Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, when our farmers used the emergency account during the pandemic, they could not have anticipated all the other misfortunes that would follow. The war in Ukraine has driven up input costs. The inflation rate is more than three times higher than in other industries. There is $8 of debt for every dollar of income, and the policy rate continues to rise. I could go on all day. As a result,…
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Mr. Speaker, the question about the emergency account was for the Minister of Finance. It would be nice to get some answers. At a minimum, could repayment of the emergency account be extended? Agriculture has been hit harder than other sectors, especially the next generation of farmers. That is why other groups are taking action. Other governments are also taking action. The Americans have investe…
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Madam Speaker, I thank my colleague for his excellent speech. He focused on one important point, which is that it is a great privilege to be here in the House. We should act accordingly and with dignity. We should always seek the common good and strive for balance and consensus as much as possible. This evening, we are watching the Liberal government use its fake majority to make permanent somethi…
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Madam Speaker, I thank the member for Calgary Shepard for his remarks. As usual, they were clear and intelligent. He addressed a very important issue, in other words, human contact and what I would call informal discussions. That is where we get to know one another and understand each other. It is through these contacts that we can develop a rapport and negotiate better agreements, better bills fo…
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Mr. Speaker, I thank the parliamentary secretary for his question and, in particular, for announcing his support for today's motion. That is very important. I am pleased that he brought up the issue of resource allocation, because that will allow me to wrap up my point. At present, we are seeing how resources are being wasted at federal level. Money is being given to the biggest global warming off…
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Madam Speaker, I listened carefully to my colleague's speech. Once again, there is talk of good intentions and specific measures. However, I want to hear her reaction to the fact that the money her government is currently investing in the energy transition is being made available to oil and gas companies. As a result, these companies stick around even longer when we should really be investing in a…
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Mr. Speaker, I was mesmerized by my leader’s speech. The hon. member for Beloeil—Chambly is a hard act to follow. I always listen to him attentively, because I find him very inspiring. At the end of his speech, he mentioned something that I think we should all focus on today: the sense of state. Today’s motion by the Bloc Québécois is not a partisan motion. It is not a motion that points a finger …
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Mr. Speaker, electric power is definitely an energy of the future. Still, investments need to come from the right level of government. There has to be fairness in federal investments. We must not forget that. I could talk about past injustices. As for the importance of investing in the right energies, I would say that, according to experts around the world today, for every dollar invested in oil, …
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Mr. Speaker, once again, the hon. member for Saint-Hyacinthe—Bagot has shown us how intelligent he is and how thoroughly he understands the issues. What he said was exactly right. We have to take the money that is being given to fossil fuels, move it to a different line in the budget and invest it in renewable energy and in the transition. I said something earlier that I may not have emphasized en…
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Madam Speaker, in budget 2023, the Liberal government promised to invest $80 billion to prevent global warming, but that funding is available to the oil and gas industry. I would like to know how my colleague feels about that. Where does he think we should urgently invest those funds?
Read full speech →Statements By Members
Mr. Speaker, before I became the member for Berthier—Maskinongé, I taught high school for 25 wonderful years. During that time, I endeavoured to teach economics, geography and history, but most important of all, civics. I tried hard to help my students learn about democracy and the vital role they must play in it. Every year, I organized a field trip to Quebec's true Parliament, the National Assem…
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Mr. Speaker, I thank the minister for her intervention. In the child care program, the government was kind enough to recognize Quebec's expertise and the fact that Quebec already has a good system. It gave Quebec the right to opt out with full compensation. Is the government considering doing the same thing with its dental care plan?
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Madam Speaker, according to what the Leader of the Opposition said at the beginning of his speech, nine out of 10 young people believe they will have difficulty buying a house and becoming homeowners. That is certainly true. We need to take action on that and develop social housing, among other things. However, that is not today's topic. We are talking about the carbon tax and the fact that the Co…
Read full speech →Statements by Members
Mr. Speaker, today is World Milk Day, but I drink my milk every day just as I like it, because, frankly, milk is better under any circumstances. Milk is a rich and tasty source of nourishment, proudly produced by people who continue to innovate, to produce more and better using less, people who are protecting our planet and our future. Milk is liquid gold. I therefore invite all members of the Hou…
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Madam Speaker, we no longer know how to put it, but I will repeat the question that I have asked many times and to which I have yet to receive a response: Are the member and his party aware of the existence of climate change? As we speak, there are towns in Quebec that have been evacuated because of forest fires. Now the Conservatives want to remove any incentive that will improve our performance …
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Madam Speaker, with all due respect, I wish the Conservative Party would stop with the populism. They have been shouting at us for almost a year, for example, that the government has been in power for eight years, when it will actually be eight years in October. Of course, if they say it enough times, it will eventually be true. Today, all sorts of things are being said. Puns are being made with t…
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
Mr. Speaker, I have the honour to present, in both official languages, the ninth report of the Standing Committee on Agriculture and Agri-Food, entitled “Main Estimates 2023-24: Vote 1 under Canadian Dairy Commission, Vote 1 under Canadian Grain Commission and Votes 1, 5 and 10 under Department of Agriculture and Agri-Food”.
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Mr. Speaker, we in the Bloc Québécois view the opioid crisis as a public health issue, and we believe in a supportive approach. Yes, there are times when these individuals must be allowed to transition to a safe place with what we call a safe supply. There is no harm in that. My concern is that the terms used in the motion are judgmental. I am also concerned about the fact that when I very calmly …
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Mr. Speaker, the Conservatives' approach seems very dogmatic to me. Is my colleague aware that this is more about a public health problem than it is about crime? We are talking about people who are struggling with severe addictions. I do not want to judge anyone. It is difficult to judge what these people are experiencing from the outside. We would need to have talked to people who once struggled …
Read full speech →Private Members' Business
Madam Speaker, today I am going to talk about an extremely important bill. I am going to make a big announcement: This bill is free. How many times do we have the opportunity in the House of Commons to pass a bill that costs the government nothing? It does not happen often. It is worth pointing that out. We are talking about financial protection for fresh fruit and vegetable farmers. The bill simp…
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Madam Speaker, at the beginning of his speech, my colleague talked about hunting rifles. I have two questions for him. Here is the real question. According to him, is the current bill about hunting rifles, yes or no? We know that hunting rifles are not affected by this bill. The second question is the following. When the member alluded to that, he claimed that the Prime Minister said that this bil…
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Madam Speaker, let us try to be reasonable. I know that my colleague is one of the most reasonable members of his party. I am pleased to address my comments to him. It is reasonable for me to tell him that we agree with the Conservatives on a whole host of things. This may surprise some people, but there are things that we agree on. For example, there should have been measures for illegal guns. Th…
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Madam Speaker, I am going to take a deep breath and start my speech at the end. I am sick and tired of hearing members claim that they support supply management and then telling us, in the same 10-minute speech, that no one supports this bill and that members should not vote in favour of it—
Read full speech →Private Members' Business
Madam Speaker, I was saying that I was going to take a deep breath before I spoke, to try to curb my emotions, and that I was going to start my speech from the end. I am sick and tired of hearing members claim that they support supply-managed farmers, that they think they are important, that they want to protect them and that they are committed to looking after them, but then refuse to actually pr…
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Madam Speaker, farmers and the public are sick and tired of getting messed around, to put it more politely and, I think, more acceptably. I have said it again and again, but promises have to be backed up by action. This has happened more than once. How many motions have been adopted here? How many motions have been adopted in Quebec's National Assembly? They were always unanimous. In subsequent ne…
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Madam Speaker, today is a day of contradictions. I just heard the minister say that the public expects us to engage in debate, while at the same time, we are presented with a gag order. We support the bill. Our issue is not with the bill. Our issue is with the debate, with our ability to give bills deeper consideration and potentially enhance them. Once again, what is the rationale underlying this…
Read full speech →Statements by Members
Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to Jean-Pierre Gélinas of Louiseville, who recently received the Gaétan Blais award. This committed volunteer is involved with a whole slew of organizations, including the Louiseville Optimist Club, Noël du Pauvre, Knights of Columbus, the Centre d'action bénévole de la MRC de Maskinongé, minor baseball, the Louiseville buckwheat pancake festival, the Maiso…
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Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for his speech. I appreciate the quality of his French, which he uses regularly. Today, we are hearing many speeches that say it is easy and it is important. Yes, French is spoken in some parts of Alberta. We are hearing stories about how French is found here and there, but the reality is that the Government of Quebec is having a hard time welcoming the immigrants…
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Madam Speaker, I congratulate my colleague from Drummond on his excellent speech. I would like to hear him tell us more about why Quebec should decide for itself how many immigrants it should take in. Yes, we are pro-immigration and want to welcome people from other countries, but we want to welcome them with dignity, to allow them to integrate. From the moment they set foot on our soil, we want t…
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Madam Speaker, I congratulate my esteemed colleague from Terrebonne for her excellent speech. I read an article recently that said that Quebec was caught in the Canadian trap. Canada is increasing its population too rapidly. The article said that Quebec has the choice of increasing its population or of seeing its political weight drop. Meanwhile, members are refusing to support the bill that we in…
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Madam Speaker, I thank my colleague from St. Albert—Edmonton for his speech. Clearly we are in for quite a debate today. I encourage members to focus on the matter at hand, which is an extremely serious one, rather than trying to silence the member opposite. My colleague painted a clear picture of the crisis we are in and the importance of holding an independent public inquiry. However, I would ha…
Read full speech →Statements By Members
Mr. Speaker, we are halfway through Mental Health Week, which this year is encouraging people to share their story. On this occasion, I would like to hear the stories that we do not hear often enough, those of our farmers. Behind the beautiful landscapes of our regions lies a challenging life and far too often a life of solitude. On behalf of the Bloc Québécois, I want to acknowledge all of our pr…
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Madam Speaker, we would have to determine who is responsible for that spraying, but certainly, if what the member for Timmins—James Bay is reporting is true, it is very unfortunate. It means that things moved too fast and too much of the product was used. I am glad he asked me that question, because it enables me to talk about something I have not had time to address. In some places, we are being …
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Madam Speaker, I thank my colleague for his speech, and I would also take this opportunity to thank him for his bill about financial protections for vegetable producers, which we will be happy to consider soon. My colleague talked about regulations and small cosmetic changes that are inadequate. We need to be more thorough. I would like to give him the opportunity to talk about regulations that ap…
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Madam Speaker, I am pleased to rise today to speak to Bill S-6. I think we are all pleased to speak to a bill that seeks to cut red tape, reduce delays and increase efficiency. When it comes to increased flexibility and efficiency, the answer is yes. We are there to support that. That is what we want to do. When it comes to reducing delays, the answer is yes. The member for Joliette said earlier t…
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Madam Speaker, it is nice that we can have a little fun on an evening like this when we are working until midnight. I think the answer is the member for Berthier—Maskinongé.
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Madam Speaker, I still find it rather ironic to hear my colleague say that he is prepared to move to a vote on the bill when he feels so inclined, while also making a rather convincing plea for public servants to be more efficient when it comes to bureaucracy. There is a bit of a contradiction there. How does my colleague feel about that? Does he not think we could move on to the next item on the …
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Madam Speaker, succession planning is very important. I thank my colleague for raising this subject. Yes, some latitude must be given. It is not all black and white. There are grey areas. The bill allows for a certain transition, but the deadlines are indeed restricted. I think there could be more flexibility in that regard. The government was worried about tax evasion. I would like to say to the …
Read full speech →Private Members' Business
Mr. Speaker, I would like to begin by thanking the member for Foothills for introducing this bill. I also want to say that I appreciate the comments made by the parliamentary secretary, who basically told us that the government will work with us to come up with an enforceable bill. That is great. It is good news because our duty, as parliamentarians, is to work for our constituents. Our farmers ne…
Read full speech →Statements By Members
Mr. Speaker, on behalf of all the egg farming families of Berthier—Maskinongé and Quebec, I would like to congratulate the Egg Farmers of Canada on its 50th anniversary. I would also like to call attention to its commitment to achieving net-zero emissions by 2050, as our egg farmers join the fight against climate change. Our supply management system ensures that farmers have the income and capacit…
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Mr. Speaker, I thank the member for Foothills for his very important bill. Obviously, we will work with him to make this bill effective and enforceable, including by focusing it on biosecurity, as he said so well in his speech. The member spoke about mental health, as did our Liberal colleague just now. This issue is extremely important. Right now, farmers are struggling, especially under the pres…
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Madam Speaker, as usual, it is a pleasure to rise in the House. However, it will quickly become apparent that my speech on Bill C‑47, budget implementation act, 2023, is half-hearted because there is not a lot of good news in this budget. On top of that, we were told this morning that we will not be able to discuss this for very long. We always get quite upset when the government prevents debate a…
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Madam Speaker, I did not know I would make someone happy today. I am pleased too. I want to reassure my colleague. When he says it is too bad that I am a separatist, I say to him that we are still able to work together. What is more, when Quebec becomes politically independent, we will work even better together because we will be equal counterparts. We will maintain ties and continue to collaborat…
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Madam Speaker, generally speaking, the Bloc Québécois and Quebeckers have always been in favour of revenue sharing. Therefore, we support this type of measure, which ensures more optimal revenue sharing, to a certain extent of course. I believe it is important for the state to redistribute wealth. Some believe that if peoples' taxes are too high, they will stop donating to charity. This allows me …
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Madam Speaker, I have only 15 seconds left, which is not much time to answer that question. We need to make the transition from fossil fuels to renewables as quickly as possible and start investing directly in that. That is what the member for Berthier—Maskinongé believes. It is urgent, and I wish everyone understood that.
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Mr. Speaker, I am very disappointed to be faced with a time allocation motion yet again, as my colleague from Longueuil—Saint-Hubert so aptly pointed out as he was raising important issues. There are other issues that have not been raised yet. Let us take employment insurance, for example. How is it that the federal government is taking money from workers for its budget and is refusing to conduct …
Read full speech →Statements By Members
Mr. Speaker, I remember last February 8 when all the parties voted in favour of including supply management protection in international agreements. All the parties voted for Bill C‑282. I know that some people remember that. Maybe it is time that the political parties remembered too. At this time, in committee, the Conservatives are filibustering to block Bill C-282. They keep stalling, slowing do…
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Madam Speaker, I thank my colleague for his speech and the bill he is sponsoring in the House. I think it is necessary to enshrine the importance of food in legislation. I would like to hear his thoughts. We are passing good legislation that outlines great principles, but what does my colleague make of the fact that our agricultural community is currently sounding the alarm? Last week, the UPA rel…
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, we must act quickly. What good is it to give speeches about the importance of local food resiliency if we let our local farms disappear? We talk about inflation and interest rates every day, but we never talk about the farmers who are affected by this issue. According to UPA data, 50% of agricultural businesses expect their financial situation to further deteriorate this year. Does th…
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Madam Speaker, the Bloc Québécois is clearly in favour of establishing a food day. It was a pleasure to address this in committee, and it passed within minutes. It is not controversial. The bill states that “Canada’s national sovereignty is dependent on the safety and security of our food supply”, that it “contributes to our nation’s social, environmental and economic well-being”, that it is impor…
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