Parliamentary Speeches
683 speeches by Alexis Brunelle-Duceppe — Page 12 of 14
Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, it is a sensitive issue, as you know. I am asking the minister to apologize for twisting my words. I was talking about criminal human smugglers who exploit migrants trying to cross the border. He said that I said that criminals were crossing the border. Those are two entirely different things regarding a sensitive issue. I want him to apologize because he twisted my words and it is un…
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Mr. Speaker, may I speak? I was talking about smugglers, and he insinuated that I had said they were criminals—
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Mr. Speaker, something very unfortunate happened during question period. The Minister of Public Safety twisted my words, thereby misleading the House on an extremely sensitive issue. I think it is important to choose our words carefully—
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Mr. Speaker, the federal government could shut down Roxham Road tomorrow morning if it wanted to by suspending the safe third country agreement. It has chosen not to, however. The CBC is reporting that the government chose to make Roxham Road permanent. All of the agreements required to keep Roxham Road open until at least 2027 have already been signed. By making Roxham Road permanent, the governm…
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Mr. Speaker, every time, the minister says he is protecting refugees, but he is letting criminals exploit them. He is letting criminals rob them blind. He is also letting criminals lie to them, because the smugglers do not tell their victims that they have a fifty-fifty chance of being deported at the end of the process. Ultimately, the minister is protecting criminals, not refugees. We believe th…
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Mr. Speaker, Roxham Road is all about human smugglers exploiting poor families and ripping them off. Having skirted the issue for years, the Minister of Public Safety finally acknowledged it on Saturday, but when Radio-Canada asked him what he planned to do to shut the racket down, he dodged the question again. There is a solution: suspend the safe third country agreement. The minister can do that…
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Mr. Speaker, come on, that answer will make the smugglers happy, since their business model is 100% based on the federal government's inaction. If the minister suspended the safe third country agreement, migrants could cross at any border crossing in Canada to claim refugee status instead of crossing at Roxham Road. With the snap of a finger, the minister could put an end to this racket led by cri…
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Mr. Speaker, I want to make one thing clear. Leaving Roxham Road open is not humane. It encourages criminals who profit from the misery of others to engage in human smuggling. It is making the government complicit with a business trading on desperation where criminals use false information to convince families to pay up to $10,000 per person to cross the border. The only reason this business exist…
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Madam Speaker, I want to congratulate the new leader of the Conservative Party on his election. I just want to remind him, however, that the leadership race is over and that we are debating Bill C‑31. This bill is yet another federal encroachment on the jurisdiction of Quebec and the provinces, which brings me to the subject of health transfers. My colleague's speech was very long indeed, but it d…
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Mr. Speaker, this is a whole new level of hypocrisy. Once migrants arrive in Canada, the government is unable to process their refugee claims. It leaves them wondering and worrying for years and then, after all those years, it determines that half the families do not qualify as refugees and deports them. The federal government is letting criminals lie to families and bankrupt them so that they can…
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Madam Speaker, I thank my colleague from Dufferin—Caledon for his speech. I also thank him for his hard work on this bill. He has been working on it for a long time, and he can be proud of what he has accomplished. Let me play devil's advocate so he can say a few more words. Some people are watching this debate because they plan to criticize Bill C-242. They wonder why we should bother proceeding …
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Madam Speaker, I am very pleased to see you again after such a lovely summer. I hope you were able to meet with your constituents and all the people participating in this debate in the House this evening. I do not know if the member for Saint-Jean is listening this evening, but I must commend her for the thorough job she has done. She gave a remarkable speech during the previous reading of this bi…
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Mr. Speaker, my constituents would say that Lac-Saint-Jean is a great place to live. I am well aware of that. What I did not know, however, is that there is one town in the region that keeps people young. This year, not one, not two, but three residents of Normandin are celebrating their 100th birthday. Lucien Cloutier, a former employee with Quebec's transportation and highways departments, is a …
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Mr. Speaker, our colleague from Winnipeg North always gives lengthy responses, and I like that. I like his passion, and of course it is always a pleasure to ask him questions in the House. My colleague talked about what is in Bill C‑19. I am going to ask him about what is not in it. What is not in Bill C‑19 are the health transfers to the provinces and Quebec. These transfers have been requested b…
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Mr. Speaker, once again, yesterday, the Prime Minister refused to give Quebec the immigration powers it is asking for. He justified it by saying that it was “because protecting French and francophone immigration is very important”. Of course it is important. That is exactly why Quebec wants to be responsible for all its immigration. Quebec's future as a nation, where French is the common and offic…
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Madam Speaker, I thank my colleague for his speech, which was very interesting. He talked about unity with the Ukrainians. I think everyone in the House agrees on that. He talked about territorial sovereignty and national sovereignty. I am always moved when I hear people talk about sovereignty. I dream of the day when Quebec will also be part of NATO, just like Canada. However I do not want to go …
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Madam Speaker, I always enjoy the speeches given by my dear colleague from Saanich—Gulf Islands. I am not the only one, as my father also adores my hon. colleague, and I think they have a lovely friendship. That is one of the reasons I want to ask her the following question. My father, who was also an MP, always told me that we are free to take whatever position we want on a motion or a bill, but …
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Madam Chair, that is such an important question. Why was our response to the present conflict in Ukraine so rapid compared to other natural disasters and armed conflicts around the world? Right now, people are experiencing actual genocide. As a signatory to the 1948 Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, there are two things we must do when we know that genocide is o…
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Madam Speaker, I have a great deal of respect for my colleague, and I sincerely thank him for his question. I am sad that he is not a member of my party, but perhaps that will happen one day. It is an important question. What should the government do for Ukraine? We must be realistic. Canada is not a military power. What can we do to get things moving, play a role and influence what is currently g…
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Madam Speaker, I agree with my colleague. Leaders cannot go it alone. What we need is multilateral action, which involves several countries working together at the same time. Leaders set an example, take the lead and inspire others to join in multilateral action. Based on what we are seeing this evening, I think Canada can be a leader and inspire others to join in. I only wish it had reacted the s…
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Madam Speaker, it is difficult to speak after my colleague from Saint-Jean. We can see how knowledgeable she is about this file. Although it would be impossible for me to match her presentation, I will try my best. I just want to say that having this debate tonight is a good thing. It has been quite some time since we have had a debate where the five parties in the House, and I imagine that this i…
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Madam Speaker, my colleague from Wellington—Halton Hills has once again demonstrated his thorough understanding of international geopolitical matters. It is a pleasure to hear him speak. He talked about how Turkey is a problem in the context of the motion we are debating. Today, he said the government should take the lead on resolving this issue. My colleague from Wellington—Halton Hills knows mor…
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Madam Speaker, I thank my hon. colleague for his speech. We have heard two speeches from the government and we have been told twice that we must act as quickly as possible. I agree with that, but we have not yet heard how the government is going to deal with Turkey, apart from mentions of talking to people. The member tells me that we need to act as quickly as possible. We know that it took the go…
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Madam Speaker, we in the Bloc Québécois support this motion and, of course, we support Finland and Sweden in their bids to join NATO. There is one problem, however, that everyone will need to work on collaboratively. That problem is Turkey. Turkey is opposed to Finland and especially Sweden joining NATO because of diplomatic frictions related to certain Kurdish groups. I would like to know how the…
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Mr. Speaker, let us recap. The Prime Minister says that he will challenge Bill 21 and that Canada must be able to dictate Quebec's vision on state secularism. He then says that he wants to limit the scope of the notwithstanding clause to ensure that Quebeckers will never again have the right to adopt legislation that upsets Canada. He is saying that Quebec will never get the immigration powers it …
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Mr. Speaker, the Société nationale des Québécoises et Québécois du Saguenay—Lac-Saint‑Jean hosted its Soirée reconnaissance des patriotes, or patriots recognition gala, this month. Three young people from my region earned the well-deserved honour of being named the next generation of patriots for 2022 for their community involvement. I want to first congratulate Jeanne Bouchard, from Université du…
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Madam Speaker, I thank my colleague from Outremont for her speech. As people know, I think debate in the House is very important. We have different arguments, but at least we are able to debate them. That reminds me that, when my colleague from Avignon—La Mitis—Matane—Matapédia was delivering her speech, my colleague from Winnipeg North did not listen for one second. To add insult to injury, he th…
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Madam Speaker, I want to thank the senators and members who have gotten involved, directly or indirectly, in tackling the issue of human trafficking, slavery and forced labour in Canada and Quebec and elsewhere in the world. I sincerely thank Senator Miville‑Dechêne, in particular, for her commitment. I do not think my colleagues will hear me thanking senators in the House very often. I am, howeve…
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Madam Speaker, I thank my hon. colleague for his speech. I would like to highlight the great work he does every day on defending international human rights. I sincerely congratulate him. I have worked on files with him, and I am pleased that he spoke on this matter today. Does he believe that Bill S-211 solves everything? He will probably answer that it does not. Does he believe that Canada must p…
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Mr. Speaker, there have been discussions among the parties and if you seek it, I believe you will find unanimous consent to adopt the following motion: Whereas there is a significant amount of evidence and testimony indicating that the government of the People's Republic of China is committing large-scale, systematic atrocities against the Uighur people and Turkic minorities of East Turkestan—
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Mr. Speaker, enough is enough with Roxham Road. The Premier of Quebec wants the Prime Minister to close this loophole now. If things keep up, 36,000 irregular migrants will enter Quebec via Roxham Road this year. Quebeckers are the ones who have to foot that bill. We already take in 92% of the irregular migrants arriving in Canada. Quebec simply does not have the capacity to provide services and h…
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Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister can unilaterally suspend that agreement. He does not need anyone's permission. He needs to do his job. He has another job to do, as well. He needs to pick up the tab. Asylum seekers are a federal responsibility. Right now, Quebec is being forced to invest $50 million in apartment buildings for irregular migrants. It is costing Quebeckers $72 million in last-resort a…
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Madam Speaker, I am going to make something clear: They will not have me believe that an opposition day is important to them. The proof is that, in January 2020, the Bloc Québécois moved a motion to increase EI sickness benefits for serious illnesses from 16 weeks to 50 weeks. There was a vote on this motion. The motion was adopted. Only the Liberals voted against it. Because there was a minority …
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Madam Speaker, the member spoke about traditions. If no one ever updated anything, we would be stuck in the past. The speaker used to wear a bicorn with a wig, and that was changed because society changed. You will not see anyone walking down the street today wearing a bicorn, except maybe if it is Halloween. Logically, we need to be as inclusive as possible, and my colleague spoke about that. Rig…
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Madam Speaker, what is next? What is next? In light of what I have heard, what is next is an independent Quebec.
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Madam Speaker, last week, my colleagues were nodding off because we were discussing Bill C-8 so late at night, so this week, I want to keep things a little lighter. There is no need for my colleagues to worry. I will not upset them too much this evening. In fact, I am even going to be optimistic. Motion No. 44, which was moved by my hon. colleague from Surrey Centre, is very timely. The good weath…
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Madam Speaker, as I often do, I will start by making the topic accessible to those watching. In Lac‑Saint‑Jean, I have a youth council, and we have a small Messenger group. We sometimes send each other stuff. Whenever I have a speech to make, I ask them if they have anything to say, and they really like that. I asked these young people in my riding, who are of different faiths, by the way, to read…
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Mr. Speaker, there is an immigration crisis, but when Quebec asks for more control to address the issue itself, the Prime Minister says that Canada will continue to be in charge because Quebec is not a country. It is as simple as that. Imagine hearing that when you are one of the 29,000 immigrants living in Quebec whose application is stuck in Ottawa's broken machinery. They will not help because …
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Mr. Speaker, Quebec does not run Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada, but maybe it should. If Quebec had full control over immigration, immigrants chosen by Quebec itself would have their permanent residence served up on a silver platter. Right now, it takes an average of two and a half years for the federal government to process applications; some have been waiting for 13 years. The fede…
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Mr. Speaker, at the federal level, there is a backlog of 29,000 permanent residence applications from Quebec immigrants. Some people have been waiting since 2009. Yesterday, the Liberals blamed Quebec, saying that if Quebec really wants to improve wait times, it only has to increase its immigration cap. Those 29,000 applications came from immigrants who have already been selected by Quebec, who ar…
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Mr. Speaker, in March we were lamenting the fact that immigrants in Quebec had to wait 28 months for the federal government to process their permanent residency applications. Now, just a few weeks later, that delay has jumped to 31 months. The feds are 31 months and 29,000 files behind, some of which have been languishing since 2009. There is an immigration crisis. The minister cannot just say tha…
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Mr. Speaker, I do not know if she is listening, but I must commend the member for Saint-Jean for the thorough job she has done. She gave a remarkable speech during the previous reading of this bill, which has greatly inspired my speech today. She was again inspiring today when she asked her question to the House and especially when she moved the motion about a woman's right to have free reign over…
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Mr. Speaker, the Liberal Party says the Bloc wants to pick a fight. The parliamentary secretary just said that the immigration crisis is Quebec's fault. They are the ones picking a fight. The federal government is currently in court over cases that have dragged on since 2009. That has nothing to do with François Legault's targets; his party did not even exist in 2009. It is not Philippe Couillard'…
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Madam Speaker, I listened closely to my hon. colleague. One thing that was left out of the economic update, Bill C‑8, is obviously the health transfer increase that Quebec, the provinces and the territories have been calling for unanimously. Everyone wants health transfers to be increased to 35%. I think that the Conservatives agree with us that the health transfers need to be increased. The only …
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Mr. Speaker, last Friday the Prime Minister refused to grant any immigration powers to the Premier of Quebec. It would be less insulting if the federal government were the least bit competent, but everything it touches is a disaster. The wait time is now 31 months for Quebeckers applying for permanent residence. There is a backlog of 29,000 case files. The government is being sued by people who ha…
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Mr. Speaker, they cannot even name the problem, so it will be really difficult to solve it. There is a backlog of 29,000 files, and there are court cases that have been dragging on for 13 years. These are people. They are not files; they are people. That is what the Prime Minister is forgetting in his quarrel with Quebec. The federal government has proven, year after year, that it is either incapa…
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Madam Speaker, I would like to seek the unanimous consent of the House to share my time with the valiant member for Pierre-Boucher—Les Patriotes—Verchères.
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Madam Speaker, given what time it is, I will try to keep it interesting because I can see that many of my colleagues are nodding off. That is rather ironic, considering that one of the topics covered in Bill C-8 deals with giving people a place to lay their head. It is no secret that I like to remind myself regularly who I work for. The answer will not surprise anyone. I work for the people in my …
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Madam Speaker, I am not an economist, but I am pretty sure that we will not fix the inflation problem by extolling the virtues of cryptocurrency. There is one thing I do know, which is that seniors are always the first to suffer as a result of inflation. Their purchasing power has not increased, although groceries, gas, prescription drugs and housing costs have all gone up. Everything has gone up.…
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Madam Speaker, I would first like to congratulate my colleague on how much his French has improved. It is obvious that he is working on it, and it is coming along. I support everyone in Lac-Saint-Jean. With what we have seen of Bill C-8, unfortunately, I cannot imagine how we could vote in favour of it.
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