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Ms. Marie-Hélène Gaudreau (Laurentides—Labelle, BQ)

Jan/31/22 11:14:44 a.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I would like to ask my colleague a question. Health transfers are needed to meet critical needs. Given that inflation has risen to an unprecedented rate of 4.8% and that supply problems will continue to grow, should we not hold the debate on health transfers now so that we can take action to deal with the pandemic?

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Context: House Hansard - 20 - Jan/31/22

Ms. Marie-Hélène Gaudreau (Laurentides—Labelle, BQ)

Jan/31/22 11:47:46 a.m.
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Mr. Speaker, this is my opportunity to talk about the throne speech. As my colleague mentioned earlier, a throne speech should reflect the broad strokes of the government's plans for the mandate it received in the last election. I understand that this government is disappointed to be in a minority situation. However, since its only objective was to win a majority at taxpayers' expense, it could have made more of an effort. The mandate it has been given clearly includes more than this road map, and its ideas and intentions remain unclear. There is nothing about health transfers, which my colleague called for earlier, as did the Premier of Quebec and Canada as a whole. There is nothing on the energy transition or a green finance plan. There is nothing on the employment insurance reform that is needed and has been requested for decades to provide 50 weeks of benefits for serious illnesses, which we could have voted on this fall. There is nothing about seniors' purchasing power, nothing to support our agriculture. What are people supposed to do for the next four years? I repeat, the Bloc Québécois defends and will continue to defend health transfers because there is a consensus on this issue, not just in Quebec, but in all the provinces of Canada. An increase from 22% to 35% is not too much to ask when we consider that it was 50% a few decades ago. Therefore, the Bloc Québécois will continue to talk about it. I would also like to commend my colleague from Montcalm for his efforts on the issues of health and pandemic management. In my question earlier, I mentioned that inflation is also causing supply problems throughout our health care system. I think there is a need to act, and to act now. I would like to remind the House that on December 2, 2020, the Parliament of Canada adopted a Bloc Québécois motion calling on the government to significantly and sustainably increase Canada health transfers before the end of 2020 in order to support the efforts of Quebec and the provinces, health care workers and the public. Members will recall that all parties were in favour of this motion, with the exception of the Liberal Party, which voted against it. On March 1, 2021, the leaders of the Fédération des travailleurs et travailleuses du Québec, the Confédération des syndicats nationaux, the Centrale des syndicats du Québec and the Centrale des syndicats démocratiques stressed the importance of increasing these transfers to address the crisis in public services stemming from the pandemic. Let us talk about climate change, a topic of major concern when I talk to my constituents in Laurentides—Labelle. Unfortunately, the government is content to repeatedly say that we have to put our words into action. This has been an urgent issue since 2015, but as we know, they do not walk the talk. That needs to stop. We have invited the government to implement a real energy transition and to stop subsidizing the Canadian oil and gas industry. We have to change Canada's energy trajectory to help keep the increase in temperature below 1.5 degrees. The situation is critical. The other thing we keep saying and will continue saying is that we must stop increasing oil sands production and gradually reduce crude oil production entirely by 2030, which is fast approaching. Even though the government now claims to want to eliminate fossil fuel subsidies, subsidies the Minister of Finance has refused to define, I fear these subsidies might end up being disguised as assistance in helping to reduce the carbon intensity of oil and gas. People need to know. Let us be clear. We are calling for the immediate end of any type of subsidy for fossil fuels. On behalf of future generations, our children, our constituents, our regions and our resources, we are calling for an ambitious green recovery. We must shift to a green economy. The Bloc Québécois has come up with a road map for realizing the potential of Quebec's forestry sector, which is a major segment of the economy in my riding. As I mentioned earlier, Quebeckers are rightfully very worried about the cost of living. Food, clothing and housing prices are major concerns. The increase in the cost of gas, rent and groceries has caused inflation to rise to 4.8%. The consumer price index, or CPI, has had its largest spike since 2003. One way to protect the public from the effects of inflation and to stabilize the economy is to ensure that people have decent buying power. Another major challenge is the labour shortage, which is also leading workers to try to find better jobs or to renegotiate their wages. I myself am an entrepreneur, and I can assure my colleagues that things are extremely tough right now. What should we do? Here are a few Bloc Québécois suggestions. Wages obviously do need to increase, but it will take money and a concrete plan to address the labour shortage. We also need to increase health transfers. We suggested seven measures, including assistance to help businesses with automation and tax incentives for our seniors. Seniors have a great deal of experience, and they want to give back to society and share their knowledge. However, when the government keeps making changes that change nothing, it is not hard to see why they do not want to enter the job market. I have met with many organizations and businesses in Laurentides—Labelle in recent weeks to talk about foreign workers in agriculture. These issues are key parts of the economy back home. I want to acknowledge my colleague from Berthier—Maskinongé and my colleague from Lac-Saint-Jean, who have been raising the issue of the unwarranted processing delays for applications to bring in temporary workers. I am sure members recall hearing the famous number 13. I now want to talk about our municipalities, which are telling us that housing will be the main issue in 2022. As my hon. colleague from Longueuil—Saint‑Hubert would say, we cannot talk about housing without talking about access to housing. Prices are rising everywhere and, as my colleague from Manicouagan pointed out just now, there is a significant shortfall. I want to share something that a mayor had to say on this, as follows: The pandemic turned the long-standing housing shortage into an actual crisis. The shortage no longer affects only urban areas; it has expanded into all regions of Quebec. This has far-reaching consequences for even the smallest municipalities. We must take decisive and practical action now based on the three fundamental principles of affordability, accessibility and equity. In conclusion, my constituents are disappointed, and I truly hope that the government will do something meaningful soon.

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Context: House Hansard - 20 - Jan/31/22

Ms. Marie-Hélène Gaudreau

Jan/31/22 11:58:26 a.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague. I am hearing a heartfelt plea regarding the fragility of the economy in connection with fossil fuels. I understand that. When we talk about a move toward green energy, we know that we need to support businesses in that transition so that it is not disastrous for them. However, for now, there is nothing to indicate that the use of oil is good for the health of the planet. Obviously, all of the suggestions that we are making, such as the electrification of transportation, seek to reduce emissions in order to meet the 2030 target, while helping businesses. We need to meet that target because 1.5 degrees of warming is already too much.

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Context: House Hansard - 20 - Jan/31/22

Ms. Marie-Hélène Gaudreau

Jan/31/22 11:59:58 a.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for his question. Once again, I am pleased to explain that there are examples to follow, such as the child care centres that have had a major impact on Quebec's economy over the past 25 years. We have already shown that our approach works, and I hope that it will be adopted as quickly as possible by the other provinces in order to help their economies. When we make suggestions, we are not trying to get our own way or gain power. We are here to represent the interests of our constituents, so the more our colleagues listen to our suggestions, the better off we will be during this never-ending pandemic.

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Context: House Hansard - 20 - Jan/31/22

Ms. Marie-Hélène Gaudreau

Jan/31/22 12:01:41 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I salute my colleague from Montcalm. What a good question. Why do that when all this is going on? The provinces, Quebec, the institutions and the economists studying inflation tell us that enough is enough. It is time to take action on health transfers. I do not know the answer to my colleague's question, but we are going to keep asking, because the government is the only one that does not realize that time is of the essence. It is not just because of the pandemic, but that should be reason enough to transfer the money now.

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Context: House Hansard - 20 - Jan/31/22

Ms. Marie-Hélène Gaudreau (Laurentides—Labelle, BQ)

Jan/31/22 1:26:18 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I have a simple question for my colleague. I have been hearing a lot about the lack of funding for the various crises, including the housing, health and inflation crises. My question for my colleague is this. With everything that is happening right now, what more does the government need when everyone knows that health transfers are crucial? What does my colleague think? Why does the government refuse to act?

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Context: House Hansard - 20 - Jan/31/22

Ms. Marie-Hélène Gaudreau (Laurentides—Labelle, BQ)

Jan/31/22 2:18:26 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, today I would like to honour a great historian and educator who has made it his lifelong mission to teach us the history of the Laurentians. Michel Allard was born in Montreal, just across from La Fontaine Park. Today he is 80 years old and still very active. He has lived in my riding, Laurentides—Labelle, for 44 years. He has written more than 30 books on history, and he also taught for 37 years. Since his retirement, he has continued to tell our history through numerous television programs broadcast on NousTV, Cogeco's community television station. In his most recent series, La mémoire du passé, he told the history of 32 municipalities, including Val‑David, La Minerve, Saint‑Sauveur, Saint‑Adèle and Mont‑Tremblant. These programs are great at bringing history to life for today's audiences. Mr. Allard, I thank you for your work and wish you a long life.

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