Government Orders
Madam Speaker, our leader recognizes the importance of French. He is prepared to apply bill 101 to federally regulated businesses. He also recognizes that the Official Languages Act needs to be modernized, and respecting jurisdictions is part of his values.
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Madam Speaker, I will be splitting my time with the member for Lanark—Frontenac—Kingston. Since the very beginning of what would become Canada, the French language has been a fundamental characteristic of our people. In 1534, when Jacques Cartier set foot on the shores of the St. Lawrence River, he did more than just discover a land unknown to Europeans, he marked the beginning of something wonder…
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Mr. Speaker, the Minister of Justice and the Prime Minister have defended their judicial appointment process for quite some time. However, the Minister of Justice himself said that the process did not take any partisan considerations into account. We now know that is not true. The “Liberalist” system added a filter that made the whole process biased and partisan. How can Canadians be expected to p…
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Mr. Speaker, the government is constantly using words such as “inclusive” and “transparent” to describe its judicial selection process. Those are nice words and all, but they in no way relate to this government. Judges are appointed solely on the basis of their contributions to the Liberal Party. Making changes to the selection process only after problems were brought to light is not transparency.…
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Mr. Speaker, the Liberal government says that diversity is a driver in the judicial selection process. Yesterday, the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Justice provided statistics to prove that there is diversity among the appointed judges. Diversity is important, but the “Liberalist” system does not help with political diversity. Why are the Liberals using diversity to hide their lies?
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Mr. Speaker, our justice system and its processes must be impartial, unbiased and, above all, non-partisan. However, the use of the “Liberalist” partisan tool in the appointment process is seriously troubling. According to the CBC, a former Liberal political aide said himself in 2019 that there was the potential for a scandal. For once, it seems that a Liberal was right. How can Canadians continue…
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Mr. Speaker, again, the Liberals only fix their mistakes once they have been exposed. With their partisan “Liberalist” tool, the government could promote judicial candidates who support the Liberal Party. The Minister of Justice said that he was the only one who made recommendations. We know that the Prime Minister's Office helped screen the candidates before they were presented to cabinet. Why di…
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Mr. Speaker, we are dealing with a number of challenges that lead to housing problems. We have to bring in fiscal incentives to increase the number of rental units on the market. Money laundering laws have to be strengthened, and the housing policy in general needs to be rewritten to increase the number of units available. Canadians need solutions. Why is the government not acting on any of these …
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
Madam Speaker, today I am pleased to present petition e-3254, which 672 people have signed. We know that Air Canada received hundreds of millions of dollars in assistance from the government; Air Canada is helping create jobs outside the country with taxpayers' money; and Air Canada laid off 20,000 employees in 2020. The petitioners are calling for the work to convert Boeing 767 aircraft from pass…
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Mr. Speaker, the housing situation in this country is catastrophic. Prices continue to climb beyond what Canadians can afford, especially in big cities. According to the Financial Post, 23,000 Montrealers are on the waiting list for social housing and many units sit in disrepair due to government budget constraints. Worse, half of Montreal's 21,000 social housing units are already substandard. Why…
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Mr. Speaker, the government's current policy is not doing enough to make more housing available. The first-time home buyer incentive is a failure, and foreign buyers are investing heavily in our real estate, driving prices up senselessly. The current approach is not working. When will the government start working on a new plan to solve these problems?
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Madam Speaker, we know that the unemployment rate keeps going up and that Canadians are starting to get discouraged and have given up looking for work. Canada is supposed to be a land of opportunity, but it is clear that Canadians are losing hope. We lost 68,000 jobs in May in addition to the 207 jobs lost in April. Will the government focus on Canadian workers and jobs, as promised?
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Madam Speaker, before the pandemic, the unemployment rate was below 6%. Now that we are in the economic recovery phase, we expect the rate to start going back to normal. However, the unemployment rate is trending in the opposite direction. According to Statistics Canada, it has gone from 8.1% to 8.2%. We are getting nowhere with the Liberal Party. In fact, we feel like we are constantly going back…
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Madam Speaker, Canadians need jobs. Workers have been dealing with instability and uncertainty throughout this pandemic. Rising house prices and the challenges of lockdown are just two of the reasons Canadians need stability. Today we learned that Canada shed 68,000 jobs in May alone. The Prime Minister had promised one million new jobs, however. Why does he make promises that he cannot keep?
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Mr. Speaker, our relationship with the Chinese Communist regime is strained right now, and the situation with the two Michaels plus the Uighur genocide are only making things worse. Our National Microbiology Laboratory is internationally recognized for its scientific excellence. Did the government ensure that no scientist with ties to the Communist regime or the Chinese People's Liberation Army is…
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Mr. Speaker, two scientists have already been fired after shipping samples of highly contagious pathogens to the Wuhan Institute of Virology in China, namely samples of the Ebola and Henipah viruses. This breach of security is extremely worrisome. Why is the government refusing to take action and why is it allowing the Chinese Communist regime to do as it pleases, without any consequences?
Read full speech →Statements by Members
Mr. Speaker, June 1 is recognized around the globe as World Milk Day. This is an important day for Canada and especially for Quebec. It is a day to acknowledge the significant contributions made by the dairy industry, such as providing healthy and nutritious food, as well as dairy farmers' responsible, sustainable and conscientious practices. Canadian milk is second to none. It is superior to its …
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Mr. Chair, it is an open secret that some Canadian companies do not want the issue of softwood lumber prices to be resolved because their multinationals operate on both sides of the border. Is the government supporting Canadians dealing with skyrocketing prices and our forestry SMEs and co-operatives, or is it supporting the multinationals that are getting to call the shots in the current situatio…
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Mr. Chair, Canada is in this situation because the Liberal trade minister was unable to stand up for Canada's dairy producers at the bilateral meeting with her counterpart in early May. Since this meeting, trade relations between Canada and the United States have only deteriorated, what with the announcement that the U.S. would be doubling softwood lumber tariffs and now this official dispute of C…
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Mr. Chair, the Biden administration has announced that it intends to challenge Canada's allocation of dairy tariff-rate quotas through the CUSMA dispute settlement mechanism. The United States says that Canada's trade policies prevent U.S. dairy producers from taking full advantage of CUSMA. Canadian exporters, importers and farmers cannot afford any more of the Liberal failures in managing Canada…
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Mr. Chair, trade representatives told the U.S. Senate that they wanted to settle the softwood lumber issue, but Canada was not interested. Is that true or false?
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Mr. Chair, my questions will be for the Minister of Foreign Affairs. We know that trade relations with our neighbours to the south have not been great since the Liberal government took office in 2015. Although the Liberals just signed a new free trade agreement with the U.S., the Americans are already threatening several important sectors of our economy. With the rising price of softwood lumber in…
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Madam Speaker, the Conservatives raised concerns about Switch Health in mid-April. The Prime Minister said he had asked his team to carefully look into what was happening with the contract and with that company. However, the government had already extended the contract, which is worth up to $180 million, before the Standing Committee on Health had a chance to look into the situation. Did the Prime…
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Madam Speaker, Switch Health is an English-only company. This has caused numerous problems for francophones, especially for farmers and business owners who have hired temporary foreign workers. None of the company's partner laboratories are located in Quebec, and tests performed in Quebec are generally sent to Ottawa to be analyzed. How can the government ignore the needs of francophones for such …
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Madam Speaker, the Prime Minister has repeatedly said that he is committed to transparency, but he keeps covering up his mistakes. Nearly 5,000 tests were not processed because the samples were improperly labelled. Now the Liberal government will not even show us the contract, once again citing national security as the excuse. Why does the Prime Minister refuse to accept responsibility for his mis…
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Mr. Speaker, the government's mistakes have already caused some disasters. First, it paid Tango Communications Marketing $80 million for faulty masks. Second, the cabinet knowingly sent the provinces expired medical supplies. Then, the Liberal government paid hundreds of millions of dollars to presumed friends of the party. Did the Liberal government take advantage of the urgency of the pandemic t…
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Mr. Speaker, the Liberals are playing a dangerous game. They even tried to hide their risky practices by asking agencies to focus only on promoting the government's success stories. The Auditor General reported that a number of suppliers received funds in advance. However, the Liberal government did not look into the financial situation of half of these suppliers. Why did the government gamble wit…
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Mr. Speaker, the government is still refusing to release the procurement contract documents requested by the Standing Committee on Health. So far it has provided us with less than 1% of the required documents. Meanwhile, those documents contain deeply troubling information about patronage, attempts to cover up shortages, and the general mismanagement of resources during one of the most critical ti…
Read full speech →Statements By Members
Madam Speaker, in December 2015, Quebec geologist André Gauthier was arrested in Dubai for reporting irregular transactions to the authorities of the United Arab Emirates. Detained by that country and separated from his family, he continued fighting to return home. When his family asked me for help in the spring of 2019, I immediately agreed even though I had just been in politics a short while. W…
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Mr. Speaker, the heritage minister himself confirmed that government regulations could apply to social media accounts with a large following. He even said that the CRTC, not the government, would be in charge of the regulation. I cannot believe that the content of Canadians who have a lot of followers and who have found success online will be subject to regulation. The Conservatives are proud of C…
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Mr. Speaker, first the minister said that the government's and CRTC's regulations in Bill C-10 would apply to people who have a lot of followers, earn money and could be considered influencers or broadcasters. The following day he said the opposite. I do not know whether the minister understands his own bill, but one thing is for sure. The bill is vague, confusing and unacceptable. Why is the Libe…
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Mr. Speaker, our Prime Minister clearly does not value the brave women who serve in our armed forces because he did not defend them. On the contrary, his government did nothing and allowed them to suffer. These women make so many sacrifices for us, but he is not prepared to sacrifice his image to protect them. When will he apologize to them?
Read full speech →Statements By Members
Mr. Speaker, 15 years ago, Quebec took a historic step that was celebrated this week by the National Assembly of Quebec, which voted to recognize the 15th anniversary of Quebec obtaining a seat at UNESCO, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization. Led by Stephen Harper in 2006, this project was and continues to be a major victory for Quebec. That should come as no surpri…
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Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister is supposed to be responsible for his cabinet. It is up to him to oversee what happens in government, and it is the job of ministers and the Prime Minister's Office to keep him informed of major events. I find it hard to understand how something as despicable as allegations of sexual assault could be ignored on his watch. Are we really supposed to believe that the P…
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Mr. Speaker, the Liberal government's attitude towards the women who serve our country is, quite simply, shameful. We saw it with the member for Vancouver Granville and the SNC-Lavalin scandal, and we can see it now with the cover-up over the allegations of sexual assault against General Vance. These are not isolated incidents. They show a pattern of behaviour and a culture that our so-called femi…
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Mr. Speaker, the government has no regard for the well-being of women in the Canadian Armed Forces. Not only did General Vance continue to serve for three years after allegations were made against him, but his replacement is also facing allegations of sexual misconduct. In the meantime, the women who suffered because of these men will have to live with the ramifications of these experiences for ma…
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Mr. Speaker, not only did the government take far too long to put out a budget, but it is also overestimating how much this budget will stimulate our economy. Its growth projections were twice as high as those independently calculated by the Parliamentary Budget Officer. Some of its employment projections were even eight times higher. As usual, the Liberals are posturing. What are they hiding from…
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Mr. Speaker, the Canadian Armed Forces are a world leader in terms of the proportion of women in service. The Liberal Party claims to be the party of feminism and diversity, but it continues to sweep scandals under the rug to protect its old boys' club. The Minister of National Defence failed to protect our women in service. There is a code of silence in this government. No one talks to each other…
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Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister's chief of staff is supposed to be the Prime Minister's right hand, the person who works behind the scenes to make everything run smoothly. She is the one taking the helm in a storm. That person works closely with the Prime Minister. The ombudsman confirmed that the chief of staff, Ms. Telford, was aware of the allegations against Mr. Vance. Either the Prime Ministe…
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Mr. Speaker, we do not expect much from the Liberal government, but we did expect it to deal with the important issue of sexual assault in the army. With yesterday's announcement, the Prime Minister was not trying to protect women in the army, he was try to protect his chief of staff. This situation is shameful and disgraceful. Will he let Katie Telford testify at the defence committee?
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Mr. Speaker, the press coverage this morning is unanimous. Yesterday's announcement is frustrating, cruel and disappointing right across the board. Do the Liberals really think people are that stupid? Not only did the Prime Minister do nothing for six years about sexual misconduct in the military, he protected his boys club. The Minister of Defence was aware of this, and so was the Prime Minister'…
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Mr. Speaker, yesterday's announcement from the Minister of National Defence regarding the problem of sexual assault in the military was nothing more than a smokescreen intended to distract Canadians. It has been six years since the tabling of the Deschamps report, which identified problems in the military. The fact is, this government has done nothing for six years. This self-proclaimed feminist P…
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Mr. Speaker, among other things, the Liberal Prime Minister could have done better when it comes to providing a stable, predictable supply of vaccines, enhancing border controls and procuring a sufficient number of rapid tests. Speaking of areas where he could have done better, there is also the budget. In the midst of a pandemic, he is refusing to give the provinces health care transfers with no …
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Mr. Speaker, many countries are beginning to reopen, but the exact opposite is happening in Canada. We are back in lockdown, there are curfews in effect and hospitals are overrun. We are in this situation because the government is having a hard time procuring vaccines. Only 3% of Canadians have received their second dose. Meanwhile, the Prime Minister is saying that he is not going to make any cha…
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Mr. Speaker, dock workers at the Port of Montreal have been without a contract since 2018. The government has allowed uncertainty to hang over this highly strategic port for more than two years. As I said last week, the Liberals are slow to make decisions, and they are slow to act. Instead of being proactive, they wait until the problem is too obvious to ignore. Now the dock workers have started a…
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Because of this situation, companies in Canada and around the world now consider the Port of Montreal to be so unreliable that they are taking their business to other North American seaports. We are basically a laughingstock. Quebec minister Pierre Fitzgibbon said this morning that the situation is critical for our businesses and that two strikes in one year is not acceptable. The other thing that…
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Madam Speaker, it took every effort to get the Prime Minister to close the border last night to countries with severe outbreaks of variants. It is unbelievable that it takes the government such a long time to make decisions. When it comes to public health, it is crucial not to take any risks. The Prime Minister has been exposing the public to serious risks from day one of his term. He is slow on v…
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Madam Speaker, it is difficult to understand why the Prime Minister was once again slow to act given the experience he gained in managing our borders during the first wave. He is not learning from his mistakes. It took pressure from the Conservatives, the provinces and the media for him to finally decide to close the borders and protect Canadians. The situation is deteriorating in other countries.…
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Mr. Speaker, the media headlines could not have been clearer than they were this morning. The Indian variant has arrived in Canada and the first case of it has been confirmed in Quebec in the region of the Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry. The Prime Minister has already been criticized many times for his management of the health crisis, particularly for waiting several weeks before tem…
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Mr. Speaker, our leader and member for Durham quickly called for the government to temporarily stop flights from countries with serious outbreaks of COVID variants. The Premier of Quebec also formally asked the Liberal Prime Minister to do more at our borders. We have been calling for these measures for a long time, but now it is too late. We already have a case of the Indian variant in Canada. Th…
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