Parliamentary Speeches
511 speeches by Maxime Blanchette-Joncas — Page 10 of 11
Orders of the Day
Madam Speaker, I thank my colleague for his speech. I agree with him on a number of points. This morning, the Prime Minister said that there were several options and that the Emergencies Act was the last resort, but we did not hear about the first, second or third options. I have a question for my colleague. Does a government that is unable to keep the public safe in the context of these protests …
Read full speech →Statements By Members
Mr. Speaker, I am proud to rise today in honour of the 100th anniversary of Saint‑Narcisse‑de‑Rimouski. On February 13, 1922, a section of Haut‑Pays‑de‑la‑Neigette split from Sainte‑Blandine, giving rise to the municipality of Saint‑Narcisse‑de‑Rimouski. At the time, the first residents of Saint‑Narcisse‑de‑Rimouski were determined to live on and work the hinterland, clearing the land, working wit…
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Madam Speaker, I am pleased to rise in the House today to speak about a subject that is very dear to my heart, namely, the living conditions of our seniors. I would also like to say that I will be sharing my time with the hon. member for Mirabel. Bill C-12, which is currently before us, seeks to amend the Old Age Security Act to exclude any pandemic relief benefits from the calculation of the guar…
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Madam Speaker, I thank my colleague from Kings—Hants for his question. What is surprising is how the government was digging in its heels during the previous Parliament. It did not want to increase seniors' income. However, during the election campaign, the government saw the light and decided that it could use this opportunity to show some goodwill and increase the guaranteed income supplement for…
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Madam Speaker, I thank my colleague from Calgary Shepard for his question. I think he would agree that the Bloc Québécois is not exactly a fan of gag orders. We do not understand why the government, which took a month to recall Parliament after that pointless election and then took another month to hand out mandate letters to its ministers, waited two months after Parliament resumed to introduce t…
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Madam Speaker, I have been wondering the same thing for a long time. The only answer I can come up with is that there is a lack of will. The Liberals have a lack of will to help the most vulnerable, and seniors are the people who have been most affected from day one of the pandemic. It is incredible to hear government members claim that these are administrative errors that cannot be fully fixed be…
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Mr. Speaker, I want to congratulate my colleague from Vancouver Kingsway on his speech. The Bloc Québécois agrees with several parts of his speech, including the issue of health care transfers, which should be dealt with immediately. The government must act now to come to an agreement with Quebec and the provinces. Everyone certainly is fed up right now. My colleague said it well during his speech…
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Mr. Speaker, I want to start by congratulating my colleague from Calgary Midnapore on her excellent speech. I am pleased to hear that she enjoys painting, which I do as well. As we know, Quebec has produced some great painters, including Riopelle. All kidding aside, we in the Bloc Québécois agree with my colleague on one thing, and that is the lack of concrete proposals for solving the problems wi…
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Madam Speaker, let me just say that, in times of crisis, many things can divide us. Of course, there is one thing that unites us, but that one thing does not appear in the economic update or in Bill C‑8: The premiers of the Canadian provinces and the Premier of Quebec are unanimous in their demand for higher health transfers. I heard my colleague when he said this bill will pave the way to the fut…
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Madam Speaker, I thank my colleague from Windsor—Tecumseh for his speech. I am baffled by the Liberal Party's obsession with interfering in other governments' jurisdictions. I am, of course, referring to education here. The member for Kingston and the Islands said earlier that education is the jurisdiction of the Government of Quebec and the provinces. My colleague repeatedly mentioned that the Li…
Read full speech →Statements By Members
Mr. Speaker, I would like to tell the house about Serge Guay's invaluable contribution to the Site historique maritime de la Pointe‑au‑Père in Rimouski. Mr. Guay was at the helm of this lower St. Lawrence museum for 31 years. During that time, the site blossomed into the must-see attraction it is today, bringing in tens of thousands of visitors every year. Throughout his career, Mr. Guay was known…
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Mr. Speaker, the Bloc Québécois really believes that there are distinctions to be made when it comes to mandatory minimum sentences. As my colleague stated, we believe that this is not the right time to abolish mandatory minimums for firearm offences, given the Liberal government's failure to respond to the catastrophes and tragedies that have taken place in recent weeks and months, particularly i…
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Mr. Speaker, last month, a chapter in the history of Saint‑Eugène-de-Ladrière came to a close, as a distinguished regional politician, Gilbert Pigeon, retired after 38 years of service on city council. A paragon of dedication and community service, Mr. Pigeon has had a most inspiring career. His accomplishments included being mayor of his municipality for 34 years, director of the Fédération québé…
Read full speech →Speech from the Throne
Madam Speaker, my colleague from Winnipeg North's frivolous speeches are always so fun to listen to. He said that Quebec made a good decision in 1997 when it set up its own child care network. That was 24 years ago. If this file is so important to the Liberal Party, why did it not take action sooner? The Liberals held the reins for 13 of those years, including as a majority government, but somehow…
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
Madam Speaker, I thank my colleague from Carleton, and I commend him on his eloquent speech. It is always interesting to hear him talk about history. I want to tell him about a catastrophic historical event called the 1840 Act of Union. The Act of Union was pure depredation. It united Upper Canada and Lower Canada. At the time, Upper Canada had a debt of 1,200,000 pounds and could not even pay the…
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
Madam Speaker, I congratulate my eloquent colleague from Saint-Jean on her speech. I want to share something with the House. Something very rare is happening. All Canadian premiers agree on something: increased health transfers. One year ago today, on December 10, 2020, the Prime Minister met with the Premier of Quebec and all the provincial premiers to tell them he would be increasing health tran…
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Madam Speaker, before I get into my remarks, I would seek the unanimous consent of the House to share my time with the member for Rivière-des-Mille-Îles.
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Madam Speaker, I rise today in the House to debate Bill C-3, an act to amend the Criminal Code and the Canada Labour Code, with my esteemed colleagues. I would first like to share something with you. In all honesty, today I feel rather excited to again participate in a legislative debate. Indeed, this is the first time in this new Parliament that I have had the opportunity to actively participate …
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Mr. Speaker, if this bill was so important to the government, why did the government not introduce it earlier, and why did it not bring Parliament back more quickly rather than waiting over 60 days? Yes, this bill is important because it is a step forward and provides protection for health care workers and support for those who do not have access to paid sick days. As I mentioned, no one can be ag…
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Madam Speaker, I am pleased to resume my speech after that fast-paced question period. As I was saying, we have been trapped in the worst public health crisis of the past century for almost two years now, and our health care system is more vulnerable than ever, so we have to do whatever it takes to protect it. Our health care workers have been holding down the fort throughout this trying time, and…
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Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague from Rosemont—La Petite-Patrie for his question. My colleague knows that the Bloc Québécois has a tradition of supporting workers' rights and that it is also a steadfast ally of unions. It is hard to explain why the government took so long to propose this bill. We can see that it wanted to put on a dog-and-pony show by making this election promise. Now it is bring…
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Mr. Speaker, I thank the member for Shefford for the question. As I mentioned earlier, it is impossible to explain the inexplicable. Currently, someone fighting an illness is entitled to less EI sickness benefits than someone who simply loses their job in the ordinary way. A person who loses their job is eligible for more than 15 weeks of benefits, and that is already enshrined in law. The Liberal…
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Madam Speaker, it is always a pleasure to hear the eloquent speeches given by my colleague from Winnipeg North, who, in the midst of the pandemic, has reminded us of the importance of disinfecting our hands with Purell or another liquid sanitizer. To come back to a more serious subject, the Bloc Québécois believes that workers' rights are important and incontrovertible. However, this bill mainly p…
Read full speech →Speech from the Throne
Madam Speaker, first, allow me to congratulate you on your election. I heard the speech by my colleague from Kingston and the Islands, and I would like to tell him about a situation that concerns me. There is a very important word missing from the throne speech, and that is “science”. In the middle of a pandemic, the government did not see fit to include the word “science” in the speech. Canada is…
Read full speech →Speech from the Throne
Madam Speaker, congratulations on your election as Deputy Speaker of the House. It is always a pleasure to watch you overseeing the debates here. My colleague from Hull—Aylmer expressed his support for everything having to do with diversity and inclusion. I would like his thoughts on another aspect of the matter, and that is the immigration of African francophones who are being rejected at a rate …
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Mr. Chair, first I would like to congratulate my brilliant colleague from Saint-Hyacinthe—Bagot on his speech. The forestry industry is a major player in our region. It accounts for nearly 20% of the Lower St. Lawrence economy and nearly 40% of the region’s manufacturing jobs. History tends to repeat itself. My colleague put it very well. We have already seen this bad movie before. In 2006, the in…
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Madam Chair, I listened carefully to my colleague from Don Valley West's speech, and I strongly disagree. He claims there was no failure of leadership, but there was. The United States said it was planning to double the duties long ago, in May. That was six months ago. What did the government do? It did not respond. Once again, we are in the same situation we have been experiencing year after year…
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Mr. Speaker, first I want to congratulate you on your election. As I rise in the House for the first time in the 44th Parliament, I want to take this opportunity to sincerely thank my constituents in Rimouski-Neigette—Témiscouata—Les Basques from the bottom of my heart for putting their trust in me a second time. In the last Parliament I was the tourism critic for the Bloc Québécois. One word that…
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
moved for leave to introduce Bill C-295, An Act to amend the Income Tax Act (recent graduates working in a designated region). Mr. Speaker, it is with immense pride and great pleasure that I introduce in the House a bill to amend the Income Tax Act. I am convinced I will gain the support of all my colleagues for this legislative measure. This bill will make it possible to not only address the skil…
Read full speech →Private Members' Business
Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to rise during the debate at second reading of Bill C-220, sponsored by our colleague from Edmonton Riverbend, and I am doing so right here in the House of Commons, which is a rare thing in these COVID times. I want to applaud the merits of his private member's bill and his compassion in seeking to alleviate the pain and the burden of caring for a loved one at the end of …
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With regard to the Prime Minister’s new website and new official portrait: (a) what is the total cost of the Prime Minister’s website redesign project, including the (i) amount spent on writing biographical content about the Prime Minister, (ii) graphic design, (iii) website development, (iv) migration of the content from the old website to the new one, (v) Prime Minister’s new official portrait, …
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Madam Speaker, seniors are angry, and with good reason. They view the latest budget as an insult. Seniors saw an increase in old age security for people aged 75 and over, but no increase for people aged 65 to 74. Will the Minister of Finance stop denying our seniors their dignity and provide the OAS increase to people aged 65 to 74 and those 75 and over?
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Mr. Speaker, Justice Deschamps presented a damning report in 2015, demonstrating that there is a sexist culture within the armed forces, which ignored cases of sexual misconduct. This report contained 10 recommendations, and the main recommendation was to make the complaints system independent from the armed forces. Justice Deschamps testified in committee in February. She pointed out that, unfort…
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Madam Speaker, I request a recorded division.
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Mr. Speaker, I listened carefully to the speech by my colleague from Winnipeg North, and I would like to refresh his memory. He stated that he followed the process and the evolution of the negotiations. On August 10, his colleague, the Minister of Labour, stated that the best deals are made at the table. However, today, there are no negotiations, we have only special legislation. The government is…
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Mr. Speaker, I listened carefully to my colleague from Chilliwack—Hope. He stated that he supports the bargaining process, but I would like to know if he accepts the mediation process. The Canada Labour Code already has a provision that would have allowed the government to impose mediation without resorting to special legislation. Does my colleague approve of that existing provision of the Canada …
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Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for her eloquent and heartfelt speech. We can see that she knows what she is talking about, thanks to her experience working for many labour organizations. She criticized the government's complacency and lack of leadership with respect to measures that could have been taken in the past. Could she tell us what should be done now to prevent the situation from spiral…
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With regard to government spending in the ridings of Rimouski-Neigette—Témiscouata—Les Basques, Avignon—La Mitis—Matane–Matapédia, Manicouagan, Montmagny—L’Islet—Kamouraska—Rivière-du-Loup, Gaspésie—Les Îles-de-la-Madeleine, Papineau, Honoré-Mercier, Ahuntsic-Cartierville and Québec, since 2015 and broken down by constituency: (a) what is the total annual amount, broken down by year; (b) what is t…
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Madam Speaker, thanks to federal cuts, the harbour in Cap-aux-Meules is down to 40% capacity, which is affecting the fishing season in the Magdalen Islands. To put it simply, no wharf, no crab. We asked the minister and member for Gaspésie—Les Îles-de-la-Madeleine what she was going to do to fix this problem, and she had the gall to blame Transport Canada. This is a huge problem. The Liberal minis…
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Madam Speaker, this is not just about safety. This is about the economic vitality of the Îles-de-la-Madeleine. It is the federal government's responsibility to make sure ports and wharves are in good shape. The Liberals did not step up, so the Cap-aux-Meules infrastructure is degrading. Now it is the Liberals' responsibility to find a solution. Officials have to be on site at the port to monitor t…
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moved for leave to introduce Bill C-281, An Act to amend the Canada Shipping Act, 2001 (certificate of competency). Mr. Speaker, this morning, I am pleased to introduce a bill to amend the Canada Shipping Act, 2001. This legislative measure will address head-on the labour shortage in the marine industry, which is a major concern. A foreign national who holds a diploma from a recognized school, suc…
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Mr. Speaker, today the Auditor General confirmed that the management of our borders during the pandemic was a complete failure. The federal government was unable to find out whether 66% of travellers coming to Canada were in fact complying with the quarantine rules. That means that two out of every three travellers who came to Canada slipped right through the cracks. How is it possible to lose tra…
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Mr. Speaker, today the Auditor General confirmed that the management of our borders during the pandemic was a complete failure. The federal government was unable to find out whether 66% of travellers coming to Canada were in fact complying with the quarantine rules. That means that two out of every three travellers who came to Canada slipped right through the cracks. How is it possible to lose tra…
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, we can see that the government is confused. It just gave two different answers to the same question. Not only was the federal government unable to make sure two out of three travellers were actually quarantining, it was not even able to loop in the proper authorities to help. The federal government gave law enforcement the names of only 40% of the people at risk of violating quarantin…
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
Madam Speaker, I am pleased and honoured to table petition e-3106 in the House. The petition seeks to improve seniors' financial situation and improve their lives in general via the services available to them and how they can access those services. Over 20,000 petitioners endorsed these demands on behalf of seniors. This is a spectacular demonstration of how powerful my fellow citizens in the Lowe…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Madam Speaker, I listened carefully to my colleague's speech, but it made me very confused. During question period this afternoon, the Minister of Health said that it was the right and responsibility of Quebec and the provinces to deliver health care. If health care is Quebec's responsibility, how can this government now tell us that it wants to set national standards? The government cannot simply…
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Madam Speaker, I thank my colleague from La Prairie for his speech. He spoke about the government's procrastination. I think he gave a good summary of the facts. This bill was hastily drafted in January but it did not completely remedy the problem. As the great René Lévesque would say, two wrongs do not make a right. My colleague gave us an account of what happened because history tends to repeat …
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
Mr. Speaker, I am very pleased, albeit with a strong sense of irony, to be taking part in this completely pointless debate that the governing Liberal Party of Canada has foisted upon the House. It is unfathomable to me that the Liberal minority in this Parliament can force such a pointless debate that is of no interest to the people we represent, especially during this health crisis during which w…
Read full speech →Private Members' Business
Madam Speaker, I am very pleased to rise in the House this morning to participate in the debate at second reading on Bill C-206, which is sponsored by my Conservative colleague from Northumberland—Peterborough South. I want to stress how pleased I am, because I consider this colleague to be not only a friend, but also an ally in our work on the Standing Committee on Public Accounts. I know how muc…
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Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague from Montmagny—L'Islet—Kamouraska—Rivière-du-Loup for his comments and his question. As my party's tourism critic, I have certainly spoken to provincial and regional stakeholders in Quebec. The labour shortage is a real problem. It was a problem before the pandemic, it is a problem now, and it could remain a problem if we do not find a solution. I completely agree…
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