- Member of Parliament
- Deputy House leader of the official opposition
- Conservative
- Mégantic—L'Érable
- Quebec
- Voting Attendance: 69%
- Expenses Last Quarter: $94,201.00
- Government Page
- Dec/1/23 11:23:23 a.m.
- Watch
Madam Speaker, we all did it. We voted for this bill at second reading. I have absolutely no idea where the minister is going with this.
What I do know, however, is that the Journal de Montréal reported yesterday that children are now forced to ask Santa Claus for snowsuits. One child even asked him for a gift card to pay for a good Christmas dinner. That is the reality.
Does the minister have enough clout in this cabinet to persuade the Prime Minister to end the inflationary policies that have forced children to trim down their Christmas wish lists?
102 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- Dec/1/23 11:22:10 a.m.
- Watch
Madam Speaker, after eight years, Canadians can no longer afford the excessive costs of this Prime Minister. Next year, Canadians will pay more in interest on the debt than is put towards health care. The government is putting bankers ahead of nurses and orderlies. Some two million Canadians are using food banks every month, including more and more middle-class families. Children are asking Santa for boots and snowsuits to keep them warm, rather than toys to play with.
Will the Prime Minister finally understand that it is time to put an end to his inflationary policies that increase the price of everything?
103 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- Oct/20/23 11:25:54 a.m.
- Watch
Mr. Speaker, if they really wanted to pass Bill C-56, they would put it on the agenda. Since October 5, the Liberals have not called Bill C-56 for debate in the House. They should make a decision and stick with it. One would think they would have a better sense of what they want.
Meanwhile, the middle class knows what is coming. They are lining up at food banks. This morning, the newspapers were saying that food banks are desperate. In the last three years, food prices have risen by 23%.
Meanwhile, the Liberals and the Bloc Québécois want to drastically increase carbon taxes. Voting for the Bloc Québécois is costly now, and it is going to get even more costly.
Will the Liberals abandon their plan to raise carbon taxes?
145 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- Oct/18/23 3:13:07 p.m.
- Watch
Mr. Speaker, the Liberals could have put the bill on the agenda for yesterday or today so we could discuss it, but they did not. They are the ones holding up the bill.
After eight years, the consequences of the Liberals' policies have been disastrous. Quebec has the highest inflation rate in the country. It is close to 5% for the fourth month in a row. Like all parents in Quebec, I am worried about the future of my children, who are facing the highest interest rates in 40 years. Food is too expensive, rents are unaffordable and interest rates are skyrocketing.
When will the Prime Minister stop mortgaging our children's future?
113 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- Oct/18/23 3:11:48 p.m.
- Watch
Mr. Speaker, after eight years of inflationary spending, the Prime Minister has literally killed young Quebeckers' dreams of becoming homeowners.
Imagine. A young person in Montreal has to earn $116,000 a year if they want to buy a house, and that is not counting the down payment of 20%. How many years will it take a young person to earn that kind of salary and save enough money?
After eight years, do the Liberals realize that the Prime Minister is not worth the cost and that middle-class young people can no longer afford a Prime Minister who is mortgaging their future?
103 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- Sep/21/23 3:02:46 p.m.
- Watch
Mr. Speaker, I would like to alert Canadians and Quebeckers to another troubling revelation in today's paper: The cost of living is rising faster in Quebec's regions than anywhere else. Why is that? Because families in the regions need one car, sometimes two, to do their work and live their lives.
What is the biggest expense? Gas, obviously. Exactly what the Liberal-Bloc coalition is targeting for drastic tax hikes. In the regions, a vote for the Bloc Québécois will be even more costly. Will the Prime Minister and the leader of the Bloc Québécois walk back their irresponsible plan to drastically increase the cost of gas, yes or no?
120 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- Sep/21/23 3:02:07 p.m.
- Watch
Mr. Speaker, the Journal de Montréal reported today that Quebeckers are struggling more with inflation than anyone else in Canada. They have the Liberal-Bloc coalition to thank for the drastic tax hikes. More and more bread is going unbuttered now that butter costs an extra 36%. Breakfast cereal costs 32% more, and a piece of red meat for supper costs an extra 30%.
After eight years, the Liberals have overtaxed everything. It comes as no surprise that Quebeckers' cupboards are becoming as bare as their pockets. Will the Liberal Prime Minister and his Bloc partners drop their plans to force a second carbon tax on Quebeckers?
109 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- Sep/18/23 2:43:55 p.m.
- Watch
Mr. Speaker, what we want is for groceries to be cheaper for everyone. Contrary to the Bloc Québécois's claims, the Liberals' carbon tax 2 applies not only to Canadians but to Quebec too.
On June 1, a motion was moved in the House:
That...the House recognize the failure of carbon tax one and call on the government to immediately cancel carbon tax two (the “Clean Fuel Regulations”).
The Bloc Québécois voted against that motion. Worse still, the Bloc members want to drastically increase the carbon tax.
Will the Prime Minister reject the Bloc's request to drastically increase the carbon tax at Quebeckers' expense?
116 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- Sep/18/23 2:42:43 p.m.
- Watch
Mr. Speaker, the Liberal-Bloc carbon tax has caused food prices to soar. The cost of carrots alone has risen by 74%.
My mother always told me to eat my carrots. She said they were good for my eyes. I encourage the Bloc leader to eat more carrots to help him see the cost of his support for the Liberal-Bloc carbon tax.
The Prime Minister and his Bloc coalition are not worth the cost. Is there any hope that the Prime Minister's big meeting with grocery CEOs will eliminate this 74% price hike on carrots by Thanksgiving, yes or no?
102 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- May/16/23 2:40:07 p.m.
- Watch
Mr. Speaker, the minister talks about her responsible budget, but not a single Montreal-area MP rose to answer this question.
Inflation is still on the rise, causing prices to go up across the board, including food and basic necessities. The system safeguards, interest rates, have slashed housing starts by almost 50%. The housing crisis will get worse. More and more people will have trouble making ends meet, yet the 20-odd Montreal-area MPs have not said a word about the Prime Minister's inflationary policies.
When will the Prime Minister, the Montreal-area member for Papineau, clue in to common sense and stop sending more and more Montrealers to food banks?
113 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- May/16/23 2:38:49 p.m.
- Watch
Mr. Speaker, the Minister of Finance herself said that spending too much would fuel inflation. There are more than 20 Liberals, including ministers and the Prime Minister, who represent the Montreal area.
After eight years in government, their record is appalling. There are 360,000 families in the greater Montreal area, or one in five households, who do not have enough money to pay their rent and meet their basic needs. The situation is so serious that Marie Leblanc told Le Devoir that “suicide is around the corner”. Ms. Leblanc has almost nothing left for food and clothing.
Why are the members from Montreal abandoning her?
109 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- Feb/15/23 2:29:57 p.m.
- Watch
Mr. Speaker, does this Prime Minister understand, after eight years of not answering questions in the House, that blaming the Conservatives is not the way to help Canadians? Inflation is at an all-time high. Food is so expensive that some Canadians are going without meals. Middle-class workers are being forced to turn to food banks because they cannot afford to pay their bills. That is all to say nothing of the rising cost of gas and housing, including rent and mortgage rates.
Will the government assume its responsibilities rather than spending its time blaming everyone else?
98 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- Feb/15/23 2:28:51 p.m.
- Watch
Mr. Speaker, let us look at the facts. After eight years of this Liberal Prime Minister, Canadians have never been in worse financial shape. After eight years of this Liberal government, 44% of Canadians say they could not afford an unexpected $500 expense. After eight years of Liberal promises, nearly half of 35- to 44-year-olds are worried and struggling to pay their bills.
Will the Prime Minister understand that he and his inflationary policies are responsible for this crisis? When will he stop hurting Canadians?
91 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- Feb/13/23 2:24:03 p.m.
- Watch
Mr. Speaker, after eight years, what the Conservatives voted against were the government's inflationary policies, which are making absolutely everything more expensive in this country, making things harder and harder for every family. That is the reality. Students have to cram into tiny apartments with many others because they cannot afford to pay rent. It takes some nerve to say that everything is fine in Canada. Canadians are paying the price for eight years of inflationary policies under this government.
Will the government take responsibility once and for all so we can finally give Canadians some hope?
98 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- Feb/13/23 2:22:52 p.m.
- Watch
Mr. Speaker, after eight years of this Liberal Prime Minister, Canadians are worse off than ever. Food inflation is at a 40-year high. People are being forced to eat less meat and fewer vegetables, foods that are essential to our health. According to the major grocery chains, it is not over. Prices will continue to rise in 2023.
Why is the Prime Minister looking down on the middle class and ignoring their pain and misery, rather than taking responsibility and helping them?
85 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- Feb/10/23 11:24:30 a.m.
- Watch
Madam Speaker, what we voted against are this government's inflationary policies of the past eight years.
This week, the big grocery store chains announced that the price of groceries is going to increase again in the next few months. Last year, prices went up by 11%. This year, the average family is going to pay $1,000 more for groceries, so they can eat, so they can put butter, bread, meat and vegetables on their table.
That is the reality that the Liberals do not want to see, but that is how it is right now in Canada. Will the Prime Minister admit—
105 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- Feb/8/23 3:04:22 p.m.
- Watch
Mr. Speaker, after eight years with this Prime Minister at the helm, Canadians are realizing that all his talk about helping the middle class was just grandstanding. As a result of his policies, ordinary Canadians are finding it increasingly difficult to pay their bills. After eight years of this Prime Minister, his inflationary spending has driven up interest rates, depriving young families of their right to dream of home ownership.
After eight years, will the Prime Minister finally take responsibility for the rising cost of groceries, rent and gas so we can finally fix what is broken?
97 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- Feb/3/23 11:24:06 a.m.
- Watch
Madam Speaker, we need to listen to the minister.
After eight years of listening to this government toot its own horn, we see just how out of touch it is with the lives of families.
Middle-class families are increasingly turning to food banks. We saw in the newspapers this morning that more and more Quebeckers are taking on second jobs to put food on the table. After working hard all their lives, seniors no longer have enough food to eat. Meanwhile, the minister keeps talking about everything this government has done to help.
The real question she should be asking is this: Why are so many people suffering after eight years under this Prime Minister?
116 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- Feb/3/23 11:22:56 a.m.
- Watch
Madam Speaker, it is quite ironic to hear the Liberals claim, day after day, that everything is fine thanks to their astronomical spending, because of which we are facing the worst inflation in 40 years.
The cost of food has skyrocketed, but it is not their fault. The cost of rent has doubled, but it is not their fault. Interest rates are keeping families from achieving their dream of a first home, but it is not their fault.
Why, after eight years, does this Prime Minister have such a reckless attitude towards people who have needs?
98 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
Madam Speaker, I want to begin by thanking and congratulating my colleague from Elgin—Middlesex—London on her speech. I also want to thank our shadow minister for families, children and social development, the member for Peterborough—Kawartha, for the excellent and extremely important work she has done on this file.
Over the next few minutes, I will have the chance to talk about the reality facing Canadian families. I wanted to speak to Bill C-35 because my wife has been working in child care centres in Quebec for many years now, so she is very familiar with the system. She witnessed its creation. Unfortunately, she has also witnessed the deterioration in services over the last few years. I think it is important to share her experience of this public system, which has existed in Quebec for over 20 years.
It is important to identify the flaws in the system, to recognize that there are still problems and look at how this Parliament can work to improve the child care situation across the country and in every province. It is also important not to put all our eggs in one basket, as Quebec has done in recent years. This would allow more families, more single mothers and fathers, more people to have access to appropriate child care across Canada.
Let us talk about the current reality for Canadian families. The cost of living has skyrocketed. We are facing interest rates that are making it harder and harder for young families to access home ownership. Food prices went up nearly 12% in just a year. That far outstrips the rise in inflation. We hear that many women would like to go back to work, especially young women who just had their first child. Young women who still do not have access to a child care system could be on a waiting list for several months, even a year.
In Quebec, in particular, when a person no longer has access to parental benefits, they may have to wait another year before they get a child care spot. It is unacceptable. This prevents many women from going back to work and thriving. More importantly, it also denies children the opportunity to access a public system that could help in their development.
At first, I was against a public child care system like the one that was implemented in Quebec in recent years. However, I must now admit that such a system improves the living conditions of many children. An educational child care system helps children be better prepared for school. Sometimes, these children come from disadvantaged backgrounds and their families do not necessarily have all the tools to help them develop before they go to preschool and kindergarten.
These services are good for children who manage to get into the system. Unfortunately, there are still many children who are unable to do so. Eight years after the Liberals made their promises, they are now introducing a bill that proposes access to that kind of system in the future. Unfortunately, based on what we have seen from the Liberals over the past eight years, we are worried that this bill is all about good intentions and that the results may not be up to par.
The Liberals want to move too quickly. They are grandstanding and trying to win political points. They are implementing a fine program to help families, but once again, they are realizing a little too late that they may not have done their homework properly and that, unfortunately, thousands of children will not have access to child care.
Why will they not have access to child care spaces? First, there is already a shortage of spaces in the system, especially in Quebec, and second, there is a dire shortage of specialized educators, so the centres cannot provide services to these children.
Day cares lack money for food. I was surprised to learn that in some day cares in Quebec, they no longer give meat to young children under the age of five because they cannot afford it. Non-profit centres can no longer afford to buy meat to feed the children. Instead, they serve plant-based proteins in the morning.
All sorts of other products are being used to try to adequately meet people's needs, but meat has been banned in the day care centres because there is not enough money, because everything costs more. There is also a glaring lack of choice. Families would have had the opportunity to access child care services, but unfortunately, Quebec has favoured subsidized non-profit day cares as currently proposed by the federal program. As a result, we find ourselves in a situation where, 25 years later, needs are still not being met.
I have some stats here about children on the waiting list. These numbers are from the Government of Quebec's ministry of families. There are 286,817 spaces in the system according to data from May 31, 2022. Quebec currently has 101,244 children in early learning centres, or facilities. There are 50,444 children in subsidized child care. There are 68,431 children in non-subsidized care, the so-called private day cares. Lastly, there are 66,698 children in home-based child care.
These child care services are offered by women, entrepreneurs who decide to open their own home-based child care service but are part of the network subsidized by the Government of Quebec. These female entrepreneurs are subsidized by Quebec to provide services to children. Unfortunately, this approach will not be allowed in all provinces, which do not all have the same agreement. This means more choice.
The big problem, despite all this and after 25 years, is that there are still 33,829 children waiting for a child care space. Some 30,295 spaces are being created, so there is already a shortfall. There are 2,500 subsidized spaces to be allocated. The facilities have not yet been developed to ensure that young people can access these child care centres or spaces. The number of children with “pending” status is 50,000. After more than 20 years of the public subsidized system, there are still 50,000 children who do not have a child care space. If you multiply that number by one for the number of mothers and by two for the number of parents, it is quite clear that there is a problem with putting all your eggs in one basket and taking just one path forward.
Fortunately, the Quebec government is providing subsidies to stay-at-home mothers who decide to open their own home-based child care. This is a way out. However, we deplore certain aspects of this bill, which is why we have some requests. We will be proposing amendments in committee to allow for more choice and to achieve the ultimate goal of accessible child care for children, and particularly for mothers who need access to a child care system.
We also have concerns about cost. If we cannot even create the number of spaces promised, will the government be able to keep its promise of creating $10-a-day spaces? That is the second big question. Based on past experience and different programs presented and adopted by the Liberal government in the last eight years, there is reason to have doubts and to ask questions.
The government does have an area of expertise that could help Quebec. Quebec is currently trying to fill 18,000 educator positions and the Quebec government would like to recruit abroad to fill these 18,000 positions. I believe that the federal government has a very specific role to play to help address the shortage of child care staff. It must work with the Quebec government and the governments of all the other provinces to expedite the arrival of these educators so that an increasing number of children, families and single parents can access quality child care services.
1334 words
All Topics
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- menumenu
- notificationsnotifications
- home
- mailmail
- searchsearch
