- Member of Parliament
- Member of Parliament
- Bloc Québécois
- Rimouski-Neigette—Témiscouata—Les Basques
- Quebec
- Voting Attendance: 68%
- Expenses Last Quarter: $115,154.34
- Government Page
- May/9/24 9:26:41 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, it will take me a lot longer than a minute to make the federal government understand that the regions exist and that they have specific needs, just like Quebec, which is also distinguished by its nationhood and its own specific needs.
Air transportation is practically non-existent in the regions. When its pals at Air Canada ask for millions or billions of dollars in wage subsidies, the government is there to help. However, when it comes to providing services to regular folks and putting planes on the tarmac, the government is nowhere to be seen.
As for rail transportation, our friends at Via Rail want financial support to renew their rolling stock, which is so old it cannot run any longer. It requires constant patch-ups and repairs. In the near future, what will happen? How will the trains keep running?
Once again, the government is abandoning public transit, especially in the regions of Quebec. That is completely unacceptable. It compromises life in the regions, including the empowerment and growth of rural residents.
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- May/9/24 9:23:08 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, there is a saying that goes, “If you want something done right, do it yourself”. That is good, because the Bloc Québécois is a separatist party. It is in favour of independence. It wants to take care of its own business by itself, for itself, without needing anything from a federal government that does not always share Quebec's priorities.
As my colleague from Sarnia—Lambton just said, this is clearly a direct attack on Quebec's jurisdictions. The government no longer wants to let us make decisions for ourselves, by ourselves, for the well-being of our people and in accordance with our priorities.
There is no way we can vote in favour of something that is not in line with our constituents' priorities. Our autonomy is being compromised. There was not even any consultation. That is completely unacceptable. We are therefore well within our rights to vote against this bill, another brazen attack on Quebec's areas of jurisdiction.
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Madam Speaker, a leopard cannot change its spots.
Once again, it is clear that the Liberal government is trying to interfere in Quebec's affairs and fantasizing about taking over jurisdictions that do not belong to it and in which it has no expertise. Why? Maybe it is trying to justify its existence and appear relevant. Budget 2024 and this bill are perfect examples of that. That is why the Bloc Québécois will vote against Bill C‑59. Let me say this loud and clear: The federal government's unabashed assault on Quebec's jurisdictions is scandalous.
By choosing to create a federal department of municipal affairs, which it calls the department of housing, infrastructure and communities, Ottawa is announcing yet more interference in how Quebec runs its internal affairs. The size of the public service has jumped by 42%, or 109,000 public servants, and the tax burden has increased by $20 billion, but the Liberal government wants to make the public service even bigger, doubling its army of highly paid public servants, whose thankless task it will be to interfere in areas under the jurisdiction of Quebec and the provinces, and who will give the federal government the organizational capacity to impose even more conditions on Quebec and municipalities.
It is readily apparent that this massive public servant hiring campaign will make it easier to coordinate the centralization of power and decision-making in Ottawa. The father of the current Prime Minister, the member for Papineau, tried a similar approach when he created the Ministry of State for Urban Affairs in 1971. The experiment was a dismal failure. As the saying goes, like father, like son. We need the humility to learn from our past mistakes in order to avoid repeating them.
As a proud regionalist and elected official in a riding that includes 39 municipalities and three regional county municipalities, commonly known as RCMs, I know what I am talking about. Many of them are already having a hard time getting what they are owed from the federal government, because of funding that never arrives on time or cuts in financial support for the cultural sector, for example. Why complicate the process with more delays, costs, disputes and even more delays? Municipalities need fast, effective and direct action to address the various issues. They are the ones that deliver services most directly to the public. The federal government, however, is doing the exact opposite by adding more layers of red tape that will only increase costs and lengthen delays.
I should also point out that the Parliamentary Budget Officer recently said, about federal services, “public services themselves appear to have deteriorated. Not all of them are at the level one would expect from the public service.” Do my fellow citizens really want the federal government to manage more things? Well, no.
The really sad thing about this part of Bill C‑59 is that the Liberals are offering a solution that no one asked for instead of meeting expectations within their own areas of jurisdiction, and that is really detrimental. I feel like I am repeating myself, but the housing crisis we are currently experiencing, which is dragging on because of half measures that do not solve the problem, must be addressed quickly. People are suffering. Social housing in particular has been chronically underfunded since the 1990s, yet the federal government is not stepping up. Instead, it is trying to take even more responsibility despite its ineffectiveness and incompetence in other matters.
The vacancy rate in Rimouski is 0.6%. A balanced market sits at 3%. That means it is almost impossible to find housing. Families are living in motels. It is disgraceful. It is not just in my riding, either. My colleagues and neighbours throughout the Lower St. Lawrence are in similar situations, with a rate of 0.7% in Rivière-du-Loup and 1.2% in Matane. The answer is simple. We are asking the federal government to stop trying to manage everything, to stop micromanaging, and to simply do what is expected of it, which is to transfer the money to the Quebec government, unconditionally. Then we can tackle the crisis and try to resolve it. The Bloc Québécois is not going to make concessions. We will stand firm.
Let us now talk about the second major concern that we have with this bill. While we want to do away with fossil fuels, the Liberals are reminding us that they are great allies of the oil companies by adding a $30.3-billion subsidy in the form of tax credits paid for by taxpayers. I am talking about the taxpayers who are watching us at home this evening. That $30.3 billion belongs to them. This is not really surprising. We know that Suncor had a hand in drafting the government's policy. The image that comes to mind is that of a firefighter arsonist.
In Rimouski, these same super wealthy companies are increasing the cost of gas for residents, sometimes by up to 20¢ overnight. They have a virtual monopoly and yet they are putting a huge burden on the shoulders of those who depend on their vehicles to get around, make a living and get to work. I already know that some members will tell me that those individuals can just use public transit to get around. They are right, but when the federal government abandons the regions to focus on large urban centres, then public transit in the regions is obviously not sufficient to offer a real alternative to vehicle use.
The Lower St. Lawrence has practically no trains or buses anymore. The number of weekly private bus departures has gone from 6,000 to 882 since 1981. That is an 85% drop. I met the heads of Via Rail recently. They told me that the trains that go to Rimouski have been in service since the 1950s or 1960s, that the rail cars are at the end of their useful life and that these lines will have to be shut down in a few years if the federal government does not invest in them soon. That means we are going to lose one of our last links to the rest of Quebec if the government continues to do nothing. This situation has been going on for too long. Budget 2024 was not the boost we were looking for to save the regional connections.
I get the impression that we are going backward. Our ancestors who built the railway must be rolling over in their graves looking at their descendants shutting it down, when we do not even have an alternative in place. Is the federal government waiting to swoop in at the last minute like a hero at the risk of further isolating the regions?
I will not get into the fact that there are virtually no flights in the regions. The wonderful corporate citizens at Air Canada took advantage of the public health crisis to cease their operations in June 2020 and they never came back to our region, or to the Mont-Joli regional airport, more specifically.
As a result of all of these transportation problems, some of my constituents now even have to take a taxi to Quebec City to get hospital services. I hold the federal government responsible for that, because it is refusing to abide by its agreement to cover 50% of Quebec's health care costs, which compromises access to health care and the development of these kinds of services in the regions.
Now, if the billions of dollars earmarked for oil companies had instead been allocated to transportation, imagine how much the government could have actually improved the situation. We see that the government's priorities are not always in the right place and that the regions still do not matter to the Liberals. They basically never do.
Consequently, the Bloc Québécois will be voting against Bill C-59, which both encroaches on Quebec's areas of jurisdiction and demonstrates the full extent of the Liberal government's hypocrisy. There has never been a more centralizing government. I get the impression that it wants to revise the definition of a confederation. We are no longer in a confederation; we are under a central government that wants to appropriate all the powers and change the rules of the game without consulting the players. I would even go so far as to say that the rules of the game are constitutional agreements. We cannot take it lightly when agreements with partners are not being upheld. The government claims to want meaningful collaboration with its partners, yet it does not even respect its own agreements with its so-called partners.
Moreover, we will not support the creation of a department whose main task will be to interfere more aggressively in Quebec's jurisdictions and double the government's army of public servants. Nor will we support the $30.3 billion subsidy to ultrarich oil companies that will undoubtedly compromise our ecosystems and slow down the energy transition that Quebec is spearheading.
That concludes my speech. I welcome questions and comments from my colleagues.
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- May/9/24 7:56:16 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I salute my colleague from Whitby, who I work with at the Standing Committee on Science and Research.
My question for my colleague is on the effectiveness of implementing, creating a new department of housing. Quebec already has the ministry of municipal affairs and housing and the Société d'habitation du Québec.
The last projects that were funded in Quebec, in my region in particular, were funded from money in budget 2022. It took two years to budget the money, transfer it and come to an agreement with the Government of Quebec. I would like my colleague to explain what Ottawa will be able to do better than Quebec. I would like to know what Quebec cannot do with its current expertise.
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- Mar/19/24 2:14:48 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I rise today to mark the 80th anniversary of the Institut maritime du Québec in Rimouski.
This great national institution was founded on May 24, 1944, under the leadership of Jules‑A. Brillant. Eighty years later, the Institut maritime du Québec remains the only marine labour force training centre in Quebec, the largest in Canada, and the only francophone institution of its kind in North America. Since its founding, the Institut maritime du Québec has trained generations of sailors and experts, contributing to the marine industry across all oceans.
I would like to thank the artisans of yesterday and today for making this great expertise from Quebec and the Lower St. Lawrence shine throughout the world. Long live our national treasure, the Institut maritime du Québec, and happy 80th anniversary.
Let us be sure to attend the big festive banquet on April 6 to celebrate together.
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- Feb/29/24 5:04:46 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I commend my colleague from Kingston and the Islands on his speech. I think that we just witnessed something historic. I have never heard my colleague say the word “Quebec” so many times before.
This is hypocritical. My colleague is saying that the government is following Quebec's example because it is a leader in the area of child care, but when it comes time to negotiate other programs that fall under Quebec's jurisdiction, Quebec is suddenly no longer a leader. I am thinking, for example, of the dental insurance and pharmacare programs that the member just bragged about implementing. The government is telling Quebec what to do and imposing conditions on us. It wants Quebec to grovel for the money. However, the reality is that the more freedom Quebec has, the better it does. Quebec did not wait for the federal government to implement its child care system.
I would like my colleague to answer a simple question. What can a Canadian do that a Quebecker cannot?
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- Feb/29/24 4:38:14 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I commend my colleague from Bruce—Grey—Owen Sound on his speech.
Quebec is a distinct society by virtue of not only its identity, but also its choices. It was over 25 years ago now that Quebec chose to set up early childhood centres. This child care system already exists in Quebec. I really feel that we are wasting Quebeckers' time when we have to debate a bill to bring in a system that has already existed in Quebec for more than 25 years.
This morning, we also heard about a new pharmacare program, something that has existed in Quebec for nearly 50 years now.
I would like my colleague from Bruce—Grey—Owen Sound to tell me loud and clear if he respects Quebec's choices and if, for these types of programs, Quebec can have a right to opt out with full financial compensation, no strings attached.
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- Feb/9/24 12:46:48 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I want to acknowledge my colleague from Argenteuil—La Petite-Nation's work in committee. We studied this issue thoroughly. Some people, especially my anglophone colleagues, were not aware of the problem.
My colleague makes an interesting point. We understand that the federal government can hardly reverse global dynamics. It is true that researchers in certain fields are increasingly likely to publish their scientific papers in English. However, where the federal government is failing is when it continues to force Canadian francophones to submit funding applications in English. Why is that? It is because of the evaluation structure. Because of the so-called impact factors, scientific research papers or publications in French have no value whatsoever. That creates a form of discrimination against francophones from the get-go.
What is more, the approval rates for funding applications submitted in English are higher than for those submitted in French. If the federal government does not want to address the entire issue, it should at least stop interfering and getting involved in education, which is an exclusive jurisdiction of the provinces and Quebec.
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- Feb/8/24 4:27:50 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I listened carefully to the speech given by the member for Winnipeg North. He said that he is an immigration expert. He has been working in that area for years. He said that he even participated in the process with the Chrétien government at the time, so I would like him to explain something to me.
In 2015, the federal government's immigration target was 285,000 people a year. Ten years later, in 2025, it is 500,000. That is a 75% increase. I would like my colleague to tell me whether the government consulted the provinces, particularly Quebec, to determine what impact an 75% increase over 10 years would have on Quebec's ability to integrate these people and help them to learn French. Second, this will have an impact on infrastructure, the education system and the health care system. Was that taken into account?
It is not good enough to pick a number out of a hat, thinking it is good ideologically. We need to consider the consequences. What we are saying today is that the government needs to respect the integration capacity. In order for immigration to be successful, we need to be able to properly receive people in suitable, decent conditions.
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- Feb/1/24 5:32:15 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, first of all, I would like to commend the initiative of my colleague from Mississauga East—Cooksville seeking to highlight the importance and richness of the Polish community's contribution to the Quebec nation. It is not every day that we have the opportunity to shine a light on this culture.
I would like to make it clear from the outset that I will be voting in favour of the motion. The Bloc Québécois is delighted to join the mover of the motion in acknowledging the exceptional contribution that Quebeckers of Polish origin have made to our society and culture. I would like to take this opportunity to pay special tribute to Quebeckers of Polish origin living in my riding and in the Lower St. Lawrence region. Some 79,000 Quebeckers identify themselves as being of Polish origin. Of all these people, 23,550 are first-generation immigrants and more than 55,000 are from subsequent generations.
Polish people's contribution over the course of their long and tumultuous history is well established. In science, the first modern thinker to theorize the heliocentric model, in which the Earth revolves around the Sun, not vice versa, was none other than Nicolaus Copernicus, a Polish astronomer. Marie Curie was a Polish woman held up time and time again the world over as a symbol representative of women's significant contribution to science and dedication to a scientific career.
I do not have much time left, so I just want to add a few more. What would music be without Frédéric Chopin? What would Romantic painting of the 19th century be without Piotr Michalowski? What would 20th century poetry be without Krzysztof Baczynski? What would television series as a powerful art form be without Krzysztof Kieslowski's paradigmatic Dekalog?
Poland has a northern climate. Ice hockey is almost as popular there as it is in Montreal, the city where it was invented. No doubt that is why Quebec has always been a welcoming place for the Polish community. Canada's first Polish immigrant, Dominik Barcz, was a fur trader from Gdansk. In 1752, he settled in New France, specifically in Montreal, before the British conquest. He was later joined by his compatriot Charles Blaskowitz in 1757.
More recently, at the end of the Second World War, Quebec took in Poles scarred and devastated by the horrors they had seen and experienced. Seeking refuge and fleeing the communist regime, they made themselves a new home in our corner of the world. As the years turned into centuries, their culture blended and integrated with ours. Quebec and its Polish community therefore have strong institutions.
One example is the work of Wanda Stachiewicz, who founded the Polish Institute of Arts and Science in Canada in 1943. She arrived in Montreal on a Polish ship from London on July 13, 1940. She was a former member of the Polish resistance against the German invaders, a role she played while protecting her three children. She was instrumental in founding the Association of Polish Women War Refugees, which later became the Society of Poles in Exile.
Another example is the Institut Canadien-Polonais du Bien-Être. It is a health institute whose first centre was inaugurated by René Lévesque in 1966 when he was the health minister. A new centre was opened in 1984 by Dr. Camille Laurin, the father of the Quebec Charter of the French Language, when he was health minister. The institute's ethnolinguistic character, autonomy and special mission for Quebeckers of Polish origin were recognized by the National Assembly of Quebec in May 2004.
The fate and life story of Polish immigrants have also influenced Quebec culture and literature. In her famous novel Ces enfants d'ailleurs, the great Quebec author, Arlette Cousture, tells the story of Elisabeth, Jan and Jerzy, with their parents Tomasz Pawulski, a history teacher, and Zofia Pawulska, a musician, who fled the war in Europe that was so sad that “even the birds stopped singing”. They travelled from Krakow, Poland, in 1939, to here “near a great river, in the colourful and inviting city of Montreal”.
It is important to note that Poland has had observer status at the Organisation internationale de la Francophonie since 1985. This interest in our language comes from the close ties between that country and France, both historically, because they have been great allies throughout history, and economically and culturally.
As a result, Poland has a special relationship with Quebec when it comes to language and culture. With nearly a million people who speak our beautiful French language, Poland is promoting the importance of French in the cultural, labour and tourism sectors.
We are therefore pleased to help designate May 3 as Polish constitution day and the month of May as Polish heritage month. Every year, we will celebrate the May 3 national holiday that commemorates the adoption of the Polish constitution on May 3, 1791.
It was on that day that the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth adopted one of Europe's first modern constitutions. Directly inspired by the French Revolution, it introduced free elections. The constitution was shaped by enlightenment and is based on reason, freedom and the rule of law.
By way of comparison, at that same time, in 1792, our ancestors were having their first experience with parliamentary life, with the first election and the meeting of the Parliament of Quebec in what was then known as Lower Canada. Since then, the French Canadian people, later the people of Quebec, have also been in pursuit of their political freedom.
At the time, this constitution was a symbol of hope for the restoration of the country's sovereignty. May 3 has always remained a source of inspiration for the people of Poland in their quest for independence.
It is worth remembering that, as a state, Poland has not had a quiet, peaceful existence. Throughout their long history, Polish men and women have shown unfailing strength and resilience. They fought for their independence for a long time.
Partitioned, occupied, invaded for centuries, then destroyed and ravaged by totalitarian regimes in the 20th century, Poland has been at the heart of conflicts due to its geographical location in Europe. In 1795, it was carved up and annexed by its Austrian, Prussian and Russian neighbours. It was against this backdrop that many of the first Polish migrants arrived in Quebec.
Despite a brief liberation between 1807 and 1815 during Napoleon's conquests, known as the Duchy of Warsaw, when Napoleon fell, the country was annexed once again. It was not until 1918 and the end of the First World War that Poland was again on the world map. However, that was short lived. As we all know, the Poles were the first victims of the Second World War.
When Nazi Germany invaded the country, the inhabitants experienced heavy losses despite their heroism and tenacity. For example, 50 Polish mail carriers defended the post office in the Free City of Danzig against 200 SS and SA troops for hours. The Polish cavalry charged German tanks at Krojanty on horseback. Despite the occupation of their country, Poles fought and resisted. The 1944 Warsaw Uprising is a perfect illustration of that resilience.
By the end of the war in 1945, Poland had experienced very heavy losses. The Nazis had exterminated nearly 90% of the country's Jewish population. Cities like Warsaw were almost entirely destroyed. Resistance was fiercely repressed. Seventeen percent of the pre-war population had been killed. These events led to a wave of pre- and post-war immigration. Refugees fleeing conflicts and anti-Semitism found safe haven in Quebec.
The country was then occupied by the Stalin regime, which once again annexed a portion of its original territory and again forced Poland to live as a vassal state under the Communist regime. It was not until 1989 that the regime withdrew, allowing the emergence of the Republic of Poland as we know it today, based on a semi-presidential system like the one in France.
Throughout all those years of occupation under the yoke of another country, the Constitution became an important symbol in the march toward regaining national sovereignty. For Poles, this charter fanned the hope that one day their vanished state would return.
In closing, I would remind members that we, as Quebeckers, are working hard to achieve our own quest for national independence. Our two nations are similar in so many way: we both lost our independence following a colonial war of conquest, and our two peoples have always resisted the foreign invader.
Every May 3, we celebrate the resilience and commitment of our compatriots of Polish heritage and their fight for independence and sovereignty.
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- Jan/31/24 6:35:46 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I listened to my colleague carefully, and I commend her for her work.
There is something that she did not mention. We are going through one of the worst housing crises in 35 years. The Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation, CMHC, told us today that Canada's vacancy rate is 1.5%. The rate has not been that low since 1988.
The budget mentions housing, but not homelessness. I would like to draw my colleague's attention to the fact that homelessness has increased in Quebec by 44% in the past five years. The housing crisis is wreaking havoc everywhere.
The Liberals' national housing strategy is not working. Today, CMHC gave us more proof of that.
I would like my colleague to tell us what her government is going to do in the next budget. Despite what we had hoped, the last economic update did not say that any funds were set aside for housing.
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- Dec/14/23 12:48:40 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I appreciated my colleague's speech. As everyone knows, the Bloc Québécois is in favour of this bill.
Quebec has had anti-scab legislation since 1977. It is not a new thing. Sometimes we say that we are wasting our time here, constantly waiting for the federal government to take action. Here is another good example of that. Quebec has progressive measures and protects workers' rights, but the federal government is once again dragging its feet and slowing us down.
Earlier, my colleague from Winnipeg North said we should send this bill to committee right away and get it passed fast. I would like to remind my colleague that, in 2021, special legislation was invoked to end the Port of Montreal strike. The Liberal Party introduced that bill with the Conservative Party's support. So much for today's little shenanigans. The Liberals think they are standing with workers and defending workers' rights.
Here is my question: Should we get rid of the 18-month delay as soon as possible once this bill goes to committee?
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- Dec/4/23 2:03:51 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, this year the Rimouski Conservatory of Music is celebrating its 50th anniversary. Since 1973, the conservatory has been kindling and cultivating the spark of music in talented people in the Lower St. Lawrence region. Many of its students have gone on to become locally, nationally and internationally renowned musicians, which speaks to the quality of the instruction that is provided.
Above all, our conservatory is a music school on a human scale, deeply rooted in the artistic and creative vitality of the Lower St. Lawrence. “Anchored in the community” is the theme of the festivities showcasing this fruitful relationship between the conservatory and the region's cultural community.
I want to thank the visionary community builders who gave life to this wonderful venture. I thank the teachers and staff who earnestly carry on this vision. I thank the former and current students who are showing Quebec and the world what the Lower St. Lawrence is made of. Long live the Rimouski Conservatory of Music.
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- Nov/21/23 1:08:46 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I commend my colleague from Vaughan—Woodbridge for his speech.
The purpose of the bill is to ensure efficiency and transparency in air transportation. I want my colleague to understand that my region has practically no air transportation. Air Canada closed its offices in June 2020, at the height of the pandemic. It tried to justify its decision by saying that there was no traffic. All planes were grounded.
I would like my colleague to comment on whether he thinks it is responsible for the federal government to spend billions of dollars subsidizing airlines that do not even provide regional service in many regions of Quebec.
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Madam Speaker, I commend my colleague from Kenora on his speech. We have here a government that is trying to rein in the airlines. I would like to mention a very specific situation that is happening in my region, the Lower St. Lawrence. As of December 4, the Mont-Joli regional airport will no longer be offering any regional flights within the Lower St. Lawrence, nor will it be offering flights to Quebec City, Saint‑Hubert or Montreal. We are isolated. The government has no problem giving billions of dollars in subsidies to Air Canada, but when it comes to finding solutions and requiring airlines to provide services to the regions of Quebec, it does nothing.
In Bill C-52, which is before us today, the government is seeking to increase transparency by requiring airport authorities to publicly disclose information respecting directors and senior management, but that is not what people in the regions need. They need airlines. They are isolated in terms of transportation. It is impossible for them to travel to urban centres. We do not have any trains. As members know, Via Rail is a fiasco. The train comes through twice a week at two o’clock in the morning. That is the service that is provided in my riding. Well done to the federal government on that one. As of June 2020, Air Canada closed its doors and sold all of its assets in the Mont-Joli regional airport.
I would like my colleague from Kenora to tell us what he intends to do if the federal government provides billions of dollars to airlines that are not active in the regions of Quebec.
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Mr. Speaker, I congratulate my enthusiastic colleague. His speeches are always very lively and well researched. It is obvious that he really knows his stuff when it comes to anything related to innovation, especially the people who have expertise in his region, Abitibi—Témiscamingue.
I want to come back to the question asked earlier by my colleague from Montmagny—L'Islet—Kamouraska—Rivière-du-Loup. I was rather confused, even surprised, upon hearing his comments. He has been a member of the Canadian Parliament for a number of years and, all of a sudden, he is worried that having ministers from outside Quebec could put Quebec at a disadvantage, because economic interests could be concentrated outside Quebec. We in the Bloc Québécois have had the answer to this question for a very long time. For us, the only way to truly defend the interests of Quebec is to be independent.
I wonder if my colleague from Abitibi—Témiscamingue could share his thoughts on defending our head offices in Quebec and our economic interests, which are often at odds with the economic interests of the oil and gas sector in the rest of Canada.
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Madam Speaker, my thoughts go out to the Groupe TVA employees and their families following last week's catastrophic loss of 547 jobs. This is a heavy loss for my region, where 24 out of 30 jobs were wiped out. Obviously, we have high hopes that the federal government will be there to support these people. As we proposed yesterday, the Bloc Québécois is calling for a summit as well as a $50‑million emergency fund to support our local media, which are a vital part of our democracy and our communities.
Returning to today's topic and the debate on Bill C-34, I listened carefully to my colleague's speech and one thing jumped out at me. The government tabled this bill so that it could be passed as quickly as possible. However, the Conservatives, who typically advocate for the economy, moved a motion calling for all foreign state-owned companies not belonging to the Five Eyes countries to be excluded from the application of the act, an attempt to slow down foreign investment.
Since 40% of European investment in Canada takes place in Quebec, I want to give the example of Airbus, a French and German state-owned company that, as everyone knows, manufactures airplanes in Mirabel. If the Conservative Party's motion had been adopted in committee, it would have seriously hurt direct foreign investment in Quebec.
I would therefore like my colleague to tell me how she thinks she can block all proposed foreign investments from any country other than the Five Eyes. It is possible to have alliances with democratic states that we can trust.
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Madam Speaker, I think I was rather clear in my speech.
The Conservatives' amendment involved rejecting any projects that do not come from the Five Eyes countries. That would threaten Quebec's economy.
I will give the same example I gave before. Forty percent of Europe's investments in Canada are made in Quebec. That means that a major part of Quebec's economy and all of the foreign investment projects would be automatically at the tipping point.
Once again, I think that, yes, it is possible to find a balance in all this, but we completely disagreed with the Conservative Party's amendment.
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Madam Speaker, it is with great pleasure that I rise today to speak to Bill C‑34 for the second time. This bill amends the Investment Canada Act. It is well intentioned, but there is still a lot of work to do.
The bill reinforces controls and increases the powers of the Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry regarding foreign investments in Canada. As we did at second reading of the bill last winter, Bloc Québécois members will continue to fully support any action aimed at better protecting Quebec's economy and Canada's economy against potentially detrimental foreign interests.
I will get right to the crux of the issue. We are debating today the amendments made by the committee. The bill is back in the House to be debated again, and I am glad that my colleagues on the committee were able to look at this closely and broaden the notion of sensitive sectors to include intellectual property and databases that contain personal information. We all agree that this improvement makes the bill stronger and that we should support it.
We also applaud the committee for rejecting the Conservatives' proposed amendments. Their proposal was intended to label every state-owned enterprise not run by our Five Eyes partners as hostile, which would have threatened Quebec's interests given that 40% of European investments in Canada are made in Quebec.
Let us take the example of Airbus, a French-German state-owned company that manufactures its A220 aircraft in Mirabel in partnership with the Quebec government. This project, which generates economic spin-offs for Quebec and Quebeckers, would have been compromised by the Conservative Party when, in fact, it is a collaboration with democratic and transparent states but, most importantly, with allies.
There is also the question of coordinating with the U.S. system. The proposed new review process essentially mirrors what is being done in the United States. Its adoption is intended to increase our American partners' confidence so that they continue to consider us a reliable and preferred partner within their supply chains. It has to be said that trade with the Americans is very important, and I think this bill is a step in that direction.
In March, when the debates clearly indicated that Bill C-34 enjoyed the support of the House, the United States agreed to include Canada in its critical minerals supply chain, which was very good news. This is a sign that the bill achieved its goal and helped strengthen our partners' trust in us.
Without a doubt, Bill C‑34 adds several useful weapons to our legislative arsenal. However, I must emphasize that these changes are still very incomplete. This is why the Bloc Québécois is asking the government to go much further in scrutinizing foreign investment in general. I am going to explain why.
The bill we are studying covers only those investments that could affect national security. This category of investment is extremely sensitive, and targeting it is justified. However, when we look at the big picture, we see that it represents only a tiny portion of all foreign investment in Canada.
I am going to present a few statistics that will undoubtedly convince my audience. Of the 1,255 investment projects submitted in 2022, only 24 would trigger a review under the new rules proposed in Bill C-34. That is just a grain of sand on a beach. Barely 2% of all investment projects would trigger a security review.
The other 1,221 investments would remain subject to the old rules. These rules provide for a review to determine whether a project is of net economic benefit to Canada. However, a review is only carried out when a project exceeds a certain monetary threshold. That is the problem. I hope the government pays attention to this. Over the years, the threshold at which a review is triggered has increased considerably. Projects are getting bigger and require even more investment.
In the past 10 years alone, investment projects have more than tripled. The consequence of this aberration is that virtually all projects are rubber-stamped without additional review.
Getting back to last year's figures, of the 1,255 projects submitted, only eight were subject to a review under the Investment Canada Act. Eight projects out of a total of 1,255 were submitted for review under the act. That is less than 1%, although the review rate was 10% as recently as 2009. The holes in this safety net have become far too big for it to be effective. The measure might as well not exist; it would not make much difference. That is why we need to go much further.
I would like to draw a parallel with history. In building our future, it is always important to be cognizant of the past, in order to avoid past mistakes and learn from past successes. I would like to share with the House some snippets of history to illustrate why we need to do more to control foreign investment.
Since the Quiet Revolution, the Quebec government has established significant economic and financial levers. These tools have allowed it to pursue a policy of economic nationalism aiming to give Quebeckers better control of their economy. This does not mean that Quebec is closed to foreign investment. We are open to it, of course, because it is a driver of growth and development. However, we believe we must support our own businesses to help them grow and seek to preserve our headquarters, which are significant decision-makers.
I will provide an example. In 1988, Bernard Landry, former premier of Quebec and leader of the Parti Québécois, campaigned to promote the North American Free Trade Agreement, or NAFTA, which was signed with the United States and Mexico in the early 1990s. As we know, Quebec's strategy worked well when we explain economic nationalism and the protection of headquarters in terms of the large subsidiaries worldwide. Banking on the development of these businesses, we saw the growth of many flagships whose headquarters are in Quebec. The presence of these headquarters is significant. Structurally, businesses with headquarters in Quebec tend to create jobs, attract talent, and promote sourcing from local suppliers, creating a virtuous economic cycle. Companies also tend to concentrate their strategic activities, such as scientific research and technological development, where their headquarters are located.
There are also reasons for adopting this legislation. There is no shortage of examples that demonstrate the harmful effects of ill-advised foreign investments on our economy. I will name a few. The loss of decision-making levers and headquarters condemns us to be a subsidiary economy, where foreigners decide for us. Everyone remembers Lowe's acquisition of Rona. Let us also consider the weakening of Montreal's financial position as a leading world financial centre; the total reliance of our businesses on foreign providers and on supply chains that are more vulnerable than ever; the possible land grabs by rich foreigners who have no interest in our social and economic priorities; and the loss of control of our natural resources, which are the greatest wealth our territory has to offer.
The Bloc Québécois strives to be a constructive partner, and as such, it has suggested three types of tangible changes for the government to focus on. The first is to lower the review threshold so that the government has the power to review more investment projects. According to the numbers, it looks at barely 2% or even 1% of certain projects. There is a huge gap to overcome for a bill to be able to ensure better security overall, but also better protection from foreign investments. The second is to pay special attention to strategic sectors of the economy, such as leading-edge sectors, land ownership or control over natural resources. The third is to develop a tighter process for transactions involving control over intellectual property patents. Intellectual property is the knowledge we develop. We need to protect that knowledge, including in the pharmaceutical sector. Some Quebec companies had molecule patents that were then purchased by major pharmaceutical companies and moved overseas.
National security is important, but we must not overlook economic security and long-term prosperity. Let us be clear. This is not about closing the door on foreign investment. Quebec and Canada must remain economically open to the world.
In closing, as Jacques Parizeau wrote in 2001, before China even became a member of the World Trade Organization, “We do not condemn the rising tide; we build levees to protect ourselves”.
Unfortunately, the weakening of the Investment Canada Act has caused those levees to break.
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Mr. Speaker, I would like to ask my colleague this. Why does he not respect the Constitution? Why does he not respect provincial autonomy? Why does he want the federal government to dictate the rules of the game when Quebeckers never asked it to?
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