François Choquette

[The Environment, December 13th, 2018]

Mr. Speaker, speaking of the deficit, let's talk about the environmental deficit.

Everyone knows that Canada will fall well short of its greenhouse gas reduction targets.

According to an IPCC report, if Canada wanted to limit global warming to 1.5°C, it would have to double the planned reductions.

UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres said that we were running out of time. He thinks that failing to act would be not only immoral, but also suicidal.

What are the Liberals waiting for? Will they stop posturing and actually do something about climate change?

[The Environment, December 12th, 2018]

Mr. Speaker, according to a report released on Monday at COP24, Canada ranks 54th out of 60 on the climate change performance index. My goodness that is shameful.

Where is the leadership the Liberals promised?

The time to act is now, not in 2050. Experts have recommended that the Liberals implement accountability and transparency mechanisms like the ones proposed by my colleague from Edmonton Strathcona

Will they listen to the experts or will they keep listening to rich polluters?

[Official Languages, December 6th, 2018]

Mr. Speaker, the Minister of Official Languages does not seem to have spoken about any commitment to fund Ontario's French-language university when she met with Minister Mulroney. If the Liberals are prepared to support Franco-Ontarians as much as they claim, the minister should communicate directly with the Ontario government as Ms. Mulroney has requested.

If the minister's real priority is to help Franco-Ontarians and not to score political points on their backs, when is she going to make a concrete funding announcement for Ontario's French-language university?

[Official Languages, December 3rd, 2018]

Mr. Speaker, on Saturday, I joined more than 14,000 Franco-Ontarians who took to the streets to express their anger over Doug Ford's policies.

This was the biggest protest in Franco-Ontarian history. The movement is still going. It is not losing steam, and I have some news for Doug Ford: knowing how proud Franco-Ontarians are, I do not think they will not run out of steam anytime soon, either.

With the holidays around the corner, will the Minister of Tourism, Official Languages and La Francophonie give Franco-Ontarians a gift and announce how much her government plans to put towards Ontario's French-language university?

[The Francophonie, November 30th, 2018]

Mr. Speaker, Franco-Ontarians wage a daily battle to protect their linguistic rights and keep the French language alive. The ideological decision made by Doug Ford's Ontario government to eliminate the Office of the French Language Services Commissioner and the proposed French-language university threatens the vitality of the Franco-Ontarian community. The entire French minority in Canada is concerned about this unjustified decision. As history has shown, Franco-Ontarians are brave and never give up in the fight to maintain their rights.

Canadians across the country are mobilizing to defend the official languages. Now the Liberal government needs to prove that it cares about francophone communities by announcing that it will fund its fair share of Ontario's French-language university. I would also like to acknowledge the courage that MPP Amanda Simard has shown in her unwavering defence of the Francophonie.

This Saturday, I hope everyone will participate in the rallies in support of Franco-Ontarians.

[Official Languages, November 29th, 2018]

Mr. Speaker, yesterday, our leader, Jagmeet Singh, was very pleased to have the opportunity to attend a meeting of all party leaders to discuss the situation that Franco-Ontarians are facing.

Everyone agreed that Doug Ford's decisions are a threat to the empowerment of Ontario's francophones. However, where are the new measures to protect the rights of Franco-Ontarians? That is what everyone is waiting for.

What will it take for the Liberals to publicly announce that they are willing and able to provide 50% of the funding to build a French-language university in Toronto?

[Official Languages, November 28th, 2018]

Mr. Speaker, the meeting of party leaders to discuss the French-language services crisis in Ontario is a step in the right direction.

However, as much as the Liberals love their consultations, getting together for a little chit-chat is not enough. At some point, there has to be action. That is what Franco-Ontarians want, and they are the people the Prime Minister should be listening to.

Can the Prime Minister confirm that he plans to take action and that this meeting is not just a smoke screen?

[Official Languages, November 26th, 2018]

Mr. Speaker, the federal and provincial official languages ministers passed the buck all weekend for the protection of French in Ontario. However, they are both responsible for supporting the francophone community and Franco-Ontarians.

Francophones need more than two ministers who are not doing their job. The federal minister and the Prime Minister must protect francophones living in Ontario and the rest of Canada.

There is a simple solution. Will the Prime Minister request an urgent meeting with the Premier of Ontario and commit to contributing his fair share to a French-language university in Ontario?

[An Act to Provide for the Resumption and Continuation of Postal Services, November 23rd, 2018]

Mr. Speaker, although it is true that what the Conservatives did in 2011 was wrong, they did not use time allocation as the Liberals are doing today. It is such an undemocratic measure and just unbelievable.

We, in the NDP, are ready to fight to have the opportunity to speak at third reading and to speak to why workers must have the option of rotating strikes.

Earlier, someone said that this is horrible, that this is the holiday season. The workers said that there would be a truce during the holidays. These are all just pretences and a false crisis fabricated by the Liberal government and Canada Post management to bring in this completely illegitimate legislative measure.

[An Act to Provide for the Resumption and Continuation of Postal Services, November 23rd, 2018]

Mr. Speaker, the rotating strike has not been going on for a year. It has only been a few weeks, and it is normal that there be some delay in the delivery of parcels. My constituents in Drummond are not going to come to see me and say the world is ending because of a one- or two-day delay.

The citizens of Drummond and Canada know that it is not normal to have a 43% increase in injuries and illnesses in the last two years. That is not normal.

It is true that there is currently a transformation at Canada Post, and this transformation requires a transformation of working conditions. That is what the mail carriers are asking for. Let them negotiate in peace.

When it was time to deal with the cuts made by Canada Post to sickness and other benefits, the government was not there to support workers. Now, when big companies like Amazon have deliveries to make that may not arrive on time, they are rushing to take care of Canadians first.

Parcels are reaching their destination. They are getting where they are going. This is not a general strike; these are rotating strikes. We are not talking here about the lockout in 2011, which was very poorly managed. I remember it very well. On June 23, 2011, I was on my feet at 3:30 a.m. to speak to it.