Parliamentary Speeches
1,041 speeches by Alexandre Boulerice — Page 5 of 21
Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, I want to thank my Green Party colleague for his question, which is very compassionate. As social democrats, we in the NDP share his concern. If we want to help a person with a disability, we have to do it for their entire lifetime. My colleague is perfectly right in saying that a person's disability does not end at 65 and that just because old age security exists does not mean that w…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Madam Speaker, I am pleased to take part in today's important discussion, since it has to do with our country's seniors. However, while I have the floor of the House for a few minutes, I would like to point out that the NDP, like many tens of thousands of families in Quebec and Canada, is extremely concerned about the situation in Lebanon. My colleague from Edmonton Strathcona asked for and was gr…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, that is an excellent question. I too am very interested in knowing where the Liberal government is at the moment. It is a minority government. I get the impression that the Minister of Finance is dealing with a hot potato and does not know what to do with it. I would say to my Bloc Québécois colleague that it is a bit risky to bet on a royal recommendation to get help for seniors. I a…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Madam Speaker, I am very suspicious of the Conservative Party's current position on the pension increase for seniors, given the Conservatives' record of the past few years, whether on raising the age of retirement or on the cuts to health transfers to the provinces. Suddenly, the Conservatives are friends to seniors. I find that a bit suspicious, especially when their main argument is that inflati…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Madam Speaker, we are hearing big words like “hypocrisy” and “cynicism”, but I think the most cynical thing the Liberals could do would be to vote for Bill C-319 and then not give it a royal recommendation. That way, they could say that they were in favour of the bill, but that they had to prevent it from passing because it would be too expensive. That is political cynicism. Let us talk about the …
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, Pascale is a single mom from Hull who wrote in an open letter, “I'm afraid I will never be able to buy a home. I'm afraid my eldest child will never know the joy of a space that she can truly call her own. I can't get a different apartment because rents have skyrocketed since I moved in...real estate prices in my neighbourhood are up over 150%”. The Liberals and the Conservatives are …
Read full speech →Government Orders
Madam Speaker, I am very pleased to rise today to speak right after the leader of the NDP, who gave an excellent speech. He outlined the framework for this discussion and explained where we stand right now as a society, what people need and the risks associated with either the Liberals' inaction or the Conservatives' cuts. Over the past two years, we have seen what can be achieved when NDP members…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, what the NDP actually did was help people who needed it the most through the Canada housing benefit and the dental care program. If the Conservatives ever get into power, what will they do with dental care? They will end seniors' access to dentists after 3.5 million people have already registered for the program and 645,000 people have benefited from it. I have called people who went …
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, it is a bit much to say that we did not make any gains for Quebec. Try saying that to the Videotron or Port of Québec employees who were locked out because there was no anti-scab legislation. We defended the cause and won more rights for workers. Paying dentists' bills is not interfering in Quebec's health care system. We are not telling Quebec how to run its hospitals. So far, 205,03…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, one thing we know for sure is that the Leader of the Opposition did not ask for access to privileged information about foreign interference. That is very serious, because he says he wants to be prime minister, but he is not doing the work to find out what really happened. That says a lot about the leader of the Conservative Party, who is not who he claims to be. We know that he is no …
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
Madam Speaker, I thank my colleague for his speech. I want to address the issue of temporary foreign workers. I have some concerns about their rights and working conditions; sometimes, not always. I am trying to understand. For the past few years, the Bloc Québécois and the Government of Quebec have been calling for less temporary immigration in Quebec. In fact, the member for Lac-Saint-Jean asked…
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
Madam Speaker, I am pleased to hear my colleague admit that grocery prices have risen significantly and that families and individuals are struggling because of it. I hope that she will support the NDP's proposals. Right now, we are the only ones who are saying that we need to stabilize and control prices by capping the price of certain essential foods for families. I am surprised that I did not he…
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
Madam Speaker, I am going to ask a question somewhat similar to the one I asked the Bloc Québécois member earlier, concerning the recommendation to pay attention to the management of the temporary foreign worker program. Some people want to see temporary immigration to this country lowered. Others say that an exception may be in order, considering the very important role that temporary workers pla…
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for her speech. I also appreciate the brevity of her answer just now. I do have a question for her, though, because the Liberals suddenly have a new-found passion for co-op housing. They displayed a glimmer of interest in more housing co-ops six months ago in April 2024, but, since 2017—
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
Mr. Speaker, I certainly hope those remarks were not made by Conservative members. That would be extremely unfortunate. The point of order is a very good one. The question I started to ask concerned housing co-ops—
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
Mr. Speaker, I am sorry to see the Conservatives using the same old name-calling and personal attacks. It is reprehensible. Let us come back to the issue of co-op housing. The national housing strategy that was launched in 2017 made no mention of co-op housing. The Liberal government woke up at the last minute last spring and mentioned co-op housing in the budget. I would like my colleague to comm…
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
Mr. Speaker, I am rather surprised that the member is concerned about what people in Rosemont—La Petite-Patrie are going to do, but I look forward to hearing what the Conservative candidate in my riding has to say about that in the next election. I would remind the House that, after the Liberals made cuts to the construction of social and affordable housing, Stephen Harper's Conservative governmen…
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
Mr. Speaker, I would remind my colleague that it was under a Liberal government in 1994 that the federal government withdrew, disengaged from social and affordable housing. Co-op housing and social housing help people so much. Someone told me that having access to social housing gave them back their freedom. The Conservatives often say that government intervention undermines freedom. Not having to…
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
Mr. Speaker, that is another solution the NDP is proposing. With regard to an acquisition fund, I mentioned Vienna, which has truly set an example internationally. Montreal increased its fund recently, too. I think we need to do our part and use public land for truly affordable public housing. However, we also need to work together to be able to buy private land in order to break free from this ma…
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
Mr. Speaker, I will be sharing my time with the admirable and extraordinary member for New Westminster—Burnaby. I think he will have some very interesting things to share with us about the reality in his region and in his province. I will start this intervention by thanking the Standing Committee on Human Resources, Skills and Social Development and the Status of Persons with Disabilities for this…
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
Madam Speaker, I have here an important petition signed by thousands of people who are telling us that the state of Palestine, governed by the Palestinian National Authority, currently does not have membership in the United Nations. Since the State of Israel currently has illegal settlements in the West Bank, there are concerns regarding potential illegal occupation of Gaza. As of 2024, the state …
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
Mr. Speaker, there is something that bothers me in the debate on housing and that I have heard too often; that is, for the Bloc Québécois, it is always the federal government's fault and, for the Liberals, it is always the Quebec government's fault. We lost three years in the federal-provincial agreement, and Canadians with inadequate housing or no housing at all are paying for it. I do not want t…
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, Conservative governments across the country are privatizing our health care. They want to make people pay to see a doctor. It is no different in Quebec. However, this Prime Minister is too weak to stand up to the Conservatives. People are paying the price. What will it take for him to get a backbone and defend the principles of public, universal health care?
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague from Yukon for his speech. Obviously, the NDP agrees that this historic mistake needs to be corrected. In a democracy, there is nothing more precious than citizenship, which allows us to take part in the work of government. It is extremely serious that people could lose their citizenship because of a legislative error. However, we are a bit concerned that, in the …
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, I completely agree with my colleague. This historical error caused people to lose their citizenship, their rights and access to services. They became second-class citizens. Children became stateless and were stuck in limbo, although limbo apparently no longer exists because the church officially abolished it. I would like to talk about the Conservatives' position. They talk about citi…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Madam Speaker, I found that the question from my Bloc Québécois colleague made a lot of sense, unlike the Conservatives' comments. However, I would like to ask my colleague the following question. If the Citizenship Act is unconstitutional, if the act allows people to lose their citizenship by accident or administrative error, if children are born stateless, why do the Conservatives want to drag t…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Madam Speaker, I would like to start this short speech by taking a look at some important events that took place yesterday and by congratulating my new colleague, Leila Dance, who won in Winnipeg and held on to a seat for the NDP. She showed that we are capable of beating the Conservatives. I would congratulate Mr. Sauvé as well, who won in LaSalle-Émard-Verdun. I would also like to talk about ano…
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
With regard to real estate sector investments made by the Public Sector Pension Investment Board (PSPIB), since fiscal year 2015-16: (a) what is the total value of assets held in (i) residential, (ii) retirement, real estate; (b) in what ways does the PSPIB prioritize worker, community and societal health and well-being when considering its investments in residential and retirement real estate; an…
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
With regard to funding programs managed by the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC), broken down by fiscal year since 2015-16: (a) what are the details of each funding program, broken down by the (i) name of the program, service, fund, or initiative, (ii) amount of funding allocated; (b) which of the funding programs in (a) are expected to have their funding reduced by CMHC as part of th…
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
With regard to federal housing investments for Montréal, since January 1, 2014: (a) how much federal funding was provided to the electoral district of (i) Outremont, (ii) Laurier—Sainte-Marie, (iii) Rosemont—La Petite-Patrie, (iv) LaSalle—Émard—Verdun, (v) Hochelaga—Rosemont-Est, (vi) Papineau, to support the construction of cooperative housing, and how many units were developed in each electoral …
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
With regard to federal funding and loans to Canada’s grocery sector, since January 1, 2006: how much federal funding has been provided to Loblaw Companies Limited and its subsidiaries, (i) No Frills, (ii) Real Canadian Superstore, (iii) Shoppers Drug Mart, (iv) Pharmaprix, (v) Provigo, (vi) Atlantic Superstore, (vii) Independent, (viii) T&T, broken down by company, year and type of funding?
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for his remarks. I know how interested and passionate he is about democratic and electoral issues. We both sat on the Special Committee on Electoral Reform back when the Liberals were still claiming they wanted a different voting system, one that would be fairer, more democratic and more egalitarian. They have since changed their tune. We have all reached the same…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank my colleague from Nanaimo—Ladysmith for her work and congratulate her on her speech. What we are seeing today with this bill is the NDP once again forcing the Liberals to make our voting system more accessible. As my colleague mentioned, that is the least of it for the New Democrats, who have far more ambitious goals. She spoke of her Motion No. 86, which, unfort…
Read full speech →Government Orders
With regard to audits conducted by the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA), broken down by province or territory and fiscal year since 2015-16: (a) what is the total number of audits that determined a tax-payer had failed to withhold tax on rent paid to a non-resident landlord; (b) of the audits in (a), what is the total number of audits where (i) an adjustment resulting in more tax owing, (ii) an adjustm…
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, all the experts agree. Everyone agrees. The proposed third highway link is not a good idea. It is too expensive. It will pollute. All that to save five minutes' driving time. We know that does not matter to the Bloc and the Conservatives, because they support it. For the NDP, however, it is a hard no. The viable, environmentally friendly and efficient solution is a tramway. Can the Li…
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, the housing crisis is wreaking havoc everywhere. Elderly people are sleeping in their cars. People are unable to pay the exorbitant amounts being charged for rent. A recent report tells us why. Affordable housing is disappearing at an alarming rate across the country. Simply put, there is little to none left. The Liberals, like the Conservatives, turned their backs on social and affor…
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, Jean-René Patry is 80 years old. He has worked his entire life and is still working, although he is starting to feel tired. Even though he works, he is forced to live in his van. With his pension and earnings from odd-jobs, an apartment in Montreal is now beyond his means. All of that is the result of the Liberals and the Conservatives leaving housing in the hands of speculators. Mr. …
Read full speech →Statements by Members
Mr. Speaker, eight months ago, the Hamas terrorist attack killed 1,200 Israelis and took 200 people hostage. Since then, Palestinians in Gaza have been subjected to massive bombardments. The images and the resulting toll are apocalyptic. More than 36,000 people have been killed, and that is not even counting the thousands of bodies buried under the rubble. There have been missile attacks on refuge…
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, the average monthly price for rental housing in Canada hit a record high of $2,202 in May. This is unprecedented. In Montreal, a two-bedroom apartment costs $2,300 a month. It is crazy. For decades, Liberal and Conservative governments have allowed wealthy developers to use the housing market as a casino, rather than protect the people. Prices are skyrocketing and families are being s…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, I thank my NDP colleague from New Westminster—Burnaby for his speech and his involvement in this serious issue. Unfortunately, we have more proof that the Liberals are dragging their feet and waiting to take action. Online hate is a real problem. Many children and teenagers are experiencing social media in harmful, aggressive and damaging ways. These young people are often the victims…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Madam Speaker, I thank my colleague for her speech, although it feels as though she had to stick to a script today. She was repeating talking points. Personally, I am very concerned about the Liberals' lack of transparency on this issue. The NDP is worried. On the subject of transparency, in March she voted in favour of the NDP motion on the crisis and genocide taking place in Gaza. Among other th…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Madam Speaker, I thank my colleague for her speech. I would simply like to remind her that the first government to be found in contempt of Parliament in the history of Canadian politics was Stephen Harper's government when it refused to provide members with budget details on law and order bills. Today, it is all well and good to talk about transparency and accountability, but I would like to remin…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Madam Speaker, I thank my colleague for his comments. Obviously, the NDP agrees that the more transparency and accountability, the better. Furthermore, as far as accountability and responsibility go, my colleague and the Conservative leader recently discovered an interest in Montreal and the tragic events that unfolded there. The opioid and addiction crisis is a real crisis happening across the co…
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, the UN Secretary-General asked countries to tax oil companies heavily, but this Prime Minister and his Minister of Environment and Climate Change want no part in that. Wildfires are ravaging our communities. Temperatures are getting hotter and hotter. People are suffering because of climate change. Meanwhile, big oil is making record profits. When the government suggested actually tax…
Read full speech →Private Members' Business
Mr. Speaker, my Bloc Québécois colleague is making a not-so-subtle attack on the leader of my party regarding the gains we have made in pharmacare for people with diabetes and for women who want oral contraceptives. Soon, all of that can be negotiated with the provinces, at the time of their choosing, obviously. I would like to remind the member that the Union des consommateurs, the Fédération des…
Read full speech →Private Members' Business
Madam Speaker, I thank my colleague for her speech and for her private member's bill. For the NDP, it is not complicated. When a thing is good for workers, we vote for it. When it is not good for them, we vote against it. Some things are as simple as that. To protect workers, especially women, I think it is important to give them the time they need to process and make sense of the trauma caused by…
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, for years now, customs and border services officers have been seeking retirement benefits similar to those enjoyed by their law enforcement counterparts. This is about justice and respect for these workers, who keep us safe. A committee has been examining the matter for three years. The Treasury Board president received recommendations in December. It has been radio silence ever since…
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, the housing crisis is a source of stress for many people. There is a shortage of affordable houses and apartments. For years, Liberals and Conservatives have neglected truly affordable housing. Experts tell us that we could ease the burden by converting federal buildings into housing. That is a good idea, but people are still going to have to be able to afford the rent. Can the Libera…
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
Mr. Speaker, I have two petitions to present this morning. The first one addresses processing times for applications to sponsor spouses, common-law partners or children to Quebec. These delays are really too long and result in excessively long, forced separations, while also causing a lot of suffering and anxiety for these families. More than a thousand people have signed this petition calling on …
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
Mr. Speaker, I will now present my second petition. Store entrances often have signs saying that no dogs are allowed, but there is no indication that assistance animals are permitted. This can sometimes lead to frustrating interactions between people with disabilities and staff on the premises. Petitioners are asking that signage at the entrances to services and stores to be changed from “No dogs …
Read full speech →