Parliamentary Speeches

Private Members' Business

Madam Speaker, I am pleased to rise to speak about kindness. I, too, would like to recognize Rabbi Reuven Bulka for his initiative and tell him that our thoughts are with him. I sincerely hope that this exemplary show of solidarity by members of the House will bring him some comfort and perhaps give him some hope for the world. What does it mean to be kind? First of all, I have to say that I took …

Government Orders

Mr. Speaker, from time to time, it is good to remember what we are debating. The motion moved states the following: (a) the House remind the government that a general election was held in October 2019 [not even two years ago] and sadly note that more than 1.3 million Canadians, including almost 360,000 Quebecers, have been infected with COVID-19 and that nearly 25,000 people have died as a result;…

Government Orders

Mr. Speaker, I have a big smile on my face because I can only laugh when I hear such things. I would like the Liberals to understand one thing: when I criticize the fact that the Liberals want to trigger an election because they think the polls are favourable, I do not mean that I am happy that they can form a majority government or that I have confidence in them. I have been told that two or thre…

Government Orders

Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for her very interesting question. I am glad she asked me a question about the legislative agenda because it gives me the opportunity to address a few things. The discussions surrounding Bill C-19 started on October 5, 2020. On October 22, the Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs initiated a study. On December 8, it tabled a preliminary report. On Dec…

Government Orders

Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague from Rosemont—La Petite-Patrie for his question. Those comments were taken out of context and distorted a little. What happened was that we voted against bills because they were not good for Quebec. Every time, the Liberal government held up the threat of a confidence vote. Our philosophy is very simple: if a bill is good for Quebec, we vote for it; if it is not g…

Government Orders

Mr. Speaker, it is really mind-blowing to listen to these speeches describing some kind of parallel universe. There have been several questions about the Bloc Québécois, and I will try to answer them quickly. The first question was what the Bloc Québécois is doing here. My answer is that we are standing up for Quebeckers on issues like aluminum and language. Our party is making proposals. It propo…

Statements By Members

Mr. Speaker, every year, hundreds of farms are closing down in Quebec. It is obvious that there is an urgent need to encourage the next generation of farmers. However, the federal government is making it more profitable for a farmer to sell their business to outside shareholders than to their own family. The farmer can either sell their land to a third party and secure a decent retirement, since t…

Government Orders

Madam Speaker, I would like to reassure our colleagues opposite. The Bloc Québécois carefully examined the bill and we are starting to become very familiar with parliamentary procedure, so there is no need to worry. We have experience. However, that is not the issue here. What we are talking about here is respect for the work of parliamentarians. There has been very little debate on this very impo…

Government Orders

Madam Speaker, on top of all the partisan speeches, the government members are showing disrespect towards the opposition members by repeatedly asking whether they have read the bill. It would be nice if they stopped doing that. Members have a duty to do their jobs well, and they have read the bill. I would appreciate some real answers on the actual substance. My colleague raised some very interest…

Government Orders

Madam Speaker, ironically enough, the people I am talking about right now are not listening. My colleague raised some very interesting points in his speech. He spoke about voter identification and the lengthy writ period for seniors' homes. We are all very concerned about safety. I would like to hear my colleague's thoughts on this.

Government Orders

Madam Speaker, I would like to hear what my colleague has to say about health transfers. The government is announcing a one-time transfer rather than the annual steady increase the entire country is asking for. This is what all the provinces, not just Quebec, are calling for. I get the feeling that the government is implementing mini-measures to try to keep people dependent. Consider, for example,…

Government Orders

Madam Speaker, I thank my colleague for his speech. I did hear some rather positive points as I was listening to his speech. For example, he said that the same standards would have to apply to products imported as are being applied in the case of production taking place in Canada. I think that the reciprocity of standards is very important. However, today we are talking about Bill C-12 on reducing…

Government Orders

Madam Speaker, the situation has grown tragic, as it often does. I have been an MP for scarcely a year and a half, not even two. We continually find ourselves faced with a government that fails to take action, waits for the situation to become explosive and then drives us into a corner. Naturally, everyone agrees that the Port of Montreal must reopen. However, we are in this situation today becaus…

Madam Speaker, I would like to ask the parliamentary secretary whether the government has considered the solution the leader of the Bloc Québécois proposed today. My colleague, the hon. member for Pierre-Boucher—Les Patriotes—Verchères, asked a question earlier. He was told in no uncertain terms that the special legislation would reinstate the collective agreement. As a result, the special legisla…

Government Orders

Mr. Speaker, I will try to refocus the debate. I am sick of hearing that the Minister of Labour is the daughter of a steelworker. I have heard that four times today. My father was a worker, too. To me, this sounds like someone who wants to appear important and smart or appear as though they have a connection to this issue because their grandfather had a farm. That is not relevant, though. Take a l…

Government Orders

Madam Speaker, I thank the parliamentary secretary for her speech. This is lavish spending at a time when we are accumulating hundreds of billions of dollars in deficit. Does my colleague not think that there are things missing from the budget, such as the health transfers, money for seniors as of age 65, and the agriculture sector? My question for the parliamentary secretary has to do with that l…

Government Orders

Madam Speaker, I thank my colleague from London—Fanshawe for her speech. It was a feminist speech, and that is really in keeping with my values. I have a very specific question for the member. I am disappointed that the Bloc Québécois and the NDP often find themselves on opposite sides. Most of the time, our two parties should be on the same side because we share many of the same values with only …

Statements By Members

Madam Speaker, today being Earth Day, I would like to salute those who care for the earth, who sow, who reap and who earn their living off the land. Farmers play a crucial role in occupying and protecting our territory and in ensuring the ecological future of our regions. Our land has green potential, and the federal government has to help realize that potential. Quebec's food sovereignty must be …

Private Members' Business

Madam Speaker, I want to congratulate my colleague on his excellent speech and, most importantly, on his excellent bill. I also thank him for approaching me right after this bill was introduced and for giving me the opportunity to endorse this bill on behalf of the Bloc Québécois. I would like to know whether my colleague has spoken with Liberal members. I also want to know what reasons he has bee…

Government Orders

Madam Speaker, I would like to ask my colleague how she feels about the government tabling a budget like this, which fails to keep many of its promises. I am thinking in particular about the next generation of farmers. The government has been promising to help this sector since 2019. It even held discussions with representatives of the Fédération de la relève agricole du Québec and promised them t…

Private Members' Business

Madam Speaker, I am very pleased to speak to Bill C-208, which would significantly help businesses in Quebec and Canada with succession planning. I once again want to congratulate my colleague from Brandon—Souris for introducing this bill. The Bloc Québécois considers succession planning to be essential to agriculture and all other sectors. We have supported this sector for a very long time. In fa…

Emergency Debate

Mr. Speaker, I would like to ask the Minister of Health where we are at with the test that temporary workers are supposed to get on day 10 of their mandatory quarantine. We have asked a lot of questions about this in recent days. This evening we are having an emergency debate on the management of the pandemic, and I think this issue is a big part of that. Currently, farmers are having to wait up t…

Emergency Debate

Mr. Speaker, I was interested to hear my colleague talk about the government's incompetence on many levels in managing the crisis, including border security in the early days. The measures were excruciatingly slow in coming, which allowed the virus to come into the country permanently. Now, with the arrival of the variants, the same thing is happening. The government is very slow to react. When th…

Emergency Debate

Mr. Speaker, it is certainly important that the member understand the question because it is directed at him. I will start over. I appreciated my colleague's speech in which he spoke about the different signs of the government's incompetence in managing this crisis. Remember that, at the outset, the government waited a long time before closing the border, then implementing restrictions, and then r…

Emergency Debate

Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for his speech. He spoke in concrete terms about the War Measures Act. In the current situation, does he not think that we could pay attention, learn from what has happened and take quicker action in three areas, namely, border management, for example when a variant appears in a country, investment in research for the future, so we do not have to again depend on f…

Emergency Debate

Mr. Speaker, I commend my colleague on the tone of his speech, which I agree is the right one to use. However, heaven knows that we could point fingers. I would like my colleague to talk more about the importance of focusing on research and development so that we do not end up trailing behind other countries. We are thinking mostly about vaccines, but there are other important sectors. I would lik…

Statements by Members

Mr. Speaker, the budget does not jibe with the government's commitments to the agricultural community or its needs. When someone goes on and on about food sovereignty at some point they have to stop talking and start doing something about it. Succession planning is crucial to the health of the agricultural sector. In 2019, the Liberal Party promised to modernize the tax system to facilitate the tr…

Private Members' Business

Mr. Speaker, I want to congratulate my colleague on her thoughtful and passionate speech about a bill that will correct a grave injustice. I would like her to tell us about the choices available to workers. In her earlier remarks, she said that the limited sickness benefit period could force a person who is still recovering to go back to work. A person who has not fully recovered may fall ill agai…

Government Orders

Mr. Speaker, I thank the member for her speech. What our Conservative colleague said is true. This bill does not seem to apply to the government. I have another question. There is another flaw with respect to the identification of individuals. There is nothing in the bill to force banks, for example, to institute a strict policy for the identification of individuals, nor is there any kind of fine …

Oral Questions

Mr. Speaker, Switch Health's screw-up with day-10 tests remains unresolved. Despite a slight increase in staffing levels, the company is still not keeping up with demand and is still unable to provide our producers with services in French. That is unacceptable. These are practical people. They have suggested solutions, such as hiring a medical testing company themselves to get proper service. Will…

Oral Questions

Mr. Speaker, a farmer from Saint-Thomas, Mr. Rondeau, lost 35,000 pounds of asparagus last year because of federal mismanagement issues related to seasonal work. He was really hoping to make up for it this year. Unfortunately, the testing boondoggle left him without his first group of workers for 18 days, when the asparagus season lasts for only about 60 days. Mr. Rondeau is not alone. Several oth…

Oral Questions

Mr. Speaker, the interpretation is not working.

Oral Questions

Madam Speaker, pyrrhotite is destroying homes in the Mauricie region, and the federal government needs to do its part. In its recent budget, Quebec invested an additional $26 million to help affected homeowners, for a total contribution of $80 million. The federal government has contributed only $30 million, and that was five years ago. The Government of Quebec has said, and I quote: “Québec expec…

Oral Questions

Madam Speaker, from that answer, one would think that this is the first time we have brought the pyrrhotite problem to the federal government's attention. A house is a lifetime investment. Pyrrhotite victims are experiencing personal and financial distress. The entire region has rallied together. The government cannot claim that it did not know about the problem. One of the government ministers, t…

Oral Questions

Mr. Speaker, it is a second hellish year for farmers when it comes to quarantines for temporary foreign workers. It was already hard enough for them to shoulder the entire burden of the quarantines, but now the problems with the new border measures are making things even worse. From a public health perspective, the federal government has an obligation to ensure that the quarantines are respected, …

Oral Questions

Mr. Speaker, when the government hired Switch Health to handle COVID-19 testing, it did not make sure the company had the resources to serve Quebeckers in French. Now farmers have no choice but to use Switch Health, even though its services are inadequate. Once again, Ottawa unilaterally gave a contract to a company that cannot serve Quebec. Our farmers are paying the price. The minister is respon…

Oral Questions

Mr. Speaker, quarantines for temporary foreign workers are a fiasco. Having already abdicated all of its responsibilities toward farmers, the federal government hired Switch Health to manage the mandatory day-10 COVID-19 tests. As a result, francophone farmers are wasting days trying to get service from a anglophone company that cannot keep up with demand. Some workers are being forced to remain i…

Oral Questions

Mr. Speaker, on top of the company being unable to serve francophones, there are big delays in the process, which is costing farmers. The season is just beginning, with 500 to 600 temporary foreign workers, and Switch Health is already overwhelmed. Imagine what will happen when there are 14,000 workers. This same company will also be responsible for processing everyone entering the country and adm…

Government Orders

Madam Speaker, I thank the hon. member for his speech. I would like to raise two points. First, we are obviously all concerned about the debt. Second, my learned colleague from Joliette raised a specific point a little earlier, stating that each expenditure must be approved. Is the member aware of this and does he believe it makes sense? I would like his opinion on that. I would also like to know …

Government Orders

Madam Speaker, I would like to thank my colleague for his speech. When he addressed the question, he insisted on major projects and accelerated approval and financing. He mentioned the GNL Québec project. I would like to hear what he has to say about Quebec's and the provinces' environmental sovereignty. Does he not think that it is important to respect the regional authorities for this type of ap…

Government Orders

Madam Speaker, I thank the parliamentary secretary for his speech. We will absolutely vote in favour of this bill because action is needed. However, we all know that this bill does not address everything. We could speak at length about health transfers, but I want to call the parliamentary secretary's attention to the tourism and cultural sectors, and in particular the sugar shack sector, which ha…

Statements by Members

Mr. Speaker, last Saturday was the Journée relève agricole, or young farmers' day 2021. Because of the pandemic, young farmers gathered virtually for an evening of fun and dialogue. We need to support the next generation of farmers and create the right conditions for them to thrive. Encouraging young farmers will benefit the economy of the entire country and ensure our food sovereignty. Government…

Government Orders

Madam Speaker, I thank my colleague for his speech. The bill provides for a three-day polling period. However, the Bloc Québécois thinks that two days, Saturday and Sunday, would have been sufficient. As for mail-in voting, that will occur over a very long period, and under the bill, ballots can even be received until the day after polling day, which would delay the announcement of the results and…

Government Orders

Madam Speaker, I thank the minister for his speech. The Bloc Québécois thinks that strengthening privacy protections is a good thing. However, we are concerned about the massive number of fraud cases related to CERB. That is a government issue, but Bill C-11 does not apply to the government. Does the minister not think this bill should also apply to the federal government? If not, what does the fe…

Government Orders

Madam Speaker, I thank the member for Fundy Royal for his speech. This is not about reducing sentences but tailoring them. This also does not mean that some offences are not necessarily serious. When the member said that police officers can use their own discretion when determining whether to lay charges, sometimes the reality is that charges must be laid because the actions were serious, even tho…

Government Orders

Madam Speaker, I thank my colleague from Rivière-du-Nord for his heartfelt speech, which was articulate and very persuasive. For the benefit of our colleagues, I would like him to elaborate on the negative repercussions of the minimum sentences that are currently in effect for certain circumstances, in particular with respect to the potential rehabilitation of offenders.

Government Orders

Madam Speaker, first of all, I would like to congratulate my colleague on her very fine speech and on the excellent response she just gave. I would like her to tell us more about her view of the lack of permanent changes to EI, given the long-standing, desperate needs and the fact that the funds are available. It must be said that there is enough money in the EI fund. We can afford to implement th…

Oral Questions

Mr. Speaker, the Bloc Québécois's Bill C-216, which would prevent further breaches in the supply management system, continues to gain support. Today, the National Assembly was unanimous in calling for the federal government to fully protect the supply management model in future international agreements. The Conservatives have already said that they will once again vote against the unanimous will o…

Government Orders

Madam Speaker, I look forward to the day when we can have debates where members are not perpetually campaigning, or trying to lay blame on others, or point to who did this and who did that. Let us be constructive. Let us talk about the bill. In his speech, the member said that we generate a lot of greenhouse gas emissions because we are a big country and we should not feel bad about it. This is no…

Private Members' Business

Madam Speaker, the Bloc Québécois has moved six motions in the House since 2005. Those six motions were not adopted on division; they were adopted unanimously. That means that everyone was in favour of those motions, which had to do with protecting supply management. However, there have still been breaches in the system. All of the agreements that have been signed recently have created breaches: t…