Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague from Kings—Hants, who I really appreciate. He was right to bring this up, but I think that he is going to be disappointed with what I have to say. There are two things. First, when he says that the government eliminated carbon pricing for individuals to replace it with something else, that is false, because it was not replaced with anything. No new environmental m…
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Mr. Speaker, I really appreciate my colleague, who always has good, intelligent and well-thought-out questions. I have to agree that, yes, he seems to have woken up. At the same time, I cannot criticize the guy. He was trying to change things from within. There are two ways to work in politics. The first is to come in and toe the line, and the second is to try to get inside the system and make cha…
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Mr. Speaker, that was quite the assist. Yes, I agree with my colleague. Her comment basically demonstrates what I was saying in my speech. I was saying that this government is all about looking and sounding a certain way. It talks about a generational budget, saying that it is an investment. However, when we scratch beneath the surface and take a closer look, it is clear that they are spending mon…
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Mr. Speaker, it is an honour for me to rise in the House, and I am very humbled to follow on from the member for Abitibi—Témiscamingue, with his great eloquence and the heart he puts into standing up for the residents of his region and of Quebec as a whole. I thank him very much for all he does. As my colleague said, the Bloc Québécois is going to oppose Bill C-4. There is nothing surprising in th…
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Mr. Speaker, if you seek it, I believe you will find unanimous consent for the following motion: That, for the duration of the tribute that will be paid to him in a few moments, the member for Bécancour—Nicolet—Saurel—Alnôbak be allowed to sit in the seat of the member for Mirabel.
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Mr. Speaker, on the same point of order, with all due respect, I would like to say that we still have the right, in our opinion, to take information that is in the credible news media, like CBC/Radio-Canada and TVA, and bring it to the House to ask legitimate questions.
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Mr. Speaker, the Mauricie region recently lost one of its pioneers. Jean-Paul Diamond dedicated many years of his life to his community and region. Not only was he committed to social causes like the Association des personnes handicapées du comté de Maskinongé, the Festival de la truite mouchetée de Saint-Alexis-des-Monts and the Festival des neiges, Mr. Diamond was also a prominent figure in the …
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Mr. Speaker, the Liberals used to draft budgets to please the NDP. Now they are drafting budgets to please the Conservatives. However, there are never any budgets to meet the needs of Quebeckers. What Quebeckers want is a health care system that works. They want to be able to age without losing their purchasing power. They want affordable housing. They want young people to be able to buy a home li…
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Mr. Speaker, I want to begin by thanking my colleague for her excellent, heartfelt speech, as usual. We used to have a Liberal government that drafted budgets to please the NDP. Now we have a Liberal government that drafts budgets to please the Conervatives. They never draft budgets to please Quebeckers. I would like to know how my colleague feels as a Quebecker in this Parliament. What would our …
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Mr. Speaker, I begin this speech in good spirits because my esteemed colleague and I just did some pretty impressive stickhandling there. I, too, am pleased to speak about the budget today and provide some explanations to the public. This is important because misinformation is going to circulate and, unfortunately, the two major parties are going to throw around empty slogans. They will say that t…
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Mr. Speaker, I do not know if it was intentional, but my colleague just gave me a great assist. First, for businesses, I mentioned the wage subsidy. I would like my colleague to work behind the scenes to implement this, because our businesses need it to avoid losing legacy knowledge. My colleague asked me a question, but I will turn it back around on him. I am well aware that he has worked in Queb…
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Mr. Speaker, my very esteemed colleague does indeed represent a magnificent region. The regions have been neglected. The current government is only tending to the things that might pay off come election time. That is the answer. The government thinks it has nothing to gain from the regions. It threw some crumbs at the Gaspé Peninsula because it just lost a seat. That is all. The government used to…
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Mr. Speaker, when it comes to investments in the Magdalen Islands, it is pretty ironic that there was a minister in that riding for over 10 years, that these investments were promised for 10 years and that they were never made. Now that a Bloc Québécois member has taken over the riding, the government has suddenly decided to keep its promise. Sometimes we wonder whether the budget is being used fo…
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Madam Speaker, I would like the leader of the Bloc Québécois to tell us more about the rhetoric we heard this week. The government constantly claimed that it would be the fault of the nasty opposition parties if an election were to be triggered following a consultation process that was, let us face it, rather dubious and practically non-existent. I would like to hear his thoughts on that.
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Mr. Speaker, the Bloc Québécois agrees to apply the vote and will be voting against the motion.
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank my hon. colleague from Bourassa for his kind words and his intelligent question. We are always willing to collaborate when it comes to implementing good programs. Right now we are talking about training, and this is an area where nuance is important, because it is a matter of provincial jurisdiction. A good way to achieve this is by increasing transfers, not impo…
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Mr. Speaker, I want to reassure my colleague. I find her point of order a little strange, since I am talking about myself. I try to be a statesman. I am willing to try to be a stateswoman, but I think that would be difficult. I want to reassure my colleague that I am one of the most feminist members of this Parliament, I assure her, and I always defend women in politics. I will even share a bit of…
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Mr. Speaker, I am getting some very good questions. I have been asked to explain something. If the government wants to take concrete action in response to what young people are calling for, it can increase the budgets for Canada summer jobs. This program is a great opportunity for young people to get that first work experience. Then they have something to write on their resumé that will get them h…
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Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to speak to this important issue of youth unemployment. To begin, I would like to say to my Conservative colleague who just finished his speech that I agree with him on one of the major points he mentioned: changing leaders obviously does not mean that we have a new government. We agree on that. This is my nod to him in response to his remarks. We have to be careful when …
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Mr. Speaker, may I continue my speech without being interrupted every five seconds? The situation is that someone has taken a dislike to me for no good reason. As I was saying, EI allows people to work in jobs that match their qualifications. If someone is an engineer or a dentist, they will be more productive for society if they work in that field. However, during the buffer period between two jo…
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Mr. Speaker, I agree that statements like the ones made by the Leader of the Opposition can be dangerous when members of the public who are not fully informed take them for the truth, leading to a polarized society. Unfortunately, too many politicians use polarization to score points. However, I want to tell my colleague that I also consider it dangerous to radically and suddenly change a policy t…
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Mr. Speaker, the reality in downtown Oshawa may not be the same as in Berthier—Maskinongé. That could be a true story; it is quite possible. I am not saying that things are perfect. It is like when we talk about agricultural producers who take on foreign workers. There was one example of abuse. The following week, they were all being called villains. Generally, temporary foreign workers cost emplo…
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Mr. Speaker, I appreciate my colleague and I thank him for his question. I have indeed noticed the same thing, and yet there is a certain logic to it; it is something to be expected. The job market is not great for everyone. If a unionized company with too many workers operates according to seniority, young workers with less permanent ties to their jobs will leave. There are solutions. For one thi…
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Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague from Rivière‑du‑Nord for his very good question. Yes, there is a link, and I touched on it briefly in my speech. Since the cost of living has risen dramatically in recent years, the minimum wage is not enough to pay $2,000 in rent and buy enough food with decent protein content. Even if it is possible, people should not eat low-quality products that are not good f…
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Mr. Speaker, I am rising on a point of order. I would like to follow up on yesterday's government intervention. As my colleague from Saint-Hyacinthe—Bagot—Acton said, we reserved the right to respond to the arguments regarding the amendments to Bill C-4. I would like to talk about what happened at the Standing Committee on Finance on Monday with regard to the amendments that the Bloc Québécois pro…
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Mr. Speaker, the Bloc Québécois agrees to apply the vote and will be voting in favour of the motion.
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Madam Speaker, I am happy for the opportunity to ask my colleague a question this morning. I found it quite funny to hear him criticizing the speech given by the Prime Minister yesterday. From what I saw, the Prime Minister said nothing. Therefore, I do not have much to criticize, except the fact that he said nothing. Now back to the matter at hand. We are obviously all concerned about the rights …
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Mr. Speaker, today I would like to acknowledge a victory that thrilled all of Quebec. Saint‑Boniface's volunteer committee, known as the Irréductibles, has been working overtime to win us a historic opportunity. On April 5, everyone held their breath as Saint‑Boniface was crowned the winner of Kraft Hockeyville 2025, a feat that was highlighted on October 7 with an award from the Association québé…
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Mr. Speaker, the Leader of the Government in the House of Commons says that if the budget does not pass, it will be the opposition parties' fault. The Minister of Finance and National Revenue is accusing us of playing politics. However, our demands have been a matter of public record for a long time. It was their Prime Minister who chose to ignore all of them in his pre-budget speech last night. T…
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Mr. Speaker, what a great question. It is practically poetry. I am stammering with emotion. The government needs to get serious about climate change. As the agriculture critic, I can confirm that we are seeing these impacts. At the same time that the government is subsidizing oil companies to the tune of $83 billion over five years, it is neglecting to support farmers so they can adapt to climate …
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Mr. Speaker, I want to reassure my colleague from Marc-Aurèle-Fortin. No, I did not say that, so allow me to correct him. However, I would like him to answer me at a future opportunity and explain why statutory appropriations and transfers to individuals and provinces have increased by only 2.6%, while budgetary appropriations for the bureaucracy have increased by 16% and procurement spending, inc…
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Mr. Speaker, let me begin by sincerely thanking the member for asking a relevant question that also allows me to continue my explanation. The debt-to-GDP ratio is used to determine whether we are capable of paying our debt. Someone who earns $150,000 a year and owes $50,000 is in a much better position than someone who earns $65,000 a year and owes $50,000. Right now, the government is using doubl…
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Mr. Speaker, this is going to make my colleague happy. My answer is no. If his government could present us with a budget that sounds reasonable, that provides decent health care transfers to the provinces, that respects the people who built our society by increasing OAS and that provides for common-sense EI reform, we would vote for that budget in a heartbeat. If the Liberals have questions, we ca…
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Mr. Speaker, October 10 is World Egg Day, so I would like to salute producers in Berthier—Maskinongé, across Quebec and around the world. Let us all acknowledge the importance of this top-quality, healthy, nutritious food. Eggs are so versatile that it is almost impossible to imagine a recipe in which they cannot be used. Best of all, eggs are produced here. Let us recognize our farmers' extraordi…
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Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to support my colleague from Courtenay—Alberni this morning by tabling a paper petition along the same lines. The petitioners are very concerned about the changes to the plant breeders' rights regulations. The proposals put forward by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency aim to prevent farmers from exercising their age-old right to use the products of their land to reseed …
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Mr. Speaker, I know that my colleague is very knowledgeable about the economy and about austerity measures, considering his background. I would like him to reassure us about the future budget, if he knows what is in it, and tell me what he thinks about the subsidies and tax exemptions being given to western oil companies, to the tune of $83 billion over five years. Could this money not be used to …
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Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to rise to speak to today's Conservative motion. This is kind of an emotional moment for me, because, for once, we will finally be able to vote in favour of a Conservative motion. It is not too populist and it contains pretty accurate information. It also contains some very important statements. I will not reread the entire motion because that has been done several times …
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Mr. Speaker, all the parties voted to protect supply management in future trade agreements, but the Liberals seem to want to go back on their word. The media has reported that they are discussing new concessions with Washington on the allocation of American milk import quotas. This is all the more worrying given that Donald Trump has just stated that an agreement with Canada would include dairy pr…
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Mr. Speaker, it is with great pride that I rise today to acknowledge three anniversaries that mark the collective history of Berthier—Maskinongé. First, there is the 200th anniversary of Saint-Gabriel-de-Brandon, which sits on the shores of Lake Maskinongé, the jewel of the Lanaudière region. Then there is the 175th anniversary of Saint-Paulin, a magnificent municipality that shines bright in the …
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Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the hon. member and I miss having her on the Standing Committee on Agriculture and Agri-Food. I mentioned that the other day. My question is along the same lines as the first one I asked, which I did not get an answer to. I asked for an explanation as to why the cancellation of the infamous evil carbon tax did not lead to lower grocery prices. Let me rephrase my question.…
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Mr. Speaker, I thank the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Industry for his speech. I think he has a lot of work to do in his portfolio. I know he is a new member. His government can count on our co-operation if it wants to take action. Earlier, my colleague from Drummond mentioned the work that has been done with grocery CEOs and major grocery chains. We know that Canada has a concentrat…
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Mr. Speaker, it is a pleasure to rise today. I would like to begin by acknowledging that today is the anniversary of the Franco-Ontarian flag. We salute our neighbours who share our language. I turn now to the item on our agenda. As I mentioned in my questions, I am deeply disappointed. Many of my Conservative colleagues are extremely intelligent, and I really enjoy working with them in committee.…
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Mr. Speaker, I thank the member for Foothills for his speech this morning. I have a great deal of respect for my colleague, and I quite enjoy working with him. He is an intelligent and eloquent man with whom one can hold a discussion and work constructively in committee. However, I am a bit disappointed in the motion moved this morning. Once again, the Conservatives raised a real problem. About 95…
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Mr. Speaker, I commend my colleague from Guelph, and I wish our neighbours a happy anniversary. I am interested in university research and development. We have an R&D sector at the Université du Québec à Trois‑Rivières and throughout Quebec, and it is essential. This is another area where the federal government is absent. In terms of predictability and long-term vision, there is currently a shorta…
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Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for her excellent speech. I would like her to expand on how we can support the agricultural sector. We hear a lot about the climate crisis and climate change. We need to adapt to it, but we also need to support the agricultural sector. I always advocate the following solution: Any income collected should be returned to the agricultural sector to encourage innovati…
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Mr. Speaker, one of our Liberal colleagues mentioned earlier that he worked in the school system for 10 years. I was a teacher for 25 years. I think it is good that the government is helping food banks, but I do not think that any government should ever boast about having to give money to feed children at school because their parents cannot afford to feed them at home. That really bothers me. The …
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Mr. Speaker, that is a great question. I will give a very clear example. In my region, we are currently working with farmers on preserving the Lac Saint-Pierre biosphere to better protect and expand the shoreline. There are even projects that help re-meander certain waterways because that will have a significant impact. We cannot just tell farmers that they are going to lose money every year with …
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Mr. Speaker, I want to rise on the same point of order. Props are not allowed in the House. You just reminded the members of that.
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Mr. Speaker, I am pleased because I love asking the member for Winnipeg North questions. First, I am going to ask him about his reaction. I was in the hall near the lobby earlier, and I heard him say that a separatist party was proposing this. He is right. I would encourage him to continue. Later on in his speech, he asked what the Bloc was doing here. We defend Quebec's interests because Canada d…
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