Parliamentary Speeches
1,397 speeches by François-Philippe Champagne — Page 23 of 28
Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, I can assure members that there was nothing nice about my meeting with the five grocery CEOs in Canada. I expressed the frustration of 40 million Canadians who are struggling to put food on the table, and I asked them, on behalf of all Canadians, to do their part to stabilize prices in Canada. If all the members of Parliament want to do something to help Canadians, they can vote for B…
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Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank the colleague for the question, but I am really surprised that she is not talking about the historic investment announced in her riding yesterday. Umicore invested $3 billion in her riding, creating 600 jobs for young people to stay in her riding. We are building the economy of the future. We are investing in electrical vehicles. The member should be rejoicing th…
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Mr. Speaker, it seems the Conservatives once again failed to look at what we presented. We presented an action plan to stabilize prices in Canada. The first thing the plan will do is ensure that Canada's grocers are accountable to Canadians, something that the Conservatives would never have considered. We also helped consumer groups, another thing that the Conservatives would never have considered…
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Mr. Speaker, I have a great deal of respect for my colleague from Louis-Saint-Laurent, but does he know what is really causing anxiety among young people? It is the idea of having the Conservatives in power, which means cuts, cuts and more cuts. That is what young people are afraid of. That is what my colleague does not understand. We on this side of the House understand that we had to invest in C…
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Mr. Speaker, as my colleague knows, and as Canadians know, Canada is a global leader in AI and Canadians have created many of the world's best AI innovations. At the same time, Canadians take the potential risks around AI very seriously. That is why we are committed to ensuring that Canadians can trust the AI system. Through our voluntary code of conduct, leading Canadian companies will adopt resp…
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Mr. Speaker, we will take no lessons from this Conservative. The last time the Conservative leader advised Canadians, it was about buying crypto. Now he is suggesting to Canadians to buy a turkey at $120. I found a Butterball for him for $30 and—
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Mr. Speaker, my voice was used to express the frustration of millions of Canadians when I met the CEOs of the grocery stores. The good news is that today we presented a five-point action plan. First of all, we have a commitment from the grocery stores. We are going to create an office of consumer affairs to help consumers. We are going to make sure the grocery code of conduct is going forward. We …
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Mr. Speaker, this is not about anyone being caught red-handed. It is about the serious allegations that were raised. The government requested the report precisely to ensure that it could investigate the allegations and then implement a system with the highest level of governance, because that is what Canadians and the government expect from all agencies that receive federal funding. We are going t…
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Mr. Speaker, I thank the hon. member for Louis-Saint-Laurent for his question. It is important to remind Canadians who are watching us today of the facts. As soon as the allegations were made, we commissioned an independent expert report. On that basis, we took action and demanded that a plan be put in place to ensure that we have the highest level of governance at that foundation. When it comes t…
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Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank the Leader of the Opposition. He is coming to his senses. He realizes that the best way to help Canadians is to support the government. This is a time when all parliamentarians need to come together. That is why we presented a plan that is going to help stabilize prices in Canada, that is going to increase competition in this country and that is going to take mea…
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Mr. Speaker, I hope they have this much energy to support our bill to make a difference in the lives of Canadians, because this is not a joke. Canadians expect action. That is what we took this morning with a five-item action plan to help stabilize prices in Canada. If the Conservatives want to keep laughing and making jokes, they should tell them to Canadians, who expect them to approve Bill C-56…
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Mr. Speaker, the Leader of the Opposition can have as much as he wants, but one thing I can say is that Canadians have no fun these days because they know—
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Mr. Speaker, I was shopping for the Leader of the Opposition to help him. If the Conservatives want to do something for Canadians, not just ask questions but do something, they should vote for Bill C-56. It is going to help Canadians. It is going to stabilize prices in Canada. It is going to bring competition to this country. What we need is for them to act.
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Mr. Speaker, thank you for your intervention. I would also like to congratulate you on your new role. This was my first opportunity to say so. This is not a joke. I hope that the Canadians watching today, and there are many, see that this is not a joke. What we have presented is a five-point plan. First, we have asked the big grocery chains in the country to work together to help Canadians. Second…
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Mr. Speaker, I thank the Leader of the Opposition for his question. Canadians know not to take advice from the Leader of the Opposition when it comes to the economy. The last time he advised Canadians, he told them to buy cryptocurrency. Now he is suggesting that Canadians buy $120 turkeys. I have news for him. I found a Butterball turkey for $30, and I think I can deliver it to his official resid…
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Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for his question. I am glad to see that he knows that inaction is not an option. That is exactly why we convened the country's food executives with a very clear objective: to stabilize prices in Canada. I expressed the frustration of 40 million Canadians, saying that the number one issue for Canadians is affordability and the price of groceries. We have introduced…
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Mr. Speaker, there is no point in trying to politicize everything that is happening. The moment that we were alerted to the allegations we asked for a third-party to investigate and to bring back a report. I can assure the members in the House and all Canadians that we will look at the report and take all necessary actions. We expect the highest standards of ethics and professionalism when it come…
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Mr. Speaker, I would like to begin by thanking the member for Laval—Les Îles for his work. This is the number one issue for the people of Laval. The work the member has done has allowed us to take meaningful measures to help people at a time when we see that the cost of food is the top issue for Canadians. This morning, I met with the major Canadian manufacturers to tell them three things. First, …
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Madam Speaker, members know by now that I have enormous respect for colleagues on both sides of the aisle, because we are all parliamentarians. Canadians are watching at home, and I know many are watching these debates. In times of need, at a time when they are asking for help, I think Bill C-56 is really addressing the most pressing needs of Canadians. One is around competition, one is around mor…
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Madam Speaker, I like my colleague's ideas, and I have a great deal of respect for him. He always has good ideas for getting things done. I met with a group known as the Canadian independent grocers, who represent 6,900 small grocery stores across the country. They told me that the most important thing is the whole issue of competition reform, because that is what will help them. Let me give a ver…
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Madam Speaker, my colleague is a member of the industry committee and always comes with valuable input in the work of this House, and certainly we listen. It is always a good day to fight for Canadians. I think everyone in this House would agree that our job is to keep fighting for Canadians at every step of the way. The landmark reform we are seeing, with more power to the Competition Bureau, goe…
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Madam Speaker, first of all, I am very grateful for the question from the member; he knows I like him very much. Talking about fast-tracking, I think Canadians watching are going to hear that the Conservatives are going to fast-track Bill C-56 because, as they claim, a lot of their good ideas are in it. I suspect what I am hearing very loudly now is that the Conservatives are going to support and …
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Madam Speaker, the member is a great member who is always contributing to the debate in this House. I think she would find comfort in the fact that in Bill C-56 we are not only addressing issues around groceries and stabilizing the price of food in this country but also addressing the issue of housing. She is quite right that there is always more we should be looking to do. The fact that we are go…
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Madam Speaker, I feel the enthusiasm in the House. I feel everyone at home should have the same sentiment. Every day is a good day to fight for Canadians. That is what we are doing today with the affordable housing and groceries act. I was encouraged, I would say, by the comments I heard from colleagues. I am very pleased to rise in the House today to speak to the affordable housing and groceries …
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Madam Speaker, as a member who has been sitting in the House for many years, I should know that. My apologies to the interpreters and to all those who felt the inconvenience. As I was saying, we have provided additional funding to the Competition Bureau. In 2022, in the budget legislation, we included additional amendments to make sure that wage fixing agreements between employers would be illegal…
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Mr. Speaker, first of all, I would like to thank my colleague for her question, because she spoke from the heart and shared what all Canadians are feeling. That is exactly what we have done. Today, after convening the CEOs of the major grocery chains to Ottawa to express the frustration of millions of Canadians, we, the Liberal government, introduced an historic bill to tackle inflation and afford…
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Mr. Speaker, I may give the Leader of the Opposition an A for making jokes, but when it comes to the economy, it is something different. Canadians know that. What the Conservatives should look at is what we did today. We talked and introduced a bill that would make a difference in the lives of Canadians. That is what Canadians expect, not for us to make fun of each other in this chamber. They expe…
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Mr. Speaker, I have a great deal of respect for my colleague from Charlesbourg—Haute-Saint-Charles. He was talking about today's news. I am sure that he saw the news that we introduced the act to amend the Excise Tax Act and the Competition Act, which will do three things for people in his riding. First, we will deal with the issue of competition in Canada, the first reform in decades, which will …
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Mr. Speaker, it surprises me to hear my colleague present the facts that way. Instead, he should be focusing on the fact that today, the government is presenting legislation to reform Canada's Competition Act. We want less consolidation and more competition to lower prices. That is the way to make things right. I am disappointed to hear my colleague ask this kind of question rather than inform Can…
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Mr. Speaker, we will take no lessons from the Conservatives. Last time the Conservative leader gave advice to Canadians, he advised them to buy crypto. The last piece of advice that Canadians will take is from the leader who talks about interest rates. Today, we introduced a bill to tackle the cost of living in this country and issues with respect to housing. Canadians know we have their backs. We…
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Mr. Speaker, while the Conservative leader is busy ranting, Canadians are clearly telling us one thing: They need our government's help. That is why we are here to help on the grocery front, for example. We called in the CEOs of the major grocery chains this week. We are going to lower the GST on housing. We are going to take action to help Canadians. If there is one thing Canadians are tired of, …
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Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to see so much enthusiasm from my colleagues on both sides of the House. During the summer, we did something important. We listened to Canadians. They told us three things. They want help with the cost of groceries and the cost of housing. One thing that Canadians did not tell us was to stop helping families, youth and the most vulnerable members of our society. The Canad…
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Mr. Speaker, it is disappointing for Canadians to hear a question like that. This week, Canadians saw that we, on this side of the House, are taking action. What have we done for Canadians? We met with corporate CEOs from across the country to share with them the frustration felt by millions of Canadians and to tell them that enough is enough and that we need to do something to stabilize prices in…
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Mr. Speaker, Canadians have had enough of Conservative buzzwords. Canadians expect their parliamentarians to take real action. That is exactly what we have done by meeting with every major grocery chain for the first time in Canada. We have a message behind which all parliamentarians should unite: We understand the frustration that Canadians feel, and the major grocery chains have a part to play i…
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Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for that important question, which is informed by empathy. This is about understanding Canadians who are having a hard time paying for groceries. That is why, at the Prime Minister's behest, we invited food executives to come and explain themselves here in Ottawa. On behalf of the entire House and millions of Canadians, I expressed people's frustration with the ri…
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Mr. Speaker, it is not a stunt when we are fighting to stand up for Canadians. What happened was unprecedented: We called together the five major grocery players in Canada so that we could convey to them the frustration that millions of Canadians experience every week. We told them to table specific, concrete plans to stabilize prices in Canada. That is exactly what Canadians asked us to do, and t…
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Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for his important question. One thing that was clear yesterday with the major grocery chains from across the country is that we must not allow any measure to affect our farmers, the small and medium-sized businesses across the country that contribute to the food chain. Speaking of yesterday's event and the federal government's unequivocal demand, it is up to the l…
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Mr. Speaker, we will take no lessons from the Conservatives. Canadians have heard the Leader of the Opposition advocate crypto to Canadians. When it comes to groceries, Canadians are saying, “Thanks, but no thanks, Leader of the Opposition.” We know what we are doing and yesterday was the first step. We called on the big grocers to be part of the solution. We expressed the frustration of millions …
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Mr. Speaker, Statistics Canada supports Health Canada by collecting data related to the medical assistance in dying program, MAID. Aggregate statistics on the state of MAID in Canada are published annually by Health Canada. The “Third annual report on Medical Assistance in Dying in Canada 2021” is available on the Health Canada website at https://www.canada.ca/en/health-canada/services/publication…
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Mr. Speaker, this is coming from someone who advocated for crypto as advice to Canadians. I think Canadians watching at home understand not to follow his advice when it comes to groceries. The answer of Canadians is “thanks, but no thanks.” We are going to continue to do the tough work on this side and fight for Canadians at every step of the way.
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Mr. Speaker, instead of talking and talking, they should look at what we have done today. This is the first time in Canadian history that the grocers have come to Ottawa. We had difficult discussions, but at the end of the day, those were discussions we needed to have in order to stabilize the price of food in Canada. We have been very clear with the Prime Minister and the Minister of Finance. We …
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Mr. Speaker, I am sure that Canadians watching at home are feeling insulted by what they are hearing from that side. At a time when Canadians are hurting, at a time when this nation needs to come together to fight food price inflation and at a time when we have called CEOs to come to Ottawa with concrete solutions to stabilize prices, the Conservatives are choosing to be on the sidelines. We are a…
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Mr. Speaker, I have a great deal of respect for my colleague, but maybe he missed part of the morning. That is exactly what we are doing. Last week, we announced that we are carrying out the country's most comprehensive competition law reform to give the head of the Competition Bureau the power to compel the production of information and file court applications. Second, we want to remove the notor…
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Mr. Speaker, with regard to (a). there are two agreements currently in place with respect to the NextStar Energy battery plant in Windsor, Ontario. The first is the Contribution Agreement with NextStar for the construction of the plant under the Strategic Innovation Fund, or SIF, and the second is a Special Contribution Agreement, which was negotiated as part of the Government of Canada’s response…
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Mr. Speaker, the Government of Canada has committed to facilitating the industrial transformation of the automotive sector to a net-zero future and taking the actions needed to remain competitive. The specific details sought were obtained in confidence during commercial negotiations and cannot be disclosed. The PowerCo. investment is a testament to Canada’s strong value proposition, including its …
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Mr. Speaker, with regard to parts (a) through (e), the government cannot release commercially sensitive details of the Volkswagen, PowerCo., project, including details concerning the negotiations, beyond what has already been made public. Additional information in response to the various parts of the question can be found below. With regard to part (a), generally speaking, the government must comp…
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Mr. Speaker, Bill C-47 includes several measures. The Minister of Finance and Deputy Prime Minister did an extraordinary job listening to Canadians. As I often say, Canadians told us three things. Obviously, they brought up the cost of living, health care and dental care, but they also spoke to us about the need to build the economy of the future, a greener economy aligned with the 21st century. B…
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Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank my colleague from Louis‑Saint‑Laurent for his question. I hope that the Canadians watching today will realize that the Conservative Party is delaying the adoption of a tax credit for clean electricity, a tax credit for the manufacture of clean technologies and a tax credit for clean hydrogen. Do the Conservatives actually listen to Canadians once in a while? We a…
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Mr. Speaker, what is appalling for Canadians who are watching at home today is that they realize the Conservatives are blocking the clean technology manufacturing tax credit, a clean electricity tax credit and a clean hydrogen tax credit. At a time when the world is looking to build the economy of the 21st century, at a time when we need to fight for workers around our country, at a time when we n…
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Mr. Speaker, it is out of touch to delay the implementation of clean technology, clean electricity and clean hydrogen while there are forest fires burning in my riding and her province. There are families being displaced in my riding today, and they cannot understand why anyone who has been elected would delay clean electricity, clean energy or clean hydrogen. It is not only delaying; it is irresp…
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