Denis Trudel

[Broadcasting Act, November 19th, 2020]

Madam Speaker, I thank my colleague for her speech.

This bill is obviously very important for us Quebeckers. It could become something that helps to protect the French language, even though it does not right now.

Does the member agree with her hon. colleague from Saint-Laurent and the Quebec president of the Liberal Party of Canada, who think that the decline of the French language is a myth and that Bill 101 is oppressive?

[Broadcasting Act, November 19th, 2020]

Madam Speaker, I thank my colleague for his speech and for his efforts to speak French. I commend him for that.

I would like him to clarify something. I am not sure I heard the same thing in French as I did in English. In French, the member said that it was important to protect francophone culture. In English, he seemed to be saying that too much legislation is bad and that the free market and diversity are good.

The issue for Quebec is the protection of francophone culture. If the government does not intervene in this regard, nothing will happen. The government needs to intervene by setting guidelines for francophone content and subsidizing it. I would like to remind my colleague that less than 50% of people in Montreal have French as their mother tongue, and that figure has fallen below 80% in Quebec as a whole. There is an important culture to protect. This requires legislation that will protect French-language content in the media. This legislation is flawed, and the government should give the CRTC guidelines.

Does the member believe that the government should intervene to protect francophone culture? Over the past few days, his leader has been saying that francophone culture is important. Conservative members took a stand in favour of francophone culture.

Is this really important to my hon. colleague?

[Broadcasting Act, November 19th, 2020]

Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for her speech.

I am quite worried every time I hear that we need to trust the CRTC. There is no requirement in the bill to broadcast or fund French-language content. That is left up to the CRTC.

In another life, I was a spokesperson for Mouvement Montréal français, and we made a complaint to the CRTC because some privately owned radio stations in Quebec were getting around their French-language music quotas, which I believe were set at 65% at the time. During peak listening hours, they would skip the end of French songs and segue into up to 10 consecutive English songs.

This meant that the 15 minutes of English music counted for one song under the quotas. It also meant that those stations were respecting the quotas, but there were 15 minutes of English music during peak listening hours instead of having French music. That is a problem. We also know that they would get around CRTC regulations by playing French music at night, when no one was listening.

Therefore, we cannot trust the CRTC. If we are not able to give it clear broadcasting guidelines, the CRTC will not do it out of its own accord. Private radio stations will do everything they can to get around the rules.

It seems, then, that the government should impose certain limits on the CRTC in its bill. Why has it not done so?

[Business of Supply, November 17th, 2020]

Madam Speaker, I would like to ask my colleague a question.

I will quote an article that appeared in La Presse last year. It read:

Hong Kong democracy activists who are studying in Canada say that their freedom of expression is threatened even here. They accuse students from mainland China of harassment on campus and believe that Ottawa is ignoring these abuses.

I will quote the activist in question:

I secretly campaign for democracy in Hong Kong. I cannot do so publicly because I could be persecuted at any time by the Chinese government, my parents could lose their jobs and, if I returned to China, I would be arrested.

The motion before us refers to a robust plan to combat interference and intimidation. That is clearly what it is about.

What are the measures? What are they doing to prevent a Chinese student, in Montreal or Toronto, from experiencing what was mentioned in this article?

[Business of Supply, November 17th, 2020]

Madam Speaker, I thank my colleague for his speech.

It is hard to talk about China without talking about human rights violations, and it is hard to talk about human rights violations without talking about Uighurs in China. On October 21, the Subcommittee on International Human Rights of the Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Development asked the government to recognize that Uighurs are victims of genocide. We know that there are concentration camps and mass sterilizations. What we have been hearing is horrifying. Bob Rae, Canada's representative to the United Nations, said that some actions point to genocide against Uighurs.

Does my hon. colleague also think Uighurs in China are victims of genocide?

[Business of Supply, November 17th, 2020]

Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for his speech.

The motion talks about developing a robust plan, as Australia has done, to combat China's growing foreign operations here in Canada and the intimidation of Canadians living in Canada.

Last year, La Presse reported that groups right here in Canada had prevented LGBTQ2 activists from Hong Kong from participating in Montreal's pride parade. There was intimidation on social media. This is a very serious and important issue.

Does my colleague consider that unacceptable? What can we do to prevent that kind of intimidation on social networks?

[Danielle Goulet, November 16th, 2020]

Mr. Speaker, I wish to commend Danielle Goulet for her 30 years of involvement with Macadam Sud, a community organization in my riding that helps young people aged 12 to 35 in Longueuil and Montérégie.

Ms. Goulet started working with people in need in 1990 as a street outreach worker with Macadam Sud. Since 2000, she has been the executive director, supervising 24 employees, and her organization averages 20,000 interventions with 5,000 people a year. That is an extraordinary level of involvement.

Ms. Goulet also oversees the TAPAJ program, an alternative work day program, and CAPAB, a school that provides customized learning programs for street youth. Ms. Goulet is the type of person who is never short of ideas. In May, anticipating the repercussions that COVID-19 would have on people who are struggling, Macadam Sud collaborated with Repas du Passant and Casa Bernard-Hubert on opening a homeless shelter that is open 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

Longueuil is lucky to have someone like Ms. Goulet.

Ms. Goulet, on behalf of the people of Longueuil—Saint-Hubert, I thank you.

[Judges Act, November 16th, 2020]

Madam Speaker, I thank my hon. colleague for his comprehensive presentation on the bill before the House. We in the Bloc Québécois have already taken a position on this, but I would still like to ask my colleague a question.

Yes, it is a good bill, and I think it sends a clear message that we need to make the justice system less intimidating for victims. In Canada, 5% of female sexual assault victims will file a report, and only three out of every 1,000 reported cases will result in charges being laid. Clearly, the justice system is intimidating.

I want to ask my hon. colleague about what comes after this bill. For now, this is a first step, and it sends the right message, but what is the next step for ensuring that women feel supported by the justice system?

[National Caregiver Week, November 3rd, 2020]

Mr. Speaker, during national caregiver week, let us all acknowledge caregivers' commitment to the well-being of their family members. Since this year's theme emphasizes the importance of self-care for caregivers, let us commend the invisible work of the people, mostly women, who make sacrifices over and over out of love, but who all too often forget to take care of themselves. They do invisible work with people who are sick, disabled or losing their autonomy, in addition to having a lifelong role as a spouse, parent and worker. It is invisible work, but it is quite common. Almost one-quarter of Quebeckers are caregivers in one way or another, providing physical care, helping loved ones do their shopping and household chores, and more. Caregivers are among those most affected by the pandemic. Many of them gave up their income or job to protect someone who is weak or currently fragile.

In closing, I also want to thank the organizations that provide assistance and support to caregivers. We are with them, and we thank them.

[Business of Supply, October 29th, 2020]

Mr. Speaker, we are hearing some rather absurd things in the House.

I want to come back to the comments of the hon. member for Marc-Aurèle-Fortin, who was accusing us of rewriting history. I think we need to bring the debate back to the victims, the 497 people. Earlier I was talking about Jocelyne Robert, who was seven months pregnant when she underwent a jailhouse gynecological exam in the middle of the night that left her scarred for 45 years. We have to be able to talk about it.

I also have to talk about Louis Hains. I ran out of time earlier. Louis Hains voted for the Liberals in 1968. He came from a Conservative family. Since he was not known in the sovereignist movement, he was worried no one would remember him and he would be left in prison. He remembered movies he had seen where people were loaded into paddy wagons, never to be heard from again.

These are real people who suffered powerful adverse psychological repercussions. They were traumatized. The motion we are moving today is about that. That is what we want to talk about. We are trying to bring the debate back to the victims of the War Measures Act.

What does my hon. colleague think of how easily our hon. colleagues across the way are rewriting history?