Parliamentary Speeches
226 speeches by Ginette Petitpas Taylor — Page 4 of 5
Government Orders
Madam Speaker, let us get one thing straight right off the bat. This is day four of debate on Bill C‑13. There have been 63 speeches in the House about this bill: 19 by the Conservative Party, 18 by the Liberal Party, 13 by the NDP and 12 by the Bloc Québécois. Let us not forget that, even though a big part of the work is done in the House, a lot is done in committee as well. Committee work is ver…
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Madam Speaker, I thank my colleague for his question. As I said, this is the fourth day of debate. At midnight on May 12, I was still in the House, and I was quite disappointed to see the Conservative Party move an amendment and an amendment to the amendment that could have killed this bill. Believe it or not, people watch CPAC at midnight, and several people called me to say they were worried abo…
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Madam Speaker, I want to thank my friend and colleague from Madawaska—Restigouche for his hard work on this file. I know he has spent a good part of his life working to advance the cause of official languages. He is doing an excellent job as chair of the Standing Committee on Official Languages. Since I was appointed minister, I have had the privilege of meeting stakeholders from coast to coast to…
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moved: That, in relation to 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 not more than one further sitting day shall be allotted to the consideration at second reading stage of the Bill; and That, 15 minutes before the expiry of the time provided for Government Orders on …
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Madam Speaker, what truly concerns me is that the Conservative Party is trying to derail this bill. Last Thursday, the opposition criticized me for being here until midnight talking about this. Canadians expect us to be in the House to do our work as MPs, whether that is Monday morning or Friday afternoon. That is exactly what we are doing by debating this bill. This is an ambitious bill, since we…
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Madam Speaker, all members of the House share the objective of protecting our two official languages and ensuring that we do everything possible to protect the French language, given that we recognize that French is in decline in Canada, including in Quebec. That is why we have worked tirelessly with our partners and stakeholders from across the country, who wanted to improve former Bill C‑32. Tha…
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Madam Speaker, I would like to thank my colleague for the question. I have a great deal of regard for him as well. Our government is firmly committed to doing everything it can to promote and protect both our beautiful official languages in Canada. That is a priority. I have also stated many times that we agree with the principle that the lieutenant governors of New Brunswick must be bilingual. Al…
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Madam Speaker, we have to recognize that, yes, important debate happens in the House, but important debate and work also happens at the committee level. That is exactly where we are hoping this work is going to go. We want the committee members to look at this legislation with a fine-tooth comb, because we want to have the best legislation possible. We recognize the Official Languages Act has not …
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Madam Speaker, once again, our government is the first to recognize that French is in decline in Canada, including Quebec. That is why we are moving forward with an ambitious bill. We also must recognize that the Bloc Québécois does not represent all of Canada's francophones. As Minister of Official Languages, I want to ensure that I am putting in place a bill that will respect official language m…
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Madam Speaker, first and foremost, it is just the opposite. Over the past number of weeks, we have seen many tactics being used by this opposition party. The reason we are moving forward with this today is that we really want to make sure we can move forward with this important piece of legislation. Bill C-13 would make a real difference in the lives of Canadians, and I am now looking forward to s…
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Madam Speaker, again, I think that we recognize that Bill C-13 is a really important piece of legislation. Yes, debate has happened in the House. This is the fourth day, but we want this debate to continue. There have been a lot of games that have been played over the past number of weeks, and we certainly do not want to see this bill stalled. Canadians are expecting us to take action when it come…
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Madam Speaker, as the Minister for Official Languages, I am very pleased to present Bill C-13. As I mentioned, I hope that the debates will continue so that our bill can be improved. However, this is the fourth day of debate in the House, and the Standing Committee on Official Languages will continue the work. I look forward to closely following this debate.
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Madam Speaker, our government is firmly committed to protecting and promoting the French language across the country, including in Quebec. We are also committed to supporting official language minority communities. This is why we are moving forward with an ambitious bill that has more teeth. We want to rectify the situation in Canada. I hope that the Bloc Québécois and all stakeholders will help u…
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Madam Speaker, I want my colleague to know that he is absolutely right. Official language minority communities have been waiting a long time for the modernization of the Official Languages Act that Bill C‑13 offers them. Our new version of the former bill has more teeth. As I have said it many times, Bill C‑13 will make a real difference in the lives of Canadians from coast to coast to coast, incl…
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Madam Speaker, just the opposite is true. Our government is firmly committed to protecting and promoting French across the country, including in Quebec. We recognize that there has been a decline in the use of French across the country, including in Quebec. That is why we are moving forward with this new version of our bill. The former Bill C-32 was introduced last June. Since being appointed Mini…
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Madam Speaker, I would like to once again thank my colleague who has been working in this field for several decades. I am extremely grateful to him for that and for the work that he does here in Ottawa as the chair of the official languages caucus. Positive measures are indeed a very important part of Bill C-13. The stakeholders we spoke to really wanted to see improvements in the definition and h…
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Madam Speaker, I think we share the same goal of improving the bill and ultimately protecting and promoting our official languages. This debate will continue in committee, which is exactly what we want. We want to have a constructive debate with the members of the Standing Committee on Official Languages so we can produce the best version of the bill. The Official Languages Act has not been review…
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Madam Speaker, if we look at the components of Bill C-32, our action plan and Bill C-13, it is clear that the common thread is the desire to achieve substantive equality. That is why we are going further with our bill. We want to ensure that we make our contribution to achieving substantive equality. It will not happen overnight. We recognize that French is in decline in this country. French is in…
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Madam Speaker, I thank my colleague for her question. It is very important to our government to support organizations in official language minority communities. If we want to sustain the vitality of these communities, we must make the necessary investments. Ever since coming to power, our government has made historic investments in all areas of official languages. Our government will continue to d…
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Mr. Speaker, our government is firmly committed to protecting and promoting Canada's beautiful official languages. That is why, on March 1, I was so pleased to be able to introduce Bill C-13, which seeks to modernize the Official Languages Act. We will do our job. I hope that the Bloc Québécois and all parties will help us pass this bill. Our government is committed to ensuring that all lieutenant…
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Mr. Speaker, I have said this many times. As the Minister of Official Languages, promoting and protecting French is a top priority. That is why I was so pleased when we reintroduced our bill to modernize the Official Languages Act on March 1. This bill has teeth and will make a real difference in the lives of Canadians. I hope that the Bloc Québécois and all parties in the House will work with us …
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Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank my colleague for his question. Our government remains firmly committed to protecting and promoting French across the country. The decision to appeal the ruling of the Court of Queen's Bench does not in any way compromise our commitment to protecting and promoting linguistic duality, which includes our modernization of the Official Languages Act. Going forward, ou…
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Mr. Speaker, I thank my friend and colleague from Madawaska—Restigouche for highlighting how our government creates jobs and supports economic growth in New Brunswick. Through the jobs and growth fund, we are investing in businesses that create jobs and ensuring that communities such as Saint-François-de-Madawaska and Grand Barachois are included in our economic recovery. We know that these busine…
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Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank my colleague for his question. Our government remains firmly committed to protecting and promoting French across the country. The decision to appeal the ruling of the Court of Queen's Bench does not in any way compromise our commitment to protecting and promoting linguistic duality, which includes our modernization of the Official Languages Act. Going forward, ou…
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Madam Speaker, I would also like to take a moment to thank my colleague from Yukon for his outstanding work. As a member of the official languages caucus, I always enjoy his speeches. I sincerely thank him. As an Acadian who lives in an official language minority community in New Brunswick, if I was able to attend elementary and secondary school in French and go to the Université de Moncton, it is…
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Madam Speaker, I would also like to thank my colleague from New Brunswick for her hard work and her support for our bill. We have been very clear in Bill C-13 and in many other instances. Through this legislation, we want to do everything we can to ensure that indigenous languages are promoted and protected. We recognize that in addition to our two official languages, Canada also has 70 indigenous…
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Madam Speaker, I thank my colleague for his question. Today, I was very pleased to welcome him to the reception with the secretary general of the Observatoire de l'éthique publique. I am very pleased that the member participated in that event with me today. I thank him for that. Once again, I think that we recognize that French is in decline in Quebec and across Canada. When we look at the numbers…
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Madam Speaker, I am very pleased to answer the member's question. First, my speech at second reading has already been delivered. This evening I was here to listen to all the comments from all my colleagues because this bill is very important to the entire population. I am not afraid to stay here until midnight since I wanted to hear everyone's points of view. Again, to me, protecting and promoting…
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Madam Speaker, I am very pleased to be here tonight. I would like to recognize that we are all gathered here tonight on the traditional unceded territories of the Anishinabe Algonquin nation. Before I officially begin my speech, I want to once again mention that I am an Acadian from New Brunswick. What I did not mention earlier is that I am the youngest of a family of 10 children. I was able to at…
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Madam Speaker, through the course of the past six months, I have had the privilege and the opportunity to meet with many stakeholders who work in the field of official languages. They provided us with some feedback, so we made some improvements with Bill C-13. Would the member be able to speak about the difference that Bill C-13 would make, in the communities that he represents, for the official m…
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Madam Speaker, I thank my colleague, whom I very much like, for his speech this evening. Over the past few months, I had the privilege of meeting many stakeholders who told me what they wanted to see in the new version of Bill C-13. One suggestion I heard many times was to create a central agency. I believe my colleague mentioned exactly that tonight. I do have to say, however, that I am a bit los…
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Madam Speaker, I want to thank my colleague for his speech this evening and for his comments. I was wondering if my hon. colleague could comment on the importance of including the court challenges program in the new Bill C‑13, since that program was abolished by the previous government. We recognized the importance of ensuring access to this program, especially for official language minority commu…
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Madam Speaker, I would like to thank my colleague from Halifax West for her speech and her support for Bill C-13. I would also like to congratulate her for her work as a member of the official languages caucus and for what she achieved while she was the minister responsible for immigration and other portfolios in Nova Scotia. She is very familiar with the bill and understands full well the importa…
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Madam Speaker, congratulations to my hon. colleague for her unanimous consent motion this week in the House. That was well done. With respect to the issue of increasing our level of people who want to speak and learn French, what is very clear is that over the past number of years we have seen a real increase in Canadians who want to learn a second language. If we look at the investments that have…
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Madam Speaker, I am a bit confused. This evening I have been hearing many Conservative members talking about how we have not done much when it comes to official languages since 2015. Let me do a bit of recap. I am very proud of the work that has been done since we formed government. We have put in place an action plan, which we have backed up with investments of $2.7 billion, when it comes to offi…
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Madam Speaker, I thank my Bloc Québécois colleague for his speech this evening. We do agree on one thing: French is in decline in Canada, including in Québec. The federal government and all the provinces and territories have to help tackle this demographic decline. Bill C‑13 is how we are going to solve this problem. We are making sure we have the tools to support official language minority commun…
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Madam Speaker, I want to thank my friend and colleague for the excellent work he does as chair of the official languages caucus and for his leadership throughout his career. During his speech earlier, my friend mentioned the court challenges program, which has been very important to the Acadian community in Atlantic Canada. I was wondering if my colleague could explain the importance of the court …
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Madam Speaker, over the past few months, I have had the privilege of meeting with a number of stakeholders who have shared the improvements they want to see in this bill compared to the old Bill C‑32. I believe we have incorporated those improvements in Bill C‑13. I really appreciated the comments by the member for Saanich—Gulf Islands, and I would like to know what recommendations she would make …
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Mr. Speaker, again, I thank my friend for the question. As a francophone who lives in New Brunswick in an official language minority community, I know the importance of protecting and promoting French throughout the country, including in Quebec. That is why we are introducing a bill, a new version of the Official Languages Act, and I hope the Bloc Québécois and every opposition member will support…
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Mr. Speaker, it is quite the opposite. With our bill on the Official Languages Act, we want to ensure that francophones inside and outside Quebec can work in their language, French. We recognize that French is declining in Canada, including in Quebec, and that is why we are moving forward with a new version of the law, a law that has more teeth to ensure, once again, that francophones will be prot…
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Mr. Speaker, once again, I encourage my hon. colleagues to read through Bill C‑13. They clearly have not read it. Under Bill C‑13, federally regulated workers will have the option, or rather, the right, to work in French, an official language. Once again, we want to ensure that we protect and promote French all across Canada, including in Quebec. I hope that the Bloc Québécois will work with us to…
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Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for her question. As a woman from New Brunswick who lives in an official language minority community, I know how important it is to protect and promote French across the country, including in Quebec, because French is in decline. That is why we are moving forward with a new version of Bill C-13. This will ensure that we can do more to protect and strengthen our ri…
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Mr. Speaker, first, I am not here to play politics. I am here to protect and promote French across the country, including in Quebec. We have been very clear: French is declining in Canada, including Quebec. That is why we are moving forward with a new version of Bill C‑13, which seeks to protect and promote the rights of francophones across the country. I hope that the Bloc Québécois will work wit…
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Mr. Speaker, what I see is that the opposition member did not read Bill C-13 in its entirety. The exact opposite is true. We are moving forward to ensure that we do everything we can to protect and promote French across Canada, including in Quebec. As a francophone who lives in an official language minority community in New Brunswick, I object to the question the member opposite asked because I pr…
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Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague from Acadie—Bathurst for recognizing the important role that New Brunswick can play in the digital transformation. Last week, our government announced almost $4 million for the Université de Moncton and the University of New Brunswick. These investments will help students from across New Brunswick enhance their skills, make connections and acquire valuable experie…
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Mr. Speaker, insofar as the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency is concerned, with regard to funding applications received from October 1, 2021 to March 17, 2022, the requested information is available on the Government of Canada’s Open Government portal at the following link: https://search.open.canada.ca/en/gc/.
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Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for his question. As a francophone living in an official language minority community in New Brunswick, I know first-hand how important it is to protect and promote French. That is part of my daily life. That is why I am pleased that my government reintroduced our bill to modernize the Official Languages Act. I hope that my friend and colleague will support this bi…
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Mr. Speaker, as I said repeatedly, protecting and promoting French are a top priority for this government and a priority for me as Minister of Official Languages. We are the first government to recognize that French is in decline in Canada including in Quebec. Once again, that is why we are moving forward with a new version of the official languages bill. Again, I hope the opposition members will …
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Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank my colleague for her important question. Our government understands that we need to invest in the institutions that support our official language minority communities, in particular the French-language education system. Last Friday, I had the privilege of joining my colleagues from Nickel Belt and Sudbury in announcing that our government will contribute over $2 …
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moved that Bill C-8, An Act to implement certain provisions of the economic and fiscal update tabled in Parliament on December 14, 2021 and other measures, be read the third time and passed.
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