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Maxime Blanchette-Joncas

Member of Parliament
Member of Parliament
Bloc Québécois

Rimouski-Neigette—Témiscouata—Les Basques
Quebec
Voting Attendance: 67%
Expenses Last Quarter: $115,154.34

Government Page

Mr. Maxime Blanchette-Joncas (Rimouski-Neigette—Témiscouata—Les Basques, BQ)

May/8/23 10:07:05 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I commend my colleague from Louis-Saint-Laurent. It is always a pleasure to hear him speak. We agree on some things but not others. I like to look to the past because it tells us what to expect in the future. In his speech, my colleague from Louis-Saint-Laurent talked about many things, including credibility and flip-flopping. I would like to remind my colleague of a few things. We are talking about the government's credibility, but I would like to talk about the Conservative Party's credibility for a moment. I think the debate we are having today is important. Of course, it is essential to protect our democracy, but here are the facts. One of the candidates in the last Conservative Party leadership race, not the one from 30 or 40 years ago, was a certain Jean Charest, who my colleague from Louis-Saint-Laurent knows very well. That Jean Charest worked for a company called Huawei. How much credibility or confidence does my colleague think we can have today in a party that accepted someone who worked for a company that has been blacklisted by several countries? When it comes to credibility, confidence and Chinese interference, is the Conservative Party in any position to give lessons on foreign affairs matters, especially Chinese interference? The colleague from Wellington—Halton Hills who was targeted actually sponsored a motion in the House in November 2020 on the issue of Huawei. Again, I am struggling to understand, so I would like my colleague to explain how much credibility, how much confidence, we can have in the Conservative Party, given that it allowed a former Huawei consultant to run for the party leadership.

287 words

Context: House Hansard - 78 - May/31/22

Mr. Maxime Blanchette-Joncas (Rimouski-Neigette—Témiscouata—Les Basques, BQ)

May/31/22 3:03:52 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, academic research is essential to the advancement of science, and it greatly enriches our societies. It is critical that the process for hiring research chairs be based solely on the candidates' qualifications and the nature of their research. However, in the Canada research chairs program, Ottawa forgoes this quest for excellence and prioritizes diversity considerations. Does the minister agree that discrimination should never influence the assessment of competence?

71 words

Context: House Hansard - 78 - May/31/22

Mr. Maxime Blanchette-Joncas

May/31/22 10:24:34 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, I think the debate is taking an unhealthy turn, and that is not what the Bloc Québécois wants today. We are asking that the primary criterion for the recruitment of candidates for Canada research chairs be excellence. The best example I can give is this. The policies of Quebec universities have achieved greater representation for women without any federal government meddling. We recognize the need for equity, diversity and inclusion. However, in the event of equally qualified candidates, although the government may favour certain groups of people, identity should not be the primary criterion. The excellence of the candidates for federal government research chair grants and the quality of their applications must be the primary considerations.

122 words

Context: House Hansard - 78 - May/31/22

Mr. Maxime Blanchette-Joncas

May/31/22 10:23:03 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, I think that my colleague from Winnipeg North misunderstood my speech. The debate is not about the importance of diversity. We recognize the need for diversity, inclusion and, of course, equity. What we are saying is that the basic criterion that must take precedence when selecting candidates for Canada Research Chairs is excellence. This criterion should not be based on identity, which sometimes has nothing to do with the context of the research.

75 words

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Context: House Hansard - 55 - Apr/7/22

Mr. Maxime Blanchette-Joncas (Rimouski-Neigette—Témiscouata—Les Basques, BQ)

Apr/7/22 3:00:17 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, yesterday, the Bloc Québécois presented a motion stating that excluding some candidates from holding university research chairs was not the right way to foster inclusion and diversity in our institutions. The motion was rejected. In principle, this decision is debatable. However, by imposing the same quota for university research chairs in Quebec as in other parts of Canada, the government is completely ignoring the regional realities of Quebec and of its university network. Could we at least agree that a French-language university in Rimouski does not have the same diverse candidate pool as a university in Toronto?

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Member of Parliament

Maxime Blanchette-Joncas