Oral Questions
Madam Speaker, this week's economic update proves that the Liberal reflex is the same as ever: a credit card budget, more costs, more debt, more spending and more taxes. Nothing much has changed. We have a new Liberal big spender for a Prime Minister who has not only doubled this year's deficit, but plans to keep doing the same thing for the next five years, putting us $55 billion in the hole year…
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Mr. Speaker, the more things change, the more they stay the same. These same Liberals have doubled the deficit in a single year. Under the former prime minister, a drama teacher, the annual deficit stood at $31 billion. Today, with a Prime Minister who knows a thing or two about economics, the deficit has climbed to $65 billion. That means higher taxes, more credit card spending and more debt for …
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Mr. Speaker, that is a very good question. It is simple. The Liberals just want things to happen how they want, when they want and the way they want. Anyone who does not think like them is guilty of obstruction. That is my answer, and that is what the government has been showing us for almost a year now.
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Mr. Speaker, today we are looking at Bill C-28, an act to amend the Aeronautics Act and other acts. Before I even get into this bill on Canadian space launches, I would say that things may already be going off track. Let me explain. On March 21, Marie Lumsden, who lives in the small community of Canso, Nova Scotia, woke up early. She lives three kilometres from the famous launch site, which is, I …
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Mr. Speaker, we agree that what we are experiencing here is unbelievable. A piece of land that was being leased for $13,000 a year is now being subleased for $20 million a year. If we look up the owners of Maritime Launch Services, it turns out that they are all well connected to the government. All we are asking for is transparency. Clearly, there has been no transparency from the start of this P…
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Mr. Speaker, I was taking notes because that is a good question. The frustration is very real. The member mentioned long-term vision, but people have been waiting for 11 years and are still waiting. The Liberals are very good at making announcements that end up being empty promises. There are no shovels in the ground. They just talk about huge, multi-billion dollar projects, while families are str…
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Mr. Speaker, I would love to share what my constituents and other Quebeckers are telling me. They are fed up with the empty promises they keep hearing from this government, which takes their tax dollars, spends it on all kinds of ideological projects and leaves them with less in their pockets. The Liberals then tell them not to worry, because they are going to get a bit of money back, to make thin…
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Mr. Speaker, while the Prime Minister continues to use Canadians' credit cards by creating more debt and more government spending and taxing more to spend more, families and seniors are paying the price. They are paying more for groceries, gas and housing, to the point where one in three households has to go into debt or dip into their savings to put food on the table. We know that the Prime Minis…
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Mr. Speaker, I have been meeting with many people in Montmorency—Charlevoix recently. I have been having a lot of meetings. People are becoming increasingly interested in politics. I had a really interesting conversation with one woman who came to see me. She said something that really stuck with me. She told me that she was not really sure what we were doing in Ottawa, but she did not think the L…
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Mr. Speaker, that is an excellent question from my colleague. I think we all know the answer. We have seen it. I, for one, came face to face with it last week when I sat through an intense 17‑and‑a‑half‑hour Liberal monologue that was intended to ensure that a minister who had recused himself but did not want to come and answer questions would not be called to appear. We saw it last week when my c…
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Mr. Speaker, that is not a very good question, but I will answer it. If my colleague wants to talk about history, we can say that the past 11 years have been quite disappointing in terms of this government's decisions. As I said in my speech, I think it is very important to stop focusing on the minutiae and the right to do something. The Liberals are always telling us that they have the right to d…
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Mr. Speaker, I am so pleased that the member asked his question in French. I thank him for that. Bilingualism is an asset, and we are seeing that here today. It is simple enough. The public is watching. They thought that Parliament would be forced to collaborate, that Canadians would finally have a Parliament that puts the public's interests first, rather than a government that only puts its own p…
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
Mr. Speaker, I rise today on behalf of the people of Montmorency—Charlevoix to present a petition on the overabundance of striped bass in the St. Lawrence River. Residents and fishers say that the striped bass population has increased sharply in recent years, creating a major ecological imbalance and putting a lot of pressure on the other species that our fishers depend on for their livelihood. No…
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Mr. Speaker, this afternoon at the ethics committee, we will begin the 17th hour of Liberal stand-up comedy, the longest monologue possible to ensure that three people whose salaries are paid by the government do not testify: the Minister of Finance, the Conflict of Interest and Ethics Commissioner and the president of Alto. It seems they have better things to do than come and answer legitimate qu…
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Mr. Speaker, I received the following message from Anthony. His words clearly illustrate the reality facing our young people. I am 23 years old and have been working as a carpenter for four years now. I still live with my parents and I'm very lucky. I don't dare hope that I'll ever own my own home. Not having my own place also means giving up on the idea of starting a family. I receive dozens of m…
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Mr. Speaker, facts are facts. Canadians do not live in the world of advertising. They live in the real world, which is becoming increasingly difficult. Indeed, 60% of Canadians are saying that price increases are giving them financial whiplash. The rising costs of essentials like gas and food are putting significant strain on the finances of 75% of Canadians. In addition, 40% of Canadians are afra…
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Mr. Speaker, the Minister of Finance recused himself last September from the Alto high-speed rail project, and yet no one was informed. From 12 to 16 times, he debated and defended the project, answered questions, promoted it and even voted on it. I looked up the meaning of the word “recuse” and listen carefully to this: To recuse is to remove oneself from a matter due to a conflict of interest or…
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Mr. Speaker, we are about to begin the 12th hour of Liberal monologues at the Standing Committee on Access to Information, Privacy, and Ethics, by the same members who talk to us about everything except the motion under consideration. The motion simply asks that the Minister of Finance, Alto and the Ethics Commissioner come to answer questions regarding recusals or potential conflicts of interest.…
Read full speech →Private Members' Business
Mr. Speaker, I rise today to speak to a topic that we often avoid discussing because it makes us uncomfortable. We do not like talking about it, but it is impossible to ignore: the distress among young people. As some members have already mentioned, 20% of young people experience mental health problems before the age of 18. It is therefore extremely important for us to address it. These mental hea…
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Mr. Speaker, it is a mistake for a country to tax its way to success, but that seems to be the cornerstone of the Liberals' decisions of the past 11 years. While governments around the world are working to help citizens deal with the oil crisis, the Liberal government is going to think about it. Australia, Ireland, Spain and Austria have lowered their fuel taxes to give people some breathing room.…
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Mr. Speaker, Canada has the fourth-largest oil reserves in the world. There is no reason why a country as rich in resources as ours should be so vulnerable to global oil crises. After 11 years of Liberal government, however, the many anti-development laws in place are weakening our country. We could have followed Norway's example: Develop our resources intelligently, enrich our society and fund ou…
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Mr. Speaker, that is an excellent question. I must first point out that this is not a new government. It is the same old government with all the same ministers, so its decisions are similar. We have indeed been seeing this trend for a year now, but in fact, for the past 10 years, almost 11, the Liberals have been doing as they please and consistently putting their ideology first. They think that t…
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Mr. Speaker, in an interview last week, the Prime Minister was asked a question that I think is very clear and straightforward. How can it be called democracy when a minority government effectively becomes a majority government through backroom deals? That is a good question. The journalist asked him if that is truly what a democracy is. I will give the Prime Minister's response. He said that it i…
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Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for his excellent question. I believe it is important that we return to a solid foundation for our rights. Police officers need to know that we stand behind them and that once a law is enacted, they do not need to start interpreting it, understanding it or thinking about how they might apply it. No, the law is there to protect public order. Personal property or in…
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Mr. Speaker, that is a very good question. I think that business owners have the answer to that. They are already dealing with a lot of laws, standards and red tape. Every time standards are added, whether for business owners, cities or others, the ideas are great but no one ever assesses what is really going to happen on the ground. I think that the first thing we need to do to ensure that we res…
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Mr. Speaker, according to Le Journal de Québec, the Liberal government has paid out over $211 million in cost overruns to Accenture, an external IT consulting firm. Accenture recruits developers for the Cúram system and outsources the jobs to India. Both there and here in Canada, Accenture is one of the largest tenants of a company the Prime Minister knows well: Brookfield. Has it become the norm …
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Mr. Speaker, according to the Auditor General, the immigration system for international students is completely out of control. In just one year, as many as 150,000 fraudulent international student applications may have been submitted, and less than 3% were investigated by the government. This is not complicated: The Liberals have completely lost control of immigration, but they continue to issue p…
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Mr. Speaker, in Montmorency—Charlevoix, like everywhere else in the country, families are working hard and making the right choices. People get up every morning and go to work. They pay their taxes. They want to build a better life for their children. Today, however, there is one vital thing that eludes far too many young families, workers, and seniors: the ability to find suitable, reasonably pri…
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Mr. Speaker, at a time when families are struggling to pay their bills, oddly enough, the Liberals are able to find tens and hundreds of millions of dollars to help their well-connected friends. There is nothing confusing about that. Anyone who wants to be successful in Canada today has to be a Brookfield shareholder or has to have Liberal friends in the federal Parliament. The Liberals gave a $20…
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Mr. Speaker, it is because of news like this that folks are losing faith in our institutions. The Liberals are saying that everything was done properly and that there was no favouritism. That is great. They should have no problem proving it. Can the Liberals confirm today that no ministers, no members of cabinet and no Liberal insiders were involved at all in this matter? Will they commit to relea…
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Mr. Speaker, it is funny how when, the Liberals ask us a question, they say that tens of thousands of homes were built during the Conservatives' years in government. However, when we ask questions in the House, they say that only six homes were built. They may have trouble counting, but the numbers are out. They are promising 500,000 homes, but only 212,000 homes are going to be built per year by …
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Mr. Speaker, Quebecor's investigative journalists have reported that 239 visas have been revoked over links to Iran's revolutionary guard. However, only one person has been deported, just one. We are talking about a terrorist regime on Canadian soil. We also found out that a Canadian Armed Forces camp on a military base in Kuwait was the target of attacks, of Iranian missile strikes. Fortunately, …
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Mr. Speaker, when crime occurs, the Liberals say they are wholeheartedly behind the victims, but when we ask for members of a terrorist organization to be deported, they tell us that these people have rights. There are Iranian women protesting against the regime, and they report that members of the regime are taking photos of them during the demonstrations. They no longer feel safe. This week, a c…
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Mr. Speaker, another Liberal drug experiment has failed. The Liberals promised that safe injection sites would reduce overdose deaths, but these deaths have increased by 400% in British Columbia and doubled in Quebec. Fifty thousand Canadians have died. Now, a landmark study in Alberta has shown that the closure of a safe injection site did not lead to an increase in deaths. In fact, more people s…
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Mr. Speaker, in the past four decades, two wars have plunged the world into a major energy crisis. Our allies are looking for reliable suppliers. Canada has 10% of the world's oil reserves and a wealth of natural gas, uranium, and hydroelectricity. It is clear that Canada should be a world leader in energy. The reality is that we do not even have the infrastructure to export our resources to our a…
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Mr. Speaker, there is good news on the horizon, but once again, press releases are not projects. Germany managed to build a liquefied natural gas export terminal in 194 days. What was Canada able to do in 194 days? It made announcements. If we developed our resources, we could create wealth, fund our public services, make our constituents wealthier and invest in the transition to other forms of en…
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Mr. Speaker, despite all these wonderful, virtuous programs, child poverty is on the rise for the third consecutive year. Nearly 30,000 more children have fallen below the poverty line. One in five children under the age of six lives in poverty in Canada. That means that 2.5 million children are part of a family that is facing food insecurity. In Montmorency—Charlevoix, families are struggling to …
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Mr. Speaker, the face of poverty is changing. Today, it might be a single mother who skips meals so that her children can dress properly and not be singled out at school. School trips have become luxuries. Families are going into debt to ensure that their children are not left behind. This is the result of 11 years of Liberal policies. Families do not want pity. They do not want more government ch…
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Mr. Speaker, the Champlain Bridge in Montreal is used by close to 60 million vehicles every year and was built 75 years ago. Rebuilding it cost $4.2 billion. Then there is the Cúram software. The legacy system was 60 years old, and rebuilding it resulted in a $5-billion cost overrun. How is it possible to be off by $5 billion, a cost higher than that of rebuilding one of the busiest bridges in Nor…
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Mr. Speaker, there is nothing confusing about Cúram: It is the federal SAAQclic. The software was supposed to cost $1.6 billion and ended up costing $6.6 billion. That is money from taxpayers' pockets. This week, the Prime Minister tells us that everything is fine, that a $5-billion cost overrun is par for the course, a success story even. Meanwhile, 85,000 pensioners are not receiving their payme…
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Mr. Speaker, yesterday, the Prime Minister said that the immigration system is under control. I am sorry, but contrary to what the Prime Minister says, things are not going well at all. Quebec alone has taken in 200,000 asylum seekers. That puts pressure on the health care, education and child care systems. This morning, we learned from a Radio-Canada article that the Liberal Minister of Immigrati…
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Mr. Speaker, that is a very good question. In fact, there is nothing far right about what we are doing. It is simple math. When there are 300,000 people waiting and we offer them services, it costs taxpayers a lot of money. Those same taxpayers, who contribute to society, do not have access to health care. When we ask someone to leave the country because, upon analysis, they have no right to be he…
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Mr. Speaker, the member is right, we are here for Canadians and Quebeckers who are taxpayers. Asylum seekers who have been rejected by our system should never receive better health care than Quebeckers and Canadians. What is more, the Standing Committee on Health has learned that some providers charge the interim federal health program up to five times the normal provincial rate for services. The …
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Mr. Speaker, as I rise today, I am not only addressing the House. I also want to address the families of Quebec, the seniors who are waiting for care, the young parents who do not have a family doctor, the sports enthusiasts who are taking care of their health and the athletes from coast to coast to coast who work hard and do everything they can to succeed. Today's debate is about our priorities, …
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Mr. Speaker, that is an excellent question. I would like to talk to him about the importance of working on prevention instead of always looking at curing illness. If we want to reduce the burden on our health care systems, we need a more active population that uses health care systems less. Health is not the absence of illness; it is our ability to deal with illness. Physical and mental health are…
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Mr. Speaker, the interim federal health program is paid for by taxpayers and covers the health care costs of asylum seekers and certain non-citizens. Six million Canadians do not have a family doctor and the system is overwhelmed, but we have found out that non-citizens and some non-permanent residents are receiving more generous benefits than Quebeckers and Canadians are getting. This is a matter…
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Mr. Speaker, it is clear that there is too much bureaucracy. It is clear that it is currently very difficult to access services. It is also clear that, this year alone, in order to speed up services, 25,000 asylum claims were approved without a single interview having been carried out. While 300,000 people are waiting, 25,000 people were allowed in. There is a lack of control and a lack of efficie…
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Mr. Speaker, the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation is forecasting a decline of nearly 20% in housing starts over the next two years. Less production means less supply. Demand, on the other hand, continues to rise. What is going on? Prices are going up. In Montmorency—Charlevoix, the average price of a home has gone from $249,000 a decade ago to more than $500,000 today. Week after week, the …
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Mr. Speaker, yes, as my colleague said, everyone is waiting. Young Canadians are having a hard time with the cost of living and the cost of rent. The Liberals tell us they are taking action, but nothing is being done except announcements, photo ops and empty promises. They have a plan: “one day”; “we will see”; “build something”; “potentially”; “surely”; “soon”; “a project is being reviewed right …
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
Mr. Speaker, the people of Montmorency—Charlevoix are once again calling on the Liberal government to work with our fishers in preparation for the upcoming fishing season in the St. Lawrence River. The river's striped bass population is out of control. This species is a highly efficient predator that is placing significant stress on other species, many of which are already fragile and very importa…
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