Government Orders
Madam Speaker, my colleague just mentioned that much of what is in the bill was requested a long time ago. I agree with her. She addressed the issue of mandatory minimum sentences for serious crimes and that is something the Bloc Québécois had asked to be reinstated. From what I understand, to ensure that the bill is consistent with the charter and the many Supreme Court decisions that struck down…
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Madam Speaker, I thank my colleague from Saanich—Gulf Islands for the speech she gave as part of this very important debate. In the current context, market diversification is crucial for our businesses. However, I am also a member of the All-Party Parliamentary Group to End Modern Slavery and Human Trafficking, so this is an issue that I follow very closely, and I find it troubling that, in 2025, …
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Mr. Speaker, my takeaway from this afternoon is that we are being led to believe that economic interests and human rights are totally irreconcilable. With its bill to reverse the burder of proof in cases of forced labour, however, the Bloc Québécois is strengthening ties. Indeed, that just happens to be one of the things that the United States has requested of us as it takes action to ensure that …
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Mr. Speaker, if things were going as well as the government House leader claims, then we would not have seniors who have not received their pension since last spring. We would not have seniors who are receiving the wrong amounts and who will be getting less on their cheques in the future. This is not fearmongering. We are talking about real people who are saying that the government's new software,…
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Mr. Speaker, I travelled to Washington in 2023 with a delegation of Uyghurs to meet with American elected officials and speak with them about this law. This was mentioned earlier, but Canada has managed to intercept just one single container. We keep using this example because it is striking to see just how much we need a law that has a lot more teeth. This shows that it is not incompatible to pro…
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Mr. Speaker, in my previous question, I reminded the House that the Bloc Québécois is very committed to addressing these international trade issues. My colleague from Jonquière introduced Bill C-228, which aimed to establish a committee to discuss these treaties here in the House, to negotiate international agreements. I would like to come back to that because my colleague from Saint-Hyacinthe—Bag…
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Mr. Speaker, some new retirees have not been receiving their old age security pension for nine months now because of problems with the new Cúram software. What did the Liberals have to say to these people yesterday? The Liberal House leader said that software problems happen. He said that we were fearmongering. The Liberals were made aware of this in June by their own officials. With answers like …
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Mr. Speaker, I think the minister was reading from the wrong notes. This $25 million per year is paltry when set against an $80-billion deficit. It makes no sense to cut funding for the fight against homelessness. This means tens of thousands of dollars less for each of our community organizations at a time when they are concerned that the crisis is affecting increasingly vulnerable people, partic…
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Mr. Speaker, today we are debating a motion that deals with the agreement between Ottawa and Alberta for a new pipeline. However, I want to follow up on a concern that my colleague and I share, and that is the cost of living. As the critic for seniors, I hear all the time that seniors can no longer afford rent and groceries. Last week, a study showed that, in 2026, people will be spending at least…
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Madam Speaker, I would say that this is a budget of dashed hopes, a budget of disillusionment. I know that my colleague's region is one with an aging population. We need to talk about the importance of providing more assistance to seniors. There is nothing in this budget to help seniors aged 65 to 74, who did not receive the same old age security increase as seniors 75 and over. There was nothing …
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Madam Speaker, in his speech, my colleague spoke at length about the cost of living. That is something that is important to us too. When we talk about the cost of living, one of the most important things is housing. During the last election campaign, the government boasted about its Build Canada Homes project, claiming it would solve the housing problems. However, as we are seeing once again, it h…
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Mr. Speaker, I would like to take a moment to express my condolences to the minister on her cousin's death, her cousin's femicide, if I understood correctly. We will never forget these women: Geneviève Bergeron, Hélène Colgan, Nathalie Croteau, Barbara Daigneault, Anne-Marie Edward, Maud Haviernick, Barbara Klucznik-Widajewicz, Maryse Laganière, Maryse Leclair, Anne-Marie Lemay, Sonia Pelletier, M…
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Mr. Speaker, last Sunday, I went to Ange‑Gardien to meet with volunteers who were organizing food drives. Today is the day of the media food drive. Saturday morning, food drives are being held in Saint‑Césaire, Waterloo and Rougemont. On Sunday, I will be raising money for the SOS Dépannage Moisson Granby food drive. In short, it is food drive season. Everywhere I go, I talk to people. The HungerC…
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Mr. Speaker, I will try to do something in three and a half minutes on a subject that I am sure everyone understands is in my wheelhouse as the status of women critic for the Bloc Québécois. I want to mention that this debate is taking place during the 12 days of action to end violence against women, which run from November 25 to December 6, the day when, unfortunately, people will commemorate the…
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Mr. Speaker, in his speech, my colleague briefly touched on the issue of health care. The Bloc Québécois had called for an increase in health transfers to give more resources to the health care system in Quebec and the provinces that really need them. Just this morning at the Standing Committee on Health as part of our study on antimicrobials, a witness wrapped up his presentation by saying that m…
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Madam Speaker, my colleague touched on many of the topics and themes in the budget. However, he obviously failed to address the environmental issue, even though the Bloc Québécois was calling on the federal government to stop funding oil companies and instead use the money to fund a green, clean energy transition. Nuclear waste also has environmental consequences. I want to talk about that. As we …
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Mr. Speaker, my question will be short and simple. My colleague talked a lot about Brookfield. How is it ethically dangerous and concerning for a prime minister to put his personal interests ahead of the interests of his fellow Canadians?
Read full speech →Private Members' Business
Mr. Speaker, on this beautiful Monday, December 1, it is my honour to start the week by talking about Bill C‑225 on the issue of intimate partner violence. This is a major issue for the Standing Committee on the Status of Women, which is continually having to re-examine the issue in the light of new developments. That is unfortunate. The bill seeks to amend the Criminal Code in order to create spe…
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Mr. Speaker, my colleagues are certainly asking good questions. I thank my colleague from Beauharnois—Salaberry—Soulanges—Huntingdon for giving me the opportunity to address this issue. We are right in the thick of the 12 days of action to end violence against women, and we know that economic issues have a huge impact on a woman's decision about whether to stay in a cycle of domestic violence. Emp…
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Mr. Speaker, if I understood correctly, my colleague talked about the situation facing one of her constituents, a 75-year old woman who is having trouble making ends meet and who is worried about her health. I would like to point out that the budget contains no measures to help seniors cope with the cost of living. However, these people are on a fixed income with old age security. At least her 75-…
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Mr. Speaker, I will try to be brief, but I want to make three points. By the way, we do not say “our seniors” because seniors do not belong to anyone. I invite my colleague to stop using the term “our seniors”. We say “seniors”. First, how can they boast about helping seniors by pointing to the New Horizons for Seniors program without any consideration for the fact that seniors's pockets are empty…
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Mr. Speaker, I rise this afternoon to speak to Bill C-15, the budget implementation bill. We have spent a lot of time this fall talking about the budget. We waited over a year and a half for it, and it was finally tabled. If we look at the nature of Bill C-15, it is an omnibus bill nearly 650 pages long. Columnist Pierre-Yves McSween likened it to a work of great literature or a sweeping novel, be…
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Mr. Speaker, the government can make the figures in the budget say whatever they want them to say. That is basically all I had left to say in my speech. The government has changed the accounting method for certain expenditures and investments, and there are now expenditures that are categorized as capital investments. This is quite worrying and it is one of the reasons why we are strongly opposed …
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Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague from Mégantic—L'Érable—Lotbinière for giving me the opportunity to explore this issue, the elephant in the room that nobody talks about enough: this Prime Minister's ethics. The more we dig into the budget today, the more we uncover. My colleague talked about Meta. I could talk about certain investments. One of the issues I talked about is nuclear energy, because …
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Mr. Speaker, I am going to pick up on a question about seniors that the member for Guelph put to my colleague. I would like to note that I am a bit surprised by this lack of sensitivity. In the last Parliament, the bill to increase old age security for seniors aged 65 to 74 received unanimous support. Even the Liberals voted for it. Everyone acknowledged that indexing the pension was no longer eno…
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
Mr. Speaker, it is my turn to extend my regards to the Secretary of State for Nature, a Polytechnique survivor, and to the member for Bellechasse—Les Etchemins—Lévis, with whom I have the pleasure of working on the Standing Committee on the Status of Women. As she mentioned, it is an extremely active committee. On behalf of the Bloc Québécois, I also wish to recognize the women and men who dedicat…
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Mr. Speaker, I commend my colleague whose riding is in the Eastern Townships. I also had the opportunity to visit the Université de Sherbrooke's Quantum Institute this summer, and it is true that it is impressive. That said, here is my question. When it comes to the media, the budget made announcements about Radio-Canada, but the people at Cogeco, 107.7 FM and TVA in Sherbrooke are extremely conce…
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Mr. Speaker, in her speech, my colleague talked about culture. I would like to come back to that point. When it comes to ensuring discoverability, particularly for Quebec's French-language culture, the web giants are not helping us much. The government could have used the budget to tax the web giants, but, unfortunately, it dropped this measure and the chance to collect revenue. This does not cont…
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Mr. Speaker, my colleague spoke at length about the importance of numbers and the importance of controlling a budget that includes spending and investments. However, numbers can be made to say whatever one wants. The 2025 budget introduces a new method of calculating investments. The Bloc Québécois applied this calculation method to previous fiscal years. This revised calculation significantly cha…
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Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for his speech but, once again, what emerged was a desire for centralization. Know-it-all Ottawa is trying to lecture municipalities and impose its ideas on them. I have a question for my colleague. Why not simply support the Bloc's housing and infrastructure ideas? We asked the government to renew the rapid housing initiative and make it permanent. That is how Qu…
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Mr. Speaker, I would like to pick up on the question that my Conservative colleague asked. It is true that the government is bragging about helping everyone, but it is clear that many people and businesses have been left behind. I spoke about this earlier in my questions, but my colleague raised the issue of seniors just now. The government does not seem to realize just how badly it has let them d…
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Mr. Speaker, my colleague described this budget as an investment budget for the country. However, we can see that this is not the case in several important economic sectors, particularly for Quebec. I am thinking of softwood lumber. Since the government has not taken action on this file, we have no choice but to hold a take-note debate this evening so that we can discuss this economic issue that i…
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Mr. Speaker, today we are talking about the budget implementation bill, which has been voted on. The Bloc Québécois had very specific, reasonable and well-thought-out demands for this budget to address the needs of Quebec. I think we have to strike a balance between the need to control public finances and the need to help people who need help. I will come back to the request we made to ensure fair…
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Mr. Speaker, I am very pleased to hear my colleague speak about culture in the House. In Quebec, we fully appreciate that our cultural sector contributes to our economy. While we are on the topic of culture, I would like to hear the member's thoughts on the issue of discoverability and, better yet, the connection between democracy and strong local media. Unfortunately, while the government prides …
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Mr. Speaker, I am torn. Yes, we need to have control over public finances, but we also need to consider the social aspect. I started my week by attending a press conference to announce a food drive being organized by SOS Dépannage in Granby. I found out that more and more seniors are requesting food hampers. My colleague used to be a journalist. I would like to hear his comments on the critical is…
Read full speech →Private Members' Business
Mr. Speaker, I rise this evening to speak to Bill C‑234, which seeks to establish a medal of recognition for citizens and permanent residents who have made a living organ donation in Canada. The bill is relatively straightforward. It creates and implements this medal, and leaves the details, such as the design, eligibility criteria and the awarding process, to be determined by regulations. Certain…
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Mr. Speaker, I would like thank my colleague from Edmonton Manning for this bill, and especially for sharing that very touching story about donating an organ to his son. The only minor issue the Bloc Québécois has with the bill is that the Canadian Organ and Tissue Donors Association already holds a ceremony to pay tribute to posthumous donors and living donors. In addition, two medals already exi…
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Mr. Speaker, just this morning, on the radio, they were talking about the new Institut Écho initiative. I will try to learn more about it. This initiative, which was launched by the organization Regroupement des maisons pour femmes victimes de violence conjugale, is tackling the issue of housing and includes a prevention component, I believe, that could address these concerns. In committee, we are…
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Mr. Speaker, I rise today to speak about Bill C‑14 on the issue of bail and justice system reform more broadly, which is something that the Standing Committee on the Status of Women is currently studying. I proposed that the committee study the use of section 810 of the Criminal Code of Canada to see whether it is appropriate in terms of ensuring the safety of women who are victims of domestic vio…
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Mr. Speaker, it is true that I went over that point too quickly. My colleague's question gives me an opportunity to conclude my speech by reiterating the importance of this aspect and highlighting the imbalance it creates. It is all well and good for us to pass laws here at the federal level, but then we transfer the management of criminal issues to the provinces and municipalities. Quebec is resp…
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Mr. Speaker, I will give my colleague a straightforward answer. In committee, the Conservatives raised the issue of Bill C‑75. At the moment, there is no consensus on the principle of restraint, either among the groups consulted or among the justice system stakeholders who testified before the committee. That is the answer I can give him.
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Mr. Speaker, during the previous Parliament, the Bloc Québécois introduced a bill that sought to provide a framework for the Jordan decision. That was in response to requests from a lot of victims and groups of women who were victims of intimate partner violence. These women opposed the fact that the Jordan decision enabled some attackers to avoid going to trial. The Jordan decision exists, but we…
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Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for her speech. I would like to pick up on what the Conservative member who spoke before me asked her. Frankly, it is insulting. This budget is an insult to seniors. The New Horizons for Seniors program was renewed, as is only right, but there is not a penny more. It is great that there will be activities to help seniors feel less isolated, but they will not have …
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Mr. Speaker, another major disappointment is the issue of health and health transfers, which was largely overlooked in this budget. The government boasts about having invested in hospital infrastructure. This week, I met with health care representatives after the budget was tabled. They told me that it is good to build hospitals, but if the government does not transfer the necessary funding to pay…
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Mr. Speaker, it seems to me that my colleague's speech further highlights the issue of fiscal imbalance. He said that the money is in Ottawa, but the obligations and commitments are in Quebec City. Earlier, I asked one of my colleagues a question about health transfers, which are not in there. They are putting $5 billion into hospitals, but, as health care workers told me this week, that is a hosp…
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Mr. Speaker, I cannot speak for the Liberals and say why they voted against that. I would like to remind the House that naturalized citizens are subject to security screenings. Those requirements are already in place. Why should the two groups be treated differently? Why should these applicants not also have to undergo security screenings? There is a reason why these amendments were put forward. S…
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Mr. Speaker, if I understand my colleague's question correctly, he is saying that the amendments put forward by the Bloc Québécois and the Conservatives were actually crucial. All we wanted was for applicants to undergo a security test and be able to speak our language. We asked for accountability to Parliament. I think the proposed amendments absolutely respected democracy. I would like to ask my…
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Mr. Speaker, yes, it would be good to know that. Will it be 150,000 people? Will it be less or more? Evidently, the number of people affected has a financial impact. There needs to be accountability. As parliamentarians, we have the right to know and we should get an annual update. That would be critically important. There is a reason this amendment was proposed. This confirms to me that, unfortun…
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Madam Speaker, I would like to remind the House that some of us worked collaboratively in committee to propose obvious amendments to Bill C-3. I know that the Conservatives and the Bloc Québécois worked on these amendments so that the bill would include a language requirement, so that people would have to be able express themselves in French, particularly in Quebec, or in both languages. It is imp…
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Madam Speaker, we know that there is a deadline for passing this bill, and if it is not met, the ruling of the Ontario Superior Court of Justice will take effect. Has my colleague looked into what will happen if the bill is not passed and the court ruling takes effect?
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