44th Parl. 1st Sess.
June 8, 2022 02:00PM
- Jun/8/22 2:23:15 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, on May 23, the Fédération des travailleurs et travailleuses du Québec launched a big campaign to promote the French language and to emphasize that working in French is a right.
With online, television and street furniture ads, this campaign uses funny translations of Quebec expressions as a reminder that people understand one another better when they speak our common language. The French expression “pain sur la planche” does not mean “having bread on the board”.
It means we have our work cut out for us, and that is true when it comes to stopping the decline of French in Quebec workplaces. I would like to draw the attention of our friends in the FTQ to Ottawa, which continues to avoid applying the Charter of the French Language to federally regulated businesses.
On behalf of the Bloc Québécois, I thank the entire FTQ team, especially its president, Daniel Boyer, and its general secretary, Denis Bolduc, for promoting our national language. As the FTQ said so well, French at work is always better.
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- Jun/8/22 3:07:12 p.m.
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- Re: Bill C-5
Mr. Speaker, a 12-year-old girl found herself right in the middle of a shooting in Montreal. She was traumatized, of course. This is happening in our streets in Quebec.
Instead of tackling the problems of street gangs and illegal arms trafficking, this Liberal government is doing the opposite with its Bill C‑5. It is eliminating mandatory prison sentences for gun crimes.
How can this government be so disconnected from reality that it is doing the opposite of what is obviously common sense?
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Mr. Speaker, our colleague from Winnipeg North always gives lengthy responses, and I like that. I like his passion, and of course it is always a pleasure to ask him questions in the House.
My colleague talked about what is in Bill C‑19. I am going to ask him about what is not in it.
What is not in Bill C‑19 are the health transfers to the provinces and Quebec. These transfers have been requested by all provincial premiers and the Premier of Quebec, all the opposition parties in the House of Commons and all the parties in the Quebec National Assembly. The only ones saying no to health transfers are the Liberals.
My question is very simple. If someone is alone in thinking they are right, could it be because they are wrong?
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Madam Speaker, I certainly appreciate the question from the hon. member from Quebec. In her question, she asked whether I support less taxes and at the same time strong services being provided by government. It reminds me of an answer I received at a business luncheon from my predecessor, the Hon. Stockwell Day, before I was elected.
He actually said at that business lunch that he was a strong proponent and that he thought Canadians felt that usually a government is either a fit or a flabby government. It does not matter about the size; what matters is the health of government, and if it is fit, it is able to supply services at a reasonable level. If it is flabby and unable to healthfully be able to respond to things, it just is not as effective.
I support, again, that kind of fit government, and I think Canadians would too. They want their passports and they also want to get value for their dollar.
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Madam Speaker, all the Quebec MPs saw what happened in the province's long-term care facilities during the pandemic. What does my colleague think about the multi-generational home renovation tax credit? Instead of putting a senior in a nursing home, a family can renovate their own home to accommodate the senior and have them live there. The goal is to keep families together. I would like to hear his opinion on this tax credit.
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Madam Speaker, there are a number of good measures in Bill C-19, and this tax credit is certainly one of them. It is important, and that is why we will be supporting Bill C‑19.
However, I would ask the government to implement this tax credit more quickly than the one they gave to teachers in last fall's budget. It is still not in effect because Bill C-8 is still before the Senate. Normally, when a bill is winding its way through Parliament, tax credits can be put in place more quickly. It appears that because the opposition parties are against Bill C‑8, they are being blamed for not granting this tax credit, which several teachers have asked me about.
I would therefore ask that the tax credit to help seniors stay in their homes be implemented more quickly than the tax credit for teachers.
I do not know if I have enough time to respond, but I would add that the situation in the long-term care facilities was carnage, a real disaster. The long-term care facilities are the poor cousin of Quebec's health care system, which brings to mind the chronic underfunding of the health care system. Obviously this goes back to the years of Jean Chrétien and Paul Martin who, in order to balance Ottawa's budget, massively cut transfers to Quebec and the provinces. The situation has never been rectified since, and we expect Ottawa to send massive transfers to the provinces to respect each one's ability to pay.
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Madam Speaker, I thank my dear Green Party colleague for his speech. I want to acknowledge his hard and heartfelt work on matters of social justice, the environment and persons with disabilities. He shows such compassion for people in vulnerable situations and I commend him for that.
I heard him say that he was disappointed that there was nothing in the budget about standards for long-term care.
Long-term care falls under the jurisdiction of the provinces and Quebec. Would my colleague not agree that the best way to support long-term care is for the federal government to transfer the money that the provinces and Quebec need?
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Madam Speaker, I really want to thank my colleague from Bay of Quinte for such a great speech.
I am honoured to speak to Bill C-19, and I want to take this opportunity to speak to concerns about Canada becoming a country that is known for backlogs.
Immigration, passports, seniors supports, Veterans Affairs, Service Canada and so many basic services the government provides are in a tailspin of growing backlogs. We see that very clearly in the Canadian immigration system. The Liberal-made backlog at IRCC has now reached 2.1 million applications.
What does the minister and department think about that? The minister told the immigration committee, “I hesitate to describe [it] as a backlog, because it's normal to have an inventory of cases.” If that is normal, I would be very concerned to see what they consider abnormal. This is the biggest backlog we have ever seen in Canada’s history in immigration.
These are not just numbers. That is the key here. These are family members who cannot be reunited with each other. There are parents who are missing their kids’ first birthdays, their first steps and their first words.
There is also mental anxiety and many mental health issues. We hear about people being divorced. The suicide rates are going up because of this backlog. Employers cannot find labour fast enough. They are suffering, which means, ultimately, that our economy suffers. This is something we wish the government would take seriously, but we do not see much inside the budget that would help address the issue.
The government is now okay with stranding 2.1 million people and their families in bureaucratic limbo because it thinks this is normal. When did it become okay to normalize poor performance? Canada is welcoming record numbers of immigrants, all the while not dealing with labour shortages and the refugee crisis.
We also have a very concerning report that came out about racism at IRCC. There is nothing, whether in the budget or practically, being done by the government to address that racism. The most concerning thing is that, of the managers and employees who displayed racism, not a single one was reprimanded or fired. Rather, they were given bonuses. That is super shameful. It really is bad for our country to be known as a country that has an issue with racism within IRCC. This is on top of the backlog, and it is partly contributing to that backlog as well.
When the minister appeared at the immigration committee in February, he committed to returning processing times to the 12-month service standard and investing $85 million to fix the immigration backlog. However, after four months, the backlog grew from 1.8 million in February to over 2.1 million, and processing times are two to three times longer than what the service standards say. I would bet that every single MP in the House agrees with me that their offices are burdened because of the immigration backlog that was created by the government after it refused to address the core issues that are plaguing our IRCC department.
IRCC has even indicated that there was no plan to use backlog funding for the existing backlog, which is more proof that there is a lot of talk of throwing money at the problem, but there is no actual plan to do anything with that money. Backlogs are not just about paperwork and frustration. Despite IRCC treating everyone as a file number to be processed, real people are affected by the Liberals’ mismanagement of the immigration system.
I hear this from constituents all the time. Our office receives correspondence and phone calls from people ready to give up. We fear that people are contemplating suicide because after months of being separated from their loved ones, newcomers lose hope. They lose faith that they will ever be able to see their loved ones again.
Too many immigrants and too many newcomers waiting for their cases to be processed end up unable to see their children’s first steps, as I said. They miss funerals; they miss weddings. According to IRCC’s posted processing times, family sponsorship applications alone take 23 months for spousal sponsorship and 34 months for parents and grandparents, instead of the promised 12 months
We saw throughout this pandemic that getting help from family members was needed in certain instances. One mother was at home with a child who had severe disabilities and she needed either her spouse here or a caregiver. However, because of the backlog, that mother, who was in my riding, suffered. She cried many nights, wrote many emails and was on the verge of just giving up. There were many times when she would email my office and say, “This is it for me. I cannot handle this anymore.” It is sad to see that the caregiver program is so badly neglected that all caregivers now see no hope they will ever get here.
We wish the government would take these things seriously. Again, I know I am not alone in this chamber in talking about the problems in our immigration system. We have other Liberal MPs on record who are also tired of the backlog. One of them said in an article that this is messed up, and it is. It truly is. Lives are being ruined because of this backlog.
When we look at budget 2022, I do not see much in there that is going to address the issues, address the mental health problems that come with the issues being created or tackle in any way this backlog, which has burdened our businesses, Canadians and newcomers alike.
How do we fix a system that is so severely mismanaged? One suggestion, obviously, is to elect a Conservative government. Let us get things back on track. In the meantime, let us start with some common-sense reforms. For example, let us create a framework for better foreign credential recognition. It is an essential thing we could do today. There are many people in this country, and we all know some of them, who are either doctors or engineers back home. However, when they come here, because of credential recognition, they waste their talent. They are underemployed.
Why can we not work together? Why can the government not work with our provincial partners to do a better job in making sure we are recognizing credentials? That way we can fill the labour gaps. Our rural areas, especially in Quebec, are suffering the most. There are people who are retiring in our rural areas and it is so hard to find doctors. This is one way we could help address some of the labour shortages. There are many very talented electricians, plumbers and all sorts of tradespeople in this country who have so much to contribute.
Newcomers come to this country with a Canadian dream, much like me and my family did. This country gave us an amazing opportunity to become successful. I am the son of a taxi driver and of a mom who worked multiple jobs. This country gave us everything. I am so proud to represent a riding that has other such hard-working people.
I grew up in the riding I get to represent today. I stood in line to get low-income bus passes in my riding. We lived through that poverty. However, this country, through the grace of God, gave us everything to become successful. I am the son of a taxi driver who gets to stand here today and represent my constituents and be their voice in the house of common people.
Would it not be great if we could let everyone, newcomers and Canadians alike, feel free when they come here? That is what I want to speak to. I wish the budget would attempt to address more of that. How can we help unleash people's talents? How can we get government out of the way, get these backlogs out of the way and get the red tape and bureaucracy out of the way? How can we work together in this Parliament to address some of these issues? That is what I wish we could all work together on.
When we come to this chamber, there is a lot of partisanship, but there are practical, common-sense solutions being put forward on the table. I have only listed one. We could once again make Canada the great destination that it was known for. Canada was once known to be at the top of the list. When anyone wanted to immigrate, Canada was a beacon of hope. It was a beacon of freedom at one point. Today, people are skipping over Canada and it is really sad to see. I hope that, whether it is through this legislation or through this budget, the government uses the money to make this country a beacon of hope once again.
In closing, I move, seconded by the member for Bay of Quinte:
That the amendment be amended by adding the following:
and that the committee report back no later than June 20, 2022
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Madam Speaker, I hope I understood the question right. It speaks to the point I brought up about foreign credentials.
We could do a better job, as a collective, in making some type of standard or striking a royal commission. We could create a standard, not just with the provinces but with other countries, for the shortage of labour or highly skilled workers such as doctors and nurses, whom we are going to need. We need them now, but we are going to need them later on too.
I know Quebec is really suffering when it comes to its numbers. We could help address some of those issues. Also, we need to do a better job with the provinces to help address their unique challenges. Communication is missing. There is a big gap in that, and I hope we can collectively work to help address it.
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Madam Speaker, what worries me is that we are in the midst of a crisis, during which the government took action quickly. During this crisis, we saw the flaws in the EI system. However, the government is telling us that unemployment is down so it can wait a little longer to reform the system. We cannot afford to wait any longer.
Clearly, training is necessary. It might be a good idea to increase training budgets so that workers can update, recertify and develop their skills. However, that work must be entrusted to the provinces, because it falls under their jurisdiction.
In Quebec, this responsibility should be given to the labour market partners commission, a unique commission that engages in social dialogue.
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Madam Speaker, I thank my colleague.
I did not say my colleague's name. I did say the name of her riding, which I am entitled to do.
One solution is to give people a break on the cost of gas. We need to have a tax rebate or cut taxes right before the construction holidays. We will be on summer vacation soon. The weather is really nice here tonight in Ottawa. We are starting to see tourists in the nation's capital, but we would love to see them back home, too. Would people be able to come visit us?
They would stand a better chance if we reduced the taxes on the price of gas, except for the carbon tax, because that does not really apply in Quebec. We could have a GST rebate, for example, on the price of gas. That would be an incentive for people. That way, they could vacation in our beautiful ridings, in Abitibi or the Lower St. Lawrence.
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Madam Speaker, my hon. colleague mentioned immigration. We did not see a single thing in the budget that had to do with tackling the racism issue that is happening in IRCC. What we are seeing in IRCC under the Liberal government is unaddressed racism, which is also affecting Quebec in a big way. We are seeing African countries with almost 90% rejection rates under the Liberal government. For two years, they have had an anti-racism task force. Not a single person has been fired. Not a single person has been reprimanded. What we do see is that those people who have that kind of racist behaviour have gotten raises under the government's watch.
What does the hon. member have to say regarding that and why have the Liberals refused to address racism in IRCC, which is affecting many people?
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Madam Speaker, we believe in the idea of having more green vehicles. I understand that this is a general question on green vehicles.
Canada has long presented itself as a leader, but it was not one. In 2019, Canada was the last western country to bring in rebates on the sale of individual electric vehicles. That is bad, if we think about it.
The delay is unfathomablere, considering how many things need to be done about transportation electrification. Furthermore, most of the programs encourage industries that are often multinationals based in Ontario, instead of SMEs based in Quebec that are making a real effort to electrify transportation.
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Madam Speaker, I thank my hon. colleague for his speech. I am a bit concerned by his comments about the amount of money paid to the provinces and territories for health care.
I think the bill gives the provinces and territories $2 billion to help reduce wait times for certain surgeries. The Government of Canada obviously worked very hard with all of the provinces and territories during the pandemic.
Why is my colleague opposed to the government's initiatives to collaborate with his province, Quebec?
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Madam Speaker, the amount that the member is referring to had already been announced. It was then put into the bill, so it is nothing new. It was not specific to this bill.
It also falls well short of expectations, given inflation and skyrocketing costs. I remind members that this amount is far from what was promised in the Canada Health Act.
We could ask the provinces what they think about working with Ottawa. They all say that Ottawa is not doing enough. The Government of Quebec is unanimous on this.
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Madam Speaker, I rise this evening to share my thoughts on Bill C-19. Like many members in the House, we have carefully examined the many clauses included in this piece of legislation, which implements many of the changes announced by the government in its budget.
The devil is in the details, and I would like to thank my Bloc Québécois colleagues for their vigilance, because the amendments were important, and the organizations that contacted us wanted to be heard loud and clear. I particularly want to congratulate my colleague from Joliette and my colleague from Thérèse-De Blainville.
There are times when our actions really matter. Small industries, especially our SMEs, often bear the brunt of measures that are not adapted to their reality, and we must be vigilant. I can assure the House that we have put a great deal of effort and resources into reviewing the proposed changes and doing the necessary checks. The Bloc Québécois believes that it is possible to be prudent, rigorous and innovative at the same time. While our goal is to get everything for Quebec when the current crises are over, the Bloc Québécois is determined to secure as much as possible for Quebeckers.
The Bloc Québécois carefully went through every clause of the bill, as it always does. It voted in favour of the parts that are good for Quebec and voted against the parts that are not good for Quebec, and it tried to improve the parts that could become good for Quebec, in particular for charities.
Last week I spoke about some of the challenges that charities told us about during recent consultations. I am very happy that we were able to build on a solid foundation to make it easier for charities to sign co-operation agreements with organizations not recognized as charities. This will ensure that charities are not needlessly overburdened and can concentrate on their missions.
With Bill C‑19, the version amended by the Bloc Québécois, we join other countries that have taken similar measures to support charities better. The original version of Bill C‑19 introduced by the Liberal government did not adequately respond to what charities had asked for.
I now want to talk about mead and cider. I want to acknowledge David Ouellet, from Miellerie de la Grande Ourse in Saint‑Marc‑de‑Figuery, and the folks at Verger des Tourterelles in Duhamel‑Ouest.
I would like to clearly explain the importance of the amendments made by the Bloc Québécois to Bill C‑19, especially in response to the request by mead and cider producers to exempt these products from the excise tax. Many members here in the House urged the government to help the restaurant and tourism industries, as well as our honey producers, maple syrup producers, berry farmers and many other sectors of our economy.
This is a fine example of a Bloc Québécois amendment that provided desperately needed breathing room. I am certain that we managed to stave off the closure of many businesses across Quebec. Peripheral sectors and businesses such as apple farmers, bee farms, the tourism industry and the restaurant sector will be the better for it.
I have a word of caution for fly-in, fly-out workers. One of the measures I am worried about is the labour mobility deduction for tradespeople who temporarily relocate to a job site. This measure would let people who temporarily work away from their home deduct a portion of their travel and accommodation expenses. It will reduce the pressure that the labour shortage is putting on several sectors in Abitibi-Témiscamingue in the mining industry and construction.
What we do not want, however, is for our region to become a fly-in, fly-out destination. We need to ensure that people settle in our area, that they live there and become proud and strong Témiscamingue people. The wages paid must be spent in local businesses. That is how we develop our territory, how we live in it and how we help small and medium-sized businesses become large corporations.
I already explained all the effects of this kind of measure when we studied another member's bill in the House. I would remind everyone that there is a serious housing shortage in Quebec and that these kinds of measures can put additional pressure on the rental market.
If we make it easier for these temporary workers to come to our regions, they will surely want to stay after getting a taste of what we have to offer. I can assure the House that that is definitely the case in Abitibi—Témiscamingue, where people want to stay and build their dreams with their feet on the ground. There they can live it up in Sainte-Germaine-Boulé, attend a secret show in an alley in Rouyn-Noranda at the Festival de musique émergente, enjoy the view of the majestic Lac Témiscamingue in Ville-Marie or taste the incredible quality of the agri-food products of the Amos region.
Another thing I would like to talk about is division 15 of Bill C‑19, which is about the Competition Act. On May 20, after I moved a motion in this regard, the Standing Committee on Industry and Technology studied this section and heard from numerous witnesses. I think reluctance on the part of those who just spoke has to do with the fact that there were no real public discussions about the measures the government is imposing in this budget bill. As a matter of fact, all the witnesses were surprised to see this section in a budget bill instead of in a bill of its own.
As for the public debate, some people simply want to maintain the status quo in terms of competition. Others say that it is high time changes were made. I think my colleagues know where the Bloc stands. The message needs to be tailored and crystal clear. There must be strict rules that allow for real competition. We are in favour of meaningful reform of the Competition Act as long as it is a comprehensive, transparent process.
Where are things going in the realm of competition? Here are some thought from the Commissioner of the Competition Bureau:
An important conversation is taking shape about the role of competition in the Canadian economy. It's occurring against a backdrop of increasing concerns about the rise of corporate titans and the changing nature of our digital marketplace. New thinkers have engaged in the debate.
As MPs who are members of this committee, we noted the deep concern of some people who testified. We did not change the coming into force date of this section of the bill, in order to give the Competition Bureau the opportunity to include all the elements required to implement these changes. Everyone expects a firm commitment and swift action from Commissioner Boswell, and everyone agrees that it is urgent that the Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry introduce a new bill on competition.
Significant amendments were proposed as a first step. They would enhance the Competition Bureau's investigative powers, criminalize wage-fixing and no-poach agreements, and increase maximum fines and administrative monetary penalties. They would clarify that incomplete price disclosure is a false or misleading representation. The amendments also would expand the definition of anti-competitive conduct, allow private access to the Competition Tribunal to remedy an abuse of dominance and improve the effectiveness of the merger notification requirements.
In conclusion, it is getting late, so I would like to sum up my thoughts on this bill. I wish I could say that all these measures will achieve the results that our constituents are hoping for. With the time I was given, I discussed only a few of the measures set out in the 400 pages of this bill. In this case, we tried to improve it as much as possible in the limited time we had, due to closure. We will have to be twice as vigilant and listen even more to the people in our communities.
Fortunately for the people in my riding, the Bloc Québécois is able to promote its recommendations. Again, the government was caught off guard. It tried to bury measures in a 400‑page tome. I can guarantee that, especially under the watchful eye of my colleague from Joliette, anything we missed this time will get picked up during the next round of legislative amendments.
I want to mention that introducing elements in a massive bill instead of having substantive, transparent debates in parliamentary groups always has dangerous consequences. Many people came to the Standing Committee on Industry and Technology to tell us that.
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