SoVote

Mr. Denis Trudel (Longueuil—Saint-Hubert, BQ)

Dec/2/21 10:23:14 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, I thank my colleague for his speech. I found everything he said about reconciliation and the first nations very interesting. I think Canada still has a long way to go in that regard. I was, however, a bit bothered by a comment that my colleague made. He said that the appointment of the new Governor General, Mary Simon, was a date to remember in Canadian history. That might be a good thing for reconciliation with indigenous peoples, but it is a big problem for francization in Canada and Quebec. By appointing this woman who does not speak French to the position of Governor General, the government insulted eight million francophones across Canada. She really struggled with the French in the throne speech. Would my colleague agree that a bill should be passed in the House to require Prime Minister Trudeau to appoint a Governor General who speaks both of Canada's official languages?

156 words

Context: House Hansard - 9 - Dec/2/21

Mr. Denis Trudel (Longueuil—Saint-Hubert, BQ)

Dec/2/21 11:43:44 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, I was bothered by something in my colleague's speech, in which he admits that rents in his riding have doubled and people are having a hard time finding housing. That is a widespread problem throughout Quebec and Canada. Then again, my colleague believes that the solution is to build more houses. However, we do not need houses. At present, 500,000 households in Quebec have an urgent need for housing because they spend 30% or more of their income on housing or because their home is often unhealthy, too large or too small. That is the current problem. Building more houses is not in itself a bad idea. In the last Parliament, we worked on improving certain Liberal programs that were inadequate. However, there is still more to do. For example, there is a first-time homebuyer program that, while not a bad program, is too restrictive and has seen no uptake from buyers. What is missing is the massive investment required to house the poor, the most vulnerable, women who are victims of domestic violence, people with mental health and addiction problems and those who are homeless. The Bloc Québécois is proposing that the government immediately invest 1% of its budget to house people. There are 40,000 households—

218 words

Context: House Hansard - 9 - Dec/2/21

Mr. Denis Trudel (Longueuil—Saint-Hubert, BQ)

Dec/2/21 12:58:21 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I congratulate my colleague on his first speech. Despite the message his government is sending by appointing a Governor General who does not speak French, he made the effort to say a few words in French here in the House. I commend him for that. However, I do not entirely agree with him when he says that no one is being left behind by his government. Take for example Pauline Gagnon, a woman in my riding. I am not sure how old she is exactly, but she is at least 75. She was appalled when she found out that the government had decided to send a $500 cheque to all seniors 75 and older, a cheque that arrived on the very day the election was called. Seniors' purchasing power has gone down, and drugs, housing and groceries are expensive. Ms. Gagnon has never understood why the government created two classes of seniors. Does my colleague agree that it is time to commit to increasing old age security for all seniors starting at 65, as the Bloc Québécois has been calling for?

187 words

Context: House Hansard - 9 - Dec/2/21

Mr. Denis Trudel (Longueuil—Saint-Hubert, BQ)

Dec/2/21 1:12:50 p.m.
Watch

Mr. Speaker, we are currently seeing several crises in Canada. Not only is there the health crisis, the climate crisis, and, in Quebec, the language crisis, but there is also the housing crisis. My colleague spoke about that earlier. In Montreal, for example, taking into account all of the federal programs to house the most vulnerable people in Canada, this creates housing that costs $2,200. I have no idea who can afford to spend $2,200 on housing. That said, the government did one good thing in the last few years. It launched the rapid housing initiative, or RHI, a program to build social housing for the most vulnerable members of society. It is a very good program, but the problem is that it is grossly underfunded. It was allocated $1 billion, but it received $4 billion worth of project applications. I know that Mr. Hussen, the Minister of Housing and Diversity and Inclusion, wanted to put money back into the program. If my colleague is interested in housing, will he commit to lobbying the Liberal caucus to ensure that the RHI is better funded in the future?

191 words