Denis Trudel

[Motion No. 2—Senate Amendments to Bill C-11, March 30th, 2023]

Madam Speaker, a little earlier my colleague opposite spoke about the arts community in his riding of Quebec City. Those artists support the bill. I can attest to that because I recently attended a meeting of the Union des artistes in Montreal. The artists are currently renegotiating agreements with producers on different platforms and in the film industry. I spoke at a meeting of the Union des artistes, where I said that Bill C-11 would soon pass and that there would likely be more money for artists. Obviously, Quebec artists support this bill. Not only do they all support it, they cannot wait for it pass.

Could my colleague talk a little more about the importance of passing this bill as quickly as possible?

[Telecommunications Act, March 23rd, 2023]

Mr. Speaker, speaking of cybersecurity, I would like to hear what my colleague thinks of the allegations made in the Journal de Montréal two or three weeks ago about a woman of Chinese descent who was elected as a Brossard city councillor. We know that she was the director of two Chinese community centres, one in Montreal and one in Brossard, that are suspected of having become Chinese police stations.

It is suspected that this woman got elected to Brossard's city council because people from the Chinese government sent WeChat messages to members of Brossard's Chinese community, telling them to vote for her. This woman is believed to be a Chinese operative. There is a link to the Chinese government, which is using digital platforms to influence our municipal and even provincial and federal elections.

I would like to know what my colleague thinks about that. Does this not prove that it is more urgent than ever to launch an independent public inquiry into Chinese interference in this country?

[Committees of the House, March 23rd, 2023]

Madam Speaker, Canada ranks last in the G7 when it comes to the average number of housing units per capita. That alone is outrageous.

There are currently 45,000 people on waiting lists to get low-cost housing in Quebec. It is shameful and outrageous. I spoke with an economist from the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation who initiated a study a few months ago. In Quebec alone, in order to address the two biggest problems, which are affordability and accessibility, 1.1 million housing units would need to be built. The private sector will build 500,000 units over the next 10 years.

This means that governments need to step up somehow and build 600,000 units in the next 10 years.

Over the past five years, as part of the broader national housing strategy, 35,000 units have been built and 60,000 units have been renovated, for a total of 100,000. We need 60,000 every year. This country needs a Marshall plan to address the housing crisis.

When is that going to begin?

[Committees of the House, March 23rd, 2023]

Madam Speaker, if I could sum up my colleague's speech I would say, “cut, cut, cut”. It reminds me of the “triple, triple, triple” quip we used to hear.

Unfortunately, after the pandemic, some people have been left out in the cold, left to fend for themselves. It has been very tough for many people, including the homeless. In Quebec, homelessness is becoming quite visible in cities where there never used to be any. We need to deal with this.

Last week, I met with representatives from the Réseau Solidarité Itinérance du Québec, who shared what they are looking for in the next budget. They are asking the federal government for a 30% increase in investments in the reaching home program to prevent and reduce homelessness in Quebec. We know that budgets were increased during the pandemic, which helped, but they have returned to prepandemic levels. That is not right. The demand is still there.

They are also asking for the annual indexing of social housing and a $3-billion investment. This is super important. At the end of the day, we want homeless populations to be housed.

What does my colleague think of these demands?

[Committees of the House, March 22nd, 2023]

Madam Speaker, there are so many unknowns in this story of foreign interference that the government's refusal to agree to an independent inquiry is absolutely unacceptable.

Three weeks ago, in the Special Committee on the Canada–People's Republic of China Relationship, I asked an RCMP officer that question. We now know that Safeguard Defenders says that the Chinese police stations start out as Chinese community centres offering help to the poor, helping them find clothing and shelter. Over time, these community centres become Chinese intelligence centres. Safeguard Defenders has documented evidence. Two such centres, one in Brossard and one in Montreal, were recently identified.

Three weeks ago, before the Journal de Montréal announced that these two centres were now Chinese police stations, the RCMP denied before the committee that there were Chinese police stations in Quebec. At the time, we knew that there were Chinese police stations in Toronto and Vancouver, but the RCMP denied it. The RCMP is like the government; at least we think so. It denied the facts and, three weeks later, we read the story in the newspaper. There is much we do not know.

What do the government and intelligence services know, and what do they not know? Does the RCMP know, or does it not know? What are they investigating, and what are they not investigating? It is absolutely unacceptable that we not get to the bottom of this with a fully independent inquiry.

[Committees of the House, March 22nd, 2023]

Mr. Speaker, I did not understand the beginning of my colleague's speech, but I understood the end.

This is not the first time that the Liberals and Conservatives accuse each other of partisanship, but I can tell my colleague that, in the Special Committee on the Canada–People's Republic of China Relationship this week, the Liberal members treated some witnesses appallingly.

We were talking about Chinese police stations. Experts came to talk to us about that. There was also Safeguard Defenders, whose studies indicate that there are Chinese police stations in 100 countries around the world. It is believed that there are 233,000 people around the world who have been deported, questioned and brought back to China because of China's interference in other countries' affairs. This NGO has documented evidence. The Liberal members cast doubt on all of that.

Why would Canada, which is average in almost every area, suddenly be better at fighting interference from a world power like China? It is absolutely unacceptable to think that.

Partisanship always comes from both sides, and always from the same place.

[Historic Places of Canada Act, March 21st, 2023]

Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for his rather extraordinary speech. It made me want to go straight to British Columbia. In fact, I think the B.C. tourism board should hire him or should send his speech to people to encourage them to go there and see how interesting the historic sites really are. It really makes you want to go there.

Quite apart from Bill C‑23 currently before the House, I think everyone pretty much agrees today on the issues of truth and reconciliation. We have talked about housing, murdered women, homelessness, and the reserves in northern Ontario and Manitoba that still do not have clean water. Many challenges remain when it comes to reaching out to indigenous nations.

What does my colleague think is the priority issue that should be dealt with immediately other than Bill C‑23?

[Historic Places of Canada Act, March 21st, 2023]

Madam Speaker, I thank my colleague for his very long speech. I am going to talk about the very long detour that he made at the beginning, as we were all wondering how he was going to land on topic. He eventually got there after a few minutes. He talked about housing, actually, and he touted his party, which released a housing plan two weeks ago.

I have never heard the Conservatives come up with coherent solutions to the housing crisis that we are experiencing in Canada right now. Obviously, the current Liberal government is useless. It is one of the worst governments we have ever seen when it comes to the housing crisis. CMHC economists say that, in Quebec alone, 1,100,000 units need to be built over the next 10 years to address the crisis.

We often hear the Conservatives, who have close ties to the private sector, say that the private sector will take care of it. It is true, the private sector will build 500,000 units, but governments will have to somehow step in and build 600,000 units in the next 10 years. That means the government is going to have to spend and invest to fix this problem.

Does my colleague have a plan for tackling this crisis?

[Historic Places of Canada Act, March 21st, 2023]

Madam Speaker, I too would like to thank my colleague for speaking French. Any efforts members make to speak French in the House are really very important. Right now, the French language is in decline across the country. I think it is important that the House send a message to francophones everywhere, all across Canada, that we are concerned about French here. I commend my colleague.

The debate on Bill C-23 is a bit flat. Everyone pretty much agrees. Apart from some minor details, everyone pretty much agrees on the bill overall. It is a bit boring.

Since members are unanimous on this bill with regard to indigenous peoples and reconciliation, does my colleague not agree that there is more meaningful action to be taken? I agree with this bill. Let us pass it and move forward.

Indigenous peoples are facing challenges related to housing, homelessness and domestic violence. We know that 8% of female homicide victims in Canada are indigenous, even though indigenous women represent only 4% of the population. I think that there are a lot of issues that this government still has not addressed.

Would my colleague agree that we should start dealing with those issues as quickly as possible?

[Democratic Institutions, March 21st, 2023]

Mr. Speaker, the Liberals are playing games by threatening an election. Meanwhile, in the real world, there are real people in the Chinese community who are facing real threats from the Chinese regime.

As for the notorious Chinese police stations, Safeguard Defenders confirmed yesterday that 83 Canadian citizens have already been detained and deported to China to face trial, and those are only the cases we know about.

Beijing is literally arresting Canadian citizens in Canada under the Prime Minister's nose. This is serious.

When will he finally launch a real independent public inquiry?