The Budget  Madam Speaker, I am a bit surprised to hear this coming from a member from Quebec, because we went through years of austerity, service cuts and additional costs for social programs and infrastructure for municipalities. We know how that turned out: Quebec went through a very difficult period.

The Budget  Madam Speaker, I am very pleased to rise in the House today to represent the people of Châteauguay—Lacolle, soon to be Châteauguay—Les Jardins de Napierville. Budget 2024, tabled on April 16, proposes a suite of measures to make life easier for all Canadians. It addresses the needs of today while looking to the future as well.

The Budget  Madam Speaker, as always, my colleague's speech was interesting and very informative. I know of his great advocacy in the areas of international trade, artificial intelligence and so on, and I appreciate that from him. I know that Montreal is a hub for innovation in artificial intelligence and that there are other hubs across the country.

Next Generation of Farmers  Mr. Speaker, yesterday's 2024 budget contained some very good news. We could never overstate the importance of giving young people every opportunity to achieve their potential and share their talents with the community, especially in agriculture, where the next generation is in short supply.

Tourism Industry  Mr. Speaker, National Tourism Week celebrates one of Canada's vital industries. This industry accounts for one in 10 jobs and has a presence in every region, including mine, Châteauguay—Lacolle, soon to be renamed Châteauguay—Les Jardins-de-Napierville. Our government has made strategic investments, such as the indigenous tourism fund and the tourism growth program.

Pharmacare Act  Madam Speaker, I listened to the speech of my colleague with great interest, and I know he is a great advocate for health care for Canadians. I would like to ask him about the situation in Quebec. Maybe he is not that familiar with it, but we did hear how many unions are in favour of our health care plan, even if their members have employer drug insurance.

Pharmacare Act  Madam Speaker, I know my hon. colleague suffers from diabetes, so I am certainly interested in hearing his perspective as to why we are focusing on the two areas of diabetes and contraceptives at this point. Why are we seeing the prioritization of diabetes and contraceptives in this bill?

Canadian Sustainable Jobs Act  Mr. Speaker, I really appreciated my hon. colleague's speech. He did a great job describing the issues associated with climate change and the fight against climate change, as well as ways to approach decarbonization. Frankly, I wish today's debate were more focused on all these aspects.

Softwood Lumber  Mr. Chair, the name of my riding will soon be Châteauguay—Les Jardins-de-Napierville. That is coming, even though the opposition voted against my proposal to change the name, but that is another matter. I listened to my colleague's speech. He talked a bit about the agreements that were signed under Prime Minister Harper.

Softwood Lumber  Mr. Chair, like many of the speeches we heard from the Conservative members tonight, there were lots of slogans and buzzwords, but no actual substance. While our government was providing historic supports for the forestry sector, with over $368.4 million over three years to renew and update forest sector support, over $130 million to accelerate the adoption of transformative technologies and products, and over $12 million to provide economic opportunities for indigenous communities in the forest sector, the Conservatives did nothing but oppose.

Softwood Lumber  Mr. Chair, I really enjoyed my colleague's speech, and I understand that the forestry industry is very important in her riding. I understand that very well. Earlier, several of our colleagues said that the past agreements were not good enough and that $1 billion was even left on the table during the Harper years.

Softwood Lumber  Mr. Chair, I appreciate my colleagues' speeches, including the speech by my colleague who just spoke on behalf of Quebec's forestry industry. This evening, we heard that an agreement had been reached under the Harper government that left something to be desired. I would like to hear my colleague's thoughts on that.

Softwood Lumber  Mr. Chair, I want to thank the hon. member for his speech and just say how grateful I was to hear the term “climate change” mentioned by a Conservative member. There were even a couple of other words in there, such as indigenous knowledge, and something to do with acknowledging that wildfires are an issue in this country and need to be addressed.

Softwood Lumber  Mr. Chair, I listened to the speech of my colleague with great interest. Clearly, he wants to tell us that he supports the softwood lumber industry, and I know the Conservatives in general talk a big game when it comes to supporting the industry and Canadian workers, but unfortunately it is all talk and no action.

Softwood Lumber  Madam Chair, the member is clearly very knowledgeable on the topic. On this side, we have always believed that the best deals are reached at the bargaining table. The government is prepared to negotiate in good faith with our American counterparts, but we are not willing to just accept any deal at any cost.