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 …
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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…
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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…
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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…
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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 …
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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…
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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…
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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…
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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…
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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…
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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…
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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…
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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…
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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…
Read full speech →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…
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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…
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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…
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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 $…
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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…
Read full speech →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?
Read full speech →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…
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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?
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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 …
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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…
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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 …
Read full speech →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…
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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?
Read full speech →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…
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Mr. Speaker, how can a government sink so low as to exploit a mass shooting for political purposes? Lia Scanlan, a spokesperson for the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, said, and I quote: “[The minister], all these people, the Prime Minister, they were weighing in on what we could and couldn't say...It was all political pressure.” This government is totally immoral. Can the Prime Minister tell us wh…
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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…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Madam Speaker, I thank my colleague for her fine speech. I would like to ask her a question about the federal ombudsman for victims of crime. This position has been vacant for nine months, yet the ombudsman for federal offenders position was filled one day later. Could my colleague tell me about this government's priorities when it comes to victims?
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Mr. Speaker, let me quote what Andrew Coyne wrote in The Globe and Mail: “If the Liberals were trying to convince people they had something to hide with regard to the decision to invoke the Emergencies Act, they could hardly do a better job.” The situation is serious. The Minister of Public Safety misled Canadians. He must resign. When will he step down?
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Mr. Speaker, Andrew Coyne also wrote, and I quote, “well, there is a penalty for this sort of thing. And the penalty, in the conventions of Westminster-style parliaments, is resignation.” The minister basically misled Canadians. When Jody Wilson‑Raybould was minister, she acted according to her principles. The Minister of Public Safety has no principles. When will he resign?
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Mr. Speaker, let us continue with the history lesson. On May 2, the Minister of Public Safety said that the government invoked the Emergencies Act on the recommendation of the police. I congratulate him. During the parliamentary committee hearings, he said that it was the RCMP that requested it because they needed that tool to do their job. The minister has repeated this many times in recent month…
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Mr. Speaker, the Minister of Public Safety seems to have a new nickname: Pinocchio. In recent months, he told the House something that is absolutely false. He said, “It was on the advice of law enforcement that we invoked the Emergencies Act.” However, federal and municipal law enforcement agencies have confirmed that they never made any such recommendations. Now, the minister is saying any old th…
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Mr. Speaker, it seems the minister has memory issues because on April 28, 2022, he said, “I remember my hon. colleague and I having an exchange during the debate of the invocation of the Emergencies Act, which was only put forward after police officials told us they needed this special power to ensure they could restore public safety.” The RCMP says it never made such a request. The Minister of Pu…
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Mr. Speaker, there was another shooting in the east end of Montreal last night. A woman from Rivière-des-Prairies who was sitting on her balcony went inside to hide out of fear of being shot. The Prime Minister's proposed Bill C‑5 would get rid of mandatory minimum sentences like the one for discharging a firearm with intent. The Prime Minister is telling us that Bill C‑5 has nothing to do with se…
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Mr. Speaker, the minister is talking about Bill C-21, but I am asking him about Bill C-5. Gang crime in the streets of Montreal is currently on the rise. Gang members are walking around with their guns and showing them off to everyone. They are not afraid, because the message the Liberal government is sending is that there is no problem and that people can commit gun crimes and will not receive a …
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Mr. Speaker, let us hear what Stephan Fogaing, a member of Montreal's Black community, has to say about Bill C‑5: “In short, when the federal government contemplates doing away with some of the minimum sentences in the Criminal Code, we can only wonder whether they are more interested in protecting criminals than the public and victims of crime.” Given what these people had to say, is the Prime Mi…
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Mr. Speaker, I invite the Minister of Justice to listen to the following quotation: “while the federal government is using the overrepresentation of indigenous peoples and people of diverse backgrounds in our prisons to justify abolishing many minimum sentences, it seems to forget one important fact: Members of these same communities are equally overrepresented among the victims of these armed cri…
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Mr. Speaker, when something comes from the Liberal side, it is always perfect, but when it comes from the opposition parties then it is always disinformation. I would like to know what the minister thinks about what Quebec's public safety minister said when she announced her strategy to combat gun violence. She said, “To all those gang members terrorizing our citizens...you are going to have to de…
Read full speech →Statements by Members
Mr. Speaker, on September 1, 1939, the Régiment de la Chaudière was called up and deployed at the beginning of the Second World War. Nearly five years later, more than 900 members of this legendary regiment landed on the beaches of Normandy to liberate Europe from Nazi oppression. The Régiment de la Chaudière was the only francophone regiment to take part in the landing operation on June 6, 1944. …
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Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister likes to make fine speeches about the safety of Canadians, but he clearly has a rather lax attitude about it. For example, as a result of the changes he made to the parole board, a violent criminal was released, which led to the murder of Marylène Levesque. Federal inmates now have access to syringes, and drug trafficking in penitentiaries is on the rise. Bill C‑5 w…
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Mr. Speaker, since the government wants to tackle real problems, let us talk about illegal arms trafficking, which is a scourge in Canada. Instead of attacking the source of the problem, the Prime Minister is attacking law-abiding citizens. Police forces have repeatedly said that the guilty parties are street gangs and organized crime, which operate in different parts of Canada and use transit poi…
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Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister is trying to play both sides. We are talking about Bill C-5 and he is talking about Bill C-21, but what is clear is that Quebecker Anie Samson told the committee that “a criminal who uses an illegal firearm, regardless of their [ethnic] origin, is still a criminal. It would be incomprehensible to let criminals use firearms to kill, rob or threaten people without wor…
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Mr. Speaker, Anie Samson, the former vice-chair of the City of Montreal's executive committee and now the head of public safety, said, “There is concern about the fate of our criminals in prison, when at the same time there are hundreds of families mourning the loss of a loved one.” If the Liberals continue with their reckless strategy, even massive injections of money from the provinces to crack …
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
Madam Speaker, I thank my excellent colleague for her good and long question. As I mentioned in my speech, from what I and my other NATO colleagues can tell, at present, there is virtually unanimous support for the principle of admitting Finland and Sweden. The only exception is Turkey, for the reasons that I mentioned. What is Canada's role? Given the war in Ukraine and the supply of gas, which c…
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Madam Speaker, I was not in government then, but to my knowledge, the Conservative government at the time spent more on international aid. That 2% target is part of what NATO expects of its members. Of that 2%, 20% is used to purchase military equipment. I think we can make a pretty good case right now for why we need to be ready. With guys like Putin invading Ukraine, we need to make sure our arm…
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Madam Speaker, as I mentioned in my speech, this membership will strengthen our collective ability to address threats, for example in the Arctic. By having Finland and Sweden as NATO partners, we will be politically and militarily united under the NATO umbrella. They are two major partners. In addition, Sweden and Finland are countries with very efficient and well-equipped armies. These partners w…
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
Madam Chair, by happy coincidence, I recently returned from a four-day stay in Vilnius, Lithuania, where I attended a meeting of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization that included discussions about whether or not to bring Finland and Sweden into NATO. My speech this evening could therefore not be more timely for me. The Standing Committee on Public Safety and National Security has tabled its fou…
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