Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, I will be sharing my time with the member for Jonquière. I will begin by reassuring my colleague opposite that, yes, I have participated in consultations in the past. I have a message for the people watching at home: They can take part in consultations and have a meaningful impact on projects as ordinary citizens. That is exactly what I did in the municipality of Saint‑Félix‑de‑Valois…
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Mr. Speaker, she is forgiven; I, too, sometimes address members directly. We can see how easy it is to acknowledge mistakes and forgive one another. It would be nice if the government apologized so the people of Mirabel can finally turn the page on this hurt and look to the future. For my colleague's sake, I will repeat the purpose of today's motion. Earlier, she listed all the processes that prot…
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Mr. Speaker, that is, in fact, the issue today. We have been talking a lot about Mirabel. We are being told that we are sensationalizing this issue. First of all, that is not what we are doing. We are telling the House about the history and the wounds and explaining why we are asking for this. What we want is to heal these wounds so that we can move forward in an atmosphere of trust. I call on the…
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Mr. Speaker, what a wonderful summary by my colleague, the MP for Montcalm. That is exactly right. It is very simple. The MPs across the aisle can try as hard as they want to demonize our approach today. We are going to bat for our people. We are going to bat for the future. However, to build the future, we need a solid foundation that was built in the past, and right now there are cracks in that …
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Mr. Speaker, some pensioners have not received their OAS benefits in nine months. Public servants warned the government last summer that it was due to Cúram. However, the Liberals did not listen to public servants. Instead, they silenced them. This is what the government told public servants to do: Do not let Canadians know that delays or errors in payments are due to Cúram. Why is the government …
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Mr. Speaker, some seniors are not getting their OAS pension. Instead of helping them, the Liberals are trying to protect themselves. This is extremely troubling, because the same Cúram software that is experiencing major failures will also be used for employment insurance and the federal pension plan. By downplaying the problems instead of fixing them, the Liberals are creating the perfect conditi…
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Mr. Speaker, we are happy about that because we feel that the people in the Conservative Party agree with the apology. That is interesting. However, I have also heard several Conservative colleagues express concerns that speeding up major projects and moving too fast can sometimes lead to mistakes, like what happened in 1969. The Conservatives voted in favour of Bill C‑5 in June. I would like to h…
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Mr. Speaker, first of all, my colleague from Saint-Hyacinthe—Bagot—Acton is asking me to wish my colleague from Les Pays-d'en-Haut a happy birthday, so I, too, am wishing him a happy birthday. Now my colleague is asking us to get on board by passing Bill C-15 so that we can move faster. That is precisely why we are raising the red flag. We are saying that we must not rush this. In 1969, the govern…
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Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for her speech and for mentioning me in it. She is my riding neighbour and normally I really like her, and I still do today, but I have to correct some of the things that she said. She is accusing us playing political games and engaging in obstruction, which is absolutely not what we are doing. What we are calling for is what she mentioned in her speech. We want t…
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Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank my colleague. I appreciated his speech. I know he is a sensitive person. We got to know him when he served as Speaker of the House in the last Parliament. I would like to come back to one part of his speech. I agree with most of his speech, but not the part when he said that this has been taking too long, that we need to move quickly and that slowing down would b…
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Mr. Speaker, I congratulate my colleague on his excellent speech and his excellent analysis of the situation, which clearly states that we basically want the project to succeed. However, we want it to be done properly. We want to protect the rights of our constituents. We agree with the claims that the legislation was improved in the 1980s. What concerns us are the bills currently being studied to…
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Mr. Speaker, I request a recorded division.
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Mr. Speaker, I rise on a point of order. The interpreters are saying that there is too much background noise. I myself was having a hard time hearing. Maybe people could listen first and then respond.
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Mr. Speaker, I know the parliamentary secretary is an intelligent man with a solid grasp of economic concepts. I would like him to tell me his opinion of the grocery industry. We know that the five major grocery store chains control 80% of the market. They appeared twice in committee last year, but we did not get any information out of them. They are very tight-lipped. They still say that margin p…
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Mr. Speaker, I am very pleased to speak to this issue this morning. I would like to say that I will be sharing my time with the hon. member for Repentigny. I said I was pleased. To clarify, I am pleased to be able to express my opinions, but I am not exactly thrilled with the content of the motion. I will explain why. Once again, our colleagues in the Conservative Party are very good at identifyin…
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Mr. Speaker, first of all, I did not realize that I had said the Prime Minister's name earlier, so I apologize for that. I always appreciate my colleague. He asked a very original question, because it is not often that I am accused of partisanship. I find it amusing, because he answered his own question. He spoke about a national strategy, yet Quebec is already handling these issues quite effectiv…
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Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for her excellent and very interesting question. It was all good except the end, because that is not always true. I brought out some of the finer points about that in my speech earlier. What I was trying to say is that we need to sincerely and seriously examine the root of the problem, as my colleague so rightly said. That is one of the suggestions that I made to …
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Mr. Speaker, it must be a good day, because there are good people on the Hill. I appreciate my colleague's comments, and I am glad he likes our legislation. He may not like what I am about to say quite as much, but I suspect that, if the law had not been passed in June, the government would have already given away something, since it has given everything away to the U.S. government so far. However…
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Madam Speaker, I want to wish you, my constituents in Berthier—Maskinongé and all of my colleagues here a happy new year. We are starting on a rather positive note, and the Bloc Québécois supports this bill. Of course, we will have some serious and conscientious work to do at committee. Among other things, we are pleased to see provisions related to delays in the justice system. Because of these d…
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Madam Speaker, I listened carefully to much of my colleague's speech, but I am having a hard time understanding some of his arguments. From what I see, this bill is intended to close loopholes and ensure that serious crimes are prosecuted, including cases that did not go to trial because of the Jordan decision. The Bloc Québécois had said that the notwithstanding clause should be used because that…
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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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Mr. Speaker, the Bloc Québécois agrees to apply the vote and will be voting yes.
Read full speech →Statements by Members
Mr. Speaker, after an eventful year, the holiday season is already upon us. Quebeckers are doing their Christmas shopping. Christmas tree sellers are offering us the forest's finest specimens, which we will drape with garlands. Families are planning where they will spend Christmas Eve, and children are counting down the sleeps. This season is not easy for everyone. That is why volunteers are condu…
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Mr. Speaker, I will begin the second part of my speech. In good faith, Bloc Québécois members tried to clarify this issue. We asked you whether questions can be filtered and whether we can at least ensure that the answers are relevant and—
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Mr. Speaker, I rise on a point of order. With all due respect, I would like to address the questions from a Conservative Party member that were rejected earlier because they were deemed irrelevant. I would like to address two points. First, it seems to us that questions can be legitimate if they raise doubts about people who have previously served in the House, or even about people who have alread…
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Mr. Speaker, I will resume my speech. As I was saying, it seems to us that questions can be legitimate if they raise doubts about people who have previously served in the House or about people who might even be federal employees. We are not accusing anyone, but we think it is entirely legitimate for the people's elected representatives to raise questions here in the House, especially given that Qu…
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Mr. Speaker, may I have my colleagues' attention?
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Mr. Speaker, with all due respect, I think this assessment could be reconsidered, because the Standing Orders state that the answers must be related to the question, which is not always the case. There seems to be a disconnect here. If we place limits on one side, we should place limits on the other side. Members should be allowed to ask legitimate questions.
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Mr. Speaker, the Bloc Québécois agrees to apply the vote and will be voting against the motion.
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Mr. Speaker, I would like to echo the good wishes of my two colleagues. The Bloc Québécois would also like to wish a merry Christmas and a happy new year to all Quebeckers, to the members of all parties and their staff, to all House of Commons staff, including the clerks, the law clerks, the analysts, the pages, the Parliamentary Protective Services, the friendly cafeteria staff, the maintenance t…
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Mr. Speaker, the Liberal abuse of power continues. After Bill C-5, which gives the federal government the power to circumvent all laws for its major projects like pipelines, now we have Bill C-15. The Liberals are enshrining the right for all their ministers to break any law under the guise of innovation. That is not all. Liberal senators' Bill S-4 also allows them to circumvent the law. If the Li…
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Mr. Speaker, the Bloc Québécois agrees to apply the results of the last vote and will be voting against the motion.
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
Mr. Speaker, my colleague talks about co-operation. I would like him to explain to me why his committee chairs do not consult the vice-chairs before cancelling meetings. A huge number of meetings have not been held. I am getting comments from our members, who are complaining about this. If the member wants co-operation, then he needs to co-operate too. Will he promise to talk to his members so tha…
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Mr. Speaker, it is frustrating to speak on this subject because both sides are right. With respect to the substance of the issue raised by the Conservatives, it is true that the waste of resources and the limited work completed this fall is appalling. My colleague is absolutely right. However, the last question asked by the Liberals is just as relevant. I want to ask the Conservative member, whom …
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Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to speak to this. I was very happy to learn that the Conservatives had moved the motion, because we are working on that right now. I have in hand reports on committee meetings held since the parliamentary session started. I have to say, the numbers are not great. We hear speeches about collaboration, yet 412 out of 468 meetings have been held as of today. If we include to…
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Mr. Speaker, there is respect, but there is also the tone and aggression with which comments are made. I am offering a constructive comment to my colleague across the way. I will give him a chance. I am not looking for an apology from him. However, we know full well that I could because of the words he used. Withdrawing his remark is one thing, but apologies are more meaningful. I will not ask him…
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Mr. Speaker, I can assure my colleague that the respect is mutual. He is absolutely right. When proceedings are blocked, when there is a filibuster and when meetings are not held, we cannot work. We were elected to work, and sometimes the committee chair does not know what our intentions are. The chair can decide not to call a meeting even though I have prepared a motion and have talked to my coun…
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Mr. Speaker, the message this sends is that we put him in his place and gave him a chance this time. He will not get a second chance. Let us get the message across. Beyond that, it was the perfect example of how not to behave. I much prefer the questions from the member for Winnipeg North. We do not often agree either, but at least he does not hurl insults every three words.
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Mr. Speaker, I am pleased that the member for Winnipeg North answered my call and asked me a question; it lowers the temperature of our debate. Of course the composition of a committee plays a role, but that is only part of it. To be honest, calls get made, missions get organized. Earlier on, I held the Standing Committee on Agriculture and Agri-Food up as an exemplary committee, but something rea…
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Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for his question and congratulate him on his French. Frankly, if everyone tried as hard as he does, we might end up being truly bilingual. To answer his question, and based on what I have observed during my short time as whip, I have to say that he is right. I could give several examples of chairs from the governing party who seem to be biased more often than they…
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Mr. Speaker, throughout his speech, my colleague mentioned ministers who did not answer or who refused to appear before a committee. There is a fundamental principle called ministerial responsibility. The minister is responsible for what happens in his or her department and must be able to provide clarification, particularly when elected officials ask questions. I think that is a serious breach of…
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Mr. Speaker, my colleague said that he has never seen so many meetings being cancelled. I am glad to hear that. I do not know whether he was here when I gave my speech, but I mentioned that we have a lengthy report on this very subject. We are going over it now to present the statistics, and that is not normal. My colleague also said that one minister was afraid to appear before the committee. Tha…
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Mr. Speaker, I think the member is right to criticize systematic filibustering, especially when the government does it. We received good news. It seems that the Standing Committee on Justice and Human Rights will finally be meeting tomorrow, after being blocked for I do not know how long. According to what my party's critic told me earlier, the committee will have resources until midnight, and we …
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Mr. Speaker, this morning, I would like to present petition e‑6768, which has been signed by over 4,000 people. The petitioners are calling on the government to ensure proper labelling of food made from gene-edited plants and genetically modified foods. That is important. The petition also talks about genetically engineered livestock and makes the same requests in that regard. I will read the peti…
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Madam Speaker, I am pleased to see you in the chair, but I am not so pleased to speak to Bill C-15. It will come as no surprise to anyone when I say that, unfortunately, the Bloc Québécois will not be supporting Bill C‑15. We are making an effort to ask for changes, compromises and things for Quebec, but we are getting very few answers. Our key demands were left out of the budget entirely. I will …
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Madam Speaker, I commend my colleague from Kings—Hants, with whom I enjoy speaking every day. A budget is a complex set of measures. Yes, this budget contains a few minor measures that may be good for agriculture, and I have already applauded them. However, I would invite my colleague to reread his budget, especially the part where the government announces funding for the AgriStability program. Wh…
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Madam Speaker, I am pleased that we agree on something, and I invite my colleague to make the most of this occasion. Let us put this date on the calendar. We will be more inclined to like each other the next time we talk. As to the use of tax havens, the Standing Committee on Access to Information, Privacy and Ethics, among others, is looking into that, and the more they dig, the more suspicious t…
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Madam Speaker, I have no regrets, and the reason I say that is because I attended a FADOQ event over the weekend and people told me not to abandon them. They know that the government has not yet agreed to increase OAS for seniors aged 65 and over, as demanded by the Bloc Québécois, so they are asking us not to abandon them. They feel as though everyone else is abandoning them. That is what seniors…
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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, 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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