Parliamentary Speeches
873 speeches by Yves-François Blanchet — Page 17 of 18
Government Orders
Mr. Chair, I thank my esteemed colleague. Is there justice that is not restorative? Despite all the uncertainty, when wrongdoing is committed, when the tragedy takes place, when the crime is committed, reparation consists of admitting what happened, listening, and mitigating the impact, the pain and the tragedy. Once again, in this case, reparation does not come from claiming to know better than f…
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Mr. Speaker, I deliberately made the motion public this morning, but I acknowledge the Liberal Prime Minister's references and the Conservative Party's actions. As the Prime Minister has seen, the Bloc Québécois was very open and careful about the wording of its motion. It includes the words that were chosen and submitted to the Quebec National Assembly. It repeats the wording used in the Constitu…
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Mr. Speaker, I am sure that this morning, Quebeckers and the Prime Minister saw the motion that the Bloc Québécois will be presenting shortly. The Prime Minister has surely seen that we have attempted to get a consensus and not present anything that was not legally and constitutionally sound or that could be controversial. When the Bloc Québécois's motion is presented, can we expect a positive res…
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Mr. Speaker, there have been consultations among the parties, and if you seek it, I believe you will find unanimous consent for the following motion: 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 for…
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Mr. Speaker, the Government of Quebec has exercised its prerogative to amend the Canadian Constitution to say that Quebec is a nation, that this nation's only official language is French and that French is this nation's common language. The Prime Minister has acknowledged this choice that will be put to the Quebec National Assembly. However, a formal response is warranted in this situation. Will t…
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Mr. Speaker, it is my understanding that the answer is yes. However, it seems that the will of the Quebec government, and the Prime Minister's decision to acknowledge it, may have been ill-received or perhaps just misunderstood by the provinces. To avoid unfortunate misunderstandings among the public or the media, did the Prime Minister make the effort to explain his acceptance of Quebec's will to…
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Mr. Speaker, I was expecting more enthusiasm. The Quebec government is addressing many issues that Ottawa was unwilling or unable to address. Quebec is doing what all federal governments have refused to do since the Meech Lake accord failed, and that is to enshrine in the Constitution that Quebeckers form a nation, and a French-speaking nation at that. That is a strong affirmation of our national …
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Mr. Speaker, today is an important day for Quebec. It is an important day for the French language. The Government of Quebec has introduced Bill 96, an act respecting French, the official and common language of Québec. This is certainly the most ambitious bill on the French language since Bill 101. The Bloc Québécois applauds this effort to halt the decline of our common language and to contribute …
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Mr. Speaker, yesterday when we asked the Prime Minister if he wanted to call an election during a pandemic, he clearly said no. However, I have read just about every commentary by just about every analyst and nobody but nobody believes him. This may be an opportunity for the Prime Minister to try to achieve a consensus. I propose that he organize a private meeting with whoever he wants. It could b…
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Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister should have the wisdom to recognize and consider opportunities for consensus. I encourage him to call a meeting to discuss with whoever he likes, but it could be with the party leaders if everyone is on board with that. We could study the content of the legislation, reach a consensus and apply it thereafter, following a parliamentary process and avoiding an awful cl…
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Mr. Speaker, at the beginning of the pandemic, we all agreed that we did not want an election during a pandemic. The government has consulted on what could be changed in the Canada Elections Act in this context, but it did not finish the job. It has introduced a bill but has not allowed anyone to study it. Now it has to impose a gag order, with help from the NDP, to allow an election during the pa…
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Mr. Speaker, Serge Bouchard has passed away, leaving us with the memory of his wisdom, his distinctive voice, and his fondness for our heritage, for the first peoples and for what we have in common. Serge Bouchard was a host, an author and an anthropologist whose talent I could never hope to match. He provided a reassuring and necessary voice advocating for the right to nationhood for all nations,…
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Mr. Speaker, there is a slight difference. I am not afraid of an election; bring it on. We just do not want one during the pandemic. Elections are not normally held during pandemics. If there is no pandemic, there is no need for legislation to manage an election during a pandemic. The only logical conclusion is that the government wants an election during the pandemic. What is the Prime Minister's…
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Mr. Speaker, what are the million victims of CERB fraud supposed to do with the Prime Minister's empty rhetoric? A single person who earns $50,000 a year and who is the victim of identity theft by someone who received $14,000 in CERB benefits in their place will have to pay the government and the Prime Minister $5,000 up front. Does the Prime Minister believe it is right to make victims of fraud p…
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Mr. Speaker, a 74-year-old from Bécancour—Nicolet—Saurel with no employment income was the victim of $10,000 in fraud related to the CERB. He also lost his GST rebate. He went to the police, he went to his caisse populaire and of course he went to the Canada Revenue Agency, which told him he had to pay $3,000. Does the Prime Minister agree with the minister and member for Gaspésie—Les Îles-de-la-M…
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Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister just said the exact opposite of what he is doing. He said victims will not be held responsible for the money paid to fraudsters, but these people are being told to pay tax on the money paid to fraudsters. That is the exact opposite of what the Prime Minister just said. We also suggested doing like Quebec and giving people a month to figure things out, giving public …
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Mr. Speaker, nearly one million people across Canada are reported to have been the victims of identity theft. One million people will be expected to pay taxes on amounts that they never received. They are victims of fraud. The government told them to pay their taxes and then it will see. We do not know how much money that represents either overall, by province or for Quebec. How can the Prime Mini…
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Mr. Speaker, I will do him the courtesy of not thinking that he does not understand the question, and I will do us the courtesy of saying that he does not wish to answer it. His special legislation is not being introduced after two years of intense effort to solve the problem; the government did nothing. It is being introduced on the planned first day of the strike. Does his special legislation ad…
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Mr. Speaker, let us remember last year's rail crisis and the question I asked back then. Do we have a leadership problem in Canada? A solution was found and implemented. Quebec does not want special legislation, Quebec wants people to get back to work. That would happen more quickly with our solution. By delaying, the Prime Minister is working against Quebec's economy, Quebec's will and Quebec's w…
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Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister is speaking to us with a sudden and unexpected passion for Quebec's interests. Where was his passion for the will of Quebec when Quebec was calling for health care transfers in the budget? Where was his passion for the will of Quebec when seniors between the ages of 65 and 75 got nothing? We are giving him the solution. We made the phone calls that he did not make, …
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Mr. Speaker, I get it. The proof that the government thinks that disputes should be settled at the bargaining table is the fact that it is introducing special legislation. That makes no sense at all. I have news for the House. The union asked management whether it understood the interpretation indicating that it should reverse its April 9 decision on scheduling. Management said it would answer tha…
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Mr. Speaker, I have to admit that I do not understand. On April 9, management imposed a decision that the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Labour says would be overturned by the special legislation. We know how this will end. The Prime Minister could put an end to the strike today, and the Port of Montreal could resume its operations tomorrow, thus saving tens of millions of dollars. Tha…
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Mr. Speaker, at the heart of the dispute at the Port of Montreal, is the urgent need to get Quebec's economy back on track and there are scheduling issues. Will the special legislation undo what management did to scheduling on April 9? We asked the question and the parliamentary assistant to the Minister of Labour told us that the content of the legislation meant that the unilateral changes made b…
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Mr. Speaker, would it be possible to tell the Prime Minister that the question is about the Port of Montreal, not the Bloc Québécois or the Liberal party? He could have picked up his phone. He could have taken the workers' interests in consideration before he decided to become a Conservative dressed in red. He could have picked up his phone and prevented a strike within five minutes. Although the …
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Mr. Speaker, as I was saying yesterday, special legislation is not the solution to the Port of Montreal problem, it is proof of incompetence. The Prime Minister could have spent five minutes on the phone and prevented the strike. The union made it clear that if the employer drops the shift changes imposed then there would be no strike. The Prime Minister could have picked up his phone and told the…
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Mr. Speaker, I want to read something out, to get some more details from the Prime Minister. That the National Assembly recall that the Québec nation has never consented to the constitutional order imposed in 1982 by the Government of Canada; That it affirm that the Québec nation can legitimately establish its own rules for living together, in accordance with its own history, culture and instituti…
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Mr. Speaker, a ruling on Bill 21 has finally been handed down. The justice recognized that the Quebec National Assembly has viable and legitimate authority over such matters, but ruled that the National Assembly does not have authority over one aspect. Quebec will obviously be appealing. Does the Prime Minister recognize Quebec's jurisdiction over such matters? Will he commit to not funding its op…
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Mr. Speaker, I realize that, in the Prime Minister's mind, the pandemic is going to last even longer than five years. I would like to repeat something we heard earlier today. The Quebec National Assembly unanimously adopted the following: That it reiterate its resolution of 2 December 2020 that denounced Ottawa's desire to impose Canadian standards in Québec CHSLDs and long-term care facilities fo…
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Mr. Speaker, according to The Globe and Mail, Canada's Prime Minister promised to approve long-term provincial health transfer increases. That is all well and good, but the budget is here and now. That does not show up in any of the next few years in this budget. How strange. My question is very simple: Are these health transfer increases happening now? Will they cover 35% of costs?
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Madam Speaker, I am tempted to use chemistry terms like centralization versus decentralization. The Liberals have a compulsive habit of trying to centralize everything. The government is trying to set conditions on programs that should exist regardless. This creates delays, adds complexity and does not provide people with the help they need. Now, making the rich and the ultra-rich pay is something…
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Madam Speaker, I have a suggestion for my esteemed colleague. Rather than apply Canadian standards to Quebec, which has been doing this for 20 years while Canada has not done it at all, the government could apply Quebec's standards to Canada, and everything will be fine. I do not see why it should be done otherwise. Then Quebec can thank the feds when it gets its cheque and say how pleased it is t…
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Madam Speaker, let me begin by saying that the Bloc Québécois stands in solidarity with the people of all Canadian provinces, and especially Ontario, who are dealing with a resurgence of the pandemic, which has become alarming in many respects. Quebec seems to be managing a little better for the moment. Let us hope we can get out of this situation as soon as possible. Quebec and Canada, like the r…
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Mr. Speaker, you know how sensitive I am. I am afraid that the Prime Minister has gotten himself in trouble. We knew that Quebeckers were not happy with the government before, but never to this extent. We have been flooded with calls from people who happen to be between 65 and 75 and who are unhappy with the budget and its age-based discrimination. We have gotten so many calls that it would be eas…
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Madam Speaker, I am overcome by emotion. Now that I have gotten ahold of myself, I would say yes, but on one condition: free consent between equals. If Quebec is recognized for its extraordinary success in child care, then it should not have standards imposed on it or be told how to spend its money. It should be asked what it thinks about that. If Quebec thinks it is a good idea, it will say yes. …
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Madam Speaker, the federal government announced that it planned to impose a suitable tax on web giants, which are creating a lot of unfair competition in the communications, arts and media sector. Imagine being on a flight to Europe with enough fuel to get to Greenland. It stops halfway there. The government taxes 3% of its revenue. However, that is only a temporary measure while waiting for somet…
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Madam Speaker, that is a big question. I do not even know where to start. If we had to list all of the government's broken promises, we would be here all night, so instead I will name just a few. There is often a direct correlation between the probability that a promise is kept and the proximity of an election, so there is reason to be skeptical. Quebeckers have an advantage when it comes to child…
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Mr. Speaker, that is okay news for seniors aged 75 and older, who will get only about $500 this year, which is less than $50 a month. It is terrible news for those aged 65 to 75. This is a clear case of unjustifiable discrimination. Where did the government get the idea that the cost of living is lower for those under the age of 75? Who came up with that? Will the Prime Minister spare himself the …
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Mr. Speaker, let us talk about refunds. The deal is so skewed in Air Canada's favour that it looks like it was negotiated between Air Canada and Air Canada. For instance, in order to get ticket refunds, customers have to fill out a written request. The federal government is letting Air Canada require this written request, even though the airline already has all the information needed to issue a re…
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Mr. Speaker, to properly manage the challenges facing air transportation, the government may have to be pointed in the right direction. It clearly confused assistance for the industry with a sweet deal for Air Canada friends. The agreement does not guarantee service in Quebec's regional capitals and is funding the competition, benefiting a company with a terrible record. Are we to understand that …
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Mr. Speaker, I am very pleased to be in the House to congratulate Maxime Laporte, who defended Quebec democracy, and Joseph Facal, who introduced Bill 99 in the Quebec National Assembly. The Quebec Court of Appeal just upheld Bill 99 and, despite the pandemic, there are things that we need to recognize and highlight. Will the Prime Minister accept the Quebec Court of Appeal's ruling, or will he ap…
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Mr. Speaker, I did not understand a word he said, but I am sure it was good. I think that the Minister of Justice said that the federal government was not planning to challenge the court of appeal's ruling. The thing is, Bill 99 and the so-called Clarity Act on federal referendums are profoundly incompatible. It is either-or. There can only be one. If the government is not challenging this decisio…
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Mr. Speaker, he just said what is in the budget, but it was not what we were after. I will try once more to get a yes or no answer. I think he will listen. An Outremont man told us that he wants to know if health transfers will be increased, no strings attached, to 35% of health care costs, as requested by all premiers, including Quebec's. Let us say that the Outremont man asking this is named Fra…
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Mr. Speaker, we have already lost 35 seconds that could have been spent looking for a solution. The Mauricie region has been working for quite some time on a project involving a high-frequency train that would go to Quebec City from Windsor. It was a Liberal election promise in 2015 and again in 2019. However, nothing has been done. I recall comparing it to the Sasquatch. It is a mirage in a publi…
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Mr. Speaker, the crab fishing season starts in a few days, but around 40% of the port in Cap-aux-Meules is no longer accessible to fishers. It is one crisis after another, and the people of the Magdalen Islands are often the ones who suffer. I would like a yes or no response from the Prime Minister. These people will be listening. Will the government either immediately repair the equipment or fina…
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Mr. Speaker, our cultural and musical institutions have been shaken to their foundations. Solange Drouin, the executive director of the ADISQ, is stepping down after 29 years. This is difficult for me, because she and I experienced the golden age of Quebec's recording industry together in the late 1990s and early 2000s, when I was president of the ADISQ. This was also when the fight against piracy…
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Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister keeps missing the net in the shootout. We will try again with a yes-or-no question. Everyone will be listening. Let us take a specific example. Say that Antoine Tremblay from Rimouski is 67 years old and wants to know whether the budget will include an increase in the old age pension that does not discriminate based on age. He does not want to have to wait until he …
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Mr. Speaker, political engagement is a calling and sometimes even one's life work. It is the will to change things or, I should say, to make life better for one's constituents. In Quebec, this also translates into the fight for our country, and an extraordinary example of political engagement is Carole Lavallée. Political staffer, director of communications—that is when I met her—chief of staff, m…
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Mr. Speaker, what makes sense is more money for health care during the pandemic, not after the pandemic. Nevertheless, it is spring, and things are looking up. Yesterday, along with Premier Legault—who was accused of being a white supremacist—the Prime Minister condemned Quebec bashing. That is great, truly. Now what? What can he do to walk the talk? How can he signal to the rest of Canada that Qu…
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Mr. Speaker, “hand in hand” might be a bit of an exaggeration, but spring has brought with it some lovely surprises, including one or two collaborations between the federal government and Quebec, such as $500 million for high-speed Internet in the regions of Quebec, an amount that will be transferred to Quebec by 2022. My goodness, that was in the 2019 Bloc Québécois platform. We are delighted. Co…
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Mr. Speaker, with the symbol of the white rose, which I brought with me here today, Quebec has chosen to also declare today a day of remembrance. In normal times we would expect the commemoration to be held once the crisis is over, but it has been going on for far too long now, and it is important to tell all those who lost a loved one that we are with them. More than 10,000 people in Quebec and m…
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