Denis Paradis

[Committees of the House, December 14th, 2016]

Mr. Speaker, before I go ahead with the official tabling of the report of the Standing Committee on Official Languages regarding the action plan for the next five years, I would like to thank the House of Commons staff who contributed to that report, specifically the clerk, Christine Holke, and the research staff, Lucie Lecomte and Geneviève Gosselin.

A lot of time went into this report. I am proud to chair a committee that feels like a big family. I want to thank my fellow members of the Standing Committee on Official Languages. I congratulate the member for Perth—Wellington, who is a new father to a bilingual son. I thank the member for Drummond for his targeted contributions, the member for Madawaska—Restigouche for his collegiality, the member for Beauport—Côte-de-Beaupré—Île d'Orléans—Charlevoix for her dedication, the member for Montmagny—L'Islet—Kamouraska—Rivière-du-Loup for his bilingualism at home, the member for Rivière-des-Mille-Îles for her sensitivity to minority communities, the member for Sudbury for his energy and ability to bring people together, the member for Sackville—Preston—Chezzetcook for his joie de vivre as a proud Nova Scotian, and the member for Saint Boniface—Saint Vital for his commitment to his community.

I have the honour to present, in both official languages, the third report of the Standing Committee on Official Languages entitled, “Toward a New Action Plan for Official Languages and Building New Momentum for Immigration in Francophone Minority Communities”. Pursuant to Standing Order 109, the committee requests that the government table a comprehensive response to this report.

[Cyanobacteria, November 21st, 2016]

Mr. Speaker, as you know, the environment is a priority for our government. Again, the main reason I came back to politics was the quality of the water of the two transboundary lakes between Canada and the U.S. in my riding, Lake Champlain and Lake Memphrémagog.

A month ago, I called a meeting of representatives of Global Affairs Canada's International Joint Commission and of Quebec's ministry for sustainable development, the environment and the fight against climate change, as well as the mayors representing the Lake Champlain area. My goal was to make them aware of the problem of cyanobacteria. The mayors all agree: the quality of the water is deteriorating. This is drinking water for several thousand people.

This needs to be addressed as soon as possible. That is why it is imperative that the mandate of the International Joint Commission, which deals with boundary waters, focus on the cyanobacteria problem, especially as it affects Lake Champlain.

[American-Canadian Exchanges, October 27th, 2016]

Mr. Speaker, today, I had the chance to meet students from the University of Vermont and Saint Michael's College to discuss our political system.

It is a great pleasure to see young Americans interested in Canadian politics.

Promoting trade with our neighbours to the south is very important to my riding, because it shares a border with Vermont. We have a special relationship with the United States and our border crossings should reflect that.

When I think about the automated border crossing pilot project underway at the Morses Line crossing in Saint-Armand, I think to myself that this is the future. It is important to facilitate trade between our two countries, even if that means relaxing border controls somewhat.

[Rail Transportation, October 18th, 2016]

Mr. Speaker, people in my riding, Brome—Missisquoi, are concerned about rail safety, particularly in the Montreal-Sherbrooke corridor.

Can the Minister of Transport tell us what progress he has made toward fulfilling his mandate to improve rail safety?

[Interparliamentary Delegations, October 5th, 2016]

Mr. Speaker, pursuant to Standing Order 34(1), I have the honour to present to the House, in both official languages, the report of the delegation of the Canada-France Interparliamentary Association respecting its participation in a mission to France, from July 11 to 14, 2016.

[High-Speed Internet, September 20th, 2016]

Mr. Speaker, it has been 15 years since Brian Tobin, who was then the industry minister, promised to get Canada connected from coast to coast. Obviously, there is still a lot of work to be done.

In Canada, nearly 100% of the urban population has fibre optic Internet service, while a million households in rural Quebec still do not have access to that type of Internet. Rural residents are not second-class citizens.

I would like to thank Réal Pelletier, the mayor of Saint-Armand, for his initiative and involvement in getting Brome—Missisquoi connected.

In 2016, high-speed Internet with optic fibre is no longer a luxury and should be considered an essential service. It is urgent that we connect people living in rural Canada. It is urgent. It is urgent that our rural communities be connected to optic fibre now.

[Committees of the House, June 15th, 2016]

Mr. Speaker, I have the honour to present, in both official languages, the second report of the Standing Committee on Official Languages, entitled “Study of the Translation Bureau”.

Pursuant to Standing Order 109, the committee requests that the government table a comprehensive response to this report.

I would also like to thank the committee staff for their excellent work, as well as our interpreters and our translators.

[2018 World Equestrian Games, June 8th, 2016]

Mr. Speaker, two years from now, Brome—Missisquoi will be hosting the World Equestrian Games. This is quite an honour for Bromont, which was awarded the games despite stiff competition from many other countries in Europe and around the world.

The 2018 World Equestrian Games will bring over 500,000 visitors to Bromont and the province of Quebec, and another 350 million spectators worldwide will be watching the games from home.

I would like to take a moment to congratulate the organizers: the special advisor, Susan Burkman; the chair, Rosaire Houde; the president of Equine Canada, Jorge Bernhard; the CEO of Equine Canada, Eva Havaris; and the secretary general of the Fédération équestre internationale, Sabrina Ibañez.

I invite all members to come and meet the organizing committee at a reception in the Commonwealth room from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m.

Canada is delighted to welcome the games, along with the athletes from 65 countries and over 1,000 horses.

[Official Languages, May 11th, 2016]

Mr. Speaker, I have a dream.

My dream is a Parliament in which all parliamentarians are bilingual or working on becoming bilingual. There are currently about 100 members in the House who are quite comfortable communicating in both official languages.

There are another 136 members who are currently taking language training. Let us find a way to allow members who are not currently taking language training to access it as easily as possible. We are so proud of our languages. Not only do they characterize us, but they also strengthen and enrich us. This dream is definitely attainable if all hon. members are willing to participate and make the effort. What a great goal that would be for Canada's 150th birthday.

As chair of the Standing Committee on Official Languages, I wish that this dream comes true.

[Budget Implementation Act, 2016, No. 1., May 10th, 2016]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank my colleague from Saint-Hyacinthe—Bagot. I invite her and all of my colleagues to visit the magnificent riding of Brome—Missisquoi, which, as another colleague was saying, is very beautiful. It is also home to the wine trail and many other attractions. I invite everyone to visit my riding.

Agriculture is a constant concern for the Liberal caucus, whether we are talking about agriculture in Quebec, Ontario, western Canada, or the Maritimes. I am part of the Liberal rural caucus. We are having open discussions about agriculture and getting Canada connected, and we are trying to find the quickest way to meet our objectives.

The budget provides $500 million to get Canada connected from coast to coast. That amount is not enough to solve the problem, but since we are here for at least four years, the caucuses that we belong to will be able to put pressure on the government to increase it.

In 2016, if we want young families to settle in our ridings and in rural areas, we need to make sure that every house and every business is connected to high-speed Internet.