals refuse to consider objective criteria when it comes to peace bonds? It would have been one way to better prevent criminal harassment. This is an important issue, particularly for victims.
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Mr. Speaker, Standing Order 78(3), commonly known as time allocation, is currently the Liberals' favourite dish. What we just witnessed is something that the Liberals have now done multiple times. Bill C‑25 is intended to increase public trust in Parliament and its institutions by preventing excessively long ballots, which can cause confusion. I would like the parliamentary secretary to the govern…
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Mr. Speaker, I commend my colleague on his speech. My colleague did not get to finish his speech, but I imagine he had a great deal more to say. It is actually quite remarkable that Bill C-25, which amends an act, also changes the names of certain ridings. It has been over a year and a half since the last election. I made a promise to my constituents to give the riding a name that better represent…
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Madam Speaker, I commend my colleague on his speech. He really enjoyed quoting data from the Parliamentary Budget Officer. I would like to ask him a question on that. The Parliamentary Budget Officer said that if, tomorrow morning, we were to buy the Trans Mountain pipeline project in western Canada, which is now operational, we would lose money. The project was initially expected to cost about $6…
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Madam Speaker, the Conservatives keep saying that investments are needed in fossil fuels. They are in favour of approving a new pipeline project in western Canada. As members will recall, the Trudeau government purchased a pipeline that cost $34 billion, and if the government were to sell it tomorrow, it would ultimately lose money. I wonder if my colleague thinks that using public funds to buy a …
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister is overstepping once again. He wants to be able to re-authorize, by order in council, pesticides that have been banned on scientific grounds. In a provision buried in the omnibus budget Bill C‑30, he wants to give himself the right to overturn Health Canada's decisions by invoking undefined concepts such as economic security. Researchers and health and environmental…
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Mr. Speaker, the Liberals are hiding a measure in Bill C‑30 that allows pesticides banned for scientific reasons to be re-authorized. This is the biggest setback since the Pest Control Products Act was created in 2002. Not only is the Minister of Health not upset about this, she even boasted that she was the only minister to ever attend a CropLife Canada event. CropLife Canada is an association of…
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Madam Speaker, it is simple: Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada requires LMIAs in 60 days, but the service standard is 64 days. Obviously, this is not working, but Ottawa would rather blame the businesses than clean up its own mess. It is infuriating. The government must extend its deadlines when provided with proof that an LMIA is being processed. When it closes cases by error, it shoul…
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Madam Speaker, a mix-up between two government departments is hurting our businesses and their temporary foreign workers. When our small and medium-sized businesses want to renew their employees' work permits through Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada, they must submit a labour market impact assessment, or LMIA, within 60 days. However, Service Canada is the one that issues LMIA approval…
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Madam Speaker, the media industry is going through a crisis right now. The government had introduced a levy in July but ultimately did not go forward with it. The government believed that would put it in a better position to negotiate tariffs with the Americans. That plan failed. Later on, the economic update failed to include anything to support local and regional French-language news outlets. In…
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Mr. Speaker, the finance minister mentioned affordability. Let us talk about that. We are in the midst of a housing crisis. The Liberal government, which has been in office for a whopping 10 years, launched a national housing strategy in 2017 that never dealt with the crisis. Now, the government has come up with a new gimmick to lull us into complacency: Build Canada Homes. Build Canada Homes prov…
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Mr. Speaker, in the last budget and economic update, the Minister of Finance boasted about wanting to make Canada a global leader in innovation. However, in his last budget, he cut $40 million from the college and community innovation program. We reminded him of that and pointed out the inconsistency. The Liberals say they want to be leaders, but then they turn around and make cuts. The minister e…
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Mr. Speaker, in her speech, my colleague talked about the importance of affordability in the economic update. The economic update talks about the new initiative announced by the government, specifically Build Canada Homes. The government plans to build 26,000 new homes over the next few years, but the need is much greater. The Parliamentary Budget Officer reported that 690,000 homes need to be bui…
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Mr. Speaker, my colleague spoke to us about the importance of Toronto, which receives a large number of visitors. She mentioned $28 million per year. However, the problem in Toronto, aside from the housing crisis, is the mobility crisis. People can no longer even afford to buy houses right downtown. They have to move to the suburbs, yet the federal government cut $5 billion from the Canada public …
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, the Liberals are again taking advantage of their new majority, which they engineered by enticing floor crossers. This time, they are silencing the opposition with respect to PrescribeIT, a software designed to interfere with health care and prescribe medication. After wasting $300 million on it, the Liberals are abandoning it because nobody is using it. Yesterday, in committee, I move…
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Mr. Speaker, Bill C-11 is a concrete example of the Liberal government's lack of leadership. The Liberals have been in power for 10 years and, what is more, held a majority from 2015 to 2019. However, they waited for a public scandal before reforming the military justice system. Justice Arbour's report showed that the system was failing to protect victims. I have a simple question for my colleague…
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Mr. Speaker, the government is transferring sexual offence cases to the civilian courts. They are being taken out of the military system. The problem is that the government is already incapable of making the justice system work, especially when it comes to appointing judges. Quebec is short five judges and Canada is short 27. Victims do not need a change in system. They need justice. For that to h…
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Mr. Speaker, the world is upside down. We are experiencing something never seen before because this is the first time it has happened in Canada's history. A government elected as a minority has managed to persuade members from different parties to join its minority government ranks and transform it into a majority government. Not only that, but the government wants to change the committees' compos…
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Mr. Speaker, what is the world coming to? As we know, only one in three Canadians has confidence in Parliament and our institutions, according to Statistics Canada. Today, the government is telling us that it wants to fight cynicism. Democracy is not just a slogan that can be repeated over and over again in press releases and here in the House. Words have meaning. Today, the government is telling …
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Mr. Speaker, allow me to quote the member for Gatineau, the government House leader, who told the House on April 16, “Canada's democracy is one of the most stable and strongest in the world, but it would be unwise to take this for granted.” I have news for him: Only one in three people in Canada trusts Parliament. What the government wants is to give itself a majority, even though that is not what…
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Mr. Speaker, the government is saying that it respects tradition and that this is why it should have a majority on committees, despite the will of the people, who did not give the government that majority. I simply wish to remind the government that there is also a tradition here in Parliament of consulting the opposition parties. Today, however, there has been no such consultation. Can my colleag…
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Mr. Speaker, only one in three people in Canada have confidence in its institutions, including Parliament. Given the Liberals' tactics for poaching members from both the Conservative Party and the New Democratic Party in order to secure a majority, this is by no means a run-of-the-mill situation. It is the first time this has happened in Canadian history. I would like my colleague's thoughts on so…
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Mr. Speaker, during her speech, my colleague said that the parties' representation on committees must reflect their representation in the House. The Liberals hold 51% of the seats in the House, but they want 58% of the seats in committees. Can my colleague explain to me how she can say in her speech that she wants committees to operate like the House, when in reality, the Liberals are giving thems…
Read full speech →Private Members' Business
Mr. Speaker, I rise today to speak to Bill C‑234, which seeks to create a living donor recognition medal. I want to start by calling attention to my colleague from Edmonton Manning, who donated part of his liver to his son. An act of such profound compassion commands respect. For a living person to donate an organ is a big deal. It is rare, demanding and most of all, it can change a life. The Bloc…
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
Mr. Speaker, the Standing Committee on Human Resources, Skills and Social Development and the Status of Persons with Disabilities has been clear. The committee is calling on the government to reconsider its distribution of student grants based on the type of institution where students are studying. In particular, the committee points out that federal decisions should align with those made by Quebe…
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Mr. Speaker, it is pretty clear. To my knowledge, my colleague is pretty good with numbers. Federal student grants at the graduate level have not been adjusted for inflation for 20 years. I would like him to name one thing that has not been adjusted for inflation for 20 years and tell me whether he thinks that makes sense. How can we retain talent and expertise when we lack the necessary incentive…
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
Mr. Speaker, I appreciate my colleague's remarks. Obviously, this is not the government's first discriminatory policy, yet we are told that this is an open, inclusive, and equitable government. Consider this statistic: approximately 80% of research funding in Canada goes to about 10% of researchers. Does that not seem lopsided? We have policies in place that favour a certain group of people, who a…
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
Mr. Speaker, the government finally took action in budget 2024. Student grants were adjusted for inflation and increased. It was clear that Canada was no longer competitive and that we were losing our best and brightest to the United States or to other countries. However, it is also becoming apparent that students are taking longer to complete their studies. Students who are already living on very…
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
Mr. Speaker, I want to congratulate my colleague on his excellent speech. I believe he shone a light on something that was already well known, something that the Séguin report demonstrated in the early 2000s, namely the adverse effects of the federal system, with its encroachment on Quebec's areas of jurisdiction, particularly with regard to fiscal imbalance. As a member of the Standing Committee …
Read full speech →Private Members' Business
Mr. Speaker, today we are debating Bill C‑226, the bill introduced by the member for Fleetwood—Port Kells to establish a national framework for food price transparency at the grocery store. To begin, the Bloc Québécois is sensitive to the economic reality that Quebec and Canadian families are facing. We know full well that the rising cost of groceries is forcing a growing number of households to m…
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Mr. Speaker, I will give my colleague a moment to put in his earpiece so that he can understand me properly in one of Canada's official languages. The Conservative Party claims to defend individual freedoms. I would like to ask my colleague a simple question. Does he support “reasonable suspicion” as the threshold for granting access to Quebeckers' and Canadians' digital lives? That is what this b…
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Mr. Speaker, we would like some clarification from the Conservative Party. I would like him to explain his party's position. Where is the line between public safety and respect for privacy? I would like my colleague to share his and his party's views on that.
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Riddle me this, Mr. Speaker. The government is asking the public to trust it and saying that it needs more power. That is what the government is asking parliamentarians to approve right now. However, the government is cutting the resources of those that will oversee those new powers. In the most recent budget, the Liberal Party made a 15% cut to the budget of the National Security and Intelligence…
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Mr. Speaker, I would like to quote from a speech delivered by Imam Adil Charkaoui in Montreal on October 23, 2023. He said, “Allah, take care of these Zionist aggressors. Take care of the enemies of the people of Gaza. Identify them all, then exterminate them. And don't spare any of them.” If that is not hate speech, then I would like my Conservative colleagues to tell me what is. No charges were …
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Mr. Speaker, I commend my colleague on his speech. I gave an example earlier, following a speech by a Conservative colleague, about how Imam Adil Charkaoui had incited hatred, notably with his speech at an event. No charges were brought under the existing Criminal Code, and that is why the Bloc Québécois is seeking to modernize it, as suggested by the RCMP. There were no grounds for the RCMP to la…
Read full speech →Private Members' Business
Mr. Speaker, today we are debating Bill C‑224. Introduced by my Conservative colleague for Ponoka—Didsbury, this bill aims to amend the Food and Drugs Act to exclude natural health products from the definition of therapeutic products. In practical terms, if this bill passes in its current form, natural health products will no longer be subject to the same oversight mechanisms as other therapeutic …
Read full speech →Private Members' Business
Madam Speaker, I am rising today at second reading of Bill C-237. At first reading last October, the Bloc Québécois indicated that we were open to this bill. At that time, we had already found some problems with the bill, but we were willing to analyze it, hear the arguments and look at the actual impacts it would have. Since then, we have worked hard to do just that. We have listened to Quebecker…
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Madam Speaker, we completely agree that this just adds more bureaucracy, that it adds a new structure. They already had the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation, but now they are adding Build Canada Homes instead of optimizing what is already in place. I would like to know if we can agree that this is another attempt by the federal government to interfere in Quebec's jurisdictions, including in…
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Madam Speaker, we are experiencing the worst housing crisis in decades, and the government is boasting that it is going to create a new entity called Build Canada Homes. The Parliamentary Budget Officer says that Build Canada Homes will create a mere 26,000 new homes, when 690,000 are needed. Does anyone on that side of the House know how to count? I thought the Prime Minister was supposed to be a…
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Madam Speaker, the government is saying that it wants to solve crises. However, according to the Parliamentary Budget Officer, the crisis will not be solved because the government's actions are inadequate. The government wants to build 26,000 new housing units although we need 690,000. Allow me to explain it to my colleagues who are good at math on the other side. This means that it is addressing …
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Madam Speaker, I want to congratulate my colleague on her speech. She talked about something very important, something that I see as a hallmark of the Conservative Party, specifically, government accountability. That is what the Bloc Québécois wanted to pursue with our bill, and yet that is what the Conservatives rejected. Under our bill, the government would be required to table new trade agreeme…
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Madam Speaker, I commend my colleague and congratulate him on his speech. Today, the Conservatives are saying that this new position of commissioner for modern treaty implementation would not be good for indigenous communities. I would like to remind my colleague that, when Bill C-5 on projects of national interest was being studied in June, indigenous communities were not consulted. At the time, …
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