Parliamentary Speeches
226 speeches by Ginette Petitpas Taylor — Page 2 of 5
Government Orders
Madam Speaker, I request that the ordinary hour of daily adjournment of the next sitting be 12 midnight, pursuant to order made Wednesday, February 28.
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Mr. Speaker, I thank my friend and colleague for his important question. Our government is working hard to get more affordable housing built. This year, I had the privilege of announcing $6.7 million in funding to build more housing in my beautiful riding of Moncton—Riverview—Dieppe. This funding will help people experiencing homelessness as well as women and children fleeing domestic violence to …
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Mr. Speaker, in response to (a), the social media post was drafted by a member of Veterans Affairs Canada's departmental social media team. In response to (b), as per Veterans Affairs Canada’s established process, it was approved up to the director level in the department. In response to (c), given all the holidays being celebrated over the month of March, including Easter, a decision was made to …
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Madam Speaker, that is a bit rich coming from the party opposite. Let us take a walk down memory lane. When the Conservative Party of Canada was in government under Stephen Harper, let us see what the Conservatives did to veterans. They slashed the veterans affairs budget. They closed nine veterans affairs offices, and they cut the workforce by 1,000, individuals who provided direct services to ve…
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Madam Speaker, I want to thank my friend and colleague for her important question and for her hard work on behalf of veterans in her community. Budget 2024 increases our support for veterans and their families. Telemedicine services are available across the country for veterans and their families. That is one of the important measures for veterans in this new budget. The pilot project has been suc…
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Mr. Speaker, I would like to take a moment to thank my colleague for her important work on the veterans affairs committee. Our government has always been there for veterans, and will continue to be there. Since 2015, we have invested more than $11 billion in additional funding to support veterans and their families. In contrast to the Conservative Party of Canada, when it closed the Veterans Affai…
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Mr. Speaker, Veterans Affairs Canada, or VAC, is committed to ensuring that its program decisions are informed by input from veterans and stakeholder organizations across Canada. VAC’s primary interest is to ensure that projects funded through the veteran and family well-being fund, or VFWF, are directly benefiting veterans and their families. Prior to funding, VAC provides recipients with project…
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Mr. Speaker, I want to thank my colleague for her continued advocacy on this matter. When a veteran serves in the military, their family serves with them. Our government is extremely sensitive to the situation of widowed spouses of veterans who married after the age of 60. In budget 2019, we announced an amount of money to make sure we put in place a program, and I am looking forward to making sur…
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Mr. Speaker, I want to be very clear: It was the Department of Veterans Affairs that made the decision to support the Stimson design. Why? Because we chose to listen to veterans. More than 12,000 Canadians responded to a questionnaire or survey, and the vast majority of them were veterans. They made it clear that, for them, the Stimson design best represented the bravery, sacrifice and loss of vet…
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Mr. Speaker, once again, let me be very clear: The Department of Veterans Affairs made the final decision to support the Stimson design because, as I said, we chose to listen to veterans. We put together a survey or questionnaire. More than 12,000 Canadians responded to the survey, and the vast majority of them were veterans. I do not understand why my hon. colleague does not want to listen to vet…
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Mr. Speaker, here is what really happened. The government chose to listen to veterans. The Department of Veterans Affairs conducted a survey using a questionnaire to hear what Canadians had to say. Over 12,000 Canadians responded. Most of them were veterans or their family members. The message was clear. For them, the Stimson concept better represented the courage, sacrifice and loss of veterans. …
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Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank my colleague for his important question. The creation of a national monument to Canada's mission in Afghanistan will at last recognize the commitment of the Canadians who served in that mission. The Department of Veterans Affairs conducted a survey or questionnaire. More than 12,000 Canadians, most of whom were veterans, responded to the survey. The Stimson conce…
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Madam Speaker, I am tabling the government's responses to Questions Nos. 1803, 1804, 1808, 1805 to 1807 and 1809 to 1813.
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Mr. Speaker, Veterans' Week begins this Sunday, and I wish to encourage all Canadians to participate in activities and ceremonies in honour of those who have served our country and those who continue to serve. This week, I will be thinking of all of the veterans across the country. We will remember the 1.7 million Canadians and Newfoundlanders who fought in the major conflicts of the 20th century …
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Mr. Speaker, Veterans Affairs Canada undertook an extensive preliminary search in order to determine the information that would fall within the scope of this question and concluded that a manual search and review would be required. The level of detail requested is not systematically tracked in a centralized database. Veterans Affairs Canada further concluded that producing and validating a compreh…
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Mr. Speaker, the health, safety and well-being of our veterans is my top priority. We take the situation very seriously. That is why our government is investing in a new program to combat homelessness when it comes to veterans. This program will provide rent supplements and support services, as well as important research to really determine the reasons why veterans are homeless. Canada's veterans …
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Mr. Speaker, I want to thank my hon. colleague for his question. He is absolutely right. Canadians and other veterans are stepping up to help those who have served our country. Through the veteran and family well-being fund, we have been able to invest in innovative projects, such as the Research Institute of the McGill University Health Centre, which will support mental health among veterans. Thi…
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Mr. Speaker, what can we expect from the Conservative Party of Canada? We can expect cuts and more cuts. Being the minister responsible for Veterans Affairs, I know that, when its members were in power, they slashed our employees by 1,000. They cut nine Veterans Affairs offices, including one in Corner Brook, Newfoundland. When we formed government, that was the first office we opened because we r…
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Mr. Speaker, I want to thank my hon. colleague for his question. I think that we agree on the importance of listening to our veterans. That is why Veterans Affairs conducted a survey. More than 10,000 Canadians responded to the survey. The majority of them were veterans. The design that was chosen is the one from the Stimson team since, to them, it best represented the bravery, sacrifice and loss …
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Mr. Speaker, once again, I would like to thank my colleague for his question. I look forward to working with him on the Standing Committee on Veterans Affairs. I think all members of the House recognize the importance of listening to our veterans. That is why we conducted this survey. The vast majority of survey respondents were veterans or family members. They felt that Adrian Stimson's design be…
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Mr. Speaker, the memorial to Canada's mission in Afghanistan recognizes the commitment and sacrifice of our soldiers. More than 40,000 people participated in this mission. The Department of Veterans Affairs received input from more than 10,000 Canadians, particularly veterans, people who participated in the mission. The majority wanted to ensure that the concept would truly meet their needs. In th…
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Mr. Speaker, as Minister of Veterans Affairs, I think it is very important to make sure that we listen to veterans, veterans who served in the Afghanistan mission. During this process, we heard from 10,000 Canadians. Most of them are people who served during the Afghanistan mission. They told us clearly that the Team Stimson design really represented what they wanted the monument to look like. We …
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Mr. Speaker, my colleague from Milton had a great speech. I listened to it attentively. I wonder if he could elaborate a bit on the impact of the investments our government has made in the area of early learning and child care, the impact on families and the impact on our economy. We certainly know it is going to make a huge difference by making sure that more women enter the workforce.
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Mr. Speaker, here is some good news: The Senate has just confirmed that Bill C‑13 has received royal assent. I am extremely proud of the work we accomplished to modernize the Official Languages Act. This legislation will better equip us to slow the decline of French and more effectively protect our official language minority communities. It will also require the adoption of an immigration policy, …
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Madam Speaker, let us be very clear. We are the first government to recognize the decline of French in this country. That is why we are moving forward with a bill that is ambitious, that has teeth. It does not stop there. We have made historic investments in our action plan, namely $4.1 billion to ensure that the federal government will do its fair share to protect and promote French across the co…
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Madam Speaker, I request that the ordinary hour of daily adjournment of the next sitting be 12 midnight, pursuant to order made Tuesday, November 15, 2022. In addition, I am tabling the government's responses to Questions Nos. 1399 to 1404.
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Madam Speaker, I want to thank my hon. colleague for his question. I would also like to thank the Commissioner of Official Languages for the report he released this week. We accept his recommendations. As Minister of Official Languages, I am very pleased with the work we have accomplished so far. We recently passed Bill C‑13. We were able to get all parties in the House onside to support this bill…
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Mr. Speaker, I forgot to mention part of the important work for next week. If you would allow me to continue, I want to make sure all members of the House are fully aware of the work to be done when we return. Pursuant to Standing Order 81(4), I would like to designate Monday, May 29, for consideration in committee of the whole of all votes under the Department of Finance in main estimates for the…
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Mr. Speaker, when we return the Monday after the week in our ridings, the agenda will include debate at third reading of Bill S‑5, an act to amend the Canadian Environmental Protection Act. Tuesday and Thursday will be opposition days. On Wednesday, we will resume debate at second reading of Bill C‑42, an act to amend the Canada Business Corporations Act. On Friday, we will begin debate on Bill C‑…
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Mr. Speaker, I have to say that you look quite dashing in that chair. I would like to thank my colleague from La Pointe-de-l'Île for his speech. I would also like to thank the Bloc Québécois for supporting Bill C-13, which will really make a difference in communities across the country. I have a specific question for my colleague. Recently, we have seen great collaboration between the federal and …
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Mr. Speaker, first, I would simply like to say that, since 2015, our government has basically doubled the investments in all areas of official languages through our official languages action plan. We are making historic investments of $4.1 billion over the next five years. Second, I listened attentively to my colleague's comments. He said that he listened to what the Fédération des communautés fra…
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Mr. Speaker, French is the language of love. I want my message to anglophones in Quebec to be very clear. Bill C-13 in no way removes any rights from English-speaking Quebeckers. With this legislation, the modernization of the Official Languages Act, we want to make sure that we do all we can to protect and to promote both our official languages. That Canada has two official languages is a compara…
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Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank my colleague for his questions and his work on the Standing Committee on Official Languages. I think that co-operation really is key. We understand just how important our two official languages are to our beautiful country, and we can always do more. That is why we introduced an ambitious and robust bill. We often speak about stakeholders across the country. In r…
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Mr. Speaker, once again, I want to thank my Bloc Québécois colleague for the work he has done on the Standing Committee on Official Languages. I think we share a common goal with the Bloc Québécois. We recognize that French is the only one of Canada's official languages in decline and that we need to work together to address this decline. I must also mention that we are the first government to rec…
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Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague and friend, as well as the NDP member for Churchill—Keewatinook Aski, for the work that she has done on Standing Committee on Official Languages. She has truly been a partner, and I appreciated working with her. If this were an easy piece of legislation, governments in the past would have moved it forward a long time ago. We had the ambition, and we wanted to make…
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moved that Bill C‑13, An Act to amend the Official Languages Act, to enact the Use of French in Federally Regulated Private Businesses Act and to make related amendments to other Acts, be read the third time and passed. Mr. Speaker, hon. members, colleagues and friends, I am extremely pleased to be here to speak to you today. To begin, I would like to acknowledge that we are gathered here on the t…
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moved that the bill be concurred in at report stage with further amendments.
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Mr. Speaker, yesterday was a historic day for this country's official languages. The action plan makes a historic $4.1-million investment to support our official language minority communities and reverse the decline of French across the country, including in Quebec. The funding we announced yesterday does not include funding for English in Quebec. On the contrary, we are funding the vitality of Qu…
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Mr. Speaker, again, yesterday, we announced and unveiled a truly historic action plan with $4.1 million to protect and promote our official language minority communities and reverse the decline of French in Quebec and across Canada. We are not funding English in Quebec. On the contrary, we are supporting the vitality of English-speaking communities with employment assistance services and French as…
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Mr. Speaker, it is quite the opposite. With our investment in official languages, we are doing everything we can to protect and promote French across the country, including in Quebec, as well as to support our official language minority communities. Yesterday, we unveiled a plan. We had conversations with thousands of Canadians across the country. They told us about their priorities: francophone i…
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Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank my friend and colleague from Laval—Les Îles for his important question and his hard work. Our French language is invaluable, and it is at risk. That is why we are the first government to recognize the decline of the French language and also the first government to say that we will do everything we can to protect and promote French across the country. With Bill C-…
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Mr. Speaker, I want to thank my friend and colleague from Cloverdale—Langley City for his important question. I also wish him a happy Francophonie Month. I was very pleased to be in the Vancouver area last week where we announced an investment of nearly $13.5 million, in partnership with the Government of British Columbia, to support a series of projects to recruit, train and retain more francopho…
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Mr. Speaker, I want to thank my colleague for his important question. As he aptly noted, Bill C‑13 is currently before the Standing Committee on Official Languages for a clause-by-clause review. Official language minority communities have been waiting for this bill for a long time. Like them, I look forward to having this bill adopted. I hope that the committee will complete its work shortly since…
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Mr. Speaker, let us be very clear. We are the first government to recognize the decline of French in the country and that is precisely why we are moving forward with an ambitious bill. As an Acadian who lives in New Brunswick in an official language minority community, I know the importance of protecting and promoting French across the country, including in Quebec. However, we also have to ensure …
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Mr. Speaker, let me be very clear, my priority as Minister of Official Languages is to make sure that we are doing everything we can to protect and promote French across the country, including in Quebec. We also have a responsibility to protect official language minority communities. I think this is a goal we share. It is what we all want. We want to make a fair contribution so that we can bring s…
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Mr. Speaker, let us be very clear: Our commitment has not changed. Our government stands firm. We will do everything to protect and promote French across the country, including in Quebec, and protect our official language minority communities. I am following the work of the committee closely. Our bill will expand the powers of the Commissioner of Official Languages. It will ensure that employees w…
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Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague from Pontiac for her question and for her hard work. I was very pleased to be at the University of Ottawa yesterday with the President of the Treasury Board to announce a federal contribution of $20.4 million to support French-language programs at the University of Ottawa. This funding will be used to develop new courses entirely in French and to hire faculty in t…
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Mr. Speaker, we have been very clear about our commitment to do our fair share to protect and promote French across the country, including in Quebec, and to protect and promote our official language minority communities. I want to take a moment to thank the committee members who are working to advance this file. With the passage of Bill C‑13, we will be able to give the Commissioner of Official La…
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Mr. Speaker, it is quite the opposite. We look forward to seeing Bill C-13 passed, as do stakeholders across the country. That is why we have introduced an ambitious bill that that will make a real difference in the lives of Canadians. We are the first government to recognize the decline of French across the country, including in Quebec. I look forward to the passage of this bill. As I said, it is…
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Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank my colleague for his tireless advocacy for the bioscience sector. I was pleased to be in Charlottetown last Friday to announce an investment of more than $25 million toward the design and construction a BioAccelerator, a new biomanufacturing facility in Prince Edward Island. This new 75,000-square-foot facility will help spur new product development, increase ski…
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