Parliamentary Speeches
692 speeches by Yves-François Blanchet — Page 7 of 14
Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, yesterday, the Bloc Québécois reintroduced a bill to eliminate the religious exemption that allows hate and violence to be incited in the guise of religion. We saw people hide behind the religious exemption recently to justify their support for a terrorist organization. This time, will the Prime Minister vote in favour of eliminating the religious exemption with respect to hate speech…
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Mr. Speaker, in order for police to take action, the law must allow them to do so. Last time, the Prime Minister chose denial and swept the issue under the rug. Discussion ended then and there. He spoke of freedom of expression, freedom in general, as he did just now. This religious exemption is found in a bill that criminalizes hate speech yet allows people to take the cowardly way out and hide b…
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Mr. Speaker, Dany Laferrière is a master of both pen and nuance, so much so that he was honoured with the Grand Prix des Ambassadeurs francophones de France in Paris on February 1. Mr. Laferrière received this prestigious literary award for his book Petit traité sur le racisme. It is about racism, a thorny and slippery subject, but one that Laferrière handles in his own inimitable way. He deploys …
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Mr. Speaker, medical assistance in dying is profoundly influenced by a progressive idea in Quebec. Everyone agrees that a person who is suffering from a serious mental illness cannot make a decision on medical assistance in dying. There is a broad consensus about that idea, and a postponement is warranted. However, there are people who know ahead of time that their condition will deteriorate and w…
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Mr. Speaker, take a good look at his hand. The only hand he is holding belongs to the Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship. Does the Prime Minister really want to make that commitment in an election year? Does he want Canadians and Quebeckers to think that when he gives his word, it cannot be believed? Does he want to make them question whether his word is worth anything, whether he i…
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Mr. Speaker, let us say that my neighbour comes by and I ask him to do me a favour and pay the people who are coming to install my heat pump. I promise that I will pay him back the next day. The next day, when my neighbour comes to see me and asks me to give him back his $1,000, I tell him that I will not or that I will give him only a fraction of the amount. That is what is happening with immigra…
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Mr. Speaker, I am simply asking the Prime Minister to recognize that these are two different situations. There are people who are already living with a mental health condition that does not enable them to make the decision, and there are people who are currently in full control of their faculties and who would like to make the decision in advance. I think the Prime Minister may want to consider it…
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Mr. Speaker, this is going to take a while. The House unanimously adopted a motion calling on the government to consult Quebec and the provinces on immigration targets. However, the government seems to be using the policies suggested by McKinsey and the Century Initiative, and even more, because at this rate, the population will hit 100 million by the end of the century. Is the government disregar…
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Mr. Speaker, if things are stabilized at the current number, then things will be good in the coming decades. It seems to me like we are hearing the same thing as we did at the end of the last session. We are beginning a new session. Let us do so with a new state of mind. The Premier of Quebec sent a letter asking the Canadian government to ensure the fair distribution of asylum seekers across Cana…
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Mr. Speaker, yesterday at the UN, Canada voted in favour of a ceasefire in Gaza. I wholeheartedly commend the Canadian government's wisdom in choosing to join a major international movement. That said, an important nuance needs to be made. This is not a rejection of Israel's right to defend itself. This is not an endorsement of Hamas, but an indignant response to the loss of human life. To foster …
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Mr. Speaker, my call to the Prime Minister is this: Let us end 2023 with dignity. If everyone here in the House were to unanimously vote for peace, including peace in our own streets, and if everyone were to eliminate hate speech under the guise of religion, then everyone would win. Our streets would be safer, and we would all have a clearer conscience. Will the Prime Minister accept my suggestion…
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Mr. Speaker, that is pretty much what we were told about dental health back in grade three, but that does not explain the program. However, I get that it is hard to explain. The government announced a slapdash program that puts the private sector front and centre, which is surprising coming from the NDP, and that interferes in an area under Quebec's jurisdiction, although that part is no shocker c…
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Mr. Speaker, I tried to understand the government's new dental care program, but it is not simple. There are three types of dental insurance: private insurance for those who have it, the federal program and Quebec's program. However, there is only one jurisdiction, and that belongs to Quebec. Since it should be easy to explain if it is simple, and since the Liberal government keeps compulsively to…
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Mr. Speaker, while there are people who see themselves as prime minister but then have the crazy idea of grinding Parliament to a halt, there is work to be done. For example, the government appointed Catherine Tait as interim CEO of CBC/Radio-Canada. Her mandate is to fight against disinformation; fight against disinformation by cutting jobs in French in the regions. Does the Prime Minister agree …
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Mr. Speaker, I hope we are not supposed to think that Liberal cuts are better than Conservative cuts. More people in Canada tune in to Radio-Canada than the CBC. Radio-Canada generates more advertising revenue in Canada than the CBC. In fact, French-language Radio-Canada subsidizes CBC's English-language services. Nevertheless, Ms. Tait is calling on French-language Radio-Canada to absorb half the…
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Mr. Speaker, while those two members are bickering about amateur cinema, the media industry is in crisis. Media outlets no longer have the means to fulfill their mandate. News organizations are collapsing. The regions are in decline. Arts and culture are being eroded. The French language is in decline. Does the Prime Minister realize that this is the worst possible time to cut 800 jobs at CBC/Radi…
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Mr. Speaker, that is obviously grossly inadequate. The government just got $100 million from Google through an agreement that we would really like to get our hands on. That is great news. Private media already had to cut more than $100 million from their operations, however. CBC/Radio-Canada not only wants to dip into the $100 million from Google, but it also wants to cut French-language and regio…
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Mr. Speaker, the Canadian Human Rights Commission falls under the federal government's jurisdiction. I am therefore asking the Prime Minister of Canada to show some backbone and respond.
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Mr. Speaker, when we agree with something, it is always important to say so. We need security for military members and good jobs. However, why rule out Bombardier? The people at Bombardier are capable of doing this. They are capable of providing this. We could at least check with them. The government is ruling out a modern Quebec and Canadian company in favour of the American dinosaur, Boeing. We …
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Mr. Speaker, according to media reports, the government is still refusing to launch a competition for the replacement of the surveillance aircraft fleet. What is worse, it has no interest in finding out what the results of a competition would be. Instead, it is taking on that role itself and, based on its own analysis, it has chosen an American company. We have nothing against the Americans, but w…
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That was not so hard, Mr. Speaker. Perhaps we can almost agree. The creation of a national culture involves bringing people in and being welcoming. It does not involve excluding people or undermining the host society. A few dozen immigrant Quebeckers will be attending a Christmas celebration that I am hosting in my riding in a few days. Do I have to cancel that event because the Canadian Human Rig…
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Mr. Speaker, a few years ago, the cover of Croc magazine stated, “Just because people laugh does not mean it is funny”. According to the Canadian Human Rights Commission, the simple act of celebrating Christmas with a tree, family, music and gifts is systemic racism. I wonder if good old Santa Claus is racist. I wonder if snow has become racist. Does the Prime Minister think that Christmas is raci…
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moved for leave to introduce Bill C‑367, An Act to amend the Criminal Code (promotion of hatred or antisemitism). Mr. Speaker, it seems to me that a modern Parliament worthy of its name needs to address certain things that we are long overdue in addressing, things that perhaps never should have happened in the first place. There is a cost to living together and to living in harmony in society. Tha…
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Mr. Speaker, Quebeckers should take note of the fact that, according to the Minister of Immigration and his friends who applauded him, an elected Liberal member is worth more than an elected Bloc Québécois member. I invite him to take note of the fact that the federal government has an agreement with Quebec. Quebec spends $460 million and honours its part of the agreement, which is essentially to …
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Mr. Speaker, it seems I am not getting anywhere. I do not know who he thinks he is, but he owes Quebec $460 million. If I do not pay my credit card bill, I would not say that I am not an ATM. That is a bit of a smart-alecky answer. It is unworthy of a parliamentarian. It shows a lack of respect for parliamentarians. It shows a lack of respect for Quebec. Why is he not sitting down with Quebec, rea…
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Mr. Speaker, over the past few days the Minister of Immigration has made disrespectful comments about members of the Bloc Québécois who are asking questions, which is our job, and has even impugned Quebec, which is highly questionable. Can we put all this behind us? Can the minister show the high-mindedness he is known for, which his office demands, and acknowledge that based on his own government…
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Mr. Speaker, I am cautiously optimistic about this. I hope that we will get somewhere quickly, but we need to reach agreement. The bill is very short. All that we need to do is remove the exceptions, two sections of the Criminal Code, which are used to excuse, permit and perpetuate hate speech. Does the Prime Minister agree that we should move quickly on a bill that is necessary and easy to pass i…
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Mr. Speaker, gunfire has been heard in Montreal over the past few days. Windows have been broken, and graffiti has been directed specifically against the Jewish community. There are fears that these actions were in some way encouraged by an exception in the Criminal Code that allows hate speech and the incitement of violence. In light of recent events, would the Prime Minister agree to remove the …
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Mr. Speaker, I hope that things will go as smoothly as possible at the border, particularly in the current global context. That being said, yesterday, the government delivered an economic statement. Smile, good people. Bring out the marching band and have a parade. We are saved. The problem is that there is no substance to the economic statement. There is absolutely nothing in there. The Liberals …
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Mr. Speaker, the government has been rehashing the same $900 million for two years now to try to look good. That announcement certainly predates yesterday's economic statement. That response only underscores how vacuous the economic statement is. We have a saying where I come from that goes something like this: If you cannot help, at least do no harm. The government is creating a department of hou…
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Mr. Speaker, that is fascinating. I asked a question about yesterday's economic statement, and the answer I got had to do with an announcement that was made two years ago. That in itself is proof that there is nothing in the economic statement. Why did the government present an economic statement, then? When I was young, I was told, “if you have nothing to say, then say nothing”. We are talking ab…
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Mr. Speaker, we did not need an economic statement to tell us this kind of information, especially considering that in 2026, when the money becomes available, there is no reason to believe that the Liberals will still be sitting on that side of the House anyway. A lot will happen between now and then, and other budgets will get made. What was the point of this whole business except to waste our ti…
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Mr. Speaker, I wonder if maybe I should send my questions to the Prime Minister ahead of time, so that the answer might have something to do with the question. I understand that there will be no extra money for seniors. I understand that there will be no money for the tens of thousands of businesses that are at risk of closing as a result of the pandemic. Maybe the government is afraid of running …
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Mr. Speaker, the economic stakes are high for Quebec and Canada, and that certainly justifies an economic update. However, before I go back to talk to Quebec's seniors in the coming days, or before I go back to talk to Quebec's chambers of commerce in the coming days, can the Prime Minister confirm that the economic update explicitly contains an increase in the old age pension for seniors, and tha…
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Mr. Speaker, the next few seconds will be very difficult. Here is what preacher Adil Charkaoui said: O Allah, destroy the Zionist aggressors. O Allah, destroy the enemies of the people of Gaza. O Allah, count their number, slay them one by one and spare not one of them! Does the Prime Minister think imam Charkaoui committed a Criminal Code offence when he uttered those comments in public?
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Mr. Speaker, this morning, the Prime Minister reiterated the government's position and called on Israel to agree to a truce in the Gaza Strip. Many international institutions and countries have reiterated this position over the past two weeks. Unfortunately, all calls have gone unheeded so far. Prime Minister Netanyahu is also completely ignoring the repeated calls made by Mr. Blinken, the U.S. Se…
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Mr. Speaker, I regret to say that the State of Israel broke the trust the international community placed in it to act with restraint towards civilians in the Gaza Strip. Thousands of people have died needlessly. Israel is planning a lasting occupation of the Gaza Strip. There have been repeated calls for a truce, but have we not reached the point where strong action must be taken by the internatio…
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Mr. Speaker, I publicly warned the Prime Minister three hours ago that I was going to ask this question so that he could have a clear and precise answer. Is it a criminal act or not? Based on my understanding, it is criminal and warrants a reaction commensurate with a criminal act. As for government tools that could be used, someone has been appointed to act as a bridge between various communities…
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Mr. Speaker, the call that the Leader of the Opposition is talking about never happened, and the only true thing he said is that we are separatists. Speaking of the opposition leader, he spent $3,300 on 14 Facebook ads between August 1 and November 1. The Conservative Party spent another $80,000, the Liberal Party spent $8,500 and the Prime Minister spent $20,000 on Facebook at a time when social …
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Mr. Speaker, we want the government to take a strong stand. We would support a strong stand from the Canadian government. A few days ago, we learned that over 500 people had lost their jobs at TVA Group. Those 500 people lost their jobs because social media platforms are essentially stealing ad dollars from legitimate media. Meanwhile, the Conservatives and the Liberal government are encouraging t…
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Mr. Speaker, yesterday, the Government of Quebec announced its immigration targets, in other words, how many people Quebec believes it will be able to integrate and teach French, and the federal government did the same. The two governments are not at all on the same page. In the meantime, however, I asked all members, including the Minister of Immigration and the Prime Minister, whether they would…
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Mr. Speaker, that is the way it has always been, in health care too. The government claims that it has talked to the provinces, but it never really listens to them or makes any changes based on what they say. However, yesterday, the government voted and said yes. It said that it would consult Quebec before setting the immigration targets that the minister was in the process of announcing. For cons…
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Madam Speaker, we have to talk about everything. We absolutely have to talk about the consequences of having roughly two million immigrants with no specific status in a population of 40 million. I will bring up housing as an example. Recently, we saw a debate about a legislative slap on the wrist for municipalities that engage in odd zoning practices or that did not subject themselves to federal g…
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Madam Speaker, I would like to begin by reading out the motion again. Its simplicity conveys the essence of the message we want to send to Quebec, but also to the entire territory represented by members of the House. That the House call on the government to review its immigration targets starting in 2024, after consultation with Quebec, the provinces and territories, based on their integration cap…
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Madam Speaker, I am sure you would not give me all of the time I would need to treat my esteemed colleague to the full answer to that question. That being said, I, too, am frustrated about something. After what I just said, it seems to me that this would have been a good time to make an effort to ask me a question in French. It is rather unbelievable. Are there other Canadian provinces that think …
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Madam Speaker, the member's question should have been addressed to her federal colleague, because family reunification is a federal matter. However, what I would say is that family reunification is one of the priority criteria for immigration to Canada and Quebec. That is obvious for humanitarian and basic reasons. As to the specific issues in my colleague's riding, there are indeed labour problem…
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Madam Speaker, I am not sure whether the member wants to hear my views. He had his own case to make. That said, the observation about the Department of Citizenship and Immigration is very real and very relevant. All of these people come to Quebec and to Canada in search of a better life but are forced to endure unreasonable waiting times because of an overloaded machine. The size of this machine h…
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Mr. Speaker, I am afraid I will not get to hear any more details. We are debating a motion on successful immigration that would require the Minister of Immigration to consult Quebec, the provinces and territories, which is perfectly appropriate by the way, to establish targets starting in 2024. Dare we hope that, if the House votes in favour of the motion, the minister will not announce targets gi…
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Mr. Speaker, the Minister of Environment announced a pathway, but he has not announced new immigration targets. The plan is for him to announce them tomorrow, but he candidly admitted that he does not know them. Today, he does not know the numbers he will be announcing tomorrow. That worries me a little. This is not a high school project one puts together the night before it is due. Why would he n…
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Mr. Speaker, we are talking about real businesses, real entrepreneurs, real jobs. We are talking about a real economic impact on the Canadian and Quebec economies. Everyone, including every single province, is saying that the current extensions and deadlines are insufficient and that businesses are in danger of closing down. This is serious. It is more serious than the fictions some people here ar…
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