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Claude DeBellefeuille

Member of Parliament
Whip of the Bloc Québécois Member of the Board of Internal Economy
Bloc Québécois

Salaberry—Suroît
Quebec
Voting Attendance: 67%
Expenses Last Quarter: $109,425.78

Government Page

Mrs. Claude DeBellefeuille (Salaberry—Suroît, BQ)

Dec/6/23 2:09:04 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, we have a duty to remember the Polytechnique tragedy out of respect for the victims and their loved ones and to make sure that it never happens again. Since 14 women were slaughtered in 1989 by a fanatical misogynist, every year we say, “never again”. Nevertheless, we are seeing an ever-increasing number of femicides every year. We have an obligation to find a solution to put an end to this downward spiral. We owe it to Geneviève Bergeron, Hélène Colgan, Nathalie Croteau, Barbara Daigneault, Anne-Marie Edward, Maud Haviernick, Barbara Klucznik-Widajewicz, Maryse Laganière, Maryse Leclair, Anne-Marie Lemay, Sonia Pelletier, Michèle Richard, Annie St-Arneault and Annie Turcotte. Thirty-four years later, now more than ever, we say, “never again”.

138 words

Context: House Hansard - 206 - Jun/5/23

Mrs. Claude DeBellefeuille

Jun/5/23 9:00:55 p.m.
Watch
Re: Bill C-47

Madam Speaker, at my advanced age, it is more difficult to concentrate when there is background noise that seems to be coming from the great beyond. What I was saying is that, basically, what is missing from this budget is real support for seniors. As my Bloc Québécois colleagues have said many times, there are two classes of seniors. In Quebec and Canada, there are seniors between the ages of 65 and 74 and those aged 75 and up. Seniors aged 75 and up received an increase in their old age security, whereas those between the ages of 65 and 74 got nothing. Quite frankly, I am not sure whether my colleagues are aware that a person whose sole income is the old age security pension and the guaranteed income supplement does not even get enough money a month to pay for decent housing, cover all the rent-related costs and still manage to have a decent and reasonable life. It is rather shameful that a G7 country is unable to take better care of those who built Quebec and contributed to its development. We must give them what they need to live and die in a dignified way. Roughly 22% of the people in Salaberry—Suroît are seniors 65 and over. Earlier, before the technical problems, I was saying that I attend all the events in my riding, and seniors talk to me and tell me about their problems. They cannot grasp the government's lack of understanding and the fact it does not give them more support in meeting their monthly obligations. If a senior needs home care or to buy services, go to a private seniors residence and pay for services to support their loss of autonomy, quite honestly, that person has to ask for help from the Quebec government, from their province, because what they receive in old age security benefits is not enough to meet their needs. In this budget there is a serious lack of consideration and esteem for our seniors, those who built the society we have today. There is another important thing missing. I am sure that people are affected by this. There is nothing about employment insurance reform. The member for Thérèse-De Blainville has often said that it is high time that old legislation were modernized. The minister has made some promises over the years. Recently, we believed we could start working on the reform because the minister went to the trouble of holding consultations. Unfortunately, the Bloc Québécois and our partners who support workers were utterly disappointed. There is no EI reform and no major change to the Employment Insurance Act to face the new realities of the labour market and secure better coverage. In closing, I know that my time is up. Madam Speaker, I hope you gave me the time I lost because of the audio issues during my speech. I imagine you did. I will conclude by saying that what is important to the Bloc Québécois is to vote for a budget that is really useful and serves Quebec's interests. At present, that is not what we have before us. Therefore, the Bloc Québécois will vote against the budget and, consequently, against Bill C‑47.

564 words

Context: House Hansard - 58 - Apr/26/22

Mrs. Claude DeBellefeuille (Salaberry—Suroît, BQ)

Apr/26/22 4:34:27 p.m.
Watch

Madam Speaker, I thank my colleague for her beautiful speech. I know she cares about the most vulnerable people in our society.. I wanted to remind her that there is a large organization in Quebec called the Fédération de l'âge d'or du Québec, which brings together all people aged 55 and over, and that means 500,000 people. The FADOQ has asked the government to increase old age security payments for people aged 65 and over. The current government plans to increase it for people aged 75 and over. Can my colleague explain whether she agrees with the need to increase the old age security pension for seniors aged 65 and over? Why does she think there is absolutely no mention of this in the budget?

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Whip of the Bloc Québécois Member of the Board of Internal Economy

Claude DeBellefeuille