Parliamentary Speeches
523 speeches by Xavier Barsalou-Duval — Page 9 of 11
Government Orders
Madam Speaker, I thank the Conservative member for his speech evoking his concerns about China. I have to say that I found it very interesting. I also found his colleagues' speeches interesting. They were somewhat similar. They, too, spoke about China's investments and the fact that we must ensure that we are not indirectly controlled by the Chinese state. I do have some questions. In his speech a…
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Madam Speaker, I listened to the speech given by my Liberal colleague. He said that it was important to give the minister more powers to review foreign investments. I concur. More powers and further review are necessary, but I wonder what the government is doing with this power once acquired. I clearly remember a case, in 2016, because it happened in my riding. Rona, a very important Quebec-based …
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Madam Speaker, I would like to congratulate the minister for her advocacy on behalf of families and child care services. I believe it is important to support them. We are pleased to see that the government is of the same mind and has the will to take action. However, I will nonetheless point out that, in theory, social matters such as the management of day care is a provincial and not a federal ju…
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Madam Speaker, I very much appreciated the speech made by the member across the aisle. It was a thoughtful speech, full of nuance, insight and goodwill. It was good to hear. Sometimes, members on the other side of the House say all sorts of ultra-partisan things, and it is difficult to find something interesting that we can build on. That is not the case today, and I appreciate that. I like to see…
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Mr. Speaker, Bill C‑18 has been introduced at last. I would be remiss if I did not mention from the outset that we have been waiting a long time for a bill to help local journalism and our media. This is a good thing. One could say it is a shame it took so long. Here it is 2022, and it is not as though web giants showed up just last week. They have been around for years. It took the government a v…
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Mr. Speaker, we are talking about Bill C‑26, which deals with national security, and discussions about national security inevitably include the issue of interference from elsewhere, from other countries. Security threats can be internal as well as external. With respect to external threats, there is a lot of talk right now about the possibility that China interfered in our elections. Earlier, some…
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Madam Speaker, I very much liked and agreed with some of the points my colleague raised in his speech. I am thinking about his concerns about the delays in the delivery of federal government services. These delays are so bad that we wonder if the government is working at all or if it is simply broken. I would now like to talk more about Bill S‑4. The member talked about wait times, but the bill is…
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Mr. Speaker, I listened closely to my colleague's speech on Bill S‑4, among other things. My colleague spoke at length about the justice system, and I think it is important that we have a strong one. In that regard, there is something that Quebec has been calling for for years but that my colleague did not mention in her speech, nor did I see it in Bill S‑4, which is before us today. I am talking …
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Mr. Speaker, the federal government unilaterally decided to bring the deadline to submit infrastructure projects forward by two years. If Quebec and its cities fail to meet the deadline, the federal government will keep $2.7 billion, and we will be unable to use it in our ridings. Yesterday, Éric Forest, the former president of the Union des municipalités du Québec, wrote an opinion piece explaini…
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Mr. Speaker, the Liberals do not appear to understand how it actually works on the ground. Their role in projects is not complicated. They announce the money and then come and cut the ribbons when it is finished. The reality is that our cities are the ones doing the actual work. The reality is also that the Union des municipalités du Québec has said that this is not good enough. Just last week, th…
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Mr. Speaker, I truly admire my colleague's work. I have seen how proactive he is in the House. He is always around to give speeches and ask questions. He really is very active. Something is bugging me though. It seems that I do not often see his other colleagues show up to work as hard as he does. I wonder if there is a reason for that? Perhaps he could tell us more about that?
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Mr. Speaker, I have noted my colleague's comments. Earlier in his speech, he mentioned how it seemed that, on that side of the House, it is often the same few members who rise to speak. There seems to be a very limited circle of people on the other side of the House who take the floor. I found that interesting. I was wondering whether my colleague could tell us more about his thoughts on that. I w…
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Mr. Speaker, I would like to say that I really appreciated my colleague's nuanced and moderate speech. In particular, he cited facts related to his personal experience. It is good to hear speeches that leave hyperpartisanship behind. I really want to congratulate my colleague for his speech and the position he has taken. This brings me to a subject that he only touched on, but that seemed importan…
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Mr. Speaker, we are here today to discuss the government's Bill C‑32. Regular people will probably have a better idea of what I am talking about if I refer to it as the economic update. For most people, “Bill C‑32” does not mean much at all. Typically, an economic update tweaks the budget tabled earlier that year. Early in the year, in March, the government announces measures for the coming year. …
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Mr. Speaker, it is interesting to hear the parliamentary secretary's comments. What he basically said is that my speech, my opinion, my point of view are not valid because I am a separatist, some shady character who is dangerous. They refuse to listen. No matter what we say, it will be rejected. Well, I say to him that his actions actually fuel separatism and the desire to be independent. My colle…
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Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank my colleague for his very pertinent question. Basically, he is asking about health transfers. That is interesting, because my speech was about infrastructure and what the federal government is doing, sticking its fat nose in other people's business and blackmailing us with a gun to our head. The exact same thing is happening with health transfers. It is exactly t…
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Mr. Speaker, I heard my colleague's question, but I must say that it did not have much to do with my speech. However, I know that my colleague is from the riding of Nunavut. It is useful to point that out, because we are jealous of the Canada-Nunavut infrastructure framework agreement. Interestingly, the earlier deadlines apply to the provinces, but not to the territories. Perhaps a member from ac…
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Mr. Speaker, it is right there in the economic update. The federal government decided that Quebec municipalities may lose $2.7 billion in infrastructure funding if they do not submit their proposals in 2023 instead of 2025, as originally planned. In a public statement today, the Union des municipalités du Québec asked the federal government to change its mind so they do not lose the infrastructure…
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Mr. Speaker, I think the member opposite was reading from the wrong notes again. Maybe he did not understand that the Government of Quebec and the federal government signed an agreement stating that municipalities have until 2025 to submit proposals. We are talking $2.7 billion—
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Mr. Speaker, I was saying that I hope the next time the member opposite will use the right talking points when answering me. I was saying that the Quebec government cannot believe it. The government opposite has decided to rip up a signed agreement stating that cities had until 2025 to submit projects. Now, $2.7 billion is at stake. We are being told that we are in the wrong. We are in the wrong b…
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Mr. Speaker, I find that surprising. I have been hearing the Liberals boast about the government's economic update all morning. I do not understand why they think it is so positive, given that there is a really important request, not only from the Government of Quebec, but from all the provinces in Canada. It may be easier for the government to be amenable to a request when it does not come from Q…
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Madam Speaker, the Bloc Québécois is very aware of the issues facing the French language. The hon. member for Rivière‑des‑Mille‑Îles, our veterans affairs critic, has taken up the fight and has often spoken about the major inequities between francophone and anglophone veterans, including the fact that francophones' files are shelved and nothing is done about them. I would like to know whether my c…
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Mr. Speaker, Michel Lepage passed away on October 25, 2022, just before his 75th birthday. Mr. Lepage was an expert pollster who worked for the Parti Québécois for 30 years and served under five premiers from René Lévesque to Bernard Landry. He could predict the outcome of an election within a hair's breadth. Michel Lepage dedicated his entire life to Quebec's independence. He was always cheerful …
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Madam Speaker, I was stunned by what I heard from my colleague across the aisle. He would have us believe that there were no problems with ArriveCAN. One would think this was Alice in Wonderland. According to the member opposite it was a great success, when, really, it caused complete chaos. Our constituency offices received complaints from people in a state of panic who were afraid of being fined…
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Madam Speaker, I am rather surprised by what the member opposite said. He seems to be saying that his government's actions were above reproach and that everything went well. However, just this summer, the Minister of Transport was urgently called to testify and explain the whole mess surrounding the ArriveCAN app and the chaos in our airports. His response was not very convincing. Today's oppositi…
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Madam Speaker, I have to admit I am a little disappointed because I feel like I just listened to the most painful speech of the day so far. Let us not kid ourselves: The Conservatives are not perfect—far from it—but the official opposition's motion does deserve credit for raising an important issue, namely, what happened to the $54 million and how was that money managed? I think that is a reasonab…
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Madam Speaker, I enjoyed the speech by the member for Terrebonne. Naturally, she focused on the ethical dimension, including when she referred to the sponsorship scandal. I think she could have also referred to the WE Charity scandal, in which a billion-dollar contract was awarded to friends of the Prime Minister. There is also the famous respirator contract granted at the time to well-known Liber…
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Madam Speaker, I thank my colleague opposite for his speech. Cleary, dental care is a concern of his. That is all to his credit. Perhaps he is not aware, but since health care is under provincial jurisdiction, Quebec has already implemented its own dental care system in which children under the age of 10 are covered. The cheque system that the Liberals are implementing—because it is not really a d…
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Madam Speaker, the question asked by the hon. member across the aisle is interesting, because he is playing word games. He says that we should support the program because Quebeckers will get money. It is true, some Quebeckers will get money. The problem is that, on average, Quebeckers will receive half the amount per child that people in the rest of Canada will get. On average, Quebeckers will rec…
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Madam Speaker, I rise today to speak to the much-discussed Bill C-31 introduced by the Liberal government. What to think about it? This is an unusual bill. On the one hand, it proposes helping families with children under the age of 12 access dental care. On the other hand, it provides rent assistance to those who are struggling to make ends meet because of inflation. In essence, these are ideas w…
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Madam Speaker, what I would like to know is whether the hon. member for Rosemont—La Petite-Patrie is okay with Quebec receiving half as much money as the rest of Canada, despite the fact that we pay our taxes like everyone else. It is outrageous. The federal government is overstepping its jurisdiction. I look forward to seeing the hon. member try to defend this to the Quebeckers in his riding and …
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Madam Speaker, my Conservative colleague asked a very good question. Were the provinces consulted? To my knowledge, the Canadian Dental Association must not have been consulted. If it was consulted, no one listened, because what it recommends is more funding to enhance existing programs. I want to emphasize the words “existing programs”, because that makes all the difference. The sad thing is that…
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Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank the member for Longueuil—Saint‑Hubert for his passionate speech, above all a speech full of conviction. It is good to be shaken up once in a while, to have someone who speaks their mind, lays it all out on the table and tells it like it is. Some members seem to be promoting the status quo, the old British Crown colonialism, with its symbols and history that is fr…
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Mr. Speaker, for me, being a royal subject is not part of my identity that I am proud of. In fact, I would say that it is almost shameful. I might add that, unlike others here, I did not have a book of condolences for the Queen on my desk for people to sign, although anyone who wanted to was quite free to do so. That said, I listened to the monarchical plea of my colleague across the way. I strong…
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Mr. Speaker, since this morning, we have been hearing the Conservatives and Liberals basically singing the same tune, one after the other. They are wondering how the Bloc Québécois could have chosen such an unimportant subject when there are so many more important things to talk about than the monarchy. However, the monarchy is the head of state, the person at the very top of the pyramid. Is that …
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Madam Speaker, long-time members are used to seeing the parties, when tabling bills or presenting motions on opposition day, do a sort of brief reading as a preview, to give an idea what it will be about. Unfortunately, when I looked at the motion today, I thought that the Conservatives had to know that a lot of members tend to do that. The motion lists all kinds of things that are much like half-…
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Madam Speaker, I would like to add a few things to what my colleague opposite has just said. I think he made a comment rather than ask a question, but I am pleased with what he said. In my view, it is not enough to say that we have to turn to the future, we also have to be enthusiastic about it. Often, when we take the initiative and choose to engage collectively in a promising project, people lif…
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Madam Speaker, I do not think we are out of touch with reality in Quebec. The motion is related first and foremost to the carbon tax, which we are not overly familiar with in Quebec because it does not apply there. Perhaps the member was not aware of that. Since the carbon tax does not apply in Quebec, its effect on inflation is quite minimal compared to what it could be elsewhere. However, there …
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Madam Speaker, my colleague just asked a good question. As Quebec separatists, of course we want federal taxes like the GST to be as low as possible. I do not see why we would oppose removing the GST from home heating fuel. That would be a good start. However, if the government ever moved forward with that, it would be nice if it applied to Hydro-Québec too. The problem is that the federal governm…
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Madam Speaker, the Bloc Québécois is proposing measures to combat inflation. It is suggesting, for example, helping people who are hardest hit by inflation, including pensioners, who are often on a fixed income. I did not hear the NDP say anything about that. Still, I do think that the NDP MPs are also concerned about inflation. I would like to know if we can count on the NDP's support to help our…
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Mr. President, 35 years ago in Vieux‑Boucherville, Charles Desmarteau Sr. founded a newspaper and called it La Relève. It was a bold move given that another well-established weekly paper, La Seigneurie, had already occupied the market for over 20 years. Thus, a rivalry began. It continued until 2018, despite the difficult environment that the news media are facing. They are not on a level playing …
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, during Statements by Members, just before Oral Questions, the member for Nunavut made her statement in her mother tongue. Her statement must have been very interesting, but, unfortunately, I was unable to understand what she was saying. There was English interpretation, but not French. I deplore this situation, and I hope it will be fixed before next time. I believe that my privilege …
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Madam Speaker, I think that my NDP colleague raises a good point. Some people took advantage of the pandemic to line their pockets, unlike others, who are now tightening their belts. With the current rate of inflation, oil companies are making extraordinary profits. It appears that the banks also made huge profits and that some food industries increased their profit margins. It is not acceptable t…
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Madam Speaker, I thank my colleague for his question. He asked me how people are living with the carbon tax in my riding. Perhaps this will explain the reality of my riding. I must say that no one in my riding talks to me about the carbon tax. The reason is quite simple: This tax does not exist in Quebec. As for the reality in my colleague's riding, I would encourage him to have another look at hi…
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Madam Speaker, my colleague's question is very pertinent. They are playing with words. I am an accountant and we talked about payroll taxes and social security premiums in my accounting courses. They are playing with words a bit. Generally speaking, when we talk about a tax, we are not talking about a specific program that will benefit citizens. There are taxes we pay when we purchase goods, and t…
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Madam Speaker, I will begin by saying I will be sharing my time with the member for Terrebonne, who will definitely be very interesting to listen to. Before getting into the presentation on our topic today, I think it is important to properly understand the motion. As some have already mentioned, reading it feels like déjà-vu. It feels like we are debating the same topic we did on Tuesday, on the …
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Madam Speaker, since this morning, we have been debating the notorious carbon tax that does not apply in Quebec, but does apply elsewhere in Canada. I have heard many Liberal members, including my colleague across the aisle, say that one solution to help reduce gas and shipping costs is to switch to electric vehicles. We completely support such a transition. I am a huge supporter. However, one thi…
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Madam Speaker, the hon. member across the aisle is from the riding of Hochelaga, which is known for having a large number of low-income families. What does she have to say to all of the low-income families whose taxes will be used to send payments to families with children between the ages of 0 and 9 in the other provinces, while their own situation remains the same?
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Mr. Speaker, what I have been hearing from my colleague, the leader of the NDP, is nothing new. He is always promoting greater federal interference in provincial jurisdictions and, in particular, Quebec's jurisdictions. He made an impassioned plea for better dental care. I completely agree that we need better dental care. However, does the member not realize that Quebec already has a dental plan f…
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Mr. Speaker, I really enjoyed the speech by my NDP colleague. It is great to see so much support for people with disabilities. The Bloc Québécois supports them as well. However, there is something missing, and I believe that it is important to address it. In that regard, we should also commend the fact that the government wants to improve the situation. Nevertheless, we have noted something that s…
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