Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, it is astounding to hear Conservative members talk about the importance of taking care of children when the Leader of the Opposition says that supporting the Breakfast Club, La Cantine pour tous and elementary school teachers in my colleague's riding is nothing but bureaucracy. How can my Conservative colleagues from Quebec sit there while their Conservative leader insults the Breakfa…
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Mr. Speaker, it is Halloween, and the Conservative leader is an amazing magician. He told Radio‑Canada that the Canadian dental care plan does not exist. He made 800,000 seniors' Canadian dental care plan cards disappear in Quebec alone. He says it does not exist, so he cannot say why he is against the Canadian dental care plan when 20,000 seniors in the riding of our Conservative colleague from B…
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Mr. Speaker, my colleague knows full well that investigations are regularly carried out to ensure that things are being done properly at my colleague's department. However, something that my colleague has never said is whether he is in favour of the minimum target of 5% of all procurement contracts being awarded to first nations companies and business owners across the country.
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Mr. Speaker, my colleague is talking about affordable housing. Maybe he should take some time to look up the answer that was given barely a year ago to a question asked in the House. The Conservative leader, the member's own leader, built six affordable housing units across the entire country during his entire term in office. I would encourage him to ask his leader how he got these six affordable …
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Mr. Speaker, I would say that it takes both courage and heart. My colleague is quite right to highlight the difficulties facing many families, including in my own riding. That is why having a heart means supporting programs like the national school food program, which the opposition member is quite right to support. Why, then, do the Conservative members oppose the Breakfast Club of Canada and La …
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Mr. Speaker, once again, I am deeply disappointed in the questionable conflations being made in these matters by my esteemed colleague. The first important thing for everyone in the House to keep in mind, including the people listening to us, is that respect for the dignity and safety of children is everyone's responsibility. As far as jurisdiction over education is concerned, it is the Government…
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Mr. Speaker, with all due respect to my colleague, what he just said is revolting. The Prime Minister never said that. Yesterday, on several occasions, the Prime Minister said that it was unacceptable for children in Quebec to be treated in this way. He also said that it was the responsibility of the Quebec government to deal with this problem as it falls under their jurisdiction.
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Mr. Speaker, our colleague is talking about housing and incompetence. One, two, three, four, five, six: that is the number of affordable housing units that the Conservative leader built across Canada in his entire term as minister responsible for housing. He is looking for those six affordable housing units and he cannot find them. He is trying to figure out where else he can look. Can he appropri…
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Mr. Speaker, you also could have said it in French, because I am going to say something in French that my colleague has already heard several times in English. He knows perfectly well that the Auditor General is independent, that the RCMP is also independent, that both of those organizations are doing their job, and that we will always be there to help them do it.
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Mr. Speaker, what we just heard is an insult to all francophone members of the House, including the Conservative members opposite. If he wants to tell me that I do not have the right to answer a question in French in the House, he should rise and say it again.
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Mr. Speaker, I want to congratulate my colleague on asking his question in French. He could have asked it in English because in the House we are free to speak either of the two official languages. I would like to invite his colleague to apologize for asking me to answer his question in English.
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Mr. Speaker, my colleague from Louis‑Saint‑Laurent, whom I quite like, talks about ambition and numbers. He should be talking about the ambition and numbers of his Conservative leader. When he was minister responsible for housing, in his entire time in that role across the entire country he built not one, two, three, four or five, but six affordable housing units. He talks about ambition and a rec…
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Mr. Speaker, my colleague is absolutely right. This falls under the Government of Quebec's jurisdiction. Simply put, Quebec has jurisdiction over education. If my colleague wants to inform, guide or advise the Government of Quebec, he should not do so here in the House of Commons. He should do so in the National Assembly. I respectfully shared that recommendation with him yesterday.
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Mr. Speaker, once again, my colleague is entirely correct. Millions of Quebeckers, including newcomers, have the good fortune and privilege of learning French, integrating into Quebec, becoming a Quebecker, living up to being a Quebecker, growing up, living and flourishing in Quebec. The member is entirely correct. That is how things work in Quebec, and we are very proud of it.
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Mr. Speaker, my Bloc Québécois colleague, whom I hold in high regard, is trying to pick a fight. A lot of new Quebeckers come to Quebec partly because Quebec is part of Canada. A Quebecker is also a Canadian. Many newcomers in my riding say they are proud to be both Quebeckers and Canadians.
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Mr. Speaker, my colleague, the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Public Safety, has already provided a very good answer to that question. However, there is one question that we still do not have an answer for. A few moments ago, my colleague talked about children who are going hungry, but his riding is home to many organizations that are fighting to ensure that children go to school in th…
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Mr. Speaker, unfortunately, the Bloc Québécois sometimes confuses the responsibilities of the Government of Quebec with those of the Government of Canada. We are not responsible for education. Perhaps the Bloc Québécois wishes things were different, but education is not a federal government responsibility. My colleague might want to run for a seat in the Quebec National Assembly.
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Mr. Speaker, despite all my efforts, I find it difficult to answer a question about the Quebec government's areas of jurisdiction.
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Mr. Speaker, what a lucky coincidence that the Conservative leader is here today, because I am going to ask him to help me. We travelled all over the Quebec region, including my colleague's riding, to look for the six affordable housing units that the Conservative leader built across the country during his entire tenure, and we have yet to find them. Could he come to Quebec with me to look for the…
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Mr. Speaker, my colleague talked about desire. If he really has a desire to get mixed up in Quebec's jurisdictions, maybe he should run for a seat in the Quebec National Assembly during its next election.
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Mr. Speaker, perhaps my colleague is aware that the reason we can talk about supply management in Canada is that 50 years ago, it was a Liberal government that introduced supply management for farmers in Quebec and across Canada. The reason we are still talking about it now is that, during negotiations with President Trump, it was a Liberal government that defended the interests of farmers by defe…
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Mr. Speaker, my colleague, whom I hold in high esteem, mentioned the word “intolerable”. What is really intolerable is hearing the Conservative leader talk about the difficulties Quebeckers are facing and then announce that he is going to hurt them, punish them, by cutting the services and benefits they need, including the school food program. Would my colleague be willing to invite her Conservati…
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Mr. Speaker, this question has been answered a number of times already, but here is a question that has gone unanswered so far. Why does my colleague not invite the Conservative leader to talk to the 10,500 residents of his riding who received the new Canadian dental care plan card? Many thousands of them have already gone to the dentist, often for the first time in years. The Conservative leader,…
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Mr. Speaker, the real scandal would be to give in to pressure from Conservative politicians to turn our country into a banana republic. They are trying to confuse the work of the RCMP, which is independent. The RCMP commissioner told us and even wrote to us saying not to meddle in his affairs because it will make his investigations more difficult. However, Conservative politicians refuse to listen…
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Mr. Speaker, the member asks why. It is because we are not a banana republic. In Canada, politicians do not tell the RCMP what to do. Politicians have to listen to the RCMP. The RCMP has already spoken. It does not want those documents because of the risk it would run if it used them. In fact, its essential investigative work could be undermined if the banana republic politicians in the Conservati…
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Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank and congratulate my NDP colleague from Montreal, as well as all the other NDP members, for their support of the Canadian dental care plan. Together, we have made a huge difference, not least for Quebeckers. Some 800,000 Quebec seniors now have a Canadian dental care plan card, and 250,000 have been able to access affordable dental care, in some cases for the firs…
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Mr. Speaker, enough is enough, and 300 economists have said it. The rich pay more and middle-class Canadians pay less. Everyone gets the same rebate. The rich pay more than they receive. Middle-class Canadians receive more than they pay. It is that simple.
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Mr. Speaker, with all due respect, my colleague talks about being unable to get things done. If there is anyone who is unable to get anything done for farmers and producers in Quebec, it is the leader of the Bloc Québécois, because he chose to be unable and to talk about sovereignty and independence instead of dealing with the urgent problems we are facing today. The whole reason supply management…
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Mr. Speaker, my colleague is talking about responsibility. Here is what the RCMP commissioner has to say about responsibility: I would like to emphasize...that the RCMP is operationally independent and strictly adheres to the principle of police independence. In a free and democratic society, this ensures that the government [and the House] cannot direct or influence the actions of law enforcement…
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Mr. Speaker, let me be very clear. My colleague, the government House leader, has already clearly explained the situation. However, since the member is talking about the RCMP, I am going to read an important comment made by the RCMP commissioner, who said, and I quote: I would like to emphasize...that the RCMP is operationally independent and strictly adheres to the principle of police independenc…
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Mr. Speaker, our colleague is entirely right. That is why we have built tens of thousands of homes for indigenous Canadians and other Canadians in the last nine years. If we had built on the record of the Conservative leader, with six affordable apartments in his entire mandate, we would be a long way from what is needed for indigenous Canadians in 2024. In addition to that, as I said in French, t…
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Mr. Speaker, my answer is the same as the one that was just given. My colleague gave a great answer when she said not only that that we value supply management, but that it was a Liberal government and the Liberal Party that put it in place decades ago. We have always held the same positions, unlike some other members in the House. We defended supply management, including against President Trump, …
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Mr. Speaker, “ruthlessness” is indeed the Conservative policy for how to treat Quebec families, including in my colleague's riding. His Conservative leader thinks that helping families whose children go to school on an empty stomach in the morning and feeding them before school starts is bureaucracy. He said it is just bureaucracy. Would he like to invite his Conservative leader to explain to Mois…
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Mr. Speaker, our colleague is quite right to criticize the Conservatives' role in the fight for affordable housing. When he was minister responsible for housing across the country, the Conservative leader built six affordable housing units. My NDP colleague is also right to point out just how cynical the Conservative leader is. He says that helping seniors who live in low-income housing and co-ops…
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Mr. Speaker, my esteemed colleague talks a lot about struggling Canadians and Quebeckers. The Conservative leader's response is to punish them, to hurt them by cutting the benefits they need, including dental care for his constituents. Worse still, the Conservative leader wants to cancel a school food program to help children in elementary schools in his riding who go to school in the morning on a…
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Mr. Speaker, my colleague has already answered that question several times. The member spoke about secrets. One thing that should not be kept secret is that, in his riding, 11,900 seniors have received their membership card for the new Canadian dental care plan. Meanwhile, his leader is saying that he cannot tell us why he is against the Canadian dental care plan because it does not exist. How wil…
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Mr. Speaker, I already spoke a few moments ago about how the Liberal Party, the Liberal government, has always supported supply management to protect farmers in Quebec and across the country. We have demonstrated that support on many occasions, including during the difficult negotiations with President Trump. We stood our ground. We were insistent. We won out against President Trump and succeeded …
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Mr. Speaker, if there is one thing that has increased in recent years, it is the Canadian government's investment in affordable housing. Before the member's arrival in the House of Commons, her Conservative leader, the chief insult-hurler, created a total of six affordable housing units during his entire time in office. In contrast, in her riding alone, 305 affordable housing units have been built…
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Mr. Speaker, my colleague, whom I hold in high esteem, has been too generous to the Conservative Party leader. During his entire career as minister responsible for housing, he built six affordable housing units across the country. However, that does not stop the Conservative leader from telling Quebec municipalities they are incompetent even though they are building 8,000 affordable housing units.…
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Mr. Speaker, the Liberal Party has always supported supply management in Canada. It was actually a Liberal government that brought in supply management many years ago. We have always stood behind farmers. We also voted in favour of the bill on supply management. Senators know that they are independent, but they also know that they must do their job and carefully consider the House's point of view …
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Mr. Speaker, the Conservative leader was calling something bizarre. Let me tell him what is bizarre. So far, 2.4 million seniors in Canada have received their Canadian dental care plan card, including 800,000 in Quebec. Hundreds of thousands of people have already been able to receive affordable and accessible dental care, some of them for the first time in years. What is bizarre is that the Conse…
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Mr. Speaker, the Conservative leader mentioned picking fights. He is the one who insulted Quebec municipalities by calling them incompetent. Will he apologize for calling Quebec's municipalities and, indirectly, all their employees and the Government of Quebec, incompetent? Let us not forget that, during his term as minister responsible for housing, he built six affordable housing units.
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Mr. Speaker, you know that the Conservative leader built six affordable housing units during his entire tenure as minister responsible for housing. What is more, we searched for them all summer and could not find them. Then he added another layer, saying that building affordable housing, including for seniors, on federal property is a form of communism. The good news is that we are going to build …
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Mr. Speaker, that is an example of something that needs to be corrected. First, the volume of asylum claims from Mexico dropped by 75% in the span of a few months. Second, the number of asylum claims at Pierre Elliott Trudeau airport has dropped by 70% since February. Third, the number of asylum claims in Quebec has dropped by 42% since February. Fourth, the share of asylum seekers in Quebec compa…
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Mr. Speaker, the member is well aware that calling an election could result in the election of a government whose only policies right now involve insults, contempt and austerity. The Bloc Québécois will make its own choices. That being said, a few minutes ago, we were talking about carbon pricing. It is not hard to understand why eight out of 10 families get more back than they pay. The wealthy ar…
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Mr. Speaker, my colleague is asking the Bloc Québécois why it hesitates to support the Conservative Party. It is obvious. Most Quebeckers, at least those in my riding, dislike the Conservative Leader's insults, contempt and cuts approach to politics. They want none of it. My colleague, the member, will have to explain to the Bloc Québécois why it should join forces with a party that lets people tr…
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Mr. Speaker, immigration requires collaboration and co-operation. We live in Canada. We carry Canadian passports. Clearly, the Canadian government must play a collaborative role in immigration. The good news is that things are going well and getting better. We urge Mr. Legault to get his act together. He was too quick to speak out in the past few days, saying that no measures had been taken in rec…
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Mr. Speaker, one, two, three, four, five, six affordable housing units is what the Conservative leader built during his entire tenure as the minister responsible for housing. Even so, he calls Quebec's municipalities incompetent despite the fact that they are currently building 8,000 affordable housing units across Quebec under the historic agreement we signed. Quebec municipalities do not need le…
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Mr. Speaker, what is bad for Quebeckers, including young Quebeckers, are the insults, lies and austerity that the Conservative leader keeps promoting. That is what he does every day. He wants to make cuts, including cuts to housing investments that young Quebeckers need. Not only is the Conservative leader calling everyone, including Quebec's municipalities, incompetent, but he also wants to rip u…
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Mr. Speaker, the Conservative leader has a big problem. He claims to be among the world's leading economists on monetary policy, when he has not even read the beginning of the first chapter of an Economics 101 textbook on monetary policy. If he had, he would know that, when it comes to preventing inflation and helping the central bank reduce interest rates, one of the fundamental rules of monetary…
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