Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, since this summer, we have created more than 165,000 jobs here in Canada. In May alone, 88,000 jobs were created. If we look at the United States, for example, we see that Canada is creating jobs. The number of jobs created per capita in Canada is almost double that of the United States. It is great to see that so many Canadians are optimistic and have a positive outlook on the future…
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Mr. Speaker, summer has arrived in Outremont, Mile End and the Plateau. I would like to say thanks to all our shopkeepers, restaurant owners, cafés and everyone who brings our shopping areas to life. Bernard Avenue is once again a pedestrian zone this year. Children are playing in the street, parents are enjoying the patios and everyone gets ice cream. Last week, I took part in a Mile End celebrat…
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Mr. Speaker, we have many programs that are helping Canadians deal with the rising cost of living. In fact, next week Canadians will start to receive Canada's new groceries and essentials benefit. For a family of four, that is $1,900 this year. That is real money that is going to help Canadians face the rising cost of living. A few days ago, there was a poll released that shows that Canadians' opt…
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Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to share my time with my friend and colleague, the member for Hamilton West—Ancaster—Dundas. I am very pleased to rise today to speak to Bill C-30, which implements certain measures from the 2026 spring economic update. As members are well aware, we are debating this bill at a pivotal moment for our country. Around the world, economic and geopolitical uncertainty has reac…
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Mr. Speaker, a few weeks ago, the Prime Minister announced our new electricity strategy and the beginning of consultations with stakeholders but also, importantly, with provinces and territories. We know electricity generation is done very differently from coast to coast to coast in this country. In Quebec, for example, we have incredible hydroelectricity, but that is not the case right across the…
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Mr. Speaker, we are currently working on plan to ensure food security for Canadians. I would be pleased to continue discussing this issue with my colleague outside the House. However, it is important for us, as a government, to work together to secure our food sovereignty, especially since we have such a thriving agricultural sector here in Canada.
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Mr. Speaker, it is true that in my speech I did not have the time to go into detail about the many housing measures in the economic update. Of course, first-time homebuyers will be able to benefit from the purchase of their first home being tax free. There are significant investments in order to create affordable housing, including rental units, right across the country. There is social housing as…
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Mr. Speaker, that is a very important question to delve into immediately. I do not know if the time given to me will be sufficient, but I would like to make very clear that the Prime Minister has committed and recommitted to our objective of reaching net zero by 2050. That is the commitment of our government.
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Mr. Speaker, I would first like to thank the Bloc Québécois for introducing this motion on U.S. tariffs. I would especially like to thank my colleague from Joliette—Manawan, who is the sponsor of this motion. I have had the opportunity to work closely with him for many years and have always been impressed by his professionalism, pragmatism and kindness, even when we were in deep disagreement. It i…
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Mr. Speaker, the member raised affordability concerns in his riding. He should let his constituents know that they will be receiving a cheque for the Canadian groceries and essentials benefit in a few weeks' time. It is an important measure by our government that will support the most vulnerable Canadians across the country. With respect to tariffs, just yesterday we announced $1.5 billion in orde…
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Mr. Speaker, respect for areas of jurisdiction is obviously very important. The Premier of Quebec met with our Prime Minister within hours of his taking office. It was very important for our Prime Minister to ensure that he was responsive to Quebec's requests. We have put forward several measures in our budget. We made it quite clear, both to the Quebec government and to the Bloc Québécois, that w…
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Mr. Speaker, that is a very large question to respond to in a very short period of time. What we need to get is a good deal, and we are working with our American partners in order to get to that deal. We are in constant communication and are confident that at the end of the day Canada will get a great deal. It is important for us also, in parallel, as we are doing, to advance the major projects th…
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Mr. Speaker, it is true. As of today, we are suspending the federal excise tax on gasoline, which will give struggling Canadians a little more breathing room. We also just announced that, on June 5, Canadians will receive a one-time Canada groceries and essentials benefit payment. That is a cheque of up to $530 per family. We are there for Canadians. We know that Canadians need us, and our governm…
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Mr. Speaker, we know that Canadians are struggling right now. The Conservatives' approach since last summer has been to filibuster in the House. We are trying to move forward. This very day, we proposed a new, targeted measure to support Canadians and help consumers weather sticker shock at the pumps. This will help them directly by putting money back in their pockets.
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Mr. Speaker, our government has a plan to double housing construction across the country. That plan is stuck at the finance committee because Conservatives like to complain about young people not having a home to buy. However, when the solution is right in front of them, they obstruct and they block the progress of our bills. We are going to double housing construction in this country, and we will…
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Mr. Speaker, when the Prime Minister and our entire caucus was in Alberta, we heard about the need to move quicker on the construction of homebuilding, and that is what we are delivering. Our plan will double construction for homes right across this country, for rental and for purchase, and it is going to respond to the needs of the youth of Canada. Our plan is stuck because the Conservatives refu…
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Mr. Speaker, a family of four may receive over $1,800 through our new Canada groceries and essentials benefit. That will help families and households make ends meet at the end of the month. It is true. We have seen the statistics that show that one in five households has trouble paying their rent, so I am wondering why the Conservatives are blocking the work of Build Canada Homes. Why do the Conse…
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Mr. Speaker, $1,900 per family is real money that will help Canadians pay for groceries, pay for schools and pay for activities for their children. Canadians in Conservative-held ridings want to benefit from this support from our government. Why are the Conservatives systematically blocking every time we want to help Canadians?
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Mr. Speaker, let us be clear. The Conservatives are crying crocodile tears. They complain that Canadians are struggling to make ends meet. However, they vote against Canadians' interests. We have the Canada child benefit, which is indexed to inflation, but the Conservatives do not like this program. They voted against it. We have the dental care program for children and for seniors who are struggl…
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Mr. Speaker, I think we have said a number of times that the Conservatives are talking about imaginary taxes. Inflation is actually dropping here in Canada. We are here to meet the needs of Canadians, yet the Conservative Party has voted against all the measures in the budget that are going to help people make ends meet, including our school food program, which is going to help kids. It seems unbe…
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Mr. Speaker, the minister has answered that question a number of times already today. What is clear to me is that the Conservative Party members do not see the need to be investing in our economy. We put forward a plan in the form of a budget, and that budget would see over $50 billion going straight into the community of each and every member of Parliament in this room. It would create community …
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Mr. Speaker, that Conservative member talks about food prices, yet he voted against making the national school food program permanent. That is a program that helps young people, that helps school-aged children eat food in order to learn better. This morning I made an announcement at a women's shelter in Montreal that our government has funded in order to help women find a secure and safe place to …
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Mr. Speaker, I am honoured to rise today to speak about Bill C‑15. I want to begin by acknowledging that today is November 25. Like every year, today marks the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women. I must stress the importance of our efforts to address violence against women, including domestic violence. In an increasingly uncertain world, it is up to us to adapt our eco…
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Mr. Speaker, I am pleased the Conservatives have noticed we have expanded SR&ED. SR&ED is an integral part of the budget because it is going to encourage small and medium-sized businesses to do more research and development. We are going to help them invest and reinvest into their companies, because that is what we know needs to happen in order to grow this economy.
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Mr. Speaker, I think this is the first time I have heard the Bloc Québécois talk about the significant investment we have made in culture in this budget. This is very important, and it should be noted that the Quebec caucus, which now has 44 members, worked hard to secure these investments in culture. My colleague referred to local media. That is certainly something to be considered. However, let …
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Mr. Speaker, Waterloo, in many ways, resembles a piece of my riding in the Mile End, which has enormous potential for economic growth because it contains so many small start-ups and so much new innovation. The budget really answers the call for those entrepreneurs and those individuals who want to be part of the economy of the future. The productivity superdeduction is there, of course, but there …
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Mr. Speaker, in the short time I have, I would like to say how important that member's advocacy has been on brain injuries. I look forward to meeting with him and Brain Injury Canada later this evening. I look forward to working with him in order to create a national strategy in this country.
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Mr. Speaker, the news today was that we created 67,000 jobs, six-seven. It is great news. We are growing the economy, and budget 2025 is making historic investments that are going to keep this economy moving for generations to come. Why do the Conservatives not stand up and support this investment budget?
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
Mr. Speaker, with regard to (a), the Clerk of the Privy Council Office was the highest-ranking official who approved the campaign. With regard to (b), the Clerk of the Privy council approved the campaign on March 17, 2025. With regard to (c)(i), digital Advertising purchased programmatically including static, audio, video and connected television advertisements were scheduled to begin on March 21,…
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Mr. Speaker, in response to part (a) of the question about who in the Office of the Prime Minister or the Privy Council Office is responsible for ensuring that the Prime Minister abides by the terms of the screen, the Prime Minister’s conflict of interest screen is administered by the Prime Minister’s Chief of Staff and by the Clerk of the Privy Council. The administrators ensure that the Prime Mi…
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Mr. Speaker, I think it is rather clear that the Bloc Québécois is against tax cuts. If my colleagues had read the economic update, they would have seen that we created over 330,000 well-paid jobs across Canada. Canada has seen the highest wage growth in the G7. Canadians are cashing paycheques that are 5% bigger, even taking into account inflation. We are making sure that Canadians' paycheques ar…
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Mr. Speaker, the fall economic statement that we tabled yesterday is about growth. It is about investing in our business community and in our economy. The accelerated capital cost allowance will ensure that Canadian businesses stay on this side of the border, that they stay in Canada and that our creation of jobs will continue to increase. Last year alone, 330,000 jobs were created, and these are …
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Mr. Speaker, while the Conservatives are focused on this soap-opera Parliament Hill grapevine gossip, our Liberal government has been focused on the pocketbooks of Canadians. Inflation is way down, at 2%. The Governor of the Bank of Canada confirmed yesterday that it is going to stay at about 2% for the next few years. Interest rates are way down. We saw another jumbo rate cut yesterday, which mea…
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Mr. Speaker, it seems we have lost decorum in the House in part because the Conservatives have been attacking female elected representatives, women in the House who represent women and men across the country proudly. If the Conservatives are really interested in asking questions of the economy, I do have answers for them. Yesterday, the Bank of Canada lowered interest rates yet again, making it ea…
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Mr. Speaker, listening to the Conservatives today, we would think that the Conservative Party of Canada wanted interest rates to be higher. We would think the Conservatives want inflation to be higher, listening to their talking points today in the House of Commons. We have invested in Canadians and we have invested wisely. We have ensured that 110,000 more Canadian women have entered the workforc…
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Mr. Speaker, the Conservatives appear to be asking questions about the state of the economy, but they are desperate to deny the fact that, just yesterday, the Bank of Canada lowered interest rates to help all Canadians. That is good news. It will make life more affordable for families who need to renew their mortgages. It will mean lower costs for our SMEs and our entrepreneurs. It will help young…
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Mr. Speaker, it is interesting that the Conservative member chose to talk about bullying in his question after today's question period has been fraught with bullying from Conservative members. To get back to what is important to Canadians, I would like to talk about the economy. When looking at the numbers, we can see that consumer confidence is up. We see consumer spending is up. Folks are lookin…
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Mr. Speaker, it has been 35 years since the massacre at École Polytechnique. As I do every year, I will be joining my community on Mount Royal to commemorate and honour the 14 women whose lives were stolen simply because they were women. The advocacy of survivors like Nathalie Provost and the members of PolyRemembers continues to inspire and encourage us to strengthen gun control across the countr…
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Mr. Speaker, this feigned sympathy and these crocodile tears on behalf of the Conservatives are fooling no Canadian. When the Conservatives had the opportunity to support measures that would help Canadians, measures like cutting their taxes, they opposed them. When we proposed a school food program that is going to help feed thousands of children across the country in their schools, they opposed i…
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Mr. Speaker, we have adopted meaningful measures to rid our streets of weapons of war, guns designed for battlefields, assault weapons that have no place in our communities. I think it is shameful that, on the 35th anniversary of the Polytechnique shooting, the Conservatives are standing up to repeat the falsehoods of the gun lobby.
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Mr. Speaker, we have the lowest deficit of all our G7 peers. We also have the lowest debt-to-GDP ratio. It will be our pleasure to present a fall economic statement, so all Canadians can see what the books look like, including the Conservative Party. However, we also need to support Canadians. We also need to have affordability measures. That is why we are cutting taxes for Canadians. We are givin…
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Mr. Speaker, I am quite disappointed in the Conservative member opposite. He should know what the definition of a recession is. We have not even had a single quarter of negative growth. In fact, Statistics Canada just revised our growth numbers upward for the last three years. The Conservatives would like to quote former governors of the Bank of Canada. I have got one. David Dodge said, “because […
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The Canada emergency business account, or CEBA, helped countless SMEs in Quebec and across Canada avoid bankruptcy. It is thanks to CEBA that workers were able to get their paycheques. I am not surprised that the Bloc Québécois is rising in the House four years later. Perhaps they want to change the channel because, last week, they voted against a tax holiday. I am not making this up. The Bloc Qué…
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Mr. Speaker, giving a tax break to Canadians is real. When parents pay for their kids' Christmas presents at the cash register, they are not going to pay GST. People at the cash register at the grocery store are not going to pay GST on everyday items. When they go to restaurants, they will not pay it either. This is real money back in the pockets of Canadians. The Conservatives talk about vulnerab…
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Mr. Speaker, I think the member is misreading the numbers. Statistics Canada just revealed that it needed to revise the GDP numbers upward for the last three years. Canada is expected to have the highest GDP growth in all of the G7 next year. I think the Conservatives are trying to change the channel. Just a few days ago, they opposed a tax break. They opposed cutting the GST from everyday goods f…
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Mr. Speaker, when the Conservative Party of Canada wanted us to back down during the last round of NAFTA negotiations, we stood up for Canada. We stood up for Canadian workers. We stood up for the steelworkers in Canada. We stood up for Canadian auto workers. We stood up for our farmers and agricultural workers. The Conservatives want to know what the plan is; we plan to do it again and to get a w…
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Mr. Speaker, we have an excellent relationship with the United States, a relationship that is mutually beneficial. We do enormous amounts of trade with the United States, and the United States depends on Canada for much of its energy supply. The Conservatives want to know what the plan is. Our plan is to continue to work with the United States in order to protect Canadian jobs and to protect the C…
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Mr. Speaker, the GST holiday will apply to everybody; all Canadians will benefit from the tax break. One of the things I really take issue with is the insinuation that people with disabilities are not working. Sixty-two per cent of people in Canada with disabilities are working and will benefit from the cheque. There are one million seniors in Canada who are working and will benefit from the chequ…
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Mr. Speaker, maybe the Conservative member missed the memo. We are actually taking federal taxes off. We are taking the GST off everyday goods in order to help Canadians. We are wondering on this side of the House how the Conservatives could be against a tax break for Canadians. It will put more money back in their pockets right around the holidays, when they need it most. The policy is good for C…
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Mr. Speaker, I take issue with the insinuation that persons with disabilities in this country do not work. Sixty-two per cent of persons with disabilities will benefit from the rebate because they are working hard. Over one million seniors right across Canada are working and will benefit from the rebate. All Canadians without exception are going to benefit from the tax holiday we just announced. W…
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