Oral Questions
Madam Speaker, I thank my colleague from Sudbury for the question and her hard work. I am delighted to announce that we just launched consultations on our renewed federal tourism growth strategy. We will work with the provincial, territorial and municipal governments, as well as with our partners in indigenous communities, in order to continue promoting our tourism sector and ensuring economic gro…
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Madam Speaker, I would like to thank my colleague for the incredible work she has done on the foreign affairs committee. I would have to agree it is an issue we need to turn our minds to. I can cross my riding, which is in the heart of Montreal, in about an hour. I understand for many of my rural colleague MPs it could take between seven and eight hours to cross their ridings. Making sure rural Ca…
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Madam Speaker, I greatly appreciate that question. I think that it is absolutely true that we need to continue to protect western representation in the House. I am also prepared to listen to any proposal my colleague may want to make. I do not know if he proposed an amendment to our Bill C‑14 to that effect, but I would be pleased to discuss that with him.
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Madam Speaker, I am pleased to rise in the House to debate Bill C‑14, which seeks to amend the Constitution Act of 1867 for a very simple purpose: to ensure that no province will have fewer seats than it had in 2021. As a member from Quebec, I want to be sure Quebec will not lose a single seat, which is what Canada's Chief Electoral Officer, the CEO, proposed initially. As my colleagues are well a…
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Madam Speaker, the process is indeed under way, and I believe it is urgent we get to a vote on this bill. I was quite disappointed to see, over the course of the last number of days, opposition members on the Conservative side trying to delay the vote on this bill. It is critical we settle the matter once and for all.
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Madam Speaker, unfortunately, I do not agree at all with my colleague on that point. During my 10-minute speech, I talked about how important it is. Every member of our caucus agrees. Our government introduced this bill because we believe that the political weight is important. As I have said many times, Quebec's representation in the House is paramount. I hope that the Bloc will support our propo…
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Mr. Speaker, I will close by simply saying that I hope that the Bloc Québécois will work with us on better gun control.
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Mr. Speaker, I agree 100% that gun violence has become a real crisis in Quebec and across Canada. I was with our Minister of Public Safety just this week for an announcement about gun control in Canada. We are taking concrete steps to move forward on this. Mr. Speaker, I think there is a problem.
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Mr. Speaker, my colleague knows very well that we need to combat climate change, which is why we put a tax on pollution. I think it is worth pointing out the majority of Canadians receive more in rebates than they pay. I also want to remind my colleague that most of the taxes on gas are provincial, not federal, and we need to respect jurisdictions.
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Mr. Speaker, we have been there for our small businesses throughout the pandemic and we continue to be there today. If the member opposite would like examples, let him read the budget. Inside the budget he will find that what we are doing is increasing access to one of the lowest small business tax rates in the G7. We have a 9% small business tax rate in this country, and now even more businesses …
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Madam Speaker, I can only agree with my colleague, who stated that all members of the House are entitled to be proud of our French language. I hope that he will try to say a few words in French the next time he gives a speech. I would like to know what the Conservatives are actually proposing as an amendment. It is almost 11 p.m. on a Thursday evening. I was in the House when the Conservatives pro…
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Madam Speaker, I agree with the hon. member that the relationship between Canada and China is of critical importance. In fact, I have said that many times at our foreign affairs committee. The hon. member and I have the pleasure of sitting on our parliamentary Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs, and I would submit to him that that is the appropriate place for us to have these extremely importan…
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Madam Speaker, I thank my colleague for his speech. I would like to know if he has any suggestions for us. Instead of talking about the stick, could we talk about carrots? What can he suggest to the House to promote the use of French on social media, as well the arts and the theatre in French?
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Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for his speech. We agree on several things, including on the fact that French is in decline across the country, including in Quebec. My question is on the very tangible and important measures that our Bill C‑13 proposes in order to protect the French fact in official language minority communities from coast to coast to coast. The purpose of the bill is to allow co…
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Madam Speaker, I would like to thank my colleague for his question. Obviously, increased energy costs are a result of the war in Ukraine, but the federal government is here to help Canadians deal with the rising cost of living, whether it is through subsidies for dental care, programs that make it easier to access housing, or the fact that we are helping lower the cost of child care. We are here t…
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Madam Speaker, I thank the member for Châteauguay—Lacolle for her excellent question. The budget contains many measures that support economic growth. We will create a new Canada growth fund to attract more private sector investment, and we will continue to invest in our innovation clusters as well. This morning in Montreal, less than an hour and a half ago, the Prime Minister announced that Modern…
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Mr. Speaker, what will help Canadians face the increased cost of living is paycheques. Over the past two years, 3.5 million jobs were created. Our economic growth is strong. In fact, it is the strongest of all G7 nations this year, and it will be the strongest next year as well, according to experts. We are creating good, well-paying jobs for Canadians.
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Mr. Speaker, we are seeing inflation rise right around the world, and we know that this is due to the war in Ukraine, among other things. However, I would like to remind the Conservatives that in our budget we have put forward a plethora of measures in order to ensure that housing would be more affordable and to ensure that child care would be more affordable. Prior to that, we lowered taxes for t…
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Mr. Speaker, it is ironic that this question comes from a Conservative colleague when, in their electoral platform, the Conservatives committed to spending $168 billion. The IMF has just confirmed that our economy is going to see the highest growth among G7 countries, both this year and next year. Canadians have created over 3.5 million jobs. These are well-paying jobs that will help Canadians mee…
Read full speech →Adjournment Proceedings
Madam Speaker, I thank my colleague for her question. I must admit that it was quite interesting. I would have to agree with my colleague from Calgary Midnapore. Canadians are not stupid, absolutely not. That is why Canadians understand that the inflation we are seeing here at home, while concerning, is not a made-in-Canada problem. It just is not. Anybody who reads the newspaper or knows the fact…
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Madam Speaker, as a woman from Quebec, I have to say that, frankly, my colleague's comment about child care was very surprising and disappointing. Our government made it a priority to bring in a Canada-wide child care program so that women can decide whether they want to have a career, which is the decision that I, my colleague and all women with both a family and a career have made. I would also …
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Madam Speaker, Niagara is a beautiful part of this country and we are absolutely looking forward to welcoming tourists to Niagara and to tourism destinations right across Canada. In fact, just recently, Destination Canada was thrilled by our announcement to change our border measures. We are opening up to the world. Tourists are coming back and Destination Canada is going to play a key role in tha…
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Madam Speaker, I will not engage the member's insulting comments at the end of his address. I would say, however, that we have put in place a number of other programs that I would draw his attention to, including for food security in the north. There is $163 million to expand the nutrition north Canada program and there are additional programs for food policy in Canada. I believe he did address fo…
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Madam Speaker, I and our entire government are fully aware that many Canadians are feeling the effects of inflation, including higher prices for groceries and heating. The response that the minister gave was simply to put it into context. Of course, Canadians are seeing price increases at the grocery store, but this is due to circumstances entirely out of our control. We are actually, at the momen…
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Madam Speaker, I was very interested by my colleague's earlier question on this same topic. I would like to remind the member, as well as all members in the House, that the price on pollution that he likes to refer to as a gas tax, which I am fine with, is actually completely compensated, for Canadians and all members of the middle class, through our climate action incentive. Canadians do not pay …
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Madam Speaker, I will be sharing my time with the member for Whitby. We are fully aware that the effects of high inflation are being felt across the country. As the member for Burnaby South surely knows, it is a global phenomenon, and the price of goods has increased around the world. This is due to a number of factors. First, during the pandemic, millions of people reallocated money they usually …
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Madam Speaker, of course I agree. For me and for many of my constituents, raising taxes on the largest and most profitable banks was an essential part of our election platform. However, that is not the only thing included in the motion we are debating today, and that is why we are discussing it.
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Madam Speaker, one of the measures that I am very much in favour of is to increase taxes on those who are speculating in our markets here in Canada. We have proposed a tax on foreign buyers who wish to scoop up Canadian homes for the purpose of either flipping them or leaving them vacant in order to have a property sold at a later date. I think we absolutely need to attack speculation, and I thank…
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Madam Speaker, as a proud Quebecker, I would not dare speak for Albertans, and I think that my colleague would agree with me.
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Madam Speaker, it is important for us to continue to work with the entire private sector and particularly with our banks. As I mentioned in my speech, it was an important platform commitment to raise the income tax for the most profitable and largest banks in the country.
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Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for the question. I would, however, remind the House that our economy grew by 6.7% in the last quarter. Our economy is rebounding significantly, and we are there to deal with the challenges of inflation. I also want to note that other countries around the world, including the United States, have much higher inflation rates than Canada. Our government knows how to …
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Mr. Speaker, our government's record is clear. We are there for the most vulnerable Canadians, we are there to support them. During the pandemic, the Conservatives were proposing austerity measures, but that is not what Canadians wanted. We will ensure that our economy continues to grow. As I said earlier, the economy is doing well, and we will continue to do our job.
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Mr. Speaker, we are here to support Canadians. We are here to support our seniors. We are here to support our families. We created the Canada child benefit and then increased it. Bill C‑12 received royal assent this week, which will allow us to get more money out to seniors. We are here for Canadians. The austerity that the Conservatives are proposing is the wrong approach.
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Mr. Speaker, we know that there is inflationary pressure everywhere in the world right now. Our government is there to support vulnerable Canadians. We are there with programs to help everyone, including seniors and families. My colleague across the way, a member from Quebec, should know very well that we are also dealing with a global climate crisis, and we have to make sure we protect the enviro…
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Mr. Speaker, it is always a pleasure to exchange with my hon. colleague from Sherwood Park—Fort Saskatchewan, with whom I also sit on the foreign affairs committee. As members can imagine, over the last number of weeks we have been very busy addressing the developing situation in Ukraine and now, of course, the illegal invasion. I believe my colleague wished earlier to refer to the hon. member of …
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Mr. Speaker, I do appreciate the suggestion from my colleague in terms of procedure. It is my understanding that Bill S-216 did recently pass the Senate, and it is now in our legislative process in the House of Commons. Our government, as I mentioned earlier, is in the process of analyzing it, and we will come to a decision. I look forward to working with my colleague opposite and all colleagues i…
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Madam Speaker, I am very open to the idea of discussing the way Canada's democracy works, but I think that all systems around the world have problems. It will ultimately be up to members of Parliament and Canadians to decide how they want to proceed with our democracy. I think the situation in Ukraine and Russia has us thinking about the importance of democracy here, in Canada, and around the worl…
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Madam Speaker, I thank my colleague for his speech. I really enjoyed it. I want to point out that the Bloc talked about the Constitution a number of times and about how Quebec did not sign it. However, it is interesting to note that members also pointed out in this debate just how important the Canadian Constitution is. My question is about the philosophical point my colleague made about “the righ…
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Madam Speaker, my colleague raised some very important and complex points in her question. I would have to say that it is obviously our democracy that is at stake. I think this is something we will have to debate in the House and we will have to hear from members across all parties to find a more comprehensive solution than the one proposed in the motion before us, moved by the Bloc Québécois.
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Madam Speaker, Elections Canada's proposal has nothing to do with partisanship or politics. What the Bloc Québécois is doing today, however, is certainly political. I remind members once again that we are here in the House to represent all Canadians, including Quebeckers. That is what I do, and that is what the 35 government members who represent Quebec do every day.
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Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague, who did a great job explaining certain points, even though I disagree with her. She said that Quebec should be a country, or at least I think that is what I heard. We are in the House of Commons, in Ottawa, and we are talking about Quebec's representation within Canadian democracy. I will be an ally to my colleague in ensuring that Quebec is well represented in t…
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Madam Speaker, I will be sharing my time with my friend and colleague from Alfred-Pellan, who is also a member of our Quebec caucus's leadership team. I am very happy to have the chance to speak to an issue as important as redrawing Canada's federal electoral map. This is an important topic, one that lies at the heart of our democratic life from coast to coast to coast. In Canada, our democratic i…
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Mr. Speaker, effective today, we are easing our measures at the border and preparing to once again welcome tourists in large numbers. I am proud of our tourism sector and we look forward to a strong and swift recovery. As of today, the travel advisory is no longer in effect. Speaking as somebody working closely with our tourism industry, I can only rejoice, rejoice that we have collectively made i…
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Madam Speaker, why is the member from Alberta denying the people of Alberta the protections that the government of his province had requested from the federal government?
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Mr. Speaker, I thank the member for her speech. However, I want to point out that her comparison with the War Measures Act is inaccurate because we are talking about another act here. Furthermore, it is interesting to note that, for the Bloc Québécois, respecting areas of jurisdiction is only important from time to time. The member is asking us to act when she knows full well that, without the Eme…
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Madam Speaker, I would like to thank my colleague for his speech and mention that I, too, have had several conversations with several protesters. I think it is important to have those conversations. My question stems from the member's comment regarding the fact that our government did not proceed with any actions prior to the invocation of the emergency measures act, which is completely incorrect.…
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Madam Speaker, I completely agree with my colleague from Rosemont—La Petite‑Patrie. This is a completely different act. The Emergencies Act is not the same as the act invoked in 1970. Soldiers are not being deployed on Canadian soil or Quebec soil. I agree that there is transparency and that parliamentarians in this House all have the power to revoke the application of the Emergencies Act at any t…
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Madam Speaker, today's debate is crucial. I would like to address my remarks to all members of the House, of course, but also to Canadians right across the country. The Canadian government declared a state of emergency this week. This decision was not made lightly, and for good reason. Invoking the Emergencies Act is not the first thing the Government of Canada should do, or even the second. It mu…
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Madam Speaker, I am sure it will come as no surprise that I entirely disagree. Canadians have lost confidence in many different institutions as a result of what has been happening over the course of the last three weeks. Top of mind are the police. I believe many Canadians across the country question whether law enforcement was there, and this Emergencies Act provides more tools to our police forc…
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Madam Speaker, the Canadian flag is the flag of all Canadians, including all Quebeckers, and I wear it proudly every day. In reply to my colleague, because I did not really understand his very bizarre question, I would like to point out that I have just seen that Quebeckers agree with the use of the Emergencies Act. More than 70% of Quebeckers approve of the invocation of this act, and I am proud …
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