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Decentralized Democracy

House Hansard - 304

44th Parl. 1st Sess.
April 29, 2024 11:00AM
  • Apr/29/24 2:00:41 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, Jean-Pierre Ferland made his mark on the history of Quebec and international music with his inimitable voice and timeless compositions. His outstanding career spanned more than six decades, and included popular hits like Je reviens chez nous and Un peu plus haut, un peu plus loin. Jean-Pierre Ferland was a poet of song, captivating his audience with his meaningful lyrics and haunting melodies. The influence of his musical legacy will live on in future generations of artists and fans. His passion for music and his dedication to his art and his language, French, have become a lasting part of Quebec's cultural landscape. Jean-Pierre Ferland is a true musical legend. His songs will continue to resonate across time, bringing comfort and inspiration to everyone who hears them. I can assure Jean-Pierre that we will keep the fires burning so that our home remains the warmest, most welcoming and most enduring of places. My wife Isabelle and all Quebeckers join me in thanking him and wishing him a final bon voyage.
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  • Apr/29/24 2:18:57 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the current numbers are tragic: 25% of Quebeckers live below the threshold for a normal standard of living. This poverty is the direct result of the centralizing, inflationary and bureaucratic spending by the Prime Minister. That spending is fully supported by the Bloc Québécois. When will the Bloc Québécois and the Prime Minister stop impoverishing Quebeckers?
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  • Apr/29/24 2:19:34 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, two weeks ago, we presented our budget to ensure fairness for all generations, for all Quebeckers. As things stand, a nurse or a carpenter can pay taxes at a higher marginal rate than a multi-millionaire. That is unfair. However, the Conservative leader is opposed to our plan. He is opposed to our plan for fairness. The only thing the Conservatives want is austerity.
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  • Apr/29/24 2:20:13 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, after nine years, this Prime Minister is not worth the cost to Quebeckers, who are paying twice as much for rent, housing and the national debt. This Prime Minister is spending more on interest on the debt, $54.1 billion, than on health care. Even worse than that, the Bloc Québécois voted for each and every one of this Prime Minister's $500-billion budget allocations. Once again, when will this Prime Minister and the Bloc Québécois stop impoverishing Quebeckers?
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  • Apr/29/24 2:27:56 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, when the Prime Minister was revealing his budget, or rather his plan to interfere in Quebec's jurisdictions, he justified it by saying that people do not care which level of government is responsible for what. However, a Leger poll found that 82% of Quebeckers believe that the federal government should respect the division of powers. This proves that the Prime Minister is out of touch with reality. Quebeckers are clear. They want the federal government to work with other governments. Instead of electioneering, why will the Prime Minister not give Quebeckers the money they are owed? That is what Quebeckers want.
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  • Apr/29/24 2:28:37 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, in this budget, we are investing in housing. The Conservatives are complaining. Bloc Québécois members are complaining. They are going to vote against it. In this budget, we are investing in dental care. The Conservatives are complaining. Bloc Québécois members are complaining. Both parties are going to vote against it. Basically, both parties will find different excuses to vote against the same budget. If we listened to the Conservatives and the Bloc, Quebeckers would wind up with nothing.
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  • Apr/29/24 2:29:06 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, Quebeckers are not the only ones who are against jurisdictional interference. Every provincial and territorial premier added their signature to that of the premier of Quebec in a letter calling on Ottawa to respect their jurisdictions: health, education, housing. They are all calling for the right to opt out with full financial compensation whenever the federal government steps out of its jurisdiction. Everyone is against federal interference from coast to coast to coast. The Prime Minister thinks that everyone else is wrong, but perhaps he is just looking to pick a fight.
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  • Apr/29/24 2:52:23 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, this morning the Journal de Montréal reported that 25% of Quebeckers cannot afford to live with dignity, and that even working 50 hours a week is not enough to ensure they do not end up in a precarious situation. This is what we have come to, after nine years of this government. The statistics are clear. The Bloc Québécois claims to promote the interests of Quebec, but voted with the Liberals on every budget allocation to support this exorbitant, inflationary spending. Do the government and the Bloc Québécois have the courage to admit that they have failed Quebeckers and must stop their out-of-control spending?
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  • Apr/29/24 2:53:37 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, meanwhile, what are we to make of the $54.1 billion that Canadians and Quebeckers have to pay in interest to banks in London and New York because of this government's out-of-control spending supported by the Bloc Québécois, which has voted in favour of all budget allocations for the past nine years? Let us think about it: The Bloc Québécois voted for every budget allocation, which means that today we are stuck paying interest equivalent to all the health transfers for all the provinces. We could do so much more with that money. Will the government stop its out-of-control spending and will the Bloc Québécois stop supporting it?
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  • Apr/29/24 2:54:48 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, after nine years under this government, too many Quebeckers and Canadians have been forced into poverty. According to the Journal de Montréal, 25% of Quebeckers do not have a livable income. Let us think about this. Working 50 hours a week is no longer enough for people to meet their needs. Despite all that, the Bloc Québécois continues to support the Liberals by voting in favour of the estimates. My goodness, it is costly to vote for the Bloc Québécois. When will the government finally listen to us and stop its out-of-control spending?
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  • Apr/29/24 2:55:25 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for his question. I have a great deal of respect for him. I am sure he noticed that the Minister of Finance's recent budget focuses on intergenerational equity. This budget gives every generation a chance by investing in the priorities of Quebeckers. It focuses on housing and the cost of living, but also on growth. I am sure my colleagues from Quebec saw our announcement last week regarding a record investment from IBM in Bromont. This will help Quebec and Canada become a leader in the semiconductors sector. A confident nation is a nation that invests. That is exactly what we are doing.
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  • Apr/29/24 3:00:05 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, our government understands how important it is to invest in Canadians and Quebeckers. That is what we are doing, and we are doing it in a fiscally responsible way. We have a AAA credit rating. The Governor of the Bank of Canada said, “The budget does respect the fiscal guardrails that the government put in place.... [T]he budget also commits to those guardrails going forward”. That is what we are doing.
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  • Apr/29/24 6:16:38 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I think there is a government right now that has created division in our country among different groups of Canadians, among the regions of Canada and among the different provinces. What we have seen as a result of that is that people, whether Quebeckers or all other Canadians, are looking at the government and seeing that it is tired and does not have anything to offer Canadians other than division, corruption and all the things that Canadians are so sick and tired of. It is time to get rid of the government. It is time to replace it with a common-sense government that will govern for all Canadians.
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