Alain Therrien

[Canada—Newfoundland and Labrador Atlantic Accord Implementation Act, October 16th, 2023]

Madam Speaker, the government, which already has a rather light legislative agenda, is once again showing a complete lack of respect for democracy by imposing time allocation. This bill has been debated for only eight hours, last Tuesday and Friday. There has been eight hours of debate. Where is the urgency?

Clearly, the NDP is going to support the time allocation for the 32nd time. Why is the NDP supporting the Liberals so strongly? It is for an extremely flawed dental insurance program—probably the most flawed in history—and a very dubious promise for pharmacare.

The NDP is being submissive to the Liberals. It is being submissive to the party that subsidizes fossil fuel energy. Polls show that the NDP is paying dearly for being so submissive.

My question is simple: Are the Liberals pleased to have a friend as docile as the NDP?

[Points of Order, October 5th, 2023]

Mr. Speaker, when you became Speaker, you insisted that we must all respect one another. We agree on that.

The member for Hamilton Centre asked the Minister of Justice a question earlier. Following the Minister of Justice's response, many of us heard the member say a few words.

Bloc members rarely speak English, so listen carefully.

Here is what he said:

“The options? Just release it, fascist.”

That is what he said, and I think he should apologize.

[Official Languages, October 5th, 2023]

Mr. Speaker, even so, we are talking about the immigration minister.

This year, the federal government increased the number of temporary immigrants to Quebec by 150,000. Quebec is concerned about its reception capacity. The Quebec immigration minister said that she discussed this with the federal minister and that he had not even considered the notion of reception capacity. That is very worrisome. The minister, who is having a terrible time admitting that French is threatened, does not realize that reception capacity must be part of his immigration reform.

Do we really need to explain that to him?

[Official Languages, October 5th, 2023]

Mr. Speaker, it is strange how defending the French language in Quebec is always difficult for the Liberals.

Let us take, for example, the Minister of Immigration. Yesterday in committee, he was once again unable to acknowledge a simple fact proven by all indicators: French is declining in Quebec. He was like James Bond under torture, but refusing to cough up the goods.

Oddly enough, it reminded us of the debates on Bill C-13 regarding the official languages reform. The minister was one of the West Island Liberals who fought tooth and nail against stronger protection for the French language.

Is it a coincidence?

[Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship, October 4th, 2023]

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister's statement is clearly wishful thinking. To hear him tell it, being open to the world means welcoming newcomers because it is the nice thing to do. He seems to think it is okay if newcomers do not have a place to live or if housing prices are skyrocketing. He thinks it is okay if they do not integrate because they have not learned enough French. He does not seem to think it matters if they do not have access to basic services. Well, it does matter, and it is irresponsible on his part to think otherwise.

Will the Prime Minister review the immigration targets, taking into account our capacity to welcome newcomers?

[Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship, October 4th, 2023]

Mr. Speaker, last week, Statistics Canada revealed that there are nearly 500,000 non-permanent residents in Quebec, an increase of more than 150,000 over last year.

Whether they are permanent or temporary residents, newcomers have the same needs as everyone else. They need a roof over their heads, they need to work, they need to interact with others and therefore, they need to learn our language. Children need to go to school. If they are sick, they need treatment like everyone else does.

Will the government review its targets to ensure that we can provide all these essential services for newcomers?

[Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship, October 3rd, 2023]

Mr. Speaker, the Quebec immigration minister, Christine Fréchette, is asking the federal government to wake up. She said that these figures “change the game” in terms of the “state of the situation”.

Quebec controls its permanent immigration, but not its temporary immigration; that falls to the federal government.

With half a million non-permanent residents in Quebec alone, the pressure on our education system, our ability to teach people French, our housing supply and, in short, our ability to integrate people is becoming too great.

Will the government lower its targets?

[Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship, October 3rd, 2023]

Mr. Speaker, last week Statistics Canada reported that there were almost half a million non-permanent residents in Quebec in July. That is 150,000 more than last year, and it is all because of Ottawa.

Quebeckers may well be the most welcoming people in the world and the most open to immigration, but we will have to wake up and smell the coffee at some point. There are half a million non-permanent residents here, and we just cannot handle them all. Public services cannot keep up.

Will the government be reasonable and adjust its targets so they are in line with our capacity to accommodate people?

[Election of Speaker, October 3rd, 2023]

Mr. Speaker, I cannot begin without acknowledging the person who masterfully held the office of the Speaker of this Parliament for seven days: the member for Bécancour—Nicolet—Saurel. I thank him. He was a model of impartiality.

Mr. Speaker, before I recognize you, I would like to recognize the candidates whose names were on the list today. We had a tough choice to make. I tip my hat to them. They are great parliamentarians who have always created a space for debate and who have been extremely effective.

Mr. Speaker, I congratulate you on behalf of myself and the Bloc Québécois. We are very pleased to see you in the chair. We are very proud of you.

All of the Speakers who came before you were faced with the challenge of moving from a sometimes very partisan role to one where they had to set aside partisanship and become impartial. I am sure that you will be able to fulfill this role and that you will maintain the impartiality required for our Parliament to do noble work for our fellow citizens. They expect nothing less from us.

I, too, want to use a hockey analogy. I really hope that you will be an impartial, effective and respectful referee. On behalf of myself and the Bloc Québécois, my whip and my leader, I offer you our full co-operation. I look forward to working together so that ideas can come first and be the top priority in Parliament.

[Guests in the House of Commons, September 25th, 2023]

Mr. Speaker, I am talking about the negative impact this incident will have on the Ukrainian war effort, but we must not forget our Jewish constituents.

I acknowledge the Leader of the Government in the House of Commons and all those who were the victims of Naziism during the Second World War. As long as any of the perpetrators are still alive, there are still victims, and our thoughts are with them. We need to show all those who have been affected in any way that this House and this government do not take lightly what happened on Friday.

What will the government do to correct this terrible mistake?