Parliamentary Speeches
242 speeches by Guillaume Deschênes-Thériault — Page 3 of 5
Government Orders
Mr. Chair, I am a relatively new member of the House, and there is one thing that I have a hard time understanding. The Conservatives say one thing in the House, but when it comes time to vote, they always do the opposite. They talk about the cost of living every day in the House, but when it comes time to vote for measures to help with the cost of living, the Conservatives vote against them. This…
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Mr. Speaker, today I pay tribute to Jean‑Guy Levesque, who recently announced his retirement after a decade in municipal politics. A well-known figure in Restigouche, he has dedicated his life to public service, beginning in the school system as a teacher, school principal, and district superintendent. A tireless volunteer, he made a name for himself in several community and sports organizations. …
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Mr. Chair, in my riding of Madawaska—Restigouche, the forestry industry is a key driver of the economy. I have regular contact with people involved in the industry, including workers, business owners and intermediate players, such as forestry operators, who collect timber from the forest but without necessarily exporting products to the United States. These people are also affected by the tariffs.…
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Mr. Chair, we recently put several measures in place to support the softwood lumber industry. I am thinking about the more than $1.2 billion in liquidity, in assistance programs and all the other measures we put in place to help businesses and workers affected by the tariffs. There is our buy Canadian policy, which will give priority to our softwood lumber in our infrastructure and homebuilding pr…
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Mr. Chair, the Forest Products Association of Canada welcomed the measures we have put in place to respond to the unjustified tariffs imposed by the U.S. administration. In particular, representatives mentioned that procurement reforms, funding for the tariff response, workforce supports and biofuel incentives are positive measures for the future of the forestry sector. However, the Leader of the …
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Mr. Chair, my colleague from British Columbia is a strong advocate for her province and really understands the needs of the softwood lumber industry. She is a strong advocate for the workers and the businesses of this sector. I would like to hear her views on how the different measures we have put in place to help the industry have been received and what we can do to better help the softwood indus…
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Madam Chair, U.S. tariffs are having a major economic impact on the Canadian softwood lumber industry, a pillar of our Canadian economy and a key economic driver in my riding of Madawaska—Restigouche. As a member of Parliament, this issue is top of mind for me in Ottawa, and I am actively engaged in discussions with my colleagues to advance our interests on this matter. I understand very well the …
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Mr. Chair, we launched our buy Canadian policy because we wanted to become our own best client. Through our investments in Build Canada Homes, our projects of national interest and our investments in infrastructure, we will focus on Canadian lumber. We want to build our country with our resources. Does my colleague agree that it is important for our government to strengthen domestic demand for lum…
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Mr. Chair, the forestry industry is central to the economy of the province of New Brunswick, and the U.S. administration's unjustified tariffs are having a significant impact on the sector. I heard my colleague voice several criticisms about our approach, but I did not hear many concrete suggestions on how we can actually help this very important sector. On our side, we have implemented measures: …
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Mr. Chair, I hold my colleague, the member for Nipissing—Timiskaming, in high regard. She is a strong voice here in Ottawa for rural communities. I would like to hear from her about the work she is doing in her riding to stay informed of the needs and realities of stakeholders in the northern Ontario lumber industry, so that she can represent them well here in Ottawa.
Read full speech →Private Members' Business
Mr. Speaker, I am grateful for the opportunity to speak today to private member's bill, Bill C‑220, an act to amend the Criminal Code with regard to immigration status in sentencing, introduced by the member for Calgary Nose Hill. This bill raises fundamental questions about our justice system, such as the individualization of sentences, proportionality, parity and, above all, the key role the jud…
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Mr. Speaker, public safety is an important issue for my colleague's riding, and in the budget we are making important investments to strengthen public safety. Since we formed government last spring, we have put forward many pieces of legislation regarding public safety. I would like to hear the member's views on how those investments are going to benefit her riding.
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Mr. Speaker, I was very surprised to see my colleague vote against the budget the other day, because there are several infrastructure projects that will have a significant impact on Quebec's economy. I am thinking of the Contrecœur container terminal project, the eastern energy partnership, and the Alto high-speed rail project, not to mention all the other infrastructure projects that the Bloc Qué…
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Madam Chair, as the member for Madawaska—Restigouche, I am in regular contact with business owners and forestry workers. People back home understand that the U.S. tariffs are completely unjustified and harmful. It was not our government that asked for them; it was the American administration that imposed them. However, our government is there to help the businesses and workers affected. Just look …
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Madam Chair, my colleague is absolutely right. Our country was built thanks to our forests and our forestry workers. Through Build Canada Homes, the softwood lumber sector will be essential for building hundreds of thousands more homes. She referred to the closure of sawmills. It is never an easy situation for our families, our workers and our industries. That is why we must be there to support th…
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Madam Chair, it really is important for me to take part in this debate this evening because the forestry industry is the main economic driver in my riding. We have put a number of measures in place to help this industry weather the economic turbulence. We may need other measures as well. I am thinking in particular of the intermediaries, those who are affected by the tariffs but do not export thei…
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Madam Chair, I will repeat my question. Our government wants an agreement, but not just any agreement. We want an agreement that truly serves the interests of Canadians. The public is well aware that we are in a position of strength when we are united in our negotiations with the United States. During the last election campaign, however, the Bloc Québécois proposed that negotiations for Quebec be …
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Madam Chair, our government is working to negotiate an agreement with the United States, but not just any agreement. We want a good agreement that will serve the interests of Canadians—
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
Mr. Speaker, today I rise to present a petition from a group of citizens from Madawaska—Restigouche regarding malnutrition. They are calling on the government to convene a Canada-wide summit on malnutrition to begin discussing a framework for action on malnutrition care in Canada, expand Canada's healthy eating strategy and mandate the collection and reporting of malnutrition data by the Canadian …
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Mr. Speaker, I was very surprised to hear my colleague say that he voted against the budget, especially given that there are several projects that will have a direct and significant impact on Quebec's economy, which is the province he represents in the House. I am specifically thinking about the Contrecoeur container terminal project, the eastern energy partnership and the Alto high-frequency rail…
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Mr. Speaker, I represent Madawaska—Restigouche, a rural riding. I am also a member of our rural caucus, and I can attest to the fact that our colleague, who is the chair of that caucus, is a strong advocate for regional interests. I would like to ask her what our budget says about temporary foreign workers. This is an important issue for our caucus.
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Madam Speaker, health is a top priority for the people in my riding. My colleague highlighted some of the investments we are making in the budget for it, such as the investment in research and the new health infrastructure fund. We are also going to increase transfers to provinces over the next five years. I would like to hear the member's view on why the investments in health are so important for…
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Madam Speaker, I commend my colleague on his excellent speech. I would like to follow up on the previous questions. Through the action plan for official languages 2023-2028, we made the largest investment ever made in official languages in Canada. I am talking about $4.1 billion over five years for education, health care, early childhood education and various other sectors. In budget 2025, we doub…
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Mr. Speaker, I am a first-time MP and I have only been in the House for a few short months, but let me tell the House what I have observed. On this side of the House, when we talk about helping Canadians cope with the cost of living, we are introducing concrete measures, and when the time comes to vote, we are voting in favour of these measures. As for members of the official opposition, they had …
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Mr. Speaker, the various items will be carefully considered. We are definitely facing challenges right now. We had to invest in infrastructure, housing and all sorts of things. We have allowed ourselves some flexibility. We are going to spend less so that we can invest more. We are going to invest over $300 million in the new youth employment strategy.
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Mr. Speaker, I gather from his speech that my colleague from Mirabel believes it is important to be there for the people who need it the most. Budget 2025 includes several measures such as automatic benefits to ensure that everyone who really needs federal benefits receives them. We made the national school food program and a tax credit for personal support workers permanent. However, when it came…
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Mr. Speaker, I will be sharing my time with the member for Québec Centre. Our new government was elected in the spring with a mandate to build a stronger, more resilient economy. We got straight to work from day one. I am thinking of all the investments we have made in housing and infrastructure that are going to stimulate the economy, the creation of the Major Projects Office or even the removal …
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Mr. Speaker, I would like to point out to my colleague that the fight against climate change is both a moral and economic imperative. It is important to have a variety of measures in place to reduce our carbon footprint. As for consumer carbon pricing, it is important to note that there was a rebate system. Yes, people paid a little more at the pump, but there was a rebate. As I mentioned in my sp…
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Mr. Speaker, the housing crisis is real. There is a shortage of housing across the country, including in my riding of Madawaska—Restigouche. When faced with a situation of this magnitude, the government must take action. Through the Build Canada Homes program, we will invest more than $13 billion to stimulate housing construction across the country. Evidently, significantly increasing the number o…
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Mr. Speaker, the Canada summer jobs program is essential for our young people and for our small businesses and community organizations. Last summer, I visited day cares, summer camps, museums and festivals. I met people in public works and people who performed a variety of tasks. Without this program, their employers simply might not have been able to afford to hire them for the summer. This provi…
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Madam Speaker, I wish to inform you that I will be sharing my time with the member for Trois-Rivières. The ambitious budget that we presented to the House on November 4 contains a lot of good news for my riding of Madawaska—Restigouche. With the build communities strong fund, we are going to make significant investments in infrastructure. More specifically, the community stream, the former gas tax…
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Madam Speaker, a healthy democracy requires a strong and independent press, especially in this era of disinformation, which spreads online. This additional $150-million investment in our public broadcaster is an investment in a credible, high-quality source of information for local, regional and national news. Back home in Madawaska—Restigouche, I listen to La matinale, or Information Morning on C…
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Madam Speaker, I am pleased that my colleague mentioned the $5 billion in federal investments in health care infrastructure. It is important to understand that this is complementary to all our other health care investments. The budget allocates $54.7 billion to the Canada health transfer for 2025-26 alone. This amount will increase to $65 billion in 2029-30. This represents a $300-billion investme…
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Madam Speaker, at a time of economic turmoil due to the tariff war with the United States, the responsible thing to do is to be there for Canadians, to invest in our infrastructure and housing so we can boost and strengthen the Canadian economy, to be there for businesses and workers in the sectors that have been hit the hardest by the tariff war, to be there to build our economy's resilience and …
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Mr. Speaker, the budget contains a lot of good news for Quebeckers, especially those in the riding of our colleague from Gaspésie—Les Îles-de-la-Madeleine—Listuguj, with the extension of the Magdalen Islands airport runway. The Bloc Québécois has championed this project a number of times. There are also investments for the Forillon shipyards in Gaspé. Montreal's Biosphere is going to receive $9 mi…
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Mr. Speaker, just last week, the member for Gaspésie—Les Îles‑de‑la‑Madeleine—Listuguj created a working group to extend the Magdalen Islands airport runway. In an interview with Radio-Canada, he said that the runway's current condition is hindering economic development. There is some good news in the budget this week. We will fund the extension of the requested runway. Another piece of good news …
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Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague, whom I hold in high regard, for his excellent speech. Before entering federal politics, the member for Beauport—Limoilou was the president and CEO of the Quebec City chamber of commerce and industry, so he has serious credibility when it comes to assessing the positive effects that our budget will have on entrepreneurs and our businesses. I would like him to shar…
Read full speech →Private Members' Business
Mr. Speaker, improving safety in our communities is a mainstay of our Liberal platform. Six months into the new government's mandate, we have clearly backed up our commitments with a series of concrete actions, as the budget tabled earlier this week shows. During the election campaign, we promised Canadians that this new government would make bail reform and tougher sentences a priority. That is e…
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Mr. Speaker, when people propose amendments to the Criminal Code, they must approach the matter seriously and check that each of the proposed amendments is constitutionally sound. If a bill containing unconstitutional measures passes, it will be struck down in court. This wastes time and resources, and it disheartens Canadians. On this side of the House, we have introduced Bill C‑14, which address…
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Mr. Speaker, I hear my colleague across the way criticizing the budget. However, in this budget, we are making generational investments to strengthen our economy while protecting our social programs. I would like to ask my colleague the following question. If the budget had been tabled by a Conservative government, which social program would my colleague have wanted to eliminate? Would it have bee…
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, as a proud Acadian who represents the riding of Madawaska—Restigouche—
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, as a proud Acadian who represents the riding of Madawaska—Restigouche in the House, I care about the development of our francophone communities. Since 2022, we have seen a major increase in francophone immigration outside Quebec. It is crucial that we maintain that trend to support the vitality of our communities. Since we are celebrating National Francophone Immigration Week, I would…
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Mr. Speaker, I believe that my colleague was a municipal councillor before becoming a federal MP, so he understands the importance of infrastructure funding. The budget renews the Canada community-building fund with $27.8 billion over 10 years. There are investments of over $22 billion, including $6 billion for regionally significant projects and $17 billion for a provincial and territorial stream…
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Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank my colleague from New Brunswick for his speech. I am sure he cares as much as I do about economic development in our beautiful province. New Brunswick has 21 of the 34 minerals that Canada has identified as critical. Budget 2025 provides for a $2-billion investment over five years to set up the critical minerals infrastructure fund, which will make it possible to…
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Mr. Speaker, like me, my colleague represents one of the ridings with the highest proportion of francophones outside Quebec. As she mentioned, our budget includes a number of interesting measures, including ambitious immigration targets that could put the demographic weight of francophone communities back on a path to growth. It also includes support for arts and culture and increased funding for …
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Mr. Speaker, coastal communities across Canada see the impact of pollution and the dangers of wrecked and abandoned vessels all too often. The legislation would have a positive impact from my coast in Atlantic Canada to his on the west coast. I would like to know how coastal communities, especially in his province of British Columbia, have responded to the measures proposed in the bill.
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Mr. Speaker, a strong Canada means strong protections to keep our communities safe. Our new Liberal government is taking a rigorous approach to fighting crime, as evidenced by our many bills, our investments to support law enforcement and our Bill C-14. That legislation proposes more than 80 amendments to the Criminal Code to bring in tougher sentences and stricter bail conditions for repeat and v…
Read full speech →Private Members' Business
Mr. Speaker, first of all, I would like to congratulate my colleague for his excellent speech and most of all for the important project he is proposing to this House. Housing is a key issue for our government. It is an important issue for my own riding, Madawaska—Restigouche, as it is for many other ridings across the country. I would like to hear his view on how this bill would ensure that young …
Read full speech →Statements by Members
Mr. Speaker, last week, Réfam, a network of women entrepreneurs, managers and professionals in the Madawaska region, presented the prestigious 2025 women entrepreneur award to an inspiring mother-daughter duo: Nicole Deschênes and Josée Levesque, co-owners of Buffet Nicole et Josée. They founded their company in 2004 in Saint‑Joseph‑de‑Madawaska, and it quickly grew into a well-known catering serv…
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Mr. Speaker, since day one, our new government has been laser-focused on defending and diversifying Canadian trade. We have signed new agreements with countries like Ecuador and Indonesia. We have an ongoing dialogue with many of our international partners. I would like to ask my colleague why this work is important for strengthening the Canadian economy. I would like him to tell me how this will …
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