Parliamentary Speeches
512 speeches by Simon-Pierre Savard-Tremblay — Page 2 of 11
Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, how does my colleague explain the fact that we have always tolerated the absurd situation in which those responsible for adjudicating cases of potential misconduct in the military are the senior military officers themselves? Does he consider this to be odd?
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, what does my colleague think about General Vance's statement that he had nothing to fear because he controlled the judicial process? How did we get to this point, where a person in authority believes he is above the rules, above the law, and safe from punishment because judgments involving military personnel are under the control of the military high command itself?
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, in her speech, my colleague did a good job summarizing the Bloc Québécois's position, which is what I will be standing up for at the Standing Committee on National Defence when this bill is studied there, probably soon. In short, we are thinking that it is about time. We will not say it is too little, too late. It took a while, but at least there is something now. While it is far from…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, the civilian court problem is very real, as our colleague mentioned. Obviously, the bill does not directly address that issue. The issue remains to be addressed. I think it would be better to ask the Minister of Justice about that matter. That said, it is definitely a consideration. I understand that sending these cases to the civilian court system could result in longer processing ti…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, I rise today in the House as the Bloc Québécois national defence critic to address the government's response to an extremely delicate issue, namely the unfortunate occurrence of sexual misconduct. As delicate as the subject may be, it remains our duty to take a serious look at the bill before us to put an end to this scourge and ensure greater accountability as well as a healthier env…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, as I mentioned in my speech, the Bloc Québécois will be supporting the bill at this stage so that it can be studied in committee.
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, the reason for transferring power to politicians is precisely to get it out of the military's hands. This should help avoid situations like the one where Mr. Vance said he controlled the judicial process. Now, we will have to look very closely at whether it is better to—
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, I know my colleague well enough to know that he loves asking this type of rhetorical question. The answer is often in the question. He is gesturing at me, denying it. At least he is smiling. I think he knows that I am close to the mark and that the shoe fits. I would say that it is indeed a real scandal. That being said, I do appreciate the nuance he mentioned about the difference bet…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, that is a fairly fundamental issue. Honestly, we will be watching this closely. That is why an in-depth study is so important. As a number of people have already pointed out, the government's previous version of the bill, which died on the Order Paper, did not properly address the problem. We will do an in-depth study. That said, I agree with the government's reason for wanting to inc…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, I completely agree with my colleague. Impunity must be replaced with accountability. The bill puts forward a plan to do just that. The bill broadens access to what I believe are called victim's liaison officers to include individuals acting on behalf of victims. In other words, it is not just alleged victims who will have access to this service; their representatives will too. Expandi…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, I have only one reservation, which is that we are not going to blindly trust anyone or any bill that is voluminous by nature, that has legal implications and for which the devil is in the details, as with any document of this nature. That is why I am simply saying that we need to do our job properly. When the government presents us with a bill, we, as an opposition party, cannot simpl…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, it is important for the economy as a whole, especially in today's world. That said, there are some important privacy considerations at stake. That about sums up my remarks. Yes, doing this is essential, but not at any cost. I think that is my speech in a nutshell.
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, that is why I was saying that it is important for the committee to do a thorough job. It must ensure that the bill's objective, which is commendable, is not pursued without regard for the consequences, which could be devastating. Our remarks are summed up nicely in the testimony of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada. He said that he supported the idea but urged caution. Are there safe…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, I do not disagree with my colleague on that. I think this will likely come up in committee. As soon as we start hearing from witnesses, some will say that they agree with the idea, but that they need more time and a transition plan. Needless to say, no one can argue against virtue and common sense. That is why it is hard to disagree with what my colleague said.
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to rise in the House today to speak to this issue. In fact, I spoke to the previous version of the bill, Bill C‑26, in the last Parliament. It is easy to get lost in all these “C” bills. Since the elements of Bill C‑8 are absolutely identical to those in the previous version, our hopes and fears are exactly the same as well. I could copy and paste what I said last time. H…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, there are a number of positive elements in the bill. One example is that it enacts the new critical cyber systems protection act. Another is the impact that amending the Telecommunications Act to add promotion of security could have. However, what is being proposed may also have an impact on provincial infrastructure, such as Hydro-Québec, and we are worried about that encroachment. A…
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, in June, the Prime Minister said that he would reach an agreement with Donald Trump within 30 days. Since then, he has chalked up one defeat after another. Our softwood lumber industry is being hit with new tariffs, talks are under way to allow more American milk into the country, Ottawa has eliminated the digital services tax, and now it is backtracking on a global minimum tax for U.…
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, once again, there are new tariffs affecting our forestry industry. Washington announced an additional 10% tariff on our softwood lumber, which was already subject to tariffs of 35%. This is not all. Donald Trump also announced tariffs of 25% on our wood products, like cabinets. Meanwhile, the assistance announced by Ottawa in August is still not available. It is one defeat after anoth…
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, Trump keeps handing the Prime Minister one defeat after another. Today, there are new tariffs on lumber. Yesterday, we learned that a new deal could allow more American milk to cross the border. Last summer, the Prime Minister decided to sacrifice the digital services tax that web giants were supposed to pay. It is one defeat after another, and Quebec's forests, milk and culture are t…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, my colleague from Saskatoon West seems very committed to individual rights, but he also seems aware of the need to tackle genuine hate speech. Does he find it acceptable that the Criminal Code includes a religious exemption allowing hate speech as long as it is based on a sacred text?
Read full speech →Government Orders
Madam Speaker, since we are talking about hate speech, I would like to ask my colleague whether he agrees with this religious exemption. Does he agree that certain elements of the Criminal Code can be recognized as hate speech, but that, as long as such speech is religiously motivated, it can be exempted, risk free? Does my colleague think that makes sense?
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, I too want to congratulate our colleague on his first speech and his very first election. I welcome him to the House. We have come to expect magic formulas from the Liberal government, even if the magic amounts to nothing more than window dressing and smokescreens instead of real results. I am curious, I truly wonder how the border can be strengthened and how new means and capacities …
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, finally! Finally, that is the word. Ottawa has finally understood the need to look at border security. In recent years, Ottawa has consistently turned a deaf ear to calls from all sides, including our own. Now, Ottawa seems to be starting to wake up. How unfortunate that it took a barrage of hostile comments and tariff threats from the newly appointed President Donald Trump for Ottawa…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, yes, it was a government commitment. That said, I do not believe that the 130 pages of this bill, right down to the smallest detail, were actually specific Liberal commitments during the election campaign. The devil is often in the details. We are quite willing to co-operate, but things need to unfold differently than they did last June, when there was a super closure motion, fast-tra…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, I am happy to hear that our colleague is as keen as we are to ensure the government takes a serious and thorough approach to the committee process. We do not want it to pull a fast one, as they say. We have to be able to examine every line of these 130 pages, down to the last comma, with experts and affected groups. Now, could my colleague elaborate on his concerns about rights and fr…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, my colleague is using a figure of speech known as a “rhetorical question”. If such a committee existed, my colleague, who is the immigration critic, would probably know more about it than I do and know where it is now. I therefore take it that the answer was implied in the question. Nonetheless, I will take this opportunity to say that it took a long time and a lot of turning in circl…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, I am going to pick up where my colleague's response left off, when she mentioned the need to listen to the experts. I liked her speech. As I understand it, however, the New Democrats are going to vote against the bill. We are going to vote for it, but with the aim of dissecting it in committee. We will listen to the experts and the affected groups. Then, if necessary, we will vote aga…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, unfortunately, I need to point out that it took a wake-up call, like so many other situations. The same thing happened with the previous American administration with regard to Roxham Road. It took the White House saying that the situation was no longer working and that enough was enough. All of a sudden, the government, which has rediscovered the concept of Canadian sovereignty—so des…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, we are talking about a bill that seeks to expand the powers of the authorities in place, including border services. However, there are not enough officers. There are not enough officers. There are not enough officers. According to the customs union, they are not short 200 officers, but 3,000. What do we do about that?
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
With regard to goods imported into Canada with ties to Xinjiang: (a) what goods are entering the Canadian market after being refused entry into the United States, and in what quantities; (b) how many of these goods did not comply with the United States’ Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act; and (c) what goods and materials entering Canada have ties to Xinjiang, and in what quantities?
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
With regard to products containing polysilicon that are imported into Canada: (a) how many of these products are linked to Xinjiang; (b) what percentage of all imported products containing polysilicon do the products in (a) account for; and (c) how many were previously denied entry to the United States because they were not compliant with the United States' Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act?
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, I do not know if my colleague was here earlier when my colleague from Rivière-du-Nord made his speech. We are glad that something is finally happening, because it has been a long time coming. It took Donald Trump bringing out the big guns to get things moving. However, we are also concerned about the presumably disproportionate and freedom‑killing response contained in this bill. I as…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, on a point of order. Can we stop wasting time?
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, I do not know whether my colleague, who is much more legally-minded than I am, will appreciate the parallel I am about to draw. He will have to let me know. I find this bill strangely reminiscent of the use of the Emergencies Act, which we voted on here. After letting a situation deteriorate, after doing nothing, the government is going to the other extreme. The government's reaction …
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, I have a simple question for my colleague. In his opinion, why did it take the government so long to even lift a finger? As my colleague from Lac-Saint-Jean said earlier, this could have been done through an order or a decision by the government, rather than through the long process of passing a bill. All it needed to do was take immediate action at the border. Why did it take Preside…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, I would like to ask the same question that I asked another member earlier. Why did it take Donald Trump pulling out the big guns for the government to finally start doing something? People had been sounding the alarm in the House and elsewhere. Why is the government taking action now, especially when it could be done much faster than with this bill, as my colleague from Lac-Saint-Jean…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, when it comes to relations with the Americans, I would say that Quebec has led the way because our system is tied to California's system. Here is the funny part. Next week we are going to move on to the business of supply. We know that the government intends to get strengthen ties with Europe. However, the government announced that it was abolishing carbon pricing, even though it know…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, I think we are entitled to it because we contributed to it. That is precisely the problem: We contributed to it. Of course, what we gave, we need to get back. The same goes for British Columbia. That said, it is ironic because my colleague remembers very well how the Liberals swore for a long time, hand on heart, that the carbon tax was good for everyone. We had the numbers, we had th…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, that option is therefore not off the table. Can we safely assume that?
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, let us get back to the retaliatory measures we have been talking about. We know that the Minister of Finance challenged the study conducted by Oxford Economics. If I am not mistaken, he mentioned that earlier. How many billions of dollars were we at? Can he just remind me of the figure that was given a little earlier—
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, they are working on it, but I imagine that my colleague is in close contact with the Minister of International Trade, because this has a direct impact on importers and therefore a direct impact on trade. In a situation like the current one, where trade is very difficult and challenging, we do not need to shoot ourselves in the foot with a system that is riddled with problems. Does the…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, has a date been set for negotiations to resume, or are we not there yet?
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, what I have missed over the past six months is my hon. colleague being all over the map. He always gives very long speeches that go every which way in the preamble. He wants to answer everything, but at the end, he asks a question that is a bit out in left field. Do we need to support a bunch of industries? The answer is yes. Are there also industries that are part of the past and do …
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, I congratulate the ministers on their appointments to cabinet. I will start with a simple question. Does the minister not find it a little strange that we are here in this committee of the whole, but we still do not have the departmental plans?
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, we are really looking forward to that. I am going to ask a question about international trade. The person who is now the Minister of International Trade was once a fellow member of the Standing Committee on International Trade. Trade agreements include safeguard measures that are defined as emergency actions. These measures are taken when there are increased imports of particular prod…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, we were expecting $20 billion. How is the government planning to get the remaining $18.3 billion?
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, I think that everyone agrees that the old system needed to be replaced. That is not the issue. The concerns that were raised were about the system as it was going to be implemented, along with the lack of preparation. Is the minister in discussions with importers and exporters about their concerns and the irritants and problems that this is causing? Are there any assessments, with fig…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, I believe I am already following his account, but I do not think he is following mine. I would like to return the invitation. Let us move on to another topic. We know that starting next January, the European Union will begin imposing tariffs on imports from countries that do not have carbon pricing. It has even stated that it will start with high-emission sectors, including steel and …
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, the fact remains that the supply vote will take place next week, if I am not mistaken. We still do not have the departmental plans. It says on the website that we will get them sometime in June. Can the minister tell us when we will get them?
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, we know that this initiative is a major source of dissatisfaction. I have the data right here: There are calculation errors in duties and taxes, trouble obtaining technical support, serious system performance issues, and 22 service interruptions. Everything I just mentioned happened in the first month of the program's existence. Is that what the minister calls a system that was ready …
Read full speech →