Government Orders
Madam Speaker, some members seem to be forgetting that in addition to the sensitive issues that will be sent to an expert panel and a committee in the next 30 days for review, Bill C-7 contains a number of other improvements. The bill enables terminally ill patients to give final consent right away without waiting 10 days. It also makes it possible to respond to the situation of people like Ms. Ca…
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Madam Speaker, one of the more interesting aspects of the government's motion in response to the Senate amendments is the creation of an independent panel of experts to regulate the issue of expanding medical assistance in dying to mental illness as the sole underlying condition—something the Bloc Québécois is far from convinced it is a good idea—as well as the creation of a joint committee to dis…
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Madam Speaker, when you recognize me, the interpretation stops because you are speaking French, so the sound cuts out and I do not hear you call on me. That is why there is a delay. When I do not hear anything, I assume you are recognizing me. That is what I will do next time, and if it is not my turn to speak, just let me know.
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Madam Speaker, our maple syrup producers had to close their sugar shacks last spring. This year, they have found creative ways to operate, but they do not have access to the Canada emergency wage subsidy. Does my esteemed colleague not feel a little embarrassed that his party received at least $850,000 from this wage subsidy program when maple syrup producers cannot access it? Will he put pressure…
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Madam Speaker, my distinguished colleague said his government was there for the people. Why was his government not there for Émilie Sansfaçon? Why does my colleague think that giving people with a serious illness 50 weeks of EI sickness benefits is unreasonable? Why does he not think that would be the most compassionate thing to do? What would it take to convince him?
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Madam Speaker, before I begin my speech on Bill C-19, I want to take a moment on this March 8 to commend my colleagues from all parties and thank them for their commitment to advancing equality, equity and parity. The Bloc Québécois supports the bill in principle. We cannot be against apple pie and against adjusting the provisions in the bill in order to comply with the public health guidelines of…
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Madam Speaker, that is what I was alluding to when I said that we need to make it easier for people to exercise the right to vote while maintaining the integrity of the vote. However, I take comfort in knowing that these measures are valid only during the pandemic. I do not believe that mail-in ballots should become a permanent measure. The vote is secret and we need to continue to preserve the so…
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That is a very good question, Madam Speaker. That is the main reason why I think that the committee members should review the rules and ensure that the cut-off for mail-in ballots is the day before the three-day polling period, or the Friday. The person cannot go and vote as soon as they request a mail-in ballot. If it is clear that the vote was not received by the Friday, then the person would ha…
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Madam Speaker, anyone who gets out there and talks to people or meets with them on Zoom knows that nobody wants an election because people have other things on their minds. Still, it is up to the government to make that call. Actually, I do not understand why the voting process and counting the votes are the only issues dealt with here. Why was the issue of allowing candidates to collect electroni…
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Madam Speaker, it would be hard to ascribe motive at this point. I think we should start by voting for the principle of the bill to adapt to the context of the pandemic and then clarify the intentions of the bill and improve it clause by clause in committee. If it is indicated in the bill that these provisions are temporary, then they will obviously disappear from the Canada Elections Act with no …
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Madam Speaker, I am not sure my colleague asked a question, but it is 100% clear that any person who might have trouble getting to the polling station will have the opportunity to vote during the four advance polling days, which also happen on weekdays. Also, anyone who expects to encounter any difficulty can vote any day. I think all the bases have been covered to ensure a prudent approach and to…
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Madam Speaker, Mr. Foley filed a court action and he can exercise his rights. If someone in the health system is proven to have done harm, the necessary sanctions must be imposed. If, in the health system, someone does harm rather than doing good, let us show them the door. I do not believe that there is an organized group of people who want to euthanize people en masse. People want to save lives …
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Madam Speaker, I do not want to keep members in suspense for too long. The Bloc Québécois will support the government's motion, and I will explain why. I would like to tell all my colleagues that we need to work across party lines on these sensitive issues and find a way to move forward. I remind my colleagues that Quebec's end-of-life legislation has often been cited as an example, not only becau…
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Madam Speaker, I believe that partisanship has no place in a debate such as this. We respect everyone's beliefs, but we must be rational. I do not understand my colleague. In a debate and a parliamentary process, there is a vote. This vote was held in December and the House decided to pass the bill. Today, the Senate is proposing amendments that would have a committee carry out an in-depth study o…
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Madam Speaker, I am not sure if the hon. member asked a specific question. Nonetheless, I would remind my colleague that Senator Petitclerc is the sponsor of the bill amended in the Senate that would make MAID available to everyone, including persons suffering from mental illness. I would also remind my colleague that the lawyer for Ms. Carter and Ms. Taylor was himself in a wheelchair and, during…
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Madam Speaker, I believe we must move forward. Bill C-7 already makes it possible to cover situations such as those of Ms. Gladu, Mr. Truchon and Ms. Parker. We can go further by trying to specifically address the delicate issues not resolved by Bill C-7. I know we can do it especially since we will be informed by a panel of independent experts that will also table its report and that we will be a…
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Madam Speaker, with respect to the part of the motion that is about including the issue of people with disabilities and related safeguards, I think my colleagues on the committee will be able to discuss measures that should be taken to reassure everyone. However, first and foremost, we have to acknowledge that health care providers are well-meaning and caring. None of this makes sense if we believ…
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Madam Speaker, without presuming what the committee will find, I think that advance requests for neurocognitive diseases will be possible, but we will also be able to make some technical amendments to the existing law to make it fairer. That is what I would say, since Bill C-7 was a closed bill that could not be used to make amendments to Bill C-14. We can now look at this issue and see how the la…
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Mr. Speaker, the Conservatives talk about affirming human dignity. However, this affirmation is embodied in treating people as an end, never as a means. This is about affirming patients' capacity for self-determination and freedom of choice. Individuals are the sole masters of their own destinies. The Conservatives are making sweeping generalizations and imputing motives by victimizing and targeti…
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Madam Speaker, I am a little surprised that my NDP and Conservative colleagues hold the same view about the outcome of a debate that has not yet happened. It would seem that my colleagues are not used to doing the work before a ruling is handed down by the court, and that they would prefer a ruling that will dictate what we should think instead of defining what is right and what is best for everyo…
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Madam Speaker, I have heard my colleague make many interventions on this issue. He took part in the clause-by-clause review of the bill and he is very eloquent. However, the Conservatives voted against the former Bill C-14. According to my colleague, this bill contained an unbelievable safeguard, but Justice Baudoin declared it unconstitutional. The Conservatives also voted against the current Bil…
Read full speech →Private Members' Business
Mr. Speaker, Bill C-213 builds on the Canada Health Act to establish a universal, comprehensive, single-payer pharmacare program. The federal government would simply provide money to the provinces who would put in place a pharmacare program that meets the criteria it sets. The federal government can impose sanctions if it deems that the province's pharmacare program does not meet the federal crite…
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Madam Speaker, I would like my colleague to explain the Conservatives' thinking on the unanimous demands with respect to health transfers. His party says that there will be predictable, stable transfers. When the Conservatives cut health transfers from 6% to 3%, they were predictable and stable, but we have seen the disaster that chronic underfunding of health care has caused. What does “stable” a…
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Madam Speaker, would my colleague do the honourable thing and consider that, with regard to the disastrous impact of the pandemic being linked to the fact that health care has been underfunded for years, his government's cuts from 6% to 3% when it was in power were inappropriate? The Prime Minister of Canada says that he will deal with health transfers after the pandemic. Does my colleague believe…
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Madam Speaker, I want to commend my colleague on her very good speech. We appreciate the determination, devotion and passion that fuel her commitment to the well-being of seniors. The pandemic has exposed the effects of the chronic underfunding of health care. Let us not forget that the Conservatives reduced the escalator from 6% to 3%, which did not cover the cost of the health care systems. The …
Read full speech →Statements By Members
Mr. Speaker, today is Bell Let's Talk Day, which is the perfect opportunity to talk about mental health. This is especially important now, because beyond the COVID-19 pandemic lies another crisis. Our mental health is deteriorating as we nobly and honourably make sacrifices to save lives. There is no shame in speaking out about feeling overwhelmed by stress, stifled by anxiety or trapped by depres…
Read full speech →Emergency Debate
Mr. Speaker, my esteemed colleague knows very well that we are about to undertake a study on vaccines at the initiative of my Conservative colleagues. We will begin that study as of Monday. I would imagine that, in addition to hearing from the ministers concerned, we will be able to get some answers to the questions that I am asking this evening at those four meetings, so yes, the Standing Committ…
Read full speech →Emergency Debate
Mr. Speaker, I will be sharing my time with my colleague from Beauport—Limoilou. We did not need to cite many reasons, Mr. Speaker, to convince you of the urgency of this debate, and rightly so. There is a total lack of transparency with respect to the vaccination schedule and the contracts. The key words in my speech this evening are “the urgent need for action” and “transparency”. To date, the v…
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Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for the question and I thank him for raising the fact that the people at Medicago in Quebec are offering a promising solution that could result in local production. It is not as though they were favoured or encouraged from the start. They had to work very hard to keep their head above water and get to where they are today. As others mentioned earlier, governments …
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Madam Speaker, to say that my colleague is not leading by example would be an understatement. I think he could have left out the analogy he used at the beginning of his speech involving the events at the U.S. Capitol. That being said, neither the opposition parties nor I know what the government knows, or why it is so optimistic. Tonight's debate has only highlighted the government's lack of trans…
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I am surprised by the question, Mr. Speaker. This is a global pandemic and, at the beginning of the first wave, the Standing Committee on Health was told that it was important, with programs like COVAX, to be able to vaccinate the entire planet and that everyone should have fair access. There is absolutely no doubt in my mind that front-line workers in our country are entitled to it. We must also …
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Madam Speaker, my esteemed colleague, the Parliamentary Secretary to the Leader of the Government, spoke about a partisan attitude and misinformation. I want to point out that earlier, his colleague compared Canada's performance to New Zealand's, saying that New Zealand had yet to start vaccinating. However, vaccination is not an issue there, since their measures are working quite well. New Zealan…
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