Bernard Généreux

[Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development Act, November 24th, 2020]

Mr. Speaker, I thank my hon. colleague for his presentation.

I would like to remind him that, when the Conservative government was negotiating free trade with our various European and Asian partners, there was a provision to pay $4.3 billion in compensation to all supply-managed producers. The current Liberal government also made compensating producers an election promise. The producers received a payment, but the rest has still not been paid out. We do not know when that will happen, because the minister is not able to tell us.

[Agriculture and Agri-Food, November 24th, 2020]

Mr. Speaker, I will give the Minister of Agriculture another chance to respond to a very simple question: When will compensation go out to farmers, and particularly dairy farmers? They have written to us, and I have a Zoom meeting scheduled with them tomorrow evening in the hopes of being able to give them some good news.

I will give the minister a chance to respond. When will the next round of compensation for dairy farmers be paid? I think that is an extremely simple and clear question.

[Petitions, November 23rd, 2020]

Mr. Speaker, it is my honour to present to the House petition e-2943, which has over 30,200 signatures.

The petitioners are asking the Canada Revenue Agency to immediately suspend the imposition of the federal sales tax on osteopathic care provided in Quebec.

People in my riding have talked to me about taking this issue very seriously because Quebec is currently holding consultations about creating a professional association for osteopaths. That is going to happen in the next 12 months. The petitioners are asking the government to suspend the tax because it was done very suddenly and this group of professionals got no warning.

[Canada Revenue Agency, November 23rd, 2020]

Mr. Speaker, this is just more rhetoric that means nothing. What we want is real action. I will try to ask another question.

This morning, my colleagues and I again called on the Liberal government to pause the harmful audits of small businesses that have been hit hard by COVID-19.

Will the Minister of National Revenue respect the will of Parliament, which voted in favour of a motion to that effect on November 4?

[Official Languages, November 23rd, 2020]

Mr. Speaker, for the past year, the Legault government has been calling on the federal government to apply Bill 101 to federally regulated businesses in Quebec.

We have seen the Minister of Canadian Heritage, the Minister of Official Languages, and even the Prime Minister wax lyrical about French in Quebec.

When will they match rhetoric with action?

[Income Tax Act, November 6th, 2020]

Mr. Speaker, I would just like to know exactly how much time is left in this debate.

[Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship, November 5th, 2020]

Mr. Speaker, with regard to immigration, work permits are backlogged for immigrants who are already in the country. There are spousal and family sponsorship cases that date back to long before the pandemic. Sometimes it takes more than two years. Red tape is causing labour shortages in my riding and across Canada.

Instead of talking about 2023, could the government focus and prioritize the applications we already have?

[COVID-19 Emergency Response, November 3rd, 2020]

Mr. Speaker, after more than seven months, the Transbois company in my riding is still unable to access the emergency wage subsidy because it had the misfortune of changing owners on the wrong date. I say it has been seven months, but we are almost at eight months.

The Prime Minister said that he would not let anyone down. Transbois has 40 employees and needs help to ensure its survival and continued existence.

Is the government going to make sure that it helps all businesses, regardless of size?

[Business of Supply, November 3rd, 2020]

Madam Speaker, as an entrepreneur, I cannot help but agree with someone who wants to support all entrepreneurs in Canada. Whatever the area of activity, I think it is important for the government to understand that. The Canadian Federation of Independent Business, or CFIB, just published a survey that shows that 75% of business were open full time two weeks ago but now that percentage has now dropped to 69%. A significant number of businesses are putting on the brakes. That will inevitably have a major impact on the Canadian economy in the coming months.

[Business of Supply, November 3rd, 2020]

Madam Speaker, the political parties made decisions during the pandemic. The Liberals decided to take the wage subsidy. We, too, decided to take it, but then we later stopped. I think that those were important decisions that all organizations across the country, both political and volunteer, had to make at that time to ensure their survival and continued existence. We need to look at those decisions to make sure that things are done differently in the future.