Parliamentary Speeches
539 speeches by Xavier Barsalou-Duval — Page 11 of 11
Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, I would like to give my colleague the opportunity to correct the remarks he made earlier when he said that people have never had a problem getting services in French in Montreal. Perhaps that is his personal experience, but it is far from a fact. Our ridings are only a few kilometres apart. I get the impression that the member opposite is on a different planet, at least linguistically…
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Mr. Speaker, in light of what my colleague opposite said in his speech, I would like to know if he thinks there is a problem with French declining in Quebec and if there is anything we can do to avoid that. I get the sense the answer is no. I would like to know if my colleague thinks this bill will help.
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Mr. Speaker, despite this government legislation, history has shown that French has been declining in Canada since 1867. History has unfortunately taught us that we cannot trust the Liberals or the Conservatives when it comes to the French language. Even the Government of Quebec has criticized some parts of the bill. This shows that Canada is incapable of meeting the existential aspirations of Que…
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Madam Speaker, I really appreciated the quality of my Conservative colleague's French and her cheerfulness. I found her speech to be interesting. However, the figures speak for themselves. What the figures show us is that French in Canada is declining every year and with every census. They also show us that if there is an increase in bilingualism in Canada, it is because bilingualism is increasing…
Read full speech →Private Members' Business
Madam Speaker, I will have the opportunity to comment further on my colleague's bill later on, but when I listened to her speech and when we look at what the CIB really is and what my colleague wants to do with it, I have to wonder whether it is even possible. It is hard to believe that it is, and I wonder if this bill is not somewhat naive. We will see where the adventure takes us, but it seems t…
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Madam Speaker, for many years, when I have heard the Conservatives asking questions in the House, I have noticed that they are always concerned about the Liberal government's spending sprees. Knowing its past and how it manages money, we can agree that these concerns are sometimes justified. Does my colleague believe that if we increased the Canadian Forces' budget, for example, since everyone agr…
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Mr. Speaker, Bill C‑5, on which the government is moving closure, is an important bill that should be studied in depth. The government seems to have a growing appetite for closure motions all of a sudden. This worries me. In the past, the Liberals decried the Conservative majority governments' abuse of closure. However, once they came to power in 2015, the Liberals moved one closure motion after a…
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Mr. Speaker, I would like a chance to ask the minister the same question I asked him earlier because the Bloc Québécois has a constructive approach. I think we have always had a constructive approach with respect to the bill on the table right now. We have looked at its merits and its flaws, and we have tried to find ways to improve it. The problem we have now is that the government is invoking cl…
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Madam Speaker, I have a question for my colleague across the aisle. Earlier I asked the Minister of Justice about the relevance of imposing a gag order. If he ever gets a chance to speak with me about it, I would be pleased to do so, but I would like to come back to the issue that has also been raised by some of my Bloc colleagues. The bill currently before the House deals with mandatory minimum s…
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Madam Speaker, Quebec's cultural sector suffered greatly under the Harper Conservatives, who made massive cuts to cultural spending. At the same time, they inexcusably neglected to regulate the web giants, which took in all of the advertising dollars. This bill is designed to ensure the discoverability of Quebec- and Canadian-produced content. If my colleague is against that, I would like to know …
Read full speech →Private Members' Business
Madam Speaker, I rise today to speak to the Bloc Québécois's position on Bill C‑241, which was introduced by my colleague from Essex. Let me start by saying that I think this is a very interesting bill. Whenever we debate a bill, people get the impression they have to read through a lengthy tome in an attempt to understand all the clauses and the ins and outs. It scares them. In this case, however…
Read full speech →Statements By Members
Mr. Speaker, actor Yves Trudel of Varennes passed away on March 11. Many Quebeckers knew him for his role as Méo. His friends and family knew him as an honest, learned and sensitive man. His drama students say that his teaching really touched their lives. An inveterate jokester, Yves never missed an opportunity to get people out of their comfort zone and test their perspicacity. His interpretation…
Read full speech →Private Members' Business
Madam Speaker, I do not have a question for my colleague, but I would like to congratulate him. We are often critical of bills that do not suit us, but when they do and they make sense, it is important to acknowledge that. I am pleased, just as my NDP colleague pointed out earlier, to see that the Conservative Party, or at least the Conservative member for Essex, has suddenly discovered the virtue…
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Madam Speaker, I have to wonder whether my colleague's response to rising gas prices is a bit simplistic. When we look at the price of a barrel of oil or the price of gas, we see that gas is now at almost $2 a litre. We know that the tax on gas, the GST, is 5%. At $2 a litre, that would represent around 10¢ in savings. I would like to know whether my colleague thinks that 10¢ will change the reali…
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Madam Speaker, I want to react to the suggestions that were made by members in their questions to the member for La Pointe-de-l'Île. This brings me to a question that I have for him. It has been suggested to us that instead of asking to increase Quebec's political weight or keep it stable, Quebec should instead increase its immigration intake. My colleague from La Pointe-de-l'Île just demonstrated…
Read full speech →Orders Of The Day
Madam Speaker, my colleague raised a few interesting points in her speech earlier. I do not have time to comment on her whole speech, but I would like to ask her a quick question. One point she raised really struck me. She made a number of arguments in favour of using the Emergencies Act. Here is the question I would like to ask her. Why did the government decide to invoke the Emergencies Act here…
Read full speech →Orders Of The Day
Madam Speaker, I want to react to my colleague's speech. I need to express my disagreement with many of the things my colleague brought up in his speech, even though we will likely vote similarly on this motion. I would like some further explanation. From what I understand, some of the people who were protesting on the other side of the street were there for legitimate reasons, but others were no …
Read full speech →Orders of the Day
Mr. Speaker, I will be sharing my time with the member for Jonquière. I want to begin by saying that I did not walk down the street in front of Parliament waving a Canadian flag. I did not block the street by parking my car in the middle of it. I have never agreed with the people who decided to occupy the city. However, even though I did not agree with them and I felt it was important to follow th…
Read full speech →Orders of the Day
Mr. Speaker, I am a bit disappointed in the question from my colleague. I have the impression that this debate on the Emergencies Act, which is a serious, important piece of legislation with far-reaching consequences when it is invoked, is being used as an opportunity to do some Quebec bashing. That is unacceptable. I will not answer his question because, personally, I think it is below the belt.
Read full speech →Orders of the Day
Mr. Speaker, to answer my colleague's question, for some reason, the government sat on its hands throughout the entire crisis. It did not do a single thing. It did not lift a finger. Instead, the Prime Minister insulted the protesters and hid in his basement. At some point, he woke up. Suddenly it became urgent to bring in the Emergencies Act to resolve the situation. It seems like he tried to sav…
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Mr. Speaker, my response to the member is that when we look at Wellington Street and elsewhere around the country at this time, we can see that all is quiet. Do we still need the police to continue their work? Yes, certainly. Do we need to continue to be vigilant with respect to foreign influence? Yes, certainly. However, personally, I do not feel particularly threatened at this time, and I am not…
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Mr. Speaker, that is a very good question. With respect to the Liberal caucus, we may find out in a few years. When people write their memoirs 10, 15 or 20 years later, we often discover things. We already know that at least three members are not very comfortable with the position of their own government. We also know that, until this morning, the NDP was not very comfortable with the government's…
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Mr. Speaker, if I am not mistaken, the parliamentary secretary just asked us how we will vote on this motion, referring to the vote that occurred after oral question period when we indicated that the government must present a plan to lift restrictions. I would just like to point out to my colleague opposite that asking for a plan to lift restrictions does not mean that we are against health measur…
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Madam Speaker, before I begin, I would like to say that I will be splitting my time with the member for Beauport—Côte-de-Beaupré—Île d'Orléans—Charlevoix. This large riding is home to many communities. It is also a very beautiful riding that I have been able to visit a few times. I would also like to take this opportunity to point out that this is the evening of February 14 and I would like to say…
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Madam Speaker, I have to admit that I am not familiar with the measures in Alberta or with how the Alberta government chose to manage the pandemic. What I do know, though, is that the way the Conservatives want to combat the pandemic is, essentially, to lift public health measures. I have a harder time with that because I do not think the pandemic is over. We need to send the message that this is …
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Madam Speaker, I think that if we want to go further, we will also have to think about why there is a desire to increase health care funding. It is because we, as a society, chose to ensure that all Quebeckers and Canadians can access health care without being forced to sell their home or take on lifelong debt just because they got sick once or twice and went through some tough times. It can be st…
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Madam Speaker, my colleague raises an excellent question. What we have been seeing since the beginning of the pandemic is that the government seems to be making everything up on the fly. When it has the opportunity to make decisions for the long term, it chooses to call an election or prorogue Parliament. Essentially, it is not really willing to delve into certain issues or do things properly. It …
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Mr. Speaker, something struck me earlier in my colleague’s speech. We are studying a motion to recognize the constitutional amendment requested by Saskatchewan to make a company, Canadian Pacific, pay the taxes it should pay like any other good corporate citizen. However, in my colleague’s speech, most of what he said was about how important he thinks oil transportation is. I am trying to understa…
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Mr. Speaker, I really liked one of the points my Conservative colleague raised in his speech, when he said that this motion addresses Saskatchewan’s place in Confederation. What I find interesting is to see how calm and serene the debate is. Everyone appears to be saying that the answer is obvious and that we will support them in their demands. How is it that people do not react that way when Queb…
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Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank the House for allowing me to speak here today. I want to point out that I will be sharing my time with the hon. member for Lac-Saint-Jean. He too will have something to say. I would like to take this opportunity to mention that this is the first time I have had a chance to deliver a speech here since I was elected in 2021. It is now 2022, but the 2021 session was…
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Madam Speaker, as my colleague opposite pointed out, there is no reason for us to oppose this logical request. Every company should pay its taxes, just as everyone else does. As for the other part of my colleague's question, I would like to come back to one point. My colleague mentioned that he is from Manitoba. I had the opportunity to visit Winnipeg and the St. Boniface region in Manitoba, and I…
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Madam Speaker, I thank my colleague from Rosemont—La Petite-Patrie for his excellent questions and for sharing his thoughts on the matter. We could add other companies to that list. Today, we are talking about CP, but we could be talking about CN and the self-regulation of railway companies. We could also talk about the air sector. In Canada, we have a hard time distinguishing the corporate intere…
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Madam Speaker, I liked my colleague's measured and unifying tone. I find it interesting that we are debating a constitutional matter and that the debate is a rather jovial one. I guess talking about the Constitution is not so bad after all. It is possible. I would like to know whether my colleague would be just as open to the claims Quebec might make at a future time.
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Madam Speaker, what I got out of my colleague's speech was that he thinks it is important for us right now to look ahead, review the legislation from the 1880s that exempted Canadian Pacific from taxes, assess its relevance today and what benefits it might bring to the public, and then amend it as needed. I think this is necessary, absolutely, and I think that everyone in the House agrees. I find …
Read full speech →Emergency Debate
Madam Speaker, I listened carefully to my colleague's speech, and I very much enjoyed its tone. His tone was different from the one we heard from the Prime Minister and some government members, who used a very combative tone, one that we obviously do not support. I sensed some goodwill on the part of my colleague, who said he himself had been vaccinated and was explaining to people why he had chos…
Read full speech →Emergency Debate
Mr. Speaker, from the start of this emergency debate, we have heard many of the Conservative members stand up and speak out against the government's lack of proactivity, and rightly so. We agree with them on that. However, one thing is unclear. What is the Conservatives' actual position? Where exactly do they stand in all of this? My partner works in the health care industry. She is a nurse and, e…
Read full speech →Emergency Debate
Mr. Speaker, I listened carefully to my colleague opposite's speech. I was pleased to hear him say that some people who went to protest were well meaning and well intentioned. Since the beginning of this crisis, I have had quite the opposite impression, namely that the government did not want to recognize, hear or see that there were people with things to say, that people were fed up with the heal…
Read full speech →Statements by Members
Mr. Speaker, on October 15, 1701, in Varennes, new France, Marguerite d'Youville came into the world. This year marks the 250th anniversary of her death. Despite a difficult childhood, an unhappy marriage, the birth of six children and financial problems, this widow was always kind and supportive to her fellow men and women. A woman of action and conviction, in 1737 she founded the Sisters of Char…
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Madam Speaker, I first want to congratulate my colleague from Rivière-du-Nord for his very clear and very informative speech on the Bloc Québécois's position. Above all, he demonstrated that we are open to debating Bill C-5. However, the problem is that nothing is happening right now, and we would like to know why. The situation is urgent, because people are being killed every day in Montreal and …
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