Parliamentary Speeches
539 speeches by Xavier Barsalou-Duval — Page 9 of 11
Government Orders
Madam Speaker, obviously I agree with my NDP colleague, who raises a really good point. I would add one thing: out of sight, out of mind. That is true in general. It means that the more distanced the executives are from the company's operations, the less interested they are in the company's well-being and results. It means that the further away the owner of a company is geographically from what is…
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Madam Speaker, the member opposite is pretty much telling us that they are going to modernize Bill C-34, that it is a good thing and that we should be pleased. I am pleased that Bill C‑34 will be updated somewhat; what is sad is that that requires rigour. The problem is that there is no rigour. Is there a way to come up with a more rigorous bill, one that would require rigour? That is what I would…
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Madam Speaker, if I am not mistaken, the member across the way is an accountant by training. So am I, as it happens. He has been an MP in the Liberal government for a few years now. If I am not mistaken, he, like me, was elected in 2015. In 2015, the net benefit review threshold was $369 million. Today, the threshold is $1.9 billion. There is quite a gap between $1.9 billion and $369 million. Howe…
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Madam Speaker, I totally agree with what the Conservative member said. It does not make any sense for an enterprise owned by foreign interests, not just private interests, but state-owned foreign interests, to be able to buy anything under the threshold he mentioned without any oversight. The government is not even bothering to look at whether it is a good thing or not. A review should be automati…
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Madam Speaker, I found my Conservative colleague's speech very enlightening. I find it interesting that he pointed out that there have been cases in the past, which were investigated after the fact, where there was an obligation to conduct a national security review. The government does not seem to have done the work it was required to do and analyze whether the investment was a good idea or not. …
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Madam Speaker, I would like to thank the member for her interesting speech. What is unfortunate is that there is a major problem in Bill C‑34. I do not understand why the government has not addressed it. It had the opportunity to modernize the Investment Canada Act. It addressed national security. That is a good thing. However, there is another aspect, the net benefit review, which has an extremel…
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Madam Speaker, I congratulate my colleague from Louis‑Saint‑Laurent on his excellent speech. It was quite interesting and very intellectually stimulating. It is a pleasure to listen to that kind of speech. I would like to go back to the issue of the net benefit analysis. I think my colleague mentioned this in his speech. In the Investment Canada Act, there is a review threshold that seems to go up…
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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 want to commend the speech given by the member opposite in support of Bill C‑34, which gives the Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry a little bit more power to review foreign investments. That in itself will be good for national security. However, I do not think we should limit ourselves to national security, but rather, I think other criteria should be added for reviewin…
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Madam Speaker, I listened intently to my colleague's speech. He had a lot to say about China, and rightly so, in my opinion. I think we should all be concerned about China's actions and its investments, which do not always comply with our laws. However, not all investment is from China. Many other countries invest. Under the Investment Canada Act, which is what we are debating today, when a major …
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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, we are used to hearing from the member opposite, but it is nice to know that he is capable of talking about different subjects. We see more and more of that every day. I listened to his speech and I felt like it was missing a vital component, something that seems to be missing from most of the speeches given by most of the parties here in the House. I am talking about national consi…
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Madam Speaker, I share the concerns of my Conservative colleague about Chinese investments, which are not always wise, and about the lax approach and lack of verification by this government. I want to take this opportunity to mention that a Chinese spy was recently arrested at Hydro‑Québec facilities. We often hear the Liberals brag about the fact that they are working hard for the electrification…
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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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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 …
Read full speech →Oral Questions
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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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 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, 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, 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 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 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, 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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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, 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, 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 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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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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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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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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