Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, I do not think the government quite grasps the urgency of the situation. For producers of root vegetables, 64% of lands were damaged by rain. For strawberry and raspberry producers, it is 73%. For pea producers, it is 88%. This will affect food prices if the government does not intervene, and everybody will be impacted. We need emergency supports and a one-year extension of the emerge…
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Mr. Speaker, our farmers are still suffering from this summer's catastrophic weather. According to a survey by the Union des producteurs agricoles, precipitation ravaged no less than 60% of Quebec's market gardens. Respondents lost a third of their revenues in the midst of an inflationary crisis. Worse still, more than half of producers think that this damage will continue to affect the 2024 crop.…
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Madam Speaker, I want to congratulate the hon. member for Mirabel for championing this very important bill. Some elected members responded to the bill's intent saying that the government formed a committee to look into the whistle-blower protection regime. Does the member for Mirabel think that is a good excuse not to vote in favour of the bill?
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Mr. Speaker, I like the parts of my colleague's speech where he says that sovereignty is not for sale and other such things, but that we must not block appropriate investments. I understand the argument. I would like to know what he thinks about the importance of protecting strategic investments in small business innovation or land ownership, for example. This issue has not been discussed in much …
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Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for his impassioned speech. I would like to know whether he would be open to creating another bill or at least finding some way to do more to protect our high-tech sectors as well as the head offices of our small businesses. What I would like to say to my colleague is that the Quebec economy in particular is made up largely of SMEs. The thresholds are not reviewed…
Read full speech →Statements by Members
Mr. Speaker, I wish to acknowledge the success of the different branches of the Fédération de l'âge d'or du Québec, FADOQ, a seniors association in Berthier—Maskinongé, that is celebrating its 50th anniversary. As an MP, it is great privilege for me to spend many an evening with them where they have shown legendary indulgence in trying to teach me to follow the beat in line dancing. In particular …
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Mr. Speaker, I thank my distinguished colleague from Mirabel for his intelligent question. I agree wholeheartedly. That is why I addressed the issue in my speech. It requires urgent action. It reflects a trend we are seeing not only in Canada and Quebec, but also around the world. Governments are increasingly off-loading their responsibilities onto private states. The gene editing regulations that…
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Mr. Speaker, I agree that we must work diligently and intelligently. That is what I was saying earlier. That is why, during my statement, I mentioned Bill C‑282, which is currently before the Senate. The purpose of that bill is to protect a very important sector. We can be in favour of free trade and adopt agreements that are smart, that do not sacrifice certain groups to the benefit of others. I …
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Mr. Speaker, this does not happen very often, but I have to say that I again agree with the member for Winnipeg North. I am always happy when that happens. I am a regular guy who is in touch with the people. Since becoming a member of Parliament four years ago, I have found that things move so slowly that any time we are asked to move quickly, I answer “yes”. Let us move forward carefully and inte…
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Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to rise to speak to Bill C‑57. I will be sharing my time with my colleague from Beauport—Limoilou, who did me a favour by allowing me to go first. Let me say from the outset that, generally speaking, we are all in favour of free trade and we are in favour of this agreement with Ukraine. We know that we are in a partnership with the Ukrainians, whom we have been supporting…
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Mr. Speaker, our farms are among the 250,000 SMEs at risk of shutting down. High interest rates, the price of fuel, the damage that climate change is doing to crops, and I could go on, have left them teetering on the brink. If the federal government tops it all off with the Canada emergency business account, it will force them into bankruptcy. The government must postpone repayment of emergency bu…
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Mr. President, groups and unions held a protest in Quebec City on Saturday to demand an end to closed work permits for temporary foreign workers. They are right. Closed permits leave workers totally dependent on their employer. Unfortunately, some employers take advantage of the situation. The Bloc Québécois has finally managed to bring this issue forward for study in committee. Can we count on th…
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Mr. Speaker, we need answers. Closed permits lead not only to abuse, but also to absurd situations. Radio-Canada reported on a good example, specifically the case of Mr. Bérard, who is from Mauritius. He works in Beauce and wants to stay in Beauce, but the plant where he works is shutting down. Because he has a closed permit that binds him to that employer, he cannot look for a job, except in anot…
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Mr. Speaker, I thank the minister for her speech and for these negotiations, which are very important. I would like to ask her a two-part question. First, supply management was included when the order to import products from Ukraine duty-free was adopted. The groups that were impacted and the opposition parties fought hard to have this removed when the order was renewed, and it was in fact removed…
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Mr. Speaker, I congratulate my colleague on his first speech in the House. I have a very specific question for him. I hope he will be the type of colleague who answers questions in specific detail. That would be helpful. The government is announcing a housing measure that consists of removing the GST on construction without any guarantee that it will be used for social or affordable housing. We ar…
Read full speech →Statements by Members
Mr. Speaker, the Festival de la galette de sarrasin de Louiseville, Louiseville's legendary buckwheat pancake festival, is now in its 44th year. Over the past few days, I was thrilled to be inducted as an honorary member of the Confrérie des Sarrasins, the buckwheat brotherhood. I was delighted to pledge that I would faithfully promote this invaluable local product. The members of the Confrérie ca…
Read full speech →Private Members' Business
Madam Speaker, I thank the member for York—Simcoe for this bill and for his speech. The Liberal government members just congratulated my colleague for his leadership on this issue. However, the bill before us responds to a request from the sector that dates back to 2014. This Liberal government has been in power for eight years, but, all of a sudden, it is applauding this measure. Why does my coll…
Read full speech →Private Members' Business
Madam Speaker, I always love it when the people I am talking to appear to be listening, at least. What I was saying is that it is essential. I challenge anyone here to accept the same working conditions as those people. Rain in the summer brings us down because we cannot go for motorcycle rides or head to the beach. What do they do when it rains? They do building maintenance. They go place orders.…
Read full speech →Private Members' Business
Madam Speaker, I feel like starting my speech in a different way. I just heard that the Liberal government is supporting this bill. Everyone is pleased to be pleased, and everything is perfect. However, we asked if it would be possible to seek unanimous consent to send the bill directly to the Senate. That way, it could move forward and produce growers could finally get some protection when they a…
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Madam Speaker, does my colleague think any meaningful measures for social housing could be introduced? The Bloc Québécois has repeatedly proposed investing 1% of the budget in social housing on an ongoing basis, so that crises like the one we are currently experiencing will be less frequent. Obviously, this measure is less popular because there is nothing spectacular about it. The government could…
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Madam Speaker, it is outrageous to let the people making money from a product decide what rules apply to their product. It is even worse when food or public health are involved. How can we let a company like Bayer write the rules on GMOs and gene editing? The public needs reassurance. A breach of trust has occurred. Nothing less than a rigorous regulatory review by truly independent experts can fi…
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Madam Speaker, Radio-Canada has made deeply disturbing revelations about close ties between major GMO companies and the federal government. In fact, the ties are so close that the two are literally playing on the same team, known as the Tiger Team. It includes lobbyists for giants like Bayer, but also federal public servants who allegedly drafted the GMO reform together. Worse than having the fox …
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Mr. Speaker, I have a very simple question for the member. Can he tell us about the clean fuel regulations that his government adopted on July 1? I would like him to tell the House, first, if his government asked the Bloc Québécois to support it and, second, if the House had to vote on it.
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Madam Speaker, I thank my colleague from Kings—Hants for his speech. It is nice to hear a well-articulated speech that is based on facts. I have a very specific question to ask that he will certainly have no problem answering. Could he inform the House of Commons about the clean fuel regulations that were adopted by his government on July 1 and tell us when the government asked for the Bloc Québéc…
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Madam Speaker, it has been quite a day. We have heard a lot of different things. I will do my best to remain calm. For starters, the Conservatives wonder why we do not adopt their motions, why we do not vote in favour of most of them. I will tell them, quite honestly, that it is because most of their motions are rigged. Most of their motions contain inaccuracies. Then, they get offended when we sa…
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Mr. Speaker, I would like to begin by stating that I will be sharing my time with my hon. colleague from Longueuil—Saint-Hubert. For that reason, I will be talking less about housing than about competition. I would have plenty to say about housing, but my colleague will do a better job. All I am going to say about housing is what I said earlier: This is just window dressing, like most of the Liber…
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
Madam Speaker, before asking my question, I would like to make a comment. It is strange to see the Conservatives putting off debates about the cost of living that are on the agenda. That does not mean the issue they are raising is not important; we will deal with it appropriately. However, I think my comment is still relevant. My colleague talked a lot about the conflict and the blockade of the La…
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Mr. Speaker, I thank the minister for her speech and her remarks. Her last answer suggests that Canada is going to enforce compliance with the ceasefire, reinstate the humanitarian corridor and so on. Based on the minister's last response, I gather that Canadian involvement on the ground may even be possible. That is fine, but are any discussions in progress about imposing economic sanctions on Az…
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Mr. Speaker, I was listening to my colleague speaking proudly and enthusiastically about the fantastic measure that we have just adopted to build rental housing by removing the GST on the construction of apartment buildings. This only applies to privately owned buildings, however. Municipal organizations are already exempt. Non-profits that are already partially exempt will not be fully exempt. Ho…
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Mr. Speaker, of course removing the GST from housing construction is not a bad idea. All I was saying earlier is that this is a half-measure that will not have much of an impact. My colleague mentioned it himself in his question. Interest rates are rising well above the 5% GST and builders will pass on the cost in the price of rent. What we really need are measures that will lower the price of ren…
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Mr. Speaker, unfortunately it is very difficult to review a transaction that happened years ago. All we can do is take action for the future. We are currently regulating future transactions, and that is fine. Now, what can we do to make it easier to enter the market? Could the government not create measures that would favour independent grocers, that could increase food supply and therefore increa…
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Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague from the Standing Committee on Agriculture and Agri-Food. I appreciate the work she does. Indeed, competition is the key. In fact, my colleague will recall that, in the report we produced, there were several recommendations, including one that suggested working on the supply chain and doing so effectively. The problem with this government is that it does not take …
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, this is especially serious for our farmers. They are the ones most affected by rising interest rates, they have climate change wreaking havoc on their crops, and they are already saddled with excessive debt, partly because the federal government is not doing a good job supporting our farmers. What is more, Ottawa is asking them to take on even more debt with their bank within three mo…
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Madam Speaker, I agree with my colleague from Laurentides—Labelle. We are here to work and to study the issues. Naturally, the government has its faults, including its failure to do nothing at all for long stretches of time. Then, oops, taking action becomes politically expedient. At that point, it will do pretty much anything as quickly as it can, a bit like what happened in Mégantic, as my colle…
Read full speech →Private Members' Business
Madam Speaker, I think this is an important bill that demands action, but intelligent action, obviously. The question I want to ask is not intended as an objection to the bill. It is simply a question. Naturally, we cannot put a price on the safety of our citizens, especially in cases of domestic violence. This is clearly how we need to approach it. However, I wonder if my colleague has thought ab…
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Mr. Speaker, this situation is particularly urgent, especially for fruit and vegetable growers in Quebec. The rains this summer have been disastrous for their crops. Produce growers urgently need the federal government's help. If the federal government does not intervene, some farms will disappear, and that will have an impact on food prices. Will the government act responsibly and step up to help…
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Madam Speaker, my question is quite simple. The bill we are looking at appears to continue the Liberal trend. In other words, it claims to promote renewable energy, but, in reality, it makes no changes to the status quo and continues to encourage the development of the oil industry. We think that the government needs to start gradually reducing the size of that industry. My question is going to fo…
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Mr. Speaker, those who are often forgotten, when we talk about groceries, are the farmers and processors. They are the ones who produce our food. Right now, they are not getting any support from Ottawa to deal with higher basic costs, for labour, for example. There is nothing for them to help with inflation and their record level of debt. There is nothing for them to help with weather-related dama…
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Mr. Speaker, I request a recorded division.
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Mr. Speaker, my party's whip made what I felt was a mature comment. In my opinion, her comment did not receive a fitting response. I will therefore pick up where she left off. We said that the Bloc Québécois supported the bill. The answer is yes, of course. That is not the issue. The issue is the repeated gag orders and backroom deals, as I will call them. It is high time that the Leader of the Go…
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
Madam Speaker, my colleague will surely agree with me that there is irony in this. I withdraw the word. We are then sitting every evening until midnight. That was my introduction. Now, we need to talk about this serious and very important subject of victims’ rights. This committee report seems fundamental to me. However, we need to be very vigilant on the issue of jurisdiction. The report’s first …
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Mr. Speaker, once again, we are dealing with a stunt to delay the agenda. I will take this opportunity to add to the comments I made earlier this morning. When such schemes are used to delay the agenda, it is because the other side dropped the ball, as well. The government poorly managed its schedule and lacked respect for the opposition parties. There is a lack of dialogue. This morning, I asked …
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Madam Speaker, I thank my esteemed colleague for her question. What more can we do? It comes back to the same thing. We need to fund our resources properly. We need to provide them with permanent and adequate funding so that they do not have to wonder every year whether they will be able to continue operating. We need to make sure that we have quality resources. Earlier, I talked about something i…
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What a nice softball from my colleague, Madam Speaker. I thank the member for this great question. Not only is it abnormal, it is revolting. These dedicated people who want to help others have to spend half their week, if not more, filling out damn paperwork. Keeping an organization on mission for six months or more takes funding, but once they do manage to get funding, after six months they have …
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Madam Speaker, I thank my colleague for her question and her kind words. What more should be done? At every level of bureaucracy, the people being served should be taken into consideration. Public servants should look beyond financial considerations and look after their needs. Certainly, if they have to deal with 18 cases in a single day, that becomes impossible. For example, some youth protection…
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Am I not allowed to say “damn”?
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
Madam Speaker, I thank and salute my colleague from Rivière-du-Nord for the fine work he does every day on the Standing Committee on Justice and Human Rights. I have had the privilege of substituting for him on a number of occasions. His are big shoes to fill. I will begin by saying that I am disappointed we are once again dealing with a Conservative ploy to disrupt the agenda, to waste time, when…
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
Madam Speaker, I listened very carefully to my colleague's speech. He has a wealth of experience in the justice system that commands respect, and I am confident that he knows exactly what he is talking about. I do not have that experience, obviously. That said, I have witnessed certain cases where mistakes or mistreatment resulted in individuals being released. Of course, that is part of the risk …
Read full speech →Statements By Members
Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize a dedicated citizen, Lisette Falker. She recently won the Francine Ruest-Jutras award, a distinction bestowed by the Union des municipalités du Québec to recognize women who demonstrate exceptional leadership in municipal politics and in the governance of Quebec communities. Ms. Falker was the first city councillor to receive the award. As just one example of…
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Mr. Speaker, I found the end of my colleague's speech rather interesting. According to him, we should be present in the House to give speeches. When we are here to give a speech, it is nice when there are people here to listen. Since I know we are not allowed to mention the presence or absence of members in the House, I will not do so, but I think people get my drift. The member said that there sh…
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