Parliamentary Speeches
873 speeches by Yves-François Blanchet — Page 18 of 18
Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, that is not what all of the provinces and Quebec are unanimously calling for, and the federal government is their creation. We need to stop talking about what is being done and what is not. Would taking care of the physical and mental health of the most fragile and vulnerable members of our society not be a better way to give real meaning to this day than inventing a form of age discr…
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Mr. Speaker, on this day of remembrance for victims of the pandemic, is it not time to give real meaning to the day? Is it not time to temporarily put aside ambitions that are, quite frankly, political, and simply do the right thing by increasing the health transfers immediately and unconditionally, as Quebec and all the provinces have been calling for, before the budget is tabled?
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Mr. Speaker, in an interview she gave yesterday, the current member for Longueuil—Charles-LeMoyne explained that the government voted against a call from the majority of Parliament to increase old age security by $110 a month because it would be unfair to low-income seniors. The Liberals had promised an increase during the election campaign, but only for those over 75. Is the Prime Minister compro…
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Mr. Speaker, parliamentarians knew all of that when a majority of us voted for an increase. The Prime Minister is not answering the question. Seniors have worked their whole lives and wanted to make sure they would have a basic minimum income. The value of this benefit is shrinking every year, if not every month. Seniors' purchasing power has been reduced even more because of the pandemic, yet the…
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Mr. Speaker, the Bloc Québécois is not opposed to supporting French outside Quebec, not at all. What we are saying, however, is that this document will turn into any kind of legislation until after an election, which could be this fall, or maybe in the spring or even next year, so why not act quickly to immediately implement Bill 101 in federally regulated institutions, as the Bloc has proposed in…
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Mr. Speaker, as a precursor to future linguistic policies, the government's preliminary discussion paper has two things going for it. It recognizes that the status of French is precarious, and it recognizes the need for action. This is a statement of intent. Quebec already has Bill 101. We alone must decide how to deal with our linguistic issues. Can the Prime Minister tell us what his minister's …
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Mr. Speaker, since the feds refused, Quebec is going to step in with funding for Université Laval's Infectious Disease Research Centre, which has laid the foundation for a vaccine that could save lives. The federal government would rather hand hundreds of millions of dollars over to multinational pharmaceutical companies. The Prime Minister is hiding behind a panel of experts and scientists who ha…
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Mr. Speaker, there have been consultations among the parties, and I believe if you seek it, you would find unanimous consent to adopt the following motion: That the House congratulate Montreal engineer Farah Alibay, who will be coordinating the operations of the helicopter Ingenuity landing on Mars tomorrow as part of the “Perseverance” Mars 2020 mission to find traces of microbial life, and wish …
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Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister needs to stop taking people for fools. Dr. Kobinger asked for $2 million to develop the vaccine and was told no. The Prime Minister is refusing to tell Quebeckers what he heard from a panel that made him decide to shut out Université Laval, a decision with consequences for people's health, safety and even their lives. He is refusing to release his contracts with mul…
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Mr. Speaker, we have too much faith in science to believe that his experts recommended excluding Quebec. We do not know how much we are paying for the vaccines in the contracts the Prime Minister signed. We do not know when these vaccines will be delivered. We do not know whether these vaccines will be delivered. He talked about his 400-million-dose insurance policy. He bought so many vaccines wit…
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Mr. Speaker, Dr. Gary Kobinger, of Université Laval's Infectious Disease Research Centre, developed a viable vaccine that had potential and was tested on animals. He asked the Canadian government for $2 million and received nothing. That is one more example, on top of the delays experienced by Medicago, and the fact that Quebec's colleges and universities also have research centres, that shows we …
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Mr. Speaker, we knew that Canada does not manufacture vaccines. We knew that Canada is happy with a vague verbal promise from Europe. We knew that Canada had not negotiated delivery guarantees into its procurement contracts. The Prime Minister told us that everything is fine because Canada is now going to manufacture its own vaccines. However, he has been corrected by his own minister. We will not…
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Mr. Speaker, we want to see the contracts. Europe is making a vague promise that even its own members do not condone. The United States is placing restrictions on its vaccine exports. The United Kingdom plans to do the same thing, and Canada will not produce any vaccines before 2022. Yesterday, 590 doses were administered in Quebec, but there were over 1,000 new cases. We will never get anywhere a…
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Mr. Speaker, what is a national standard? The federal government does not administer hospitals. It does not supervise doctors and nurses. This is not an area of federal jurisdiction, no matter how you slice it. Why is it better if it is a Canadian standard rather than a Quebec standard? What can a Canadian do that a Quebecker cannot? How is being Canadian intrinsically superior to being a Quebecke…
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Mr. Speaker, every territory and province, including Quebec, asked that the federal contribution be increased to 35% of what it costs to take care of our seniors and our sick, for a total of $28 billion. The Liberals said no, and more than that, they are going to impose Canadian standards. The Conservatives said that they would hold a meeting in the first 100 days after the next election, and of c…
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Mr. Speaker, their phone calls must not be going all that well, because what Quebec and the provinces want is long-term, predictable funding. They want transfers boosted from the current 22% to 35%. That amounts to $28 billion, because our parents and grandparents and vulnerable people need health care workers, health care equipment and health care services. Is the Prime Minister saying no to all …
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Mr. Speaker, there have been discussions among the parties, and if you seek it, you will find unanimous consent for the following motion: That this House call upon the Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship to grant citizenship to Raif Badawi by exercising his discretion under section 5 of the Citizenship Act, which authorizes him to grant citizenship to any person to alleviate cases of…
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Mr. Speaker, the federal government has a responsibility when it comes to funding the health care systems of Quebec and the provinces. The existing commitment to contribute 50% has never been implemented in real life. This morning, I had the opportunity to talk to the Premier of Quebec in his capacity as the chair of the Council of the Federation. He is going to speak to the leader of the official…
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Mr. Speaker, the program was not created to stop people from travelling, but the amendment to the program was introduced so that those who travel are not compensated. That seems clear to me. That is what the Deputy Prime Minister has to do with her boss. I have another question. In a clearly failed telephone call between the Prime Minister and the U.S. President, why did the Canadian Prime Ministe…
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Mr. Speaker, I once knew a Deputy Prime Minister who would never have misrepresented what the official opposition or the Bloc Québécois said about why this bill had to be debated. Why does it have to be debated? Because it will be retroactive. It does not matter when it passes. What matters is the date as of which it applies retroactively. Quarantine and monitoring, flight bans and reimbursing peo…
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Mr. Speaker, the answer is zero deliveries. I would like to hear him tell Quebec seniors that these delays are a good thing. On January 21, Global News reminded us that Pfizer had asked the finance committee for improvements to the corporate tax regime, tax incentives for the industry and changes to drug pricing procedures in Canada. Is the Prime Minister at all concerned about the fact that, even…
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Mr. Speaker, the government is reluctant to stop people from travelling from Quebec and Canada to other countries, even though, for almost a year now, many preventive measures have been proposed and could even have been implemented, had it not been for the government's stubbornness. The government also promised to force companies that receive assistance to reimburse airline tickets. Airlines, even…
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Mr. Speaker, it is nice to hear the Prime Minister say that members must not mislead people. Perhaps he should listen to his own advice. The media is reporting that Quebec has had to postpone vaccinations for parents and grandparents in Quebec because of delays in shipments from Pfizer, which were already in short supply, on top of the delays that had been announced in mid-January. I want to hear …
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