Parliamentary Speeches
432 speeches by Maxime Blanchette-Joncas — Page 5 of 9
Government Orders
Madam Speaker, the Bloc Québécois is obviously in favour of this measure, which finally recognizes how distressing such situations can be for parents. We did not wait for the federal government to create our child care system. It has been around for 25 years. The same goes for our other social programs, such as the Quebec parental insurance plan, which has been around for many years. Quebec has a …
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Madam Speaker, it will take me a lot longer than a minute to make the federal government understand that the regions exist and that they have specific needs, just like Quebec, which is also distinguished by its nationhood and its own specific needs. Air transportation is practically non-existent in the regions. When its pals at Air Canada ask for millions or billions of dollars in wage subsidies, …
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Madam Speaker, we are going to make history, but maybe not for the right reasons. We are witnessing a miracle: The Conservative Party has become the party that cares about vulnerable people, the middle class and families. They call it common sense. I would like to discuss common sense with my colleague. Currently, we are discussing the bill that implements the economic update. In the economic upda…
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Mr. Speaker, I invite my colleagues to be even more rigorous in their interventions because the scientific community is watching. Researchers from all over have come to Parliament Hill for the 4th edition of Science Meets Parliament. At the invitation of the Canadian Science Policy Centre, these rising stars in science and innovation have come to build closer relationships with policy-makers. It g…
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Mr. Speaker, with this budget, the federal government is responding to a crisis, namely, the housing crisis. My question for my colleague is this: Does she agree that the money earmarked for housing should be managed by the people who understand the housing crisis? Here is an example: CMHC collects data. I have the honour of representing 39 municipalities. Out of those 39 municipalities, CMHC coll…
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Mr. Speaker, it is not easy for Canada to have any credibility on the international stage when it comes to security. A major player in the government told us that “Canada is back”, but it is definitely not. Canada was eyeing a seat on the United Nations Security Council, but it lost the bid. When it comes to security, Canada has had problems, especially with the Winnipeg lab, a maximum-security fa…
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Mr. Speaker, I rise today to mark the 80th anniversary of the Institut maritime du Québec in Rimouski. This great national institution was founded on May 24, 1944, under the leadership of Jules‑A. Brillant. Eighty years later, the Institut maritime du Québec remains the only marine labour force training centre in Quebec, the largest in Canada, and the only francophone institution of its kind in No…
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Madam Speaker, I commend my colleague from Bruce—Grey—Owen Sound on his speech. Quebec is a distinct society by virtue of not only its identity, but also its choices. It was over 25 years ago now that Quebec chose to set up early childhood centres. This child care system already exists in Quebec. I really feel that we are wasting Quebeckers' time when we have to debate a bill to bring in a system …
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Madam Speaker, I commend my colleague from Kingston and the Islands on his speech. I think that we just witnessed something historic. I have never heard my colleague say the word “Quebec” so many times before. This is hypocritical. My colleague is saying that the government is following Quebec's example because it is a leader in the area of child care, but when it comes time to negotiate other pro…
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Mr. Speaker, I rise on a point of order. I would ask you to follow and enforce the Standing Orders. We know that male members cannot speak in the House if they are not wearing a tie.
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Mr. Speaker, we agree that you would not normally have recognized the member in the first place since he was not wearing a tie. You did recognize him. We understand, but we are simply asking you to follow and enforce the Standing Orders next time.
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Mr. Speaker, indeed, I worked closely with Acfas, and I salute them for everything they do. What this committee report tells us is that there is currently an inequity between francophones and anglophones when it comes to the granting of research funding in Canada and the obligation to submit funding applications in English. One of the reasons why doing research in French is important is the need f…
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Mr. Speaker, I want to acknowledge my colleague from Argenteuil—La Petite-Nation's work in committee. We studied this issue thoroughly. Some people, especially my anglophone colleagues, were not aware of the problem. My colleague makes an interesting point. We understand that the federal government can hardly reverse global dynamics. It is true that researchers in certain fields are increasingly l…
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Mr. Speaker, it is very obvious that this government does not give a flying fig about French. We have the proof right here: We are debating the issue of research and scientific publication in French, and the government sends a unilingual anglophone member who cannot even say a single word in French. I think that—
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Mr. Speaker, I salute my fellow member of the Standing Committee on Science and Research. I think we can agree on a few things. I know exactly what he is talking about. I would suggest that he look at the proportion of francophones who apply for funding in French compared to English. It is fine to say that 75% of francophone researchers in Canada qualify for Natural Sciences and Engineering Resear…
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Mr. Speaker, I commend my colleague from Brampton North on her speech. I want to come back to my point of order. This is something that I care deeply about. I want to tell her that I did not mean to offend her, but I was rather surprised that, when the subject was about a specific language, the speaker did not speak that language. I like that she is open-minded and interested in French in science …
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Mr. Speaker, it is quite simple. The federal government currently has a structure in place that gives preference to English-language research both in terms of funding and in terms of the evaluation criteria, which assign more weight to research and scientific papers published in English. It starts from there, and the funding follows the same pattern. Another issue is that the federal government un…
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moved: That the fifth report of the Standing Committee on Science and Research, presented on Thursday, June 15, 2023, be concurred in. Mr. Speaker, I am very pleased to rise today to speak with my esteemed colleagues about a subject that is near and dear to my heart, namely science in French in Quebec and Canada, on the occasion of the publication of the report of the Standing Committee on Science…
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Madam Speaker, I request a recorded division.
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Madam Speaker, I listened carefully to the speech given by the member for Winnipeg North. He said that he is an immigration expert. He has been working in that area for years. He said that he even participated in the process with the Chrétien government at the time, so I would like him to explain something to me. In 2015, the federal government's immigration target was 285,000 people a year. Ten y…
Read full speech →Private Members' Business
Madam Speaker, first of all, I would like to commend the initiative of my colleague from Mississauga East—Cooksville seeking to highlight the importance and richness of the Polish community's contribution to the Quebec nation. It is not every day that we have the opportunity to shine a light on this culture. I would like to make it clear from the outset that I will be voting in favour of the motio…
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Madam Speaker, I listened to my colleague carefully, and I commend her for her work. There is something that she did not mention. We are going through one of the worst housing crises in 35 years. The Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation, CMHC, told us today that Canada's vacancy rate is 1.5%. The rate has not been that low since 1988. The budget mentions housing, but not homelessness. I would l…
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Madam Speaker, I am proud to rise in the House to table petition e‑4604. This petition is the culmination of several months of work and collaboration with students, academia and the research community of Quebec and Canada. It seeks to correct a serious, glaring injustice. Our new generation of scientists have not had a raise since 2003. For 20 years the federal government's graduate scholarships h…
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Madam Speaker, I seek unanimous consent of the House to table petition e‑4604.
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Madam Speaker, I appreciated my colleague's speech. As everyone knows, the Bloc Québécois is in favour of this bill. Quebec has had anti-scab legislation since 1977. It is not a new thing. Sometimes we say that we are wasting our time here, constantly waiting for the federal government to take action. Here is another good example of that. Quebec has progressive measures and protects workers' right…
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Mr. Speaker, we request a recorded division.
Read full speech →Statements by Members
Mr. Speaker, this year the Rimouski Conservatory of Music is celebrating its 50th anniversary. Since 1973, the conservatory has been kindling and cultivating the spark of music in talented people in the Lower St. Lawrence region. Many of its students have gone on to become locally, nationally and internationally renowned musicians, which speaks to the quality of the instruction that is provided. A…
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Madam Speaker, in his speech, my colleague mentioned bringing back common sense. I want to tell him what I think common sense is. In this country, it would appear that there are fundamental rights. He must not forget that. Even criminals have fundamental rights. However, that no longer seems to be the case when the Conservative Party talks about common sense. My colleague's bill puts two labels on…
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Madam Speaker, common sense has come to town. It has made it to Ottawa. The Conservatives have just realized, in 2023, that senators are not elected. They are complaining that senators are not democratically elected. We have known this for a long time. We have known for a long time that the upper chamber is a waste of time. Instead of wasting our time and complaining that things are not being deci…
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Madam Speaker, I commend my colleague from Vaughan—Woodbridge for his speech. The purpose of the bill is to ensure efficiency and transparency in air transportation. I want my colleague to understand that my region has practically no air transportation. Air Canada closed its offices in June 2020, at the height of the pandemic. It tried to justify its decision by saying that there was no traffic. A…
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Madam Speaker, I commend my colleague from Kenora on his speech. We have here a government that is trying to rein in the airlines. I would like to mention a very specific situation that is happening in my region, the Lower St. Lawrence. As of December 4, the Mont-Joli regional airport will no longer be offering any regional flights within the Lower St. Lawrence, nor will it be offering flights to …
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Madam Speaker, I commend by colleague from Kingston and the Islands for his speech. While the bill is well intentioned, certain aspects create great uncertainty. I would like my colleague to offer his opinion on the matter. We note that the regulations in this bill give the minister a lot of latitude. Most of the changes will be through regulations. This raises many concerns for the various indust…
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Madam Speaker, today we are seeing another phenomenon that keeps happening fairly regularly. We can no longer call it a phenomenon really. I would say it has become routine: another Liberal time allocation motion supported by the New Democratic Party. As we know, imposing time allocation is very democratic. I invite them to consider changing the name of their party. Bill C‑56 was supposed to be th…
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Madam Speaker, my thoughts go out to the Groupe TVA employees and their families following last week's catastrophic loss of 547 jobs. This is a heavy loss for my region, where 24 out of 30 jobs were wiped out. Obviously, we have high hopes that the federal government will be there to support these people. As we proposed yesterday, the Bloc Québécois is calling for a summit as well as a $50‑million…
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Mr. Speaker, I congratulate my enthusiastic colleague. His speeches are always very lively and well researched. It is obvious that he really knows his stuff when it comes to anything related to innovation, especially the people who have expertise in his region, Abitibi—Témiscamingue. I want to come back to the question asked earlier by my colleague from Montmagny—L'Islet—Kamouraska—Rivière-du-Loup…
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Mr. Speaker, my colleague's statements are kind of out there. He does seem to think the Bloc Québécois is pretty important. That is interesting. He says the Bloc Québécois is responsible for removing the tax on heating oil in the Maritimes. Can he tell us which motion or act the Bloc Québécois voted for that made that happen, when that decision is solely within the purview of the current governmen…
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Mr. Speaker, I commend my colleague on his speech. I would like to talk about common sense. I am going to tell a true story and I would like my colleague to tell me if it makes sense. We are talking about the Conservative Party, who, today, is worried about foreign investments and our national security. However, that same party nearly had a leader who worked as a consultant for a company that is b…
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Mr. Speaker, I commend the minister on his intervention. Bill C‑34 is certainly well intentioned. We also recognize the work that was done in committee, which enabled us to add to the bill the concept of sensitive sectors, including intellectual property and data banks that contain personal information. However, the bill is still incomplete and that is the problem. If we were to apply the new rule…
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Mr. Speaker, it is always a pleasure to hear what the leader of the official opposition has to say. He seems to have a magic wand this morning. It is funny. We are currently examining a bill that he thinks will fix everything. He found new culprits to blame for the housing crisis: municipalities and mayors. That is the Conservative Party's approach. It is dangerous to accuse people who go to work …
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Madam Speaker, I commend my colleague, with whom I have the privilege of serving on the Standing Committee on Science and Research, and I thank him for his work. In committee, we are examining the issue of intellectual property. Right now, we are examining the issue of national security and research. Those are very important subjects. It is important to understand that the knowledge we develop her…
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Madam Speaker, I think I was rather clear in my speech. The Conservatives' amendment involved rejecting any projects that do not come from the Five Eyes countries. That would threaten Quebec's economy. I will give the same example I gave before. Forty percent of Europe's investments in Canada are made in Quebec. That means that a major part of Quebec's economy and all of the foreign investment pro…
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Madam Speaker, I salute my colleague from Winnipeg North. Bill C-34 is a step in the right direction, but it does not go far enough. Only 2% of the 1,255 projects would have been reviewed had the new law been in effect. That is manifestly insufficient. That is exactly what I said in my speech. This bill is a step in the right direction, but it needs to go much further. When we look at the review t…
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Madam Speaker, it is with great pleasure that I rise today to speak to Bill C‑34 for the second time. This bill amends the Investment Canada Act. It is well intentioned, but there is still a lot of work to do. The bill reinforces controls and increases the powers of the Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry regarding foreign investments in Canada. As we did at second reading of the bill las…
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Mr. Speaker, I would like to ask my colleague this. Why does he not respect the Constitution? Why does he not respect provincial autonomy? Why does he want the federal government to dictate the rules of the game when Quebeckers never asked it to?
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Madam Speaker, I want to first commend my colleague for his excellent speech. I think he showed, with facts and evidence, that the Canada Infrastructure Bank is an organization that should not be. We know that there is political interference. The infrastructure bank favours friends of the government and the Liberal Party. However, I would like my colleague to talk about another issue. The member f…
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Mr. Speaker, it is always odd to hear the Conservative Party express concern about people's cost of living and the federal government's failed infrastructure projects. However, there is one infrastructure project that the Conservative Party never talks about, even though it is one of the largest infrastructure projects in Canadian history. I am talking about the acquisition and expansion of the Tr…
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Mr. Speaker, Érudit, a Quebec leader in disseminating scientific knowledge in French, is celebrating its 25th anniversary this year. Érudit is a digital platform created to promote scientific publications. It owes its existence to the vision and genius of a consortium comprising the Université de Montréal, the Université Laval and the Université du Québec à Montréal. Today it offers 250,000 public…
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Mr. Speaker, I am very pleased to see such enthusiasm for this bill today. We know that there is no shortage of emergencies, including the housing crisis and the climate crisis, but these topics are not on the government's agenda. My colleague mentioned several interesting things in his speech. We know that we are not reinventing the wheel today; we are modernizing the Canada-Ukraine Free Trade Ag…
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Mr. Speaker, once is not a habit, but failing to consider existing laws in Quebec has certainly become a habit for the federal government. The paternalistic attitude of the federal level remains unchanged. I would ask my colleague if he has truly taken into consideration Quebec's existing laws. Again, it is as though we do not even exist. I will refresh my colleague's memory. In 1995, the National…
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Mr. Chair, I commend my colleague on his speech. We understand the NDP's position on the ceasefire and the humanitarian corridor. I would like my colleague to tell us what solution he is currently proposing. Does Israel currently have the tools it needs to resolve the conflict? What concrete measures does the member propose to spare civilians and put an end to the conflict as quickly as possible?
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