House of Commons photo

Crucial Fact

  • Her favourite word was farmers.

Last in Parliament October 2019, as NDP MP for Berthier—Maskinongé (Québec)

Lost her last election, in 2021, with 33% of the vote.

Statements in the House

International Trade October 5th, 2018

Mr. Speaker, Liberals do not listen to Quebec producers. Family farms are at risk, and the next generation of farmers is worried because with this agreement Liberals opened another breach in the supply management system.

Supply management was already weakened by breaches in CETA. The Liberals once again used agricultural producers as bargaining chips. When Liberals abandon supply management, they abandon middle-class families and the next generation of farmers.

My question is very simple: do they realize this?

International Trade October 5th, 2018

Mr. Speaker, yesterday, the Prime Minister met with Canadian and Quebec dairy farmers to really take stock of the cracks opened up by the United States—Mexico—Canada Agreement. He acknowledged that farmers will suffer a bit. The reality is that farmers will suffer a lot when they lose a month’s wages. This is huge and completely unacceptable.

My question is very simple: how does the Liberal government manage to be so bad at listening to the Quebec dairy industry?

40th Edition of the Buckwheat Pancake Festival October 5th, 2018

Mr. Speaker, I want to take this opportunity to highlight the 40th edition of the Louiseville Buckwheat Pancake Festival, which runs from September 28 to October 7. More than 200,000 people are expected to visit the site and join the festivities, with music shows, children's activities, pancakes, of course, and the famous folkloric parade, which takes place this Sunday at 2:00 p.m.

Several interesting new events are part of the festival this year, including a demolition derby, a family square and a tour of the Jardins Ricard buckwheat mill. Also, baker Louise Savoie is presenting her creation, a special bread made with buckwheat flour and potatoes.

I would like to congratulate and thank the president of the festival, André Auger, as well as the honorary president, Jean-Pierre Gélinas, for their dedication to the festival. I also want to extend a special thank you to the volunteers who made the 40th Edition of the Buckwheat Pancake Festival a great success.

Congratulations to the milling queen and Miss Personality 2017-18, Mélissa Ladouceur, and good luck to all lady millers. Enjoy the Buckwheat Pancake Festival! I invite everyone to come and see us in Louiseville.

Dairy Industry October 4th, 2018

Mr. Speaker, since the new NAFTA was signed, I have received many emails and calls from young Canadian farmers who are really afraid and who feel threatened by the new breach. This 4% concession comes on top of the 3% concession in CETA and the 3.25% concession in the trans-Pacific partnership.

Dairy farmers, especially the next generation, are extremely disappointed to have been sacrificed once again by this Liberal government.

How can the government rise in the House and tell the next generation of farmers that it signed a good agreement for them? It is not true.

Petitions October 2nd, 2018

Mr. Speaker, I am rising in the House today to table a petition in support of postal banking. Quite a few people have signed this petition.

Nearly two million Canadians desperately need an alternative to payday lenders, whose crippling lending rates affect the poor and marginalized in rural and indigenous communities the most.

There are 3,800 Canada Post outlets that already exist in rural areas, where there are fewer banks and credit unions. Canada Post already has the infrastructure to make a rapid transition to include postal banking.

The people who have signed this petition are asking the Government of Canada to enact Motion No. 166 to create a committee to study and propose a plan for postal banking under the Canada Post Corporation.

International Trade October 1st, 2018

Mr. Speaker, the Liberals told the House over and over that they would defend our supply management system. They have broken that promise.

Once again, dairy, egg and poultry farmers are on the losing end. Let us do the math. The Liberals gave up 3% in CETA, 3.25% in the trans-Pacific Partnership, and nearly 4% to the United States. That means about 10% of the dairy market has been given up in under three years.

Could the Prime Minister explain why he is putting our family farms in jeopardy by signing such bad trade deals?

Status of Women September 26th, 2018

Mr. Speaker, Bill S-3, an act to amend the Indian Act, still contains gender-based discrimination.

The Superior Court of Quebec ordered Canada to address all exclusions based on gender, but Bill S-3 only removes certain obstacles. Gender inequality continues to exist today, in 2018.

As this is Gender Equality Week, can the Prime Minister confirm today that he will eliminate all inequalities in Bill S-3, an act to amend the Indian Act?

Natural Resources September 24th, 2018

Mr. Speaker, when it comes to pipelines, it is the same old story from both the Liberals and the Conservatives. Quebeckers have lost faith in the Liberal Prime Minister's bungled consultations and discredited assessments.

The Liberals can say what they will to defend themselves, but the Federal Court of Appeal clearly indicated that consulting with first nations and affected communities is not really their strong suit.

Now, the Conservatives are trying to revive energy east, and the Liberals' response is vague and not very reassuring.

Are Quebeckers in for a nasty surprise? Does the Liberal Party plan to revive energy east?

International Trade September 19th, 2018

Mr. Speaker, Trump unleashed a vigorous attack on our dairy producers. The Liberals are suggesting that they were flexible, which is no comfort to Ms. Chevalier, a farmer from Saint-Ignace-de-Loyola, who fears that our supply management system is again being undermined. She is not sure whether her farm will remain viable as the Liberals cede yet another part of our supply-managed market.

After the government let down producers with the Canada-Europe agreement and the TPP, how is Ms. Chevalier supposed to have faith that the Liberal government will protect our supply management system?

Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership Implementation Act September 18th, 2018

Mr. Speaker, I thank the member for Joliette for his question.

The House voted unanimously in favour of the motion to ensure that any agreements we sign do not open a breach in our supply management system. Unfortunately, unanimous motions do not force the government to take action. That is sad because each new agreement we sign chips away at supply management.

In 2014, I even moved a similar motion calling for financial support and demanding that the government fully protect supply management in the Canada-Europe agreement, but we all know how that turned out.

Benoit Legault represents dairy farmers in the Outaouais-Laurentides region. This is what he had to say:

All countries subsidize their agricultural sectors to ensure food sovereignty. However, our dairy farmers have never needed subsidies because production is tightly controlled. There is no surplus, prices do not go down, and there is no need to subsidize our dairy farmers. Then the government came along with compensation...

He was talking about the investment plan, which never materialized. These farmers do not want subsidies. They do not want money. They just want the government to do its job, keep its promises, and protect our borders like it said it would.