Parliamentary Speeches
432 speeches by Maxime Blanchette-Joncas — Page 7 of 9
Government Orders
Madam Speaker, it is always a pleasure to listen to my colleague from Mégantic—L'Érable. I very much appreciated some of what he had to say. Under the Canadian Constitution, family policies fall under the jurisdiction of Quebec and the provinces. The Bloc Québécois did not make that up. The federal government knows nothing about any of that, but as my colleague mentioned, Quebec has 25 years of ex…
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Madam Speaker, I listened closely to my colleague from York Centre's speech. I am glad the federal government recognizes the importance of the child care system. We all know Quebec pioneered it over 25 years ago—not 5, 10, 15 or 20 years ago, but 25. It is a good thing the federal government is now recognizing, in 2023, the importance of having a child care system. What I am wondering, however, is…
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Mr. Speaker, I salute my colleague and commend her on her speech. Bill C-18, which was introduced by the Minister of Canadian Heritage, sets out which major platforms will have to negotiate with local and regional news businesses so that they get their fair share. It is important to understand that the web giants are taking content from regional and local media outlets and sharing it on their plat…
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Mr. Speaker, yesterday, Quebec's National Assembly passed a unanimous motion on academic freedom: THAT [the National Assembly] reiterate that promoting greater representation of under-represented target groups must always happen in a context of equal qualifications; THAT it denounce the interference of the federal government, which funds research chair programs according to certain criteria that d…
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Mr. Speaker, this is not about money, it is about criteria. The research chair funding criteria no longer have anything to do with research. The nature of the research itself no longer counts. What counts is the nature of the researcher, assessed against the following criteria: skin colour, ethnic origin, gender, sexual orientation and disability. The last person anyone wants as a researcher is an…
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Mr. Speaker, I congratulate my colleague on his speech, which I listened to carefully. He mentioned certain government expenditures, of course. During the pandemic, the government spent a lot of money, but one expenditure had the support of all the parties except the Bloc Québécois. That was the wage subsidy for businesses. The Conservative Party, which raised millions in contributions from its me…
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Mr. Speaker, I listened closely to the speech by my colleague from Saint‑Boniface—Saint-Vital. Obviously, what I got out of his speech is that he wants to eliminate all forms of racism against Canada's first nations. There is something I would like my colleague to tell me. Is he prepared to abolish the Indian Act? The Minister of Crown-Indigenous Relations said over a year ago that it is unaccepta…
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Mr. Speaker, I congratulate my colleague for his speech. Some important people were overlooked in the government's economic statement. I am referring mainly to seniors. The worst inflation crisis in 40 years has left them vulnerable. According to a study released last week by the Association québécoise de défense des droits des personnes retraitées et préretraitées, an organization that advocates …
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Mr. Speaker, I listened to my colleague from Louis-Saint-Laurent's speech, and we disagree on some things. First, I think he is generalizing when he says that only young people benefited from the CERB. That is not true. I want to see his data. I do not agree with him. Second, my colleague talked about government spending. We agree on that, but I think he has forgotten about one expenditure, namely…
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Madam Speaker, I am excited to speak to Bill C-32 today, the bill to implement the economic statement introduced by the Liberal government. The bill contains 25 tax measures and about 10 other non-tax measures. This may seem like a lot, but a closer look at these measures reveals that they are twofold: minor legislative amendments, and measures that were announced in the spring 2022 budget that we…
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Madam Speaker, the comments from the member for Winnipeg North are giving me a feeling of déjà vu. Giving Quebeckers the health care system they expect requires adequate financial support, but this government is not offering that. The Prime Minister made a commitment in 2020 to address the situation after the pandemic and to sit down with Quebec and the provinces to negotiate health transfers. Thi…
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Madam Speaker, the few seconds I have will not be enough to list the many problems my constituents are having with federal services. Take immigration. It is unbelievable how much time my team and I spend dealing with immigration issues every week. People are having to take days off so they can attempt to reach Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada staff for updates on their applications. Th…
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Madam Speaker, we understand the member for Winnipeg North's point. Health transfers are not a gift that we are asking Ottawa for. We want our fair share of our money. This money comes from Quebeckers and the provinces. The federal government does not invent this money—
Read full speech →Statements by Members
Mr. Speaker, today I want to acknowledge the works of Victor‑Lévy Beaulieu, a giant of Quebec literature and a proud resident of Trois‑Pistoles. Last month, Mr. Beaulieu was selected to receive the Prix de la langue française, one of the highest honours awarded to a writer in the entire Francophonie. He is the first Quebecker in history to receive this honourable distinction. A man of many talents…
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Madam Speaker, I listened carefully to the speech by my colleague from Winnipeg North. The Bloc Québécois is obviously in favour of Bill C‑29 and is a strong supporter of nation-to-nation relations with the first peoples. My colleague from Winnipeg North mentioned that there is still a lot to do. Yes, there is still a lot to do for there to be true reconciliation with first nations. I am referring…
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Madam Speaker, I listened carefully to the speech by my colleague from Outremont. As we know, the road to hell is paved with good intentions. I would therefore like to understand what my colleague and her government truly think about the Indian Act. How can her government claim to be relying on Bill C‑29 to embark on a true reconciliation process without talking about the possibility of replacing …
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Mr. Speaker, I am honoured to recognize that the Quebec Student Union is on the Hill today. These students have come here to share their ideas on how we can help them deal with inflation and the challenges of the post-pandemic world. On behalf of the Bloc Québécois, I would like to welcome them. We hear a lot about how inflation is affecting people on fixed incomes, but graduate students, whose li…
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Mr. Speaker, the Bloc Québécois is obviously in favour of Bill C‑20, which will introduce mechanisms, that is, an independent organization, to handle complaints. Several years ago, in 2004, there was the Arar case that made it clear we needed an independent organization. In 2022, there are still complaint management mechanisms and organizations that are not independent. There is some independent o…
Read full speech →Private Members' Business
Madam Speaker, this morning I have the privilege of rising to speak to Bill C-249 on the cryptoasset sector, which was introduced by my Conservative Party colleagues. This bill seeks to require the Minister of Finance to develop a national framework to encourage the growth of the cryptoasset sector within three years after the coming into force of the act. The bill states that, in developing the f…
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Mr. Speaker, I listened carefully to my colleague's speech. He spoke about many things, but he forgot some important things. He forgot to mention seniors, the most vulnerable in our society. Once again, we do not understand why the Liberal government continues to discriminate against seniors. It did so in August 2021 when it magically came up with $500 cheques to send to people aged 75 and over. A…
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Madam Speaker, I congratulate my colleague on his speech, which I listened to carefully. We understand that the Conservative Party's strategy is to not raise taxes and to reduce investments. I have another solution to suggest to my colleague. The government could make cuts in unnecessary areas. I would start with subsidies to oil and gas companies. As everyone knows, Canada is a world champion in …
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Madam Speaker, I listened closely to my colleague's speech. We disagree on so many things, but there is one thing we do agree on. In Canada, Quebec and the provinces are of one mind when it comes to increasing health transfers. This sanctimonious government, which professes to be doing good things in certain areas, such as health, but is not capable of doing anything good in areas that are actuall…
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Madam Speaker, I thank my colleague for his speech. It is always very interesting to listen to him. As he mentioned, the issue of transparency seems to be in the Liberal Party's DNA. I can certainly recall some of the scandals, such as the sponsorship scandal. More recently, public confidence in the institution and in the Liberal Party was shaken again because of the WE scandal. That $900-million …
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Mr. Speaker, back home in Rimouski-Neigette—Témiscouata—Les Basques, the housing situation is serious. Rimouski is one of the towns in Quebec that has been hit especially hard by the housing crisis. The vacancy rate is 0.2%. People are being pushed into homelessness. They no longer have a roof over their head. It is extremely serious and I am very worried about it. I would say to my colleague that…
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Mr. Speaker, it is with great pleasure that I rise to speak to Bill C-31, which we are debating today. The principle of the bill is very important, but the execution is very poor. I will explain why this bill is bad for Quebec and also discriminates against Quebeckers. The bill has several components. I will address the first one, the dental benefit, but I will first put forward the Bloc Québécois…
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Mr. Speaker, we will repeat it as many times as it takes to get through to my colleague from Winnipeg North: We agree with the principle of the bill. It is just poorly put together. Is my colleague from Winnipeg North okay with telling Quebeckers that they will be getting $70 million less? Is that a fair and equitable public program? Why is Quebec going to get less than the other provinces just be…
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Mr. Speaker, what we should be supporting is the idea that the federal government should mind its own business, as the Canadian Dental Association has asked. It needs to stop creating programs that rush cheques out just to shore up shaky agreements. That is not what Quebeckers want. They want real programs. During my speech, I said that this is a temporary program. It is not a universal program, a…
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Mr. Speaker, today is the 21st Quebec Marine Day, a day to recognize and celebrate the marine industry's many contributions to our collective well-being. The marine industry is a true economic engine, directly and indirectly employing nearly 25,000 workers in Quebec. They work tirelessly from one end of the mighty St. Lawrence Seaway to the other, transporting the goods consumed by millions of Nor…
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
Madam Speaker, I thank and congratulate my colleague from Trois-Rivières for his excellent speech. His speeches are always interesting and teach us something. The tone of his speech differs from some others we may hear in the House when there is disagreement. My colleague mentioned respect and dialogue. He also talked about the fact that the government primarily relies on communication and posts o…
Read full speech →Private Members' Business
Mr. Speaker, it is my privilege this evening to speak to Bill C-253. I will try to summarize it for the people who are watching and listening. This is a bill designed to make the Bank of Canada, that is, the central bank, accountable to the Office of the Auditor General. It is no surprise that the Bloc Québécois is opposed to this bill. I will explain why. As we know, the bill introduced by the Co…
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Madam Speaker, before I begin my speech, I would like to congratulate everyone who participated in Quebec's general election. As everyone knows, yesterday was election day in Quebec. I would like to congratulate the two new MNAs I will be working with in my riding. I also want to congratulate all the people who took part in yesterday's great democratic process. Their participation is important to …
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Madam Speaker, it is good to have a targeted measure for people who are truly in need, low-income Canadians and the most vulnerable. My colleague mentioned the central bank. I think that it is also important to point out that we must reaffirm our confidence in our institutions. That is very important. We heard many things from a new party leader, in particular that he wanted to abolish Canada’s ce…
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Madam Speaker, I would like to thank my colleague for her very good question. In my riding of Rimouski, the vacancy rate is 0.2%. It is unprecedented. It is historic, and it is serious. We are awaiting federal government programs, and I could name one, the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation’s rapid housing initiative. The federal government announced $4 billion in the last budget, but so far …
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Madam Speaker, I do not completely agree with my colleague. I will explain my point of view in more detail. Obviously, it looks good to send a cheque to people in need, but there are different ways of doing things. We can improve the productivity of our businesses; we can improve the competitiveness of our businesses. Canada is among the countries with the least competitiveness. Canadians pay the …
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Mr. Speaker, I have a simple question for my colleague. Inflation was 6.9% in April when the government tabled its budget. The latest data show that it was 7% in August. Today, the government has suddenly woken up and decided to implement measures to counter inflation. My question is very simple: Why did the government wait five months after tabling the budget to propose concrete, meaningful measu…
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Mr. Speaker, I listened carefully to my colleague's speech. He made several references to wanting to help families. In Bill C‑30, the measure seeking to introduce a non-refundable tax credit to help the people who need it, that is, the most vulnerable and low-income Canadians, will cost the government $2.5 billion. In the last budget, the same government subsidized oil companies to the tune of $2.…
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Mr. Speaker, there is one thing the Conservative Party suggested to counter inflation: cryptocurrency. We learned in a recent Privy Council backgrounder that cryptocurrency offers no protection against inflationary shocks. This summer, cryptocurrency lost half of its value compared with the beginning of last year. I would like my colleague to explain why it is that his leader, the hon. member for …
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Mr. Speaker, I would like to congratulate my colleague from Northumberland—Peterborough South on his speech. I hold him in high regard as a colleague. I had the opportunity to work with him in the previous Parliament on the Standing Committee on Public Accounts. There are things in his speech that I agree with, and others that I do not agree with. I agree that this is too little too late. In the l…
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Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank my colleague for his speech. Inflation did not fall out of the sky like a hot summer rain. It is the result of several factors, including external factors. One of these factors is very important: the supply chain. It is important to understand that the war in Ukraine and the global pandemic disrupted the supply chain. Many of our companies rely on the availabilit…
Read full speech →Private Members' Business
It is indeed a matter for debate, Madam Speaker. Foolishness refers not to the individual but to their arguments. That said, I suppose that, when someone has nothing to say, they can talk about tax havens and point out that they are nowhere to be found in this bill, which focuses on domestic objectives. If the member would like me to go over and explain the bill to him, I would be pleased to do so…
Read full speech →Private Members' Business
Madam Speaker, I will give an introduction to set the record straight because I have heard a lot of things this evening, things that are bordering on a lie. I am not sure whether it is a failure to understand or whether it is deliberate, but I am going to set the record straight. First, I do not know if the member for Chicoutimi—Le Fjord is an unbridled sovereignist or if he is just pandering. He …
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Madam Speaker, I listened closely to my colleague's speech. If there is one thing the Conservatives are very good at, it is creating a diversion. They think that eliminating the carbon tax or the carbon tax increase will solve the whole inflation problem. The 70% figure quoted by the experts applies to inflation all over the world. To be precise, this means that the increase in inflation is not ju…
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Mr. Speaker, I want to congratulate my colleague from Saint‑Hyacinthe—Bagot on his speech. My question for him is the following. Back in December 2017, the Prime Minister announced the creation of an interim board of directors to make recommendations on the creation of a national council for reconciliation. The following year, in June 2018, another interim board of directors presented the minister…
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Mr. Speaker, I would first like to congratulate my colleague on her great work and on her speech. As members know, Quebec is the envy of many nations for its very strong social safety net. Obviously, the Bloc Québécois will certainly support any program that improves the lives of people with disabilities. My colleague from Thérèse-De Blainville already talked about the vagueness of the timelines. …
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Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize the strength, talent and perseverance of Rimouski-born weightlifting champion Maude Charron. Maude won an Olympic gold medal in Tokyo in 2021 and was named international athlete of the year at the Sports Québec gala held in June. A few weeks ago, she added to her impressive record when she dominated the 64-kilogram weight class at the Commonwealth Games. Not …
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Madam Speaker, I listened carefully to the speech given by my colleague, the Minister for Women and Gender Equality and Youth. She told us that lives are at stake. I completely agree with her, and the Bloc Québécois is definitely in favour of Bill C‑28. If lives are at stake, then my question is obvious: Why did they wait so long to introduce legislation? In R. v. Brown, which went to the Supreme …
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Mr. Speaker, I listened carefully to the speech by my colleague from Saanich—Gulf Islands. I would like her to explain something. On March 2, the Bloc Québécois moved a motion that my colleague supported. The motion sought to maintain Quebec's political weight and not have it lose a seat. The Bloc Québécois then presented Bill C‑246, which was along the same lines as the motion that my colleague s…
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, after two years without being able to travel, people are furious about passport wait times, and rightly so. The federal government has allowed the backlog to get out of control, and it has a duty to fix its own mistake. On Tuesday, the Bloc Québécois demanded that passport offices open on weekends and that there be no extra fee for people travelling within 48 hours. Tomorrow is Saturd…
Read full speech →Private Members' Business
Mr. Speaker, to begin, I would like to commend my colleague from Etobicoke North, whose motion we are studying today and who chairs the new Standing Committee on Science and Research. I am the vice-chair of that committee, so I have had the opportunity to work with her over the past few months, and I can say that, while we may not always agree, our interactions have always been very cordial, which…
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
Mr. Speaker, I listened carefully to the speech by my colleague from Brampton North. She made almost no reference to the motion we are currently debating, the request by the Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage to conduct consultations away from Parliament Hill. I am trying to understand my colleague's viewpoint. This Conservative Party motion does not really reflect what it wants for the Stand…
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