44th Parl. 1st Sess.
November 25, 2021 10:00AM
- Nov/25/21 3:56:14 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I congratulate you on your appointment.
We have been discussing this issue for several hours now and many arguments have been presented. Everything has been said and the debate is winding down.
Since this is my first time rising in the 44th Parliament, I want to take the opportunity to express my thanks. I would first like to thank the people of Laurentides—Labelle who put their trust in me a second time. I am very proud of that, particularly since I won with an overwhelming majority.
My constituents can count on me to properly represent them and stand up for their interests. I will take all the time needed. In the end, we, as legislators, have 26 weeks to work here in the House and 26 more in our ridings to get to know our constituents and hear about their concerns. I would therefore like to tell my constituents that I will always be there for them.
I also want to thank my two beautiful daughters, Anne-Sophie and Ève-Marie, and my husband of 26 years, Yannick Thibault. They have been there from the start. In 2019, the Bloc Québécois faced quite a challenge, and I was very proud to be part of it. I thank them for their trust in me. Work-life balance is a team effort, and I thank them for their resilience and, above all, for their kind words. Yesterday, since I could not be there, we celebrated a birthday virtually. I cannot say it enough, my family members are at the very heart of my commitment, and the sacrifice they make is beyond honourable.
I also want to give special thanks to my volunteers. I will not name them all, as there are many, but they know who they are. I offer them my most sincere thanks. I can count on them, and I am fortunate to have such good people around me.
I also want to give a shout out to my constituency team. They work miracles every day. The pandemic has not been easy on anyone. In response to the alleged slowness of the decision-making process, I will remind you that we have wasted some time. People are having a hard time understanding why bills that were supposed to pass this fall must unfortunately go back to the beginning of the process.
At the Mont‑Laurier office, I want to say hello to Maryse Larente and Annie-Claude Poirier. At the Sainte‑Agathe‑des‑Monts office, I want to say hello to Maxime Caouette and Michel Kieffer, as well as our new recruit, Annie Lajoie. There is also Mathieu Laroche Casavant, who works on Parliament Hill and supports me in my parliamentary duties as well as in my duties as chair of the Bloc Québécois caucus.
Our loved ones are the most important people in our lives. My mother, Françoise, has enabled me to do what I am doing now, which is to speak to the members of the House, always to improve our collective well-being. I would also like to thank my parents-in-law, Solange and Lévis. I cannot forget my father, who is also in my thoughts every day. I hope he is proud of his daughter up there. In fact, I am sure he is, and I love him.
In closing, I would like to acknowledge my predecessor, Johanne Deschamps, who was the member of Parliament for Laurentides—Labelle for four terms.
Having said that, we are here to talk for a while longer about the motion that Parliament should operate in a hybrid format.
Yesterday I was talking to people in my riding and trying to find out what they thought. Since we are vaccinated, it is now possible to go to establishments offering various services and to see shows, while respecting the health measures proposed by the experts and scientists.
It was not complicated. They thought that we took advantage of the pandemic to be somewhat comfortable and relaxed, but what about the work that we do beyond speeches and the House of Commons? How about what happens when we walk to the Hill and have meaningful discussions?
When I arrived on Monday, after greeting my colleagues and the new members, I realized how much work can get done on a very specific issue that matters to our constituents, all with a simple discussion. People may already realize this, but I unfortunately did not have much time in a normal Parliament before the pandemic arrived.
It was even more difficult in committee. There was a lot of obstruction. Things can sometimes be much more efficient and effective in person. We can come to an agreement much more quickly when we have discussions with our colleagues. We cannot forget about language. I must say that the interpreters did an excellent job. I congratulate and thank them.
Technically, everyone here should be bilingual. Having said that, it is not right that an MP has to listen more closely to the original to be certain they have not missed anything. In fact, people speak too quickly and this makes interpretation more difficult at a time when we want to intervene to ensure that we have understood before voting. It is too late when the voting begins.
I came to realize that it was not the right approach for us because committees must meet in person and that goes for the House as well. I also think it is difficult to get used to speaking without looking at one another, and I enjoy speaking with people in person and not on a screen. Otherwise, we would have chosen other careers. My job is to speak on behalf of people and to have discussions with my colleagues.
I realize that we got it right when the pandemic first started. We were able to show our fellow citizens that, as my colleague mentioned earlier, in 24 hours we were able to turn on a dime. We were able to do it. We had to find and use the technology that was crucial at that time.
Now we have confidence, we want to make the most of our time and maybe try to do two or three things at once. This is critical. When we are here in person, we are able to focus on what needs to be done.
Personally, I trust the experts and I am sure that my colleagues trust the science. If we need to make a quick change some day, we will do so. We have shown that we are able to adjust.
To us in the Bloc Québécois, there is no good reason to not return to the House if we are double-vaccinated and if we obey the rules that have been established. On Monday, people could see in the first five minutes that there was no distancing. Everyone greeted each other and shook hands. Come on.
It is okay to be cautious and concerned, but I think we need to do our job the way it has been done for many decades now.
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- Nov/25/21 4:07:25 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I thank the hon. member for his question. I would like to come back to what I was saying about maximizing our effectiveness. Doing our work in person means we can work better and more effectively, and come up with quick solutions for the collective well-being of our constituents. It has been proven, and we have all experienced this. In a virtual situation, there are no exchanges that might allow us to work small miracles for our constituents.
We do not have enough information at this time to say definitively that we should keep this model until June.
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- Nov/25/21 4:09:32 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I thank the hon. member for his question. What we experienced, namely, people hiding behind their screens, could be perceived as avoidance by some people. We need to be consistent in the work we have to do. This means being available, answering questions and following through on things, all for our collective well-being.
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- Nov/25/21 4:10:24 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, quickly, the perception of people when we work in virtual mode is that we do not have the exchanges that go alongside it. The work is therefore not as effective because we have to be accountable, answer questions and follow up on files. Hiding behind a screen, as we have unfortunately seen during the exchanges of the last few days, makes our work less effective.
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- Nov/25/21 4:11:59 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, does it make sense for the Sergeant-at-Arms and the institution to guarantee that people's health will be protected provided that they are double-vaccinated? That is what is going on at the Quebec National Assembly. Should that suggestion not be considered? That is more of a question.
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