Parliamentary Speeches
432 speeches by Maxime Blanchette-Joncas — Page 9 of 9
Orders of the Day
Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for his question. The Deputy Prime Minister said that the Emergencies Act would make it possible to freeze protesters' bank accounts or stop illegal funding. That is not true, however. The existing Proceeds of Crime (Money Laundering) and Terrorist Financing Act already provides for that. This act allows financial institutions to freeze funds that are either obtai…
Read full speech →Orders of the Day
Mr. Speaker, my colleague spoke about correct information, and I love information, but what I love most are laws. There are laws already in place that provide for blockades to be removed. The Emergencies Act will not magically allow for all blockades to be removed. Police forces already have the tools and skills to do so. The Bloc Québécois understands that a piece of legislation can be insufficie…
Read full speech →Orders of the Day
Mr. Speaker, we are all familiar with the saying “do as I say, not as I do”. That is what the Liberals are doing right now. It is important for them to have polls to back them up so they can justify resorting to the Emergencies Act. The member for Châteauguay—Lacolle said earlier that over 70% of Quebeckers support its use. However, she forgot to mention that only 347 people were surveyed for the …
Read full speech →Orders of the Day
Mr. Speaker, my take-away from my colleague from Timmins—James Bay's speech is that he supports the Emergencies Act because there is a national crisis. Oddly enough, some former NDP MPs disagree. I would like to quote two former MPs, Svend Robinson and Erin Weir, whose statements appeared in an article published on February 18 in the National Post. Svend Robinson stated that the NDP caucus in 1970…
Read full speech →Orders of the Day
Madam Speaker, I thank my colleague for his speech. I agree with him on a number of points. This morning, the Prime Minister said that there were several options and that the Emergencies Act was the last resort, but we did not hear about the first, second or third options. I have a question for my colleague. Does a government that is unable to keep the public safe in the context of these protests …
Read full speech →Statements By Members
Mr. Speaker, I am proud to rise today in honour of the 100th anniversary of Saint‑Narcisse‑de‑Rimouski. On February 13, 1922, a section of Haut‑Pays‑de‑la‑Neigette split from Sainte‑Blandine, giving rise to the municipality of Saint‑Narcisse‑de‑Rimouski. At the time, the first residents of Saint‑Narcisse‑de‑Rimouski were determined to live on and work the hinterland, clearing the land, working wit…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Madam Speaker, I am pleased to rise in the House today to speak about a subject that is very dear to my heart, namely, the living conditions of our seniors. I would also like to say that I will be sharing my time with the hon. member for Mirabel. Bill C-12, which is currently before us, seeks to amend the Old Age Security Act to exclude any pandemic relief benefits from the calculation of the guar…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Madam Speaker, I thank my colleague from Kings—Hants for his question. What is surprising is how the government was digging in its heels during the previous Parliament. It did not want to increase seniors' income. However, during the election campaign, the government saw the light and decided that it could use this opportunity to show some goodwill and increase the guaranteed income supplement for…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Madam Speaker, I thank my colleague from Calgary Shepard for his question. I think he would agree that the Bloc Québécois is not exactly a fan of gag orders. We do not understand why the government, which took a month to recall Parliament after that pointless election and then took another month to hand out mandate letters to its ministers, waited two months after Parliament resumed to introduce t…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Madam Speaker, I have been wondering the same thing for a long time. The only answer I can come up with is that there is a lack of will. The Liberals have a lack of will to help the most vulnerable, and seniors are the people who have been most affected from day one of the pandemic. It is incredible to hear government members claim that these are administrative errors that cannot be fully fixed be…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, I want to congratulate my colleague from Vancouver Kingsway on his speech. The Bloc Québécois agrees with several parts of his speech, including the issue of health care transfers, which should be dealt with immediately. The government must act now to come to an agreement with Quebec and the provinces. Everyone certainly is fed up right now. My colleague said it well during his speech…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, I want to start by congratulating my colleague from Calgary Midnapore on her excellent speech. I am pleased to hear that she enjoys painting, which I do as well. As we know, Quebec has produced some great painters, including Riopelle. All kidding aside, we in the Bloc Québécois agree with my colleague on one thing, and that is the lack of concrete proposals for solving the problems wi…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Madam Speaker, let me just say that, in times of crisis, many things can divide us. Of course, there is one thing that unites us, but that one thing does not appear in the economic update or in Bill C‑8: The premiers of the Canadian provinces and the Premier of Quebec are unanimous in their demand for higher health transfers. I heard my colleague when he said this bill will pave the way to the fut…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Madam Speaker, I thank my colleague from Windsor—Tecumseh for his speech. I am baffled by the Liberal Party's obsession with interfering in other governments' jurisdictions. I am, of course, referring to education here. The member for Kingston and the Islands said earlier that education is the jurisdiction of the Government of Quebec and the provinces. My colleague repeatedly mentioned that the Li…
Read full speech →Statements By Members
Mr. Speaker, I would like to tell the house about Serge Guay's invaluable contribution to the Site historique maritime de la Pointe‑au‑Père in Rimouski. Mr. Guay was at the helm of this lower St. Lawrence museum for 31 years. During that time, the site blossomed into the must-see attraction it is today, bringing in tens of thousands of visitors every year. Throughout his career, Mr. Guay was known…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, the Bloc Québécois really believes that there are distinctions to be made when it comes to mandatory minimum sentences. As my colleague stated, we believe that this is not the right time to abolish mandatory minimums for firearm offences, given the Liberal government's failure to respond to the catastrophes and tragedies that have taken place in recent weeks and months, particularly i…
Read full speech →Statements by Members
Mr. Speaker, last month, a chapter in the history of Saint‑Eugène-de-Ladrière came to a close, as a distinguished regional politician, Gilbert Pigeon, retired after 38 years of service on city council. A paragon of dedication and community service, Mr. Pigeon has had a most inspiring career. His accomplishments included being mayor of his municipality for 34 years, director of the Fédération québé…
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
Madam Speaker, I congratulate my eloquent colleague from Saint-Jean on her speech. I want to share something with the House. Something very rare is happening. All Canadian premiers agree on something: increased health transfers. One year ago today, on December 10, 2020, the Prime Minister met with the Premier of Quebec and all the provincial premiers to tell them he would be increasing health tran…
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
Madam Speaker, I thank my colleague from Carleton, and I commend him on his eloquent speech. It is always interesting to hear him talk about history. I want to tell him about a catastrophic historical event called the 1840 Act of Union. The Act of Union was pure depredation. It united Upper Canada and Lower Canada. At the time, Upper Canada had a debt of 1,200,000 pounds and could not even pay the…
Read full speech →Speech from the Throne
Madam Speaker, my colleague from Winnipeg North's frivolous speeches are always so fun to listen to. He said that Quebec made a good decision in 1997 when it set up its own child care network. That was 24 years ago. If this file is so important to the Liberal Party, why did it not take action sooner? The Liberals held the reins for 13 of those years, including as a majority government, but somehow…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague from Rosemont—La Petite-Patrie for his question. My colleague knows that the Bloc Québécois has a tradition of supporting workers' rights and that it is also a steadfast ally of unions. It is hard to explain why the government took so long to propose this bill. We can see that it wanted to put on a dog-and-pony show by making this election promise. Now it is bring…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Madam Speaker, I am pleased to resume my speech after that fast-paced question period. As I was saying, we have been trapped in the worst public health crisis of the past century for almost two years now, and our health care system is more vulnerable than ever, so we have to do whatever it takes to protect it. Our health care workers have been holding down the fort throughout this trying time, and…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, if this bill was so important to the government, why did the government not introduce it earlier, and why did it not bring Parliament back more quickly rather than waiting over 60 days? Yes, this bill is important because it is a step forward and provides protection for health care workers and support for those who do not have access to paid sick days. As I mentioned, no one can be ag…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Madam Speaker, before I get into my remarks, I would seek the unanimous consent of the House to share my time with the member for Rivière-des-Mille-Îles.
Read full speech →Government Orders
Madam Speaker, I rise today in the House to debate Bill C-3, an act to amend the Criminal Code and the Canada Labour Code, with my esteemed colleagues. I would first like to share something with you. In all honesty, today I feel rather excited to again participate in a legislative debate. Indeed, this is the first time in this new Parliament that I have had the opportunity to actively participate …
Read full speech →Government Orders
Madam Speaker, it is always a pleasure to hear the eloquent speeches given by my colleague from Winnipeg North, who, in the midst of the pandemic, has reminded us of the importance of disinfecting our hands with Purell or another liquid sanitizer. To come back to a more serious subject, the Bloc Québécois believes that workers' rights are important and incontrovertible. However, this bill mainly p…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, I thank the member for Shefford for the question. As I mentioned earlier, it is impossible to explain the inexplicable. Currently, someone fighting an illness is entitled to less EI sickness benefits than someone who simply loses their job in the ordinary way. A person who loses their job is eligible for more than 15 weeks of benefits, and that is already enshrined in law. The Liberal…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Madam Chair, I listened carefully to my colleague from Don Valley West's speech, and I strongly disagree. He claims there was no failure of leadership, but there was. The United States said it was planning to double the duties long ago, in May. That was six months ago. What did the government do? It did not respond. Once again, we are in the same situation we have been experiencing year after year…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Chair, first I would like to congratulate my brilliant colleague from Saint-Hyacinthe—Bagot on his speech. The forestry industry is a major player in our region. It accounts for nearly 20% of the Lower St. Lawrence economy and nearly 40% of the region’s manufacturing jobs. History tends to repeat itself. My colleague put it very well. We have already seen this bad movie before. In 2006, the in…
Read full speech →Speech from the Throne
Madam Speaker, congratulations on your election as Deputy Speaker of the House. It is always a pleasure to watch you overseeing the debates here. My colleague from Hull—Aylmer expressed his support for everything having to do with diversity and inclusion. I would like his thoughts on another aspect of the matter, and that is the immigration of African francophones who are being rejected at a rate …
Read full speech →Speech from the Throne
Madam Speaker, first, allow me to congratulate you on your election. I heard the speech by my colleague from Kingston and the Islands, and I would like to tell him about a situation that concerns me. There is a very important word missing from the throne speech, and that is “science”. In the middle of a pandemic, the government did not see fit to include the word “science” in the speech. Canada is…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, first I want to congratulate you on your election. As I rise in the House for the first time in the 44th Parliament, I want to take this opportunity to sincerely thank my constituents in Rimouski-Neigette—Témiscouata—Les Basques from the bottom of my heart for putting their trust in me a second time. In the last Parliament I was the tourism critic for the Bloc Québécois. One word that…
Read full speech →