Parliamentary Speeches
539 speeches by Xavier Barsalou-Duval — Page 5 of 11
Routine Proceedings
Madam Speaker, I am rising on a point of order. I would like to be assured that the parliamentary secretary will talk about the content of the report, because thousands of people are affected by this situation. I am sure that they would like to hear the government's response and find out why their spouses will not be able to benefit from the survivor's pension in the future.
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Mr. Speaker, the survivor's benefit cannot be transferred if someone decides to get married after they turn 60. This rule is practically antediluvian. I was not even born when it came into effect. My father was not even born then. My grandfather was not even born then. I am not even sure if my great-grandfather was born then. It is important to understand that, in 1930, a man's life expectancy was…
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Mr. Speaker, the Boucherville rowing club is celebrating its 50th anniversary in 2024. From its inception in 1974, the club has taken full advantage of its outstanding geographic location across from the majestic St. Lawrence River in Boucherville. Over the years, many of the club's athletes have been selected to join our national teams. Some have even made it to the Olympics. The Club d'aviron de…
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Mr. Speaker, Canada will make the green transition in transportation. It is inevitable. Canada will go green for school busing and everything else. The question is, will we be buying electric school buses made in Quebec by Quebeckers, or will we be buying American buses made by Americans because Ottawa, lacking vision as usual, failed one of our flagship companies? Will this government finally wak…
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Madam Speaker, I rise on a point of order. I was listening to my colleague's speech, which is really quite interesting. He went over the whole history of different Conservative leaders over the years, but I do not see the connection between that and the subject we are discussing right now.
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Madam Speaker, I want to comment on what my Conservative colleague said, because he quoted the British North America Act in the speech he just gave. To strengthen his argument, he read excerpts from that act as though it were truth or fact. There is one point in particular that I would like to raise. He mentioned that the British North America Act was created by mutual agreement and that it was bo…
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Madam Speaker, I would like to present a petition on the Verchères wharf. I have presented an electronic petition on this same subject before, but now I am showing that we have real signatures on paper. I hope that the response to both of these petitions will be positive.
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Mr. Speaker, I would like to acknowledge the 50th anniversary of the convenience store La Ressource. Founded in 1974 by André Desroches, who also founded the Association des gens d’affaires de Boucherville, this family business has become a true institution in Boucherville. La Ressource is much more than a simple corner store where people go to buy a quart of milk, a bag of chips or a case of beer…
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Mr. Speaker, without whistle-blowers, we never would have known that the CRA had been robbed of $100 million. We never would have known that 62,000 taxpayers had had their personal information stolen or that the CRA has been aware of flaws in its security system for a year now. It was only when journalists began taking an interest in the problem that the minister took an interest in it too. Instea…
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Mr. Speaker, taxpayers have been robbed of over $100 million this year because of an epidemic of fraud at the Canada Revenue Agency, or CRA, but the last thing the Liberals want is for people to talk about it. On Wednesday, in committee, the Minister of National Revenue even threatened her own public servants with jail time if they continue to tell the media about the problems at the CRA. Her prio…
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Mr. Speaker, I have a question for my colleague. Earlier, I heard him say how important it is to move away from coal and toward other types of energy. I found that very interesting. Not so long ago, when we were examining Bill C-33 in committee, I moved an amendment to the bill. This amendment sought to ban the export of thermal coal in order to help fight climate change. However, the member's Con…
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Mr. Speaker, I would like to ask my Conservative colleague a question about the Liberal government's latest announcement. It has announced a temporary, two-month tax holiday on certain products, and it is proposing to send out $250 cheques to people earning $150,000 or less. I view this as sheer opportunism or cynicism. The government is handing out gifts to buy votes. There are well-worn tactics …
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Madam Speaker, I just want to know if there is quorum in the House.
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Mr. Speaker, I congratulate my colleague on his speech that was full of passion and rhetoric. However, I would like to bring him back to the topic at hand. My colleague is upset about the fact that we are just now debating the committee report from two years ago, but I am not sure whether he listened to the speech by my colleague from Avignon—La Mitis—Matane—Matapédia. In her speech, my colleague …
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Madam Speaker, I rise on a point of order. I would like to ask if there is quorum in the House.
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Madam Speaker, senators Peter Boehm and Peter Harder just stabbed our farmers in the back. They just amended Bill C‑282 to prevent it from protecting supply management in trade renegotiations. At the very moment that Donald Trump is saying that he wants to renegotiate CUSMA, these two senators are guaranteeing that supply management will be back on the table. The Prime Minister appointed these two…
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Madam Speaker, they are so independent that it was this Prime Minister who appointed them and, apparently, they are all good buddies. These two unelected individuals, Peter Boehm and Peter Harder, are working against the interests of our farmers. They are working against the will of elected officials from all parties who supported Bill C-282. They are working against our constituents. They are wor…
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Mr. Speaker, although my colleague's speech was definitely interesting, it had nothing to do with what we are debating. I will therefore ask him a question about the positions taken by his colleagues who actually talked about the subject we are debating. I am concerned to hear members of the government say that it is ridiculous, that there is filibustering in the House and that it prevents them fr…
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Madam Speaker, I have trouble understanding why my colleague opposite is so indignant. I have witnessed him expressing his indignation again and again, day after day, for nearly a month now. The Bloc Québécois offered the government a way out so that we could move forward and end the standoff. We sent it a proposal that would benefit Quebeckers and maybe even Canadians. We asked it to boost retire…
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Mr. Speaker, the Bloc Québécois would also like to have the opportunity to carefully review the member's concerns before speaking to the matter.
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Mr. Speaker, after 500 days of filibustering, we have to wonder whether Peter Boehm and Peter Harder are part of a Liberal anti-supply-management movement, along with John Manley. Comparing our farmers to the deadliest lobby in the United States is insulting. Comparing the protection of our human-scale agriculture sector to totalitarianism is outrageous beyond words. All of this comes from a key f…
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Mr. Speaker, I congratulate my colleague on her speech in support of transparency and information sharing. I think it is important and commendable and something we should see from every government. That got me thinking. If the Conservative Party comes to power, can we assume that it will be committed to greater transparency and better government accountability? We know that during the Harper years…
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Mr. Speaker, tomorrow will mark 500 days since the House adopted Bill C‑282, which seeks to protect supply management in trade agreements. People are wondering why two Liberal-appointed senators, Peter Boehm and Peter Harder, are filibustering so hard. We may have gotten a clue yesterday, when former Liberal minister John Manley, a prominent member of Jean Chrétien's government, compared our farme…
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Mr. Speaker, I would like to pay tribute to a distinguished member of the House who was first elected in Verchères in 1993 at the age of 28, in his very first election under the Bloc Québécois banner. He was re-elected without interruption until he made the leap to the National Assembly in 2005, where he notably served as public safety minister from 2012 to 2014. After taking a short break from po…
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Mr. Speaker, I rise on a point of order. There have been consultations among the parties, and I think that, if you seek it, you will find unanimous consent to allow me to present a petition that I was planning to table today in the presence of certain elected officials from my riding who are here on Parliament Hill.
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Mr. Speaker, I rise in the House to officially table petition e‑4845, which was certified pursuant to Standing Order 36. The petition has been signed by 1,315 people and was initiated by Alexandre Bélisle, the mayor of Verchères, as well as all the municipal councillors, who are here today on Parliament Hill. The petition calls on the House of Commons to bring this matter to the attention of the G…
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Mr. Speaker, I think you are doing a great job. The one comment I would make in response to my colleague's speech also applies, in my opinion, to the speeches of other Conservative members who have made similar remarks about the motion under discussion today. First, I want to say that, yes, we want to see the documents. We would appreciate that. I do not think anyone could reasonably object to tra…
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Mr. Speaker, I rise in the House to highlight the 40th edition of the Salon des métiers d'art de Boucherville, an artisan market that will run from November 1 to 3, 2024. With the exception of a two-year hiatus during the pandemic, this market has been held annually since its inaugural year in 1982. It is successful. Every year, thousands of visitors flock to find unique and original creations for…
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Madam Speaker, I have the opportunity to sit on the Standing Committee on Transport, Infrastructure and Communities with my colleague. In my experience, every time we say the word “document”, panic sets in on the other side of the House, that is, with the members of the governing party. It is as though they have gone mad all of a sudden and feel the need to stop everything, block everything. A kin…
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Mr. Speaker, I will begin by saying that I will be sharing my time with the member for Drummond. I hope his speech is good. It usually is. I will listen to it closely. On June 10, the House was clear when it gave the government the order to submit a series of documents to the law clerk of the House so that he could hand them over to the police. Why did it do that? That is the question. The Liberal…
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Mr. Speaker, I am a little surprised to hear my colleague ask that question. Given all the time he spends in the House, he has had the opportunity to ask multiple people here that question multiple times. Furthermore, I pre-emptively answered his question at the beginning of my speech. I do not know if he was listening. In any case, the issue is not what the police want, what judges want or what a…
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Mr. Speaker, when I speak to my constituents, and I speak to them fairly often since I maintain a very active presence in my riding, not that many express the desire for an election. Most are fed up with the Trudeau government. Most have no desire to see Poilievre take his place. They basically have to choose between the lesser of... I apologize.
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Mr. Speaker, I have a question about checking for quorum. For members to be counted for quorum, should they not be in their seats? Can they be seated wherever they like in the House?
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Mr. Speaker, I could not agree more with my colleague's comment. I would add that the Liberals came to power in 2015. At the time, they formed a majority government, so they acted like a majority government. I think that a majority government should still collaborate with the other parties, but that was not the case with this government. It was completely arrogant. In 2019 the Liberals formed a mi…
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Mr. Speaker, most people are fed up with the Liberal government but most have no desire to see the Conservatives in power either. They have but one solution, and that is the Bloc Québécois. We will continue to do our job. It turns out that the Bloc Québécois could hold the balance of power at present. I think we could get some things done if there is co-operation on the other side of the House.
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Mr. Speaker, I move that the 11th report of the Standing Committee on Transport, Infrastructure and Communities presented to the House on Tuesday, April 25, 2023, be concurred in. I am rising in the House today because I want us to debate the report of the Standing Committee on Transport, Infrastructure and Communities on the impact of commercial shipping on shoreline erosion. I am rising today to…
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Mr. Speaker, I am pleased that the Liberal member mentioned this, because it will allow me to correct some misperceptions. I did have the opportunity to ask questions about this subject in the House in oral question period, and I am fairly certain that the Liberal member was there because he has been a member of Parliament for a few years now. With respect to the report, it is pretty simple. It wa…
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Mr. Speaker, I would have preferred that my colleague ask a question about the report, since I am sure that some of his constituents, and certainly some Conservative members, live in areas along the St. Lawrence River. Some of these citizens surely would have liked to learn more about the situation and hear their member fight for it. To get back to my colleague's more specific question, I think we…
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Mr. Speaker, I must admit that I have not seen my colleague from Rosemont—La Petite‑Patrie's bill. I have not read it, so it is hard for me to take a stand on it on the spur of the moment. Nevertheless, I will take advantage of my colleague's comment to make something perfectly clear. Our goal is not to prohibit shipping, but rather to mitigate the impact of ships' passage so that citizens do not …
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Mr. Speaker, my colleague asked a very good question. I think that I can answer it by giving another example. When we said that Quebec's resources were at capacity and that the federal government needed to find solutions for asylum seekers and temporary residents, such as fair distribution among the provinces, we were called every name in the book. However, when the other provinces started saying …
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Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank my colleague for his work at committee. I read the Conservatives' supplementary opinion. Obviously, I understand their point of view. They want to limit spending. They simply say that they have no problem with investing in this, but that the money needs to come from somewhere else, so spending in other areas will have to be reduced. I agree with the member that t…
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Madam Speaker, I would like to set the record straight on certain things that have been said by members of the governing party. The government pats itself on the back and keeps telling us that it has been working hard because it implemented voluntary speed limits for commercial shipping. When was that introduced? It was 20 years ago. For 20 years, the riverbanks have continued to erode. How is it …
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Mr. Speaker, I am obviously prejudiced against the federal government, but I wanted to give it a fair chance. I initially blamed the lack of a response, and especially the lack of proactive measures, on the minister in place at the time, Marc Garneau. It was almost impossible to schedule a meeting or have a discussion with him. We felt like he was asleep at the switch. We could not believe how uni…
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Madam Speaker, we would like a recorded division.
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Mr. Speaker, I would like to give my colleague, who now sits on the committee with me, the opportunity to comment on certain remarks, particularly those made by the parliamentary secretary. Like my colleague, he also mentioned in his intervention that the seaway and shipping are part of Canada's way of life. The economic benefits are incredible. Yes, shipping supplies Quebec, Ontario, even part of…
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Madam Speaker, I will take this opportunity to elaborate on the thought I tried to express briefly earlier and to ask my colleague a question. Some government members said there was money to protect the shoreline, but the truth is, that money is often spent on a pilot project here or a research project there, or it is paid out on an ad hoc basis when a city applies for a program. The thing is, ind…
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Mr. Speaker, I would like to respond to my colleague's remarks. The first thing that bears mentioning is that he said this might not be the most pressing issue of the day and that we could discuss something else. I hope that is not the government's actual response or position, because there are hundreds of people in my riding who have been fighting for this for years. They find the government's in…
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Madam Speaker, soon there will be an opportunity to apologize to many seniors. What good are the Liberals to seniors? The Minister of Seniors is holding back 10% of the OAS pension from 12,000 seniors in Gatineau. The Liberals' Quebec lieutenant is doing that to 14,000 seniors in the riding of Québec. The Prime Minister is denying 8,000 seniors in the riding of Papineau their pension increase. We …
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Madam Speaker, the House voted to end the two-tier approach to seniors by increasing the OAS pension for seniors aged 65 to 74 by 10%. Seventy-nine per cent of the population agrees with us. The Minister of Seniors will have to explain himself. According to the new electoral map, he is penalizing more than 12,000 seniors in the riding of Gatineau and 30,000 in the Gatineau census division he repre…
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Madam Speaker, my question for my colleague is going to be simple. We have been debating this question of privilege that was raised here in the House for a long time, a week or two. This situation is a result of the government's stubborn refusal to hand over the documents. If the government had allowed the documents be tabled in the House, Parliament would not be paralyzed like this. I have been a…
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