Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, I think we all agree that implementing an agreement for managing offshore renewable energy with Newfoundland and Labrador means that there will be a labour issue, perhaps even a labour shortage. Plus, where there are workers, there needs to be housing. How lucky we are to have the minister responsible for housing here with us. I have a question for him. If the Government of Newfoundla…
Read full speech →Private Members' Business
Mr. Speaker, I rise today to speak to a bill that is vital to residents of Abitibi—Témiscamingue and Quebec, and that is Bill C‑244, which was introduced by the hon. member for Richmond Centre. Bill C‑244 amends the Copyright Act in order to allow a person to circumvent a technological protection measure, or TPM, if the circumvention is solely for the purpose of diagnosing, maintaining or repairin…
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Madam Speaker, there are no abattoirs in Abitibi—Témiscamingue. It is a serious problem for our agriculture. Our farmers have to get their beef slaughtered more than 500 kilometres away. How is it that are we able to get programs to compensate the transportation of livestock, but we cannot get programs that should be fully funded by the governments? Obviously, it is hard to make abattoirs profitab…
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Madam Speaker, my colleague from Rosemont—La Petite-Patrie is in no position to lecture anyone about going down on bended knee and demanding things from the government, but that is another debate. However, the question remains. Where are the profits going? They are certainly not going to our farmers, who are on the verge of bankruptcy. Things are really tough right now. My region has had a drought…
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Madam Speaker, the current situation is that Canada has let oligopolies take over. That is true in the food industry, and it is also true in the banking sector. Taking action to fix that may require more courage, but it will have an impact on people's wallets. This situation also exists in the gas industry. It would take more courage for the House to address these issues. It is also true in teleco…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Madam Speaker, I rise today to speak to Bill C‑56. It is a government bill that would amend the Excise Tax Act and the Competition Act. Like my colleagues, I see this as an attempt by the federal government to respond to spiralling housing and grocery prices. It is true that rising interest rates are hurting many families, who are seeing mortgage payments take up more and more of their family budg…
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Madam Speaker, the interpreters are signalling that there is feedback. I am not sure whether it is from an electronic source close to the microphones, but the interpreters are hearing a thud.
Read full speech →Government Orders
Madam Speaker, it is difficult to be brief, but our system does have to be fair. However, I would like to take this opportunity to emphasize the importance of this bill and of giving a voice to people who have been silenced. In my opinion, it will lay the foundation for a renewed justice system, because we will be renewing trust in our justice system. That is the foundation of democracy.
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, before I begin my speech, I would like to take a few moments to acknowledge the passing last night of a passionate constituent of mine, Gilles Laperrière. He was a great hockey enthusiast, a volunteer, a founder and a builder. He was a recruiter for the Montreal Junior Canadiens back in the day. Largely thanks to him, Réjean Houle was able to get on the ice at the Montreal Forum, as w…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Madam Speaker, I thank my colleague from Sarnia—Lambton for her question and for her committee work. The work of the Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage, like that of the Standing Committee on the Status of Women, was done in collaboration. I think that shows what is best about Parliament, namely when all parliamentarians from each party come together because they have a desire for justice and…
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Madam Speaker, I thank my colleague from Nunavut for her sensitivity to this issue. Indeed, people cannot remain silent. Being a victim a first time is a tragedy, but what we see in the patterns is that victims are often victims a second time because they lose their name and their voice. That is totally unacceptable. I think, if progress is to be made in this Parliament, it must also be possible t…
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Madam Speaker, when debating access to housing, there is one concern that is not mentioned nearly enough: access to affordable housing, community housing and even co-operative housing—
Read full speech →Government Orders
Madam Speaker, I was saying that when debating access to housing, the thing we do not talk enough about, in my opinion, is access to affordable housing, especially community housing or even co-operative housing. I would like to ask my hon. colleague the following question: What could the federal government do to improve access to these types of housing? Could a new law be brought in? What can we d…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Madam Speaker, a bill that seeks to eliminate the GST on housing construction should be based on one obvious principle. It should significantly lower the rent paid by current tenants who are having a hard time making ends meet. Make no mistake, the crisis is affecting all of Canada and Quebec. The cost of housing in Abitibi—Témiscamingue is almost as high as it is in Montreal. How will abolishing …
Read full speech →Government Orders
Madam Speaker, I have a question for my colleague. Since Parliament resumed, we have often heard the Liberals brag about holding a major summit with the heads of large grocery chains. It is a big show that promises potential commitments, but none of that is binding on the big grocers. We were expecting a response within three weeks, so there is still a week and a half left. What will happen if the…
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, nearly 2,000 small businesses in Quebec have already declared bankruptcy in the past year. According to the Canadian Federation of Independent Business, this is just the beginning. One in five businesses expects to close within the next year. However, the elephant in the room is that 60% of bankruptcies across Canada happen in Quebec, because small business is an economic model there.…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, I would like to begin by congratulating the new Minister of Justice on his appointment. I was surprised to hear him talk about My Voice, My Choice in his speech. I attended the meeting of its members on Parliament Hill, and I was particularly struck by a personal story shared by Jessica, whom I invited to the Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage. She was there to speak out against …
Read full speech →Private Members' Business
Madam Speaker, to begin, I want to take a moment to extend my condolences to the family, friends and loved ones of my friend Mathieu Leblanc, who passed away recently. Mathieu was a colleague of mine from FAECUM and the University of Montreal and Quebec student movements. He was a supporter of the labour movement. It was very touching to see all of the things his family and friends had to say abou…
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, yesterday's stunt with the CEOs of the major grocery chains is not going to affect our grocery bills anytime soon. Ottawa asked them to come up with plans to stabilize prices within three weeks. Really? If they do not, then what? Obviously, Quebeckers cannot go shopping elsewhere. If the big grocery stores do not lower their prices, Ottawa is threatening to hit them with a new tax. Wh…
Read full speech →Private Members' Business
Madam Speaker, I would like to begin by acknowledging the leadership of my colleague from the Bay of Quinte on the issue of affordability of telecommunications services. We have seen him take strong action a number of times in the Standing Committee on Industry and Technology, and I want to point that out. In this context, does he acknowledge that Bill S‑242 would still cause some market disruptio…
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
With regard to the automobile and manufacturing industry in Canada: (a) did the government work with global automobile or manufacturing businesses to boost existing investments in the automobile sector or to attract new investments in new factories, new products, including electric vehicles and batteries, or new jobs, in each province since 2022; (b) did the government consider making investments …
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
With regard to the expenditures of the Economic Development Agency of Canada for Quebec Regions, for fiscal years 2020–21 and 2021–22, broken down by administrative region and electoral district in Quebec: (a) what is the total amount for each region for these fiscal years; and (b) what is the detailed breakdown of the amounts by program?
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
With regard to each of the complaints received by the Office of the Sport Integrity Commissioner: (a) on what date was the complaint filed; (b) which sport organization was the complaint filed; (c) how long did it take the Office of the Commissioner to render a decision; (d) what is the status of the complaint; (e) what is the name and title of the person responsible for addressing the complaint; …
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
With regard to the national sport organizations (NSOs) that have signed an agreement with the Office of the Sports Integrity Commissioner and have a contribution to pay for signing on to the “Abuse-Free Sport” program: (a) how many participants are covered; (b) what is the detailed description of those participants; (c) how much did each NSO pay out in 2021-22, in 2022-23 and for the current year …
Read full speech →Government Orders
Madam Speaker, I would like to talk about humility in the present context. I think this bill calls for that much-sought-after quality in our parliamentary debates. Humility is also about recognizing everyone's mistakes. In the present context, I think everyone agrees that the Bloc Québécois has contributed to and helped advance this legislative process. However, it is nearly June 23 and we are dow…
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Madam Speaker, I thank my colleague from Winnipeg North for his intervention—
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, I thank my esteemed colleague for his intervention and his hard work in committee standing up for the interests of Quebec. We do not always see eye to eye on what is best for Quebec, but I think that we are certainly strong voices for standing up for these interests. As members know, in February 2020, the Government of Quebec announced its intention to create a registry. Bill 78 was i…
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Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for his speech and for his thoughtfulness, particularly when he mentioned the people of his community, including his teacher, in those circumstances. I wonder if my colleague could comment on the whole notion of fighting fraud. At the Standing Committee on Industry and Technology, I asked Mr. Beaudoin from the RCMP whether his organization had enough resources to …
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Mr. Speaker, in regard to Bill C-42, we were approached by the Canadian Federation of Independent Business, or CFIB, which asked us to determine how we could help businesses, because one of the challenges is all the red tape that comes with this. We definitely agree that there should be more transparency, but at the same time we must ensure that this burden is not shouldered by all businesses, whi…
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Mr. Speaker, as I listened to my colleague's remarks, I was reminded of the debates we had at the Standing Committee on Industry and Technology. My colleague asked some very good questions. We have heard that the amount of money laundered in Canada could be as high as $113 billion a year, which is a staggering number. According to a United Nations statistic, the amount of money laundered worldwide…
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Mr. Speaker, I recognize the member for Rosemont—La Petite‑Patrie's leadership on the issue of fighting tax havens. It is not the first time I have heard him speaking about this in the House of Commons. I also want to highlight the commitment of my colleague, the member for Joliette. This is a fundamental matter. We must be able to take much more robust action. According to Statistics Canada, Cana…
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Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague from Montmagny—L'Islet—Kamouraska—Rivière-du-Loup for his work. I was thinking back to the question that he asked me earlier. The key word that I missed was interoperability. It is important to have laws that are interoperable, so I would like to try again by putting it in a comment and asking him the following question. How important is it that our laws remain in…
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, the government committed to doing more for people in our communities and our regions, and it has my thanks for that. However, it also committed to doing more to prevent climate-change-related disasters. From now on the two must go hand in hand, because we cannot allow natural disasters to keep happening time and time again. Everyone knows that the combination of forest fires and clima…
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Madam Speaker, before I begin my speech, I want to pay tribute to the people back home, especially those who are helping to fight the wildfires. The town of Normétal has been spared so far, but it is important to mention that the situation there is now critical. As of tomorrow, we are expecting really dry weather. The firebreaks put in place by the SOPFEU should hold, but there is a chance that th…
Read full speech →Statements by Members
Mr. Speaker, it is now official. The Stanley Cup is coming to Amos this summer, thanks to the excellent work of native son Nicolas Roy. This great centre and former Forestiers player will have his name forever engraved on the precious trophy that he and his Vegas Golden Knights teammates won last night. It has been 30 years since a hockey player from Abitibi—Témiscamingue last hoisted the emblem o…
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
Madam Speaker, there is something rather ironic when we talk about the whole issue of access to housing. In my region, Abitibi—Témiscamingue, the vacancy rate is less than 1%. We cannot even house new workers, even those who would come to build the housing. How will we ultimately be able to implement a new housing strategy? That will take money and programs, but we will also need the temporary mea…
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
Mr. Speaker, this debate is timely. Just this morning, at 9:45 a.m., I received a communiqué from the Abitibi—Témiscamingue CEGEP. It states that, in the midst of a housing crisis, applications for residence at the CEGEP have never been as high. The college is therefore calling on everyone to find additional apartments or rooms to rent to put a roof over the heads of the future Abitibi—Témiscaming…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Madam Speaker, I would like to pay tribute to my colleague from Abitibi—Baie-James—Nunavik—Eeyou. She represents a riding next to mine, and we have a lot of relationships in common. My riding shares a very long border with hers. Over the past few days, people in my region have been anxious, particularly because of the air quality. The fires were more prevalent in her riding, but she was on the gro…
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Madam Speaker, I would first like to offer my deepest condolences to a very important member of my team, Jean-François Vachon, who recently lost his grandmother. I extend my condolences to his family, and particularly his mother. I also want to say that I will be sharing my time with my colleague, the member for Laurentides—Labelle, with whom I also share Highway 110 and the boreal forest, which i…
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Madam Speaker, thank you. I would like to begin by acknowledging the leadership of my colleague, the leader of the Green Party, who has been an inspiration for decades in the fight against climate change. I have to admit that today, I am feeling optimistic about the future. I hope that what is happening across Canada, especially back home in Quebec, sends a clear message that we need to change the…
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Madam Speaker, I thank my colleague for his input and for his support in these circumstances. That is support on behalf of the Liberal government, and it could mean a decisive moment in Canada's history and its economy. Action and change certainly have a cost, but the cost of inaction is even greater. Right now, the cost is obvious in the deforestation and the devitalization of our towns. The scar…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Madam Speaker, I want to take this opportunity again to acknowledge the courage and the work on the ground of my colleague from Abitibi—Baie‑James—Nunavik—Eeyou, who is more impacted than I am by the circumstances. I also want to acknowledge all of my colleagues from northern Quebec and other affected regions in Canada. In the context, obviously putting out the fires and saving these businesses is…
Read full speech →Emergency Debate
Madam Speaker, I want to begin by thanking my colleague from Chicoutimi—Le Fjord for his kind words and for standing in solidarity with all regions of Quebec. I thank him for his kind words about my colleague from Lac-Saint-Jean. As he mentioned, now is the time to stand together. People in our communities are very anxious. I would like the member to talk about coordination between public safety o…
Read full speech →Emergency Debate
Madam Speaker, I thank my colleague from Sudbury for her speech and her concern. Sudbury is like the Rouyn-Noranda of Ontario. I feel like I know her riding almost by heart, even though it has been a number of years since I went to see the Big Nickel as a small child. One of the issues that is of great concern to people in my region is air quality. I am sure the same is true in Sudbury. Even in pl…
Read full speech →Emergency Debate
Madam Speaker, I would like to thank my colleague for her excellent speech and her concern about the issue of indigenous communities. Of course, it is very difficult for me to suggest concrete solutions at this point, but, certainly, some will have to be found. It makes me wonder about the economic model that has been promoted for decades and that may have brought about the result we are seeing to…
Read full speech →Emergency Debate
Madam Speaker, I want to thank my colleague, who is co-vice-chair of the Standing Committee on Industry and Technology and who is an inspiration to me, especially under the circumstances. As I said, I am going to hit the road so I can become the man on the ground that he has been for the people back home in his riding. He gave us several examples, including the lobster industry. I see a broader is…
Read full speech →Emergency Debate
Madam Speaker, I rise today to speak to a subject that is vitally important to my region of Abitibi—Témiscamingue and all areas of northern Quebec that are dealing with raging wildfires. As my colleague mentioned, I am going to get back on the road following this evening's debate. It made sense for me to be here today. It gave me an opportunity to talk to many members, particularly on the governme…
Read full speech →Statements by Members
Mr. Speaker, forest fires are currently burning across Quebec on a terrifying scale. The fires cover an area roughly equivalent to the Island of Montreal. People have had to be evacuated from Abitibi—Témiscamingue and northern Quebec, as well as the north shore. The smog filling the sky is a reminder that this situation is not normal. Once again, at a time of crisis, we can count on the solidarity…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Madam Speaker, I would like to take a moment to acknowledge the presence of students from Rivière-des-Quinze school, who have come all the way from Témiscamingue. I would like to acknowledge the presence of the mayor—
Read full speech →Government Orders
Madam Speaker, I never imagined I would see people like the mayor of Latulipe‑et‑Gaboury here among us. They came here to learn. Now, to get back to the opioid crisis debate, I had a chance to talk with these students. We were wondering about a question that I would now like to ask my colleague who was with me yesterday at the entrepreneur caucus meeting. I know she has a special interest in many …
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