44th Parl. 1st Sess.
February 9, 2024 10:00AM
- Feb/9/24 10:57:44 a.m.
- Watch
Mr. Speaker, I could not have described the consequences of these problems better myself.
Indigenous housing is at the heart of self-determination issues. In Quebec and elsewhere in Canada, there are sometimes two, three or four families living in the same space. I have heard horror stories about families who have to take turns sleeping during the night. They wake up every two, three or four hours to be able to get a bed, or to offer their spot to a brother, sister or neighbour. It is a major social issue. Human dignity is a fundamental aspect that has been pushed aside in the housing file, and the problem is worse among first nations than anywhere else.
It is obviously easy to turn a blind eye, but there are fundamental issues here, and, all too often, the government allocates funding in the various budgets so it can make some nice announcements. However, when it comes time to disburse that money, it comes with strings attached. First nations, however, are unable to meet the conditions because they live in rural or remote areas, and they do not have access to engineers, consulting engineering firms or others whose fees are often higher than they would be elsewhere. The government is therefore not meeting its objectives of providing decent housing for everyone.
We are going to have to think about these issues in a much more holistic and inclusive way.
238 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- Feb/9/24 11:15:40 a.m.
- Watch
Mr. Speaker, Jacques Duval, founder of The Car Guide, former race car driver and gifted communicator, passed away on Tuesday at the age of 89.
Throughout his long career, he staunchly defended the French language, something the auto sector badly needed. He is the reason why in today's Quebec we commonly speak of “pare-chocs” and “pare-brise” instead of bumpers and windshields. Also, he was not shy about calling out car manufacturers when they disrespected the French language.
The Car Guide, the work of a man who never gave up racing and who knew the Circuit Mont Tremblant race course like the back of his hand, was often the first must-read of many young people who read it cover-to-cover.
In a world that often resists change, Jacques Duval fully embraced the electric transition of recent years and helped write car guides focusing on these greener vehicles.
On behalf of the Bloc Québécois, I offer his family and friends our sincere condolences.
174 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- Feb/9/24 11:25:09 a.m.
- Watch
Mr. Speaker, the Conservatives want to talk about housing, but they would not even be able to build a bird house.
They come to Quebec to yell at our mayors and insult them, whether in Montreal, Quebec City or elsewhere. Meanwhile, we have signed an historic agreement with Quebec where each stakeholder is putting in $900 million. That is $1.8 billion to accelerate construction and eliminate red tape, and not just in Montreal, Quebec City or Trois-Rivières, but throughout Quebec.
That is collaboration.
87 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- Feb/9/24 11:38:47 a.m.
- Watch
Mr. Speaker, we recognize Quebec's leadership in the medical assistance in dying file, which is extremely important for the Government of Quebec and Quebeckers, as well as for the Government of Canada and all Canadians.
What Quebec is asking for deserves consideration. The legal mechanism it is proposing seems extremely difficult, if not impossible, to implement. However, that does not prevent us from continuing to consider and discuss it with Quebec and all of the provinces and territories of Canada.
81 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- Feb/9/24 11:39:16 a.m.
- Watch
Mr. Speaker, medical assistance in dying is a matter of freedom of choice. The Liberals should understand that.
The role of the state is to guarantee the conditions for exercising a free and informed choice. Those who do not want medical assistance in dying do not need to apply for it. It is as simple as that. The National Assembly is unanimous. Quebec is ready. It has its own legislation.
Will the federal government amend the Criminal Code to allow advance requests for people who are suffering?
87 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- Feb/9/24 11:47:50 a.m.
- Watch
Mr. Speaker, as a member of the parliamentary aerospace caucus, I was delighted to participate in this week's events organized by the Aerospace Industries Association of Canada. Canada's aerospace industry is an asset for our economy, our workforce and our overall growth.
Could the Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry tell us about the important role this sector plays in Quebec and across the country, and explain how we will continue to support this industry's work?
79 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- Feb/9/24 11:52:17 a.m.
- Watch
Mr. Speaker, again, we see the Conservatives pretending to care about housing during the hour of question period. They bang their fists on the table to demand more work on the file, but when it comes to actually voting on housing funding, they stand up and vote against it, time and time again.
The Government of Canada has invested $900 million in the province of Quebec. How did that member vote? He voted against it.
75 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- Feb/9/24 11:53:22 a.m.
- Watch
Mr. Speaker, if he is looking for good ideas, then he should stop insulting the mayors of Quebec. He should stop coming to Quebec and telling them that they are lousy at their jobs. That does not work. Instead, he should support our measures and applaud the Government of Canada's efforts and its ability and willingness to collaborate with the Government of Quebec. Quebec is putting in $900 million, and we are putting in $900 million. That is $1.8 billion for projects. Some of those will be in his neck of the woods, and there will be more throughout Quebec. If all he wants to do is complain, he should get out of the way, because we will continue building housing in Quebec and throughout Canada.
131 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- Feb/9/24 12:46:48 p.m.
- Watch
Mr. Speaker, I want to acknowledge my colleague from Argenteuil—La Petite-Nation's work in committee. We studied this issue thoroughly. Some people, especially my anglophone colleagues, were not aware of the problem.
My colleague makes an interesting point. We understand that the federal government can hardly reverse global dynamics. It is true that researchers in certain fields are increasingly likely to publish their scientific papers in English. However, where the federal government is failing is when it continues to force Canadian francophones to submit funding applications in English. Why is that? It is because of the evaluation structure. Because of the so-called impact factors, scientific research papers or publications in French have no value whatsoever. That creates a form of discrimination against francophones from the get-go.
What is more, the approval rates for funding applications submitted in English are higher than for those submitted in French. If the federal government does not want to address the entire issue, it should at least stop interfering and getting involved in education, which is an exclusive jurisdiction of the provinces and Quebec.
184 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- Feb/9/24 12:48:14 p.m.
- Watch
Mr. Speaker, I have attended several Acfas conferences, where francophone researchers from across Canada and Quebec share information vital to the future of applied sciences and several other sectors. It is extremely important that the federal government understand the importance of funding research in French in equal measure to research in English.
In British Columbia, the province I represent, we have a growing number of francophones. The percentage of francophones continues to increase. There are more and more people doing research there.
Does my colleague agree that it is important to provide funding for research in French and that it is just as important for that funding to be available across Canada?
112 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- Feb/9/24 1:26:40 p.m.
- Watch
Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to rise in debate on the concurrence motion regarding the report from the Standing Committee on Science and Research, “Revitalizing Research and Scientific Publication in French in Canada”.
A fun fact about me is that my maiden name is Godin. My father and our family anglicized us. As an anglicized child, I feel very strongly about the importance of accessing French language training and the preservation of the French language in Canada.
I just want to draw from the supplementary opinion to this report, written by the Bloc Québécois, and read two lines into the record:
However, the Bloc Québécois feels that the report does not go far enough and does not fully respond to Quebec's demands in terms of research and education.... The Bloc Québécois believes that the most obvious remedy to this problem is for the federal government to withdraw completely from this field of activity, while granting Quebec the means to assume these responsibilities.
The problem is the funding of research in French and access to French language research projects, etc.
With regard to the line that says the report “does not fully respond to Quebec's demands in terms of research and education”, I note one of the Quebec government's most recent demands. I will read from an article from True North news by an author named Elie Cantin-Nantel. The title of the article is “Quebec higher education minister denounces EDI practices in letter to universities”.
This whole situation started to arise in March 2022. This is an article from the Canadian Press: “Quebec university criticized for job posting that excludes white men”. That is a headline from a CTV article.
It says, “Ministers in Francois Legault's government took exception on Wednesday to a call for candidates from Laval University that they consider exaggerated and even discriminatory.” This relates to a funded research position from the Canada research chair program.
In response to this issue, the Quebec government went so far as to pass a motion in the National Assembly on December 7, 2022. A National Post article said that the motion “expresse[d] a commitment to merit-based hiring on university campuses and reject[ed] the imposition of racial or gender quotas by the federal government.”
I guess I am just wondering if, in the supplemental report, where the Bloc says that the report “does not fully respond to Quebec's demands in terms of research and education”, that line is, in fact, referring to this recent motion that was put forward in the National Assembly regarding calls for merit-based hiring, particularly when it comes to Canada research chairs.
The Bloc has called for, essentially, a devolution of research funding—
482 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- menumenu
- notificationsnotifications
- home
- mailmail
- searchsearch
