Parliamentary Speeches
523 speeches by Xavier Barsalou-Duval — Page 11 of 11
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…
Read full speech →Government Orders
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…
Read full speech →Government Orders
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
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…
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, 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…
Read full speech →Orders of the Day
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…
Read full speech →Government Orders
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…
Read full speech →Government Orders
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…
Read full speech →Government Orders
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…
Read full speech →Government Orders
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…
Read full speech →Government Orders
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…
Read full speech →Government Orders
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.
Read full speech →Government Orders
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
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 →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 →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…
Read full speech →Government Orders
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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