- Member of Parliament
- Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship
- Liberal
- Ville-Marie—Le Sud-Ouest—Île-des-Soeurs
- Quebec
- Voting Attendance: 66%
- Expenses Last Quarter: $97,404.09
- Government Page
- May/30/24 2:45:04 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, again, he is going to blame immigrants for rising food prices. Come on, we have to be reasonable.
It is clear that Canada is going to play a role, and it must bear some responsibility in all this. That is why we are working closely with Quebec to send asylum seekers to other provinces. There is work to be done at several levels. It is a job I look forward to working on with Ms. Fréchette.
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- May/30/24 2:43:50 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, once again, it appears that the member opposite is asking the question of the wrong legislature.
It should be noted that under the Canada-Quebec agreement, Quebec holds the majority of the power to select francophone immigrants. It has the power and the ability to do so. Considering the $5.2 billion it has received in transfers since 2015, it also has the financial capacity to do it all and without accountability, either.
When it comes to accountability, Quebeckers are the ones who need to demand answers.
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- May/30/24 2:42:42 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, that is precisely what we are doing in the task force with Minister Fréchette and other provincial ministers. The member across the way seems to forget that Bill 101 has been around for a long time. He also seems to forget that we have been transferring $5.2 billion since 2015 to Quebec, without accountability, for francization.
Obviously, if Quebec needs more francophone immigrants, we are here to help.
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- May/28/24 3:01:26 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I think that Quebeckers and Canadians will agree with me that we have taken action by transferring $5.2 billion to Quebec under the Canada-Quebec accord. We are always prepared to do more.
It is also very clear that Canada, like many other countries, is dealing with historic levels of irregular migration, but I believe that we can overcome that challenge, in partnership with the provinces and territories, obviously.
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- May/28/24 3:00:14 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, first of all, I would like to highlight the Bloc Québécois member's passion for immigration. Obviously, when we talk about a willingness to take in newcomers, we are entitled to wonder why, for example, PRAIDA, Quebec's regional program for the settlement and integration of asylum seekers, has not increased its capacity for several years.
Obviously, this responsibility is shared between Quebec and Canada. That is what we are doing. We announced weeks ago that we were going to do it. We expect to see results, but it is a positive development in our relationship.
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- May/27/24 2:27:41 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the Bloc Québécois is confusing capacity and willingness to integrate newcomers. What I said very clearly to my Quebec counterpart was that we would work together to distribute asylum seekers across the country. Ontario and Quebec have an excessive burden in terms of the number of asylum seekers relative to their population. We need the rest of the country to follow suit.
That is what we are going to do.
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- May/21/24 2:50:23 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the status quo is the Bloc Québécois doing nothing for 30 years, while we make $5.2 billion available to Quebec for French language training, with clear results.
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- May/21/24 2:49:19 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, what we do not invite at these meetings is bickering.
Working together is very important to us. For once, Quebec fully agreed with the news release we issued.
In terms of French language training, we have given Quebec $5.2 billion since 2015. We are committed. We want to ensure, once again, that French, the common language, is strengthened in Quebec.
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- May/21/24 2:48:05 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, if he is criticizing the working group, perhaps he should direct his criticism at the Government of Quebec, because it was the Government of Quebec's idea. We were happy to work with the other provinces and agree to it. That is very important.
The member was not at the meeting eight days ago, but we issued a unanimous news release announcing that we agreed to work together, better coordinate our efforts and do better, because we know that the way we welcome asylum seekers has to be properly coordinated. That is something we can do, as a country, with all the provinces.
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- Apr/30/24 2:53:31 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, what is very clear is that we will be there for Quebec to do more more to support the French fact in Quebec. We have contributed $54 billion since 2015. That is a lot of money.
I have a question for the member opposite. If he thinks that we should accept more asylum seekers from Haiti, would he be willing for Quebec to take in more?
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- Apr/30/24 2:52:21 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, sometimes I wonder if the Bloc Québécois is confusing the willingness and the ability to take in asylum seekers.
What is clear is that Quebec is doing more than its fair share. However, 54% is an exaggeration. If we look at all the humanitarian streams that Quebec covers, the figure comes down to 24% or 25%. Yes, Quebec is doing more. Clearly, it needs to do more concerted work with the Canadian government, but it will take this partnership between Canada and Quebec that we have and that we will continue to work on.
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- Apr/30/24 2:46:24 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, obviously we want to support French integration. We have provided $5.4 billion to Quebec since 2015, specifically for French integration classes in Quebec, and it is working well.
I know that the Bloc Québécois is perceived as a bickering machine, but I would like to acknowledge the contribution of the member opposite, who campaigned to ensure that spouses, partners, people who come here to study nursing will be able to stay here. This will increase the number of people who are here temporarily, but that is the good work we can do because the Quebec government demanded it.
We also worked with the Bloc Québécois to strengthen the health care system in Quebec.
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- Apr/29/24 2:42:53 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, first I will address the mistake the member made. He said it takes two years to get a work permit. It actually takes three months. Clearly, we can do more, but we need to be factual in the House of Commons.
If I am hearing the member correctly, I understand that he is going to support our budget, which puts billions of dollars on the table for the provinces, for housing in particular.
As for asylum seekers and how we should be welcoming them as a country, I think we can do better, but Quebec and Canada will need to work together.
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- Apr/15/24 3:01:25 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, we should not even try to understand. One minute he wants interference, the next he does not.
The member did not answer my question. I wonder if he stands with his party leader, the Bloc Québécois leader, who is irresponsibly calling for a freeze on temporary immigration to Quebec. That is totally irresponsible.
They should talk to the farmers and those who work in the fisheries in their own rural ridings. They will see what is really going on. They will hear what people really think, and they do not want a freeze on immigration to Quebec.
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- Apr/15/24 3:00:09 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, we are indeed in the process of expediting the permits that will be granted to asylum seekers.
I have a question for the member for Lac-Saint-Jean. Does he agree with his party leader, in other words, the leader of the Parti Québécois, who wants to freeze immigration? Does he realize what that means in rural ridings like Lac-Saint-Jean? It means no more fishing, no more Quebec agriculture, nothing, not even wind turbines.
It takes responsible people in power. We need to have a responsible discussion about reducing the number of immigrants temporarily, but let us do it responsibly.
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- Apr/11/24 2:40:23 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, obviously, no country in the world would hand over all its powers to someone else. I agreed with Minister Fréchette that we would exercise our respective responsibilities in our areas of jurisdiction in order to serve Quebeckers effectively. That is what I intend to do. That is what the minister intends to do as well.
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- Apr/11/24 2:39:27 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, what I agreed on with Minister Fréchette, when I met with her two weeks ago, was that we would exercise our full powers in our respective areas of jurisdiction under the Canada-Quebec agreement, in a reasonable and reasoned manner. This is what I intend to do with her in the months to come.
Canadians and Quebeckers will be well served as a result.
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- Apr/9/24 3:00:42 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I thank the hon. member for his excellent question.
Obviously, we all want a successful fishing season, whether in Quebec or Canada, as these fisheries depend on Mexican visas that are now required to be stamped in Mexico.
We are working around the clock, seven days a week, to make sure that this stamping is done on time. We will get it done. We will keep at it. We are not out of the woods yet, but I am hopeful, knowing how hard the teams are working on this.
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- Apr/8/24 2:56:49 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, what the member opposite refuses to acknowledge is that we have a good relationship with the Government of Quebec. I even visited Minister Fréchette two weeks ago to discuss our shared issues and find common ground. We have agreed to work together on reducing the number of people who are here temporarily, but we need to do it the right way.
I look forward to doing so, not only with Quebec, but with all the other provinces and territories across the country.
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- Mar/21/24 2:41:46 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I know the hon. member does not follow what is going on in the rest of Canada very closely, but I want to point out that, with the Ontario government's collaboration, we have been able to speed up applications, and permits have been granted. That is what we told the Quebec government. We are certainly willing to work with Quebec to speed up access to work permits. We can do more. We will take the criticism for what it is worth, but it is very clear that we can do better.
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