Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, from what I understand, my colleague from Lac-Saint-Louis is telling us that the notwithstanding clause is legal, that we are aware that it can be used, but that the pre-emptive use of the notwithstanding clause is problematic. I would like my colleague to tell us about the comments and concerns he is hearing from his constituents in Lac-Saint-Louis so that we can justify our comments…
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Madam Speaker, I rise on a point of order. The member's question is completely unrelated to the debate at hand.
Read full speech →Government Orders
Madam Speaker, further to my Conservative colleague’s question and given that this is the second question that the Liberal government can ask, I wonder if the Bloc knows why the Conservatives do not want to get involved in this debate. I note that the Conservatives have not yet taken a position on the Bloc motion before us today. Perhaps my colleague can enlighten us.
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Madam Speaker, my colleague said that this was not his Constitution. However, the Bloc Québécois is currently defending section 33 of that same Constitution, the same Constitution that guarantees the Bloc's right to participate in this Parliament and the same Constitution that enables my colleagues to hold this debate today. What other sections of this Constitution that is not his would he like to…
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Madam Speaker, my colleague took liberties in quoting me completely incorrectly. I would be happy to share my speech with her. She should not quote other members of the House if she does not have the correct information. She keeps repeating that this Constitution was not signed by Quebec. That is a fact. That is true. Why are the Bloc Québécois and the member defending tooth and nail section 33 of…
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Madam Speaker, it is true that the global economic situation is very unstable right now. That is why we need to be there to support Canadians and Quebeckers. I do not understand how my colleague can claim to have compassion for Canadians who are struggling to make ends meet while voting against measures that will help them. We will always be there to support Canadians.
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Madam Speaker, I understand why the Conservatives are having a hard time connecting with Quebeckers. It is because their economic policy is all about austerity and cuts. On this side of the House, we have implemented several measures to support Canadians and Quebeckers. We have increased benefits for our seniors. We introduced a new benefit to help families pay rent. We introduced our dental subsi…
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Madam Speaker, my colleague has pointed out an extremely important problem that exists in Montreal, Quebec and across the country. I would like to understand one thing. If my colleague is concerned about violence linked to firearms, why do the Conservatives systematically block measures that would make it easier to control firearms in Canada? Our government introduced Bill C‑21 to put a stop to ha…
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Madam Speaker, I am pleased to answer a second question about gun violence. I am surprised that the Conservatives are asking this question. The rates of violence against women and children have been on the rise for many years. Why are the Conservatives against better gun control measures in this country?
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Mr. Speaker, we all share my colleague's concern for vulnerable Canadians who need a little help making ends meet. What I do not understand is why the Conservatives keep voting against measures that will help those Quebeckers and Canadians across the country. They voted against benefits for workers and against enhancing benefits for seniors. What is important is always being there for Canadians wh…
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
Mr. Speaker, Destination Canada has not paid nor provided any financial incentives to the Michelin guide or any individual or entity associated with the Michelin guide. We partnered with Destination Toronto to support the marketing and promotional activities that made bringing the guide to Toronto possible.
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Madam Speaker, nobody is believing this feigned compassion on behalf of the Conservatives. It is the government's policies that ensured that two million fewer Canadians are suffering from poverty in this country. It is the policies that we have we put in place that are helping Canadians make ends meet, whether it is the rental benefit that will become available in a few days' time, whether it is t…
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Madam Speaker, I understand that the Conservatives are still debating whether the climate crisis is real. I understand their economic policy can be summed up as cancelling the price on pollution. What I do not understand is that yesterday the Conservatives voted against a tax cut for small businesses. They voted against eliminating interest on student loans. We have been there for Canadians. We ha…
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Madam Speaker, the tax my colleague is referring to is the carbon tax, the price on pollution. Quebeckers agree that polluters must pay. I must clarify, however, that the price on pollution does not apply to Quebec. I would simply like to remind my colleague that we must be mindful of the facts. We must also ensure that the votes reflect the Conservatives' position. Yesterday, once again, the Cons…
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Madam Speaker, that is not fair. Yes, I made reference to the carbon tax because that is the only tax the Conservatives could be referring to. There is no federal tax on the price of food, and the member across the way knows it. The compassion my colleague seems to be displaying in the House today does not reflect reality, because yesterday, he voted against measures that are going to help Canadia…
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Madam Speaker, the policies and programs we put in place helped Canadians weather the storm of the pandemic, and that was incredibly important. We would do it again if we had to. I would like to point out that the investments we made in Canadians during the pandemic also resulted in our economy rebounding much more quickly and much more strongly than those of other countries around the world. We m…
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Madam Speaker, I am not sure who the Conservative member is referring to when he calls people “arsonists”, but clearly the facts and the numbers do not seem to matter to the Conservatives. If they bothered to look at the facts, they would see that we have the lowest deficit and the lowest debt of all G7 countries. They would also see that we continue to have a AAA credit rating, which means, and t…
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Mr. Speaker, I still do not understand how the Conservatives from Quebec can be against the actions our government is taking to deal with climate change. I understand that the Conservatives want to ignore climate change, but in an hour, we will be voting on Bill C‑32, which will lower taxes for our SMEs and our entrepreneurs. Why do the Conservatives systematically vote against tax cuts, including…
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Mr. Speaker, if the Conservatives bothered to look at the facts, they would see that we have the lowest deficit and the lowest debt among G7 countries. They would also see that the international community and investors have extraordinary confidence in the Canadian economy. Thanks to the decisions that our government has made, we still have a AAA credit rating. I would also note that were it not fo…
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Mr. Speaker, the Conservatives have heard us explain why it was important that we were there for Canadians. If we had to do it again, we would, because Canadians needed us and we were there in their time of need. What I do not understand is that in an hour's time, we will be voting on Bill C-32 and the Conservatives have consistently voted against the bill. The bill contains an important measure t…
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Mr. Speaker, it is because of the actions of the government and the measures that we have put in place that two million fewer Canadians are living in poverty today. In just a few days' time, Canadians will be able to apply for a new rental benefit. This is a direct payment that would help Canadians make ends meet, and this is targeted spending in order to help vulnerable Canadians. Experts have al…
Read full speech →Statements by Members
Mr. Speaker, on December 6, we will once again commemorate the Polytechnique massacre in Outremont. As I do every year, I will be on Mount Royal with the Prime Minister to pay tribute to the 14 women who were murdered in cold blood simply because they were women. However, it will be in an entirely different context this year, as our government has proposed a ban on assault weapons like the one use…
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Madam Speaker, I would like to correct the record. It is obvious to all Canadians that the world is going through a period of huge instability due to the war commenced by Russia and due to a global pandemic that we have just come out of. However, we are there for Canadians and continue to support them. We do not understand why the Conservatives are not. They voted against lowering taxes on middle-…
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Madam Speaker, let me begin by thanking my colleague from Richmond—Arthabaska for his hard work. I also want to commend the entrepreneur for promoting local, Canadian products. Our government has always supported small businesses. In our last budget, we once again lowered taxes for small and medium-sized businesses to 9%. That is one of the lowest tax rates in the world. For this question in parti…
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Madam Speaker, my colleague began his question by talking about the growing number of Canadians going to food banks, but oddly enough, he ended with the carbon tax and our price on pollution. Yes, we are here to help Canadians make ends meet. Less than 10 days ago, we invested an additional $400 million to help Canada's non-profit organizations. The policies we have put in place have helped lift 4…
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Madam Speaker, we put forward a responsible plan that will meet the needs of the vulnerable Canadians in this country, as well as ensure that we continue to be fiscally responsible. On the other side of this House, we have the Conservatives and the Conservative leader who are proposing no economic plan for our country. In fact, the only economic advice the Conservatives have proposed comes from th…
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Madam Speaker, I am always amazed to see members from Quebec rise in the House when they know very well that the price on pollution does not apply to Quebec. We have put forward a solid, responsible plan to help Canadians who are struggling to make ends meet, unlike the Conservatives, who have no plan. Their plan is to abandon our fight against the climate crisis and go after seniors' pensions.
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Madam Speaker, I have said it before and I will say it again: We have the lowest deficit and the lowest debt among all countries in the G7. However, of course, these are challenging times. We see that global inflation and global economic instability are affecting Canadians. That is why we have put forward a solid and responsible plan to help them. This morning, as I do every morning and as members…
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Mr. Speaker, I know that I am successfully countering the disinformation on the other side when they insult me. Today Canadian families are able to apply for the dental benefit. We will continue supporting vulnerable Canadians while ensuring that Canada maintains the lowest deficit and the lowest debt of all the G7 countries. We have been extremely fiscally responsible, and the AAA credit rating p…
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Mr. Speaker, we have shown that we are there for Canadians, particularly vulnerable Canadians. I would like to start off by saying that the Conservatives voted against a dental benefit that is becoming available to Canadian parents today. Today, Canadian parents can apply for $650 in support per child. There is also the Canada workers benefit, which is already benefiting Canadian workers across th…
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Mr. Speaker, we put forward a solid plan that meets the needs of vulnerable Canadians while being fiscally responsible. The Conservatives have no economic plan to offer Canadians. Excuse me. Let me rephrase that. Their plan involves going after the price on pollution, our seniors' pensions and employment insurance. It also involves encouraging Canadians to invest in cryptocurrency, when we know th…
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Mr. Speaker, we put forward a solid plan that will help vulnerable Canadians while being fiscally responsible. The Conservatives have no plan to offer Canadians—
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Mr. Speaker, we know that Canada has the lowest deficit and the lowest debt among G7 countries. Experts have said that we have been extremely fiscally responsible. That is reflected in the numbers. However, we have also been there to support Canadians, and today Canadian parents will be able to apply for the new dental benefit that is going to help 500,000 Canadian children under 12 in this countr…
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Mr. Speaker, we have put forward a responsible plan that is going to help vulnerable Canadians while ensuring that we maintain the lowest deficit and the lowest debt among G7 countries. Unlike the Conservative leader, who has proposed no economic plan for Canadians, we have put forward something solid. The Conservative plan can be summed up as abandoning our fight against climate change and advisi…
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Mr. Speaker, I have news for my colleague. Pollution pricing does not apply in Quebec. What is more, Quebeckers wholeheartedly agree that we must tackle climate change. I would also add that our government has a strong plan to address the economic instability we are all experiencing by ensuring a fiscally responsible approach to the debt and the deficit, which are the lowest in the G7.
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Mr. Speaker, I would like to remind the member opposite that Canadians, even if they are having a tough time, are seeing that, around the world, global economic instability is causing inflation to be much higher elsewhere. Higher inflation among our peers can be seen around the world. We are continuing to invest to support vulnerable Canadians. I would also like to remind the member that it was a …
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Madam Speaker, I acknowledge that it has taken some time. The member is referring to events that preceded my election in 2019, but I understand and appreciate that this is of utmost interest to, it sounds like, all of us in this House. Rather than focus on the time that has passed to get to this point, I hope we can focus on passing the bill now that it is before this chamber. It is at third readi…
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Madam Speaker, I was in the House when you ruled that it was inappropriate to discuss Bill C‑5 in the context of this debate. With all due respect to my colleague and his political party, I note that he is referring to a different piece of legislation. I, for one, would need more than 10 seconds to comment on the Indian Act. I am very aware of the importance of the issue raised by my colleague and…
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Madam Speaker, this is a very important point being raised by my colleague. In looking at this legislation and working with the whole of government on the importance of reconciliation, we rely very much, at least in the Liberal caucus, on the voices of indigenous members. I believe that the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Crown-Indigenous Relations was on his feet many times this mornin…
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Madam Speaker, I would like to acknowledge that Canada's Parliament is located on the traditional territory of the Algonquin Anishinabe people. It is a privilege to participate in the third reading debate on an act to provide for the establishment of a national council for reconciliation. I would like to acknowledge all of my colleagues in the House who have spoken so eloquently as to the importan…
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Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to be speaking to Bill S-4, an act to amend the Criminal Code and the Identification of Criminals Act and to make related amendments to other acts at second reading today. Bill S-4 would reform the Criminal Code and related acts in order to modernize the criminal justice system here in Canada. The bill seeks to provide courts with greater flexibility in the manner in whic…
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Mr. Speaker, I do not sit on the committee in which that debate took place. I would be happy to take cognizance of the evidence that was before the committee. Like any good lawyer, I will not opine on an issue without having all the facts before me. I certainly appreciate the member's work on the Emergencies Act committee and look forward to continuing the conversation with him.
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Mr. Speaker, I thank my hon. colleague for his question, but he obviously did not read Bill S‑4. That is not what we are debating in the House today. I would be happy to discuss that with him further. I understand very well the issue he raised. However, since it is not part of the bill we are discussing today, I think we should stick to the current topic of debate.
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Mr. Speaker, more needs to be done. I agree with my colleague. The question is whether the bill does enough. I think more could be done. As mentioned earlier, Bill S‑4 was introduced in the previous Parliament, and we are receiving it from the other place. I believe it will improve access to justice and ease the burden on judges, which is good. Is that the end of the story? The answer is no. More …
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Mr. Speaker, I will answer the question to the best of my ability. In my opinion, that election was important. It was a question that was put to Canadians, and Canadians went to the ballot. When Parliament is dissolved, there are always bills before the House that unfortunately do not get passed due to the fact that an election is called. The fact that this bill has returned in this session and co…
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
Mr. Speaker, Destination Canada does not typically measure the impacts of a specific public health measure.
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
Mr. Speaker, Canadians are facing rising costs and difficult decisions about how to afford the groceries they need or rent at the end of the month. These affordability challenges are driven in large part by the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on global supply chains and by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The Government of Canada has continued to introduce supports to help Canadians through this cos…
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Madam Speaker, we know that eight out of 10 families are receiving more money through the credit than what they pay as part of the price on pollution. I think the Conservatives did not read our economic update yesterday. In fact, we are helping more than 500,000 workers in Quebec with our new Canada workers benefit. That is $1,200 for every single, hard-working Canadian. Why do the Conservatives n…
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