Parliamentary Speeches
539 speeches by Xavier Barsalou-Duval — Page 6 of 11
Routine Proceedings
Madam Speaker, I congratulate my colleague on his very interesting speech. We see that he is very interested in the issue and he takes it seriously. It is nice to see that even when people are not members of committees they can still be interested in certain files and get to the heart of the matter. I think that the comments he shared with the House are very constructive, very pragmatic and also v…
Read full speech →Orders of the Day
Mr. Speaker, the order of the House to produce documents was made on June 10. If I am not mistaken, today is September 27. That is a rather long time, and yet the principle is clear, is it not? The House can request any document that it deems appropriate to request. I would like to know what my colleague thinks of a government that does not give the House the documents it should, when the governme…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Madam Speaker, I do not know whether I want to congratulate my colleague on his speech. I often begin my remarks by congratulating a colleague on their speech, but instead I would like to address a few of the things my colleague said. Two things in particular stood out to me. He denounced the carbon tax and criticized the Bloc Québécois for supporting the government. Allow me to set the record str…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, the member for Bellechasse—Les Etchemins—Lévis looks really mad right now. Based on what she is saying, one might think the Bloc Québécois is in power. Maybe she is mad because she can see that we have a bit of power and that we are trying to use that balance of power to do good things for Quebec. In her speech, she talked about housing. She also said that they would be less centraliz…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, I would like to comment on my Liberal colleague's speech on today's motion. We could draw a similar parallel with the other Conservative motion that was moved earlier this week. I would like to know what my colleague opposite thinks about the Bloc's demands. The reason we have decided not to vote with the Conservatives is essentially because we think we can make gains, gains that we c…
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
Mr. Speaker, since I did not have the opportunity to do so earlier during questions and comments, I want to begin by commenting on the speech that the member for Winnipeg North just gave. I was extremely surprised. Right now, we are talking about the homelessness crisis, which is closely related to the housing crisis, but to hear the member for Winnipeg North talk, it sounds like he does not think…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Madam Speaker, I commend my Green Party colleague for her very interesting speech. It is clear that she knows a lot about this file, even though she is not a member of the committee. I tip my hat to her. I would like to ask her a quick question about the amendment she is defending, because that is why she rose to speak. Why is the amendment stipulating that we will stop exporting coal as of 2025 i…
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
Mr. Speaker, my colleague's question is extremely interesting. It brings the Conservatives' hypocrisy to light. In fact, my colleague's question is not about the motion or the report on the housing crisis we are discussing today, despite the fact that the Conservatives are the ones who started the debate. If they really wanted to resolve the housing problem, I think they would ask questions about …
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
Mr. Speaker, I am pleased that we are taking up this report on the housing crisis by the Standing Committee on Human Resources, Skills and Social Development and the Status of Persons with Disabilities. We have not really talked about this yet. Yes, Parliament is only just back in session, but we have not yet talked about it, despite it being such a major issue. Everyone is affected by this situat…
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
Mr. Speaker, I congratulate the Conservatives for starting this debate, because I think it is timely. We are in the midst of a housing crisis, so I think it only makes sense to talk about housing. That said, my question has to do with the Conservatives' strategy for solving the housing crisis. Not too long ago, I had a conversation with people from the UMQ, the Union des municipalités du Québec. T…
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
Mr. Speaker, I would like to applaud the statement made by my colleague from Rosemont—La Petite-Patrie. I totally agree with him. That is similar to the solution the Bloc Québécois is promoting. Oftentimes, there are already agreements and arrangements, whether we are talking about the TECQ, the gas tax and Quebec's contribution program, or infrastructure agreements. Why can they not just extend t…
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
Mr. Speaker, what I find interesting about my colleague's question is that it has nothing to do with cities in Quebec. Cities in Quebec would totally disagree. In fact, representatives from Quebec cities told me that they are already working with the federal government. Money is already being directed into housing-related infrastructure through the TECQ program, and that money comes from the gas t…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Madam Speaker, I would like to congratulate my colleague on her speech, which was very clear, very interesting and very well structured. She has made a significant contribution to the study of this bill. I am wondering about something in her speech that caught my attention. She mentioned that the member for Rivière-du-Nord wanted to bring forward an amendment to ensure that the judges on the judic…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Madam Speaker, I commend my colleague on her speech. I would like to ask her a question that I had the chance to ask my colleague from Salaberry—Suroît a bit earlier. As we know, the member for Rivière-du-Nord would like to ensure that the judges sitting on the review commission are bilingual. According to Canada's official bilingualism policy, both languages should have equal status. Can my colle…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Madam Speaker, I would like to begin by saying that I will be sharing my time with the member for Berthier—Maskinongé. We are here today to discuss the Conservatives' opposition day motion. It is not hard to guess what today's topic of discussion will be. For at least a year, I cannot recall a single Conservative opposition day that addressed anything but the carbon tax. Generally, when another pa…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Madam Speaker, my response will be very brief. The minister just raised a good point. However, I also wonder about the cost of all these tax credits that the Liberal government is offering to the oil companies and all these subsidies in terms of the impact on climate change. That is information that we would very much like to have. Perhaps our next opposition day could be on that issue.
Read full speech →Government Orders
Madam Speaker, my colleague raises a good point. She asked me whether I am concerned about so much money ending up in the oil companies' coffers. My answer is yes, absolutely. The government is taking our tax dollars and sending them to the oil companies. Here are some figures on oil company profits in 2023. Suncor made $2.8 billion in profits. Imperial Oil made $4.9 billion. Enbridge made $5.8 bi…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Madam Speaker, what I find sad is the Conservatives' total lack of intellectual integrity. That is what I find sad. All day, they have been saying that the tax will have a $5‑billion impact on Quebec, but that is utterly false. That $5 billion does not exist. It will never exist. It is a number in an Excel spreadsheet, and they know perfectly well that it does not apply to Quebec. All they wanted …
Read full speech →Government Orders
Madam Speaker, I thank my colleague for her question. To be perfectly honest, I did not really examine the effect the carbon tax has on all Canadians, and I did not calculate how much money does or does not end up back in their pockets, because it simply does not apply in Quebec. The Conservatives do not seem to understand that, because they insist on discussing the carbon tax on every one of thei…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, since I have very little time, I would just like to say something and perhaps ask my colleague a question. Not very long ago, the leader of the Bloc Québécois and member for Beloeil—Chambly introduced a bill to prevent people from using the religious exemption to engage in hate speech. I would like to know whether this bill addresses that very important matter.
Read full speech →Private Members' Business
Mr. Speaker, I would first like to commend the member for Cumberland—Colchester on his bill. I had the chance to mention this earlier, but I think that mental health is an important issue. It is something we do not talk about enough. It is often taboo. The purpose of this bill is to give a little help to those who use mental health services by removing the goods and services tax from these service…
Read full speech →Private Members' Business
Mr. Speaker, I would like to begin by congratulating my colleague on his bill. Whether it passes or not, it will be a victory because it will have been incorporated into Bill C-59. I wanted to put forward an amendment in the House to ensure that Quebec's specificity and the expertise that Quebec has developed, particularly in the fields of psychoeducation and sexology, would be recognized in this …
Read full speech →Statements By Members
Mr. Speaker, last week, more than 500 Verchères residents banded together to show how much they love the Verchères wharf, which is in desperate need of some TLC. For almost 30 years, the Verchères wharf has been abandoned by the federal government, gradually falling into such disrepair that access has been restricted since the pandemic. The people of Verchères cannot understand why the federal gov…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, I could answer quickly that the concern for a Bloc Québécois MP like me is primarily for Quebec, the municipalities of Quebec, its jurisdictions and all the rest. I am not necessarily against what my colleague is proposing, that we should take into consideration the dates of other provincial and municipal elections. In fact, from the point of view of a parliamentarian or a federal gov…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Madam Speaker, I would just like to know if we have quorum in the House.
Read full speech →Government Orders
Madam Speaker, the member opposite gave an excellent speech praising the merits of the bill introduced by his government. From what he said, it seems like this is a very worthwhile bill. I want to commend him for that. There seem to be a lot of good things in his bill. However, he did not mention the issue that this bill fails to address, and I am wondering why. Often, when the Liberals introduce …
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Madam Speaker, the Liberals promised Justice Hogue access to all the information. The Prime Minister needs to keep his promise. Let us not forget that the Hogue commission was created because the Liberals were refusing to shed light on Chinese interference. Let us not forget that the Prime Minister even tried to set up a phony investigation by appointing his own investigator, an old family friend.…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, today we are debating Bill C-65, tabled by the Minister of Public Safety, Democratic Institutions and Intergovernmental Affairs. I want to give a bit of background on the content of the bill before delving into the details of the Bloc Québécois's position. The bill is presented as a means to encourage voter participation. It is hard to be against such an objective. I could talk about …
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, I think my colleague raises a very interesting point. The government's priority should not be to work to ensure that its members make bank. The government's priority should be to ensure that the public can vote under the best possible circumstances. The government is saying that it is going to make elections better, that it will be easier for people to vote, but that it wants to do it…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, my colleague said that the NDP would like to keep the original date with an amendment. What I do not understand is why the NDP needs it and why it is announcing it now. When the bill was introduced, the NDP was patting itself on the back, saying that they had worked on it together and that it was so proud of the bill's outcome. In the end, they came forward with something else today. …
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for a very good question. I think she raises a good point with the so-called electoral reform, by which I mean the latest redistribution. The electoral map is obviously a part of democracy. Unfortunately, there is nothing in this bill to correct the issues being faced in regions where the ridings are even larger, where the impression of being far from power is eve…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, I do not think the member opposite understood my answer. What I am telling him is that I am a member of the Bloc Québécois, a member from Quebec, and that my focus is Quebec. However, he is a member of the party in power, and it is up to the Liberals to manage the entire country and all the concerns of every province. It is up to them to find solutions. If someone tables a solution to…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, I have a question for my colleague. Her speech was quite enlightening about this situation, meaning the lack of will to implement the bill and ensure that it can come into force in the short term. As I do not have much time, I will be brief. The Quebec government settled this issue in 1977, almost 50 years ago. That is half a century. The first time someone decided to try to update th…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, I would like to congratulate the member for Timmins—James Bay on his excellent speech. It was one of the most inspiring speeches we have heard in support of the cause of workers. If there is anything that needs to be recognized today, it is that the NDP always defends workers in its speeches. I am glad to hear that. However, the Bloc Québécois had proposed an amendment in committee to…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, we in the Bloc Québécois believe that any form of intimidation of elected officials, especially when it comes from outside the country, is absolutely unacceptable. We are concerned about practices like the ones we just learned about this evening from my Conservative colleague, and of course we denounce them. In such circumstances, we also believe that when elected officials are the ta…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, I have not read the specific amendments that my colleague is referring to. However, a problem that sometimes comes up when we talk about systemic racism is a prior assumption that there is a situation involving racism or systemic racism. If the goal of the amendments was to automatically assume that everyone is racist, then, of course, there may be a problem. For example, one good thi…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate my colleague on his French. I think it always deserves mention when we see people from other provinces of Canada who choose, out of respect for others and perhaps out of personal interest, to learn the language of people who are part of the same country, at least for now. A lot of Quebeckers are learning English or know it well. We…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, I have a question for my colleague opposite, who seems quite proud of his government's track record. Bill C-20, in particular, talks a lot about the work of customs officers. From the testimony given in committee, something that seemed to crop up quite often was the whole issue of overwork and fatigue among customs officers. Many of us remember the endless airport lineups to get throu…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, today we are debating Bill C-20, which deals with changes to the handling of complaints filed in connection with the level of service delivered by customs personnel or their possible misconduct. I am pleased to have the opportunity to rise in the House for a second time this week, since I did have the opportunity to give another speech earlier in the week on the government's budget. I…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, we are currently debating Bill C-20, an interesting bill. My colleague said that he intends to vote in favour of this bill. My colleague opposite will also be voting in favour, and I think my colleagues to my left will do the same. I have a feeling that everyone is going to vote in favour of the bill. Therefore, rather than talking specifically about Bill C-20, I will talk about somet…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, that question caught me a little off guard. I would say that I take it for granted that every customs officer does their job professionally and that, regardless of their skin colour and religion, they are going to do as professional a job as any other customs officer. Would forcing greater diversity among customs officers really bring about change? It seems to me this question actuall…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Madam Speaker, the member across the way just provided an eloquent demonstration of his government's position, which is to run away, not face reality, not mind its own business, and then tell others how to conduct their business. The reality is that we have child care in Quebec. We have schools in Quebec. We have hospitals in Quebec. They are not perfect, but we are taking care of them. The federa…
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, La Presse recently alerted us to the fact that the Canada Border Services Agency has an obsolete and surplus goods program. Basically, it is a program to give money to merchants who throw away their excess merchandise. We are talking about non-perishable goods. For example, let us imagine that I have a store that sells jeans. I import a new style, and I end up with unsold jeans that a…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Madam Speaker, while I share my colleague's concern about the government's colossal deficits and the fact that it may not have a plan for returning to a balanced budget, that does not necessarily make the debt-to-GDP ratio more frightening. I can understand why my colleague is concerned, but I am more concerned about seeing federal money used for things that are not federal responsibilities and sp…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Madam Speaker, I do not get the impression that my colleague's question is about the budget. I am not familiar with the program he referred to, but I will be happy to discuss it with him after my speech and this debate, if we get the opportunity. The question I am asking myself is why we always have an NDP government—or rather an NDP party, but this one is practically a government—that decides to …
Read full speech →Government Orders
Madam Speaker, since we are talking about the budget, my speech today will focus on the most recent budget, which was tabled by the Liberal government exactly two weeks ago today. Before I talk about the budget itself, I want to take a moment to give a little background. I want to talk about the context in which this budget was introduced. I would imagine that the government was aware that the pol…
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Madam Speaker, on Thursday morning, gas prices jumped by 15¢ a litre in one fell swoop. That is highway robbery. The carbon tax is not the culprit. It does not apply in Quebec. It did not even budge Thursday morning. No, the blame lies at the feet of greedy oil and gas companies getting ready for summer by bleeding everyone dry. Those same oil and gas companies, Suncor and CNRL, earned $8 billion …
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Madam Speaker, one of these days, the government will need to explain what an efficient oil subsidy is. It is funny, though. The carbon tax, which does not apply in Quebec, has a 0.15% impact on inflation, and yet the Conservatives get all worked up about it every day in Parliament. Meanwhile, when the price of gas goes up by 15¢ a litre, we do not hear a peep from them. There is a code of silence…
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, the Liberals have a lot of nerve. Instead of being helpful, they decided to be contemptuous and blackmail us with our own money, just like the Conservatives proposed. Quebec's housing minister was clear this week. She said it was out of the question for Quebec to agree to any conditions to get its fair share of a community funding envelope. Quebec cities do not fall under Ottawa's jur…
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, the federal government is not helping solve the housing crisis; it is simply stretching it out over time. Ottawa could just transfer the housing money to Quebec. That would be simple enough. Instead, the Liberals have chosen to attach conditions to the infrastructure program, supposedly to force the provinces to build housing faster. As a result, not only is housing construction slowi…
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