Statements by Members
Madam Speaker, I am immensely honoured to acknowledge Marc‑André Fleury's 500th career win. From Sorel‑Tracy to the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League, from Pittsburgh to Las Vegas and now Chicago, Marc‑André has dominated his sport. This passionate athlete known by the nickname “Flower” is an extraordinarily talented goalie with quick reflexes. He is a gentle man who is always smiling and is well …
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Madam Speaker, my colleague from Mirabel kind of gave it away, but I would like to recognize the presence of my mother in the House. It is quite moving to be able to—
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Madam Speaker, I thank my colleague from Shefford for her eloquence. This shows how important it is to take action on this issue. It is truly appalling that the last strategy has sat on a shelf for three years. Of course, no one could have foreseen the COVID-19 crisis or the skyrocketing prices, especially for basic building materials. However, the government bears some responsibility in this. I w…
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Madam Speaker, in answer to my colleague from Winnipeg North, what I would have liked to vote in favour of is a throne speech that made access to social and affordable housing a priority. The government has a responsibility to take action on that file. The Bloc Québécois's approach is constructive. We put forward proposals, such as allocating 1% of the government's annual revenue to housing constr…
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Madam Speaker, I obviously agree. In that sense, I support the motion. However, we will have to take it further. At the time of colonization, and this was a defining moment in Abitibi, there was what we call the “plan Vautrin”. I am not saying that the federal government has to do this, but at some point, it has to give it some thought. We have to drastically speed up housing construction. If we w…
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Madam Speaker, I apologize. Instead, I will say that I thank a woman present in the House, who really inspired me, especially with respect to the issue of social housing. My mother was a source of political inspiration for me. When I was young, she participated in the bread and roses march. All these calls to action became part of my young activist DNA, and I salute her. The reality is that famili…
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Madam Speaker, it seems to me that there is currently a lack of leadership from the government on the Afghanistan issue. I would like my colleague to comment on that.
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Madam Speaker, as a result of this debate, my thoughts are also with our veterans and our troops who served in Afghanistan. Several years later, I find that the message being sent gives them the impression that their mission was futile. What message should we be sending these military members who, in many cases, sacrificed their lives or put their mental health at risk? How can we help them and en…
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Madam Speaker, it is a pleasure to see you in the chair. It is a nice surprise for me this afternoon. With respect to Afghanistan, there is one issue of particular concern to me, and that is what people think of the sacrifice that our veterans have made in going to the front lines, as well as the plight of the Afghans. We must ensure transparency, and it is a good idea to establish a committee to …
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Madam Speaker, I thank my hon. colleague for his excellent speech and for the inspired leadership he is providing in the situation we are dealing with in the House of Commons. I would like him to tell us what he thinks about the current geopolitical situation in Afghanistan and about the actions of the Americans, the Europeans and the various powers in the world so that we can see what lessons Can…
Read full speech →Speech from the Throne
Madam Speaker, I would like to congratulate you on your reappointment. I would also like to congratulate the member opposite on his re‑election. When I heard him talk about the labour shortage, I thought he was a Conservative member of Parliament who was sarcastically saying that there sure were nice measures in the Speech from the Throne concerning the labour shortage. I was wrong. He is a Libera…
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Mr. Speaker, I would like to follow up on the answer given by my Conservative colleague. What should be done under the circumstances? What is happening in the U.S. is scandalous and very worrisome. What solutions does the Conservative Party propose? After an election campaign and a throne speech as empty as the Liberals' campaign speeches, what are the Conservatives proposing?
Read full speech →Speech from the Throne
Mr. Speaker, I would like to draw a parallel between the management of Canada and the management of the Montreal Canadiens. The summer is normally a time to rest, but they both chose to play the game, and they both ultimately got very close to their goal but never reached it. Yesterday, the Montreal Canadiens management decided to do something and finally clean house. Is there still a parallel to …
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, the worst part is that the Prime Minister met with President Biden just last week. Apparently they talked about softwood lumber. Even worse than the Prime Minister's failure to convince Mr. Biden to eliminate the duty is the fact that Biden doubled it, and his first target is Quebec's forestry industry. Not only is the duty hike a threat to Quebec jobs, but it will also increase the c…
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Mr. Speaker, higher softwood lumber duties are bad enough for Canada, but they are even worse for Quebec. Our very own Resolute seems to be the Americans' primary target. It is senseless. Quebec's forestry industry adheres to the highest standards in Canada. We set our stumpage fees based on an auction just like the Americans, and that is precisely in response to their concerns. Is it possible tha…
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Mr. Speaker, congratulations on your appointment. I would also like to take a moment to thank the people of the riding of Abitibi—Témiscamingue for putting their trust in me once again. I am very honoured. I would also like to thank my wife, Émilie, and my children, Léon and Jules, for all the sacrifices they make so that I can represent the people of my riding. I also want to thank my team and th…
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When I think of my son and of Bill C‑12, I wonder: If one day he has the opportunity to sit in the House, will he be forced to participate in the same debates we are having today? How does the minister, who I believe also has children, see the future of this debate if the fiscal anchors are not mandatory? Are we not letting this opportunity slip by? What concrete steps should we be taking for the …
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Madam Speaker, I am pleased to hear from the parliamentary secretary that there is a fund for rural, remote and northern regions. The problem with federal funding is that it uses the same approach from coast to coast to coast, as they like to say. Every region has different needs, especially rural, remote and northern regions. Will this funding take a one-size-fits-all approach, or will it be at l…
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Madam Speaker, I enjoyed the historical part of the speech made by my colleague from Carleton, the part where he spoke about the value of currency under Henry IV, if I remember correctly. I see that my colleague has some appreciation for history. Sovereignists were teased a lot about the “Lévesque dollar”, which was supposedly worth 70 cents. However, in recent decades, there were times when we wo…
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Madam Speaker, I rise with some emotion and pride because my son, Léon, has just completed elementary school in Rouyn-Noranda. I would like to congratulate him, his classmates and the teaching staff at Sacré-Coeur school. I have a question for the—
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Madam Speaker, it is plain to see that the parliamentary secretary did not listen to the first part of my speech. I can forgive him to some extent because I gave it at 12:48 a.m. two days ago. I would say that one of the problems is that it took three years to get these agreements in place. The federal government really dragged its feet on transferring the money to Quebec. Why did the other provin…
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Madam Speaker, as I was saying, the facts show that Quebeckers cannot count on the federal government to take action against tax havens. There is nothing in budget 2021 to do away with them. Unfortunately, there are provisions in Bill C‑30 that make it even easier to use tax havens. The federal government is therefore still complicit in tax avoidance schemes, which makes Canada part of the problem…
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Madam Speaker, I would like to commend the member for Shefford for her commitment to seniors. One of the key things missing from this budget is help for seniors aged 65 to 74. It is fascinating that the government wants to create two classes of seniors. I just cannot understand it. How did the government determine that the needs of seniors aged 65 to 74 are not the same as those aged 75 and up? I …
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Madam Speaker, I thank my colleague from Hamilton Centre for his excellent question. That is indeed the crux of the matter, and that is why the Bloc Québécois voted against the budget. We are in the midst of a pandemic and the federal government has a responsibility to respect the agreements it has made in the past. Under normal circumstances, the costs associated with health care spending should …
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Mr. Speaker, thank you for your generosity with regard to my time. By the way, I would like to offer you my congratulations. I had the privilege of witnessing your speech yesterday. It was a great lesson in democracy. I was pleased to hear it. With Bill C-30, the federal government is demonstrating a flagrant lack of consideration for Quebec, its choices and the will of Quebeckers. I wish to remin…
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Mr. Speaker, I listened with interest to the speech by my colleague from La Pointe-de-l'Île. I understand there is an anglophone nation that took advantage of its majority status to interfere with another nation, the Quebec nation. In the end, it had an impact on our development. Just thinking out loud, would it not help Quebec's destiny, in terms of its development, if it were sovereign? I would …
Read full speech →Private Members' Business
Madam Speaker, I would like to begin this speech by paying tribute to a former mayor of Rouyn‑Noranda, Pierre Grandmaître. He passed away a few days ago, and his funeral will be held on June 20. Although he was mayor almost 25 years ago, we owe to Mr. Grandmaître what are possibly the best things that even today do Rouyn‑Noranda proud and make it such a great place to live. There is the arrival of…
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Mr. Speaker, meegwetch to the member for his testimony. In the context of the budget debate, one very alarming thing that we do not talk about enough in the House is the importance of affordable housing, social housing and housing full stop. We talked about it briefly this week. The need for housing for first nations is absolutely critical. Should this budget not have made more room for housing, i…
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Madam Speaker, we agree that we are in the midst of a pandemic and that that is Canadians' top priority, redundant as the phrase may be. If we had to choose a second priority, however, it might be housing, because there is a serious housing crisis. Today's debate has shown that this crisis exists in every region of Canada. That is especially true of my region of Abitibi—Témiscamingue and its urban…
Read full speech →Private Members' Business
Madam Speaker, it is a little ironic to be having a debate about tax havens right after talking about the housing shortage and how hard it is to get money for things like social housing. However, I will jump right in. As Radio-Canada's Gérald Fillion said, when it comes to tax havens, Canada is part of the problem, not the solution. Solutions do exist, however. My colleagues have been talking abou…
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Madam Speaker, we agree on the fact that the housing problem is very much one of supply and demand. One of the problems with the supply has to do with the fact that many homes are either being used for Airbnb or being bought and left empty by foreign speculators. If not for these new trends, we might be able to house every Quebecker and Canadian properly. It would also be more affordable. What tan…
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Madam Speaker, I have a question for my colleague, the parliamentary secretary. What does he think of the motion, which calls for the first-time home buyer incentive to be replaced? What is the problem with that program, and how can it be improved? More importantly, how can a first-time home buyer measure be put in place to ensure that young Canadians can also become homeowners?
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Mr. Speaker, I want to take a moment to congratulate you and pay tribute to you. You were probably one of the first people to say hello and welcome me to the House of Commons. I truly appreciated it and especially appreciated that you did so in French. Getting back to my colleague's speech, I want to congratulate her on her dedication. She always speaks with such conviction, and I think that this …
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Madam Speaker, I have a question for my colleague. It is also a special request from my friend Alexis Wawanoloath and his partner Myriam Dufresne-Manassé, who have a little girl named Sacha-8zali. In Alexis's language, Abenaki, 8zali means angel. Alexis wanted it written with an indigenous symbol, the number eight, which is pronounced as a nasalized “ohn”. Although this could be registered on her …
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Mr. Chair, I thank my colleague from Beloeil—Chambly for his moving speech, which attests to his sensitivity. Having met with indigenous communities in my region together with my colleague, I can say that he has a great deal of empathy. As he does not necessarily wish to speak about political actions, I will instead speak of a concept cherished by indigenous peoples, that of restorative justice. W…
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Madam Chair, I am sorry to interrupt the minister, but we are unable to hear the interpretation.
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Madam Chair, I thank the member for his very empathetic presentation. We can feel the weight of his experience, and we can see that he is offering solutions and recommendations, for which I am particularly grateful to him. I would like to ask him how we can help this community mourn these children and what actions we can take, while, of course, fully respecting indigenous traditions.
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Mr. Speaker, I want to emphasize the message of our colleague from Beaches—East York. In this Parliament, he is probably the best example of a member who is progressive and who advocates for what he believes in. He is perhaps even a little bit forward-thinking in the way he plays his role. In his speech, he said several times that we could be doing more. I would like to know what he proposes that …
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Mr. Speaker, I am particularly moved by the answer my colleague from Cariboo—Prince George just gave regarding the importance of knowing our past, living it and feeling it. We must now take action. How far should this urgent need for reconciliation take us? What actions must we take with respect to first nations to negotiate nation-to-nation recognition?
Read full speech →Private Members' Business
Mr. Speaker, thank you for your generosity. I was not expecting that. We are debating Bill C-204 introduced by the Conservative member for York—Simcoe in Ontario. I give him my regards. This bill amends the Canadian Environmental Protection Act to prohibit the export of certain types of plastic waste to foreign countries for final disposal. It is a good start, but there are solutions that we shoul…
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Mr. Chair, meegwetch. In this debate on residential schools, I would like to say that when my sister was at CEGEP, she made a documentary on a residential school that happened to be located on our Anishinabe territory in Abitibi-Témiscamingue. Richard Kistabish, my friend Ejinagosi, who was recently appointed a member of the Global Task Force for Making a Decade of Action for Indigenous Languages,…
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Mr. Chair, on behalf of myself and the Bloc Québécois, I would like to mourn alongside the grieving families and extend my deepest condolences to the Secwépemc nation and all indigenous peoples in Quebec and Canada who are united in their grief and suffering following the gruesome discovery of the children buried in Kamloops. This situation calls for a historical perspective. We cannot rewrite his…
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Mr. Chair, the Leader of the Opposition told my colleague that we should not respond with political arguments, yet that is what he just did by bringing up his plans for the future. I will ask the question again. We are participating in a debate on the rights of indigenous peoples, which we buried with the residential schools. I will remind members that these rights were buried, and there is nothin…
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Mr. Speaker, I will be honest with my colleague from Calgary Rocky Ridge: As the member for Abitibi—Témiscamingue, I have not been contacted about this issue, because these matters have simply been dealt with in Quebec. This is not an issue of relevance to us. However, it is worth being responsible in stating our position, so I would like to share with my colleague one of the answers I could have …
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Mr. Speaker, I am going to tell you what I am especially concerned about. I am concerned to hear and read comments like those of Mr. Buscemi of Quebec Life Coalition, who stated, “I cannot speak for therapists, but when someone does something that is right and a government says that it is wrong, I would tend to say that we need to do what is right and accept the consequences....Even if it means br…
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Mr. Speaker, I think there is an attempt to mislead the House into thinking the Bloc Québécois is divided on this issue. I think our position has been made very clear, namely that we must act, and act quickly, for the sake of human dignity. I would also remind the hon. members of the words of the Liberal Minister of Diversity and Inclusion and Youth: “Evidence demonstrates that this is a practice …
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Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to rise in the House to debate this bill about a social issue. However, in 2021, we should not have to rise in the House under such circumstances because conversion therapy obviously no longer has a place in our society. The Bloc Québécois supports Bill C-6. Why? The reason is that the Bloc Québécois is deeply committed to protecting and promoting the rights and freedoms …
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Madam Speaker, I would like to thank my colleague from Laurentides—Labelle for her excellent speech, which was extremely humane and extremely moving, as always. The leader of the Bloc Québécois said that the sooner LGBTQ2 individuals are given all the respect they deserve, like everyone else, the sooner we can do that, the sooner we should. The bill is now at third reading. How does my colleague e…
Read full speech →Statements by Members
Mr. Speaker, the 45th edition of the Salon du livre de l'Abitibi-Témiscamingue kicked off yesterday. This year's event is 100% virtual. For anyone wondering if the great François Gendron will be doing an interview next Saturday on the Salon du livre de l'Abitibi-Témiscamingue's Facebook page, the answer is yes. Mr. Gendron will be talking about his book, 42 ans de passion pour le Québec et ses rég…
Read full speech →Orders of the Day
My colleague from Windsor West struck a nerve when he mentioned Falconbridge in his speech. I am from Rouyn-Noranda in Abitibi-Témiscamingue. Noranda was the name of the mining company that founded the city. Noranda became Falconbridge in 2005, if I recall correctly, and then was acquired by Xstrata. It went from being a Canadian company to being an Anglo-Swiss company. Naturally, this has consequ…
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