44th Parl. 1st Sess.
June 21, 2023 02:00PM
- Jun/21/23 2:06:31 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, today is National Indigenous Peoples Day. On this day, we celebrate the traditions and cultural wealth of the first nations and Inuit peoples, and acknowledge the tremendous debt that we owe them.
Quebeckers acknowledge this debt. They realize that more must be done. When it comes to residential school victims, murdered and missing women and access to resources, rhetoric is not enough. What we need and what we lack is concrete action. All of us have a duty to act.
Today is a day for celebrating the beauty and diversity of indigenous cultures. It is also a day for discovering indigenous art, music and lifestyles. Let us all join in the many activities being held across Quebec. Let us reach out and get to know one another better. This is always the best road to a true reconciliation.
I wish everyone a wonderful National Indigenous Peoples Day, and send special wishes to the Huron-Wendat Nation, of which I am a proud member.
Tiawenhk.
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- Jun/21/23 2:17:44 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, this Saturday, June 24, the ground of the riding of Hochelaga will shake under the dance steps of everyone celebrating the national holiday. Across Quebec, from Gatineau to Gaspé, we will be celebrating Quebec's National Holiday. This year, the people of Quebec are showcasing their love of dance and its place in Quebec culture.
Fans of jigs, square dancing, modern jazz and others will all be able to celebrate their zest for life together. Quebec is a strong, welcoming nation, open to diversity and proud of its heritage. Let us celebrate an inclusive Quebec where everyone is welcome.
On this national holiday, I must salute a monument to our Quebec culture, the immeasurable Michel Côté. Today he is being posthumously awarded the Ordre national du Québec and will be knighted. He was one of the most important figures in our popular culture. From Broue to C.R.A.Z.Y. and Omertà, he inspired a whole generation of Quebeckers.
Happy national holiday!
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- Jun/21/23 2:19:54 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, on Saturday, Quebec will celebrate its national holiday. Quebec is a proud nation. Soon there will be nine million Quebeckers, and Quebec will still be one nation. While many languages are spoken in Quebec, its common language is French. Quebec sings many songs, dances many dances, colours many canvases as a single nation with diverse backgrounds, with a rich and vibrant diversity going back tens of thousands of years, to the time when many peoples were already living on this great land that would become Quebec.
This nation hosts all kinds of debate, seeks out what is best for everyone, and manages its diversity like all democratic nations. This Saturday, however, our nation will sing with one voice, put away for now the blueprint for building a greener future, set aside uncertainties, share smiles in the sincere friendship of common convictions and in its ever-richer identity of what could well become the country for everyone.
Let us be proud, sing, dance, laugh and love each other for who we are, and for all that we are.
I hope everyone has a wonderful time on Quebec's national holiday.
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- Jun/21/23 2:25:39 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, after eight years under this Prime Minister and his anti-construction inflationary policies, the cost of housing has doubled.
In fact, we learned today that, in Quebec, the average rent increased by 19% in the past year. In some areas of the province, it went up by 44%. In British Columbia, nearly 100,000 people could be out on the streets because of rent hikes.
Will the Prime Minister finally reverse his anti-construction inflationary policies that caused this housing crisis?
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- Jun/21/23 2:32:16 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, northern Quebec and the north shore are grappling with major forest fires. That is also true for other parts of Canada. Businesses are suffering. Although big businesses may have the financial means to get through this, many small and medium-sized businesses have been dealt a serious blow from which they might not recover.
We have proposed measures to help these businesses. I want the Prime Minister to tell us if he is prepared to sit down with us and the industry now to quickly put in place urgent programs.
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- Jun/21/23 2:32:49 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, our thoughts are with all those in Quebec and across Canada who have been affected by these fires. Safety is obviously our number one priority. That is why our government responded immediately to Quebec's request for help.
We will continue to work with the provinces and territories throughout this difficult period and the recovery, and we are taking steps to support workers in Quebec's forestry sector and other sectors affected by these forest fires. We have put measures in place with substantial investments in the 2023 budget.
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- Jun/21/23 2:34:07 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, we reacted to a pan-Canadian crisis with pan-Canadian tools. In this situation, it is businesses in certain provinces that are affected, and that is why we are working with the relevant provinces.
The Government of Quebec knows full well that Canada will be there as a partner, including with our disaster assistance programs, which it will certainly be able to use. We will be there, and we will be there to work with the Government of Quebec, which will be there to help local businesses.
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- Jun/21/23 2:48:45 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, instead of cutting red tape so that Quebec can generate more green hydroelectricity, the Prime Minister, with the support of the Bloc, wants to impose a second carbon tax on Quebeckers, which will jack up the price of gas by 20¢ a litre. It will also make food more expensive, because farmers will have to pay more for the energy they need to produce it.
Instead of going after consumers in Quebec and across Canada, why not eliminate barriers so that Quebec can provide more green electricity?
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- Jun/21/23 2:49:24 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, once again, the leader of the Conservative Party is demonstrating that he does not understand what is happening in Quebec. First of all, there has never been a federally imposed price on pollution in Quebec, because Quebec has its own approach to fighting emissions.
Second, in budget 2023, we proposed generous tax credits to encourage green energy generation in Quebec and across the country. This is the kind of thing that will make it easier for Quebeckers to have a thriving green economy in a net-zero world.
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- Jun/21/23 2:56:46 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, on Monday, Canadians clearly rejected the Conservative party’s failed approach under their new leadership and instead opted in favour of delivering real results for Canadians today and for generations to come. Whether in Quebec, the Prairies or southwestern Ontario, we see Canadians supporting the Liberal government’s approach to creating jobs and creating and ensuring a clean, growing economy of the future.
Can the Prime Minister inform constituents—
Some hon. members: Oh, oh!
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- Jun/21/23 2:57:45 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I can bring it home.
On Monday, Canadians clearly rejected the Conservative Party's failed approach under its new leadership and instead opted in favour of delivering real results for Canadians today and for generations to come. Whether in Quebec, the Prairies or southwestern Ontario, we see Canadians supporting this Liberal government's approach to creating jobs and ensuring a clean, growing economy of the future.
Can the Prime Minister inform the constituents of Notre-Dame-de-Grâce—Westmount and Winnipeg South Centre of what their new Liberal members of Parliament will fight for?
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- Jun/21/23 2:58:56 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I thank the member for Châteauguay—Lacolle for her question and for her hard work.
I would like to congratulate all the candidates in the recent by-elections. I look forward to welcoming Anna Gainey and Ben Carr to the House.
Communities in Quebec, Ontario and Manitoba had a choice between the Conservative Party's divisive rhetoric, austerity and cuts, or our plan to continue to strengthen the middle class, make life more affordable, fight climate change and so much more.
There is a lot more hard work left ahead of us, and our team will be even stronger with these two new, strong voices in Ottawa.
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- Jun/21/23 4:44:49 p.m.
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It is my duty to lay upon the table, pursuant to subsection 23(2) of the Electoral Boundaries Readjustment Act, a certified copy of the report of the Federal Electoral Boundaries Commission for the Province of Quebec.
Pursuant to Standing Order 32(5), this report is deemed permanently referred to the Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs.
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- Jun/21/23 6:20:12 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, for a skilled worker wanting to work in Quebec, the wait time is 20 months. Whoever needs a passport might as well bring a lawn chair to the Service Canada offices because that is where they might end up taking their vacation. Whoever has a passport and by some misfortune has been shortchanged by the airline, after waiting forever at the airport because the flight was cancelled or a suitcase was lost, then it takes a year and a half to get compensation if the claim is successful. Whoever loses their job and wants to get EI benefits from the fund they contributed to for years better have a six-month emergency fund because that is how long it can take to get the first cheque. Clearly, this government is no champion when it comes to providing services to the public.
Does my colleague think that a cabinet shuffle this summer will fix all that?
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- Jun/21/23 6:33:44 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, a few years ago, the pandemic happened and the economy shut down. The House was unanimous in stating that we needed to implement protective measures and safeguards. That came at the cost of significant debt. There was a consensus in the House about that.
Since then, the spending has continued, however, and that is concerning. What concerns the Bloc Québécois in particular is the interference in areas under the jurisdiction of Quebec and the provinces. That really is not warranted.
I, too, want to salute my hon. colleague. It is a pleasure to work constructively with him at the finance committee.
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- Jun/21/23 6:48:53 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I commend my colleague, and I thank him for his question and his compliments, as well. We have the right to accept them. I am not criticizing. I am answering my colleague's question. I think that the hallmark of this government is that it is short-sighted. We saw it with the Chinese interference. The government is going along, but it is not always easy to get on the best path to improve the situation of the community in Quebec and Canada.
That is what we are also seeing with the policies that this government adopts. It chooses the easy way out. There is a reason for the dental care plan. Tax credits and subsidies for oil companies are easy. People want them. There is no problem. That is the old way of doing things. When I suggest ways of motivating retirees to return to the labour market, it is not a short-sighted policy. Social and affordable housing are not short-term policies. In economics, we call working on productivity a long-term policy. It takes vision.
This government often makes me think of a pirate that has a patch over both eyes, not just one.
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- Jun/21/23 7:18:21 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I joined the debate 15 or 20 minutes ago. I heard part of my colleague's speech. I would like to take him back to what we call the “fiscal imbalance” and what I could also call “federal paternalism”. This refers to the fact that the federal government uses the money it has and its own spending to impose its own choices on Quebec.
What does my colleague think about federal paternalism? I imagine that he must support it.
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- Jun/21/23 7:18:54 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I think that there is always a danger of seeing something like that when we work in teams. I also think that it is possible to have a genuine partnership between the provinces and the federal government.
It is a matter of how the programs are implemented and how involved the provinces are in the decisions surrounding how the program will be implemented in their jurisdictions.
When it comes to child care, for example, there is a good model. The provinces have had a lot of say in how it will be implemented in their own jurisdiction, including Quebec, which has always been a leader in child care. There are models for good collaboration. We want to look at these models to ensure that we do not become the victims of dangerous federal government paternalism.
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