Parliamentary Speeches
722 speeches by Yves-François Blanchet — Page 6 of 15
Government Orders
Madam Speaker, in a way, the answer is in the question. I would like Quebeckers to hear someone stand up in Parliament and tell them, in English, to look at what the rest of Canada is doing better than they are, and to tell them that they are so bad that the federal government needs to develop programs that will be imposed on them with their own money. I think it is completely ridiculous to say th…
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Madam Speaker, this is a wonderful opportunity. However, there are a number of factors. First, I acknowledge the Conservatives' new position of wanting to give unconditional health transfers, or transfers of any kind, to Quebec and the provinces. I have a second piece of good news. We will hold the debate on independence. Indeed, the tide is turning, we are coming up on the third referendum and we…
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Madam Speaker, over the past few years, the Government of Canada has developed a way of doing politics that follows a clear and heavy-handed approach, including an egregious abuse of the so-called fiscal imbalance. This means that the federal government is receiving more revenue than it needs to fulfill its roles and responsibilities, whereas Quebec and the provinces are collecting and receiving l…
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moved: That the House: (a) condemn the federal government’s repeated intrusion into the exclusive jurisdictions of Quebec, the provinces and the territories; (b) remind the Prime Minister that, despite his claims, it is not true that “people do not care which level of government is responsible for what”; and (c) demand that the government systematically offer Quebec, the provinces and territories …
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Mr. Speaker, only one fishery is still operating fully in the western Gulf of St. Lawrence, specifically, shellfish, in other words, crab and lobster. All the others are in serious jeopardy, and now even that fishery is in crisis too. The industry is in distress, but the member for Gaspésie—Les Îles-de-la-Madeleine and Minister of Fisheries is closing vast fishing areas off Chaleur Bay, the Gaspé …
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Mr. Speaker, we are going to give him a chance. The fishing areas were closed because of right whales. Everyone wants to protect the right whale. The government is actually endangering it more by opening up areas to offshore oil drilling. Fishers have suggested ways to protect whales, and so have scientists and the Bloc Québécois. The department is not listening, the minister is not listening and …
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Mr. Speaker, he is right, and I appreciate this stroke of brilliance: the best thing that could happen to French in Quebec, in Canada and partly around the world, is an independent Quebec. Meanwhile, what did the Prime Minister of Canada say during the English debate in 2021? When I was the only one who wanted to talk about francophones outside Quebec, in English, I was told that I did not have th…
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Mr. Speaker, the Liberals claim to be interested in French in Quebec and Canada. The fact is that they are subsidizing the quiet disappearance of francophones in western Canada and outside Quebec, much like the proverbial frog in a pot of boiling water. What is more, the Liberals are mobilizing dozens of unilingual anglophone members to protect their offensive member, whose comments were as underh…
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Mr. Speaker, one day we will have our own country and our own future. The Liberals have admitted responsibility but their actions go against that responsibility. They sent money to the anglophone community in Quebec so it could protect itself, of course, from being assimilated by francophones. If the Prime Minister is so concerned about Quebec, can he stop opposing the Quebec government's Bill 96 …
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Mr. Speaker, I cannot count how many times I have told my colleagues from Jonquière and Lac-Saint-Jean that we should ask Claude. I am of course talking about biologist Claude Villeneuve, a giant in the field of science and a giant of a human being, who left us Sunday evening. He was a scientist and an academic for whom ideology was no substitute for science and universities should teach facts, no…
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Mr. Speaker, let us touch briefly on extremism. Last week, a party leader was expelled from the House, partly for using the word “extremist” without apologizing. Today, the Prime Minister is congratulating his friend for saying exactly the same word to guests in committee. Is this a double standard or will he consider expelling his friend from the Assemblée parlementaire de la Francophonie?
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Mr. Speaker, I just heard that we need to protect both official languages. Where does English need protecting? This summer in Montreal there is going to be the equivalent of a global conference of the Assemblée parlementaire de la Francophonie that will be chaired by his friend, who, by his own actions, is embarrassing us on the world stage. I think I get it: The Liberals are trying to have everyo…
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Mr. Speaker, we have an expression in Quebec that goes, “je ne peux rien lui faire qu'il ne se fera pas lui-même”. In other words, he is his own worst enemy and keeps digging himself into a deeper hole. It has gotten to the point where he is doubling down and continues to endorse comments that make absolutely no sense by trying to do something that he is not particularly good at. Quick little joke…
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Mr. Speaker, as far as the Prime Minister is concerned researchers who use the same figures as Statistics Canada are just looking for a fight, but not his MP, who insults Quebec and has made all of the Francophonie question his choice today. What would not count as a fight for the Prime Minister? Supporting the scatological little tantrum of his MP and friend?
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Mr. Speaker, yesterday, the Prime Minister seemed to endorse the vulgar slurs used by his MP, who made what I will call the “M-word” famous in the French-speaking world. It is all a bit of a distraction, however, because the real issue is actually the issue of funding for francophone universities. In order for us to move on from this and avoid getting tarred as foul-mouthed barbarians, could the P…
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Mr. Speaker, with all due respect, the word that I used and that you called me out on is not nearly as bad as the word that the member over there used and that nobody said anything about. The Prime Minister is trying to sow division between francophones in Quebec and francophones in Canada. I would like to remind him that, in the last election, I wanted to talk about francophones outside Quebec du…
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Mr. Speaker, the Liberals are having a hard enough time as it is convincing people that they are committed to the French language. I will spare them the trouble of claiming it is part of their culture. At the very least, the Prime Minister should take responsibility for one of his members uttering such a vulgar slur about our national language. Will the Prime Minister at least suggest that the mem…
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Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister is so oblivious to the political cost of his last response. Failing to ensure that the member resigns as chair of the Assemblée parlementaire de la Francophonie, or APF, when he refuses to apologize for his remarks and when he thinks that protecting French is an extremist position, is a personal endorsement from the Prime Minister himself of the contempt voiced. Wil…
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Mr. Speaker, Quebeckers want this law, and the money they have put into the Liberals' staggering deficit is going to pay for a Supreme Court challenge to a law that they want. In short, can he rein in Ms. Elghawaby, tell her to stop attacking Quebec and respect the right that Quebeckers have to live in a society with a secular state?
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Mr. Speaker, I am reassured. I have not been sleeping well for some time now. I am going to be able to return the signs to the printers and cancel the bus. The NDP is voting with the Liberals in favour of the budget. That being said, the Bloc Québécois is voting against it. Let me read something from Amira Elghawaby: We are committed to upholding the values of religious freedom...and equality that…
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Mr. Speaker, you have been too generous with the Ritalin. We are definitely talking about different sorts of bridges. I am talking about the bridges Ms. Elghawaby is supposed to be creating between communities. As Guy Rocher used to say, one person's privilege is another's injustice. With her attitude and measures like Islamic mortgages, Ms. Elghawaby will ensure that groups like the Haitian commu…
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Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister sees fit to challenge, through the person of Ms. Elghawaby, a law passed by the Quebec National Assembly and to create a law for a minority within a minority, who, I would point out, asked for no such thing. It is a religious law. I respect the Muslim community at least as much as the Prime Minister does, but is he building bridges by creating privileges or by creat…
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Mr. Speaker, we will talk about “hand in hand with the provinces” in a bit. In the meantime, after some Pinocchio-like nonsense, the Conservatives are now voting with the Liberals. They are both obsessed with encroaching on provincial jurisdictions. Despite a request from all premiers—so much for “hand in hand”—the Liberals and Conservatives are voting against a motion on respecting Quebec's juris…
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Mr. Speaker, I understand that there was less time to prepare, but yesterday, the Conservatives, Liberals and even the NDP—I say “even” because it kind of goes together—voted against an amendment from the Bloc Québécois that said that the budget was okay, because we are not bad sports, but that the jurisdictions of Quebec and the provinces need to be respected. All those here who call themselves f…
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Mr. Speaker, I would like to congratulate you on showing some common sense. If the Chair wants more questions, we are ready to ask plenty of them. It is clear that from firearms buy-back programs to the Phoenix pay system, issuing visas, McKinsey and GC Strategies, the government's management is very chaotic. Instead of interfering in the jurisdictions of Quebec and the provinces, why does the gov…
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Mr. Speaker, let us pray that the Prime Minister will remain with us on this Tuesday. The Prime Minister said he was working hand in hand with the provinces and that his main concern was ensuring that everyone received good services from the Canadian government for people across the country. In a certain number of areas, those services fall under provincial jurisdiction. Am I to understand that th…
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Mr. Speaker, next Saturday is Guy Rocher's 100th birthday. Guy Rocher is one of the great intellectuals of the Quiet Revolution and, because of his own personal journey, an icon of secularism in Quebec. His century of wisdom is worth celebrating. He is one of the little-known fathers of our education system, having played a key role in the mystical Parent commission and in the creation of the larg…
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Mr. Speaker, if you have 10 minutes, I would ask you to explain to the Prime Minister what purpose the opposition serves in Parliament, especially since it comes so naturally to a Quebecker. The Prime Minister is interfering in all of Quebec's jurisdictions, and yet the Liberals think it is outrageous for Quebec to want to use a tiny piece of the Constitution, the notwithstanding clause, to protec…
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Mr. Speaker, child care falls under the jurisdiction of Quebec and the provinces. Dental insurance, if applicable, would be a jurisdiction of Quebec or the provinces. The same goes for pharmacare, municipal infrastructure and housing. The Prime Minister is obsessed with the areas of jurisdiction of Quebec and the provinces. I want to ask the Prime Minister if he has ever thought of running for pre…
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Mr. Speaker, I am not convinced that the Quebec government is saying the same thing as the Prime Minister. I myself am very proud to be a Quebecker. I am so proud, in fact, that I have confidence in Quebec. I believe it should be a country. I am not sure whether the Prime Minister has the same level of confidence. Does the Prime Minister recognize that all of his meddling in areas under the jurisd…
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Mr. Speaker, with his budget, the Prime Minister is recognizing that the issues that are really important to Canadians fall under the jurisdiction of Quebec and the provinces. Therefore, he is shamelessly using the fiscal imbalance, thanks to which he has a lot more money than he should, while Quebec and the provinces have less. Does he recognize that, to implement his budget at the expense of Que…
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Mr. Speaker, Ottawa is working so hand in hand with the Quebec government that the Conservatives are recruiting from the CAQ. Will the Prime Minister admit that, by failing to meet his obligations, he is responsible for a $6-billion deficit in Quebec City, that he is responsible for making Quebeckers shoulder $8 billion out of his $40-billion deficit, and that he has just put Quebeckers $14 billio…
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Mr. Speaker, I refuse to believe that the Prime Minister is working hand in hand with Quebec. On the contrary, I believe he has his hand in Quebeckers' pockets. He is blatantly abusing the fiscal imbalance. He is blatantly abusing his spending power. Furthermore, he is racking up an appalling deficit that Quebeckers will be paying off for a long time to come simply to save his government's skin, a…
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Mr. Speaker, we could, very carefully, despite his sense of humour, touch a little on the member's age. Now, we are mainly talking about the length of his reign as MP for this wonderful constituency. In theory, we should be talking about wisdom. We should be talking about the great wisdom of the member for Bécancour—Nicolet—Saurel, but no. The member for Bécancour—Nicolet—Saurel has not acquired, …
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Mr. Speaker, there have been discussions among the parties and if you seek it, I believe you will find unanimous consent to adopt the following motion: That the House: (a) recognize that the member for Bécancour—Nicolet—Saurel became, on April 3, 2024, the longest-serving and undefeated elected representative in the history of the Canadian Parliament on his 14,457th day in office, for a total of 3…
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Mr. Speaker, yesterday, the Prime Minister made a good joke. He told us about how well he gets along with the Premier of Quebec and how well they work together. The reality is that everyone in the Quebec National Assembly except the Liberals—no surprise there—is calling for Quebec to be given all powers over immigration. Is blatantly refusing François Legault's critical request without any explana…
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Mr. Speaker, if the Prime Minister is here to deliver for Quebeckers, then that is another epic fail to add to his record. The Government of Quebec has paid for education, health, income security, child care and all government services. The Liberal government told Quebec to pay for it and said that it would pay Quebec back. The bill has reached $1 billion, but now that Quebec has a huge deficit on…
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Mr. Speaker, I do not put much stock in polls. Polls should not dictate a government's choices. That said, before he says who is speaking for whom, the Prime Minister ought to know that the Bloc Québécois has been ahead of the Liberals in every poll for longer than I can remember. If the Prime Minister is doing that poorly in the polls, so poorly that even the Conservatives are outperforming the L…
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Mr. Speaker, we sensed a little vulnerability, but it is just that we do not know whether they will be sitting at this end of the House or that end. If the government really wants to get Quebeckers' attention, it will make adequate health care transfers. It will transfer immigration powers. Judges will be appointed. Things will get done the right way. So far, the government is not getting anything…
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Mr. Speaker, seated in the middle of a hundred or so Liberal members who are at risk of losing their jobs, the Prime Minister continues to interfere in provincial affairs. He boasts about pharmacare, which already exists, and talks about seniors, when he has refused to increase old age security. Another example is the Canada community-building fund. We are not talking about a lot of money, really,…
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Mr. Speaker, I do not know if seniors use a lot of birth control, but I know that in Quebec, diabetes medication is paid for. I will come back to one point, because I do not think he knows what I am talking about. The Canada community-building fund should allow municipalities to do whatever work they choose to do. However, to make it look like it is putting money into housing, the government wants…
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Mr. Speaker, we will give him a chance, we will not get into a debate on Quebec sovereignty, but he owes Quebec $6 billion in health and $1 billion in immigration for welcoming refugees. That makes $7 billion out of a total deficit of $11 billion. People stand unanimously against him and he is literally choking Quebec. Will he use $1 billion in immigration and $6 billion in health to rein in Quebe…
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Mr. Speaker, this government and Canada are both living high off the hog thanks to the fiscal imbalance. The Canadian government collects more in taxes than its responsibilities actually require. Quebec and the provinces collect less in taxes than their responsibilities require. Of course, raising taxes is not an option. Do the government and the Prime Minister recognize that Quebec's extremely la…
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Mr. Speaker, I agree that there are likely many Canadians who do not have this service, but Quebeckers do. That is why Quebeckers are talking about the right to opt out with compensation. Should the NDP and the Liberals not have made sure that they were on the same page? Before deciding whether to go into a tango or a nice slow dance, maybe partners should renew their vows by being clear with each…
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Mr. Speaker, at least there is one thing we agree on: This is unacceptable. That means that the Prime Minister is responsible for something unacceptable. Take some action, please. What is he going to do to recover the tens of millions of misspent dollars? Will he put the Canada Border Services Agency under administrative supervision and launch an independent inquiry, one that has the added appeal …
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Mr. Speaker, the government and the NDP want to bring in a pharmacare plan that does absolutely nothing for Quebec, since we already have such a plan, which was actually the inspiration for their program. I have no problem with this, as long as Quebec has the right to opt out with full financial compensation and no strings attached. The member for Rosemont—La Petite-Patrie, a member of that allian…
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Mr. Speaker, there was a unanimous vote in committee to support the bill introduced by my colleague from Shefford, which seeks to end the discriminatory treatment of seniors with respect to old age pensions; this discrimination is between those aged 65 to 75 and those over 75. Since the vote was unanimous, it is safe to assume that the Liberal members were instructed to vote in favour of the bill.…
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Mr. Speaker, that is all well and good, but it is in the past. I want to know what he is going to do in the future. I would remind the Prime Minister that his committee members voted in favour of the bill, which will be sent back to the House. I am therefore going to assume that the Prime Minister is not leading us on, that he is not leading on those who were the most vulnerable during the pandemi…
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Mr. Speaker, the government is mired in one of the worst financial scandals in the public service. It happened somewhere in the public service, yet to be determined. It is the worst scandal since the sponsorship scandal, which relegated the Liberal Party to obscurity for many years. We have made four clear requests: that the Prime Minister acknowledge his responsibility; that he call an independen…
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Mr. Speaker, in a cagey and roundabout way, the Prime Minister is admitting that there was misappropriation and misuse of public funds at the Canada Border Services Agency. Has he at least considered relieving the current administration of their duties and temporarily placing the agency under third-party management?
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