Parliamentary Speeches
873 speeches by Yves-François Blanchet — Page 16 of 18
Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, on November 18, the Prime Minister was at the three amigos summit. We would expect a relationship between “amigos” to be frank and sincere, not complacent and weak. On November 24, the United States doubled its punitive duties on Canadian softwood lumber. I have a simple question for the Prime Minister: What did they talk about?
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Mr. Speaker, obviously, the Prime Minister is not as good with softwood lumber as he is with potatoes. I realize that it is tough to trade with a giant, but the giant still wants our lumber, our electricity, and our lithium. Canada's international weakness at the moment is utterly deplorable. It would obviously be better for Quebec to speak for itself with its own voice internationally, but in the…
Read full speech →Speech from the Throne
Madam Speaker, I would like the members to tell me if I am bothering them. It is a little frustrating. Conversations should be taken outside the chamber.
Read full speech →Speech from the Throne
Madam Speaker, I appreciate that intervention. Some people were tempted to say that it must be Quebec's fault, or the fault of any of the provinces that went through similar tragedies, and that was really hurtful. Health care falls under the exclusive jurisdiction of Quebec and the provinces. If it had been properly funded, from the time and at the level it was supposed to be funded, we would have…
Read full speech →Speech from the Throne
Madam Speaker, it is a pleasure to speak in the House again now, at the beginning of a Parliament that I must remind my colleagues should not exist. We should be continuing with the previous Parliament. Clearly, that was the view of both Quebeckers and Canadians. All of us, all governments, all countries, all hospitals and all seniors' residences, are desperately trying to really, truly emerge, on…
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Madam Speaker, there are several parts to that question. First, it is a good idea to remove trade barriers. These restrictions do little good. The impact of doing that, however, meaning the possibility of generating the revenue needed for health transfers, seems to me to be a flight of fancy, as the other guy's father said. However, programs obviously require money to fund them. The money has to c…
Read full speech →Speech from the Throne
Madam Speaker, I would be pleased to make a few comments. That will allow me to elaborate on what I was saying earlier. In times of adversity, it is important to put yourself in someone else's shoes. In principle, that is what I have tried to do, but it is hard to put myself in the shoes of a Liberal Prime Minister of Canada. In a context where there was enormous financial leeway, why such a lack …
Read full speech →Speech from the Throne
Madam Speaker, people should not be paid such compliments. I am both flattered and confused. I am the leader of the separatist party and member for Beloeil—Chambly, and that is an extraordinary honour. If the highest environmental standards did not protect us against the most polluting energy in the world, my God, what would things be like? We have the common sense to not tell western oil workers …
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Mr. Speaker, I applaud the Prime Minister's “epiphany”. He recognizes the existence of provincial and Quebec jurisdictions. Hallelujah. If natural resources fall under Alberta's jurisdiction in the case of oil, then there is no need to give it money to extract the oil, either directly or indirectly, or to pretend it is to lower greenhouse gas emissions when it would actually increase production. I…
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Mr. Speaker, we have now established that the Prime Minister has finally discovered the notion of provincial and Quebec jurisdictions. We have also established that he has the ability to hand out money for provincial and Quebec jurisdictions, which is quite interesting. Could the Prime Minister make his epiphany complete by doing exactly the same thing with health transfers?
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Mr. Speaker, when it comes to science, the new minister’s previous readings were obviously more instructive than his new ones. However, the Prime Minister is caught between western Canada, which is heavily dependent on oil, and Quebec, which is much greener. Simple math tells us that cutting greenhouse gas emissions per barrel is actually a licence to increase production, so in the long run, nothi…
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Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister and the Minister of Environment and Climate Change attended COP26 with some very good intentions, and I commend them for that. COP26 was being hailed as the last chance saloon, but we are still facing challenges related to oil and gas. While the government claims to have ambitious greenhouse gas emission reduction targets, the oil industry is bragging that it hopes …
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Mr. Speaker, I am sorry, but I have concerns about the word “partnership”, which sounds a lot like “conditions”, to me. While I am at it, I also have serious concerns about the word “plan”, based on what we saw during the election campaign. However, can the Prime Minister tell us, in all seriousness, whether he thinks that the horrific tragedies during the pandemic were the fault and responsibilit…
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Mr. Speaker, it is the beginning of a new Parliament, which will certainly give us the opportunity to work together. Sometimes, for the good of the people, working together might mean shaking things up a little. We will do that, if necessary. Health is the top priority for Canadians and Quebeckers. For Quebec and the provinces, that means health care funding and increasing health transfers. The Bl…
Read full speech →First Session—44th Parliament
Mr. Speaker, I want to offer my sincerest congratulations on behalf of all members of the Bloc Québécois. Being voted in once is a trial, but being voted in a second time speaks to the members' satisfaction with what you accomplished during your previous term. I congratulate you on this and commend you for your reference to Paul Piché, someone whose beliefs would fit right in in our caucus. We hav…
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Thanks to him, concerns have increased, Mr. Speaker, but the cheques have not. Here is something else for the Prime Minister to think about. As members can see, we are trying to work constructively. We are trying to help the Prime Minister. After a terrible pandemic that had a direct impact on thousands of Quebeckers and Canadians, as well as on the health care system and health care professionals…
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
Mr. Speaker, the session is coming to a close and, if we are to believe the rumours, Parliament may be about to end. No matter what happens, I would like to remind everyone, all parties and all nations, that we work for the common good. It may be that some have doubts about the good faith of the players, as if they were setting the stage for something to come. Whatever the case and with a positive…
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Mr. Speaker, on this last day of the session, I would like to wish all my colleagues in the House, and you in particular, a wonderful summer. Summer is an opportunity to meet with constituents and listen to their concerns. Summer is also a time to rest, step back and reflect. I am therefore asking the Prime Minister to take the next few days, weeks and months to reflect on this. Does he think that…
Read full speech →Statements by Members
Mr. Speaker, the pandemic has been the dominant theme of three successive sessions, which will come to an end this afternoon. This will be Quebec's second national holiday under the threat—which is finally subsiding—of a virus of diverse and formidable forms and effects, but a celebration is definitely in order. Our nation comes together in the face of adversity. As we can begin to feel hopeful an…
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Mr. Speaker, it is not terribly clear for those who did not have to quarantine. The Prime Minister is telling us that everything he is announcing now will no longer be valid as of July 21. On July 21, in the middle of summer, when no one is watching the news anymore, Ottawa is going to again change the rules and the way the border is managed and create even more confusion. We need clear rules. We …
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Mr. Speaker, once again, the Prime Minister is announcing measures at the border without thought to the consequences of his ad libbing. This time, he is loosening health guidelines for people who are fully vaccinated, but not for their children, who will still have to quarantine. There is also no easing of restrictions for people who contracted COVID‑19 and who are not allowed a second dose, nor f…
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Mr. Speaker, I am not sure about the nature of the request because I cannot simultaneously interpret—
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Mr. Speaker, I am at the Maison amérindienne in Mont‑Saint‑Hilaire. There have been discussions among the parties and if you seek it, I think you will find unanimous consent for the following motion: That the House, recognizing the importance of historical truth in the process of healing grieving families and nations, insist that the government deploy, for the benefit—
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Mr. Speaker, I am at the Maison amérindienne de Mont‑Saint‑Hilaire. There have been discussions among the parties and if you seek it I believe you will find unanimous consent for the following motion: That the House, recognizing the importance of historical truth in the process of healing grieving families and nations, insist that the government deploy, for the benefit of indigenous communities, t…
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Mr. Speaker, there has been consultation between the parties, and I think you will find unanimous consent for the following motion. I move: That the House, recognizing the importance of historical truth in the process of healing grieving families and nations, insist that the government deploy, for the benefit of indigenous communities, the financial resources necessary to carry out every call to a…
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Mr. Speaker, please give me 30 seconds to change headsets.
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, she certainly understood some things. The Bloc Québécois wants a legitimate approach to ensuring better protection for French in Quebec. That means putting Quebec's National Assembly in charge. The minister had better not count on our support for her bill to further entrench official bilingualism. Here is my question. Does she really think that her bill, which has not been passed and …
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Mr. Speaker, the Quebec government is preparing to amend the Charter of the French Language, in tandem with the Quebec National Assembly, obviously. Meanwhile, the federal government is tabling another statement of intent on the Official Languages Act that will never pass, of course. The federal bill competes and creates a divide between what Canada wants and what Quebec wants. When this is pointe…
Read full speech →Government Orders
moved: That the House agree that section 45 of the Constitution Act, 1982, grants Quebec and the provinces exclusive jurisdiction to amend their respective constitutions and acknowledge the will of Quebec to enshrine in its constitution that Quebeckers form a nation, that French is the only official language of Quebec and that it is also the common language of the Quebec nation. Mr. Speaker, you h…
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Madam Speaker, a little earlier, I mentioned two young francophones who were speaking English to each other on the corner of Peel and St. Catherine. I dream of two young people from anywhere in the world meeting on a street corner in Rimouski and greeting each other in French. When this happens, when it becomes normal and an everyday occurrence, when Quebec is fully accepted for what it is, we wil…
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Madam Speaker, I wish everyone the same happiness I wish for us. I think that, in theory, beyond the intricacies of the Charlottetown accord, had the exercise been more sincere and taken more seriously, we would have had a confederation of autonomous territories and, unlike what we see every day now, the provinces would not be creatures of Ottawa, but the other way round. That would have required …
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Madam Speaker, debate is a healthy exercise in politics. Reflection is also a healthy exercise. Let us say that more than 330 out of 338 members of Parliament agree on a motion; I think it is fairly safe to assume that when it is 30:1, it is not the 29 who are wrong. Out of respect and the affection that everyone is so keen to express toward the Quebec nation, I invite the hon. member to reconside…
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Madam Speaker, I am a little excited. I presume that, from now on, everyone in the House will agree when the Bloc Québécois puts forth proposals asserting Quebec's exclusive jurisdiction, not only in the areas of language, culture, art and who we are, but in everything concerning the Quebec nation, including certain exclusive jurisdictions. Take pharmacare or dental care, which there is somewhat o…
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Madam Speaker, who could forget the extraordinary outpouring of deep love from Canada just before the 1995 referendum, when tens of thousands of Canadians violated all the rules of democracy? It was a scam of historic proportions, during which the streets of Quebec were inundated with Canadian flags and declarations of love that vanished just as quickly as they had appeared. I for one have not for…
Read full speech →Statements By Members
Mr. Speaker, Jacques Parizeau is a monumental figure in Quebec's history, one of the main architects of the Quiet Revolution. He played a key role in the nationalization of hydroelectricity and the creation of the Quebec pension plan, the Société générale de financement and the Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec. Then, after being perhaps the greatest finance minister in the history of Quebec,…
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, I understand that there is no set limit in the Standing Orders for refusing to answer a question or being incapable of answering, but in real life, there are limits. Quebeckers are no less supportive of the people of London than the Prime Minister is, but the Prime Minister drew a link between Islamophobia and intolerance and a law passed by the Quebec National Assembly, a law that ha…
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Mr. Speaker, as the community of London, Ontario, comes to grips with a tragedy that will mark it forever, at a time when we need to reflect, be compassionate and defuse tensions, the Prime Minister is suggesting that there is a link between the anti-Muslim terrorist attack in London and the Government of Quebec's secularism law. Does the Prime Minister believe that his comments will defuse tensio…
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Mr. Speaker, what seems clear is that he will fund Quebeckers who want to challenge Bill 21. He said that he would not be surprised if in the weeks and months to come people started re-examining the purpose and importance of Bill 21, partly because we have been spending a lot of time wearing masks for the past year, and because people are really worried about the increase in intolerance and Islamo…
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Mr. Speaker, at a press conference yesterday, the Prime Minister made some comments that, in light of recent events, are quite disturbing and, in fact, should be either corrected or clarified. Can the Prime Minister explain, because it makes no sense to us, the connection between a face mask and secularism within the Quebec state?
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
Mr. Speaker, how can we end hatred? How can we end violence? How can we end fear of difference? In the wake of the London tragedy, we must reflect deeply. We cannot allow such incidents to occur over and over again while we do nothing but express condolences every time. It has to stop, and it has to stop now. We owe it to that family in London, we owe it to the families of the Quebec City mosque, …
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Mr. Speaker, 17 days ago, the current member for Laurier—Sainte-Marie accepted my proposal to limit time for debate to ensure the passage of an act to amend the Broadcasting Act. The goal is to make sure it passes before the end of the parliamentary session in order to protect Canadian ownership, new Canadian content and new French-language content, thanks to amendments the Bloc Québécois successf…
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Mr. Speaker, it is all hope and no action. Last week the Prime Minister made numerous statements about recognizing once and for all and without conditions the Quebec nation as a nation whose only official language and only common language is French. However his commitment to French in Quebec and across Canada needs to be meaningful. He needs to put his proverbial money where his mouth is. Bill C-1…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Chair, as I said in my remarks, the first step is of course to acquire knowledge. It seems cold and awful, but that means identifying the sites, analyzing them and using technology to search them virtually. That data will have to be compiled, just like the data on missing and murdered women, to document what happened so we can acknowledge it and reflect on what we did. The point is not to take…
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Mr. Chair, I think that kind of attitude needs to be dropped right now. I know this may shock some people, and there are even people in my own entourage who do not like it when I say things like this, but that attitude of thinking that you know better than others and know what is best for them, it is so very white. We are talking about 215 children buried in an unmarked grave, over a period of nea…
Read full speech →Statements by Members
Mr. Speaker, it is not often that a historian leaves such a mark on his people that he himself becomes a prominent part of his own nation's history, but that is what happened to Jacques Lacoursière, whom we lost earlier today. On behalf of the Bloc Québécois, I would like to extend my condolences to his family, his loved ones and his magnificent region, the Mauricie. Jacques Lacoursière spent his …
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Mr. Speaker, the arts and culture sector expressed concerns about the initial version of Bill C-10, which amends the Broadcasting Act. The Bloc Québécois proposed significant changes with respect to the ownership and effective control of businesses, new Canadian programming and new French-language programming. The Bloc Québécois also offered to ensure that Bill C-10 is passed before the end of the…
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Mr. Speaker, our “creatures” will need more than hope. The Broadcasting Act is an emergency for the cultural community, an emergency for francophone artists. If it is not passed, it will be because the government is playing political chicken with the Conservatives at the expense of artists, creators, and Quebec's film and television industry. Is the Prime Minister aware that if Bill C-10 is not pa…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Chair, I am not sure how to approach this. Am I in a frame of mind to say or hear that, under the circumstances, we would be required to say that there is something now and that we need to do this? No, I am not there. I am still in shock and need to absorb it. Any recommendation that is sanctioned in a healthy and legitimate way by first nations is worthy of consideration. However, should the …
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Chair, I choose to refrain from interfering in the Quebec National Assembly's work, including their choices, hypotheses or proposed legislation, since I think Parliament interferes far too much in Quebec's jurisdictions. We are talking about a demand made by one nation to another nation that would require resources, which I referred to earlier, to create a kind of sordid inventory of the abuse…
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Mr. Chair, regardless of what some colleagues who were present in the House and on the screen may say, in June 2020, I acknowledged the existence of systemic racism. On multiple occasions thereafter, I denounced the extreme and often focused politicization of the term. If it is a concept describing how institutions, rather than individuals, throughout history have systematically, which could be ex…
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