- 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
- Apr/16/24 2:29:28 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, he is mistaken. That is the simple answer.
He seems to have a memory problem. We presented the biggest competition reform in the country with our NDP colleagues. Unfortunately, we know that the Conservatives were against it, but we moved forward anyway because we know that the best way to ensure price stability and affordability in Canada is to have more competition. More competition means more choice and better prices. That is why we are going to continue to fight every day to ensure that Canadians have a good quality of life.
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- Apr/15/24 2:33:29 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank the leader of the NDP for supporting us when we launched the biggest competition reform the country has ever seen. Canadians watching us at home know that the best way to stabilize prices in Canada is to have more competition across the country. That is exactly what we have done.
If he wants to help Canadians, families and young people, why not join us in supporting a nationwide code of conduct? On this side of the House, we will continue to work for young families, Canadians and consumers across the country.
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- Apr/15/24 2:32:11 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank the leader of the NDP for bringing a very important question on this file, but it seems that he is missing a part. He was with us in order to make the largest reform on competition in this country. In fact, thanks to this work and the help of the NDP and our government, we have brought in the largest reform on competition in our nation's history.
There is one thing, if he wants to help consumers. Why does he not work with us to make sure that we have a grocery code of conduct across the nation, to help consumers, to help families and to help young kids? The New Democrats can do something. We are waiting for it.
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- Apr/10/24 2:52:12 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, my colleague will admit that we are investing precisely to help the most vulnerable Canadians across the country. We are also investing in child care and in housing.
Moreover, my colleague knows full well that the best way to stabilize grocery prices in this country is to have more competition. That is exactly what we have done with the biggest competition reform since the law was passed.
Everyone in the House wants to help Canadians. That is exactly what we are doing and what we will continue to do.
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- Feb/27/24 2:59:42 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, what Canadians are seeing on television is a Conservative Party that opposes all of the measures. They have consistently voted against every measure we have introduced to help Canadians. What did the Conservatives do? They voted against competition reform, one of the most important reforms in the country.
I want to ask them a question. People are watching them at home. Will they vote for our bill to allow more competition reforms in the country, more choice for consumers and better prices?
It is time they did something for Canadians.
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- Feb/27/24 2:26:25 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, one thing Canadians know is that the Leader of the Opposition's preferred verb is “cut”. We all know he would be cutting.
When we look at the record on both sides, let me tell the House what we have done in the last few months to fight for Canadians. We have launched the largest reform on competition in this nation's history. We have made sure that we have a functioning consumer affairs bureau. We have made sure that we now have in this country more measures to fight for Canadians.
Every member of this House should be fighting for Canadians. The question is, will the Conservatives fight for Canadians with us?
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- Feb/9/24 11:37:33 a.m.
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Mr. Speaker, it is obvious to us, and I hope it is obvious to Canadians, that what they are talking about is nonsense. Sylvain Charlebois is working with us in order to make sure we take the right steps to bring stability to prices of food in Canada. The first thing that was asked from us was to reform competition. That is what we have done through a landmark bill we passed in December, and we are going to do more. Now we have subpoena power for the Competition Bureau. We removed the restrictive covenant in leases.
We are going to fight for consumers every step of the way, and we have nothing to learn from these guys.
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- Feb/9/24 11:29:58 a.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I am a bit confused by the question because, in fact, we are the ones pushing the grocery industry to do more for Canadians, and I welcome the help of the NDP. Not only did we do that in our last reform of the competition legislation but we also included amendments proposed by the NDP.
We want to do more. We, as well as all the experts, understand that the best way to have more options, to stabilize prices and to make sure we have a more competitive environment is to reform our competition law. That is exactly what we are doing, and we thank the NDP for its help.
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- Feb/8/24 2:30:23 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, my colleague should be happy, because we have listened to what the NDP have to propose. A lot of what has been proposed by the leader of the NDP has already been included in our bill to reform competition in the country.
One thing we should do is work together. The bill that was presented yesterday will go to committee. We will listen to experts. We will listen to recommendations.
One thing Canadians should know is that we have their back and we will fight for them to bring stabilization in grocery prices.
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- Feb/8/24 2:29:12 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for his question, but I do not understand exactly where he is going with it.
He should be proud and happy. We included many of the NDP leader's recommendations in our three-pronged approach to competition reform. He should be happy that we are working together to increase competition in this country. All the experts say that more choice and more competition will help stabilize prices.
He should rise in the House to thank us for working together because we do so for the sake of Canadian consumers.
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- Dec/1/23 11:29:01 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, I will not take the “little” meeting personally. I am sure he was not referring to me when he said that. In fact, it was a big meeting. It was the first time in Canada's history that we had the five largest grocers in Canada. What I did was express the frustration of 40 million Canadians. I welcome my colleague to express his own frustration.
Together, we are going to stabilize prices. One of the tools we presented that would make a difference is a reform on competition. That is the best way to stabilize prices. We are really committed, and I hope every member of the House will vote in favour.
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Mr. Speaker, I am not going to resort to rhetoric like my colleague. One thing is clear, however: I will always stand up for the millions of Canadians out there. That is exactly what I did.
For the first time in history, a minister called industry giants to a meeting, told them that 40 million Canadians were outraged and asked them to help us stabilize prices.
If my colleague wants to do something for Canadians between now and Christmas, if he wants to give them a Christmas gift, he should convince his colleagues to vote for Bill C‑56. We are going to reform competition and stabilize prices in Canada, and we are going to keep fighting for Canadians.
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- Nov/23/23 11:08:54 a.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I am sure the member would agree that there is one way to help everyone in Canada. If we look at countries around the world, the best way to stabilize prices, reduce consolidation and have lower prices is through competition. Everyone would agree that this is the best way to make sure we help Canadians, and the bill would do exactly that.
The last time anyone touched the legislation was 37 years ago. We are presenting the most important reform in competition. Why are we doing that? It is because we want to have more tools in the tool box so we can act. We want to help Canadians from coast to coast to coast. Those at home understand, as they have seen time and time again, that the best way for us as parliamentarians, collectively, to do something meaningful and concrete is to increase competition in this country.
I am sure my colleague would agree with that, because I know her and I know she cares about the people in her riding and about Canadians. They are watching today. I am sure they would say she will do the right thing, that she will convince the Conservative caucus and say, “Yes, we are going to do something for Canada; yes, we are going to do something for consumers; and yes, we are going to do something for competition.” They will be watching.
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Mr. Speaker, this is the reality for many Canadians. One thing we have seen across many nations is that the best way to bring affordability and stabilize prices is through competition. Bill C-56 would do something that has not been done in about 37 years in our country. It would reform the Competition Act in ways that are very clear.
The bill would give more power to the competition authority, for example, when it does a market study. The last market study was done on groceries. Can we imagine having an authority with no subpoena power? That has not been seen in any other G7 country. Now we are going to fix that. Another thing it would do is ensure that anti-competitive mergers can be blocked. We have seen, time and time again, that we have restricted competition. Lastly, Bill C-56 would remove restrictive covenants that we can currently find in leases. We have seen in the member's riding, as in my own, a grocer in one shopping centre. Today, there are some restrictive clauses in leases that would prevent an independent grocer from going and competing with them. We need to put a stop to that.
Canadians watching at home are trusting us to do the right thing for them. The only reason we are here is to serve the people at home. They sent us here to do something. We are committed to doing that.
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Mr. Speaker, with all due respect for the member for Abitibi—Témiscamingue, that is exactly what we are doing. There have been five days of debate, which adds up to 20 hours. I am listening to the member, and I hear him. He says we must act, and that is exactly what we are trying to do. I hope the Bloc Québécois will be with us.
My colleagues need to remember that there were 120 days of consultations on competition, including five round tables and 400 submissions. Nearly 120 organizations filed submissions. We consulted all the stakeholders. Today, we are asking the House to move forward.
Canadians also agree with the member. They want us to forge ahead. We expect the Bloc Québécois to vote in favour of Bill C-56. That way, we will be able to push forward and reform the Competition Act, which has not been updated in 37 years.
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Mr. Speaker, we did even more than that. For the first time in Canada's history, we called all the CEOs to come to Ottawa to tell them one thing. We expressed the frustration of 40 million Canadians, and we expect everyone to do their part, including signing the grocery code of conduct to help stabilize prices in Canada.
However, there is one thing that the members on the other side can do to help Canadians, which is to vote for Bill C-56 so we can reform competition and ensure that we have more competition in this country. Why will they not act?
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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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- Sep/21/23 3:04:33 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, first of all, I would like to thank my colleague for her question, because she spoke from the heart and shared what all Canadians are feeling. That is exactly what we have done. Today, after convening the CEOs of the major grocery chains to Ottawa to express the frustration of millions of Canadians, we, the Liberal government, introduced an historic bill to tackle inflation and affordability.
We will reform the Competition Act, something that has been needed for decades. We will give new powers to the commissioner of competition. We will eliminate mergers that go against the rules of competition, we will tackle deals that prevent small grocery stores from setting up shop—
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- Sep/21/23 3:02:41 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, it surprises me to hear my colleague present the facts that way. Instead, he should be focusing on the fact that today, the government is presenting legislation to reform Canada's Competition Act. We want less consolidation and more competition to lower prices. That is the way to make things right.
I am disappointed to hear my colleague ask this kind of question rather than inform Canadians at home that today, the Liberal government and the Liberal caucus tabled an historic bill to help Canadians in times like these.
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- Sep/21/23 2:39:37 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I have a great deal of respect for my colleague from Charlesbourg—Haute-Saint-Charles.
He was talking about today's news. I am sure that he saw the news that we introduced the act to amend the Excise Tax Act and the Competition Act, which will do three things for people in his riding. First, we will deal with the issue of competition in Canada, the first reform in decades, which will bring about less consolidation and more competition at lower prices. Second, we will reduce the GST on housing. Third, we will extend loans for small businesses.
When my colleague reads the news, he should read all of it because that will help the people of Charlesbourg—Haute-Saint-Charles and Quebec.
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