44th Parl. 1st Sess.
May 22, 2024 02:00PM
- May/22/24 2:19:19 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, in February 2023 the joint committee recommended, by a strong majority, that individuals suffering from such diseases as Alzheimer's or dementia be allowed to make an advance request for medical assistance in dying.
Although 83% of Canadians support advance requests, the health and justice ministers are unequalled in their complete lack of political courage and total failure to understand the file. They still expect afflicted patients to bear the burden of having to argue their case in court.
Today, buoyed by the support of the Collège des médecins du Québec, the Barreau du Québec, the Chambre des notaires du Québec and a number of associations, we again call on the government to allow Quebec and any province so inclined to move forward with advance requests.
To those who are suffering, like Ms. Demontigny, I would just like to say that we will never forget them and we will never abandon them.
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- May/22/24 2:30:05 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the Liberals claim to be interested in French in Quebec and Canada. The fact is that they are subsidizing the quiet disappearance of francophones in western Canada and outside Quebec, much like the proverbial frog in a pot of boiling water. What is more, the Liberals are mobilizing dozens of unilingual anglophone members to protect their offensive member, whose comments were as underhanded as they were inappropriate.
Would the Prime Minister really have francophones believe that it is out of a love for French that they are going to stack the Assemblée parlementaire de la Francophonie tomorrow?
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- May/22/24 2:30:43 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, francophones across the country, including those in Quebec, know full well that the members of the Bloc Québécois are not interested in the fate of French outside Quebec. That is why they want to make Quebec their own country, to protect French.
We know that the best way to protect French in Quebec and across Canada is by investing in every francophone community from coast to coast to coast. As for protecting French in Quebec, yes, we are here to do that. We are also here to continually stand up to protect francophone minorities from coast to coast to coast. We will continue to do so.
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- May/22/24 2:31:29 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, he is right, and I appreciate this stroke of brilliance: the best thing that could happen to French in Quebec, in Canada and partly around the world, is an independent Quebec.
Meanwhile, what did the Prime Minister of Canada say during the English debate in 2021? When I was the only one who wanted to talk about francophones outside Quebec, in English, I was told that I did not have the right to talk about French in English during his country's English debate.
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- May/22/24 2:45:34 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, a brand new study by the Office québécois de la langue française shows that the proportion of young Quebeckers who use French as their language of work 90% of the time has dropped from 64% to 58%.
Will the Prime Minister admit that his language policies are not slowing the decline of French one bit, and that his opposition to Bill 96 is weakening the French language, or will he in turn start hurling vicious and vulgar insults at Quebec scientists?
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- May/22/24 2:46:08 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, we are the first federal government to acknowledge our special responsibility to protect the French language in Quebec.
We are concerned about the decline of French seen across the country, including in Quebec. That is why we are there to invest, to partner with the Government of Quebec and to protect the French fact in Quebec and official languages across the country.
We will continue to be there to defend the French language, not for political purposes, like the Bloc Québécois, but because it is the right thing to do for our country and for our future.
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- May/22/24 2:46:51 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, one day we will have our own country and our own future.
The Liberals have admitted responsibility but their actions go against that responsibility. They sent money to the anglophone community in Quebec so it could protect itself, of course, from being assimilated by francophones.
If the Prime Minister is so concerned about Quebec, can he stop opposing the Quebec government's Bill 96 and let Quebec govern its own language laws?
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- May/22/24 2:47:26 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the Official Languages Act protects linguistic minorities right across the country. A big part of that, of course, is protecting francophone minorities everywhere outside Quebec. It also includes our responsibility to protect both official languages in a bilingual country and to protect all linguistic minorities. We will continue to do so. That does not prevent us from doing everything we can to protect the French language.
It is not the anglophone minority in Quebec that poses a threat to the French language in Quebec. We will continue to fight to protect French everywhere in Quebec and right across the country.
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- May/22/24 2:50:56 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, Canadians are already experiencing austerity, according to a report by the Parliamentary Budget Officer, who showed that since the Prime Minister's promise to end homelessness, it has in fact increased by 38%. The number of homeless people in Quebec has increased, going from 3,000 to 10,000. Yes, it is true, he is spending a lot more money and that is making everything more expensive.
When will he realize that a morbidly obese government in Ottawa is never going to end homelessness?
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- May/22/24 3:01:31 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, can anyone remember what the Conservatives did in Quebec? They cut care and social services. They cut transfers. They cut arts and culture. For the Conservatives to rise today to attack the Bloc Québécois for not standing up for Quebec is a bit much.
The reality, as we know, is that the Bloc Québécois is there to stand up for Quebeckers. They do not do it as well as we in the government do, but the Conservative attacks against Quebeckers are a bit ridiculous.
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- May/22/24 3:03:02 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, contrary to what the leader of the Conservative Party thinks, I fundamentally believe that every member of this House is here to defend their constituents' interests. That is our individual and collective responsibility, and every single person here is doing that.
People know very well that I do not agree with the aims of the Bloc Québécois. At the same time, we find opportunities to work together, respectfully, to protect the French language and create economic growth in Quebec.
We are here to work together, not to play political games and attack each other, which is what the Conservatives do every time.
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- May/22/24 5:08:23 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, yet again we see the government seize an opportunity to block debate on an important bill. We could have analyzed the government's intention to once again interfere, through this bill, in areas of jurisdiction that belong to the provinces and Quebec. However, by blocking debate and cutting our time short with a closure motion, the government is stopping us from having these very important conversations.
It is one more opportunity for the government to encroach on health care, which is Quebec's jurisdiction. Quebec is perfectly ready and able to take responsibility for its own social, health care support and insurance programs.
I would like the minister to reassure us. I know this is a topic that the Bloc Québécois comes back to a lot, but interference in Quebec's areas of jurisdiction is a concern for many Quebeckers. Although the debate will be cut short, will the minister still listen to Quebec's demands? Quebec demands the right to opt out with full compensation from programs like the one we are discussing today, namely pharmacare, and any others that constitute federal interference in the jurisdictions of the Government of Quebec.
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- May/22/24 5:09:37 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I completely disagree with everything my colleague across the way just said.
I want to stress that, when we talk about the health care budget we give to Canadians in Quebec and all across Canada, it is not about interference. It is about equality. It is about control and independence, especially for women, whether they are Quebeckers or Canadians. They have the right to control their own reproductive system, and contraception will help them do that. It is as simple as that. This is crucial for gender equality.
I hope all the Bloc Québécois members vote in favour of the bill so it can go to the committee mentioned in the motion we are now studying, because it is time to act.
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- May/22/24 5:17:49 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, there is a fairly simple dictum in politics that everyone knows, and it is that adding is better than subtracting. We try to add to the number of people who are willing to support our positions. By the same token, when a bill as momentous as this government bill is introduced, the aim is to get all the provinces to buy in and consent. This is not the case for pharmacare, however. The government never negotiated with the provinces and Quebec to secure their buy-in. It decided to implement a one-size-fits-all pharmacare program throughout Quebec, without having the necessary jurisdiction. That is why, today, it has to impose closure.
The Quebec government wants nothing to do with this version of pharmacare that the Liberal government is putting in place. The only ones who are happy with it are the members of the Liberal government, who are trying to spin it to their advantage with the electorate and preserve their alliance with the NDP. This is not the case for mere mortals. People who just want quality services can see that this bill has been botched.
If the government truly cared about health care, it would fund it at the level that the provinces are asking for, rather than cutting transfers year after year and starving our health system of the resources it needs. That is the question my colleague should weigh in on.
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- May/22/24 5:25:01 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I understand that the Conservatives want absolutely nothing to do with a measure that will help tens of thousands of people in their ridings. In each Conservative riding, approximately 18,000 people could benefit from diabetes medication and 25,000 people could have access to contraception.
What I do not understand is why the Bloc Québécois is opposed to it. The Bloc Québécois wants to block this bill, even though all the major labour groups in Quebec have clearly stated that the bill is very useful and should be passed. Now, the number of Quebeckers involved with the unions affiliated with these major labour groups is far greater than the number who voted for the Bloc Québécois in the last federal election. The big question is, why is the Bloc Québécois planning to oppose measures that will help millions of Quebeckers?
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- May/22/24 5:26:12 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, that is another very good question. I have been wondering the same thing, given the tradition in the Bloc Québécois and Quebec of promoting gender equality, promoting women's rights, promoting women's freedom, empowerment and access to health care. It is a bit sad and dangerous when a woman in Quebec has to choose between paying the bills and paying for medication.
With this bill, we will eliminate the need to make that choice. We will respond women's needs. This is a very serious situation that affects not just Quebec women, but approximately nine million women across Canada. It is a significant problem. We must pick up the pace in order to meet their needs.
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- May/22/24 5:27:04 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I can tell my NDP colleague that the Bloc Québécois never opposes progressive policies. It defends the political independence of Quebec. That is what the Bloc Québécois does.
I would also like to point out to my colleague that many unions are members of OUI Québec. OUI Québec is a pro-independence umbrella group. Does this mean the NDP does not support Quebec unions, since it opposes independence? We cannot be allies in every battle, but we are definitely closer to most Quebec unions than the NDP is, because Quebec has already proven how progressive it is.
Still, I am astounded that the Minister of Justice is drawing a link between women's rights and the fact the Bloc Québécois opposes pharmacare. No society is more progressive on women's rights than Quebec. If the Minister of Justice wants to improve gender equality, one of the best ways to do that would be to pass a secularism law, since certain religions make distinctions between men and women. I do not know if he is in favour of passing a secularism law. I would like it if he could tell us.
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- May/22/24 7:37:42 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I agree with my colleague on one thing, and that is about the member for Winnipeg North. I do not agree with him, however, on the reasons why the Bloc Québécois opposes the pharmacare plan. We oppose it because it directly interferes in Quebec's jurisdictions.
I would like to point something out to my colleague, because he spoke at length about rare diseases. In the early 2000s, there were seven major pharmaceutical companies doing research in Canada, six of which were based in Quebec. There was a program at the time that gave them access to tax credits. If I remember correctly, it was called technology partnerships Canada.
The government that shut it down was Stephen Harper's in 2007. In hindsight, does my colleague think that was a bad idea?
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- May/22/24 7:38:33 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I think that the reason why the Bloc Québécois is opposed to Government Business No. 39 and this bill is, of course, that this falls under Quebec's jurisdiction. We should put our trust in all the provinces. They know how best to manage their health care system and health insurance for the patients and families in their own territory.
We are talking about programs that existed 24 years ago. Many changes have been made since then through bills and regulations passed by the government. I am basing myself on what is happening today and not what happened 25 years ago.
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- May/22/24 7:39:18 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I like my colleague and I appreciate his fluent bilingualism.
I have to say that Conservatives are very consistent. Sixty years ago, they opposed universal health care, and they fought in the House to block universal health care. Today, it is our most cherished national institution. Last year, they fought dental care, and now we see two million Canadian seniors signed up, and 100,000 who have already received services in the first few weeks. They were wrong on dental care as well. The trial balloons the member throws up on pharmacare indicate that, again, the Conservatives are wrong on health care. The reality is, in the member's riding, more than 18,000 people will benefit from the diabetes medication and more than 25,000 will benefit from the contraception.
The member pointed out that there are two provinces that oppose it, although all of the central trade unions in Quebec support this. The reality is that the most unpopular government in the country is in Alberta right now where we have a premier who has been very erratic. However, there are advantages to Albertans in signing the deal and in passing this legislation. Why are Conservatives holding up and blocking this legislation?
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