Parliamentary Speeches
799 speeches by Alexandre Boulerice — Page 5 of 16
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…
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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…
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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…
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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…
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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…
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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…
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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…
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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…
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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 …
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Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for his remarks. This is a strong take. If the Conservatives really wanted to help people with their cost of living and help them save some money, they could back the initiatives we in the NDP are advancing. I am speaking here about better access to dental care to lower their bills, and pharmacare for things like diabetes drugs or contraceptives. No, they continue…
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Mr. Speaker, the lack of housing, higher rents and the higher cost of living are the reasons why there are more and more homeless people in the streets of Montreal. We need social and affordable housing. Under the Liberals, homelessness across the country has only gone up. Despite the promises, people do not have access to housing. The Conservatives lost 800,00 affordable housing units when they w…
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Mr. Speaker, last summer was brutal, what with all the wildfires, evacuations, heat waves and the smoke filling the air. In 20 years' time, however, we may look back on the summer of 2023 as the best of any that followed. The coming summer will be even hotter. There will be more days of sweltering temperatures, more heat waves and more heat domes. The climate crisis is real, and the suffering of c…
Read full speech →Orders of the Day
Madam Speaker, I thank my colleague for her speech. It was interesting. I think that everyone here is committed to respect for the institution and the impartiality of the Speaker of the House. The current Speaker comes from Quebec, which is rare. I think that is important to note. There is a bit of information that was shared: Acting in good faith, the Speaker checked with the Clerk of the House a…
Read full speech →Orders of the Day
Madam Speaker, in his speech, my Conservative Party colleague stressed respect for institutions, parliamentarians' work and everything we do here, but we must also respect the work of Parliament. The Standing Committee on Health is currently conducting an important study on the opioid crisis. During question period, the Conservative Party leader shouted himself hoarse levelling truly vicious accus…
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Mr. Speaker, it is picnic and barbecue season, and people are wondering what they will be able to buy to eat. While Quebeckers are racking their brains, CEOs are rubbing their hands together because the money is pouring in. They are laughing all the way to the bank because they know the Liberals will not make them pay their fair share. Forget the Conservatives. They would never dare touch their do…
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Madam Speaker, I thank the minister for his intervention. My NDP colleague asked him a highly pertinent question about Newfoundland's wind power potential. Since we are talking about the Maritimes, Nova Scotia in particular, could the minister comment on the potential of tidal energy, which involves harnessing tides, the ocean, the power of the ocean and water, to generate energy? Could it create …
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Mr. Speaker, I always find it a little odd that the greatest defenders of the Canadian Constitution in the House are the members of the Bloc Québécois. It makes no sense how much they like the Canadian Constitution. There is no duplication of dental care programs, because the Quebec plan does not include dental care for seniors. The Quebec plan does not include dental care for teens. It also does …
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Madam Speaker, I held 26 town hall meetings in Rosemont—La Petite-Patrie to introduce the new dental care program. It was very well received. People who have not been able to afford a dentist for years have clearly seen that it could save them a lot of money and meet their needs. The beauty of this program is that it is a bill payment program, and bills are paid directly. It is a group public insu…
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Madam Speaker, I hear what my colleague is saying, and I am not claiming that the program is perfect right out of the gate. It is something we are building. There will be ups and downs. Sometimes there are small adjustments to be made. So far, 90,000 people have received treatment in three weeks already. That is 90,000 more people than a few months ago. Without the work of the NDP, all these peopl…
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Madam Speaker, I thank the member for Edmonton Griesbach, and I salute his exceptional work in defending the people of his riding and of the west, particularly Alberta. These are indeed two programs that will change the lives of seniors, some of whom were suffering. Before the program was announced, a senior in my riding called my office every week to ask when she would finally have access to a de…
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Madam Speaker, I would simply like to indicate this to my colleague. Indeed, Quebec's has a hybrid pharmacare program; it is limited and imperfect. Do not take my word for it. It was Dr. Rochon who said that Quebec's program was a good start, that it was ahead of its time, but that it needed to be complemented by a public, universal plan, which is the only way to control the cost of drugs. That is…
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Madam Speaker, I listened with interest at the background our colleague provided, but I want to come to the reality and to the future, where meaningful care is being provided to Quebeckers under the dental care program. This program does not in any way dictate to Quebec City how to run the health care network, or create federal dentists or federal dental clinics, but instead pays the bills that pe…
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Madam Speaker, I am pleased to rise in the House to talk about issues that are extremely important to the people we represent across Quebec. I want to begin by making two points. First, we often hear Bloc Québécois members or their leader say that, for the Bloc, it is not complicated: When something is good for Quebec, they vote in favour and when it is not good for Quebec, they vote against it. I…
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Mr. Speaker, its waters are warming too fast. It is becoming increasingly acidic, with ever diminishing oxygen levels. That is the alarming condition of our St. Lawrence River. Scientists are sounding the alarm. Its current oxygen levels are fatal to many aquatic species. Now is the time to give the river legal status. The Minister of Environment and Climate Change, however, is neglecting this ser…
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Madam Speaker, I thank the leader of the Bloc Québécois for his speech and his motion on things that matter to us as New Democrats, such as public services and health services, or pharmacare, which will require negotiation with the provinces, since the Quebec system is not perfect. All the unions in Quebec have unanimously called for public universal pharmacare. We could take a step forward togeth…
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Madam Speaker, the Bloc Québécois always says it is in favour of what is good for Quebec. Sometimes, it would be nice if it also looked at what is good for Quebeckers, for ordinary people who do not have dental insurance. The NDP campaigned on a promise to come to Ottawa and secure this for people, and we did it. We are keeping our promises for the four million Quebeckers who have neither private …
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Madam Speaker, my colleague talked about the importance of fighting the rising cost of living. It is true that it is difficult for many of the people we represent. The new dental care program will save hundreds, if not thousands, of dollars for many people. Half of the population in Quebec has neither private nor public dental insurance. I am glad that the Liberal minority government has finally l…
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Mr. Speaker, we wanted to improve the motion that was moved earlier. I moved an amendment to reaffirm the principle of co-operative federalism, where the federal government must work with the provinces in a way that respects the jurisdictions recognized in the Constitution, and to demand that the government work co-operatively with all levels to meet the needs of citizens while systematically offe…
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Mr. Speaker, I am glad to see the Liberal government letting the member for Winnipeg North speak. It is not often that we get a chance to hear him in the House. I simply wanted to remind everyone that, at the height of the pandemic, when a major social crisis was happening, the member for Carleton went to visit the protesters who were illegally occupying downtown Ottawa, threatening our democracy …
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Mr. Speaker, I always find it rather amusing when the Conservatives ask questions about balancing the budget. When Harper was prime minister, they ran deficits eight out of nine years. In the ninth year, they balanced the budget, but only because they urgently sold federal shares in General Motors. However, I would remind my colleague, who was talking about young people and the future, that we are…
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Madam Speaker, my colleague talked about his environmental concerns, which I share, and the fact that the Conservatives refuse to have a price on pollution; that is not a plan to help us or help our communities. However, at the same time, his government is spending $34 billion to buy a pipeline that will triple the production of the dirtiest oil in the world. Is that not contradictory? He is talki…
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Mr. Speaker, over the past three years, the price of groceries has gone up by 21%. No wonder food banks are swamped. The Liberals and Conservatives could not care less, however. When the CEO of Metro is a Conservative donor, it is clear who the official opposition leader is working for. Meanwhile, the Liberals are giving Loblaw and Costco millions of dollars in handouts. While ordinary folks are g…
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Madam Speaker, with this minority government, the NDP has used its balance of power to make meaningful gains for people and their families. Among other things, there is the dental care plan. It is incredible progress for the less fortunate and for people in the middle class. This year, seniors can sign up to be reimbursed for 80% or 100% of their dental care. Millions of people will benefit. In th…
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Madam Speaker, I know that my colleague and I have different visions for dental care. We in the NDP pushed for a dental care program that is in fact a bill paying program. An individual can go to the dentist and then get reimbursed 80% of the bill directly from the federal government. There are no federal dentists. There are no federal dental clinics either. This program allows four million Quebec…
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Mr. Speaker, renters everywhere are struggling to make ends meet. Groceries are expensive, rent is expensive. People are drowning in credit card debt, and it is taking a toll on their mental health. Meanwhile, both the Liberals and the Conservatives are protecting the profits of big grocery CEOs. Why? Maybe it is because they received $150,000 in donations from Loblaws, Metro and Empire, and now t…
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Mr. Speaker, I am rather shocked to be here tonight debating a Conservative amendment to change a short title. As this is costing Canadian taxpayers $70,000 an hour, the Conservatives will be wasting $420,000 tonight to change a title. I ask my colleague if this is how he is going to manage public finances if, by some misfortune, his party ever comes to power.
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Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague from New Westminster—Burnaby for his wisdom and his desire to see action taken on this issue. I would like him to tell us more about foreign interference, which is extremely worrisome. It does not just happen during the 36 days of an election campaign. It happens all the time. It happens at conventions with party members, but it also happens at nomination meetings…
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Madam Speaker, one thing is clear to us in the NDP. Access to dental care for everyone is a priority for millions of Quebeckers. It is a priority for the four million Quebeckers who have no access to dental care right now because they do not have private or public coverage. We said we were coming to Ottawa to fight for this. We made it happen. We delivered on our promises. It is starting to become…
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Mr. Speaker, the leader of the NDP is fully aware that Quebec has a pharmacare program. He has said several times during interviews here, in the foyer of the House, that Quebec has the right to opt out with compensation. While the Quebec pharmacare program was a significant social development 30 years ago, it is showing many cracks today. Even Dr. Jean Rochon, the former health minister who implem…
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Mr. Speaker, we definitely need to listen to workers' representatives because this will have direct impacts. Take, for example, a person who works part time in a grocery store three days a week and who has to pay for supplementary health insurance. Given the unaffordable and out-of-control cost of medication, we end up meeting people who have to spend 25% to 30% of their pay on supplementary insur…
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Mr. Speaker, my colleague is quite right. Quebec has had a pharmacare program for years. However, it is a private-public hybrid system with many flaws. It fails to control drug costs, which are extremely high when negotiating collective agreements. The NDP believes Quebec would have the right to opt out of the federal pharmacare program with full compensation. Furthermore, this is something the ma…
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Madam Speaker, let me start by thanking my colleague for not sharing her time with the member for Winnipeg North. Everyone in the House appreciated that. I would like to hear what she has to say about a topic that has come up a lot, namely pharmacare. Quebec already has a pharmacare plan, but it is a hybrid public-private system. It has its shortcomings. It was cutting edge at the time, but now it…
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Mr. Speaker, in the few seconds I have left before questions and comments from my colleagues, I would just like to say that, despite all the flaws in this budget and the things we would have liked to have seen, the NDP had a hand in it. Basically, there would have been no dental care without the NDP, no pharmacare for diabetics and for women who want contraceptives without the NDP, no anti-scab le…
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Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for the question. I congratulate her on her excellent French. The answer to her question is yes. Since the 2021 election, the NDP has adopted a constructive attitude enabling it to advance files that are important to the party, files such as accessible dental care for the least fortunate. This year, it is for seniors, older people. I am very pleased to see that th…
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Madam Speaker, I thank my colleague for his fiery and passionate speech. I want to talk about more than just motions, institutions and parliaments. I want to talk about Quebeckers. Some four million Quebeckers have no dental coverage, whether private or public. People voted for us, the NDP, to come to Ottawa and fight to give people access to a dentist, and we did. We used our balance of power and…
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Madam Speaker, first of all, I am deeply concerned about what is happening right now in Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip, where the bombing seems to have resumed. The Israeli army seems to have asked tens of thousands of people to seek shelter elsewhere, even though they are already refugees within the Gaza Strip and keep being told to move. It is a forced displacement of the population. That is …
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