Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, that member of Parliament, and we thank him for it, and his entire caucus voted for the exact tax cut we committed to for Canadians by July 1, so that on July 1, in every pay stub in Canada, everyone who pays income tax will have a reduction from 15% to 14% in the first tax bracket. That will put up to $840 in the pockets of Canadian families. Happy Canada Day. We are delivering for C…
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Mr. Speaker, that is preposterous. The member knows full well that 22 million people will be getting a tax cut after July 1; at the very least, he voted in favour of a bill that lowers taxes for all Canadians. Their paycheque will show a tax cut somewhere between 15% and 40% in the first bracket. That represents up to $840 for a Canadian family. That is what we promised to do. That is what we have…
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Mr. Speaker, I understand why the Bloc Québécois is not interested in building one strong Canadian economy. However, I find it harder to understand why the Bloc is opposed to the kind of major projects that Quebeckers are dreaming of, such as generating hydroelectricity, building infrastructure and uniting this country to create job opportunities. Instead of throwing around baseless insults that a…
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Mr. Speaker, I recognize my hon. colleague. He coached the Chicoutimi Saguenéens. They are not as good as the Gatineau Olympiques, but that is neither here nor there. Maybe he breathed in too much Zamboni exhaust. In Canada, we have options. We have gas-powered Zambonis, natural gas-powered Zambonis and electric Zambonis. Canadian arenas have options, and consumers have options. Workers are going …
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Mr. Speaker, I know the member of Parliament. He knows there is no ban on gas-powered vehicles. I will invite him to the riding, and we will go out on a Ski-doo ride when the winter comes. The fact is that Canadians have choice and will continue to have choice. In the meantime, we are going to power a new industry to put Canadian auto workers, Unifor workers, unionized men and women, to work build…
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Mr. Speaker, this line of questioning is somewhat absurd. Whether someone wants to get on a Ski-doo, get on an all-terrain vehicle, gas up their F-150 or have the plumber take their truck to work, that is a person's choice in this country. There is no ban on gas-powered vehicles. This is the completely conjured up, fake showmanship from the Conservatives. It is unbelievable. There is an auto secto…
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Mr. Speaker, I am having trouble understanding the actual line of questioning from the opposition. They are trying to—
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Mr. Speaker, when I go down to the street corner gas station near my house, they have this thing called a pump. The pump offers various choices of grades of gasoline, and for the hon. member's benefit, there is a yellow one that says “diesel”. If someone happens to have a diesel engine, they stick that pump into their vehicle. People have a choice to run their diesel truck or run their diesel car.…
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Mr. Speaker, not only are we not going to harm the regions, but in fact, we plan to build up the regions. We will build up regions like Bécancourt, which is now in the auto industry. We will support the electrification of transportation. I want to also suggest to my Conservative colleagues across the way that there is a guy in Queen's Park. His name is Doug Ford, and he supports electric vehicles.…
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Mr. Speaker, it is quite simple. Quebec did not participate in consumer carbon pricing. The rebate is an adjustment for communities and provinces subject to such pricing. Quebec did not participate, so the rebate does not apply to Quebeckers.
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Mr. Speaker, the minister has stood up and articulated and represents policies, which we debated in an election campaign, that will create hundreds of thousands of new homes for Canadians. In the meantime, he will of course be in compliance with the very strict ethics code and regulations that we in the House of Commons all live under. Doubting that is, frankly, unseemly on the part of the member.
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Mr. Speaker, it is not just the government that supports the bill. Quebeckers do too. We just had an election where 44 Liberal members were elected across Quebec. Why is that? It is because Quebeckers see the big picture. Quebeckers know that we need to build major projects and create good opportunities for our children and grandchildren. It allows us to dream. It allows us to build. Let us build …
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Mr. Speaker, Parliament is doing its job. We are a governing party elected on the slogan “It is time to build” in Canada. We are doing that respectfully. We are expediting projects of national significance of course, while respecting indigenous jurisdictions and rights. We are doing this because Canada must take responsibility for its economy, for creating opportunities and for creating jobs. It i…
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Mr. Speaker, it must be getting late in the month, because the level of innuendo coming from the other side of the House is, quite frankly, appalling. Obviously, the minister is in compliance with all of the disclosure obligations and is going to continue complying with the strictest ethics code in the world. At the same time, he will obviously be creating many hundreds of thousands of housing opp…
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Let me take one more opportunity to denounce the juvenile, amateurish invective coming from the other side of the House, which impugns the motives of upstanding people who represent themselves for public office and who work tirelessly to create opportunities for Canadians. The minister has a large mandate. He will create hundreds of thousands of housing units for Canadians. He will continue that w…
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Mr. Speaker, the bill in question respects provincial jurisdictions. It respects the rights of indigenous peoples. It respects the regulatory processes that are in place, but it aims to speed them up in order to move forward with projects of national significance that will create opportunities, jobs and infrastructure across the country. If the member does not believe me, then he can simply ask Qu…
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Mr. Speaker, I honestly do not know where honourable colleagues across the aisle are going with the questioning. The minister is obviously in full compliance with the strictest ethics code known of in the western world. It applies to all of us; it applies to the minister. He will be in full compliance with that.
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Mr. Speaker, the member opposite once served as a minister in a government. She knows full well what we are dealing with. Quite frankly, it surprises me to hear cheap shots like these in the House. She is imputing motives to ministers who are working hard, around the clock, to create housing and other opportunities on behalf of Quebeckers. This minister is working tirelessly with Quebec to create …
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Mr. Speaker, we are nearing the end of the sitting period. It has been intense, and I know there was an election. Frankly, it is dishonourable for the member to say such things about someone who ran for public office to do good for his community and for his country. The minister is working closely with the Quebec government to create housing programs and opportunities for young Quebeckers. He will…
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Mr. Speaker, I would point the member to the support of Canada's Building Trades Unions just this morning and the 13 premiers of the provinces and territories. That says nothing of an election campaign where we extensively debated the very issues the member is purporting to support. This is the government's response to those. We have outlined a process for accelerating major projects into the futu…
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Mr. Speaker, I do not know that we—
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Mr. Speaker, in relation to the consideration of Government Business No. 1, I move: That the debate not be further adjourned.
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Mr. Speaker, I know the member to be a very studious and constructive member of Parliament, and as he well knows, this is a major step toward accelerating the kinds of projects the member himself purports to support.
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Mr. Speaker, the member has obviously not read the Liberal Party of Canada's election platform. We debated the document at length during the campaign. It says, “It's time to unite this country and invest in nation-building infrastructure on a scale not seen in generations. Major nation-building projects will connect Canada and grow the economy in ways that last for generations”. Quebeckers and Can…
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Mr. Speaker, I would point the member to page 1 of the Liberal platform. We just had an election, as the member probably recalls, where we solicited a mandate to move very quickly on two important fronts: first, to reduce interprovincial trade barriers, which cost us billions of dollars and points on our gross domestic product, therefore making Canada poorer; and second, to accelerate the construc…
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Mr. Speaker, guess which party has been in opposition for the last 10 years. That means the Conservatives should, I think, rally themselves to a solution, a set of solutions that would enrich Canadians in every one of their ridings, contribute to our gross national product and create opportunity for working men and women and investments in this country from coast to coast to coast. The member shou…
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Mr. Speaker, that is an excellent question. We know that internal trade barriers have a cost. They come at a great cost to our economy and to the personal, individual wealth of all Canadians. The member makes an extraordinarily good point. They also come at a cost to working men and women in the skilled trades and in private sector unions right across this country. Men and women want a chance to m…
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Mr. Speaker, the hon. member well knows that the way we get things done in this country is by working together with indigenous peoples, with provinces, with cities, with unions and with private sector investment. That is the way we are going to move forward. We are going to move forward with consensus, getting investment decisions made while having good, strong, well-paying jobs involved in the co…
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Mr. Speaker, Canadians did not give the Bloc Québécois the right to introduce government bills. It is our job to introduce government bills in the House. Yes, we are in a minority situation. That means that they, too, must make choices, necessary choices in our opinion, choices that we will have to make to ensure the future of Quebec and Canada. The Bloc Québécois has an opportunity to ensure Queb…
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Mr. Speaker, I will give in French the same answer I just gave in English to my esteemed Conservative colleague. We just had an election. The first page of the election platform of the party currently in power states that we need to act quickly in the interest of the Canadian economy, first, to create one economy out of 13 and enrich every individual Canadian, and second, to quickly implement majo…
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Mr. Speaker, section 35 rights are constitutionally protected in Canada, and UNDRIP, as we know, has the principle of free, prior and informed consent. It is about working together in an atmosphere of partnership and respect. We are, of course, seeking meaningful participation and partnership from indigenous peoples, and I would remind the member that this includes indigenous peoples who are advoc…
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Mr. Speaker, I think the member was not listening to our leader when he mentioned the need to proceed with the adoption of this bill so it could obtain royal assent before Canada Day. My esteemed colleague will have a second reason to celebrate this Canada Day. We will open up investment opportunities in our country, while lowering barriers between Quebec and the other provinces. This will create …
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Mr. Speaker, that question betrays the member's absolute lack of consultation with working people in Alberta and across this country. Of course workers in this country want to be in on renewable technologies and the new economy. This is what sustainable jobs are about, but we also want to create new openings, new possibilities, new infrastructure and, yes, new resource development in this country,…
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Mr. Speaker, we are a minority government, and that makes the members on the other side of the House uncomfortable. It means that they have to make choices, necessary choices, choices that Quebeckers are asking us to make, choices that the other provinces are asking us to make. The unions, the business community and virtually every section of civil society are asking for this. They are urging us t…
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Mr. Speaker, by definition, everything that takes place here is democratic. The member across the aisle is denouncing our bill. I suggest that he speak to the Quebec government and stakeholders in the matter, including economic stakeholders, the Chamber of Commerce of Metropolitan Montreal, the FTQ and the rest of the union movement. These people are united. They stand behind the opportunity to la…
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Mr. Speaker, that is an extraordinary question that goes to the heart of this issue. We hear about democracy in the chamber. We just had the ultimate democratic test. Do members know what we heard? All of us, everyone in this chamber, heard this: Get moving. Get this country moving. We need a response to the threats coming from down south. We have a plan, a Liberal plan, to put before the people a…
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Mr. Speaker, to the member whose riding I know well, I very much doubt there will be a tanker going up the Saint John River anytime soon. I will say that in New Brunswick, and right across this country, whether it be in Saint John or in any other province, major projects have been put on the table. Those major projects require our attention, and that means the member's attention too. He does not g…
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Mr. Speaker, I recommend that my esteemed colleague read the first page. He will not have to read much of the document. The first page explains the need to act. The Prime Minister spoke at length of the need for the House to act. He said that, when we got here, we would introduce a bill that would receive royal assent before July 1, to give a Canada Day gift to all Canadians. This is a gift that w…
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Mr. Speaker, I welcome the member to the House. Hopefully, she can convey the same urgency she just conveyed in her question to her own caucus colleagues. Canada is at an economic crossroads. Canada requires measures that would provoke investment and create opportunity for working men and women right across the country. That is precisely what this bill does. I suspect the member knows it all too w…
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Mr. Speaker, by definition, everything that goes on here involves choices and that is, by definition, democratic. I am not sure I understand my colleague's question, but I suggest he go see the Premier of Quebec, the Fédération des travailleurs et travailleuses du Québec, the business community and everyone in Quebec's economic sector. They are telling us loud and clear that we need to do somethin…
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Mr. Speaker, the Minister of Housing, indeed all ministers and members of this House, live under some of the most stringent ethical requirements, which require disclosure and transparency, as the member knows very well. The Minister of Housing is, obviously, complying with all of those rules and will continue to do so. At the same time, he will continue working on providing housing opportunities f…
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Mr. Speaker, the minister is literally spending day and night, seven days a week, creating opportunities in housing for Canadians, while at the same time being in full compliance with the strictest ethical obligations faced by public office holders in the world. The Speaker knows that and those members know that. We are in full compliance. That will continue to be the case.
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Mr. Speaker, the more they talk, the more obvious it is that the Bloc members did not read the first page of our election platform. We literally spent the entire 35 days of the election campaign talking about getting the Canadian economy rolling, building one Canadian economy in order to help advance major projects, Quebec, green energy, the entire country and our workers. The Bloc Québécois is wr…
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Mr. Speaker, I would remind my colleague that we just finished an election campaign. On page one of our election platform, it says that we are going to pass a one Canadian economy bill, which will make it easier to get major projects built. This is a fact. Unions, the business community, the Premier of Quebec and all the premiers of Canada support it. Let us move forward with Bill C‑5. Let us get …
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Mr. Speaker, the minister quite literally just gave the answer on the floor of this House. That member knows, as do his colleagues, that we live under ethical guidelines that are among the most stringent in the world. They govern all the members of this House. The minister is in full compliance with all of the rules. That member knows better.
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Mr. Speaker, every responsible government must respect the environment, indigenous rights and processes. However, we know that we must now implement major projects, both in Quebec and in all the Canadian provinces and territories. We will do so with respect, but also with greater efficiency. We will put our workers to work. We will attract investments and stimulate our economy before Canada Day.
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Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank my colleague for raising a substantive issue, since all we are hearing this morning are questions about processes and procedure. The member knows this very well, because she has read the text of the bill, which does not eliminate any of the requirements concerning the environment or the consultation of indigenous communities, nor does it detract from any other st…
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Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for the question. It is indeed an interesting question, for this reason. Canadians are asking this Parliament to act. They elected the Parliament they did. It is a minority Parliament. It requires parties from all sides of the House to weigh in on the substance and the issues of the day. That can mean obstruction for obstruction's sake. We had a privilege motion t…
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It is very interesting to me, Mr. Speaker, that the Conservatives get up and decry the procedure on this very bill and then want to debate the next bill. We want to give them time to debate this bill. I am very interested as to why the member gets up and talks about other bills that may come before this House. Let us get down to business and do something for unions, for investors in this country, …
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Mr. Speaker, after losing stakeholders from civil society, unions and the business community, the Bloc Québécois is resorting to hyperbole. What we are doing, however, is bringing together unions, the business community, the Government of Quebec and even provincial and territorial governments. We are going to implement green projects, renewable projects and other projects that will get Canadians w…
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