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Gabriel Ste-Marie

Member of Parliament
Member of Parliament
Bloc Québécois

Joliette
Quebec
Voting Attendance: 68%
Expenses Last Quarter: $132,165.46

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Mr. Gabriel Ste-Marie (Joliette, BQ)

May/9/24 6:43:35 p.m.
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Re: Bill C-59

Madam Speaker, I have a question for the minister. Bill C‑59 provides for more than $30 billion for the oil industry. For example, there is the $12.5-billion credit for carbon capture, utilization and storage. I would like to quote what his former colleague, Catherine McKenna, said about it and then have him share his comments with us. It should never have happened, but clearly the oil and gas lobbyists pushed for that....We are giving special access to companies that are making historic profits, that are not investing those profits into the transition and clean solutions. They are returning those profits to their shareholders, who for the most part are not Canadian, and then they ask to be subsidized for the pollution they cause, while Canadians have to pay more for oil and gas for heating. What does the hon. minister think?

148 words

Context: House Hansard - 254 - Nov/23/23

Mr. Gabriel Ste-Marie

Nov/23/23 10:47:50 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I thank my hon. colleague for her kind words. I feel the same way about her. It is always a pleasure to listen to her speeches, for which she does a lot of research. I want to specify that, when it comes to the oligopoly in the food sector, passing Bill C‑56 will prevent the situation from getting worse, but it will not bring back the competition there used to be. Taxing the excess profits of giants in these situations may be very useful, and we are in favour in principle, as we have said often. Obviously, this needs to be done scrupulously to respect the rights of these companies. When it is conclusively established that they have excess profits, we have to be able to tax them.

132 words

Context: House Hansard - 215 - Jun/16/23

Mr. Gabriel Ste-Marie

Jun/16/23 10:46:19 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, that is an insightful comment and question. I thank my hon. colleague, with whom I am fortunate to serve on the Standing Committee on Finance. When a Toronto bank reports its profits in the Caribbean, this means unpaid taxes, longer hospital wait times and less school funding. These are directly linked. This is so important. We all remember the tragic fires in Fort McMurray. The IMF said that these fires were causing a recession in the Caribbean, where Canadian corporations and Canadian banks report their profits, because there was a direct impact. That gives us an idea of the situation. It is opaque, but we can indirectly see the scale of the problem. This has to change, but it takes political will. I implore the government to do something about it.

133 words

Context: House Hansard - 105 - Sep/29/22

Mr. Gabriel Ste-Marie

Sep/29/22 5:00:19 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, first, I would like to thank the hon. member for Victoria for making such a concerted effort to ask her question in French. We have all had the experience in the House where we hear the interpretation while we are asking our question. To hear your question being translated, especially in your mother tongue, is quite disconcerting, so I salute her effort. The Bloc Québécois is a progressive party. We support the idea of a more progressive tax system, meaning that the wealthy pay a higher percentage of taxes than the poor. As we know, poorer people tend to use their income to cover the cost of essential goods. For example, members of the House earn high salaries and, despite what we pay in taxes, we do not have to make such agonizing choices. My colleague's question is well worth considering. The fact that big corporations are making excess profits as a result of the current situation is something that needs to be looked at. I have read quite a bit about this, and let us just say that analysts are quite divided on the feasibility of this. What is the right way to go about it? We certainly need to move in that direction, but we must do so efficiently while maintaining stability in the system. Again, bravo to my colleague for asking her question in French.

235 words

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Member of Parliament

Gabriel Ste-Marie