Parliamentary Speeches

Government Orders

Madam Speaker, we are against it because these are inflationary measures. Even Mark Carney said that Canada's inflation is domestically generated. As long as we are comparing ourselves to other countries, why not compare ourselves to countries such as Switzerland that do not have inflation? Should the government copy countries that are not handling things well, that are taking insignificant measur…

Government Orders

Madam Speaker, I thank my colleague for his many questions. We definitely need to find savings. Over the past two years, at least $205 billion has been spent on who knows what. Imagine all the auditing that needs to be done. I do not think that getting out of energy production is a good idea. We would end up buying foreign energy, which we are already doing too much of. Instead, we should be self-…

Government Orders

Madam Speaker, I thank my colleague for the question. There is a balance to everything. There needs to be balance when it comes to taxes, both for individuals and businesses. However, let us not forget that businesses are wealth creators. Without businesses, there are no jobs. We have to ensure that there is balance and no abuse. We also need to ensure that companies that make a profit reinvest in…

Oral Questions

Mr. Speaker, the Canadian Security Intelligence Service informed the Prime Minister that the Chinese communist regime had interfered in the 2019 and 2021 Canadian federal elections. This illegal interference included the clandestine financing of a network of at least 11 candidates, and no one was deported or criminally charged. The Prime Minister boasted to the media that his government had taken …

Oral Questions

Mr. Speaker, the threat is very real. For the first time in Canadian history, criminal charges were laid today against a Hydro-Québec employee who was sending industrial intelligence to the Chinese communist regime. However, Canadian intelligence officials have also said that the peril Canada faces if it chooses not to act on allegations of Chinese foreign interference is significant. Even Canada'…

Oral Questions

Mr. Speaker, the Bank of Canada aims to keep inflation at 2% of the consumer price index. The bank has failed to do that, but the Prime Minister is in no hurry to see inflation go back to its normal level because that would reduce his government's revenues. That explains why he is continuing with his inflationary spending and trying to raise taxes. Canadians are suffering because this Prime Minist…

Oral Questions

Mr. Speaker, actually, we are blaming all the measures that have been put in place by the Liberals over the last seven years. Because of those measures, we are now experiencing inflation the likes of which we have not seen in 40 years. Mark Carney, who could potentially be the future leader of the Liberal Party of Canada, said that inflation in Canada is domestically generated. This government cre…

Oral Questions

Mr. Speaker, I was in Montreal recently to meet with victims' groups, racialized community groups and police associations to talk about crime in the streets of Montreal. They are unanimous. Bill C-5 is a mistake. Doing away with mandatory sentences for gun crimes is a mistake. I am not the one saying it. It is all the groups that I met with. This does not make any sense. The bill is currently in t…

Oral Questions

Mr. Speaker, according to Equifax, non-mortgage debt is over $21,000 per consumer, and over 50% of Canadians are worried about not being able to pay their monthly bills. Over the past two years, the Prime Minister has spent over $200 billion on things that had nothing to do with the pandemic. That is equivalent to the federal income taxes of 27 million middle-class Canadians. Once again, will he c…

Oral Questions

Mr. Speaker, can my colleague explain why Canada's debt has surpassed $1 billion since the arrival of the Prime Minister in 2015? According to Desjardins, Canadian taxpayers will have to pay $49.5 billion in interest alone to service the debt. We have gotten to this point because of the Prime Minister's unjustified spending. For example, he cancelled the repayment of two multi-million dollar loans…

Oral Questions

Mr. Speaker, the Minister of Finance contradicted her Prime Minister when she said that the government would have to tighten its belt and rein in spending. Even Mark Carney, the man who wants to replace the Prime Minister, contradicted him when he said that inflation in Canada is a Liberal-made issue. Although the finance minister wants to rein in spending, she is being pressured by the NDP and th…

Oral Questions

Mr. Speaker, we will always vote for what is best for Canadians. Every time the Liberals present measures that create economic problems, as we are seeing now, inflation rears its head. Interest rates have had to be raised because of the inflation created by the Liberals' spending in various areas. The Parliamentary Budget Officer confirmed that of the $500 billion spent in two years, $200 billion …

Oral Questions

Mr. Speaker, we all remember the Liberal slogan about working for the middle class and those working hard to join it. In fact, the current President of the Treasury Board used to be the minister of middle class prosperity. That position no longer exists, by the way. What is the end result of all that? Martin Munger, the executive director of Food Banks of Quebec, says that food bank use is current…

Oral Questions

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister's decision to shutter the department of middle-class prosperity was an admission that he did not understand the economy. He even said, as members will recall, that he did not think about monetary policy and that budgets balance themselves. However, the Royal Bank of Canada has confirmed that middle-class Canadians may well see their purchasing power decline by $3,00…

Oral Questions

Mr. Speaker, we all remember when the Minister of Finance said that she could afford to increase the debt to record levels because the interest rates were so low. Now that she is vying for the Prime Minister's job, she is changing her tune and warning Canadians of the dangers of rising inflation and the fact that her government has to tighten its belt. In the meantime, millions of Canadians cannot…

Oral Questions

Mr. Speaker, what is clear to Quebeckers and Canadians is that the Bank of Canada's key interest rate has just increased for the sixth time. Now it sits at 3.75%. This will have an impact on mortgages, car loans and the money Canadians need to borrow to live decently. Inflation, accelerated by the Liberals' unprecedented spending, is eating into Canadians' wages, purchasing power and pensions. Mea…

Government Orders

Madam Speaker, I thank my colleague from Jonquière for the question. First, I would remind him that in Quebec, there are still millions of cars on the road, so people need fuel, and that is quite natural until other modes of transportation are established. We know that electric cars generate a lot of pollution at the battery design stage. Once we have hydrogen cars, as we are currently seeing in A…

Government Orders

Madam Speaker, I will begin by saying that I will be sharing my time with my colleague from Mégantic—L'Érable. The subject today on opposition day is the motion moved by the Bloc Québécois. Is the issue raised in the motion relevant? I could say yes, the same way Canada's intervention in support of Ukraine is relevant, or the treatment of the Uighurs by the Chinese Communist regime is relevant. Th…

Government Orders

Madam Speaker, one of my Bloc colleagues just said that it is true. He considers himself to be in a foreign parliament. That is the background for our speeches. I am not making it up. This form of belligerent rhetoric is the Bloc Québécois's standard discourse. The fact remains that today's motion is part of a long tradition of political spinning by the Bloc. The Bloc members get up in the morning…

Government Orders

Madam Speaker, I thank my colleague for his excellent question. This is the issue with having Bloc Québécois members working as federal MPs in the federal Parliament. MPs should consider and focus on the common good in Canada, which obviously includes Quebec. Quebec has twice decided to remain part of the Canadian federation. Our duty is therefore to ensure that Quebeckers are happy in their count…

Government Orders

Madam Speaker, as a matter of fact, when we consider the country from coast to coast to coast, we notice that every community and every region has its own distinct character. Obviously, Quebec is very different because our main language, our only language, is French. Consequently, our way of being and our way of life are very different from other parts of Canada. However, aside from the language c…

Oral Questions

Mr. Speaker, it is no secret that there is some bickering going on within the Liberal cabinet. The first public indication of this friction was in 2020, when former finance minister Bill Morneau walked away from the job because he opposed his Prime Minister's spending spree. That friction reached a breaking point last week when the Minister of Finance publicly contradicted her boss by saying that …

Oral Questions

Mr. Speaker, it is clear that the former finance minister left because he said that it was not working. The current Minister of Finance says one thing and the Prime Minister says another. No one in this cabinet agrees, and that is the problem. In the meantime, when we look across the way, we see long faces. People are realizing that what the government is doing is not working. When will the Libera…

Oral Questions

Mr. Speaker, at an automotive industry conference last week in Windsor, the Minister of Finance publicly contradicted the Prime Minister when she stated that the federal government will have to tighten its belt in the coming months to avoid increasing inflation inadvertently. This announcement about reducing new budget measures was a surprise to some, as the Prime Minister has been doing the oppos…

Oral Questions

Mr. Speaker, I absolutely agree with the parliamentary secretary, because what the Conservatives want is to reduce the carbon tax increase. We want to keep the government from raising taxes next year. Yes, I agree, and we all agree: We want to lower taxes for Canadians, and taxes need to stop increasing. Can the parliamentary secretary confirm that his government will cancel the carbon tax hike an…

Oral Questions

Mr. Speaker, Monday at the Standing Committee on Access to Information, Privacy and Ethics, Liberal members worked very hard to protect their Liberal donor, winner of a sole-source contract lottery worth $28 million for his land in Saint‑Bernard‑de‑Lacolle. Now, Radio-Canada is reporting that the Prime Minister is refusing to disclose the value of the secret contract and the identity of the lucky …

Oral Questions

Mr. Speaker, as we can see, the Prime Minister is not answering the question. My question has nothing to do with asylum seekers. The question is clearly about a contract. We know about the contracts awarded to Mr. Guay in the Lacolle sector. Just two kilometres away, there is a sector known as Roxham. The crossing is located on a piece of land and the Government of Canada is paying who knows how m…

Oral Questions

Mr. Speaker, yesterday, the Liberal members of the Standing Committee on Access to Information, Privacy and Ethics worked very hard to convince us that Mr. Guay, who received $28 million for his land in Lacolle, had never met with any MPs from their party to talk about those contracts. However, we know that Mr. Guay attended at least four cocktail party fundraisers for the Liberal member for Châte…

Oral Questions

Mr. Speaker, what is clear is that Mr. Guay was paid $28 million for contracts awarded without tenders. In committee, the Liberals did everything they could to suggest there was never any contact with elected members. However, Mr. Guay is known to have attended at least four cocktail party fundraisers with the Liberal member for Châteauguay—Lacolle. Is there a conflict of interest, yes or no? Coul…

Oral Questions

Mr. Speaker, what is clear is that in the past two years the Liberal government has increased the deficit by $500 billion. In that regard, the Parliamentary Budget Officer said that $200 billion had nothing to do with COVID‑19. That represents a shameless waste of public money and today, with the increase in interest rates, we must pay more to service that debt. On top of that, the Liberals want t…

Oral Questions

Mr. Speaker, since 2015, the Liberals have increased the debt more than all other governments combined. In 2021, before interest rates went up, they spent $20.2 billion on debt servicing alone. Let us not forget that the Prime Minister and his Minister of Finance said that we could afford to run deficits because interest rates were low. We have seen what happened over the past year. Their excessiv…

Oral Questions

Mr. Speaker, according to the National Post, the Chinese Communist regime has opened at least three police stations on Canadian soil to monitor the Chinese Canadian diaspora. Beijing maintains that the stations exist simply to assist expats in completing administrative tasks such as renewing driver's licences, but the Chinese Communist regime is not known for telling the truth. This is not the fir…

Oral Questions

Mr. Speaker, clearly, the Prime Minister's plan is not working. A government report came out today, stating that the food inflation rate is 11%, that nearly nine million Canadians are now cutting back on the amount of food they buy because of inflation, and that the vast majority of those people are women. In addition, 2.5 million Canadians are skipping meals and paying for groceries with a credit…

Oral Questions

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister would have Canadians believe that there is nothing Canada can do to combat inflation. In the meantime, we have learned that Laval University in Quebec City is being forced to cancel the construction of a new pavilion because of the rising costs of construction. Across Quebec, families are cutting back on their groceries to pay for other bills. The Prime Minister wan…

Oral Questions

Mr. Speaker, where is the Prime Minister? The last time I saw him he was on video, bungee jumping. In the meantime, women, men and children are being killed by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps in Iran. If that were not bad enough, the Prime Minister is allowing this same terrorist organization to continue to organize, make plans and raise money here in Canada. When will the Prime Minister sho…

Statements by Members

Mr. Speaker, yesterday, October 3, was an important day for Quebeckers as a whole. The people have made their choice and returned to power the incumbent Coalition avenir Québec government, with a majority. Today, I want to congratulate the Premier of Quebec, François Legault, and his entire team. I want to reiterate my interest in collaborating with both members of the national assembly in my ridi…

Oral Questions

Mr. Speaker, this government never ceases to amaze us. The Liberals lifted the sanctions on Iran in 2016. In response to the murder and torture that has been committed by the Revolutionary Guard Corps, the government has decided to impose fresh sanctions, saying that the Revolutionary Guard Corps committed “egregious actions”. It is easier for the Liberals to speak of egregious actions than to say…

Oral Questions

Mr. Speaker, there is a growing trend in Montreal called “scoring”, which consists of scoring points by shooting at innocent victims chosen at random. According to police sources, this trend may be the reason for an attack in the Rivière‑des‑Prairies neighbourhood, where an innocent 25-year-old woman was hit in the legs when shots were fired. In response to this violent incident in Montreal, the P…

Oral Questions

Mr. Speaker, in January 2017, the Prime Minister invited the world to come to Canada via Roxham Road. The Prime Minister's invitation created some very lucrative opportunities for his Liberal friends. Radio-Canada reports that at least half a billion dollars has been spent simply managing Roxham Road in Saint‑Bernard‑de‑Lacolle. For example, he awarded untendered contracts totalling no less than $…

Oral Questions

Mr. Speaker, I have visited the site in Saint‑Bernard‑de‑Lacolle three times in the past five years, and each time I saw totally unnecessary expenses, such as large tent villages standing empty. Money was being spent for absolutely no reason. The worst thing about all this is that contracts have been given to friends, but we cannot know the details of those contracts. We are not getting the inform…

Emergency Debate

Mr. Speaker, the minister has just provided some information on the troops in the Atlantic, but I asked the Prime Minister today about the 5 Canadian Mechanized Brigade Group based in Valcartier. Are the troops of 5 Canadian Brigade Group on standby right now, ready to be deployed, or is there another brigade in Canada that is on standby to be able to act very quickly?

Statements by Members

Mr. Speaker, the House of Commons has resumed parliamentary business, and the Conservatives are back with a new leader. In the coming months, this leader will put people, their pensions, their paycheques, their homes and their country first. For this reason, he has entrusted me with the role of political lieutenant for Quebec to ensure that our vision for Canada includes the priorities of Quebec s…

Oral Questions

Mr. Speaker, as everyone knows, as of yesterday, there were 340,000 homes without power in Atlantic Canada. To make matters worse, teams coming from the United States were held up at the border because of the ArriveCAN app. We know that the Prime Minister has asked that the ArriveCAN app be suspended for these teams, but can he confirm that it will be suspended immediately for everyone?

Oral Questions

Mr. Speaker, hundreds of thousands of people in Atlantic Canada are still without power. Roads through these regions remain blocked, and several areas are unreachable. As we know, the Prime Minister has deployed some military personnel to help these communities, but I would remind the House that, in Quebec, in 1998, thousands of soldiers were deployed to help Hydro-Québec and to support emergency …

Oral Questions

Mr. Speaker, Canadians still cannot believe that this Prime Minister wants to abolish minimum sentences for crimes such as illegally importing firearms, discharging a firearm with intent and committing robbery with a firearm. With the upsurge in violent incidents and murders happening in broad daylight, the people of Montreal are living in fear. Meanwhile, members of street gangs and organized cri…

Oral Questions

Mr. Speaker, before the pandemic even began, this Prime Minister was spending like no other prime minister in Canadian history. His out-of-control spending has led to record high inflation. Now Canadians are paying exorbitant prices for products and services. Just to add fuel to the fire, he also plans to further increase the carbon tax. Canadians already cannot afford to put gas in their cars or …

Statements by Members

Mr. Speaker, what is wokeism? At first, the term “woke” was used to describe someone who was aware of and offended by the injustices and discrimination experienced by minority groups. Today, however, this once-positive idea has been appropriated by a movement that is using it for political gain. Nowadays, wokeism is a culture that shuns, boycotts or cancels anyone who dares to disagree with its vi…

Oral Questions

Mr. Speaker, in 2015, the Prime Minister's decisions hurt Canadians' personal finances. For example, he said he cut income tax, but in the same breath, he did away with the children's fitness tax credit and income splitting. He also promised to eliminate interest on student loans, but now he is going to increase it. Will the Prime Minister promise not to raise taxes?

Mr. Speaker, as I rise today, I feel sadness at the passing of a great historical figure, but I take solace in a pleasant personal memory of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II. I would like to quickly share my story. In 2002, during Her Majesty's Golden Jubilee, celebrating 50 years on the throne, I went to London as a tourist. I went to Buckingham Palace in August, when it is open to tourists. My wif…

Oral Questions

Mr. Speaker, I would counter that Superintendent Campbell of the RCMP stated, and I quote, “The commissioner said she had promised the Minister of Public Safety and the Prime Minister's Office that the RCMP would release this information.” For her to make that promise, she would have had to be asked to do so. This is not the first time the Prime Minister and his cabinet have abused their power. Th…