- Member of Parliament
- Member of Parliament
- NDP
- Rosemont—La Petite-Patrie
- Quebec
- Voting Attendance: 61%
- Expenses Last Quarter: $198,917.51
- Government Page
- Sep/19/24 11:21:25 a.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I am sorry to see the Conservatives using the same old name-calling and personal attacks. It is reprehensible.
Let us come back to the issue of co-op housing. The national housing strategy that was launched in 2017 made no mention of co-op housing. The Liberal government woke up at the last minute last spring and mentioned co-op housing in the budget.
I would like my colleague to comment on that.
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- Sep/19/24 11:18:56 a.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for her speech. I also appreciate the brevity of her answer just now.
I do have a question for her, though, because the Liberals suddenly have a new-found passion for co-op housing. They displayed a glimmer of interest in more housing co-ops six months ago in April 2024, but, since 2017—
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- Sep/17/24 6:12:30 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I found that the question from my Bloc Québécois colleague made a lot of sense, unlike the Conservatives' comments. However, I would like to ask my colleague the following question.
If the Citizenship Act is unconstitutional, if the act allows people to lose their citizenship by accident or administrative error, if children are born stateless, why do the Conservatives want to drag their feet and not ensure that this problem is resolved quickly?
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- Jun/6/24 5:08:45 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I thank my colleague for her speech. I would simply like to remind her that the first government to be found in contempt of Parliament in the history of Canadian politics was Stephen Harper's government when it refused to provide members with budget details on law and order bills.
Today, it is all well and good to talk about transparency and accountability, but I would like to remind the House of that black mark on the record of the Conservative Party, which was found guilty by Parliament at the time.
The NDP agrees that transparency is important, and we have doubts about the Liberals' willingness to be transparent. I would like to know what measures my colleague would put in place to ensure that members of the House and the public, the people who we represent, get all of the necessary information.
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- Jun/6/24 4:12:53 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I thank my colleague for his comments.
Obviously, the NDP agrees that the more transparency and accountability, the better.
Furthermore, as far as accountability and responsibility go, my colleague and the Conservative leader recently discovered an interest in Montreal and the tragic events that unfolded there. The opioid and addiction crisis is a real crisis happening across the country, including in Montreal. The Standing Committee on Health went to Montreal to study the overdose crisis and meet with experts and groups working in the field to save lives. Do members know how many Conservative MPs were sent to study the situation in Montreal? Zero.
Why is my Conservative colleague unwilling to go visit Montreal and meet with organizations on the ground and doctors at the Centre hospitalier de l'Université de Montréal to find out what is really going on with Montreal's opioid and overdose crisis?
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- May/23/24 4:09:51 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, we wanted to improve the motion that was moved earlier.
I moved an amendment to reaffirm the principle of co-operative federalism, where the federal government must work with the provinces in a way that respects the jurisdictions recognized in the Constitution, and to demand that the government work co-operatively with all levels to meet the needs of citizens while systematically offering Quebec the right to opt out unconditionally whenever the federal government interferes in its jurisdiction. At the end, the amendment proposed that we recognize the fact that 600,000 seniors in Quebec have already registered for dental care and that labour groups welcome the development of a universal public pharmacare plan. That is a fact.
His House leader refused to accept the amendments I moved. Which parts does he not agree with?
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- May/21/24 7:00:23 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, my colleague talked about his environmental concerns, which I share, and the fact that the Conservatives refuse to have a price on pollution; that is not a plan to help us or help our communities.
However, at the same time, his government is spending $34 billion to buy a pipeline that will triple the production of the dirtiest oil in the world. Is that not contradictory?
He is talking out of both sides of his mouth.
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- May/7/24 12:32:29 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, let me start by thanking my colleague for not sharing her time with the member for Winnipeg North. Everyone in the House appreciated that.
I would like to hear what she has to say about a topic that has come up a lot, namely pharmacare.
Quebec already has a pharmacare plan, but it is a hybrid public-private system. It has its shortcomings. It was cutting edge at the time, but now it needs an overhaul. All of the studies say that universal public pharmacare would help control and lower the price of drugs and would generate savings for everyone, including workers, employers and the health care system too.
This budget contains a first step for diabetes medications and contraceptives. That is something that the Fédération des travailleurs et travailleuses du Québec, the Confédération des syndicats nationaux and the Centrale des syndicats du Québec have been asking for.
We are in favour of the right to opt out with compensation for Quebec, but does my colleague not agree that we need a universal public plan, whether at the federal or Quebec level, to control and maintain drug prices?
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- May/7/24 10:17:35 a.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the leader of the NDP is fully aware that Quebec has a pharmacare program. He has said several times during interviews here, in the foyer of the House, that Quebec has the right to opt out with compensation.
While the Quebec pharmacare program was a significant social development 30 years ago, it is showing many cracks today. Even Dr. Jean Rochon, the former health minister who implemented it, has said it is time to finish the job.
Finishing the job means having a true universal public pharmacare program, as requested by the Fédération des travailleurs et travailleuses du Québec, the Confédération des syndicats nationaux and the Centrale des syndicats du Québec.
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- May/7/24 10:13:43 a.m.
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Mr. Speaker, in the few seconds I have left before questions and comments from my colleagues, I would just like to say that, despite all the flaws in this budget and the things we would have liked to have seen, the NDP had a hand in it.
Basically, there would have been no dental care without the NDP, no pharmacare for diabetics and for women who want contraceptives without the NDP, no anti-scab legislation without the NDP, no red dress alert system without the NDP, no increase in the capital gains tax without the NDP, no increase in scholarships for graduate students without the NDP, and the list goes on.
I would be happy to take questions.
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- May/6/24 1:31:51 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I am going to talk about pharmacare too. It interests me because the Hoskins report made it very clear that the best way to control and reduce drug costs for everyone is to have universal public pharmacare.
The Quebec system is a hybrid system that was cutting-edge at the time. Today, however, even Dr. Rochon, the person who instituted the system, says that it is time to finish the job and adopt a universal public system.
Yes, Quebec must be given the right to opt out with compensation. We support that and agree on it. However, this universal pharmacare plan would be the best thing for Quebeckers, for patients, for businesses and for hospitals. It is something that the Fédération des travailleurs et travailleuses du Québec, the Confédération des syndicats nationaux, the Centrale des syndicats du Québec and the Union des consommateurs du Québec are all calling for.
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- May/3/24 12:55:53 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I would like to hear my colleague's thoughts on why his party voted against the NDP's amendment, which called for a standard service time for complaints related to things like systemic racism. Without a standard service time, things can drag on and people do not get answers.
The National Council of Canadian Muslims, Amnesty International and many other civil society groups requested a standard service time.
Why did the Liberals reject that amendment?
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- May/3/24 12:40:55 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, this is an important bill. The accountability and transparency of many agencies, including the CBSA and the RCMP, is fundamental.
I would like my colleague to explain to me in French why the Conservatives are delaying the passage of this bill right now, even though they say they support it.
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- Apr/15/24 1:31:15 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I really enjoyed my colleague's speech, although I was a little surprised by the conclusion. He talked about a consensus within civil society. The current bill may not be ambitious enough and may not be perfect, but we think it is a step in the right direction. It is supported by the Canadian Labour Congress, Environmental Defence, Climate Action Network, 350 Canada, Equiterre, the Pembina Institute, Ecojustice, the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives, the Council of Canadians and the David Suzuki Foundation. That is a lot of people, a lot of environmental groups. I know that some Quebec unions support it as well.
I have attended various COPs, and people from both the FTQ and the CSN have talked about wanting a just transition. I think we are heading in that direction, with room for the labour movement at the table. This was an essential demand from these groups, and Bill C-50 came through on that. I wonder if the Bloc Québécois might be open to reconsidering its position.
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- Mar/19/24 4:03:48 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I listened carefully to the speech by my Conservative colleague, and he made no mention of what the Parliamentary Budget Officer clearly said. According to the Parliamentary Budget Officer, the price on pollution puts money back in the pockets of middle‑class families and the least fortunate. What is more, 80% of the people who pay the tax receive more in compensation than they pay in carbon tax. The tax does not apply in all provinces.
Obviously, the Conservative Party is not saying that. If my colleague is so concerned about the cost of living for people, why did he and his party vote against removing the GST from heating costs? Why did he vote against dental care for seniors? Why did he vote against a school nutrition program for children?
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- Mar/19/24 12:19:47 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, when I said that the Conservative Party is not very good at fighting climate change, I was not suggesting that the member for Laurier—Sainte-Marie is doing a fantastic job on this front. I have to agree with my colleague: Over the past eight years, the Liberal government has failed in the fight against climate change. Even the former Liberal environment minister, Catherine McKenna, is very critical of the government.
I would like to remind the House, as my colleague from Victoria did earlier, that, in his mandate letter, the current Minister of the Environment was told to ban thermal coal exports. However, coal exports have tripled under this Liberal government, even though it presents itself as a climate action champion. The Liberals have been totally hypocritical.
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- Mar/18/24 5:11:03 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the people of Gaza are not responsible for the actions of certain groups like Hamas, yet they have been disproportionately suffering the consequences for the past five months. A child dies every 15 minutes in Gaza. Collective punishment is a crime. Using hunger is a war crime too.
We are extremely concerned about what is happening right now on the ground. That is why we need to act urgently to save lives. Human lives are at stake.
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- Mar/18/24 5:09:37 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I think we need to use every possible and conceivable tool to put pressure on that government, which is possibly committing war crimes as we speak. In any case, the massacre of the population is real. We see it every day on social media and on the news. It is horrifying.
People in my riding of Rosemont—La Petite-Patrie are also extremely worried and concerned. They want the Liberal government to act. I have received nearly 15,000 emails in my office about this issue. People want us to do more. I think this is one of the solutions we need to put forward, but, first, the House must adopt this motion.
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- Mar/18/24 4:39:14 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for his statement and interventions. He is always knowledgeable and always shows compassion and empathy.
We have been witnessing mass killings for months, an absolutely immense humanitarian crisis. Millions of people have been displaced, are starving and are being bombed every day.
I would like to hear my colleague's comments on what happens next after tonight's vote on this motion. What message could this Parliament send to the international community and the world at large by supporting such a motion?
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- Feb/29/24 4:39:53 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, my colleague, it seems, does not have to rely on social programs to send his children to day care. Maybe he has the means to pay $60 or $80 a day for those services. However, not everyone has that kind of money. Not everyone has grandparents or neighbours who can look after their children. That keeps some people, especially women, out of the workforce.
How can my colleague consider Quebec's social programs and policies such a great success, but refuse to offer the same thing to the people he represents in the rest of Canada?
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