Parliamentary Speeches

Oral Questions

Mr. Speaker, the first word he said was “yes”. That is where the clarity ends. I assume that the Prime Minister believes, as I do and as all members do, that religion and the state are two separate things, one being personal and the other being public and collective, and that religion should not interfere in state decisions. That being the case, can the Prime Minister explain why his government sp…

Oral Questions

Mr. Speaker, first, I want to make one thing very clear: The Bloc Québécois fully respects freedom of conscience, freedom of belief and freedom of religion. That is true for all people, including the Prime Minister. Yesterday, the Prime Minister quoted the Bible in a speech. That is his prerogative, but I would like some clarification on what has become a critical issue in light of recent events. …

Oral Questions

Mr. Speaker, it is one or the other, and the Prime Minister is going to have to make up his mind. Either he acknowledges that religion plays a role and directly influences how his government and the Liberal Party manage government affairs, or he stops challenging Bill 21, which sets out rules for the secular nature of Quebec's state institutions. The Prime Minister cannot say and defend one thing …

Oral Questions

Mr. Speaker, in 2019, the Quebec National Assembly passed a state secularism law. Like it or not, it is legitimate. Is the government trying to tell Quebeckers that the federal Parliament is superior and has authority over the Quebec National Assembly? Does Liberal Canada think it is in charge of Quebec?

Oral Questions

Mr. Speaker, we are listening carefully to the arguments being presented to the Supreme Court. Some of them are excellent while others range between stupid and downright insulting. There is still time. Will the government acknowledge that it should instruct its lawyers to withdraw their submission and ask them not to present arguments against Quebec?

Oral Questions

Mr. Speaker, I would be lying if I said that I was surprised that he does not understand. Pierre Elliott Trudeau's Canada forced a constitution on Quebec. Quebec did not sign it and has never accepted it. Today, we are being told that Ottawa is in charge according to this Constitution and its charter designed against Quebec. By taking action against Quebec in the Supreme Court, is Liberal Canada t…

Oral Questions

Mr. Speaker, I should have been more specific in my question and asked whether he spoke with all of our allies in Europe together. Also, it will take a lot more continental drift for the United States to end up in Europe. Does the Prime Minister intend to propose any short-term measures to help people who are suffering and who will continue to suffer as a direct result of this war? I am talking ab…

Oral Questions

Mr. Speaker, if I could call that clear, that would be news. In military terms, Canada is clearly the smallest of the major players. Among the mid-level players, it is clearly the most isolated and no one seems to have understood its position so far. Has the Prime Minister spoken with our allies in Europe? What have they agreed on in terms of a common position?

Oral Questions

Mr. Speaker, bring out the good china; we have visitors in Parliament. Judging by the Prime Minister's inclination to travel the world like Marco Polo, he is his own foreign affairs minister. Unfortunately, this foreign affairs minister is not known for his clarity, and by not accepting his own invitation yesterday, he missed a tremendous opportunity to explain his policies in Parliament. When wil…

Government Orders

Mr. Speaker, rhetoric aside, I will not rise in this Parliament to declare that the President of the United States is a crazy person. I will exercise restraint. However, I get the impression that insanity in the use of nuclear weapons has much in common with insanity in the use of weapons in general. We see that all too often here, in the United States and everywhere else. Using violence and wishi…

Government Orders

Mr. Speaker, I understand that we are talking about oil and gas pipelines. However, there is now a war going on in Iran. The last time Canada wanted to build a pipeline, it took 14 years. I am hopeful that people are a bit more optimistic than that about when this war will end. After letting a good part of our capacity to develop the electric sector fall apart, the government is now realizing that…

Government Orders

Mr. Speaker, that question brings up the whole issue of precedent, that is, questioning the multilateral institutions that ensure that people talk to each other before they take action. Many of these institutions were created in the aftermath of the Second World War to safeguard against the proliferation of armed conflict. It is very risky to play games, calling for an end to such institutions. I …

Government Orders

Mr. Speaker, I have serious concerns, and they are not exactly easy to express. I will explain why. There is a tendency to give a bit of a free pass, so to speak. It is as though, whenever there is a crisis, it is important to not question what the Prime Minister says, does, thinks, writes or changes. That is our job as parliamentarians, however. Over the past few months, in a number of speeches a…

Government Orders

Mr. Speaker, allow me to quote a rather old but very relevant saying: The absent are always in the wrong. This saying takes on a very special meaning today. Let us hope that, together, we can see reason. Perhaps some people would have preferred to see certain others here. Everyone will come to their own judgment. However, a certain someone's presence would certainly have helped to clarify things a…

Government Orders

Mr. Speaker, it is a good thing I do not need to ask my colleague to repeat his question. My answer will be shorter than the question. The primary duty of a government is to take care of its citizens, to protect them. As I said earlier, not all of the 106,000 or so Canadian expats have asked to be repatriated. There have been only a few thousand requests. How many of them just said that there was …

Government Orders

Mr. Speaker, we have no right to speak for people who are not here and who will not speak publicly. Diplomacy is, by its very nature, discreet. We should ask ourselves what diplomats are currently saying behind closed doors. It is a troubling inconsistency when a prime minister says that military interventions must be sanctioned by the UN under international law, and then, at the first opportunity…

Oral Questions

Mr. Speaker, the sponsorship scandal cost around $330 million. The SAAQclic fiasco in Quebec cost around $1.1 billion. The infamous Phoenix fiasco is estimated to cost $5.1 billion and counting. Estimates for the Cúram fiasco have ranged from $1.6 billion to $6.6 billion. Is the Prime Minister proud to be presiding over the worst financial scandal in Canadian history?

Oral Questions

Mr. Speaker, he says it is not his fault. In 2019, the Bloc Québécois called for the government to boost retirees' purchasing power. Then came the pandemic, which made matters worse for retirees. That was followed by postpandemic inflation, which further eroded retirees' purchasing power. Next, there was discrimination between retirees over 75 and those under 75, and now we have Cúram, which is pr…

Oral Questions

Mr. Speaker, Cúram is the biggest financial scandal in Canadian history. Retirees' purchasing power has been falling since the Liberals came to power. I am talking about these Liberals and the ones in the previous government, because they are one and the same. Since the Prime Minister says it is not his fault, will he at least agree to get to the bottom of the Cúram scandal by launching an indepen…

Mr. Speaker, today, our thoughts are with the community of Tumbler Ridge, British Columbia, where nine children have been killed and 25 others injured. Our thoughts are with the victims of this senseless and unspeakable violence at a high school. I will make an exception today so that I can speak directly to the families and to British Columbians who are not all fortunate enough to speak French. I…

Oral Questions

Mr. Speaker, it is not getting any better. Let us say that Canada is in a good position to tell the U.S. president that we paid for the bridge and to ask him to treat us with respect. However, now we are going to pay for planes even though he is not treating us with respect and he will retain control over the planes by monitoring the flight plans. At this point, should the government not practise …

Oral Questions

Mr. Speaker, wording the question differently could lead to a differently worded answer that I might have a chance to understand. If the Prime Minister believes that the United States is no longer a reliable partner, is it normal for the government to follow through on a contract that the Prime Minister himself called to be studied and suspended, when the U.S. President goes so far as to say that …

Oral Questions

Mr. Speaker, a few weeks ago, the Prime Minister gave a speech in Davos about the hypocrisy of great empires, a speech that most people seemed to agree with. He outlined some very interesting principles. Today, I want to call on the Prime Minister to be consistent because in that speech he said—without naming names, but in other circumstances, he did name names—that the United States was no longer…

Oral Questions

Mr. Speaker, I gather that this is the sum total of the Prime Minister's knowledge of the trauma caused by the expropriations in Mirabel, which he wants to duplicate and repeat. Does he think that expropriation without mutual agreement, expropriation by email, expropriation without impact studies, and expropriation without genuine consultation are likely to ease the serious trauma suffered by the …

Oral Questions

Mr. Speaker, I am not aware of any agricultural producer who considers their farm to be too small to be worthy of respect. Are the powers to suspend rules, laws, parliamentary privilege, environmental consultations, and expropriation rules not proof that Bill C-5 and its offshoot, Bill C-15, are heartless bills?

Oral Questions

Mr. Speaker, first, allow me pay my respects to Prime Minister Harper, who is the thought leader for both the Prime Minister and the Conservative leader. I would like the Prime Minister, in the company of someone who claimed to be sensitive to Quebec's reality, to summarize what he knows and understands about the expropriation and the trauma inflicted on residents of Mirabel during construction of…

Oral Questions

Mr. Speaker, yesterday, the Prime Minister told us that China had committed to lifting its tariffs on Quebec pork. The pork industry, which did not know about this, was both surprised and very happy, understandably so. This morning, Antoine Trépanier reported that this is not in fact true. The government should not treat people this way. It should not be creating false hope. Can the government con…

Oral Questions

Mr. Speaker, I did not hear the words “pig”, “hog” or “pork”. There was no reference to pork in the answer. My question is simple. The Prime Minister, who is the new incarnation of God, told us yesterday that we now have a deal with the Chinese, who are lifting tariffs on pork. Can the government at least include the word “pork” in its answer? Can it quickly commit to ensuring that lifting tariffs…

Oral Questions

Mr. Speaker, she is talking about a "friendly" agreement. The pigs will be thrilled. That said, the minister responsible for the negotiations was interviewed on Radio-Canada this morning and he said that, while we are focusing on history, he is focusing on Quebec's forests. My goodness, what a day of revelations it has been. It is the Epiphany. Can someone tell me what this government has done for…

Oral Questions

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister's comments are more cute than accurate. Let us talk about the religious exemption. Does the Prime Minister agree or disagree with his justice minister, who seems to agree with the Bloc Québécois? I want to know where he stands personally, and I think the public has a right to know that. Will the Prime Minister serve the interests of religious minorities or will he s…

Oral Questions

Mr. Speaker, is Adil Charkaoui among the religious leaders who must be protected? It is like we are back under Justin Trudeau's government. We have learned that someone close to the Prime Minister, someone close to the Liberal Party of Canada, has lobbied for Driver Inc., drivers who are a danger on our roads. I would like the Prime Minister to tell me whether he will serve the interests of friend…

Oral Questions

Mr. Speaker, this morning, the former environment minister and former heritage minister, who is still very much a member of the Liberal caucus, published a letter that his replacements are clearly not very happy about. In it, he describes the agreement between the Prime Minister of Canada and the Premier of Alberta as a significant step backwards and a rollback. I need to know. Will the Prime Mini…

Oral Questions

Mr. Speaker, the former minister of Canadian identity and culture left cabinet and admitted that he did it to make people think, because the Liberal Party had neglected the progressive wing of the party and because the reason that the Liberal Party had won so many seats was that Bloc supporters voted for it. To replace the member for Laurier—Sainte-Marie, the Prime Minister appointed the member fo…

Oral Questions

Mr. Speaker, unless the Prime Minister's autocratic tendencies grow stronger, there will be another election one day. According to the former minister, people voted for voted for climate action, which the Prime Minister claimed to care about, and for trade negotiations. However, the Prime Minister is focused on neither. He is not doing things he said he would do, and he is doing things he never sa…

Oral Questions

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister thinks that nuclear power is clean energy. The Prime Minister is removing the caps and limits on greenhouse gas emissions, particularly for electricity generation. The former minister also said that once the support of the base is lost, it is very hard to get it back. For his own sake, will the Prime Minister abandon his oil agenda, go back to his climate agenda, an…

Oral Questions

Mr. Speaker, when one wants to get a party's agreement, then that party should be invited to participate in the agreement from the get-go. The contract the Prime Minister signed applies regardless, even without British Columbia. Will the Prime Minister acknowledge that he did not respect what was said in the House and that there was not much respect for the truth when this agreement was signed? Th…

Oral Questions

Mr. Speaker, it is a document that he signed and that creates obligations. It is a contract. He can call it whatever he likes in the language of his choice. Given the issues surrounding the oil tanker moratorium, the issues surrounding the cap on greenhouse gas emissions, British Columbia's lack of agreement and the opposition of the first nations that voted against the agreement this morning, doe…

Oral Questions

Mr. Speaker, last Thursday, the Prime Minister announced an agreement with Alberta that is surprising in many respects. I am thinking in particular of the fact that, the day before, I had asked the government whether it would make a solemn commitment not to allow any pipeline to pass through British Columbia without the free consent of the British Columbia government and first nations. The House l…

Oral Questions

Mr. Speaker, we will not even pretend to say that they did not read their own document. The document is clear. It claims there is just one Canadian economy, which is not that of British Columbia or Quebec, but that of Ottawa and Calgary, with no regard for environmental assessments, indigenous peoples or provincial powers. Based on that, it looks like the Prime Minister is taking it upon himself t…

Oral Questions

Mr. Speaker, did I just hear the Minister of Environment and Climate Change endorse an appalling agreement that scraps greenhouse gas emission caps for the oil industry and even for electricity production? Yesterday, I asked whether the government would formally and solemnly assure Canadians that no pipeline would ever be imposed without the free consent of British Columbia and indigenous peoples.…

Oral Questions

Mr. Speaker, November 27, 2025, will go down in history as the date the Government of Canada completely abandoned climate issues and the people suffering because of them, both here and abroad, so it could benefit oil company shareholders, most of them American. The Government of Canada has signed an agreement that requires it, if necessary, to steamroll over British Columbia and over various indig…

Oral Questions

Mr. Speaker, in 1995, a Liberal prime minister pulled a fast one on Quebec by cheating, lying and hiding. In 2025, is another Liberal Prime Minister pulling another fast one on the provinces and Quebec? He was elected on a platform of tariffs and trade, which he is now using to force an oil agenda onto the backs of Quebec and the provinces to the benefit of American shareholders and himself.

Oral Questions

Mr. Speaker, I will need to be more specific in my question. I want to ask the Minister of Canadian Identity and Culture, a former executive of Equiterre, this question. Is he comfortable with the Prime Minister's focus, which involves weakening international relations, flouting Canada's laws and regulations, and siphoning money from Quebec and Canadians, all for an oil agenda that is detrimental …

Oral Questions

Mr. Speaker, had we proposed an environmental measure, at least there would have been one in the budget. Will the Minister of Canadian Identity and Culture, the former environment minister and a Quebecker who served as a member of the Liberal caucus under Justin Trudeau, solemnly assure Quebeckers and the people of British Columbia, on his honour as an environmentalist who scaled towers in Ontario…

Oral Questions

Mr. Speaker, I am very pleased to acknowledge another record set by the member for Bécancour—Nicolet—Saurel—Alnôbak. Yes, another record. He is basically the Céline Dion or Mario Lemieux of Parliament. Eventually, after so many records, people like that are no longer eligible. At some point, they have to step aside and make way for others, except that no one will ever beat my friend's records in P…

Oral Questions

Mr. Speaker, the discomfort on that side is palpable. It is like the entire team is skating backwards to make up for the Prime Minister's diplomatic blunder. We are talking about the values of the free world, the efforts to build a better world and the powerful message being sent on the world stage. Is this not instead about pandering to the United Arab Emirates' sexist regime?

Oral Questions

Mr. Speaker, I was shocked to learn that, following his visit to the United Arab Emirates, the Prime Minister of Canada is abandoning Canada's feminist approach to diplomacy and international relations. Can the government confirm today that gender equality is no longer a value promoted by Canada? I can assure the House that gender equality is a Quebec value.

Oral Questions

Mr. Speaker, that is a perfect example of someone speaking out of both sides of their mouth. The government reels off bits of feminist rhetoric when, in fact, the message they are sending on the international stage is that Canada is no longer a country that promotes gender equality. Coincidentally, this comes at a time when the Prime Minister is looking for tens of billions of dollars from the Uni…

Oral Questions

Mr. Speaker, loyalty is a virtue. I am loyal to Quebec and to Quebec sovereignty. The Minister responsible for Canada Economic Development for Quebec Regions has shown that she is loyal to the Quebec Liberal Party and to Pablo Rodriguez, even as new revelations emerge about the legality of their financial practices. To each their own loyalties. However, the minister's federalist and Liberal loyalt…

Oral Questions

Mr. Speaker, and the shadows of Jean Chrétien and Jean Charest fall over Parliament. The minister's reasoning is clear. The bigger the country, the stronger the currency. Let us assume that is true, although I would be happy to offer her an internship with my colleague from Mirabel. In the meantime, based on her own logic, does that mean she thinks Canada should scrap its own dollar and adopt the …