Parliamentary Speeches

Oral Questions

Mr. Speaker, contrary to what the members opposite are saying, it is important to know what we are talking about. I am a founding member of a housing co-op. I know very well that in order to get these projects off the ground, we need to work together, not against each other, because that does not work. The Conservative approach, which is to cut, cut, cut, does not work. That is not the right way t…

Oral Questions

Mr. Speaker, this morning, I was with my colleague and friend, the Minister of Housing and Infrastructure, our colleagues from the Quebec government, and the mayor of Montreal. At that time, I had the pleasure of announcing a project to build 20,000 housing units. That 20,000 units includes 6,000 affordable off-market units—social housing to help families and young Montrealers. We are going to be …

Routine Proceedings

Mr. Speaker, Canadian Heritage was responsible for the research and policy work underlying the development of Bill C-11, the Online Streaming Act, including its passage through the parliamentary process. However, the Department of Canadian Heritage is not responsible for the implementation of the framework once the parliamentary process is complete. The implementation of the framework is the respo…

Oral Questions

Mr. Speaker, to build more housing, we need to work together. We need to work with municipalities. We need to work with stakeholders on the ground. We need to work with the provinces. Unlike the Conservatives, who think we need to insult people, we believe we should work together. That is what we did this morning, when the Minister of Housing and Infrastructure and I made a historic announcement t…

Routine Proceedings

Mr. Speaker, with regard to (a), the purchase order was for a one-time, non-recurring recruitment service to secure the recruitment of a specialized external candidate. With regard to (b), the purchase order was issued on October 5, 2016. With regard to (c), CBC's hiring manager responsible for filling the posting authorized the purchase order following the hiring of the successful candidate. With…

Routine Proceedings

Mr. Speaker, with regard to (a), operations team meetings allow open discussion and are primarily used for sharing information and updates related to a variety of regional and national issues. Formal agency decisions are taken through a governance process whereby documents are maintained in compliance to the Government of Canada records management standards. With regard to (b), I was not, and am n…

Routine Proceedings

Mr. Speaker, with regard to (a), some portions of the Parks Canada-administered lands along the Rideau Canal in Smiths Falls have been subject to archaeological assessment. More detail about specific properties and types of agreements is required to provide a full response. A manual search of non-digitized records would also be required. Parks Canada has determined that producing and validating a …

Routine Proceedings

Mr. Speaker, with regard to (a)(i) and (a)(ii), the total number of grants and contributions provided by Heritage Canada during the 2024-25 fiscal year was 28,129 and the total value was $1,859,294,977. With regard to (b), the departmental financial system does not track transfer payment information by federal riding and/or census metropolitan area. With regard to (c), two payments were made to en…

Routine Proceedings

Mr. Speaker, as to part (a), Parks Canada directly informed the following people of the decision. Chief Dwayne Blackbird and others of the Keeseekoowenin Ojibway First Nation were informed on May 9, 2025, by Leanne Cooper, field unit superintendent, at an in-person meeting. James Plewak of the Coalition of First Nations with Interests in Riding Mountain National Park was informed on May 9, 2025, b…

Oral Questions

Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague from Mont-Saint-Bruno—L'Acadie for his commitment to his community. Our government's celebrate Canada program supports more than 1,500 events across the country to mark National Indigenous Peoples Day, Saint‑Jean‑Baptiste Day, Canadian Multiculturalism Day, Canada Day and National Acadian Day. Concerts, cultural festivals and community gatherings are all opportuni…

Oral Questions

Mr. Speaker, there is no better time to choose Canada, which is why today we unveiled the new Canada Strong Pass. All summer long, admission is free for national parks and historic sites, with major discounts on camping as well. What is more, kids get free access to national museums and galleries, and free or discounted fares on Via Rail. We are encouraging people of all ages to explore the places…

Oral Questions

Mr. Speaker, with all due respect, I would like to remind my colleague that we still have carbon pricing for large corporations, for major emitters, that results in three times as many emissions reductions as consumer pricing. We have a robust carbon pricing system, and the federal price per tonne is almost double the Quebec price. Quebec's price is $59, and the federal government's price is $95. …

Oral Questions

Mr. Speaker, for decades, we have witnessed journalists losing their jobs, newsrooms shutting down and local media going bankrupt. Access to fact-based information from coast to coast to coast is essential to keeping Canadians informed. Unfortunately, my Conservative colleagues do not believe that preserving this pillar of our democracy is important. On our side, we chose to pass the Online News A…

Oral Questions

Mr. Speaker, just about everything the member said in her intervention is wrong. Bill C-11 ensures that Canadian artists get rewarded, as they should, by online platforms. Bill C-11 makes sure that Canadian content can be discovered by Canadians, by my kids, by all of our kids, instead of just international artists. That is exactly what Bill C-11 does. It gives the opportunity for Canadians to dis…

Oral Questions

Mr. Speaker, even Google agreed that it should do this. Google will pay $100 million to help Canadian journalism in this country. An international, U.S.-based company, is agreeing to do that, but the Conservative Party of Canada would vote against it, would prevent it from happening and would want to prevent our media from getting $100 million so there is more local content and more journalists hi…

Oral Questions

Mr. Speaker, I sincerely believe that we are comparing apples and oranges here. The Quebec system is based on a cap-and-trade mechanism, not a pricing mechanism. The federal system, on the other hand, is based on a mechanism that sets a price per tonne, which sends a signal to the market and consumers to reduce their emissions. These are two completely different systems. The federal government has…

Oral Questions

Mr. Speaker, my Bloc Québécois colleague knows I hold him in high esteem, but I think he is pushing his luck a bit today. As he knows full well, Quebec's system is quite different from the federal system. Currently, Quebec's price per tonne is $59, whereas the federal price is $95. That means that, for years, Quebeckers paid half as much for carbon pricing as all other Canadians were paying. He ne…

Routine Proceedings

Madam Speaker, I ask that all questions be allowed to stand.

Routine Proceedings

Madam Speaker, pursuant to Standing Order 32(2), and in accordance with the policy on the tabling of treaties in Parliament, I have the honour to table, in both official languages, the treaty entitled “Audiovisual Co-production Agreement between the Government of Canada and the Government of South Africa”, signed at Capetown on September 3, 2024.

Oral Questions

Madam Speaker, our government has long expressed reservations about the Government of Quebec's Bill 21, especially regarding what we consider to be its misuse of the notwithstanding clause. We made up our minds a long time ago that we were going to intervene. What we are doing now is preparing to intervene, since the matter in question extends beyond Quebec's borders. As my Bloc Québécois colleagu…

Oral Questions

Mr. Speaker, unfortunately, in that lake and that region, we are facing a zebra mussel invasion on which we must intervene to control. Otherwise, it could spread in the region to other water basins around that area. That is why, with Parks Canada, with local partners and with indigenous partners who support what Parks Canada has been doing, we are trying to tackle this issue as rapidly as possible…

Oral Questions

Mr. Speaker, what the member opposite is saying is simply not true. We have, in fact, been working with local authorities. Parks Canada provided funding to compensate for some of the loss in revenues last year because of the closure as we are trying to tackle this very important crisis. It is totally irresponsible for the member to somehow suggest that we should just let the zebra mussels spread a…

Oral Questions

Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank the people of Laurier—Sainte‑Marie for allowing me to serve here for a third consecutive term. I would also like to remind my colleagues in the Bloc Québécois that the British Crown always reads the Speech from the Throne. There is nothing new there. This time, of course, the King came to read it, which is a great honour for many Canadians, including Quebeckers. …

Oral Questions

Mr. Speaker, I would invite my colleague to read the fall economic statement. If he does, he will see that Canada is in a particularly enviable fiscal position compared to all our G7 competitors. We have the best debt-to-GDP ratio in the G7. The IMF, the International Monetary Fund, estimates that we will have the strongest economic growth next year. The Minister of Energy and Natural Resources ju…

Oral Questions

Mr. Speaker, we have more good news for Quebeckers today, with the publication of the clean electricity strategy. Hundreds of millions of dollars will be invested in collaboration with Hydro-Québec, with the Government of Quebec and with businesses to develop the electricity network we need for the 21st century to decarbonize our transportation sector and to decarbonize the industry and buildings …

Oral Questions

Mr. Speaker, I would like to remind the hon. colleague that everything we have done since we have been in power, in 2015, has meant a 43% decline in emissions in Canada. Greenhouse gas emissions are at their lowest level in 27 years. Our plan is working. We are helping the economy, creating jobs and fighting pollution.

Routine Proceedings

Mr. Speaker, I have the honour to table, in both official languages, the “2023-2024 Reports by Federal Authorities with Obligations under Section 71 of the Canadian Environmental Assessment Act, 2012”.

Oral Questions

Mr. Speaker, as my colleague is well aware, the Supreme Court last year directed the government to review some of the elements under the Impact Assessment Act of Canada, which is what we have done. We still have a commitment to phase out thermal coal export by 2030 and she also knows that 10 indigenous—

Oral Questions

Mr. Speaker, as my colleague is well aware, the Supreme Court of Canada directed the government to make some changes to the Impact Assessment Act of Canada last year, which is what we have done. We still have a commitment to ban the export of thermal coal by 2030. My colleague also knows that 10 indigenous communities are supporting this project, which is why, in the end, the Impact Assessment Age…

Routine Proceedings

Mr. Speaker, Environment and Climate Change Canada has no funding program related to Q-3113.

Routine Proceedings

Mr. Speaker, due to Alberta's unusually early wildfire season, which began on February 20, 2024, and was fueled by widespread drought conditions in 2024, there was not a period in which the prescriptions required for controlled ignition could take place. The elevated fire risk associated with these conditions made it unsafe and contrary to prescriptions required to carry out such operations. Presc…

Oral Questions

Mr. Speaker, Marc Lévesque, former chief economics strategist at TD Securities, says that he is not in the habit of calling people liars, but that it is an outright lie; the report the member is referring to does not mention that the carbon tax is a factor behind the $800 increase, and certainly does not say that the carbon tax will cost families $800 more on food.

Oral Questions

Mr. Speaker, let us talk about telling Canadians the truth. What did the Conservative Party leader do when we offered Canadians a tax break during the holiday season, a measure that he was in favour of just two years ago? He told his MPs to vote against it, regardless of what they actually wanted to do. Conservative MPs are no longer the voice of their constituents in Ottawa. They are now the voic…

Oral Questions

Mr. Speaker, my colleague has just quoted Professor Sylvain Charlebois on food issues. This same professor believes that climate change is the biggest challenge facing the agri-food sector. He published a report today on the macroeconomic impacts on the agri-food sector. On page 14, the first item mentioned in the report is climate change. Pollution pricing is not even mentioned. That is not one o…

Oral Questions

Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for his question. The NDP has an opportunity to help people over the holidays by giving them a tax break. We would like the NDP to work with us to help Canadians by giving more than eight million people a tax break over the holidays. The New Democrats have an opportunity to do just that, and they should take it.

Oral Questions

Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague from the Bloc Québécois for his question. Lion Electric is indeed a very important company for the electrification of transportation, and not just in Quebec, but across Canada. The federal program will enable municipalities to purchase hundreds of electric buses thanks to this program, contrary to what my Bloc Québécois and Conservative Party colleagues are saying…

Routine Proceedings

Mr. Speaker, ECCC does not have any projects related to Q-3085.

Oral Questions

Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for her question. We will always be there for Canadian families and businesses, in good times and in bad. We have cut taxes for the middle class twice. What has the Conservative leader done? He forced his members to vote against those tax cuts not just once, but twice. Today, with the GST cut, we are providing meaningful support to families and businesses, but it …

Oral Questions

Mr. Speaker, the Conservative Party of Canada, when it comes to many things, including climate change, is extremely reckless. This is the party that has let the people of Jasper down. For four consecutive years, it invested nothing to protect Jasper from forest fires. From 2011 to 2015, there were zero hectares of fire removal and zero hectares of mechanical removals to prevent forest fires. The C…

Oral Questions

Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for her question. Today is a very good day for Canadians, as we are announcing a tax holiday on food, restaurant meals and children's clothing to help families and workers. It is quite something to hear that the leader of the Conservative Party is forcing his members to vote against this measure, when just two years ago, he himself supported it. It is the height o…

Oral Questions

Mr. Speaker, carbon pricing in Canada is generating 25 billion dollars' worth of investment every year in our economy. It is putting more money in the pockets of eight out of 10 Canadians and helping us reduce our emissions for the first time in our history. If it were up to the members of the Conservative Party of Canada, they would let the planet burn. They would bring the economy down. They wou…

Oral Questions

Mr. Speaker, for five consecutive years, the Harper government cut funding for fire prevention in Jasper by $30 million per year. I would be happy to table the documents in the House if they do not want to believe it. We have been there for Jasper. We have invested more than $60 million. We are ready to do more to help Jasper with reconstruction. Unlike the Conservative Party of Canada, we will no…

Oral Questions

Mr. Speaker, the Department of Fisheries and Oceans takes this issue very seriously. We are working with all involved parties to find a solution as rapidly as possible.

Mr. Speaker, our government is committed to making life more affordable for Canadians. Therefore, pursuant to Standing Order 32(2) and on behalf of the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance, I would like to table, in both official languages, the draft legislative proposals to implement tax relief for all Canadians and a rebate for Canadian workers that will put more money in the pockets of…

Oral Questions

Mr. Speaker, it is interesting that every time the Conservatives talk about climate change, they never talk about the cost to Canadians of climate impacts. We have seen record levels, just for this year, in the months of July and August, of $7 billion in climate costs to Canadians, which makes it the costliest year ever on record. What is their solution? Let the planet burn. The Conservative Leade…

Oral Questions

Mr. Speaker, it is fascinating that it seems the Conservative Party is listening to economists. Let us listen to what economists are saying. More than 300 of them have said that the best way to fight climate change is to put a price on pollution. Interestingly enough, one of those 300 economists is the economist the member just quoted, Trevor Tombe, who has said on multiple occasions that the best…

Oral Questions

Mr. Speaker, the member should be ashamed of the previous government's record in the protection of Jasper. How much did it invest in 2011 for fire protection in Jasper? Zero. How much did it invest in 2012? Zero. How much did it invest in 2013? Zero. 2014? Zero. 2015? Zero. We have invested more than $60 million in fire prevention in Jasper. The previous government did absolutely nothing.

Oral Questions

Mr. Speaker, every time the Conservative Party of Canada talks about the issue of climate change, it never talks about how it is costing Canadians, just for the month of July and August of this year, $7 billion in climate damages, which is a record, and the year is not yet over. Conservatives may have decided to let Canadians down and let the planet burn, but on this side of the House, we are here…

Oral Questions

Mr. Speaker, what the member is saying is simply false. It is a cap on pollution. Pollution is a bad thing, which is something the Conservative Party of Canada should understand. Does the member want to talk about investment? Let us talk about the $2-billion investment that Strathcona, an oil company in Alberta, is making in Canada to make sure that workers in Alberta and the energy sector can hav…

Oral Questions

Mr. Speaker, what the member opposite is saying is simply not true. It is a cap on pollution. In fact, production is going to go up 16% by 2030, and companies in Alberta in the oil sands sectors are making a billion-dollar investment to make sure workers in Alberta have a future and the energy sector has a future. We can fight climate change at the same time.