Parliamentary Speeches
722 speeches by Yves-François Blanchet — Page 3 of 15
Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, I would like to put something into context. I went to Washington, not to speak against the government or Canada, but to help establish favourable conditions for what should be our real priority: trade and tariffs. However, yesterday, when I asked the Prime Minister a serious question, he told me that Canada's negotiations and relationship with Mr. Trump were going well. By way of evid…
Read full speech →Statements by Members
Mr. Speaker, the choice of topic for my first intervention this fall was clear. I wish to express my heartfelt gratitude, affection, recognition and admiration for the timeless Guy Rocher, a man, a sociologist, a nation builder and an educator, at once so kind and so clear, who left us on September 3 at the age of 101. Guy Rocher was the founder of Quebec's education system, the father of seculari…
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Mr. Speaker, I flat-out reject those statements, as they do not stand up to economic analysis. Other forums will be necessary, considering the format. The Prime Minister said that the once close and trusting relationship we had with the United States is over. That statement was not well received in Washington. Can he say whether he is now confident that the once special and trusting relationship b…
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Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister was elected based on claims that he would be hands-down the best person to handle the tariff crisis and the trade crisis. Four months later, Canada is failing miserably. The best we can say is that it has not been a success and that the results are falling short of expectations. Will he commit today to making it a real priority to end the tariffs and sign a trade tr…
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Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister's rare appearances or absences in Washington have been widely noted in Washington, both by the political apparatus of the administration and by economic associations which often share our views. When did the Prime Minister last travel there and when does he intend to start spending some serious time in the capital of our primary trading partner? Will he make it a pr…
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Mr. Speaker, yesterday, when talking about the connection between tariffs and bulldozer Bill C-5, two of the Prime Minister's colleagues responded by spewing nonsense, trying to come across as charming and funny, which they are not. I do not believe that there is any connection between the tariff crisis and the time needed for Bill C-5 to eventually take effect. I would like the economist and Prim…
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Mr. Speaker, the government considers it a feat to hypothetically reduce the assessment period to two years. No shovels have been put in the ground yet. There are still a great many years before projects are built. Take Trans Mountain, for example. That took 12 years. The tariff crisis was an emergency. The Prime Minister is talking about a solution that will not require a pound of aluminum for 10…
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Mr. Speaker, when it comes to managing the tariffs file, let us remember that, after making a bunch of compromises on borders, on defence, and on the abandoned countermeasures that may now be back on the table—and I am curious to see the details, as they have already done more harm than good—the Prime Minister's strategy was supposed involve reaching an agreement with Donald Trump before the G7, b…
Read full speech →Statements by Members
Mr. Speaker, in five days, Quebec will celebrate its national holiday. It will be a celebration of summer filled with song, reflecting our history and our stories. I would like to remind members that, 45 years ago, René Lévesque proposed a way to coexist with our neighbours, with our neighbour, as equals. Being united and partnering with our neighbour is a noble pursuit as long as it is freely con…
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Mr. Speaker, the main issue during the election campaign was a serious crisis, a tariff and trade crisis. The day after the election campaign, poof, it disappeared. The Prime Minister went to Washington to meet with President Trump and came back with nothing to show for it. That said, the Prime Minister has since made significant concessions on tariffs, borders and defence. He said that all of the…
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Mr. Speaker, the Liberals need to stop regurgitating stock answers. Bill C‑5 will not have any impact on the Canadian economy, but it will have a huge negative impact on the public purse for many years to come. Bill C‑5 will have no impact on the tariff war and no foreseeable impact on production-related trade or on the Canadian economy. Will the Liberals stop taking people for fools and admit tha…
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Mr. Speaker, if the G7 is considered progress, then we are not out of the woods yet. The government is muzzling Parliament, suspending the rule of law, and preventing elected members who are not siding with the Liberals and the Conservatives from speaking, but meanwhile nothing is happening on trade and tariffs. There is talk about oil. However, Bill C-5 has nothing to do with trade and nothing to…
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Mr. Speaker, the Fisheries Act, the Indian Act, the International River Improvements Act, the Canadian Navigable Waters Act, biodiversity acts and regulations, the Official Languages Act, the Income Tax Act and the Canada Labour Code are all acts and regulations that the minister would be allowed to suspend arbitrarily thanks to Bill C‑5. At the very least, does not the entire framework for regula…
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Mr. Speaker, that is what the law says. With all due respect, Quebeckers seem to have voted out of fear of the Conservative agenda. They decided to go that way, and it even cost us some seats. Now the Liberal government is taking the Conservative agenda and implementing it. That is not what Quebeckers voted for. I assume that all opposition parties want to work. Why not allow elected officials, wh…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, someone suggested earlier that folks are missing Prime Minister Trudeau. I am not so sure, but his government and this one have a few things in common because they are the same. That is why the Prime Minister always talks about the “new government”. At the end of the day, the only new thing about this government is the Prime Minister. As for those 44 MPs, supposedly Quebec loves them …
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, I will be sharing my time with the member for Pierre-Boucher—Les Patriotes—Verchères. We are dealing with one of the most significant, if not the most significant, moves toward centralization, encroachment and “franchising” of the provinces and Quebec for the benefit of the Prime Minister's business plan. It all began when Donald Trump was elected. Fear became a reality and a politica…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, I share a lot of things, but that is not one of them. We missed out on a debate. Where was their boss? We usually have our first debate on TVA in front of a large audience. Where was their boss? I could have one tomorrow morning. I am always up for a debate. We could ask Mr. Poilievre, who is not in the House. I have invited him many times. The Liberals promised to table the bill by J…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, instead of environmental assessments, the current bill could give the minister the ability to arbitrarily circumvent them in the name of the “one economy” myth. The Liberals are free to hope that Canada is one economy, but they cannot say that it is, because every province is different. I am sure my colleague will agree with me on that. Every province and region has different economic…
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, the votes in the House determine what we agree on. The matter remained under the radar during the turmoil of the election campaign, but it is now becoming a big issue in Quebec. The truth needs to come out. By refusing to compensate Quebeckers, the government is providing a carbon rebate to those who did not pay for it and failing to reimburse those who did. I assume the Prime Ministe…
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Mr. Speaker, we could get a plaque with that phrase etched onto it. In short, the Prime Minister eliminated the carbon tax and gave Canadians $4 billion up front to reimburse them for a tax that they will never pay. Meanwhile, he gave nothing to Quebeckers. He admitted it. That $4 billion is not linked to any revenue that would justify that money being paid back. That $4 billion is being added dir…
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Mr. Speaker, yesterday, the member for Mirabel asked the Minister of Finance the following: “Were these carbon tax rebate cheques that were sent out in the middle of the election...in eight provinces delivered without the tax that funded them being collected?” The minister said no. My question for the Prime Minister is this. Were the carbon tax rebate cheques that were sent out in the middle of th…
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Mr. Speaker, I would be happy to explain, because I was the one who implemented the carbon pricing that has been in effect in Quebec since 2013, when I was minister of the environment. The Prime Minister clearly has an easier time with numbers than with facts. Will he pay Quebeckers back the $814 million he owes them?
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Mr. Speaker, I hope you are sitting comfortably, because this is kind of complicated. The Prime Minister gave Canadians a refund for money they did not pay. It was actually an advance, but they will never pay back that advance. Nearly $4 billion was distributed to Canadians one week before the election, but Quebeckers did not get a penny. Can the Prime Minister explain that to Quebeckers?
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Mr. Speaker, that makes absolutely no sense. Those who pay should get a rebate, not those who do not pay. It has been clearly established that this has nothing to do with a carbon tax he abolished—a move the OECD criticized—and we all know it was a vote-getting gift and an injustice, so will he acknowledge that the $3.7 billion Canadians received has nothing to do with climate change?
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Mr. Speaker, “a grasshopper gay sang the summer away, and found herself poor by the winter's first roar.” Since the election, the government has been dreaming of a bill on major projects of national significance, as reported in Le Devoir. Meanwhile, one thing nobody has mentioned since the election is that President Trump is doubling tariffs on aluminum and steel, threatening tens of thousands of …
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Mr. Speaker, yesterday, his ministers responded to similar questions by describing what was on their agenda and who they were meeting with. The government was elected because there was a crisis. Let us not forget that the Prime Minister said, “No crisis, no [name of Prime Minister]”. It is not about trying to negotiate with the Americans, even though that is necessary. It is about providing immedi…
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Mr. Speaker, unfortunately, the people we spoke to from the industries in question have not heard of any kind of support. However, we have put forward a wage subsidy plan similar to what was done during the pandemic. The aim is to help businesses retain their workforce and preserve expertise. This is a major concern for employers. Tens of thousands of jobs in companies and their subcontractors are…
Read full speech →Statements By Members
Mr. Speaker, “Don't be afraid”. In my mind I can still hear the voice of my former boss, my very first real boss, say those words. My first foray into politics happened back in early November 1987, the day after René Lévesque's death, when I naively called for Jacques Parizeau's return in a letter published in Le Devoir. A few months later, I was put in charge of the Parti Québécois's youth wing. …
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Mr. Speaker, I am curious about something. There was basically a love-in yesterday in Saskatoon. However, there are stages to a love-in. I wonder what happens next. During that love-in, there was an interesting proposal to build a pipeline that would carry oil from Alberta, not to Saint John, New Brunswick, via Quebec, but directly to Hudson Bay. I wonder what the Prime Minister thinks of this odd…
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Mr. Speaker, the last big love-in like this took place in Quebec with a lot of people, and then we got shafted. We remember that. At the extremes of ideology, I never thought I would see Mr. Trudeau and Ms. Smith meet in the land of unicorns. Have we considered the cost of the icebreakers and the transport needed to go the long way around via Ungava Bay and of finding a market in Europe? Are there…
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Mr. Speaker, very little was actually said, but I believe I heard about one demand that I would support. Will the Prime Minister make a formal commitment to respect the Bureau d'audiences publiques sur l'environnement du Québec's jurisdiction if the Hudson Bay project does not work out and to respect the BAPE's timelines?
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
moved for leave to introduce Bill C‑202, An Act to amend the Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development Act (supply management). Mr. Speaker, during the last Parliament, all of the political parties supported a bill aimed at protecting the entire supply management system, which then protects the interests of both consumers and producers in terms of quality and financial predictability. A…
Read full speech →Speech from the Throne
Mr. Speaker, people do not change. I did not miss that. Simply writing a word down does not make it a policy. Imagine someone trying to read a book. There would be a lot of policies in there. The throne speech includes the words “protect supply management”. I spent a lot of time explaining how that is clearly incomplete. The word “Radio‑Canada” alone does not constitute a policy. We cannot simply …
Read full speech →Speech from the Throne
Mr. Speaker, when we left the House in December 2024, a number of people were printing out resumés. In January 2025, a crisis escalated with the United States on three fronts. It was a tariff crisis, which seemed likely but obviously temporary, since tariffs are an intimidation tactic, or a response to an intimidation tactic in the case of retaliatory tariffs. It was a trade crisis in anticipation…
Read full speech →Speech from the Throne
Mr. Speaker, the whole issue of temporary immigration is quite complex. In my mind, the intention is always virtuous, or could be. However, it can sometimes be exploited for very questionable purposes. In the case of asylum seekers, for example, it is a humanitarian issue. We have a responsibility there. However, Quebec is overburdened for the time being. When it comes to foreign students, it is e…
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, I am sure the Prime Minister will agree that some things are clearer when we read them than when we hear them. We have time, but the speech given by the King was centralizing. It was so centralizing that even Justin Trudeau must have been embarrassed to be there. The government is talking about one economy without asking anyone's opinion, when the National Assembly has unanimously den…
Read full speech →Speech from the Throne
Mr. Speaker, although the member claims to have been listening carefully, I get the impression that she was not paying attention. I already miss the former member for Rivière-des-Mille-Îles. The answer can basically be found in the last sentence. It refers to the Canadian government doing what it wants to do while respecting Quebec's jurisdictions and institutions. We will not have much of an issu…
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Mr. Speaker, that would feel like a military staff meeting where a general gives his orders and expects them to get done. On another topic, we believe that the climate crisis is real too. The climate crisis is causing damage, human and economic damage. We believe that action must be taken to fight the climate crisis. However, yesterday's Speech from the Throne suggests doing the exact opposite. It…
Read full speech →Speech from the Throne
Mr. Speaker, I will take the part of the question that speaks to me the most. Quebec's economy is vastly different from the Canadian economy. Just over 60 years ago, we were French Canadians on English Canada's payroll. A bit more than 60 years have gone by since René Lévesque's defining act, the nationalization of electricity. This was the first powerful economic tool belonging to Quebeckers, and…
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Mr. Speaker, what led the election to be called and formed the basis of the entire Liberal strategy was a trade crisis, a tariff crisis and an annexation crisis, even, featuring Donald Trump. However, in yesterday's Speech from the Throne, which was read by a foreign sovereign, there was no reference to trade or tariffs. That leads me to wonder what happened to make people forget the terrible cris…
Read full speech →Speech from the Throne
Mr. Speaker, I am not sure we will always agree with the Conservatives on how to go about this. We still believe that someone should be removed from society for preventive purposes when necessary. Preventive action is a must, but there seems to be a certain amount of negligence with regard to crime and the root causes of crime. Our weak response to crime is concerning. I am approaching this issue …
Read full speech →First Session—45th Parliament
Mr. Speaker, esteemed colleagues, I cannot help but notice that I am speaking from a seat a little further back in the House. That means that, while we will still be just as courteous, we will have to speak even louder so that, when the time comes, we can show that numbers are not everything. On behalf of myself and the Bloc Québécois, I want to take this opportunity to congratulate the new Speake…
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Mr. Speaker, I want to congratulate the new Minister of Finance, but we cannot overlook the fact that there have been a series of crises that have been plaguing this government for a long time. Now, we have a bad economic update and a ridiculous deficit. There is also the $5 billion that the government never should have given away and that, by its own admission, will be impossible to recoup. In sh…
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Mr. Speaker, the government does not enjoy the confidence of the House, it enjoys the weakness of the NDP. That being said, if the government claims to have the legitimacy to negotiate on the country's behalf through a potentially serious crisis, why would it not seek a mandate from the people, either now or in January, with this leader or another one? Then, we will see if it gets a new mandate, a…
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Mr. Speaker, I have a bit of a strange question for the Prime Minister. The Conservative leader is taking advantage of his position to say all kinds of things about the Bloc Québécois, Quebec and me. He is doing this while cravenly refusing the many invitations I have issued again and again for over a year to debate me publicly. Today, he has gone a step further. Is the Prime Minister not concerne…
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Mr. Speaker, a House of Commons committee is attacking Quebec. The Minister of Immigration is attacking Quebec's premier. The Conservatives' question box is clearly empty, since they have repeated the same thing eight times. The government has not had any answers for a long time, and we are no longer dealing with the challenges that we should be dealing with in this Parliament. Is it not time for …
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Mr. Speaker, I really want to put this in clear, concrete terms. Does the Prime Minister side with the people who are imposing the presence of religion in secular schools in Quebec, or does he side with those who are being literally attacked for wanting to uphold the principle of secularism in Quebec schools? It has to be one or the other.
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Mr. Speaker, are higher education institutions free like the Prime Minister says? That is a good question. What we do know is that education falls under Quebec's jurisdiction, and it is up to Quebec to decide what happens in Quebec schools. As in the previous question, what I want to know is whether the Prime Minister is siding with the students and teachers of sex education in Quebec schools, or …
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Mr. Speaker, the Standing Committee on Justice and Human Rights has tabled a report that literally puts Quebec's values on trial. Why is that? It is because Quebec, like most western nations, supports the separation of church and state. I wonder what the Prime Minister has to say to the hundreds of thousands of Muslims in Quebec who are happy and welcome, in French, in a host society that knows ex…
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Mr. Speaker, examples of courage are few and far between in this Parliament. I want to remind everyone that there is a provision in the Criminal Code that allows people to spread hate and incite violence under the guise of religion. If he does not have the courage to do anything else, will he at least put an end to the religious exemption and stop allowing hate propaganda and incitement to violenc…
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