44th Parl. 1st Sess.
February 1, 2022 10:00AM
- Feb/1/22 11:45:22 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, to listen to my colleague, the Parliamentary Secretary to the Leader of the Government in the House of Commons, one would think that everything is fine and that the Liberal government is doing a perfect job. In fact, things seem to be going so well that I have to wonder why the Nobel Foundation has not yet considered awarding all of this year's Nobel prizes to the Liberal government in power.
Earlier, I heard my colleague talk about how well businesses are doing in Manitoba, and I am very happy to hear that. It is encouraging.
In Quebec, on the other hand, we are experiencing a horrendous labour shortage and having a hard time finding workers. In addition, businesses are facing enormous hurdles when they go to hire foreign workers to fill positions. The backlogs keep piling up, and these businesses are being penalized by this government's neglect and complacency, especially when it comes to immigration.
I also heard my colleague mention consensus. The Quebec and provincial premiers have reached a consensus on health transfers. They are all calling for an increase in transfers to cover up to 35% of expenditures. The current issue that health care systems are facing is a lack of funding. The federal government is not paying its fair share and instead wants to interfere with health care management, which is a provincial jurisdiction.
When will the government realize that? I look forward to hearing what my colleague has to say about that.
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- Feb/1/22 1:53:26 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, in his speech, my colleague talked about the frustration being displayed on Parliament Hill since the weekend and as this session began. Many Canadians and Quebeckers are equally frustrated with the public health measures, which are affecting our daily lives and our activities. I am well aware that many people are anxious for these measures to be lifted.
However, I would like to ask my colleague if he has visited a health care facility, hospital, long‑term care home or medical facility in general to check in on the staff and see how they are doing. There is a staffing shortage. These people are burning out. They are exhausted, and they are asking for the measures to be maintained to help them get through the pandemic crisis.
We are going to need our health care workers after the crisis. We need to take care of them now.
I would like to hear my colleague's comments on this.
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- Feb/1/22 2:17:58 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, today is the first day of Black History Month, and the theme, “Honor the past, inspire the future”, is well chosen. The best way to honour the past is to raise awareness and salute Black communities for the indisputable contributions they have made to the history, culture, and social, economic and political life of Quebec, Canada, North America and the world.
This is always a good opportunity to look to the future and reflect together on a society and a Quebec that are more egalitarian, more united and free from prejudice, but it is also an opportunity to celebrate. That is why I am inviting all Quebeckers to check out the wealth of online programming on offer for Black History Month.
Talks and panel discussions will be happening all month, with the closing event, the Gala Dynastie, taking place on March 5. I also invite the public to look into local Black History Month events being held throughout Quebec, from Gatineau to the Lower St. Lawrence.
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- Feb/1/22 3:34:32 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I congratulate my colleague opposite for his two-part speech. I was present for the first part, and we just heard the follow-up. I commend him for his patience and congratulate him on his speech in general.
Since the subject of slavery and forced labour came up, I would like to hear his thoughts on the Olympic Games set to begin in Beijing this weekend and on the fact that genocide is being committed against the Uighur community. We cannot ignore that; we cannot sweep it under the rug.
There were proposals to relocate, postpone or delay the games, not necessarily cancel them. However, given the forced labour issue and the ongoing genocide in China, I would like to hear my colleague's opinion on the fact that the Olympic Games are being held in Beijing this year.
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- Feb/1/22 6:08:41 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I thank my colleague from Trois-Rivières for agreeing to share his time with me. I would have listened to him for another half hour because of his eloquence and rich vocabulary, as my colleague from Berthier—Maskinongé mentioned.
I would like to begin this first speech of 2022 by acknowledging the members of my constituency team, who are listening right now because I asked them to prepare this address in reply to the Speech from the Throne. I would therefore like to thank Andrée‑Anne, Marie-Christine, Marika, Jacinthe and Mélissa because they really work hard. I am convinced that is the case in all the ridings represented by my colleagues in the House of Commons. We work very hard to address the very moving and personally difficult requests from our constituents.
Some people find themselves in difficult situations. I have to admit that there is a lot of frustration that builds up when we see the lack of support and organization in the services provided by certain departments.
This evening, we will speak to the Speech from the Throne. Not surprisingly, no one is holding their breath about the result of the vote. We have already announced our intentions. However, I find that this is a good time to point out some troubling issues that the current government should have addressed as a top priority.
I want to start by talking about employment insurance reform. Things have gotten worse now, but in 2021, 300,000 applications were not processed on time. Some of these applications have yet to be processed, and it is now February. The normal processing time is 28 days, but that target is rarely met these days.
People are going without income for several weeks. Dozens of cases were referred to the Drummond food bank. These fathers and mothers who were earning an honest living are now in extremely precarious situations.
We hear heartbreaking stories every week. Not too long ago, when I was first elected in 2019, it was rare to hear such emotional stories. Now it is commonplace. We have almost become accustomed, but we never will, thank God, because we are compassionate, caring people. This type of situation has unfortunately become so common that it is now a regular part of our work day.
Take Mr. Picard, for example. He has five children and has been waiting for EI since the end of November. His file is being processed. When he inquires, he is told that his file is being processed and that they are verifying some information. The system is working, but it is just a matter of speeding up the process and making this department a little more efficient.
Now, let us talk about immigration. I do not know how many times we have talked about it. I do not even know where to begin anymore. Yesterday, according to an article published in La Presse and an English-only press briefing by the Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship, it was announced that the government should be back on track by the end of the year, after COVID-19 caused a significant backlog in processing applications. In 2019, there was already a significant backlog of immigration applications. COVID-19 is starting to become an excuse for everything.
It might almost be better to tear down the Department of Citizenship and Immigration and rebuild it from scratch. Some delays date back to well before 2019 and long before COVID-19. The government previously announced that it would spend $85 million in 2022–23 to process the backlog, yet there are now 1.8 million pending applications.
I could tell the House about many heartbreaking cases. I would like to talk about Ms. Dupont, a woman in my riding who I have spoken to a few times. She obtained permanent resident status in June 2021, but she never received the documents. It is now February 2022. Ms. Dupont dealt with the pain of losing her father, who became ill in the fall. She was told that she should not travel because there was a good chance she would not be allowed back into the country without her documents. Ms. Dupont was unable to get to her father's bedside, and he passed away without getting to see his daughter and grandchildren in the fall.
Over the holidays, Ms. Dupont found out that her father-in-law had stage 4 cancer. Because she still has not received her permanent resident card, she cannot take her family to France to be with her father-in-law during his final days. The department could maybe do with a little more sensitivity. It might be time to work on that.
From family reunification cases to businesses looking for temporary foreign workers to help them get through the pandemic, there are dozens of cases like these every week, not just in the riding of Drummond but in every riding represented by my colleagues here.
We were hoping for something concrete for culture in the throne speech. Web giants have been stealing ad revenue from our media outlets and content creators for too long. We are expecting the new broadcasting bill to be introduced this week, and I call on all my House of Commons colleagues to get it passed quickly. Our culture, our content creators and our media are at the breaking point. They have been waiting years for an updated Broadcasting Act. We will be getting a look at the new bill this week, and we must pass it quickly to restore balance to Canada's broadcasting system.
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