Parliamentary Speeches
1,041 speeches by Alexandre Boulerice — Page 2 of 21
Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, the Liberal budget is deeply flawed in many important areas, but the climate plan has become a sick joke, at a time when our collective home is on fire. It abandons the greenhouse gas reduction targets for 2030. It eliminates the emissions cap for the oil and gas sector. The Liberal climate strategy boils down to tax credits for critical minerals and carbon capture, which basically am…
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Mr. Speaker, we had some good news yesterday. No, I am not really talking about the budget. I am talking about the election of Zohran Mamdani as mayor of New York. Let us return closer to home, to my riding of Rosemont—La Petite‑Patrie, where we also have some good news. During Black History Month, Ninette Piou, director of the Centre N A Rive, was recognized for her involvement and dedication. Fo…
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
The last petition concerns the fact that people who hold a Palestinian Authority ID or passport are being refused entry at the Ben Gurion International Airport in Israel, even though they have a valid Canadian passport. Unlike Canada, the United States has successfully secured equal treatment for its citizens with Palestinian Authority ID, but we have not. These people are calling on the Governmen…
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The second petition concerns the fact that the President of the United States signed an executive order imposing a broad sanctions regime on the International Criminal Court, its officials, its staff and their families. This order attacks an institution that is the last international bastion for ending impunity for the gravest of crimes, such as mass atrocities, war crimes, crimes against humanity…
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Madam Speaker, I am rising to table three petitions. The first is from people who are concerned about the situation at Canada Post and the upcoming service cuts. They also believe that there is a potential conflict of interest involving the CEO of Canada Post, who sits on the board of Purolator. These people are calling for the Auditor General to undertake an analysis of Canada Post and provide th…
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Mr. Speaker, Quebeckers and Canadians are facing an employment crisis with unemployment rates at a 10-year high, especially among young people. Yet the government wants to cut 40,000 public service jobs. These are good union jobs that support families, and the Liberals want to eliminate them. Every one of these employees is providing services to Quebeckers and Canadians, and they need them. The Pr…
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Mr. Speaker, the news came as a shock wave this morning: President Trump calls off trade negotiations with Canada. It is a blatant failure of this Prime Minister. After being elected as a master negotiator, he leaves us high and dry. He did everything to pander to Trump: border security, military spending, opening the Keystone XL pipeline and dropping the tax on web giants. He was practically on h…
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Madam Speaker, I believe that Canada has obligations when it comes to taking in refugees. If there is an increase in the number of refugees around the world, it is because there is an increase in crises around the world too, caused by conflict, civil war and the climate crisis. It is not up to us to determine how many asylum seekers show up at our border. All countries face the same requirement. T…
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Madam Speaker, criminal smugglers who exploit people trying to find a better life and a better future here must obviously be prosecuted. We need to have the tools to do that. However, what I am saying, and what the NDP is saying, is that we must do it in a way that will not affect the remedies and procedures that protect these people's rights. As it stands now, Bill C‑12 is fundamentally flawed. T…
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Mr. Speaker, I am very honoured to rise in the House on behalf of the NDP to talk about this important piece of legislation, Bill C‑12. Regrettably, while I am the third NDP member to have an opportunity to rise in the House, it is because the Liberals do not rise to talk about their own piece of legislation because they do not want to talk about it. This is good for us because it gives me an oppo…
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Madam Speaker, obviously, the CBSA experienced major staffing cuts under Stephen Harper's government. However, the Liberals have done nothing to remedy that situation over the past 10 years. Giving border officers back their powers and resources would help in the fight against auto theft and against the trafficking of fentanyl, drugs and illegal weapons. That is a good thing. That said, why did it…
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Mr. Speaker, the multinational company Newrest had an in-flight catering contract with Air Canada at the Trudeau airport. Even though the company knew that it was about to lose the contract, it still brought in temporary foreign workers on three-year closed work permits. Closed work permits are terrible things that prevent people from changing employers. Now, 50 people are left with nothing. They …
Read full speech →Private Members' Business
Mr. Speaker, this is a sad day for the House. With the Liberals, we are seeing the “Trumpification” of international co-operation and international aid, which are becoming transactional. In other words, what the Liberal government is essentially telling us today is that if something does not benefit the government, it will not help. That is not what international aid is all about. The point is to …
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Mr. Speaker, I wonder how come the Liberals have been talking and acting like Conservatives since they came to power. Asylum seekers and refugees are human beings who are entitled to dignity, respect, and a transparent and honest process. Can my colleague assure us that Bill C-12 complies with the international conventions that protect the rights of refugees and that Canada has committed to uphold…
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
moved for leave to introduce Bill C‑249, An Act to amend the Employment Insurance Act (combined weeks of benefits rule and certain benefits). Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to rise in the House to introduce this important bill. Employment insurance has been in need of a major reform for years. The Liberals promised to reform the system but then did nothing. This bill seeks to correct two completely una…
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
Mr. Speaker, I have two petitions that I would like to table in the House today. The first pertains to people who are concerned about the working and living conditions of airport workers, who earn very low wages in very precarious conditions despite their years of service. The Vancouver Airport Authority has declared that it offers a living wage and encourages all service providers to provide a li…
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Mr. Speaker, the second petition is signed by thousands of people who are concerned about the importation of macaques from Cambodia. In 2022, the International Union for Conservation of Nature raised the classification of long-tailed macaques from “vulnerable” to “endangered”, pointing to their exploitation by the experimentation industry as a factor in the species' plummeting numbers and heighten…
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, things were already bad, but now they are getting worse. In July, we lost 41,000 jobs. In August, we lost 66,000 jobs. The unemployment rate among young people is close to 15%. This summer, the unemployment rate among students was 18%. With the housing crisis and the climate crisis, it is not surprising that young people have lost hope for the future. When will the Liberals finally in…
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Mr. Speaker, not a single young person will feel reassured by those answers. The home retrofit program is extremely popular, and rightly so. It lowers heating bills for families and it is good for the environment. People upgrade their insulation, doors and windows, install solar panels and so on. However, next week on October 1, funding for the program will dry up completely. What are the Liberals…
Read full speech →Statements by Members
Mr. Speaker, we are living in a troubling world where the truth and facts are slowly being buried under an onslaught of disinformation. Many experts are sounding the alarm in light of the rise in far-right ideas, the masculinist movement and fake news. All of this has an impact on democracy and public debate. With less space for reliable news, many people are a lot less informed. Bill C‑18 was sup…
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
Madam Speaker, I am honoured to table today a petition signed by hundreds of people who point out that persons with disabilities deserve to have a dignified life. Unfortunately, the new Canada disability benefit does little to address poverty. In addition, this benefit is tied to the disability tax credit. Part of the problem is that only 1.6 million Canadians have access to the disability tax cre…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Madam Speaker, the notwithstanding clause is a tool that is constitutional, legal and legitimate in many cases, including the ones that he just mentioned. However, in recent years, we have seen the notwithstanding clause being used more and more, in some cases in a heavy-handed way, especially when it is included in the bill itself. The provincial governments say that they are suspending fundament…
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Mr. Speaker, we are in the midst of a climate crisis. While drought, floods and forest fires are on the rise, the Conservative Party is moving a motion to say that we should pollute even more. Last week's Canadian Climate Institute report told us that we are not going to reach our greenhouse gas emissions reduction targets because of the oil and gas sector. What does my colleague have to say about…
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, since Monday, there have been people on the Hill reading the names of the 18,000 children of Gaza who have been killed in the genocide that is unfolding right before our eyes. Some of these children were killed by a sniper on their way to pick up food. An entire week will not be enough time to read all of these names. This tragedy requires serious action. It is time to stop the sale o…
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Mr. Speaker, on August 17, Air Canada flight attendants went on strike so they could get paid for the work they do prior to a flight. That same day, only a few hours later, the Minister of Jobs used section 107 of the Canada Labour Code to end the job action. This is a major assault on workers' rights. It is an attack on free collective bargaining. This is a handout to a company that was expecting…
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With regard to government contracts with vendors providing IT services to departments operating under the Treasury Board of Canada, broken down by fiscal year, since 2022-23, and by department: (a) what is the total number of contracts signed; (b) what are the details of all contracts signed, including the (i) vendor contracted, (ii) value of the contract, (iii) number of IT workers provided, (iv)…
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Mr. Speaker, the NDP agrees to apply the vote and will be voting in favour of the motion.
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, the NDP agrees to apply the vote and will be voting in favour of the motion.
Read full speech →Government Orders
The NDP agrees to apply the vote and will be voting against.
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Mr. Speaker, the NDP agrees to apply the vote and will be voting in favour.
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, the NDP agrees to apply the vote and will be voting in favour.
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, the NDP agrees to apply the vote and will be voting against.
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Mr. Speaker, the NDP wants to develop projects of national interest that serve communities, respect first nations and guarantee a healthy environment for everyone, everywhere. There are ways to achieve that, but this bill offers us no guarantees. It gives one minister all the power to choose the projects. Once this bill is passed, we could end up with projects that cross through communities and pr…
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Mr. Speaker, the NDP agrees to apply the vote and will be voting against the motion.
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Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to rise in the House to discuss Bill C-5, which is a monster of a bill. Unfortunately, I am also a little disappointed in our parliamentary institutions, because our rights as parliamentarians are being trampled on. We have not had much opportunity to discuss this bill, even though it has very wide-ranging implications and far-reaching consequences that will persist for y…
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Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for her excellent question. Advocating for the people of Nunavut, the Inuit, is always her top priority, as is defending the rights of indigenous peoples. During the short amount of time we had for discussions, the Conservatives touted the importance of reconciliation, working with the indigenous peoples and respecting treaties and their rights. Indeed, we can now…
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Mr. Speaker, the NDP agrees to apply the vote and will be voting in favour.
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, I respect the mandate that the people of Rosemont—La Petite-Patrie gave me, which is to defend their interests, good jobs, the environment and the rights of indigenous peoples. That is what I am doing here today. The second thing I would like to say is that this bill does something absolutely unprecedented and extraordinary. It allows projects of national interest to not comply with e…
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, today is World Refugee Day. That is the sad reality of 43 million people around the world. These people deserve our solidarity, but the Liberal government is moving in the opposite direction by proposing Trump-style militarization and border control. The Liberal rhetoric is dangerous. The NDP is clear: Anyone who shows up at our border seeking safety must be taken in and heard with re…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, as my colleague mentioned, we have various concerns about the form and the substance. I will get back to that in a speech in a few minutes. In my colleague's opinion, what happens when bills are put forward that have so many implications and consequences for the future and the time isn't taken to listen to citizens, municipalities, the provinces, scientists, environmentalists and firs…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, the NDP agrees to apply the vote and will be voting yes.
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, the NDP agrees to apply the vote and will be voting in favour of the motion.
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, I have the privilege of informing you that the NDP agrees to apply the vote and will be voting in favour of the motion.
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, the NDP agrees to apply the vote and will be voting in favour of the motion.
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, the NDP agrees to apply the vote and will be voting in favour.
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, the NDP agrees to apply the vote and will totally be voting in favour of the motion.
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, the NDP agrees to apply the vote, and New Democrats will be voting emphatically in favour.
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Mr. Speaker, I want to thank and congratulate my colleague from Edmonton Strathcona on her excellent speech. It was reasonable and heartfelt. I would now like her to comment on the impact that the lack of a proper environmental assessment process would have on the people in her riding in Alberta. What repercussions will this have on future generations in terms of pollution or the destruction of ha…
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Mr. Speaker, I would like to congratulate my colleague on her speech. However, what I do not understand is the Liberals' old habit of hiding behind lawyers and procedures instead of making a firm political commitment to stand up for taxpayers who have been wronged and robbed of their money. Why is the member unable to stand up today and clearly tell Canadians and Quebeckers that the government wil…
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Mr. Speaker, despite his speech about how this is a new government and a new face for the Liberals, the member for Winnipeg North has once again shown us through his repeated and often very frequent interventions that these are the same old Liberals with the same old scandals and the same old tendencies. Why is the member for Winnipeg North unable to commit to saying that his government will reimb…
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