44th Parl. 1st Sess.
November 22, 2023 02:00PM
- Nov/22/23 2:08:11 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, Propulsion Québec has been fast-tracking the development of Quebec's electric and smart transportation industry since 2017 to reinvent mobility with an eye to the future.
I am proud that Canada Economic Development for Quebec Regions is supporting projects that promote the economy of tomorrow, including funding in excess of $2.8 million to help Propulsion Québec innovate and develop the electric transportation industry.
The electric manufacturing sector currently provides over 9,300 quality jobs in Quebec. Propulsion Québec is proud of its contribution to the transportation sector's decarbonization for a greener and more sustainable economy in Quebec and Canada.
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- Nov/22/23 2:19:50 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, in Quebec, the dreary November days are chased away by a colourful celebration that speaks to all of us. November, in Quebec, is Social Economy Month. It is an opportunity to celebrate all these businesses that make up our economic fabric.
Quebeckers all have their favourite not-for-profit organization. Virtually everyone is a member of a co‑op. We all know a mutual. We all have confidence in these local businesses that give meaning to the economy, either for its workers, its artisans or its consumers, and for good reason.
The social economy is having a business sense and knowing how to share one's success by not leaving anyone behind. Back home, the social economy is Valspec, Jardins de la Résistance, Cré‑Actions, Coop CSUR and its eco-local market. It is also Coup de pouce des moissons and the Lac‑Saint‑François national wildlife area.
To the Bloc Québécois, the social economy is above all a source of pride.
I wish everyone a good Social Economy Month.
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- Nov/22/23 2:32:26 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I thank my hon. colleague. We are also very concerned about the situation at the border, and we will be monitoring it very closely.
With regard to yesterday's fall economic statement, it is very clear that we are going to continue our partnership with the Government of Quebec, which is going to match the $900 million that we have allocated to housing. The green economy tax credits will also include biomass, which is very important for Quebec.
Yesterday's economic statement is good for Quebeckers and Canadians. It is good for everyone.
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- Nov/22/23 2:33:45 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, as the member well knows, it is a pleasure to work with Quebec.
I recently signed an agreement with Minister Duranceau, my counterpart in the Government of Quebec, that provides for funding of $900 million from the federal government and the same amount from the Quebec government. The agreement aims to build an additional 23,000 housing units. It is an opportunity for us to work together.
I will continue working to build housing throughout Quebec and across the country.
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- Nov/22/23 2:48:11 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, in the economic statement that we presented yesterday, we are investing more in housing co-operatives in Quebec and across Canada.
We are doubling down on the fight against rental properties like Airbnbs, because we know that Quebec has very strong local regulations, and we want to support that. We also know that there are families that are still struggling to make ends meet. That is why we are going to amend our competition laws. That is real action.
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- Nov/22/23 3:09:46 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I agree with the member. Investments are necessary to address the housing crisis. On top of the new measures included in yesterday's document are other investments that our government has already announced.
For example, we signed an agreement with the Province of Quebec to the tune of $1.8 billion just to support investments in affordable housing. We will continue making the investments necessary to end the housing crisis across the country.
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- Nov/22/23 3:14:56 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, in yesterday's economic statement, the government announced measures to support housing co-operatives. There are 1,130 co-ops in Quebec, representing more than 22,000 housing units. The Leader of the Opposition referred to co-ops as Soviet-style housing. That shows his contempt for this type of housing.
Can the minister explain to Canadians the impact that yesterday's measures will have on housing co-ops across the country?
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- Nov/22/23 3:16:10 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister's tax on the farmers who produce the food and on the truckers who transport the food is a tax on everyone who eats food. The Bloc Québécois wants to radically increase taxes on farmers. There will be more costs for farmers in Quebec.
How much will the second carbon tax cost each farmer in Quebec?
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- Nov/22/23 3:26:50 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I rise on a point of order. There have been discussions among the parties, and if you seek it I believe you will find unanimous consent to adopt the following motion:
That the House, in view of the joint statement by the respective Premiers of Quebec and Ontario, dated November 7, 2023, regarding the federal government's public procurement of the CP‑140 Aurora replacement, call on the government to formally proceed by notice of tender before awarding any procurement contract for the new Canadian multi-mission aircraft.
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- Nov/22/23 3:59:27 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the next petition I have is from Canadians from across the country who are concerned about the comments of Louis Roy, of the Quebec college of physicians, when he recommended to a committee here in this place that euthanasia be expanded to babies from birth to one year of age. This proposal for the euthanasia of children is deeply disturbing to the Canadians who have signed this petition and they want to emphatically insist that infanticide is always wrong.
The folks who have signed this petition call on the Government of Canada to block any attempt to allow for the euthanasia of children.
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Mr. Speaker, my colleague is right when he says that Quebec's anti-scab legislation has made it possible over the past 46 years to negotiate as equals and ensure that no strikes have dragged on.
He also talked about the 14-month strike at the Port of Québec. Given that it is so urgent that we pass Bill C‑58, I would like to know why he waited 14 months to do anything and why he took action to resolve the disputes in Vancouver but not in Quebec City.
Second, why wait another 18 months after the bill receives royal assent to be able to enforce the law, which will not apply in any way to longshore workers, because there is no retroactivity?
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- Nov/22/23 4:41:16 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I will come to the crux of the issue. I know the member had the joy of sitting and listening to my 18 hours in the finance committee, so I am sure he will appreciate these three minutes. Where do I go?
More replacement workers are a potential not only in the NextStar plant in Windsor, but also in the Volkswagen contract. I have had the privilege of reading the Volkswagen contract, and what is not in the Volkswagen contract, which is apparently a mirror of these things, is a prohibition on replacement workers being put into these taxpayer-funded plants.
I know members on the other side have been questioning this issue. The Government of Canada's website has a job bank and there are about 20 jobs advertised for Stellantis. It says on it who can apply for these jobs, including Canadian citizens and permanent residents or temporary residents, but, more important, other candidates with or without a valid Canadian work permit. It is right on the government website. The ambassador for South Korea has been telling us that there are going to be replacement workers at this plant.
I would ask about the other contracts the government has signed. A South Korean company is part of the Ford contract in Quebec to produce cathodes for the EV business. Can the government share with us that contract to make sure replacement workers are not being used and that the government got guarantees? Can the members share with us that in the Volkswagen contract there is a clause that says that replacement workers from outside of Canada will not be used for those jobs? It is incumbent upon the Liberals to come clean on those issues.
We have been asking for that clarity and transparency from the government. I do not believe it says in any of those contracts that the Government of Canada has the ability to prevent those contracts from being made public. If the Liberals are so opposed to replacement workers, as the minister said, why do they not show Canadians that they put their money, taxpayer money, where their mouth is and actually ensure that only Canadians will be employed in these unionized jobs in the auto industry? They are unwilling. In fact, Liberals voted against that in the industry committee last night.
I would like to know from the Liberals on the other side of the House what they are hiding. Is it that they have put clauses in these contracts to allow the replacement workers from other countries in these auto businesses? The Minister of Labour is so desperately trying to prohibit these replacement workers in federal institutions, but is signing contracts to spend $15 billion to $30 billion of taxpayer money to allow replacement workers from other countries in these auto businesses.
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Mr. Speaker, we are all quite happy to see Bill C‑58 tabled.
The bill addresses major inequity between what Quebec workers under provincial and federal jurisdiction experience. I would remind the House that Quebec passed similar legislation in 1977.
Since we are dealing with a minority government, the only problem is that we are talking about 18 months before the bill is implemented. Eighteen months is a long time. By then, we may well have had two more minority governments.
I would like my colleague to comment on this. What does he think about the delay, which I find huge?
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- Nov/22/23 4:47:11 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I think the government will probably take longer than 18 months to release the contracts on the deals that have been done. I do not know why we would want to do that in the auto business. I would remind the member from the Bloc that two of the subsidies in the auto business, where replacement workers can be brought in through the agreement, unless we are shown that it is not in the contracts by releasing them, are in Quebec. One of them, in fact, is in the leader of the Bloc Québécois's riding. I would think they would want to know that the Northvolt plant has the ability, potentially, to bring in Swedish workers. If the Liberals want to dispute it, they can release the contracts. The other one, which I mentioned earlier, is for EV battery parts and is with a South Korean company. Let us make sure that it is not doing that as well.
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- Nov/22/23 5:02:21 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I sincerely hope you will reread that speech if you have time after your workday is done, because what you just saw was a perfect example of a Conservative member from Quebec feeling uneasy about his party's position.
Quebec has long-standing anti-scab legislation. The federal government does not. Now a bill has suddenly come along, and this member is ill at ease with his party's position. He would not be able to look his constituents in the eye and tell them he opposes anti-scab legislation. He is making all kinds of excuses.
Now, I am going to ask him a very simple question. Should the Conservatives form the next government, will the Conservative Party introduce a federal anti-scab bill?
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- Nov/22/23 5:03:31 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I have the interests of all Quebeckers at heart, particularly those of voters in the riding of Beloeil—Chambly.
Let me quote the Bloc Québécois leader, who said Northvolt's involvement in his riding “could help Vallée-du-Richelieu develop a whole innovative, high added-value supply chain”.
I would like the government to show us, in the contract, the guarantees it secured regarding workers. Will the workers be Quebeckers? Will francophone Quebec workers be able to participate and be hired? What about the natural resources? Will the company be able to get them from Abitibi? What about processing? I was mayor of a mining town, and I saw our materials get processed all over the world, without a cent staying in this country.
These are valid questions, and I am very proud to tell Quebeckers I am here to defend their interests.
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- Nov/22/23 5:18:32 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for expressing her opinion so clearly, unlike our previous colleague who was having a really hard time getting to the point.
The right to strike can be compromised when an employer is able to use scabs. How will the proposed amendments help all federally regulated workers in Quebec and Canada benefit from a strong right to strike?
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- Nov/22/23 5:19:10 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, my colleague from Sherbrooke is a member from Quebec. She knows full well that unionized workers in Quebec who have a collective agreement have the right to bargain and to strike.
A strike is not the primary outcome in bargaining. Labour tends to avoid striking, using it as a last resort. The last thing a worker wants when they use their tool of last resort is for the employer to have the privilege to say that the employees can go on strike, but it will bring in replacement workers, which it has the right to do as a federally regulated employer.
The bill seeks to fix that, but I strongly encourage my colleague from Sherbrooke, since she is a member from Quebec, to convince her government to remove the clause that provides for an 18‑month delay before the legislation comes into force.
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- Nov/22/23 5:20:56 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I think this deserves a lot of thought.
It is true that it is disappointing. We have seen our Conservative colleagues do this on a number of issues. I would like to believe that, deep down, the Conservatives from Quebec want to vote in favour of the bill. It is too bad that the boss, the one running the show, does not want that. We have to make major compromises in life when we are in politics. It seems that we even have to ride roughshod over our principles and our hearts, because when we heard the two Conservative members speak, we did not get the feeling they would be supporting the bill.
I still have hope. I am a Sagittarius and therefore an eternal optimist. I sincerely hope that the Conservatives will wake up, get up to speed, modernize and say that this bill is a really good deal for unionized workers.
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- Nov/22/23 5:23:20 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, let me be quite clear. If this bill is not passed and implemented before Christmas, or when the House returns, I share my colleague's opinion that it will never be implemented.
I do not want to be unkind to the government, but we have some concern that it may have introduced the bill only to clear its conscience, thinking that the conditions attached to it would scuttle any chances of the bill being passed. The bill's failure to pass would then come as a relief to the government, which never really wanted it to pass in the first place. It was only putting on a show.
I am relying on the government's Quebec members to flatly refuse to have two categories of union members. We encourage everyone to vote for the bill and, most of all, to shorten the 18-month timeline.
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