Parliamentary Speeches
412 speeches by Maxime Blanchette-Joncas — Page 8 of 9
Government Orders
Madam Speaker, I think the debate is taking an unhealthy turn, and that is not what the Bloc Québécois wants today. We are asking that the primary criterion for the recruitment of candidates for Canada research chairs be excellence. The best example I can give is this. The policies of Quebec universities have achieved greater representation for women without any federal government meddling. We rec…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Madam Speaker, I think that my colleague from Winnipeg North misunderstood my speech. The debate is not about the importance of diversity. We recognize the need for diversity, inclusion and, of course, equity. What we are saying is that the basic criterion that must take precedence when selecting candidates for Canada Research Chairs is excellence. This criterion should not be based on identity, w…
Read full speech →Government Orders
moved: That: (a) the House denounce all forms of discrimination; (b) in the opinion of the House, (i) research is necessary for the advancement of science and society in general, (ii) access to the Canada Research Chairs Program must be based on the candidates’ skills and qualifications; and (c) the House call on the government to review the program's criteria to ensure that grants are awarded bas…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Madam Speaker, I thank my colleague for her speech. I would like to ask the minister a question. The government says it recognizes the decline of French in Canada and Quebec, especially in Montreal. However, this bill would give people in Quebec the choice to speak English or French. Quebec is the only place where the official language is French, yet the government wants to give people the choice …
Read full speech →Government Orders
Madam Speaker, if it is so obvious, I invite my colleague to support our bill. I clearly explained in my speech that the Official Languages Act will take precedence over the Charter of the French Language. The language of business for us in Quebec is French; the common language is French; and the only official language is French. We do not want the application of another law, the Official Language…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Madam Speaker, we must never say never. I would like to congratulate my colleague on his work at the Standing Committee on Official Languages, and I thank him for what he does. Right now, the bill does not suit Quebec or the Bloc Québécois. Is it possible to make it better? Are there positive things in it? In both cases, the answer is yes. However, this bill, as it stands now, does not protect the…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Madam Speaker, I am pleased today to speak to Bill C-13, which is particularly important to the Bloc Québécois. Today's strategy from the Liberals, supported by the NDP, was to move time allocation on a bill that is vital to protecting French in Quebec as well as in the rest of Canada. Bill C‑13, which is currently under consideration, represents the culmination of efforts to modernize the Officia…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Madam Speaker, I am hoping the minister can explain something to me. How will bilingualism ensure the equality of French and English? That has been the very objective of the Official Languages Act since it was created. How can the minister explain that outside Quebec only 6% of anglophones are bilingual, whereas in Quebec almost 40% of francophones are bilingual? It seems that bilingualism only ex…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Madam Speaker, we do not need the federal government to protect French in Quebec. Quebec is charge of its own language policy. It is that simple. The federal government says that its bill contains positive elements for minority francophones outside Quebec. However, both the Government of Quebec and the National Assembly of Quebec agree that federally regulated private businesses should be subject …
Read full speech →Government Orders
Madam Speaker, I listened carefully to my colleague's speech. I think we can all agree with some of the things he said, including, of course, maintaining the number of seats in Quebec. However, I would like to draw his attention to the concept of political weight, that is, the percentage of seats among all other seats in Canada. This was ably explained by my colleague from Avignon—La Mitis—Matane—…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Madam Speaker, I would like to begin by congratulating my colleague on her wonderful speech. The Bloc Québécois supports Bill C-11. The Broadcasting Act has not been updated since 1991, and that is more than 30 years ago. Obviously, broadcasting on the various platforms has constantly evolved in that 30-plus years. I would like my colleague to tell me about the importance of francophone content in…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, I just listened to my colleague's speech, in which he talked about the need for housing, which is pressing in Quebec and especially in my riding. The vacancy rate in the city of Rimouski is 0.2% right now, and that is unprecedented. The city has the fourth-worst rate in Quebec. The national housing strategy announced by the Liberal government in 2017 allocated $40 billion over 10 year…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, I listened to my colleague from London North Centre. One thing that is missing from this budget is help for seniors. There is absolutely nothing. On page 188, it says that seniors are not doing so badly and are not really living in poverty. However, I would remind my colleague that last August, during a totally useless election campaign, the Prime Minister promised seniors he would in…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, health care does not seem to be on the Conservatives' radar until they get on the campaign trail. I did not hear the word “health” once in my colleague's speech. That said, I did hear some interesting things, I must admit. Health does not appear anywhere in the budget, as it stands. There is nothing about health transfers for the next five years. However, that was a unanimous request …
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, it is one thing for the government to oppose any proposal from the Bloc Québécois and to accuse us of bad intentions, but can it keep ignoring the fact that many members, including some Liberals, have said they are not comfortable with using exclusion as a way to be more inclusive? That is exactly what the member for Louis-Hébert did yesterday when he called for changes to the federal…
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, yesterday, the Bloc Québécois presented a motion stating that excluding some candidates from holding university research chairs was not the right way to foster inclusion and diversity in our institutions. The motion was rejected. In principle, this decision is debatable. However, by imposing the same quota for university research chairs in Quebec as in other parts of Canada, the gover…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Madam Speaker, my colleague from Calgary Shepard said some interesting things in his speech, in particular that this makes sense. What does not make sense is the pattern of institutionalization of the francophone minority, in particular Quebec, that we have seen since Quebec, formerly known as Lower Canada, was integrated into the Canadian Confederation. Back in 1867, Quebec's representation was 3…
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, there have been consultations among the parties, and I think you will find unanimous consent for the following motion: That the House recognize that inclusion and diversity must be encouraged within our institutions; that exclusion is not a method of inclusion; and that this House call on the government to revise the federal criteria for research chairs to prevent exclusion in job pos…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Madam Speaker, we all know the old adage that history repeats itself. I would like to refresh the memory of my colleague from Portneuf—Jacques-Cartier, who today is praising the Conservative Party for its defence of bilingualism and its efforts to protect French in Canada. The first thing the Harper government did when it came to power in 2006 was to make cuts to the court challenges program. That…
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, the government says its decisions are evidence-based, but when the government funds research, it tells science what criteria to look at. That is risky. Science is neutral, objective and apolitical. Those are the conditions that make scientific progress possible and improve the human condition everywhere without discrimination. Does the government acknowledge that criteria imposed by t…
Read full speech →Statements By Members
Madam Speaker, I am thrilled to rise today in the House to share my pride in my region. For the third time in 10 years, the Université du Québec à Rimouski has ranked number one among the top Canadian research universities in its class. UQAR was founded just 50 years ago, but it quickly set itself apart by concentrating on three areas of research excellence that reflect issues of local importance:…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Madam Speaker, I listened to the speech by my colleague from Huron—Bruce. He estimated that Canada had thrown out tens or even hundreds of millions of dollars' worth of vaccines. Many large biopharmaceutical companies and research labs used to be located in Canada, particularly in Quebec and in the greater Montreal area. Canada is the only G7 country that did not manufacture any vaccines, in large…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, on the subject of prudence, I have a few suggestions for my colleague, the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Health. Calling an election in the middle of a pandemic is not very prudent. Making mandatory vaccination of federal employees an ideological issue right at the start of a pointless election campaign was not very prudent either, and it certainly did not encourage compl…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague from Montcalm for his speech and the essential work that he does for the Bloc Québécois on the very important health file. I, too, am going to talk about the Conservative Party's motion, which calls on the government to immediately lift all federal vaccine mandates. I will not keep members in suspense for very long. I can say right now that my Bloc Québécois colle…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague from Mirabel for his question. We would be working on all kinds of things, such as an upcoming budget. The government did not present a budget for two years, which was unprecedented. We would certainly be working on the record inflation rates that are affecting all Quebeckers and Canadians. We would certainly be working on improving working conditions in our healt…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, I thank my hon. colleague for his invitation to comment. Just because health measures are lifted or the Canadian government decides to go in another direction, it does not mean this will have any influence or significant impact on what neighbouring countries, particularly the United States, decide to do. I would add that the Liberal government prides itself on being a strong advocate …
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, extraordinary times call for extraordinary measures. Is it unreasonable to want to protect people who use certain means of transportation? I do not think so. This is about trying to protect people. I think what is unreasonable is calling for the removal of measures without taking the science into account, especially when case numbers are going up and people expect the government to ke…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Madam Speaker, I thank my colleague from Thornhill for her speech. The Bloc Québécois obviously stands with the people of Ukraine. The Conservative Party does as well. The Conservative Party also supports economic sanctions, but today we learned that there are allies of Russian President Vladimir Putin here in Canada. These are people who have shares in the oil industry. These are people who suppl…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Madam Speaker, as we know, things move quickly in politics, and that can cause confusion. A former Liberal leader wants to run in the Conservative leadership race. Now, we have learned that, according to the Liberals and the member for Winnipeg North, the Conservative motion is no good because it seeks to build a pipeline to export natural gas to Europe. Can my colleague from Winnipeg North explai…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Chair, I thank my colleague for her speech. We know Canada and its allies have shut Russian banks out of the SWIFT network. However, some banks have yet to be removed from the system. What is the government's plan to remove all Russian banks from the SWIFT system?
Read full speech →Private Members' Business
Mr. Speaker, I would first like to express my solidarity with the people of Ukraine and let them know that my thoughts are with them. Slava Ukraini. Heroyam Slava. I rise today to speak to Motion No. 44 moved by my colleague from Surrey Centre. The motion deals with permanent residency for temporary foreign workers. My colleague's motion deserves special attention because it pertains to immigratio…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Chair, I thank my colleague from Mount Royal for his speech. I listened carefully to my colleague and I heard him say the word “cybersecurity”. In the past few days, Aluminerie Alouette, which is based in Sept-Îles, was the victim of an attack and it is suspected that Russia was involved. Is the government prepared to face this type of attacks? What will it do in future?
Read full speech →Government Orders
Madam Chair, I want to acknowledge my colleague from Saint-Hyacinthe—Bagot, who might be watching right now. I also want to congratulate the member for Surrey Centre for his speech. Today he moved a motion to facilitate the immigration process for temporary residents or international students. Thousands, or even millions, of people will be forced to flee the ravages of war. What does my colleague …
Read full speech →Orders of the Day
Mr. Speaker, I will share my time with the member for Abitibi—Témiscamingue. This crucial debate is not to be taken lightly. It was prompted by an event that will go down in the history of the Canadian federation, though not as one of its most glorious moments. Let me say off the top that I am against the use of the Emergencies Act as set out in the orders, and I am definitely against its use in Q…
Read full speech →Orders of the Day
Mr. Speaker, thank you for letting me continue after that interruption. As we all know, questions and comments come after members' speeches, so I will pick up where I left off. After trying nothing at all, how can the Prime Minister claim that we now need to use a legislative atomic bomb? What happened between February 11, when he was saying that the Ontario Provincial Police had all the resources…
Read full speech →Orders of the Day
Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for Winnipeg North for his question. I was very clear in my speech: There are no grounds for invoking the Emergencies Act. The government has not proven there are any grounds. How is it that the blockades at Fort Erie and the Ambassador Bridge were removed without the Emergencies Act? Why does Ottawa currently need the Emergencies Act? What is the legal void? If s…
Read full speech →Orders of the Day
Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for his question. The Deputy Prime Minister said that the Emergencies Act would make it possible to freeze protesters' bank accounts or stop illegal funding. That is not true, however. The existing Proceeds of Crime (Money Laundering) and Terrorist Financing Act already provides for that. This act allows financial institutions to freeze funds that are either obtai…
Read full speech →Orders of the Day
Mr. Speaker, my colleague spoke about correct information, and I love information, but what I love most are laws. There are laws already in place that provide for blockades to be removed. The Emergencies Act will not magically allow for all blockades to be removed. Police forces already have the tools and skills to do so. The Bloc Québécois understands that a piece of legislation can be insufficie…
Read full speech →Orders of the Day
Mr. Speaker, we are all familiar with the saying “do as I say, not as I do”. That is what the Liberals are doing right now. It is important for them to have polls to back them up so they can justify resorting to the Emergencies Act. The member for Châteauguay—Lacolle said earlier that over 70% of Quebeckers support its use. However, she forgot to mention that only 347 people were surveyed for the …
Read full speech →Orders of the Day
Mr. Speaker, my take-away from my colleague from Timmins—James Bay's speech is that he supports the Emergencies Act because there is a national crisis. Oddly enough, some former NDP MPs disagree. I would like to quote two former MPs, Svend Robinson and Erin Weir, whose statements appeared in an article published on February 18 in the National Post. Svend Robinson stated that the NDP caucus in 1970…
Read full speech →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 →Government Orders
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…
Read full speech →Government Orders
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…
Read full speech →Government Orders
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…
Read full speech →Government Orders
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 →Government Orders
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…
Read full speech →Statements by Members
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 →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…
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 →