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Absolutely, Madam Speaker. More co-operation and consultation are needed. That is why the first thing that the government should have done when negotiating its agreement was to go and see the people of British Columbia to tell them what it was doing. Unfortunately, the government did not do that. The government negotiated behind British Columbia's back regarding infrastructure that may pass throug…
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Mr. Speaker, Radio-Canada is reporting that the “no” side is getting organized. Indeed, the Liberals are wondering how to handle a potential third referendum. I have some ideas for them. They can start by not doing the following: betraying Quebeckers by abandoning climate action, threatening a province with pipelines, dismissing all of Quebec's demands in the budget and turning the Quebec Liberal …
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Madam Speaker, I listened carefully to my colleague, who spoke at length about the government's mismanagement, especially when it comes to softwood lumber. However, there is a proposal that has been going around for some time that would give the forestry sector some much-needed relief. It would involve buying back up to 50% of the countervailing and anti-dumping duties at the end of each month. Ho…
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Mr. Speaker, that is not very generous, but it will be enough. I would like to congratulate my colleague from Brome—Missisquoi on his motion. When it comes to the environment and protecting biodiversity, every little bit counts. It is essential. However, I only have two minutes to point out the irony of the situation. Last week, the former environment minister stepped down. This minister, who I be…
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Madam Speaker, in her speech, my colleague talked about the government's frivolous budget spending at a time when Canadians are paying a lot more for food and other consumer goods because of inflation. One of those frivolous expenses is the carbon capture, utilization and storage investment tax credit. Alberta's major oil companies made record profits from 2022 to 2024, and 60% of those profits we…
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Mr. Speaker, I asked my colleague from Sarnia—Lambton—Bkejwanong a question earlier about carbon capture and storage and the outrageous amounts of tax credits that will be handed out to the greedy oil industry in the budget. She told me that she was personally against that. I wonder if that is the official position of my Conservative colleagues. I respectfully submit the following question to my c…
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Mr. Speaker, he is calling oil a renewable energy source. Quebeckers did not vote for a climate betrayal. Many of them even voted Liberal out of fear of the Conservatives. Today, the Liberals are betraying them with a conservative oil deal with Alberta. Quebeckers elected 44 Liberal MPs and got betrayed. Alberta elected two, and all its wildest oil dreams are coming true. What is the point of elec…
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Mr. Speaker, in his speech, my colleague talked a bit about the forestry industry. We saw the Prime Minister's announcement today. Unfortunately, although there is a program that provides liquidity support, it is struggling to get up and running. People in the forestry sector do not want more debt. What they want is a program that would allow the countervailing and anti-dumping duties to be bought…
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Madam Speaker, I assume there will be a committee study of Bill C‑15. The Bloc Québécois believes that it gives ministers far too much power. Now, there is a lot of hype in this bill. What I expect from the government is not to announce its intentions that will only have an impact 10, 15 or 20 years down the road. I expect it to do for the forestry industry what it is doing for the oil and gas ind…
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Madam Speaker, that is an interesting question. We have been getting ripped off since 2017. The American government uses every trick in the book to avoid the outcomes of the rulings from trade tribunals. No one in the Canadian government has the courage to stand up to it. That is what is disappointing. I would really like to see this change in the future.
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Madam Speaker, I congratulate my colleague on his bill and his very interesting speech, and I am pleased to know that he is willing to work together to improve his bill. I know that one aspect was particularly important to my colleague from Lac-Saint-Jean, namely the fact that the bill introduces the concept of transnational repression. The Bloc Québécois had been calling for this. However, we do …
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Madam Speaker, the first part of my colleague's question had to do with the death of one of his constituents. I offer my sympathies even though I do not know what this has to do with my speech. For the rest, I will simply say that I was criticizing the government, but I can also criticize the leader of the official opposition. In his speech yesterday, the leader of the official opposition was unwi…
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Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to rise this evening to speak to Bill C-15. This bill is part of the government's efforts to respond to the current tariff crisis with the Americans. I would say that it is a very weak, very lukewarm response. The negotiations with the Americans are currently on hold, and I do not believe anything in the budget will help meet the needs of Quebec. I do not think that it wi…
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Mr. Speaker, I understand my colleague's concerns about safety. However, there is an aspect of the government's bill that is also concerning, and that is the hidden expansion, so to speak, of Bill C‑5. On page 300 of this bill, part 2 is entitled “Exemptions to encourage innovation, competitiveness or economic growth”. These exemptions give the government broad powers, similar to those set out in …
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Mr. Speaker, I listened to my colleague's glowing speech on the budget, and I understand why it was so glowing, because she is in government, but she should also be somewhat concerned. As a member from British Columbia, she will see her Prime Minister announce a pipeline from Alberta on Thursday without the consent of Premier Eby, and even in the face of a lot of harsh criticism. What we see in th…
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Madam Chair, I will manage to finish this debate, I promise. I do not share the enthusiasm of my colleague from Trois-Rivières and my friend the parliamentary secretary. As for the announcements made on August 5 regarding the $700 million in access to liquidity and the $500 million earmarked for improving production chains, unfortunately I am hearing on the ground that the $700 million will be use…
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Madam Chair, I completely forgot to say that I would be sharing my time. I may speak again a little later. I will just quickly respond to my colleague. I do not know how that can be arranged. There are already predatory hedge funds that are buying up between 30% and 70% of certain companies' countervailing duties. These hedge funds buy countervailing duties as though they were financial products, …
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Mr. Chair, I will do the same thing to my colleague as I have been doing all evening. I am going to ask him a very simple question. The proposal that is currently circulating, and what people in the forestry sector are asking the House to do, is to set up a program that would buy back 50% of the countervailing duties. Unfortunately, when I asked the Leader of the Opposition about this tonight, he …
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Mr. Speaker, it is all well and good for the Liberals to brag about Canada's credit rating, but they also need to listen to what the experts are saying. Last week, the Parliamentary Budget Officer indicated that too many of the expenditures in the budget are being labelled or categorized as investments. My colleague from Mirabel has repeatedly spoken out about this creative accounting on the part …
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Madam Chair, to be very clear, there is a proposal that has been under consideration for a long time, which is that the government could buy back the entire $11 billion that is tied up in the United States. That is a massive sum. What we are presenting today is not that. At the end of each month, the government would buy back 50% of the countervailing and anti-dumping duties levied on every transa…
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Madam Chair, in everything I have heard the government say about the trade dispute with the United States, it keeps saying time and again that it is looking for an agreement on steel, aluminum and energy. It is important to understand the sectors involved. Aluminum is produced in Quebec. I know that aluminum processors are struggling, but primary aluminum producers are able to pass on the tariffs.…
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Mr. Chair, my colleague is always an ally when it comes to the forestry sector. We have seen many initiatives here before, including a bill on the use of wood. Unfortunately, even though this bill was passed, it has no teeth since it is not binding. The government is being advised to use wood as though it has never been advised to use it before. I find that a little odd. Does my colleague agree th…
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Madam Chair, initially, I was not supposed to share my time. I was supposed to speak for 10 minutes, but I was cut off after 5 minutes. The mistake was not ours.
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Madam Chair, people in the forestry industry are not interested in listening to nasty remarks and verbal game playing tonight. People in the forestry sector are not interested in hearing about who cares about the situation and who does not. They want to hear that people are ready to commit and that they are considering the solutions that have been put in place. A proposal was made and it has been …
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Mr. Speaker, in his speech, my colleague spoke at length about inflation. The very high cost of energy is one of the causes of inflation. High energy costs are often caused by the huge profits that folks in the oil sector are making, not by carbon pricing. For example, from 2021 to 2024, they raked in a record-setting $131 billion. During that same period, those people, most of whom are connected …
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Mr. Speaker, I hope my question does not upset my colleague, because I do not want to be known as the loudmouth from Saguenay. I hope he will not be too offended. In the budget, there is a line that specifically mentions Pathways Plus, a carbon capture and sequestration project. The federal government is going to give the greedy oil and gas sector tax credits so that it can reduce the carbon footp…
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Madam Chair, there is a very simple principle: Quebec's elected officials should defend the interests of Quebec, and Ontario's elected officials should defend the interests of Ontario. This government's top priority right now is to build a pipeline and develop a carbon capture and sequestration strategy. The Liberals are all in agreement about that, but that does us absolutely no good in Quebec. T…
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Madam Chair, I talk to a lot of business owners and workers in the forestry sector, and they all agree that what they are going through is the perfect storm. It is important to explain the context so that people really understand what is happening in the forestry sector. Not that long ago, we experienced unprecedented forest fires that kept small forestry operations out of the forest even though t…
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Mr. Chair, I congratulate my colleague, the parliamentary secretary, on his speech. It is a pleasure to work with him. I know that he is a sensible, non-partisan guy. I also know that, at committee, he heard about the solution I mentioned earlier, which was proposed by Chantiers Chibougamau, Remabec, Domtar and union representatives. I would like to get a clear answer from my colleague this evenin…
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Mr. Chair, earlier this evening, in response to the Leader of the Opposition, I said that tonight we cannot settle for mere slogans. Saying “elbows up”, “who cares” or “we care” four times is not good enough for people in the forestry sector. A proposal is on the table. Unfortunately, no one in the Conservative Party has been able to tell us whether they support it or are not interested. No one wi…
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Mr. Chair, we are not content with empty slogans like “elbows up” and “who cares”. We need proposals. There is a proposal on the table. Unfortunately, my Conservative colleagues have not taken a position on it. This proposal calls for the government to buy back 50% of the countervailing and anti-dumping duties at the end of each month. Does my colleague agree?
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Madam Chair, this evening, we will have plenty of opportunity to demonstrate the government's incompetence. I just want to start with a little update, for the benefit of the parliamentary secretary. Usually, when we talk about a subject, we should try to understand it first. The issues for the forestry industry are the countervailing and anti-dumping duties. Tariffs are also an issue, and these ar…
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Mr. Speaker, here is the proof that this budget fails to meet the needs of Quebeckers. Yesterday, the same day that the budget was passed, the Arbec forestry company laid off nearly 100 workers in Amos. However, just three weeks ago industry representatives, including representatives from Arbec, were in Ottawa pleading for support. They were asking the federal government to advance them 50% of all…
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Mr. Speaker, I have been listening carefully to my Conservative colleagues' speeches today, and what I am hearing is actually quite surprising. I get the feeling that, rather than wanting to move this legislation forward, the Conservatives are trying to stir up discontent among the public by giving examples that, although deserving of discussion, should not be overblown. I do not know what their o…
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Mr. Speaker, I would like to issue the same warning that I gave my colleague earlier. This is a very serious matter. We must be careful not to undermine public confidence in our institutions. It seems to me that, since this morning, the Conservatives have been trying to stir up discontent among the public by saying that everything is broken, criminals are being set free and the system is not worki…
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Madam Speaker, I want to congratulate the leader of the official opposition on his speech. I hope he has impressed his troops. We want to keep it a minority government. The budget includes plenty of investments in fossil fuels. It is utterly silent on the energy transition. It includes massive investments in defence. It is a Conservative budget, as my colleague from Mirabel said, so much so that s…
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Mr. Speaker, my colleague was a member of the previous government. Like me, he saw the measures that I found insufficient, but that at least partially acknowledged the problem of climate change. He probably noted, as I did, that carbon pricing was in the previous budgets. He probably noted, as I did, that there was an emissions cap. Now I am wondering how he interprets this budget, which completel…
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Madam Speaker, what the parliamentary secretary to the government House leader is not saying is that the government took amendments that were duly adopted in committee meetings and threw them out. Right now, my colleague is talking about the government's majority in the House. That is one thing. However, committees serve a purpose. Otherwise, we would not have them. We would vote on bills here in …
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Mr. Speaker, I rise on a point of order. I am sure that my colleague will share his time if he is asked.
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Mr. Speaker, while I may have some disagreements with my colleague, I cannot help but agree—for the most part, of course—with what she said in her presentation on national identity. In Quebec, the issue of collective identity is critical. A cornerstone of Quebec's collective identity includes the idea of secularism. How can we integrate migrants if we do not have a collective identity? It is absol…
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Mr. Speaker, in the introduction to his speech, my colleague did a great job of explaining a major problem facing the federation, which is the fact that people try to smear Quebec's reputation whenever there is talk of immigration. The same thing happens when there is talk of secularism. Looking back, the same issue came up when Bill 101 was passed. However, today, not a single elected official wo…
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Madam Speaker, I appreciate my Liberal colleague's lyrical flight of fancy, but there is still one niggling question. What about integration? Migrants need to integrate into the host society. Even in his speech, he sort of proved our Conservative colleague right when he said that Canadian society is not actually founded on any strong symbols of identity. Language is the strongest symbol of identit…
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Mr. Speaker, it looks like the Liberals have been had too. Apparently they believed the Prime Minister when he said there would be a deal with the Americans by July and then said there would be one this fall. There is no deal, and it is now clear that the Liberal Party will not be saving anyone. This is a rude awakening. It hurts, but they need to understand that our economy is in urgent need of p…
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Mr. Speaker, I listened carefully to my colleague earlier. He was talking about the ideology of the Liberals, who have unleashed fear in our streets. Those are my colleague's words. I think we need to be careful with ideology. If we engage in alarmist rhetoric, we could needlessly elicit fear in people and end up with laws ill-suited to the public's needs. Sometimes I get the impression that my Co…
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Mr. Speaker, I have been listening to my Conservative colleagues since earlier this evening. I know that they are well aware that there is a separation between the legislative and judicial branches, but they seem to be questioning the judges' ability to use discretion with regard to pre-trial custody. I would like to hear my colleague's comments on that. Does he agree that a judge is able to deter…
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Mr. Speaker, yesterday, our forestry industry and its workers came to Parliament Hill to demand that Ottawa support them at long last in dealing with the Americans. They are calling on the federal government to advance them 50% of any future countervailing duties that have to be paid. This is a no-cost measure, considering that the U.S. tariffs are illegal and that our producers will eventually be…
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Mr. Speaker, my colleague really hammered on the notion of feeling safe, and I get the impression that by using random examples and saying that people released on bail commit other crimes, it may be we politicians, myself excluded, who are somehow exacerbating this feeling people have of being unsafe. New media may also be making it easier to access this very specific type of case. I would like to…
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Mr. Speaker, the forestry industry, forestry workers and municipalities were on Parliament Hill this morning. Representatives from Chantiers Chibougamau, Domtar, Arbec, the Association québécoise des entrepreneurs forestiers, Unifor, the reeve of the Antoine-Labelle RCM, and the mayor of Ferme-Neuve are all here to demand that Ottawa advance them 50% of the countervailing duties that will have to …
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Mr. Speaker, if Donald Trump follows through with his threat to increase tariffs by 10%, Quebec's forestry industry will be hit harder than any other industry in Canada, and yet Ottawa is doing nothing. The financial assistance it promised back in August has yet to be released. Our workers are still not protected through any wage subsidies, and our businesses are still paying billions of dollars i…
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Mr. Speaker, that is a bit rich. The Parliamentary Secretary to the Leader of the Government in the House of Commons told us that no one could have done better than the Prime Minister in the negotiations with the United States. At the moment, there is absolutely nothing on the table. During the election campaign, the Prime Minister said that he was better than sliced bread and that he would solve …
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