44th Parl. 1st Sess.
September 19, 2024 10:00AM
- Sep/19/24 2:13:28 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, it is so exciting to be back in the House and to be able to continue working for the wonderful people of Châteauguay—Lacolle, soon to be known as Châteauguay—Les Jardins-de-Napierville.
It is especially exciting to be able to implement federal programs to make life more affordable for Canadians. Over the summer, I saw first-hand in my riding how our action plan is working and making life easier for hundreds of households. I had the opportunity to visit SOLIDES, the Société locative d'investissement et de développement social, which is the largest property owner in Châteauguay. This organization buys and renovates apartment buildings and rents them out at affordable prices. This model can and should be replicated across Canada. SOLIDES was recently allocated more than $3 million from the affordable housing fund to help renovate and maintain its buildings.
I would like to congratulate the entire team at SOLIDES on their excellent work.
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- Sep/19/24 2:14:38 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I want to highlight the amazing work of the Mobile Youth Services Team, or MYST, and in particular its crime reduction and exploitation diversion program.
It has been serving at-risk youth in our region for over 20 years. It is tackling online sexual and gang exploitation, and the intersecting crises of the toxic drug supply, mental health issues, poverty and homelessness. It has an extremely effective program with an incredible success rate, where it proactively engages with youth and their families to provide support and key referrals.
Currently, there is one MYST team that is handling over 250 active cases of youth in crisis. We know the frequency of youth being targeted by sexual predators and for gang recruitment has been increasing, and calls to the team have ballooned. It has applied to the Department of Justice, because despite the high demand it recently had to reduce the hours of its program to only two days a week. Without new funding, it faces the prospect of closing as early as March 2025.
MYST teams have an incredible impact, and this model could be replicated across the country. The loss of this program would be devastating, given the need in our community—
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- Sep/19/24 2:15:57 p.m.
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I am sorry to interrupt the hon. member. It is very important for all members to please try to respect the 60 seconds. The Chair does give some leeway on that, but not a significant leeway.
The hon. member fro Beauport—Limoilou has the floor.
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- Sep/19/24 2:16:08 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, as the saying goes, all good things come in threes. Quebec City's baseball team, the Capitales, took that to heart and won their third consecutive Frontier League championship. Fans were treated to quite a show.
On Saturday, in an exhilarating and spectacular game, the Capitales won the finals against the Washington Wild Things, thanks to magician Anthony Quirion, who hit a three-run homer.
This is the 10th title in the history of the franchise, which is celebrating its 25th anniversary this year. This title is the result of the talent, consistency and hard work of all the players and the entire organization, including manager Patrick Scalabrini and president Michel Laplante.
Congratulations, and thank you for being the pride of our town for another year running. Until next year.
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- Sep/19/24 2:17:13 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, what is the “Liberal Bloc”? It is the most centralizing, costly and divisive Liberal government in history. It is the Liberal government that has no respect for Quebec, imposing programs, claiming that the Liberal occupant of the big federal seat knows best and can do better than the elected members of Quebec. It is a government that breaks ethics rules without facing the consequences, that lets authoritarian countries interfere in our elections, that gives Canadian citizenship to a terrorist.
What is the “Liberal Bloc”? It is the Bloc who voted to keep this minority government in place more than 200 times. It is the Bloc who authorized this Liberal government to spend $500 billion, fuelling inflation and increasing the cost of everything. It is the Bloc that supports the Liberal government that wants to radically increase fuel taxes, ban hunting rifles and allow house arrest for violent criminals. It is the Bloc that is going to prop up the Liberal government next week against the interests of Quebec.
The Bloc Québécois has gotten absolutely nothing for Quebec in exchange for its unconditional support of the Liberal government. The Bloc Québécois is the worst negotiator that Quebec has even seen. That is the “Liberal Bloc”.
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- Sep/19/24 2:18:23 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, today I had the honour of hosting the second Young Polonia Leadership Summit on Parliament Hill. We brought together 35 young leaders from across Canada to talk about issues important to Polish Canadians, including getting more young people engaged in politics.
Over one million Polish Canadians contribute to building vibrant and generous communities across Canada. Now we see a new generation of Polonia taking the mantle to lead the Polish diaspora in this new century, young people who say “Yes we can”, and who have the courage and power to build a better Canada and a better world.
I want to thank the Canadian Polish Congress, the Polish Canadian Business and Professional Association of Windsor, and the Embassy of the Republic of Poland for working together to organize this summit and to empower Canada's young eagles.
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- Sep/19/24 2:20:17 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the Premier of the Quebec nation said today that the Liberal government's decision to double the number of temporary immigrants to 600,000 individuals poses a threat to social services for Quebeckers.
Will the leader of the Bloc Québécois do what the Premier of the Quebec nation is asking, and reconsider supporting this Liberal government next week? Will he defend the interests of Quebeckers and the Quebec nation?
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- Sep/19/24 2:20:19 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, like you, I was a page in the House of Commons a few years back, and I would like to congratulate and thank the new cohort of pages we are fortunate to have with us this year. We know how important their responsibilities are. Members of the House appreciate their service. I thank them for being with us in the coming months.
As for the Leader of the Opposition, what he is saying is laughable. He is saying that we should just keep cutting back on programs to help Quebeckers and the Government of Quebec, including health care, child care and day care.
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- Sep/19/24 2:20:52 p.m.
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Before we continue, I would like to remind all members that it is important for questions to be about the administration of government and its accountability to the House of Commons if they want to get answers.
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- Sep/19/24 2:21:16 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, it is not just the Premier of the Quebec nation. The Bloc Québécois's political cousin, Parti Québécois leader Paul St-Pierre Plamondon, is also condemning this costly, centralizing government.
He said, quote, “Quebec was deliberately destabilized. This is an abuse of federal power.” According to the PQ, the governing party is hurting Quebec, and the Bloc Québécois is keeping that party in power.
Why did the leader of the Bloc Québécois turn his back on the Parti Québécois and all Quebeckers to keep the most centralizing and costly prime minister in Canada's history in power?
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- Sep/19/24 2:21:59 p.m.
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Again, I am very sorry, but that question is not for the government. Even so, I see the Minister of Canadian Heritage rising to answer.
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- Sep/19/24 2:22:20 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the last time Mr. Legault got in bed with the Conservatives, Quebeckers put him in his place. It will be the same thing this time.
I find it rather strange that Mr. Legault and Paul St-Pierre Plamondon are supporting a party that is bent on destroying our most important institution in Quebec, an institution that defends the French language, Quebec culture and Quebec's cultural creators, namely CBC/Radio-Canada. It is shameful.
Those of us on this side of the House will always fight for Quebeckers, for the right to our language and for the right to our culture.
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- Sep/19/24 2:22:59 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, unfortunately, the Prime Minister has lost his Quebec lieutenant, who has now become a provincial candidate.
Fortunately for him, he found another Quebec lieutenant, and it is the leader of the Bloc Québécois.
The Bloc voted to increase inflationary bureaucratic spending by $500 billion. It voted to hire an extra 100,000 public servants. It voted to keep a government that broke the immigration system in office.
Is it not true that the Conservatives are the real defenders of Quebec?
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- Sep/19/24 2:23:44 p.m.
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I give the floor to the hon. Leader of the Opposition.
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- Sep/19/24 2:23:54 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, we all knew that the NDP leader had sold out the people and signed on to a costly coalition with the carbon tax Prime Minister to tax people's food, punish their work, double their housing costs and unleash crime in their communities.
However, he claimed that he had torn up the carbon tax coalition so that Winnipeggers would not fire him in a by-election, but as soon as the votes were counted, he betrayed them too and taped back together the carbon tax coalition.
How can anyone ever believe what he says again?
Some hon. members: Oh, oh!
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- Sep/19/24 2:24:35 p.m.
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The Chair is in a very uncomfortable situation here.
The hon. Leader of the Opposition has the floor.
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- Sep/19/24 2:24:45 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the NDP leader was terrified he was going to lose a by-election in Winnipeg, an NDP stronghold, so he put out a Hollywood production where he claimed he had torn up the carbon tax coalition to which he had signed up, and that he was going to stop fighting for his pension and start fighting for the people. However, once the votes were counted, he betrayed them again. He is a fake, a phony and a fraud.
How can anyone ever believe what the sellout NDP leader says in the future?
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- Sep/19/24 2:27:23 p.m.
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Order.
Colleagues, there are some long-standing traditions of the House that we should endeavour to respect. It is important that we ask questions in question period to make government accountable to the people of Canada. The questions by their very nature should be pointed, should be tough and should be specific, and the answers should also be clear.
Some hon. members: Oh, oh!
The Speaker: However, colleagues, for this to work, we also have to make sure that we work within the rules we have. There were some important questions that were asked but that were not related to the administration of the government, and therefore there were no responses to those. We have so many other tools available to us as members to make the comments we need to make outside question period.
While the microphone was off, although the Chair did not hear this, there might have been some strong words exchanged between members. I ask members to please remember that Canadians are looking at us. Let us conduct ourselves in a way really befitting of each of our constituencies and the country as a whole.
With that, we will move on to the next question.
The hon. member for La Prairie.
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- Sep/19/24 2:29:43 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank the citizens of LaSalle—Émard—Verdun for putting their trust in the Bloc Québécois.
The truth is the Bloc Québécois is in the best position it has been in over 15 years. If increasing the number of Bloc members was our priority, an election would have already been called. However, our priority is Quebeckers. Quebeckers are concerned about the living conditions of seniors, among other things. That is why we are asking the Liberals to stop financially discriminating against seniors aged 65 to 74.
Are they finally going to increase old age security by 10% for that age group?
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- Sep/19/24 2:30:23 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague from the Bloc Québécois for asking a real question here in the House.
It is important to make sure that questions refer to the work of government. The government is here to work for Canadians and to demonstrate what we do every day to serve Canadians.
It would be nice if all members of the House could keep that in mind.
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