44th Parl. 1st Sess.
May 9, 2023 10:00AM
- May/9/23 12:38:18 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, foreign interference in nothing new. Let me provide a quick run-down. First there was the contract for embassy equipment awarded to Nuctech, a Chinese company. Next we have the telecommunications contract for border services and protections for the Prime Minister awarded to a company using products from Hytera, a Chinese company. Then we have the Trudeau Foundation, the National Microbiology Laboratory in Winnipeg and the illegal police stations. Let us not forget the delayed release of the two Michaels and the threats to an MP and his family.
How many so-called coincidences will it take for this government to understand that Chinese interference is real, and that an independent public commission of inquiry is absolutely critical? When will this government finally take action to send a clear message to the Chinese government that Quebec and Canada are not for sale?
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- May/9/23 2:24:36 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, let us talk about interference. What interference are we talking about specifically? Are we talking about China's interference in Canada or McKinsey's interference in Canada?
McKinsey is behind the proposal to increase Canada's population to 100 million by the end of the century. The Prime Minister surely must have held consultations about such an extraordinarily important initiative. I would like to know what Quebec said when he consulted it about having a population of 100 million, or 500,000 more people a year, unless he did not talk to Quebec.
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- May/9/23 2:25:16 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, our country's linguistic duality is an asset that we must protect. In that regard, Quebec establishes its own immigration targets, and it has the exclusive power to select the majority of its immigrants.
For our part, we firmly believe that we can grow our economy while protecting the French culture and language. We will continue to be there to defend Quebec's interests and to promote the importance of the French language across Canada.
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- May/9/23 2:25:48 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I ask the Prime Minister a question and he replies by reading a Heritage Minute.
Quebec would have to take in 110,000 more people per year, but it cannot afford to do that because of the cost of services. Of course, it cannot do it because of the need to integrate immigrants in French. McKinsey did not take into account the specific reality of Quebec or the French language. Dominic Barton said as much in committee.
The Prime Minister is francophone himself. Why is he not taking Quebec's reality into account?
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- May/9/23 2:26:23 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, we will always take Quebec's specificity into account. I get it. That is why we were the first federal government to recognize that not only do we need to protect both official languages across the country, but we also need to pay particular attention to this issue in order to continue to protect French in Quebec.
The decision on federal immigration levels was made independently. It is based on advice from departmental officials, organizations, stakeholders, provincial and territorial leaders and citizens from across Canada to determine the best immigration policy for Canada.
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- May/9/23 2:39:05 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the minister brags about 4% of immigrants outside Quebec being francophone, but according to francophone and Acadian communities, they need 12% next year and 20% in the future just to slow the decline of French.
Quebec's Minister of the French Language calls it the most hare-brained idea of the century. He says it is not good for Quebec or for the Canadian francophonie.
Will the minister commit to not tripling the Canadian population to 100 million by 2100?
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- May/9/23 2:40:19 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, we are in the midst of a housing crisis.
It is virtually impossible for people in Quebec to find affordable housing. Three weeks ago, the National Housing Council stated that, although the federal government has built 115,000 units, Canada has lost a jaw-dropping 550,000 affordable housing units over the past 10 years. We are moving backward, not forward. For every new affordable housing unit, we lose five.
Before any talk about tripling the population, is there a single MP on the government side who has thought about where all those people are going to live?
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- May/9/23 2:53:31 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, climate change is no laughing matter. As we are faced with forest fires in Alberta and as people in Quebec, Ontario and British Columbia are faced with flooding, climate change is costing Canadians. According to the Parliamentary Budget Officer, in 2021—
Some hon. members: Oh, oh!
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- May/9/23 2:55:57 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, ever since this Prime Minister came to power, everything costs more. A family of four will have to hand over $1,065 more for food. One in five Canadians is skipping meals, and more and more people are turning to food banks. What is this Prime Minister doing? He is making things worse by increasing the carbon tax. Contrary to what he is saying, this increase has an impact across the country, even in Quebec.
Will he finally get rid of these policies, which increase the price of everything we buy?
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Madam Speaker, in her speech, my colleague from Yorkton-Melville talked about a majority of Canadians. She is certainly not talking about a majority of Quebeckers. She brought up the Conservative difference; I am talking about the Quebec difference.
Recently, Quebec's minister responsible for the status of women expressed concern for women's right to abortion.
Does my colleague realize that her bill is truly a threat and could lead to a major setback for women's rights, which have been ardently defended by Quebec women for many, many years?
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- May/9/23 9:49:41 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, the debate on foreign interference is a strange one. It feels as though we are floating. It is as if we are all wearing rose-coloured glasses when it comes to Chinese interference, especially the government. This has been going on for months. An elected official in the House and his family were harassed by the Chinese state, but that was just the tip of the iceberg.
Over the past few months, Chinese balloons have been seen flying over North America. It was never clear what became of that. TikTok, which was installed on the phones of every member of the House, was banned. There was a case of spying in Quebec, at Hydro-Québec, which is a major corporation. We learned that a Chinese spy was working there. We also learned that there were Chinese police stations. How can we tolerate community centres where the Chinese state can put pressure on Canadians who have family there?
The situation is really very serious, but it seems that the government on the other side of the House does not realize it. Does my colleague agree that we are all wearing rose-coloured glasses with respect to the possibility of a state as powerful as China intervening here in Canada?
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