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Decentralized Democracy

House Hansard - 293

44th Parl. 1st Sess.
March 21, 2024 10:00AM
Context: House Hansard - 293 - Mar/21/24
Mr. Simon-Pierre Savard-Tremblay
  • Mar/21/24 11:48:01 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, through you, I will respond to my colleague. I would say that this undermines two things. First, it undermines the very idea of government, that a government must govern. It also undermines the very idea of the often ridiculous parliamentary system that we use, which is based on the principle of ministerial responsibility. The government must be accountable to Parliament. I will admit that I was unaware of the incident my colleague mentioned. This is the first I have heard of it. Unfortunately, I am not surprised. We have a government representative who, in answering the parliamentarians to whom he is supposed to be accountable in a committee, says that it is not his responsibility even though it is something that is completely under his purview. He could simply say that he does not have the information. That is one thing. That is honest. However, for him to say that it is not his responsibility, when his government is meant to be accountable to parliamentarians, does not make sense to me.
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Context: House Hansard - 293 - Mar/21/24
Ms. Christine Normandin (Saint-Jean, BQ)
  • Mar/21/24 2:41:07 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, last Thursday, the Journal de Montréal reported that police had responded to incidents involving people lining up at food banks. Food insecurity is causing chaos. Community organizations are blaming the dramatic surge in the number of hungry people on the fact that asylum seekers have to wait 21 months for a work permit. One coordinator said, “These people can't work for two years, but they have families to feed.” Let us not forget that these permits fall under the exclusive responsibility of this minister. It is his responsibility. Instead of giving lessons, when is he going to hand out permits?
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