44th Parl. 1st Sess.
September 29, 2022 10:00AM
- Sep/29/22 11:17:17 a.m.
- Watch
Madam Speaker, I thank my colleague for his question. He asked me how people are living with the carbon tax in my riding. Perhaps this will explain the reality of my riding.
I must say that no one in my riding talks to me about the carbon tax. The reason is quite simple: This tax does not exist in Quebec.
As for the reality in my colleague's riding, I would encourage him to have another look at his party's long-term policies. The price of gas will continue to go up regardless, and, unfortunately, oil is really bad for the environment.
I hope we will continue to move towards the electrification of vehicles as soon as possible. The government needs to step up the pace. This would help lower oil-related costs in the medium and long term, and perhaps create an economy of the future in which we are the leaders, not the last in line.
159 words
All Topics
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- Sep/29/22 11:34:17 a.m.
- Watch
Madam Speaker, I thank my hon. colleague for his question.
These issues are definitely very important. We are concerned about what is happening with first nations too.
In my speech, I talked about how climate change affects homes on first nations reserves that are built on thawing permafrost, on thawing soil.
We should also address other issues, such as building social housing. We have shared our ideas about that. We just want to point out that Quebec has programs like AccèsLogis, which are paid for by the Government of Quebec. The federal government did not provide compensation for those programs for two years, so we had to build social and community housing ourselves. That meant fewer resources available to other people who need them because we did not get critical funding or support from the federal government.
139 words
All Topics
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- Sep/29/22 11:49:36 a.m.
- Watch
Madam Speaker, I would also like to take this opportunity to express my deepest condolences to my colleague on behalf of the Bloc Québécois.
I was very pleased to hear him talk about increasing old age security starting at 65 in response to an earlier question. I was also happy to hear him talk about employment insurance in his speech.
I have a question for him.
We are talking about collaboration in a minority government, but his political party chose to focus on a dental care plan when the provinces and Quebec are the ones best placed to take care of that. There should have simply been an increase in health transfers.
I would like to know whether he thinks that health transfers should be increased. Moreover, why did his party not bring up EI reform at the negotiating table, such as a reform of the existing structures, instead of rushing ahead with a flawed system like the one being proposed for dental care?
168 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- Sep/29/22 12:31:39 p.m.
- Watch
Madam Speaker, first of all, the price on carbon pollution does not apply in Quebec. Consequently, my colleague's constituents will not be affected by that measure, although they will benefit from the relief set out in Bill C-30. However, I want to put that aside for a moment.
The price on pollution adds an estimated 2.2¢ to every litre of gasoline, but, in any event, Canadians are compensated for that increase.
Does my colleague believe that this 2.2¢ increase has a greater impact on the price of gas than the war in Ukraine?
100 words
All Topics
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- Sep/29/22 1:07:08 p.m.
- Watch
Madam Speaker, I agree with my colleague on the fact that the motion being studied today is a bit ideological and populist with respect to inflation.
However, we cannot deny that inflation is having a tangible and devastating impact on housing.
I want to talk about housing construction projects in Quebec and Canada. These projects were approved by the government under various programs that were launched. At the time that they were approved two or three years ago, the rate of inflation was not what it is today. Now that it is time to start building these housing units, the rate of inflation has exploded and we can no longer move forward because of the labour shortage, even though the government had approved these important projects.
In some cases, the government does not want to pay the extra money to open these doors. It is a real problem—
149 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- Sep/29/22 2:04:08 p.m.
- Watch
Mr. Speaker, October 1 is the International Day of Older Persons.
It is an opportunity to recognize their diversity, but also to collectively reflect on their place in our society. In this inflation crisis, let us recognize that those on a fixed income are directly affected and need to see an increase in their old age security pension starting at 65.
Let us not leave them in a precarious financial position. We should also allow those who want to remain in the workplace to do so and give them some tax breaks. The Liberals prefer to impoverish seniors 65 to 75 so they will be forced to stay in the workforce.
In the Bloc Québécois, we are saying that seniors need to be treated as the driving forces behind their community. We owe them respect. They shaped Quebec. The benefits of intergenerational ties and active aging are being proven every day.
Let us take a day to reflect on everything that seniors bring to the table. We have a duty to treat them with the utmost consideration and ensure that their social safety net allows them to age with dignity.
194 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- Sep/29/22 2:20:55 p.m.
- Watch
Mr. Speaker, the Liberals and the Bloc want to punish Quebeckers for the crime of driving a conventional car by tripling the carbon tax.
The federal government is currently blocking the production of green electricity in Quebec for electric cars. The Quebec government wants to build dams to produce this green energy for electric cars, but federal red tape will block these projects.
Why does the government not cut the red tape, let Quebec build these environmentally friendly dams and, at the same time, get rid of the carbon tax?
90 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- Sep/29/22 2:28:22 p.m.
- Watch
Mr. Speaker, I hope and I believe that there is one very important thing all members of the House agree on: Immigration is important to Canada and Quebec; it is important to our economy.
That is why our government believes in the strength of our immigration system, of our asylum system. We will continue to work with all our partners internationally and in Quebec.
64 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- Sep/29/22 2:41:08 p.m.
- Watch
Mr. Speaker, as I have said many times now, we had a very solid agreement with the United States to work together on this very complex issue.
There are pressures at Roxham Road. That is why we continue to work with the Government of Quebec. We are investing in additional resources at the Canada Border Services Agency and the RCMP.
We have to recognize that there is no one solution to this issue. We must continue to work together.
79 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- Sep/29/22 2:42:17 p.m.
- Watch
Mr. Speaker, I am very proud of the refugees who are continuing to do their part on the front lines. I am proud of the refugees who are helping to alleviate the labour shortage, not just in Quebec, but across Canada. There are plenty of examples of positive contributions made by refugees.
We will continue to invest in the necessary resources to resolve the situation at Roxham Road. The Bloc Québécois needs to stop complaining in the House and start coming up with real solutions. That is how we can work together.
96 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- Sep/29/22 3:20:48 p.m.
- Watch
Mr. Speaker, I thank the member for Regina—Lewvan for taking one for the team, because it appears as though no other Conservative wanted to get up to ask me a question. I appreciate him doing that.
Nonetheless, once again, he referred to it as “Liberal” inflation. It is global inflation, and out of the G7 countries, we are the third lowest in terms of the inflationary measure.
How the Conservatives can get up time and time again to talk about inflation as though it is a problem unique to Canada absolutely gets me. By the way, as a piece of advice for them, the vast majority of Canadians realize this. I do not know who they think they are speaking to when they continually repeat that over and over, but Canadians do not believe what they are saying.
The member asked me specifically about the price on pollution, or the carbon tax, as he refers to it. What the Conservatives continually leave out of that discussion is the fact that Canadians get back, through the climate action incentive rebate, the price they pay into it. By the way, the only provinces that are impacted by that price on pollution are the provinces that have not stepped up to do their part. Unfortunately, the province I live in, Ontario, is one of them. However, members can look at British Columbia, Quebec, Newfoundland and Labrador, Nova Scotia and New Brunswick, which all have programs in place and as a result do not have a price on pollution.
259 words
All Topics
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- Sep/29/22 4:13:37 p.m.
- Watch
Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague from Châteauguay—Lacolle for her speech, which was certainly very interesting.
She spoke at length about the measures her government is putting in place to deal with inflation, including dental insurance and rent assistance. However, when we read the bill, it is clear that it is not compatible with what exists in Quebec. Quebec has its own rent assistance program, and Quebeckers do not apply for the benefit directly. There is not a single line in Bill C-31 to tie it all together.
The same goes for dental insurance. Bill C‑31 is for children who are 11 or younger. In Quebec, unless I am mistaken, children under the age of nine are already covered. How do we tie that together? There is not a single word about it. They did not even think about it.
Does the government intend to amend the bill to take Quebec's reality into account? We opposition members can make amendments in committee, but the House of Commons law clerks would not find that acceptable since it would require royal assent. What does my colleague think?
195 words
All Topics
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- Sep/29/22 4:14:44 p.m.
- Watch
Mr. Speaker, I appreciate my colleague's very well articulated question, because the federal government often launches initiatives and then negotiates with the provinces afterward.
I am very proud to be a Quebecker because our province took the lead in a number of programs, including publicly funded child care. That benefited me personally. I just want to answer another question that the member asked my colleague about seniors: Why did we increase payments for those 75 and up?
That decision was made in response to the D'Amours report, which was released in Quebec about 15 years ago. It showed that there is a real need starting at age 75.
110 words
All Topics
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- Sep/29/22 4:57:29 p.m.
- Watch
Madam Speaker, I thank my colleague for his question.
I have a few things to say to him in response.
First, I would love to analyze and study the impact of the Liberal government's carbon tax. This tax will increase gradually, and it is set to triple by 2030, not right now when we are in the middle of an inflationary crisis. What will be the actual, concrete impact on the price of food and the cost of living? We have to study that in order to put a figure on the results. I think the impact will be much lower than indicated.
Now I would like to ask my colleague if he acknowledges that human activity contributes to climate change. If so, does he agree that Canada should honour the Paris Agreement, which requires us to reduce our greenhouse gas emissions? If the answer is yes, what would his plan be? My concern is that this government's plan will not even enable us to honour the agreement.
My colleague spoke of the national policy. In closing, I would like to remind him that the English Canadian nation is not my nation. Quebec's national policy is the carbon market, which, by the way, was created by a Liberal premier, one Jean Charest. Therefore, Quebec is not subject to this government's carbon tax. Since we have a different system and a different model, we are not affected by these changes.
243 words
All Topics
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
