Statements by Members
Mr. Speaker, it is official: Quebec has its own Leonardo da Vinci. I am talking about Jérôme Dupras, a researcher, professor, musician, and now, Quebec's chief scientist. That is right, the bass player for the Cowboys Fringants, who is also an economic and ecological specialist and professor at the Université du Québec en Outaouais, was appointed chief scientist of Quebec. This great man, whose he…
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Mr. Speaker, the event of the year is the Liberals' climate betrayal. Their record includes the pipeline agreement with Alberta. It includes ending environmental impact assessments. It includes pipelines and offshore drilling with no regard for protected areas or endangered species. It includes the member for Laurier—Sainte-Marie's resignation. It includes three young Canadians and two groups of e…
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Mr. Speaker, the minister's answer is embarrassing. The Liberals continue to veer off course. The consultation documents for Quebeckers on the decommissioning of the Gentilly-1 nuclear reactor are in English only. If Quebeckers want to get information from the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission, they have to read 600 pages in English only. That is so disrespectful. In fact, I filed a complaint tod…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, I thank my hon. colleague for his speech. The idea of public funding is really important. He said that Quebec does it. Canada did it at one time but does not do it now. Can he explain again how Canada could learn from what Quebec is doing in terms of public funding?
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Mr. Speaker, as the member for Repentigny, I can only echo the previous comments made by my colleague. There are three towns in the riding of Repentigny: Charlemagne, Repentigny, and L'Assomption. Saint-Sulpice used to be part of the riding. My colleague mentioned community of interest. Saint-Sulpice is part of the L'Assomption RCM. I agree with my colleague on the importance of fully understandin…
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Mr. Speaker, I would like to congratulate my hon. colleague on his speech. I would also like to congratulate the minister who introduced this bill. I would like to reiterate how important it is to the Bloc Québécois that we support this bill. We continue to support it, obviously, because a number of amendments that we considered essential have been made. We acknowledge the collaborative effort in …
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Mr. Speaker, one week after 300 mayors, civil society is now speaking out against the Liberals' pro-oil stance. One hundred and twenty-two environmental groups, including 49 from Quebec, signed a letter today. They are here with a clear message: no new pipelines. They are saying no to any project that threatens the climate, endangered species, indigenous relations or the sovereignty of governments…
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Mr. Speaker, regarding the agreement with Alberta for a new pipeline, environmental groups are pointing out that we have seen this movie before. It is called “Trans Mountain”. Taxpayers paid nearly $40 billion for a new pipeline to transport dirty oil. In return, the oil sector made absolutely zero effort to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions. They actually rose sharply. Canada basically became a…
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Mr. Speaker, we were wondering why the Liberals did not have the courage to criticize the Prime Minister's climate record. The Toronto Star explains it. According to Liberal elected officials, the Prime Minister is literally yelling at his MPs when they tell him things he does not want to hear. They are not allowed to question him. They are not allowed to write to him either. Are the Liberal membe…
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Mr. Speaker, as wildfire season approaches, today, 300 mayors are calling the Prime Minister out on his climate record and his shift toward the oil sector. Representatives of half the population are telling the Prime Minister that if he wants to build the country, as he claims, he first has to make sure not to burn it down. We already know that the Prime Minister wants nothing to do with environme…
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Mr. Speaker, the Liberals just keep backtracking on the fight against climate change, to the point where the outgoing MP for Laurier—Sainte-Marie has come to the worst possible conclusion. Speaking on QUB radio, he said: “We're going to see that, with the backtracking there's been this year, the United States under Donald Trump is doing more to tackle climate change than Canada is.” By the end of …
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Mr. Speaker, on Thursday, in committee, the Liberals proved that they did not calculate how all their backtracking is affecting the achievement of their climate targets. They do not have the numbers. The so-called “green banker” did not even take the time to calculate the harm this backtracking would cause. The outgoing member for Laurier—Sainte-Marie believes that, when we look at these numbers, …
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, today I want to heartily commend the member for Laurier—Sainte‑Marie, the former minister of environment and heritage, for his public service. I am even taking the unusual liberty of addressing him by name, Steven, this one last time. He and I have known each other for 25 years. Back then, he was with Greenpeace. He had long hair and a longer beard, but with fewer grey hairs. He enjoy…
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Mr. Speaker, CTV News reported that the member for Laurier—Sainte-Marie is considering leaving the Liberals this week, and the Minister of Industry is giving him a reason to do so. She is defending the Liberal's shift to oil by saying that we are in a global energy crisis that is affecting gas prices. First, a new pipeline ten years from now will have no impact on the price of gas today. Second, d…
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Mr. Speaker, the Minister of the Environment, Climate Change and Nature is clearly no stranger to greenwashing. The Prime Minister's climate betrayal will cost him the member for Laurier—Sainte-Marie. However, there are still about 15 Liberals who believe the Prime Minister is concerned about the environment. They wrote him a short letter saying they are concerned about the pipeline deal. The real…
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Mr. Speaker, it is official: The Prime Minister is an environmental sellout. It has been announced that a new dirty oil pipeline will be built as early as 2027. This is a pipeline that could violate environmental laws and endanger species at risk. The environmental assessment for this pipeline will be carried out by the Canada Energy Regulator in Calgary, and the Prime Minister will even be able t…
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Mr. Speaker, when it comes to selling out on the environment, the Prime Minister is taking things farther than Stephen Harper. We are not the ones saying it. The Liberal member for Laurier—Sainte-Marie says it, and he is not alone. About 15 Liberals have written to the Prime Minister to express their uneasiness with the shift to oil and gas. About 15 Liberals reminded him that climate change is th…
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Mr. Speaker, Radio-Canada reports that the Liberals are set to dismantle the entire regulatory framework governing pipelines. They had already passed Bill C-5, which suspends nearly all existing laws, but that was not enough. Now, they are going to limit environmental assessments to a single federal review, which always says yes. Now, they are going to restrict consultations as well. We are saying…
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Mr. Speaker, it is ridiculous that the Liberals are using pipelines to fight climate change. According to Radio-Canada, later this week, the Liberals will be announcing that they intend to scrap the regulatory framework for pipelines. That is good timing, given that Danielle Smith will be in town tomorrow for a far-right convention. Who would have thought that the Liberals would get a standing ova…
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Mr. Speaker, as I understand it, this issue was not brought up in parliamentary committee, where it could have been discussed. Instead, it was brought directly here to the House. Could my hon. colleague explain why no steps were taken to address the matter in committee?
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Mr. Speaker, my colleague just mentioned Alto's high-speed train project. The government has given itself the power to disregard expropriation laws, which is clearly a big problem. People are being threatened with expropriation. The issue we are talking about today, the court decision at least, seems to touch on home values and project funding. Can my hon. colleague go into more detail about why s…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, ever since the Liberals secured a new majority, thanks in part to Conservative floor crossers, their attitude has changed in committee. They have been holding in camera meetings, shutting down debate and refusing to allow for a thorough study of the issues. This is truly the antithesis of the parliamentary co-operation that our constituents expect. Our Conservative colleagues have men…
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Mr. Speaker, the government is being rather arrogant, and I think we need to call it out. The Liberals have had several of the amendments from the Standing Committee on National Defence struck down. They were important amendments. After securing a majority thanks to the floor crossers, the government decided to completely sideline all of the committee's work, even though the general election produ…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, as I mentioned earlier, there is officially a new dynamic at play, and the government is being rather arrogant, or blatantly arrogant, even. There is no longer any point in speaking in committee because we are not getting any answers. There is a new government that secured a majority with the help of defectors, including an NDP MP. Among other things, this MP was one of the lawmakers …
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Mr. Speaker, I want to hear my colleague's thoughts on the government's attitude. The government did not win a majority in the election, yet, thanks to floor crossers, it is laying claim to all the work done over several days in committee by the members who heard from witnesses. There were amendments to which my Conservative colleagues contributed in order to improve this bill. Now we have a gover…
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Mr. Speaker, the Liberals claim that producing more oil will have no environmental impact thanks to carbon capture and storage. In their economic update, however, they have transformed their miracle solution into a new problem. They are expanding their carbon storage tax credit to include enhanced oil recovery. That means injecting CO2 into the ground to pump more dirty oil out. They want us to pa…
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
Mr. Speaker, I am tabling today in the House the supplementary report of the Bloc Québécois, which aims to build on the ambition of the main report tabled on the plan to reduce—
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
Mr. Speaker, I seek unanimous consent to table our supplementary report.
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
Mr. Speaker, I am tabling this supplementary report from the Bloc Québécois in the House today to try to make the main report on the study of the 2030 emissions reduction plan more ambitious. These reports are the result of the Standing Committee on Environment and Sustainable Development's first study in this Parliament, a study that was proposed by the Bloc Québécois. We proposed this study to r…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, this new fund is clearly a federal gimmick to take public money and invest it in projects such as major LNG projects. The government has already identified some projects. There is also a major pipeline project that the government wants to pursue. However, the investments would not be limited to major projects, but would also go towards all the companies and projects that have already …
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Mr. Speaker, I asked the hon. member for Kings—Hants a question about the fact that this fund will finance oil and gas projects, even as we face challenges related to climate change. Climate change does not really worry him, though. He says it does, but he did not answer the question. My question was clear. Does my hon. colleague agree with the government taking $25 billion of public money and usi…
Read full speech →Private Members' Business
Madam Speaker, every day, we are reminded of the importance of doing our part to help the environment, but sometimes, in our daily lives, we can feel powerless. There was a time when a refrigerator would last three generations. I still have my dad's good old Shop-Vac, and it still works. Today, things could not be more different. A person may go through several vacuum cleaners in their lifetime, b…
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
Mr. Speaker, unfortunately, once again, nothing new is being proposed for developing renewable energy, clean energy and public transit. However, new subsidies for oil and gas are being proposed. The government is even going so far as to expand subsidies for carbon storage in order to allow oil companies to drill and produce more oil from the oil sands. The government is now providing $14.5 billion…
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
Mr. Speaker, the Leader of the Opposition often talks about corporate welfare. I would like to hear him talk about the additional oil and gas subsidies provided in this economic update. The government is now spending $14.5 billion on carbon capture and sequestration and has expanded the tax credit to allow more oil production. That makes it a direct subsidy for oil production. LNG projects qualify…
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, the Minister of Natural Resources confirmed last week that he wants to invest $10 billion in government funds in a new dirty oil pipeline, on top of the $34 billion for the Trans Mountain pipeline. Today, the Liberals are announcing their plans to create a sovereign wealth fund, another gimmick for investing public money in energy and pipelines. Are there no limits to the amount of de…
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Mr. Speaker, the Liberals are on a catastrophic collision course when it comes to fighting climate change. They are all about “drill, baby, drill”. They just approved Enbridge's Sunrise pipeline, yet another pipeline on top of Trans Mountain, Coastal GasLink and plenty of others. It does not stop there. They even want to build another pipeline in western Canada, on top of Keystone XL. Even the Har…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, there are good things in this bill. Obviously, we want to improve it, including with regard to party financing. The Bloc Québécois once introduced a bill to reinstate public party financing and lower the limit on personal donations to ensure that parties are not funded purely by the wealthiest individuals, a practice that often grants them privileged access. Why does the government no…
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Mr. Speaker, the Liberals' descent into an ecological abyss continues. This morning, they approved the expansion of yet another gas project in western Canada. They announced Sunrise, an Enbridge pipeline designed to export shale gas produced through hydraulic fracturing. Instead of developing clean energy and reducing dependence on dirty energy, like other countries are doing, Canada is using the …
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Mr. Speaker, I would like to hear from my hon. colleague concerning the main point, that being our proposal to reinstate public funding for political parties. What we currently see are very high caps on financial contributions to political parties. Obviously, not everyone can afford to contribute so much. Our point is that this opens the door to the appearance of a conflict of interest or privileg…
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Mr. Speaker, the Liberal member for Laurier—Sainte‑Marie wrote in La Presse that he fears his government is abandoning all of its net-zero goals. His Prime Minister is trying to impose another dirty oil pipeline in western Canada without meeting any of his own conditions. There is no increase in industrial carbon pricing and no protection for our water, and the methane and clean electricity regula…
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Mr. Speaker, the Liberals' nature strategy is to build more pipelines. The rumours are so serious that, last Thursday, the MP for Laurier—Sainte-Marie said he had confidence in his government despite its backtracking on climate action. However, today he wrote: “Any further compromise...would not only undermine Canada's climate commitments...but also risk causing irreversible damage to human health…
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Mr. Speaker, after promising to co-operate and seek the views of opposition MPs in a fair manner, the first move by this now-majority government was to unilaterally change the rules of the game without consulting the Bloc Québécois. The Liberals are even going against parliamentary tradition, which dictates that the composition of committees should be determined by consensus. What we are seeing ri…
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Mr. Speaker, today is Earth Day, and we have a message. To everyone who still believes in climate change: Do not give up; keep up the fight. We do not have to accept a new pipeline out west. We do not have to accept that Canada is giving up on reducing greenhouse gases. We certainly do not have to accept that the Liberals are giving billions of dollars of our money to the oil and gas companies, in…
Read full speech →Statements by Members
Mr. Speaker, April 22 is Earth Day. In Quebec, Earth Day is more than a celebration: it is a day of action. In 2012, more than 250,000 people took to the streets throughout Quebec. Individuals, young people, families turned out to protect what we hold most dear: our planet. Those voices have not disappeared, but they have been ignored, just like the billions of people threatened by the climate cri…
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Mr. Speaker, I would like to start by saying that the Bloc Québécois does not support the Conservative Party's motion. In fact, by moving yet another motion on the auto sector, the Conservatives are unfortunately confusing the interests of Ontarians with the interests of Quebeckers. They are also protecting the interests of Canadian auto manufacturers, which are lagging behind internationally comp…
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Mr. Speaker, in our view, the Conservatives' proposal is utterly backward. Quebec is a leader in transportation electrification, and it needs the federal government's support. That means implementing ambitious measures, but the government's latest auto strategy is not ambitious, unfortunately. In terms of targets, it is not enough. There is also absolutely nothing in it about medium- and heavy-dut…
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Mr. Speaker, there are currently 130,000 jobs in the electric mobility sector in this country and many of those jobs are in Quebec. That number is expected to triple by 2035. Quebec does not manufacture gas-powered vehicles. It manufactures electric buses, light-duty electric trucks, heavy-duty electric trucks, trains and streetcars. Quebec can do that and is interested in developing the component…
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Mr. Speaker, Quebec has everything to gain from quickly moving away from oil and gas. Over $10 billion per year is leaving Quebec on oil purchases alone. Ontario, Saskatchewan, Alberta, the Conservatives, oil companies and auto manufacturers are all working against electrification. We hope that this government will stand up and propose measures to help Quebec break free of oil and gas, rather than…
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Mr. Speaker, I would like to add to what my colleague said earlier. We share some concerns about things like agriculture and meat. My Bloc Québécois colleague proposed an amendment in committee that would essentially have required the bill to be conditional on a sanitary and phytosanitary agreement with the U.K. to ensure that Canadian meat can get into the U.K. Can my colleague explain why his pa…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, I would like my colleague to talk about the investor-state dispute settlement, which, among other things, allows investors to sue states directly before an international tribunal. In the North American Free Trade Agreement, there was a provision in Chapter 11 that was removed when the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement was renewed in 2020. This chapter was abolished so that multina…
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