Canadian Coast Guard Auxiliary Volunteers  Mr. Speaker, on the evening of September 21, 2018, off the coast of the Lower St. Lawrence, a 22-foot sailboat ran violently aground on a reef, leaving its two sailors clinging to the mast, fearing the worst. Despite extreme weather conditions, 100-kilometre-an-hour winds and three-metre waves, the Canadian Coast Guard auxiliary volunteers in my region took to the sea with one goal in mind: to save lives.

Fall Economic Statement Implementation Act, 2023  Madam Speaker, my colleague talked a lot about the economy in his speech. I think he will agree with me that small and medium-sized businesses are a key component of the Quebec and Canadian economies, and that they are extremely important. The pandemic has been hard on them. The government offered them a loan, which was coupled with a subsidy if they were able to repay the loan.

Fall Economic Statement Implementation Act, 2023  Madam Speaker, of course, when the government wants to invest just over $30 billion in clean technologies, names like that make a good impression. The government gets to feel like it is clearly investing in the environment. However, knowing that most of this money is going to the most polluting sectors of our economy, I wonder whether there is a way to ensure that this money is invested solely in renewable energy, not in the most polluting sectors.

Fall Economic Statement Implementation Act, 2023  Madam Speaker, I agree that we need to spend smarter. We do not need new investments. The money we are already investing needs to be spent on different things. This $30 billion is going mostly to oil, but why not invest it in health transfers to the provinces instead? The government could also give more to Quebec for housing and allow Quebec to implement its own projects with the municipalities.

Fall Economic Statement Implementation Act, 2023  Madam Speaker, carbon capture and storage is not a solution. The UN tells us so. The OECD and the International Energy Agency tell us not to focus all our efforts on that, not to put all our eggs in the carbon storage basket, because it will not work. We will not be able to reduce our greenhouse gas emissions as much as we would like or hope.

Fall Economic Statement Implementation Act, 2023  Madam Speaker, I would like to begin by asking for unanimous consent to share my time.

Fall Economic Statement Implementation Act, 2023  Madam Speaker, I will be sharing my time with the member for Terrebonne. Before I begin, I want to wish you, Madam Speaker, and all my colleagues, a happy new year. This is the first opportunity we have had to do so. I also wish a happy new year to everyone in Avignon—La Mitis—Matane—Matapédia.

Fall Economic Statement Implementation Act, 2023  Madam Speaker, I see that my colleague is using his speaking time in the House to chant campaign slogans and even announce some new candidates for the next election, which is scheduled to take place in a year and a half, rather than talking about the bill before us. That being said, I have not heard him mention the environment even once in all his famous election promises, even though he seems to want to win over Quebeckers.

Canada Labour Code  Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for his speech and his work. I know that the NDP has wanted this bill for a long time, and the same goes for the Bloc Québécois. We introduced anti-scab legislation at least 11 times over the years. We have been waiting for this for a long time.

Climate Change  Mr. Speaker, COP28 starts today and the Liberals have already had time to make another cowardly decision on climate change. Just yesterday, Canada announced that it refuses to include in the final statement that we must one day give up fossil fuels. COP had not even started and Canada was already fighting alongside other petro-monarchies to pollute even more.

Committees of the House  Mr. Speaker, a little earlier this year, The Canadian Press reported the following: According to a report, Royal Bank of Canada was the biggest fossil fuel financier in the world last year after providing over $42 billion U.S. in funding in 2022, $3 billion U.S. more than in 2021.

Canada Labour Code  Madam Speaker, as I said earlier, the Bloc Québécois introduced 11 anti-scab bills before the government introduced this one. To give a little background, when the member for Bécancour—Nicolet—Saurel, the dean of the House, introduced his bill in 1990, the Liberals voted overwhelmingly in favour of it, but the Conservatives voted against it.

Canada Labour Code  Mr. Speaker, that is correct. There is no interpretation.

Canada Labour Code  Mr. Speaker, it seems that this great Canada, which is so different from Quebec, may be resistant to this, either for unknown reasons or for the reasons my colleague before me mentioned. However, I think it is important to move forward and pass this kind of bill immediately. Parliament could have done so as far back as 1990, when our colleague from Bécancour—Nicolet—Saurel first introduced such legislation.

Canada Labour Code  Mr. Speaker, the committee will obviously be able to ask officials questions about that expertise and the 18-month delay. Is it necessary to wait that long? We have talked about the law in Quebec and the law in British Columbia. I think the federal government has quite a few tools in its toolbox to follow their lead and know a little about how to operate once the legislation takes effect.