Parliamentary Speeches
380 speeches by Xavier Barsalou-Duval — Page 4 of 8
Government Orders
Madam Speaker, I thank my colleague for her question. To be perfectly honest, I did not really examine the effect the carbon tax has on all Canadians, and I did not calculate how much money does or does not end up back in their pockets, because it simply does not apply in Quebec. The Conservatives do not seem to understand that, because they insist on discussing the carbon tax on every one of thei…
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Madam Speaker, I would like to begin by saying that I will be sharing my time with the member for Berthier—Maskinongé. We are here today to discuss the Conservatives' opposition day motion. It is not hard to guess what today's topic of discussion will be. For at least a year, I cannot recall a single Conservative opposition day that addressed anything but the carbon tax. Generally, when another pa…
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Mr. Speaker, since I have very little time, I would just like to say something and perhaps ask my colleague a question. Not very long ago, the leader of the Bloc Québécois and member for Beloeil—Chambly introduced a bill to prevent people from using the religious exemption to engage in hate speech. I would like to know whether this bill addresses that very important matter.
Read full speech →Private Members' Business
Mr. Speaker, I would first like to commend the member for Cumberland—Colchester on his bill. I had the chance to mention this earlier, but I think that mental health is an important issue. It is something we do not talk about enough. It is often taboo. The purpose of this bill is to give a little help to those who use mental health services by removing the goods and services tax from these service…
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Mr. Speaker, I would like to begin by congratulating my colleague on his bill. Whether it passes or not, it will be a victory because it will have been incorporated into Bill C-59. I wanted to put forward an amendment in the House to ensure that Quebec's specificity and the expertise that Quebec has developed, particularly in the fields of psychoeducation and sexology, would be recognized in this …
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Mr. Speaker, last week, more than 500 Verchères residents banded together to show how much they love the Verchères wharf, which is in desperate need of some TLC. For almost 30 years, the Verchères wharf has been abandoned by the federal government, gradually falling into such disrepair that access has been restricted since the pandemic. The people of Verchères cannot understand why the federal gov…
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Mr. Speaker, I have a question for my colleague. Her speech was quite enlightening about this situation, meaning the lack of will to implement the bill and ensure that it can come into force in the short term. As I do not have much time, I will be brief. The Quebec government settled this issue in 1977, almost 50 years ago. That is half a century. The first time someone decided to try to update th…
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Mr. Speaker, I would like to congratulate the member for Timmins—James Bay on his excellent speech. It was one of the most inspiring speeches we have heard in support of the cause of workers. If there is anything that needs to be recognized today, it is that the NDP always defends workers in its speeches. I am glad to hear that. However, the Bloc Québécois had proposed an amendment in committee to…
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Mr. Speaker, we in the Bloc Québécois believe that any form of intimidation of elected officials, especially when it comes from outside the country, is absolutely unacceptable. We are concerned about practices like the ones we just learned about this evening from my Conservative colleague, and of course we denounce them. In such circumstances, we also believe that when elected officials are the ta…
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Mr. Speaker, we are currently debating Bill C-20, an interesting bill. My colleague said that he intends to vote in favour of this bill. My colleague opposite will also be voting in favour, and I think my colleagues to my left will do the same. I have a feeling that everyone is going to vote in favour of the bill. Therefore, rather than talking specifically about Bill C-20, I will talk about somet…
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Mr. Speaker, I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate my colleague on his French. I think it always deserves mention when we see people from other provinces of Canada who choose, out of respect for others and perhaps out of personal interest, to learn the language of people who are part of the same country, at least for now. A lot of Quebeckers are learning English or know it well. We…
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Mr. Speaker, today we are debating Bill C-20, which deals with changes to the handling of complaints filed in connection with the level of service delivered by customs personnel or their possible misconduct. I am pleased to have the opportunity to rise in the House for a second time this week, since I did have the opportunity to give another speech earlier in the week on the government's budget. I…
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Mr. Speaker, that question caught me a little off guard. I would say that I take it for granted that every customs officer does their job professionally and that, regardless of their skin colour and religion, they are going to do as professional a job as any other customs officer. Would forcing greater diversity among customs officers really bring about change? It seems to me this question actuall…
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Mr. Speaker, I have a question for my colleague opposite, who seems quite proud of his government's track record. Bill C-20, in particular, talks a lot about the work of customs officers. From the testimony given in committee, something that seemed to crop up quite often was the whole issue of overwork and fatigue among customs officers. Many of us remember the endless airport lineups to get throu…
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Mr. Speaker, I have not read the specific amendments that my colleague is referring to. However, a problem that sometimes comes up when we talk about systemic racism is a prior assumption that there is a situation involving racism or systemic racism. If the goal of the amendments was to automatically assume that everyone is racist, then, of course, there may be a problem. For example, one good thi…
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Madam Speaker, since we are talking about the budget, my speech today will focus on the most recent budget, which was tabled by the Liberal government exactly two weeks ago today. Before I talk about the budget itself, I want to take a moment to give a little background. I want to talk about the context in which this budget was introduced. I would imagine that the government was aware that the pol…
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, La Presse recently alerted us to the fact that the Canada Border Services Agency has an obsolete and surplus goods program. Basically, it is a program to give money to merchants who throw away their excess merchandise. We are talking about non-perishable goods. For example, let us imagine that I have a store that sells jeans. I import a new style, and I end up with unsold jeans that a…
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Madam Speaker, while I share my colleague's concern about the government's colossal deficits and the fact that it may not have a plan for returning to a balanced budget, that does not necessarily make the debt-to-GDP ratio more frightening. I can understand why my colleague is concerned, but I am more concerned about seeing federal money used for things that are not federal responsibilities and sp…
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Madam Speaker, I do not get the impression that my colleague's question is about the budget. I am not familiar with the program he referred to, but I will be happy to discuss it with him after my speech and this debate, if we get the opportunity. The question I am asking myself is why we always have an NDP government—or rather an NDP party, but this one is practically a government—that decides to …
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Madam Speaker, the member across the way just provided an eloquent demonstration of his government's position, which is to run away, not face reality, not mind its own business, and then tell others how to conduct their business. The reality is that we have child care in Quebec. We have schools in Quebec. We have hospitals in Quebec. They are not perfect, but we are taking care of them. The federa…
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Madam Speaker, on Thursday morning, gas prices jumped by 15¢ a litre in one fell swoop. That is highway robbery. The carbon tax is not the culprit. It does not apply in Quebec. It did not even budge Thursday morning. No, the blame lies at the feet of greedy oil and gas companies getting ready for summer by bleeding everyone dry. Those same oil and gas companies, Suncor and CNRL, earned $8 billion …
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Madam Speaker, one of these days, the government will need to explain what an efficient oil subsidy is. It is funny, though. The carbon tax, which does not apply in Quebec, has a 0.15% impact on inflation, and yet the Conservatives get all worked up about it every day in Parliament. Meanwhile, when the price of gas goes up by 15¢ a litre, we do not hear a peep from them. There is a code of silence…
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Mr. Speaker, the federal government is not helping solve the housing crisis; it is simply stretching it out over time. Ottawa could just transfer the housing money to Quebec. That would be simple enough. Instead, the Liberals have chosen to attach conditions to the infrastructure program, supposedly to force the provinces to build housing faster. As a result, not only is housing construction slowi…
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Mr. Speaker, the Liberals have a lot of nerve. Instead of being helpful, they decided to be contemptuous and blackmail us with our own money, just like the Conservatives proposed. Quebec's housing minister was clear this week. She said it was out of the question for Quebec to agree to any conditions to get its fair share of a community funding envelope. Quebec cities do not fall under Ottawa's jur…
Read full speech →Statements by Members
Mr. Speaker, to promote the French language in Quebec, we need to share it with all new Quebeckers, but, of course, learning our national language takes time. That is why I want to talk about an inspiring initiative that is being taken by the Provigo in Boucherville. The grocery store gave all of its new employees who are learning French a button that says “I am learning French. Thank you for spea…
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Madam Speaker, they cannot help themselves. The federal government is interfering not only in Quebec's affairs, but now it wants to interfere in municipal affairs. Our cities are afraid that Ottawa is getting ready to interfere in the Canada community-building fund, which is actually the gas tax fund, and that the government is taking advantage of the fact that the fund expired in December to add …
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Madam Speaker, if the feds want to invest money in housing, that is fine. That is not a problem. The government can put money into housing, but it cannot take money from the gas tax fund and use it for anything other than upgrading our sewers, our water treatment plants and our streets, so that it can force cities to build housing. The government would basically be robbing Peter to pay Paul, and t…
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Mr. Speaker, Quebec has some great athletes. I am pleased to rise in the House to celebrate the victory of two of our athletes, Julien Lévesque from Boucherville and his partner Laurence Brière, who form one heck of a figure skating duo. I was delighted to see these two youngsters, beaming and waving the Quebec flag, all with the Canadian championship medal around their necks. This Quebec duo, com…
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Madam Speaker, I represent a Quebec riding. Quebec's day care system has been in place for 25 years. Families really like it and are proud of it. I doubt we could make any sort of changes to it because people are so attached to the system and even take it for granted. It is a fixture in Quebec. As for the rest of Canada, the program is under development, if I understand correctly. The government s…
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Madam Speaker, I find the question from my colleague across the way to be rather hypocritical. It speaks to his government's vision. Immigration for the Liberals is like oil for the Conservatives. They always want more and there is no limit. My colleague is asking me whether the provinces that want more immigrants can have more. The answer is of course they can. Our motion does not seek to prevent…
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Madam Speaker, the kind of debate we are having today is a good opportunity to clarify a few things and explain the data and the facts, rather than engage in the kind of extreme polarization that pegs people as nice when they want higher targets or as nasty xenophobes when they want lower targets. In reality, it is much more complex. For example, it is important to have a good sense of Quebec's ca…
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Madam Speaker, first, there were no consultations. Second, it really is a directive. Actually, it is more than a directive. It is interference, because education, schools, universities, CEGEPs and elementary schools all fall under the jurisdiction of the provinces and the Quebec nation. When the federal government starts saying that it is going to limit the number of students Quebec can have in it…
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Madam Speaker, I wish to inform the House in advance that I will be sharing my time with the member for Berthier—Maskinongé. The Bloc Québécois has decided to devote today's opposition day to the issue of immigration. I will give a bit of background to explain why, but basically, on November 1, 2023, so last year, the Bloc Québécois decided to devote its opposition day to immigration. We unanimous…
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Madam Speaker, from the very beginning, we have been listening to the Conservatives explain their position on Bill C-57. I am quite surprised. I am actually having a hard time following them, because it was the Conservatives who introduced the first version of the former free trade agreement with Ukraine. The new version essentially updates the old one, so there is nothing revolutionary about it. …
Read full speech →Private Members' Business
Mr. Speaker, I find it interesting to hear my colleague, the leader of the NDP, talk about wanting to introduce a bill to help bring down the cost of groceries. As I just mentioned, we know that everyone is frustrated about the cost of groceries. It is nice to see him take an interest in the price of groceries. I am somewhat puzzled by the fact that the same party leader is a partner in a coalitio…
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Mr. Speaker, today we are talking about Bill C‑34 at third reading stage. I feel like I am going back in time because even though I am not a member of the committee that studied Bill C‑34, I had the opportunity to speak to it at second reading. That was on February 8, if I am not mistaken. I find it fascinating to see what has changed in the bill between February 8 and now, or rather, what has not…
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Mr. Speaker, I would like to take this opportunity to respond right away to my Conservative colleague, who is criticizing us for not supporting their amendment to Bill C‑34. The Bloc Québécois did not support the Conservatives' amendment to Bill C‑34 because it was too broad. It was so broad that it included just about every investment not originating with one of the Five Eyes countries, the Commo…
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Mr. Speaker, I see that the NDP has once again decided to support a government gag order. I find this odd because, in general, the role of the opposition parties is to challenge the government. Their role is to try and determine whether the government is doing a good job, to ask questions, to try to improve things. We get the impression that the NDP is just rubber-stamping everything that the Libe…
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Mr. Speaker, I will leave it to the minister to convince the public of the need for his gag order. We are debating a closure motion, but we are wondering why we are even doing that. The Liberals are only imposing closure because they already know that someone is going to vote in favour of it, and that is likely the NPD, which is part of their coalition. My question will instead focus on the bill. …
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Madam Speaker, I thank my colleague for his speech. It sounds like he really studied the bill. When we give speeches in the House, I think it is important that we truly pay attention to the bill's content in order to elevate the debate and have meaningful discussions. My colleague spoke at length about what he would like us to do to dive deeper into this matter. I would like to know what he would …
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Madam Speaker, I would like to ask my colleague to address something in the Canada Investment Act that he left out in his speech. It is true that the Canada Investment Act includes a section on national security, but this legislation also includes a section that affects nearly every transaction for which the minister must assess whether it provides a net benefit to Canada. First, I would like to k…
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
Madam Speaker, I really like the picture my colleague from Rimouski-Neigette—Témiscouata—Les Basques painted of Ottawa's so-called experts who are struggling to manage their own assets. When we go out to Quebec's regions and see the wharves and airports, people everywhere tell us that the situation is outrageous, that the federal government has stopped investing and has turned its back on them. Th…
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Madam Speaker, we understand that the NDP is always trying to find ways to save the government and give it a hand. They think the Liberals are so pitiful and should be kept in office, but the reality is that the Canada Infrastructure Bank is fundamentally flawed. I do not think patching it up is the best solution. As we have shown, it is not up to the federal government to get involved in infrastr…
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Madam Speaker, to answer my colleague's question, I would say that they are in real trouble at the bank. They are really in trouble. I think that they are in such bad shape that there is no way the Canada Infrastructure Bank is going to recover. What my colleague is describing is a bit like the image we have seen. We see the Liberals giving contracts to Liberal insiders, and they are trying to cre…
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Madam Speaker, I thank the member for his question, because it gives me an opportunity to respond to an argument he made in his response to a question asked by my colleague after his speech. He said that the Bloc Québécois sees the federal government as an ATM and that we want it to hand over the money without any sense of accountability. It is an interesting image. It is pretty cute. It is a nice…
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Madam Speaker, today we are debating the Standing Committee on Transport, Infrastructure and Communities' report on the Canada Infrastructure Bank. I am actually surprised that we are debating this today, because the committee released its report on the Canada Infrastructure Bank in May 2022, and here it is, fall 2023. It was tabled quite a while ago, and we had the opportunity to debate it well b…
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Madam Speaker, the Conservatives and the Liberals need to talk to one another. The Conservatives are accusing us of supporting the Liberals and the Liberals are accusing us of supporting the Conservatives. In the real world, the reality is that the Bloc Québécois supports Quebec. Perhaps that is what bothers them.
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
Madam Speaker, I do not know how to respond. I do not know where my colleague was during my speech. When I talked about the ATM, I was referring to the metaphor that my colleague used. In no way did I claim that I agreed with that. In no way have we claimed to agree with the institution that is the Canada Infrastructure Bank. My colleague may be making up a parallel reality, a parallel universe. I…
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Madam Speaker, I am glad to see that some government members are defending Bill C‑57. When one has negotiated something, it is important to stand behind it. This brings me to my question. In Quebec yesterday, the Parti Québécois unveiled its year one budget, projecting that Quebec has the financial capacity to be an independent country. I wonder how my colleague, as a member of the governing party…
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Madam Speaker, I am flabbergasted and discouraged. Earlier, I went to eat, but I had lost my appetite. From the outset, I have been telling myself that, since we are talking about a bill that is consensual, everyone will agree, that we will say that it is good to have free trade agreements, to show solidarity with Ukraine and to strengthen our mutual economies. However, for some time now, the Cons…
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