Parliamentary Speeches
817 speeches by Simon-Pierre Savard-Tremblay — Page 7 of 17
Government Orders
Madam Speaker, Canada has a strange democracy. It is a monarchy, with an electoral system that is not proportional and a parliamentary system where the separation of powers is vague, to say the least, and difficult to define. It has a Senate, a chamber with decision-making capacity made up of unelected people who are appointed. It has a Constitution that was imposed on Quebeckers, to which they ar…
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Madam Speaker, at least one can say that my colleague is consistent. He has asked the same question about 15 times. Sometimes he changes the wording. He is tenacious. I admire that in politics. I respect that. That being said, it is obviously not a bad thing to increase, enhance and expand the terms of references. That is the purpose of today's motion. I would remind the House that it has three co…
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Madam Speaker, I would say we do not look very good. As a matter of fact, the United States even monitors investments because of concerns that foreign investments could jeopardize economic security. It goes without saying that, by failing to take this seriously, by being total slackers, we are making ourselves look bad. I say “we”, but I should actually be saying “Canada”, because I do not feel I …
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Madam Speaker, it goes without saying that this commission must have the resources to do its job. It is as simple as that. That is fundamental. If a commission is set up, it must not be turned into a mere political show, a way of trying to shut down a debate that is starting to become a nuisance. We must give it the means to get to the bottom of things. My colleague said, “the Prime Minister”. Per…
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Madam Speaker, I listened closely to my colleague, who is also a wise fellow member of the Standing Committee on International Trade. That is what I want to talk about, in fact. Unfortunately, I ran out of time at the end of my speech earlier, but my colleague from Mirabel asked me an interesting question that I would also like to put to my Standing Committee on International Trade colleague. Seve…
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Madam Speaker, the Bloc Québécois requests a recorded division.
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Madam Speaker, I listened to my colleague carefully. I know that he had a brilliant career as a Crown attorney in the past. We participated together in a mission last summer, and we had a good time discussing legal matters. I have often said that we agree with the intention of the motion, with the principle behind it. However, it includes some problematic elements. Honestly, that is why I want to …
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Madame Speaker, as my colleagues have said previously, we agree with the idea and the principle of the motion, but we do not agree with its wording. For example, we think there should be more time granted to allow translation services to do their work, as well as a less prescriptive tone to avoid directing the RCMP. It should not be told in advance whether there was an infraction or not, because t…
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Mr. Speaker, it goes without saying that this act is important and needs to be updated. Clearly, Houston, we have a problem. If there are indeed only six large grocery companies, this strikes me as an indictment of the act in question. It goes without saying that this is part of the the issue. Sometimes I feel like the answer is already in the question, and this is one of those times. When the Min…
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Mr. Speaker, as I said earlier, there was a subsidy a few years ago to upgrade refrigerators to more energy-efficient models. I do not think that that is a scandal. The idea itself is a good one. Honestly, I am not an expert in the exact subsidy that was given, but I think that the idea is good. We all agree that we should promote more energy-efficient practices. That being said, there is no subsi…
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Madam Speaker, I do not wish to repeat everything I already said, but in my remarks, I highlighted several completely unrealistic aspects concerning prices that have nothing to do with public will, but rather result from all sorts of factors, including wheat prices, which are determined in Chicago, or vegetable prices, which are going up because of climate change. There are plenty of similar examp…
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Madam Speaker, yesterday evening we were debating a Conservative amendment to a Standing Committee on Finance report. This amendment sought to revive the proposal we had voted against just a few hours earlier, the miracle solution of the tax holiday that would last all summer. The taxes would resume once the House was back in session, just in time for us to collectively complain about their return…
Read full speech →Orders of the Day
Mr. Speaker, once again, I think the answer was in the question. Of course, as we know, the Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry is promoting it left, right and centre, but it is not working. The same few players in the sector continue to behave like a cartel. I remember hearing the Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry say at Thanksgiving that it was thanks to his plan that there w…
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Mr. Speaker, we have to be careful. Of course, the word “cartel” can be used to refer to drug dealers in Mexico, but it can also be used in other contexts. We often use the word “cartel” to describe groups of companies that join together to form a monopoly. It is a perfectly acceptable term used in sociology, economics, political science and other fields. Its use is not limited to criminal organiz…
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Madam Speaker, what a curious land Canada is, where a handful of grocery moguls control all the food supply. In 2022, the three most affluent grocers in the land—Loblaws, Sobeys and Metro—reported over $100 billion in sales and drew in profits exceeding $3.6 billion. Unfortunately, small operators and local shops find it very hard to get a foothold in this vast land. Financial and logistical const…
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Mr. Speaker, I am the first to speak out against indecent profits at a time when many people are finding it harder and harder to make ends meet. However, we need to be careful about using the word “stealing”. We are not talking about stealing. There are some people who willingly spend their savings. Let us be more careful about the words that we choose. That being said, this situation is indeed un…
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Madam Speaker, point of order. It seems that several members did not listen to your reminder earlier. Even though my colleague is not far from me, I am having trouble hearing him.
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Madam Speaker, members keep telling us that, during the Harper era, there was such open federalism that it undercut the separatist movement. However, a certain premier of Quebec, Jean Charest, who later became the darling of the Quebec wing of the Conservative Party, said that it was not as open as all that, that our choices were being dictated and that we were not happy. We have an aspiring prime…
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Madam Speaker, in his speech, my colleague put a lot of blame on the Conservatives. He told us that there was a year where the Conservative Speaker was also partisan. That may be true. Perhaps there is a double standard here. However, that in itself is not an argument to defend anything unacceptable that is currently happening. I would like to ask my Conservative colleague the same question. How m…
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Mr. Speaker, as a number of speakers before us have said, we could clearly be talking about something that has more of an effect on our constituents. It goes without saying that this matter, this episode, must not be very enthralling for the public. In fact, they must be about as interested in this as they are in Denis Coderre hiking the Camino de Santiago, which says a lot. That said, institution…
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Madam Speaker, I listened carefully to the speech by my colleague opposite. On the subject of aerospace and this week's announcement, I think he is missing a few small details. First, there were two announcements in one. The good thing is that we have an innovation zone, and that is Quebec City's doing. Ottawa has nothing to do with it. The other announcement made at the same time, which is no dou…
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I listened very carefully to the Leader of the Opposition telling us that he has discovered a past, present and future passion for provincial autonomy. Under the Harper government, that may not have been how Premier Charest, the darling of Quebec Conservatives, felt about it, but never mind. Let us fast-forward to today. Since the Leader of the Opposition is so keen on respecting provincial jurisd…
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Mr. Speaker, I listened carefully to my colleague. He talked about huge expenditures, massive spending, and rightly so. He also talked about inflation and how it is getting harder and harder for some people to get by, while others are lining their pockets. I may have missed it at one point or another, but I did not hear him talk about the gifts this budget gives to oil companies. I guess it is bec…
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Mr. Speaker, I would like to make a comment about balancing the budget. I know that there are all sorts of examples in history, including Quebec's history, where perhaps too many eggs were broken to make an omelette. We know that fiscal austerity or zero deficit efforts have been made, often much more violently in other countries of the world, especially developing countries, to the detriment of t…
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Madam Speaker, are the final two minutes of this Tuesday supposed to be the highlight of the show? Were we meant to save the best for last? If so, I think I am going to disappoint a lot of people, given how little time I have left. To begin, I would ask for the unanimous consent of the House to split my time.
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Madam Speaker, I say hello to Liberal illusionism and hello to Canadian junk progressivism. This budgetary smokescreen hides Ottawa's two main obsessions: using our money to support the oil and gas companies despite fine pseudo-environmental speeches that sound good at social gatherings, and invading the jurisdictions of Quebec and the provinces. We know that the oil companies will be getting $30.…
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Mr. Speaker, I too want to express my full support for the member, who has first-hand experience with interference and threats to his own family. I think all our colleagues here feel the same way. Having said that, we now need to turn those feelings into action. I think the member will agree with me. Last week, a report on foreign interference was released. I would like to know whether my colleagu…
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Mr. Speaker, the Leader of the Opposition said in his speech that the City of Montreal had voted in favour of decriminalizing drugs. If that is true, why does point (b) of the Conservative motion use the phrase “make...legal” instead? That is my first question. My second question is as follows: Can the Leader of the Opposition explain to us, using neutral and objective language, the difference bet…
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Mr. Speaker, my colleague is not that far away from me, but I am struggling to hear him. There is some annoying background noise.
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Madam Speaker, this morning, I asked the leader of the official opposition if he could explain the difference between legalization, decriminalization and diversion. He answered, “There really is no difference. It is just semantics”. I know that my colleague had an illustrious career in law. She is a trained lawyer. She even served as the parliamentary secretary to the justice minister. Can she loo…
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Madam Speaker, I listened carefully to our colleague's speech. I liked the “Ottawa knows best” criticism. It is true that Ottawa, usually after crises like the one we are currently in, always tends to centralize, to leverage its authority in order to achieve greater uniformity, to deploy its powers in a tentacle-like manner, spreading everywhere, and to impose its priorities, values and rules on t…
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Mr. Speaker, there is one thing I do not understand: Why is it difficult to provide for the right to opt out with full financial compensation? Everyone would be happy. Those who want in, stay in. Those who want out, take the money and do their own thing. It is not going to lessen our desire to be independent, but it may make us less angry with the Liberals when we do get our independence. That is …
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Madam Speaker, I know that my colleague is a member from Quebec. The members of the National Assembly of Quebec unanimously requested a right to opt out of the pharmacare program with compensation. This means that we are not opposed to Canada having its own program. They say that as Quebeckers, we have the expertise and experience in social programs, we definitely do not want this program to be ma…
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Mr. Speaker, a woman from Saint‑Hyacinthe has made it into the Guinness Book of World Records. Jani Barré, who has a rare genetic disorder called osteogenesis imperfecta, completed her 10th marathon in a wheelchair in London. She completed the fastest women's wheelchair marathon in history, with a time of four hours, 19 minutes and 21 seconds, beating the record set in 1983 by a woman who happened…
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With regard to the contracts awarded by the Government of Canada or any other government agency for the Canada Border Services Agency's (CBSA) Assessment and Revenue Management project since February 7, 2018, broken down by supplier: what are the details of all these contracts, including, for each, (i) the date the contract was signed, (ii) the value of the contract, (iii) the title of the public …
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, the average calibre of the questions has certainly improved drastically today, but the average calibre of the answers has not. The Canada Border Services Agency refunded businesses over $20 million to have them scrap their goods after taking pains to render them unusable, at a time when food banks are swamped with demand because times are tough. Ottawa is funding waste at the expense …
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Madam Speaker, since my colleague and I both serve on the Standing Committee on International Trade, I will ask a question related to those issues. Budget 2024 says that it reaffirms the federal government's commitment to introduce legislation to eradicate forced labour from supply chains. However, it is not reaffirming this commitment. This is a new commitment. Budget 2023 said the same thing. It…
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Madam Speaker, the Bloc Québécois requests a recorded division.
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Mr. Speaker, there have been consultations among the parties and I believe if you seek it, you shall find unanimous consent for the following motion: “That this House find, just as the Standing Committee—
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Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank my colleague for her speech. She is the chair of the committee I sit on. We have often worked together in the past four and a half years, almost five. I have sat on the same committee since I first came to the House, so I have had the opportunity to work with the chair. I will digress briefly, if I may. I urge her to table the motion we adopted last Tuesday as so…
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Mr. Speaker, Ottawa is brewing a new fiasco at the border. On May 13, importers might hit a wall at customs. Why? Because that is when CARM, the new application for assessing and paying duties and taxes, is officially implemented at the border. Last week, 22 organizations raised concerns saying that neither the Canada Border Services Agency nor businesses will be ready on time. Will Ottawa push ba…
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Mr. Speaker, Ottawa set a precedent for failure in terms of implementing major new IT systems. One such precedent is called Phoenix. Eight years later, Ottawa still cannot pay its employees. There is also a precedent with the Canada Border Services Agency. It is called ArriveCAN. How reassuring. It fills us with confidence. The CBSA has failed to provide the documents concerning CARM, as requested…
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With regard to the importation of goods involving forced labour, prohibited under subsection 202(8) of Chapter 98 of the Customs Tariff: (a) since July 1, 2020, how many seizures have been made at Canadian ports of entry; (b) what are the details of each case, including (i) the dates, (ii) the country and region of origin of the goods, (iii) the description of these goods, including their respecti…
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Mr. Speaker, Quebec cares about its relations with Taiwan. We announced last December the opening of an office in Montreal, which will undoubtedly facilitate exchanges between this fascinating, technologically advanced nation—particularly in the field of semiconductors—and our city, which a great sovereignist premier, Bernard Landry, once saw as a leader in this same field. The Bloc Québécois unre…
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Madam Chair, it is simple, quite simple in fact. First of all, forestry accounts for 11% of Quebec's exports. That alone makes it an important industry and an economic driver in the regions. Such is the case for my colleague's region, which was ravaged by forest fires almost a year ago. How time flies. It stands as a reminder of how important forestry is in her riding. I recall that she was often …
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Madam Chair, I thank my colleague, a fellow member of the Standing Committee on International Trade in the last Parliament. I think we were both on the committee together in this Parliament, and I believe he was there when I moved the softwood lumber motion he just quoted. We have even been on one or two missions to Washington together. We advocate for this issue there a lot. Financial support for…
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Madam Chair, on this eclipse day, I rise to take part in a take-note debate, not about the eclipse—we are probably the only place not talking about it—but about the ongoing softwood lumber crisis that has been going on for some 40 years. I have the impression, however, and I say this candidly, that I am wasting my time. I will explain why. On February 1, 2024, the U.S. Department of Commerce annou…
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Madam Chair, this agreement has been very problematic. It has divided the sector and the regions, and has objectively cost the sector. I recognize that progress has been made. For example, the Conservatives have not said that the softwood lumber crisis started because of the carbon tax. I will give them that. At this point, it is fair game to say that things were going better when they were in pow…
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Madam Chair, I want to begin by saying that my colleague is probably right about that. On various missions to the U.S., including missions I went on with colleagues from other parties in the House, missions with the Canada-U.S. Interparliamentary Group and in the meetings we held, whether with senators or U.S. representatives, I was pretty much the only one who raised this issue, which says a lot.…
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Mr. Chair, I would like to ask my colleague what he thinks of the fact that softwood lumber was not mentioned in either the minister's mandate letter, or the agenda for the WTO ministerial in Abu Dhabi. In both cases, it was a month after the announcement of new countervailing duties. The Liberals agreed to holding this take-note debate more than two months after we started talking about it. Are w…
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