Alain Therrien

[Dental Care, December 11th, 2023]

Mr. Speaker, we already have a dental care system in Quebec. The government could simply have sent over the money and we would have improved our system, but apparently that is too complicated.

Quebec has a public system, the Régie de l'assurance maladie du Québec, or RAMQ, which can be enhanced through an agreement with Ottawa. That is what everyone wants, but no, Ottawa wants to force Sun Life, a private company, into our public system. We thought that Ottawa wanted an agreement to respect provincial jurisdictions, but no, it does not give a damn. What Ottawa wants is good news just in time for the holidays. Why impose a system that is incompatible with Quebec's?

[Dental Care, December 11th, 2023]

Mr. Speaker, the government is unbelievable. Every time we tell ourselves that its incompetence could not get worse, we get treated to a “just watch me” moment that proves us wrong.

Up until last Friday, the Government of Quebec thought it was negotiating a dental care agreement with Ottawa. It is over; there is no agreement. Ottawa is trespassing in an area under Quebec's jurisdiction and stirring up another quarrel instead of reaching an agreement that would benefit everyone. At some point, maybe it would like to start working for the people?

[Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship, December 7th, 2023]

Mr. Speaker, I want to talk about collaboration. What is the federal government doing for asylum seekers? They are the federal government's responsibility, after all. It offers zero social services. It pays 0% of the bill, and the icing on the cake is that Ottawa's delays in issuing work permits and reviewing applications mean that Quebeckers pay even more.

In short, Quebeckers provide 100% of the services, pay 100% of the bill and, because of federal incompetence, pay too much. We can do without the lessons.

Tomorrow, will he tell the minister that he is reimbursing Quebeckers?

[Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship, December 7th, 2023]

Mr. Speaker, Quebeckers take in 48% of all the people who seek asylum in Canada. It is costing us $460 million. Quebeckers deserve to be reimbursed, not insulted.

However, not only is the Minister of Immigration refusing to reimburse them, but, in committee on Tuesday, he reiterated his plan to send Quebec another bill. We provide 100% of the services and foot 100% of the bill, yet he thinks Quebeckers owe even more money. I cannot make this stuff up.

The Minister of Immigration is meeting with his Quebec counterpart tomorrow. Will he check his arrogance at the door and bring his chequebook instead?

[CBC/Radio-Canada, December 4th, 2023]

Mr. Speaker, in June, Catherine Tait, the CEO of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, had her contract extended by 18 months. It will end in January 2025. She said that gave her 18 months to combat disinformation. Cutting hundreds of jobs over the next few months really means cutting news.

Basically, Ms. Tait is not there to combat disinformation. The government extended her contract so she could cut those jobs. At least, that is the impression we are getting.

Was that the real plan when her contract was extended?

[CBC/Radio-Canada, December 4th, 2023]

Mr. Speaker, CBC/Radio-Canada management met with the Crown corporation's employees at 2 p.m. to give them some very bad news.

Things are not going well for the media these days. More than 600 jobs are going to be cut. This announcement is almost a repetition of the Quebecor announcement in early November. It means that our culture, our sense of regional belonging and the quality of the news we receive are going to suffer.

Here is my first question: How long has the Minister of Canadian Heritage known that these job cuts were coming?

[Privilege, December 4th, 2023]

Mr. Speaker, the current Speaker of the House took office after the previous Speaker resigned following a serious error in judgment. His succession was a very sensitive issue, at least, more sensitive than usual.

Everyone, or almost everyone, here knows and would agree that the current Speaker was a highly partisan member. At the time, the Bloc Québécois decided it would give the member in question the benefit of the doubt. Regardless of what kind of member we are, I think that any member who wants to be Speaker has the right to hold the office and prove to everyone that he or she is impartial. I applauded him in my speech to the House a few minutes after he was elected, and told him that I was looking forward to seeing him perform his duties with the impartiality that is essential, necessary and indispensable to any Speaker worthy of the title.

What are the facts here? The House leader of the official opposition clearly explained them. I will very quickly go back to a few things, if I may. First, the Speaker was in his position as Speaker of the House of Commons. He was wearing the robes of the Speaker of the House of Commons. He was in the offices of the Speaker of the House of Commons. He used the resources of the Speaker of the House of Commons for an event that was undeniably partisan.

I am going to quote from the House of Commons Procedure and Practice, third edition, 2017: “In order to protect the impartiality of the office, the Speaker abstains from all partisan political activity”. It is very simple.

Therefore, we have a major problem. We have heard from the Speaker of the House that we were not supposed to see this. That is troubling, because we did see it. Are there other events that we did not see? Did we see the tip of the iceberg? We have these questions in mind, and I do not think it is appropriate to have these questions come up when we think about the actions and responsibility of the Speaker, an office of critical importance for our institutions.

We want to have confidence in the interventions the Speaker makes in the House. We do not want to be left wondering whether it was for the good of the House, the good of democracy or the good of the government. We do not want to ask ourselves those types of questions.

On November 29, our leader asked the Prime Minister a question and the Speaker deemed it irrelevant because, according to him, it had nothing to do with the management of government operations or public administration. We raised a point of order on the issue. We want to believe that this was simply a mistake. That is what we wish and that is what we believe. He even admitted it.

What do we do now? This needs to be above partisanship. We must ensure that Parliament functions. That is what people expect. We have to work for the greater good of the public. We must not allow things to fester or trust in the Chair will be lost and the work of the House might become less effective than it should be.

Things in the House are rather tense right now. We can all agree. Doing the work of the Chair requires two essential qualities: impartiality and impeccable judgment. Unfortunately, after what he did this weekend, the Speaker has shown us that he has neither of these qualities. That is why the Bloc Québécois is urging the Speaker to step down without delay.

[Statutory Holidays, November 30th, 2023]

Mr. Speaker, there have been discussions among the parties and if you seek it, I believe you will find unanimous consent to adopt the following motion:

That the House

(a) recall that Christmas is a tradition celebrated in Quebec and Canada;

(b) denounce the Canadian Human Rights Commission's statement that “Statutory holidays related to Christianity, including Christmas and Easter”, represent an "obvious example" of “systemic religious discrimination”, and that this “discrimination against religious minorities in Canada is grounded in Canada's history of colonialism”;

(c) denounce all attempts to polarize events that have been part of Quebec and Canadian heritage for generations.

(d) invite all Quebecers and Canadians to unite as we approach the Christmas season.

[Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship, November 30th, 2023]

Mr. Speaker, it took a minister from New Brunswick for the federal government to finally realize how generous Quebeckers have been to asylum seekers. On Tuesday, the Minister of Public Safety, Democratic Institutions and Intergovernmental Affairs recognized that Quebec's public services and community organizations are overwhelmed.

Meanwhile, Quebeckers spent $460 million on asylum seekers even though that is a federal government responsibility. On Tuesday, the Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs said he would talk to his colleague, the Minister of Finance. Has he done so? When will he send that $460‑million cheque to Quebec?

[Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship, November 30th, 2023]

Mr. Speaker, Quebec alone takes in as many asylum seekers as all the other provinces combined. Believe it or not, it has cost Quebeckers $460 million, even though asylum claims fall under federal jurisdiction.

Quebeckers should not have to foot the bill on their own on behalf of Canadians. They also do not deserve the arrogance being shown by the Minister of Immigration, who is from Quebec, I might add, and who likes to say that Ottawa is not an ATM.

It is a shame that we have to go over the head of a minister from Quebec in order to find a solution that respects Quebeckers, but that is what we have to do. We have no choice. I am therefore appealing to the Minister of Finance. Will she reimburse Quebeckers?