- Member of Parliament
- Member of Parliament
- Bloc Québécois
- Joliette
- Quebec
- Voting Attendance: 68%
- Expenses Last Quarter: $132,165.46
- Government Page
- May/8/24 7:28:45 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, again, I want to acknowledge all the work done by my hon. colleague, the member for Vancouver Kingsway, on the Standing Committee on Finance. I was seriously impressed. During the study of this omnibus bill, he had obviously studied it thoroughly and presented several constructive amendments, the vast majority of which were adopted. That is the strength of a Parliament and a committee when there is a minority government, because opposition members can improve bills.
As for greenwashing, I applaud the government's intention to put something in place. The amendments we tabled, which environmental organizations had been calling for, sought to expand on that and require more accountability. Together, we were able to move forward. Greenwashing is when a company portrays itself or its products as environmentally responsible, but these claims need to be better regulated. Companies are not required to market themselves in this way, but if they do, we want their claims to be factual and verifiable, not just in terms of the product. I came to realize that it is a very complex ecosystem, but, together, we managed to improve the bill with the help of stakeholder organizations.
Once again, I want to acknowledge the work my colleague did in committee.
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- Feb/16/24 12:22:48 p.m.
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We will count the members.
And the count having been taken:
The Acting Speaker (Mr. Gabriel Ste-Marie): We now have quorum.
Resuming debate. The hon. member can continue his speech. He has 15 minutes remaining in his time.
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- Oct/27/23 1:11:57 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I congratulate my hon. colleague on her speech.
I would like to start with a comment before I ask my question. My fear about the possibility of fully improving the bill in committee is that legislative clerks have a very narrow view of the changes that can be made to the bill in committee. That makes it very difficult to broaden the scope of the bill. That is what I wanted to say.
Here is my question. This bill relies heavily on the government to determine everything by regulation at a later date. My colleague referred to that in her speech. I would like to ask her again whether it is acceptable for the government to work that way. Is it acceptable for the government to say that we have to trust it, that it will take care of everything but that it will not be held accountable?
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- Oct/27/23 12:44:32 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I thank my hon. colleague for his question and for his thoughtful consideration.
The parliamentary system works thanks to the trust that legislators place in the government. The question is whether the government has the confidence of the House. More and more, the current government is increasing its power to determine the details of a bill by regulation, and that is what I am criticizing.
There have always been a certain number of details that are set out through regulations later. However, this is a rising trend. Let me give an example of an ill-intentioned regulation that may actually go against the spirit of the law. Take, for example, the agreement between Canada and Barbados. There is a section in the law that says Barbados cannot be used as a tax haven, but there is an obscure regulation that circumvents the spirit of the act.
That is why I prefer to see accountability in the House. When things are done through regulations, there is no accountability.
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- Jun/8/23 8:45:22 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I thank my colleague for his comment, which was absolutely warranted.
I see the same thing in my riding, in the city of Joliette. Obviously, there is no port, but there are rail lines. In any of the federally regulated sectors, companies do not feel accountable to local elected officials, the ones closest to home, the ones who represent us best. They are the ones on the ground, the ones in touch with everyday life, and they have to fight tooth and nail for accountability and information.
A few years ago there was an incident involving a train transporting chemicals in Joliette. It was very difficult for the mayor, the fire chief and the police to get information. A lot of progress has been made, and there is more accountability now, but it is still difficult. We have to dig deep, change people's attitudes and recognize local elected officials for who they are: our primary representatives.
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- May/12/23 1:36:21 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I would like to begin by congratulating the hon. member for Elmwood—Transcona on his important motion and on the very compelling speech he just delivered.
Accountability is important. We need to limit the concentration of power, and I think this motion contributes to that. We know that concentrating power almost systematically leads to abuse.
My question for my colleague is about the government's present attitude toward votes taking place in the House. When the House votes on motions or bills, we see that the Prime Minister does not always respect the will of the House when what has been proposed does not come from him.
For example, my colleague moved a motion on tax havens. Even though it had support in the House, the government did not introduce the measures that the motion called on the government to introduce. Another colleague had a bill passed to provide 50 weeks of EI sickness benefits to people with cancer. The government never followed through, even though it was the will of the House. A bill by one of our Conservative colleagues was passed about the family transfer of businesses. The government would not implement it.
What does my esteemed colleague think of that?
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- May/3/23 7:44:37 p.m.
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- Re: Bill S-6
Madam Speaker, again, I thank my colleague from Mirabel for his comments. Yes, indeed, we have two levels of government.
Because the decisions made here in Ottawa are not consistent with the values held by our distinct society, we have developed a sort of half-state that is more responsive to our needs. Meanwhile, half the taxes we pay come here. Sometimes these funds are spent in useful ways, but sometimes they are used for projects that we do not care about or that actually harm our interests and values.
Because we love Quebeckers and want the best for them, our party is of the opinion that we had better make decisions ourselves in order to be fully accountable. Let us stay good neighbours instead of bad roommates.
I would obviously have a host of examples to give; however, since my time is limited, I will provide examples in a future speech.
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Madam Speaker, I thank my hon. colleague for his very interesting speech. We obviously agree on Bill C‑42. With regard to the fight against tax havens, my colleague talked about the Panama papers scandal. Does he agree with me that, despite all the money that has been invested and all the laws that are in place to give us the power to intervene, Canada is still lagging behind other countries on this?
The Canada Revenue Agency recovered less money than Revenu Québec. Let us compare the numbers. The United Kingdom recovered $317 million, Germany recovered $246 million, Spain recovered $209 million, France recovered $179 million, Australia recovered $173 million, and Canada recovered $21 million. Is that acceptable?
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- Apr/27/23 4:29:14 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, in the recent budget, the government announced $80 billion for the green economy and the transition to a carbon-neutral future. In Bill C‑47, we learn how this will be managed and that has us concerned. Through a legislative change, the government is creating two institutions that will be in charge of administering the money the government plans to invest, money that escapes the control of Parliament. Non-elected people will be able to choose the projects they support without being accountable to anyone, without being accountable to the House and without any clear criteria.
What does the member think about that?
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Mr. Speaker, my regards to my hon. colleague for Louis‑Saint‑Laurent. I thank him for his speech. We might not always share the same values, but he always has something interesting to say during our debates in the House.
I want to ask him about something that is unclear to me, to see if he feels the same way. In her budget, the Minister of Finance announced funding of $80 billion for the economic transition, as it is called. A lot of upcoming tax credits are absent from the bill. No money for investments, subsidies or support is directly announced, but the infrastructure development is there. From the way things are presented, it appears as though the money earmarked for this will not be part of the budget framework and will be managed separately, outside government accounts. That means there will no longer be accountability to the House.
What does my hon. colleague think of that?
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- Jun/17/22 12:40:51 p.m.
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We will check.
And the count having been taken:
The Acting Speaker (Mr. Gabriel Ste-Marie): We have quorum, and I therefore invite the hon. member for New Westminster—Burnaby to complete his question. He has a few seconds left.
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- May/6/22 12:18:28 p.m.
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- Re: Bill C-5
Mr. Speaker, I would ask you to call quorum.
And the count having been taken:
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- Feb/17/22 2:58:16 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the government has given itself the extraordinary power to freeze the bank accounts of individuals and businesses whose trucks are blocking downtown Ottawa. That is part of the Emergencies Act, which has been in effect since February 14. Today is February 17.
My question is simple. How many bank accounts of the occupiers in Ottawa have been frozen in the last three days?
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