44th Parl. 1st Sess.
May 10, 2023 02:00PM
- May/10/23 2:19:58 p.m.
- Watch
Mr. Speaker, I am so proud to rise today to recognize a young artist from Quebec who is competing in the biggest song contest in the world, Eurovision. The final is this Saturday and will be watched by more than 200 million people.
Fatima-Zahra Hafdi, who goes by La Zarra, was born in Montreal and grew up in Longueuil. She was nominated as breakthrough artist of the year at the 2022 ADISQ Gala and was selected by France's Eurovision organizing committee to represent that country, while also showcasing Quebec on the international stage.
Her song, Évidemment, is rhythmic, inspiring and sung entirely in French. It is definitely a winning song, and it showcases her voice and her culture. I encourage everyone to have a listen.
I predict that on May 13, Quebec and France will be celebrating this incredible artist's victory. La Zarra is a source of pride for all Quebeckers. We are all cheering for her.
163 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- May/10/23 2:23:31 p.m.
- Watch
Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister could not be more out of touch with reality.
He heard that there were problems with passports, but he was not aware that Canadians could not get one. He thought the images were the problem. That is why he got rid of Quebec City, Terry Fox and even the Battle of Vimy, where 3,598 Canadians died to defend freedom and define our country.
Why does the Prime Minister want to erase this important part of our history?
83 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- May/10/23 2:26:54 p.m.
- Watch
Mr. Speaker, in the new passport they are so excited about, they have erased Vimy Ridge to put in an image of a squirrel eating a nut. They have erased Terry Fox, a guy who ran halfway across the country to fight cancer, to put in a man raking leaves, and they have erased Quebec City to put in what appears to be an image of the Prime Minister in his boyhood swimming at Harrington Lake.
Could the Prime Minister be any more out of touch with Canadians?
88 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- May/10/23 2:32:05 p.m.
- Watch
Mr. Speaker, the Quebec government has taken a firm position against the federal government's plans to bring 500,000 immigrants into the country every year.
There are challenges related to the cost for the health care system, the cost for the education system, the cost for child care services, and the housing crisis. Obviously, language and culture are fundamental concerns.
I would like to hear directly from the Prime Minister what he has to say to the Premier of Quebec about imposing his new immigration targets.
88 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- May/10/23 2:32:45 p.m.
- Watch
Mr. Speaker, every year, the federal government puts forward a three-year immigration plan. This plan takes account of economic challenges, the labour shortage and forecasts for positive growth nationally.
Of course, Quebec has tremendous control over its own immigration thresholds. When it comes to Canada, however, the federal government decides.
Not only are we putting forward a responsible plan for economic growth, we are doing more than any other federal government to protect the French language and promote francophone immigration.
81 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- May/10/23 2:33:27 p.m.
- Watch
Mr. Speaker, Coalition Avenir Québec is opposed to the idea of 500,000 immigrants a year. Our own cousins in the Parti Québécois are obviously against it. Québec Solidaire, cousins to their NDP bedfellows, are very uncomfortable with the idea. The Liberals in Quebec City, the blood of their blood, are no more in agreement with it than anyone else. No one in the National Assembly agrees with this.
What does the Prime Minister have to say to the Quebec National Assembly?
92 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- May/10/23 2:34:01 p.m.
- Watch
Mr. Speaker, we presented our immigration numbers in November. It took Pierre Karl Péladeau and Québecor putting it on the front page for the Bloc to wake up.
The reality is that we are going to continue to table an ambitious plan to meet our country's economic needs, for the growth that we are going to create in communities across this country. We still respect Quebec and we will still protect the French language. When I go to Abitibi, Beauce or any other region in Quebec, business owners are telling me that they need workers. That is exactly what we are delivering.
108 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- May/10/23 2:46:44 p.m.
- Watch
Mr. Speaker, with all due respect to the experts, I spend a lot of time talking to entrepreneurs in Beauce, Abitibi and in the Quebec City area who are struggling to find labour to grow their business.
Farmers are concerned about the labour shortage. We are here to help, to work hand in hand with Quebec, which sets its own immigration targets.
We will be there to ensure that economic growth, the protection of French and francophone immigration continue to be on the agenda for our entrepreneurs across Quebec—
90 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- May/10/23 2:47:25 p.m.
- Watch
Mr. Speaker, there is no doubt that the folks at McKinsey are great at preparing answers.
In Quebec, the CAQ, the PQ and the Liberals are against it, while Québec Solidaire is uneasy about it at best. In this Parliament, the Bloc Québécois is the only party that is against the target of 500,000 immigrants a year.
Who agrees with this target other than the 25 people who participated in the debate at the Liberal Party convention?
86 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- May/10/23 2:47:52 p.m.
- Watch
Mr. Speaker, the Department of Immigration consulted 3,000 different organizations and groups across Canada when setting our targets.
We understand there is a great need for economic growth and for workers across the country, including in Quebec. I have had conversations with business owners in Gatineau, in Montreal and on the North Shore who need workers. That is what I am hearing.
We will be there to ensure that there is francophone immigration. We will work hand in hand with the Government of Quebec and we will enable the economic growth that everyone needs.
96 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- May/10/23 2:47:52 p.m.
- Watch
Mr. Speaker, the Department of Immigration consulted 3,000 different organizations and groups across Canada when setting our targets.
We understand there is a great need for economic growth and for workers across the country, including in Quebec. I have had conversations with business owners in Gatineau, in Montreal and on the North Shore who need workers. That is what I am hearing.
We will be there to ensure that there is francophone immigration. We will work hand in hand with the Government of Quebec and we will enable the economic growth that everyone needs.
96 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- May/10/23 3:05:10 p.m.
- Watch
Mr. Speaker, the idea of a larger and therefore cheaper workforce is a McKinsey specialty called “breaking workers”. This is the same McKinsey that made no mention of French or Quebec in their proposal. The so-called progressives in this House should be ashamed of this policy.
Is the Prime Minister saying that he will bring in 500,000 immigrants a year as cheap labour, yet we are the ones who will pay?
He will be able to read his answer in tomorrow's Journal de Montréal.
93 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- May/10/23 3:05:46 p.m.
- Watch
Mr. Speaker, entrepreneurs across Quebec and the country need workers. Our communities want to welcome new families who can come and fill the needs for the economic growth that is on the horizon.
We are here to welcome not just newcomers, but new Canadians and new Quebeckers who will continue to help build our country for generations to come.
Yes, we are going to continue to be there to defend French and to deliver on francophone immigration, but we are also going to be there to create opportunities for all, in both official languages, to achieve solid economic growth.
100 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- May/10/23 3:06:29 p.m.
- Watch
Mr. Speaker, we have a Prime Minister who is about to speak about himself in the third person, who says he consulted 3,000 organizations or people, but not Quebec, because those they intend to harm do not get consulted.
What does he have to say to this growing number of people who realize, say and write that the only solution is Quebec's sovereignty?
65 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- May/10/23 3:06:58 p.m.
- Watch
Mr. Speaker, it is immediately obvious what the Bloc Québécois is focusing on and always ends up arguing about.
They just want Quebec and Ottawa to argue. They only want to bicker with the federal government because they are not interested in Canada's economic growth, or in creating bilingual communities with two flourishing official languages, and they are not interested in having a stronger Canada.
They have already lost two referendums, but we will continue to be there to work with Quebeckers and the Government of Quebec to provide a more prosperous future in French.
100 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- May/10/23 3:09:48 p.m.
- Watch
Mr. Speaker, the Conservative Party leader is once again demonstrating that he understands nothing about what is happening in Quebec. That is a real problem for him, but it is his problem.
We were working with the Government of Quebec on the GNL Québec project, and we know very well that the Government of Quebec was the first to reject that project. Then, the federal government did its job.
The reality is that we need to work hand in hand with the provinces rather than picking fights and refusing to understand how things work in a federation.
99 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- May/10/23 3:11:02 p.m.
- Watch
Mr. Speaker, Canadians know well that clever buzzwords is not a plan to grow the economy and create opportunities for the middle class right across the country. Energy workers in Alberta, forestry workers in Quebec and miners right across the north know that with the opportunities we have, while fighting climate and while building a cleaner economy by getting to that net-zero economy the world expects, we are going to be able to create more great jobs for the middle class. Meanwhile, they continue to stick their heads in the sand and refuse to accept climate change is real and that one cannot build an economy—
108 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- May/10/23 3:16:59 p.m.
- Watch
Mr. Speaker, we just heard it from the Conservative Party of Canada: We should not have moved forward with the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion. We disagree, and that is why we are actually getting it done.
If the member opposite really cared about creating great jobs for the middle class, he would be understanding that we cannot grow the economy unless we fight climate change at the same time. That is why Volkswagen is coming to invest in Canada. That is why Sayona is building lithium mines in Quebec. That is why Stellantis, Ford and GM, and investors like Michelin, Rio Tinto and Lion Electric continue to invest in our supply chain, in our future and in great jobs for Canadians.
121 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
Mr. Speaker, I have to say that I am always surprised to see people of Acadian descent join a party like the Liberal Party, which is a monarchist party. I might understand it one day. We know that it was the monarchy that ordered the deportation of Acadians. They are fervent defenders of Canada, even though French is prohibited in almost every Canadian province, except for Quebec.
The member is very pleased with the results of the Official Languages Act, which was passed in 1969. This same law has performed so many miracles that the French-speaking population in Canada continues to steadily decline. The number of people whose mother tongue is French and the number of people who speak French at home is declining. In the member's province, Nova Scotia, about one in two people whose mother tongue is French speak it at home. That means that one in two people have already lost their language and cannot pass it on to the next generation.
I wonder if the member opposite is deluding himself that the Canadian government is not killing French in North America.
187 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
Mr. Speaker, I am extremely pleased to respond to my colleague.
I must say that I am a bit surprised. I expected a question about immigration, considering that tomorrow is an opposition day and we are going to discuss demographic weight. Bill C‑13 settles this issue, and that is very impressive.
I would like to say something very important to my colleague. If the Official Languages Act had not been passed in 1969, very few people in Nova Scotia or outside Quebec would be speaking French now. That fact is indisputable.
Not only that, but we had no French schools before 1969. Today, Nova Scotia has 23 French schools, and the student population has doubled in size since the Conseil scolaire acadien de la Nouvelle‑Écosse school board was founded in 1996. That is impressive.
The Official Languages Act is doing its job.
148 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- menumenu
- notificationsnotifications
- home
- mailmail
- searchsearch
