- Member of Parliament
- Member of Parliament
- Bloc Québécois
- Drummond
- Quebec
- Voting Attendance: 68%
- Expenses Last Quarter: $108,134.67
- Government Page
- Feb/8/24 2:41:01 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I am not talking about helping a billion-dollar company. I am talking about helping an industry that has been suffering and in crisis for years. As we speak, the only new money to assist our media organizations with Bill C‑18 came from Google, which put it on the table. That is like putting the fox in the chicken coop.
There are so many options: an emergency fund, a payroll tax credit for electronic media, a tax credit for advertisers who buy time on traditional media and more government advertising on traditional media, instead of slipping $50,000 into Meta's pocket, like the Prime Minister and the Liberal Party have been doing for the past three months.
When will this government take action?
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- Feb/6/24 3:58:56 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, as I said earlier, the Bloc Québécois agrees with quite a few aspects of this motion. I also find it very interesting because it appears to address an issue of mutual concern today to the Liberals and the Conservatives. I like that.
The Liberals are organizing a summit on auto theft. These thefts are a scourge, especially given the figures released in recent weeks. It is appalling, and we must take action. I could not agree more.
The Conservatives have made it the topic of their opposition day today. I think it is wonderful to finally see some agreement on the issues we are called on to debate in this place.
Since the Conservatives are proposing solutions and the Liberals are organizing a summit on Thursday, I would like to ask the Leader of the Opposition whether he intends to raise these representations at the Thursday summit to gain support for them. Will he attend?
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- Oct/31/23 5:18:22 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I appreciate my colleague's question. He raises a good point.
There was a time when our cities were not overcrowded and we did not have major housing problems. The current crisis is extremely worrisome. There was a time when taking care of people was not nearly as difficult. Our health care systems in Quebec and the rest of Canada were robust enough to take people in, but that is no longer the case.
When people immigrated here 30, 40, 50 or 60 years ago, the situation was not the same as it is today. Above all, we did not take in as many newcomers at the time as we plan to going forward. We had the necessary infrastructure to welcome those many people. That is no longer the case.
The responsible thing to do would be to resolve this issue first. Let us ensure that we have the infrastructure, that we have the means to fulfill our ambitions, and that what we have here is enough to properly welcome the people who choose to come and settle here.
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Madam Speaker, I always find it interesting to listen to my Conservative colleagues bash the Liberal government—rightly so most of the time, and I am not suggesting that they are not good at it. However, rarely do we hear anything in the Conservatives' speeches other than criticism of the government's inaction or misdeeds. Rarely do we hear them come up with concrete solutions. There is $900 million of housing money sitting in Ottawa's coffers. It is earmarked for Quebec City to address the housing shortage.
Does my Conservative colleague agree that the federal government should hurry up and release this money unconditionally so that we can find housing for people who do not have a roof over their head and build housing to alleviate the crisis that is currently raging in Quebec and elsewhere in Canada?
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Madam Speaker, I thank my colleague for his speech. I was glad I could provide at least some sort of an audience.
I want to go back to the question that my colleague from Berthier—Maskinongé asked another colleague earlier.
Instead of introducing measures that are little more than publicity stunts, that may have some short-term effect but that do nothing to provide a modicum of predictability to address future labour shortages, would it not be better to force the government to dedicate 1% of its budget to building affordable and social housing? That would be a long-term solution to prevent future crises. It would be the responsible thing to do.
What does my colleague think about that suggestion?
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Madam Speaker, I really do not like that they are imposing time allocation. I think it is an insult to democracy and parliamentary privilege.
That said, I do not agree with my Conservative colleague who said that people were not heard in committee when it studied Bill C‑18. I think everyone spoke to that bill. The committee heard as many people as possible and we had ample time to debate the bill.
The bill was debated in the House and it was studied in the Senate. This week, the government is moving forward by imposing time allocation, and I find that deplorable. I would like to ask the minister if he believes that we could have dealt with Bill C‑18 in the House this week without resorting to time allocation. Or, on the contrary, does he believe that the Conservatives would have done everything possible to drag things out to ensure that the bill, which they oppose, does not pass?
I deplore time allocation. Was it absolutely necessary to use it today? Could we have dealt with it this week in the normal course of debate?
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Mr. Speaker, I was listening to the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance answer my colleague from Repentigny earlier. She spoke about all the good things in her budget, things we could not in good conscience vote against.
It is nice to see what is in the budget, but it is even more important to see what is not in the budget. There is nothing for the housing crisis and nothing for seniors between the ages of 65 and 74, who for years have been demanding that they also be eligible for the increase in old age security benefits.
The cultural industry has been sounding the alarm for years, especially during the pandemic. We even did a study in committee to recommend that the government maintain financial assistance to the cultural sector, because it will be more difficult for the cultural industries in Quebec and Canada to recover. We are seeing it now with our smaller festivals, which are having a hard time. There were clear and precise requests, but they were not addressed in this budget.
As a result, we will be voting against the budget. We will not vote against it because of the measures it contains, but because of the measures it does not contain, which are just as important as what the Deputy Prime Minister is boasting about today.
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- May/16/23 2:15:59 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, certain artists, certain songs take us back in time, maybe even to our youth. There are even some that bring us back to a specific era, perhaps to an important milestone, for example.
I do not need to sing the following lines; it is enough to recite the following:
Quebec's future will be sound,
if it does let itself get pushed around.
We all know how it goes and immediately want to sing, “Quebeckers, we are Quebeckers”.
This takes me back to the 1970s, to the excitement of René Lévesque's first term in office and the Parti Québécois.
That was François Guy.
Although François Guy embodied a past era of Quebec song, he also embodied its future. François Guy was about the Société pour l'avancement de la chanson d'expression française, or SACEF. He was about mentorship and “Ma première Place des Arts” awards. He was about love for the French language and the desire to see a new generation of artists sing in French.
François Guy passed away on Friday. To his family, to his wife, Isabelle Lajeunesse, to all his loved ones and all Quebeckers, on behalf of the Bloc Québécois, I extend our deepest condolences.
Thank you for the memories, but, more importantly, thank you for mentoring the François Guys of the future.
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- May/2/23 10:33:39 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, I closed my eyes at times during the Leader of the Opposition's speech, and it felt like I was listening to an NDP member. It shocked me to hear such words coming out of the mouth of the leader of the official opposition. It is no secret that housing is an area of provincial jurisdiction. Who could manage housing needs better than the municipalities themselves?
Let me double-check something. I hear the Conservatives talking about penalizing municipalities that do not build enough new properties, new houses or new housing units. Does that not seem centralizing? Is it not the opposite of what the Conservatives usually preach? Can the Leader of the Opposition tell me if he agrees that no one knows housing needs better than the municipalities? Would he agree that what they need most from the federal government are adequate funds?
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- Apr/18/23 12:48:22 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I would like to mention that I was surprised to hear that there is a connection between the glaring problem of drug abuse and the fact that people do not have a door to lock so they need to stay awake and watch over their children. That does not add up to me. I would probably put more blame on mental health issues in general, but I have a different question for my colleague.
I am going to touch on something other than housing, because I thought that part of his speech was pretty interesting. I would like to know what he thinks about the fact that, even though the situation is critical, the government is not proposing EI reform in the 2023 budget.
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Mr. Speaker, you can see how hard it is to rein in our young colleagues' enthusiasm.
I thank him for his impromptu member's statement and I agree wholeheartedly. That is precisely the purpose of Bill C‑18, specifically, to ensure that these news stories, which make local residents proud of what is happening in their communities, can continue to receive the prominence they deserve and have space to evolve in our increasingly digital world.
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Madam Speaker, I know that I do not have much time left, and I will try to answer quickly because it is a very pertinent question.
One of our Bloc Québécois colleagues, the member for Longueuil—Saint-Hubert, is a strong advocate for housing. The entire country is grappling with this crisis. It is more acute in certain places, of course, but it is also starting to affect cities where it was not previously a major problem. We could be taking action.
The term “inflation” appears 108 times in this economic update, but there is no concrete measure to actually provide direct assistance to Quebeckers and Canadians in the event that a recession materializes.
The housing crisis will not improve unless much more vigorous action is taken. In that regard, I believe that my colleague and I very much agree.
It feels like the Liberals are standing with their arms crossed, watching a train go by, and that they will wait until it derails and pick up the pieces afterwards. We cannot do that. Action is needed now. Human beings and families are affected.
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- Oct/25/22 3:43:27 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I thank my colleague from Mount Royal for his question. I also thank him for asking a real question that allows for discussion and dialogue. I think that is very important.
Besides, if one believes that the House will overwhelmingly support the Bloc Québécois motion and allow this split with the British Crown, that is just wishful thinking. However, I must candidly admit that it was after discussing with my colleague from Mount Royal that I added to my speech today the possibility of reaching out to our fellow citizens to take part in this dialogue.
I do not think we are going to solve this issue in the House, but we are nonetheless triggering something. We are initiating a discussion which could generate more interest in the public space. I fully agree with my colleague and we can talk about it again as soon as possible after consulting the citizens, the provinces and everyone involved. Maybe we can have a debate that will lead us somewhere.
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Madam Speaker, one thing we know for sure about my colleague from Hamilton Centre is that he is passionate about advocating for social rights and representing his constituents.
I think my colleague would be sympathetic to the Bloc Québécois proposal to build more social and community housing. The Bloc Québécois wants the federal government to transfer 1% of its revenue to Quebec and the provinces to build new social and community housing units. This funding should be stable and permanent.
I would like to hear what my colleague from Hamilton Centre thinks about that. Does he support this idea, and does he think it is enough?
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- Sep/20/22 2:18:57 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, free, objective information sources are essential to democracy. We cannot overstate how important and invaluable the media is. The media is so invaluable that cable companies themselves made the decision 30 years ago to come together and create an independent channel dedicated exclusively to parliamentary affairs.
It is a privately owned, non-profit, ad-free service that is dedicated exclusively to broadcasting the day-to-day workings of democracy. This service, known as CPAC, is broadcast on television and online for free and is celebrating its 30th anniversary this year. I want to wish CPAC and all of its staff a happy anniversary on behalf of the Bloc Québécois.
I thank CPAC for being there to broadcast the historic moments and the not-so-historic ones, the big speeches and the not-so-big ones, the decisive scrums and the more meandering ones, as well as the crucial question periods and the more over-the-top ones. I also thank CPAC for giving Quebeckers and Canadians an unfiltered view of everything that goes on in the House and for showcasing our political system in the name of democracy.
Happy 30th anniversary, CPAC.
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- May/12/22 12:54:16 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, all of this has me wondering.
I sometimes understand the political game of Liberals systematically opposing motions that come from the Conservatives and vice versa, on the principle that nothing good ever comes from the other team. However, I think it is a fairly old-fashioned idea that really should be reconsidered.
Many of the indicators and facts here have already been proven. There is plenty of material to pore over, particularly in the case of Canada-China relations. Chinese Canadians are justifiably concerned about being harassed by the the Chinese communist regime.
I do not understand why the Liberal Party stubbornly refuses to support such a sensible motion. As one of my colleagues suggested earlier, perhaps we could consider limiting the duration of this committee's mandate so that it is accountable to the House of Commons for a specific period of time.
I would like to hear my colleague's thoughts on that. Given the current context, does he not think there are enough concerns to warrant a specific committee to address the issue of Canada-China relations?
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- May/10/22 12:04:37 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I would like to thank my colleague from Rosemont—La Petite-Patrie for his speech. Our opposition day is clearly not useless since it has allowed the NDP to reel off its accomplishments. At least that is something.
Several thoughts came to mind during his speech. First, in 2019, we sought the unanimous consent of the House to adopt a motion with similar objectives, but it was defeated.
An opposition day is purposely designed for proposing subjects that are not necessarily front-page news but that are nevertheless important to various parliamentarians. It is well within the Bloc's right, and it is our choice. I take some exception to the fact that some parties are now questioning our “editorial” choice for opposition day. In the end, it is our choice.
I have also noted that the Liberals, Conservatives and NDP do not seem to want to discuss the issue itself but are more likely to simply criticize our choice of topic.
The NDP is saying that we do not want to debate important issues, yet it is going to support a gag order on a bill that is over 500 pages long, that contains some 60 measures and that will amend 37 laws. It feels we do not need to debate that bill, unlike the motion we are discussing today.
I do not really have any other questions. I simply wanted to comment and invite my colleague from Rosemont—La Petite-Patrie to respond.
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- May/10/22 10:38:49 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, the motion that we are moving here deals only with the reciting of the prayer.
I will give my NDP colleague the same answer that I gave my colleague opposite earlier. There is no good or bad time to propose this kind of motion and hold this kind of discussion. The issue of whether to have the House include a statement regarding indigenous peoples is a whole other debate.
What we are proposing today is a moment of personal reflection based on each member's beliefs, or lack thereof, to replace the current prayer, nothing more, nothing less.
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- May/2/22 2:16:36 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, last Thursday, our great lady of Quebec song, Ginette Reno, was named a Knight of the Legion of Honour, the highest national honour of the Republic of France.
This singer, with a distinctive voice that is both tender and powerful, can sing that she is qu'une chanson, only a song, but everyone in Quebec knows that she is much more than that. She knew how to take her craft Un peu plus haut, un peu plus loin, a little higher, a little further, by showing that L'essentiel, the main thing, is Quand on se donne, when you give yourself, completely.
To give you an idea of the depth of her talent, when Ginette sings O Canada before a Canadien's game, she even gives separatists goosebumps.
A warm and authentic person known for both her engaging personality and her talent, she is an incomparable ambassador for Quebec and a living treasure of French culture. We salute this touching initiative by our French cousins who also offered her Des croissants de soleil pour déjeuner, croissants made of sunshine for breakfast.
Thank you to France, and congratulations to Ginette.
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- Apr/29/22 11:18:52 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, country music great Julie Daraîche passed away suddenly this week, leaving millions of Quebeckers and Acadians in mourning.
Whether she performed solo, with the Daraîche family or as a duo with her brother Paul, this extraordinary artist made Quebec's cowboys dance and sing for over 50 years. Her songs will continue to resonate for many years to come. With hits like Pardonner et oublier and Un verre sur la table, Julie Daraîche definitely made her mark on Quebec's country music scene.
Born in Saint-François-de-Pabos in the Gaspé, and very proud of it, she travelled Quebec's highways for decades to meet her fans, who adored her and whom she adored in return.
I extend my sincere condolences to the members of her very famous family, her children, her friends and all her fans.
I thank Julie Daraîche. Chin-chin!
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