So V ote

Context: House Hansard - 327 - Jun/7/24

Jun/7/24 12:44:12 p.m.
Watch

Mr. Speaker, it is my turn to commend my colleague for her speech and for her work on this issue. I know that she really puts her heart into it. This is something that really concerns her. Like me, she was really looking forward to finally seeing some legislation put forward on this issue. In her speech, my colleague mentioned an aspect of this bill that is of personal concern to me. I am talking about the increase in maximum sentences for crimes set out in the bill. However, Canada's corrections system is more focused on rehabilitation than on punishment. I would like to hear my colleague's thoughts on how effective it will be to increase these maximum sentences.

121 words

Context: House Hansard - 327 - Jun/7/24

Jun/7/24 10:56:48 a.m.
Watch

Mr. Speaker, at the end of this parliamentary term, I am pleased to see that more and more school groups are coming to watch the business of the House. I think this is a strategy used by teachers to show that they are not as boring as they seem and that students should pay attention in class. Quite often, what happens here is a lot more interesting than sitting in class. That said, I listened closely to my colleague's speech. I noted several interesting points, particularly the fact that she made proposals. We do not often hear proposals about regulating online content from the Conservatives. I heard proposals and I also detected some desire for consensus. There may well be certain points on which we could agree. Does my colleague agree with the Bloc Québécois, which is proposing that we split the bill, that we should fast-track the study of part 1, given that we generally agree on its principles at least, and that we should take the time to study part 2 in the House and in committee? Part 2 contains aspects that require much more in-depth discussion, in our opinion.

199 words

Jun/7/24 10:46:13 a.m.
Watch

Mr. Speaker, I apologize to my colleague. I hate to interrupt her in the middle of a speech like this, but we can hear a telephone or device vibrating near a microphone and it must be very irritating for the interpreters. Could you ask members to be mindful of that and to keep their devices away from the microphones, please?

60 words

May/31/24 1:10:52 p.m.
Watch

Madam Speaker, I want to pick up on a few words that my colleague from London—Fanshawe said. She said that we need to improve politics, be better, and rise above the kind of petty politicking that we see all too often. There are a lot of good things in this bill. A more accessible electoral process is a good thing. The idea of extending advance polling station operations by a few days is a good thing. However, instead of introducing a bill that would have brought the opposition parties together, the government included things like pushing back the election date, which opens the door to legitimate criticism from Canadians who see it as a move by the Liberals to provide pensions to those elected in 2019. Why use a religious holiday as an excuse for a date change, knowing full well how much it would irritate proponents of a secular state who refuse to make unreasonable accommodations on religious grounds? Why put forward a date just six days away from upcoming municipal elections in 1,109 Quebec municipalities, and thus jeopardize Quebec's municipal election process? There could have been a way to create a unifying bill that accommodated the sensitivities of all the parties, but no, they did not do that.

214 words

May/31/24 11:16:35 a.m.
Watch

Madam Speaker, radio is a one-of-a-kind medium that really becomes part of people's everyday lives, sometimes literally. This is definitely true in the case of Yves Desautels, a Radio-Canada traffic reporter who just retired after a 47-year career. From Regina, where he began his career, to Montreal, where he eventually got behind the wheel of his famous “hedgehog”, Mr. Desautels, Yves, quietly became part of our morning and afternoon routines, a trusted companion on our commutes to and from work. Even when working from home, we would tune in to listen to him, like a faithful friend whose voice is so comforting. With the perfect touch of humour at just the right time, he always struck the right tone when the situation was more serious, and was always grateful to the listeners who regularly called in to inform him of current traffic conditions. Whether we like it or not, Yves Desautels is retiring. Yes, it will leave a void, but it has been so lovely seeing and hearing all the tributes he is receiving these days. To paraphrase journalist Anne Marie Lecomte, what a perfect off-ramp for him. I wish Yves Desautels a happy retirement.

205 words

May/31/24 10:46:21 a.m.
Watch

Madam Speaker, I would also like to congratulate the member for Chatham-Kent—Leamington on his speech. My colleague just spoke about municipal elections, which are extremely important in Quebec, and about the need to motivate the public to get involved at every level in each election. However, the sensitive issue of pensions cannot be overlooked. I know that my colleague touched on it earlier. Personally, I am extremely uncomfortable about telling Quebeckers that we are going to push back the date of the election. The only message that people will remember is that a whole bunch of MPs elected in 2019 are going to be eligible for their pensions. I think that sends a very bad message. It encourages and fuels cynicism toward politicians. I would like to know whether my colleague would agree to a possible proposal to amend this bill and move the election to a different date, two or three weeks earlier if necessary. This would address concerns over the municipal elections scheduled at the same time and quell public cynicism toward politicians, precisely over the pension eligibility issue.

184 words

May/31/24 10:33:14 a.m.
Watch

Madam Speaker, there are three reasons why the Bloc Québécois cannot vote for this bill. None of them are positive. The first is that we should not be making accommodations on religious grounds. When it comes to something as important as the democratic process in a G7 country, for us, that simply has no merit. The second is that we think it is irresponsible to postpone this for a week when we are going to be six days away from municipal elections in 1,109 municipalities across Quebec. We already have trouble mobilizing people for municipal elections. I do not have time to talk about the third reason. I will let the parliamentary secretary answer.

119 words

May/30/24 1:34:11 p.m.
Watch

Madam Speaker, I was just talking about decorum in the House. These rather ridiculous interjections do nothing to lend credibility to our work. As I was saying, with the carbon exchange in Quebec, gasoline costs 9.9¢ more per litre, while in the other provinces, gas costs an estimated 14.3¢ more per litre because of the federal carbon tax. Obviously, when we see that, it seems much more advantageous to have a carbon exchange like Quebec and British Columbia. Not only does it encourage people to pollute less, but we are always hearing good things about it. However, Canadians in other provinces seem to prefer the carbon tax approach because of the rebates. Could my colleague tell me the average rebate that Canadians in the backstop provinces get? That way, we can see whether the Conservatives' proposal makes sense in terms of the rebates that are paid out.

151 words

May/30/24 1:33:29 p.m.
Watch

Madam Speaker, I thank the parliamentary secretary for his speech and for his efforts to deliver a speech that makes sense, relatively speaking, while ignoring all the attempts to distract him. I wanted to point that out. There could be a little more decorum in this chamber. In Quebec, for every litre of gas, the carbon tax is estimated to add—

62 words

May/30/24 1:08:37 p.m.
Watch

Madam Speaker, the motion moved by the Conservative leader is yet another very populist gimmick. It is easy for the Conservatives to tell people they are going to demand a summer tax break so people can go on vacation. I do not think it is as simple as that for Quebec and Canadian families, but the idea, as far-fetched as it may seem, would still come at a cost. Can my colleague tell me how much it is estimated that Quebeckers and Canadians will save thanks to the measure proposed by the Conservatives, but more importantly, how much it will cost SMEs, Quebec and Canadian businesses and the administration of the system in general to suspend a tax for a limited period of time? What will it cost in terms of operating costs, and what will it cost the public purse in lost revenue?

145 words

Context: House Hansard - 320 - May/29/24

May/30/24 11:38:41 a.m.
Watch

Mr. Speaker, I am going to ask my colleague, whom I respect and whose sincere commitment to the cause I recognize, a very simple question. On one hand, we have the Conservatives, who are moving very populist motions that are very easy to swallow for those who do not ask questions beyond the headlines. On the other hand, we have a government that continues to blithely finance the oil companies and dirty oil operations in the west. Given this situation, can we not imagine the big oil bosses in their offices slapping their thighs in laughter, telling themselves that life is damned good?

103 words

Context: House Hansard - 320 - May/29/24

May/29/24 5:32:55 p.m.
Watch

Madam Speaker, I rise on a point of order. I am hearing voices from both sides of the House. I would like to take this opportunity to say that my Liberal colleagues' conversations on the other side are quite loud. It might be worth reminding them to keep their voices down when a colleague is making a speech. There is also something else that is causing a disruption. For some time now, there seems to be a speaker or earpiece that is broadcasting the interpretation in English. I do not know whether it is in the chamber or in the gallery.

101 words

Context: House Hansard - 320 - May/29/24

May/29/24 5:28:29 p.m.
Watch

Madam Speaker, in a few words, I would like my colleague to explain why the interference commissioner should be independent.

20 words

Context: House Hansard - 317 - May/24/24

May/29/24 4:46:53 p.m.
Watch
Re: Bill C-70

Mr. Speaker, the Bloc Québécois is in favour of sending Bill C‑70 to committee. I heard the minister talk in his speech about the broad consultations with Canadians on this issue and his intention to work in a very inclusive manner with the opposition parties in the House. My colleague from Trois-Rivières introduced a similar bill to protect Quebec and Canada from foreign interference. There are two things that I feel are particularly important and should be included in Bill C‑70. One of them is that public office holders should not be allowed to work for a foreign government after they leave office, especially if their new job is to influence decision-makers on site. I wonder why that is not in the current bill. The other thing we feel is very important and would be very interesting to debate in committee is two-party registration. Foreign agents must disclose their contact with public office holders in Canada. Should Canadian public office holders not also have to disclose their contact and relationships with foreign agents in the course of their duties? I would like to hear the minister's opinion as to whether there are any amendments he would be open to supporting if the bill goes to committee.

221 words

Context: House Hansard - 317 - May/24/24

May/24/24 11:55:49 a.m.
Watch

Mr. Speaker, it would be really nice if we could get serious answers to serious questions. It is disturbing that the government refuses to require the court challenges program to comply with this federal law, its own statute. Once again, the Liberals are entangled in their own contradictions about the French language. They still have a hard time recognizing that there is only one official language at risk in Quebec, and that is French. They refuse to require that the court challenges program comply with their own legislation, the Official Languages Act. Why should the program disregard the different situation of English and French in Canada and Quebec?

108 words

Context: House Hansard - 317 - May/24/24

May/24/24 11:54:39 a.m.
Watch

Mr. Speaker, in committee yesterday, as the members were studying an overhaul of the court challenges program, a Bloc Québécois amendment was rejected, which is appalling. It was a very simple amendment that called for just one thing: That the court challenges program respect the Official Languages Act, that it respect the law recognizing that French is under threat, that it recognize the existence of other laws, such as the Charter of the French Language in order to protect our language, and that it recognize the need to advance the existence of a majority-French society in Quebec. Why is it so hard for the Liberals to respect the Official Languages Act?

116 words

Context: House Hansard - 316 - May/23/24

May/24/24 11:15:03 a.m.
Watch

Mr. Speaker, Drummond has been on cloud nine since our Voltigeurs won the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League's President Cup in four games against the Baie-Comeau Drakkar. They played to a crowd of frenzied fans at the Marcel-Dionne arena, which was filled to capacity. It was a masterful performance. Top performers included Riley Mercer, a tough goaltender who frustrated opponents with his incredible skill throughout the series, and Vsevolod Komarov, a contender for the Canadian Hockey League title of defenceman of the year. How about Ethan Gauthier, a young man from my riding of Drummond, and the third in his family to wear the Rouges uniform, following in the footsteps of his father Denis and his brother Kaylen? Ethan was the team's top scorer, and ranked second in the entire league. He kept us on the edge of our seats all season, as I am sure he will again for a long time to come. The year 2024 will forever remain a high point in Drummondville's hockey history. This weekend, the Voltigeurs are set to play at the Memorial Cup games. This time, all of Quebec will be cheering them on. Drummond is ready for a two-trophy parade. Go Voltigeurs.

206 words

Context: House Hansard - 316 - May/23/24

May/23/24 10:09:44 p.m.
Watch
Re: Bill C-316

Mr. Speaker, my next question may be a little long. I am going to present a scenario, which will give the minister plenty of time to answer. The Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage is currently studying Bill C-316, which deals with a program that we want to create a framework for and that we hope will become permanent. The Bloc Québécois defended this program during the years of the Harper government, which wanted to abolish it. We fought alongside other opposition parties at the time to protect this program, which is very important for advancing the rights of francophones outside Quebec and for advancing the human rights of many individuals and groups. The current program includes a provision that prevents the federal government from funding challenges of Quebec or provincial legislation through the human rights branch. We think it would be appropriate for Quebec, as a nation repeatedly recognized by Parliament, to have access to a similar provision, an asymmetry provision for Quebec, to ensure that the program cannot fund challenges to the Charter of the French Language. This would help us protect the French language in Quebec while continuing to actively advocate for the advancement of francophones outside Quebec. Will the minister accept the Bloc Québécois's offer of help and agree to consider suggested amendments to Bill C‑316 to this effect?

235 words