- Member of Parliament
- Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry
- Liberal
- Saint-Maurice—Champlain
- Quebec
- Voting Attendance: 62%
- Expenses Last Quarter: $108,626.98
- Government Page
Mr. Speaker, the hon. member and members of the House will have an opportunity to do something for Canadians. I have asked the Leader of the Opposition to do one thing for Canadians, which is something that he does not do very often, but that one thing is to vote for Bill C-56. Canadians will be happy to learn that Bill C-56 would reform competition by giving more power to the competition commissioner, removing the mergers that are harmful to competition and removing the clauses that are hurting competition.
We want more competition and lower prices in this country.
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- Apr/24/23 3:07:39 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, we will take no lessons from the Conservatives. They do not even ask me about Volkswagen; however, the Conservatives are the ones who let the auto sector down in 2011. They let the good people of St. Thomas and southwestern Ontario down. They let 8,000 workers down in 2011 in St. Thomas.
One thing Canadians saw last Friday is that we invest in people, we invest in our workers and we invest in Canada. That is what confident nations are doing.
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- Apr/24/23 3:06:54 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, Canadians who are watching at home know the Conservatives. They know that they are good at bringing up all these conspiracy theories. We have heard an hour of them today.
However, one thing they know is that they can trust the government to have their back. That is exactly what we have done. They told us that they wanted more competition and prices to come down for Canadians. The way to do that is to have a fourth national player—
Some hon. members: Oh, oh!
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- Apr/24/23 3:05:35 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I think my colleague is somehow missing the point. It is Canadians who are winning.
I so wish, for those watching at home, that the Conservatives would listen to people. Canadians have asked us to do one thing, to bring prices down in telcos. The way to do that in Canada is through more competition with a fourth national player. We have imposed the longest series of conditions in Canada's history to make sure that the telcos will deliver for Canadians as Canadians expect in their everyday lives.
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- Apr/24/23 2:49:41 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, let me provide a bit of background for the member. Actually, we denied the transfer of licence from Shaw to Rogers. This government stood up to big telco. We put 21 conditions in place. This has never been done in Canada's history. Does anyone know why? It is because Canadians have asked us to bring prices down. That is what we did. The way to get access to competition is to have a fourth national player.
Canadians know which side we stand on: We stand on their side.
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- Apr/24/23 2:48:23 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the one important issue for Canadians is to bring costs down. That is what we did in the last iteration that he is talking about. The way to bring costs down in Canada is to have more competition. The way to have more competition is to have a fourth national player. That is what we delivered for Canadians. We are always going to stand up for Canadians to make sure that prices go down in this country.
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- Feb/17/23 11:47:08 a.m.
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Mr. Speaker, it is a bit rich to hear from the NDP that, because I am fighting for Canadians, I am not defending them. That is exactly why I am saying I will render a decision in due course. I have said all along that the only thing that matters is to fight to bring prices down. The way we have achieved that in Canada is through competition, to have a strong fourth national player.
Canadians know that the time I am taking is time I am taking to fight for them. I will continue to do that.
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- Feb/14/23 2:29:13 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for his important question.
As my colleague knows and as Canadians tuning in today will be aware, we issued a new direction to the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission yesterday, asking the CRTC to adopt policies to lower prices in Canada and increase competition.
I have been very vocal about this: It is in everyone's best interest to bring prices down and make sure there is competition. The best way to do that in Canada is to have a fourth national player.
Canadians watching us know this. We will always be there to protect consumer interests.
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- Feb/14/23 2:28:03 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, it is very simple. We stand on the side of Canadians.
That is why, yesterday, my hon. colleague was saying we should direct it to the CRTC to lower prices for Canadians and bring more competition into the sector. The member knows, as I have said before, what matters for me is to bring down prices and bring in competition, and the best way we have done that in this country is to have a fourth national player. We will always act in the best interests of consumers in Canada.
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- Feb/13/23 2:29:16 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, with all due respect, I will not take lessons from colleagues when it comes to fighting for Canadians. We do that every day on this side of the House. We understand that the best way we can do that is by making sure that we lower the price of cellphone bills in Canada, that we have more competition and that we have a fourth national player.
It is Monday today. Canadians watching at home know we stand on their side and will do everything to protect their rights by making sure the cellphone bill prices come down in Canada.
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- Feb/13/23 2:28:14 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for his excellent question. We will always side with Canadians. That is exactly what I said, because the goal is to lower prices in Canada. The best way to do that is with competition and with a fourth major player across Canada. I have already rejected the transfer of licences from Shaw and Rogers. As I indicated, I will be looking at the ruling by the Federal Court of Appeal in the interest of Canadians.
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- Oct/27/22 3:07:51 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, that answer is very simple. Every single day, that is exactly what I did. He is a member for whom I have enormous respect, but I would bring him back to this statement. We actually blocked the merger of Shaw and Rogers. I denied the licence. Maybe he missed that part of the statement.
In addition to that, we said we supported the work of the Competition Bureau and, should it allow the merger to happen, we would impose additional conditions. We said it would have to keep the licence for at least 10 years and the lower prices in Quebec, about 20% lower, would have to be applied in Ontario and western Canada. We will stand on the side of Canadians every single day.
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- Jun/10/22 11:29:41 a.m.
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Mr. Speaker, affordability, affordability, affordability: That is what is driving our government policy, and my colleague knows that very well.
My position has been made very clear. I have said I would not allow the wholesale transfer of licences from Shaw to Rogers. The matter is now under review by the Competition Bureau, and it is going to be looked at by the CRTC. I can assure the member that every step of the way we will make sure that Canadians continue to enjoy the affordability that they deserve, but at the same time that we foster competition across the nation.
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- May/17/22 3:12:07 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, accountability is on this side. I have been very clear to Canadians that affordability is central in my decision. I have even said publicly that under no circumstances will I allow the wholesale transfer of licences from Rogers to Shaw.
This is an experienced member of the House. He knows that in addition to my department, the CRTC needs to make a decision, as does the Competition Bureau. Affordability is key to Canadians. That is what we will defend.
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- Feb/1/22 2:55:17 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, let us bring some facts into this discussion. Last week I was clear to Canadians and to the committee that, when it comes to the Neo Lithium transaction, this transaction was subject to a full national security review involving all the relevant departments of the government and all the intelligence and security agencies.
In addition, it was subject to scrutiny in accordance with the guidelines I put into place in March. We should not mislead the House when it comes to issues of national security.
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