Denis Trudel

[Business of Supply, March 12th, 2020]

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

My colleague is a member from Quebec. We could discuss people's well-being and pharmacare. The problem is that this is not the right forum. Health is a provincial jurisdiction.

I would like to remind my colleague, who is from Quebec, that, on June 14, the National Assembly unanimously adopted a resolution indicating that Quebec is calling for full and unconditional financial compensation if a Canadian pharmacare plan is officially implemented. The National Assembly clearly stated that Quebec refuses to join a Canadian pharmacare plan.

They want to negotiate with the provinces, but how will they negotiate with Quebec, which has already said that it is not on board?

[Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement Implementation Act, March 11th, 2020]

Madam Speaker, I thank my colleague for his speech.

Generally speaking, what I am noticing this afternoon from my Conservative colleagues' comments is a wilful blindness with respect to protecting aluminum. They seem to have difficulty understanding that my Bloc Québécois colleagues, our leader and I worked very hard with the Deputy Prime Minister to negotiate an agreement that includes the traceability of aluminum. Today, the greenest aluminum in the world is protected thanks to the efforts of the Bloc Québécois. Of course, this remains to be seen, but time will tell.

The Conservatives agree that we relinquished 3% of supply-managed markets in this agreement in addition to what was lost in previous agreements.

Today we are talking about compensation. Could my colleague tell us what compensation might be offered?

In his view, what is 3% of the dairy market worth and how much should we give farmers in the coming years?

[Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement Implementation Act, March 10th, 2020]

Madam Speaker, I thank my Quebec colleague for his very interesting speech. I agree with him on the whole issue of supply management. In Quebec, we have felt the impact of treaties on supply management. The treaties that Canada has signed have always come at the expense of supply management and Quebec dairy producers.

However, I would like to hear what my colleague has to say about the agreement that the Bloc Québécois managed to get on the traceability of aluminum in order to prevent China from exporting aluminum to Mexico and flooding the North American market. In its negotiations with the government, the Bloc Québécois succeeded in protecting nearly $6 billion in aluminum investments in Quebec.

I would like to know whether my colleague thinks that this is a plus in the free trade agreement.

[Housing, March 10th, 2020]

Mr. Speaker, when someone cannot put a roof over their head, they wind up in the street, and this in a country with a government that goes on and on about how it has lifted thousands of people out of poverty. The government's current actions are forcing thousands of Quebeckers to either stay in or return to poverty. It spent $4.3 billion in Canada and not one cent went to Quebec, because Ottawa wants to impose conditions.

When will it transfer the $1.4 billion we need, which we paid for through our taxes?

[Housing, March 10th, 2020]

Mr. Speaker, I have a very serious question. We recently learned that $4.3 billion was spent under the national housing strategy. How much of that $4.3 billion was invested in Quebec? Zero, not one penny, zilch, nada, nothing.

There is still another $1.4 billion available, but that money is languishing in federal coffers while Quebec is going through its worst housing crisis in 15 years.

Will the government finally unconditionally transfer to Quebec the money it is owed, which is languishing in federal coffers?

[Business of Supply, February 25th, 2020]

Mr. Speaker, it is fascinating to listen to my colleague talk about federal-provincial collaboration on health matters. I do not know why we are debating this topic today, since health is a provincial jurisdiction. This motion is rather odd.

That said, my colleague talks a lot about federal health spending. We do want to work together, even though this is a provincial jurisdiction, but federal legislation stipulates that the government pays 50% of provincial health care costs. Right now, Quebec is getting just 22% and we are asking for a 6% increase. We are far from that 50%.

Is my colleague prepared to look at increasing health transfers to Quebec so that we can perhaps participate in a Canada-wide pharmacare program?

[Business of Supply, February 25th, 2020]

Mr. Speaker, I very much appreciated my colleague's intervention.

I do not think that anyone in the House is against the idea of providing dental care to Quebeckers and Canadians. There is just one massive problem: Health is a provincial jurisdiction.

My colleague was talking about political will. This is not a decision to be made in the House, here in Ottawa. This is a decision that has to be made in Quebec City. The National Assembly of Quebec has unanimously called for an increase in health transfers. It has been calling for that for years.

If my colleague agrees this is a question of political will, would he also agree to reopen the Constitution on this issue? Personally, I have no problem with that. In fact, we would have a lot of requests if that were to happen.

[Business of Supply, February 20th, 2020]

Madam Speaker, I thank my colleague for his wonderful speech.

Canada is certainly in the midst of a serious crisis. The economy is paralyzed in my riding and across the entire Montérégie region. If the blockades are not lifted soon, there will be some serious consequences.

There is the crisis with indigenous peoples, but there is also the climate crisis. We have the Wet'suwet'en, but we also have the natural gas pipeline, which the Bloc Québécois also opposes because half of Quebeckers voted for a party that wants to seriously tackle climate change.

From what I gather from my Conservative Party colleagues, they are not too concerned about first nations, but they certainly are concerned about the development of the oil industry. Do people realize that time is running out to address climate change all around the world?

[Business of Supply, February 20th, 2020]

Madam Speaker, I thank my colleague for his wonderful speech.

He gave a lengthy explanation of everything the Liberal government has done in the past to promote reconciliation with indigenous peoples and how it will work in the future to improve its relationships with the Wet'suwet'en nation and all indigenous nations in Canada. However, we are in the middle of a crisis right now. The economy is paralyzed, trains are immobilized and the government is doing nothing.

I have a simple question for my colleague. What does he think of the Bloc Québécois's four-point plan to solve this crisis, specifically, suspend work on the pipeline, have the RCMP withdraw from the territory, replace the RCMP with an indigenous police force, and sit down and negotiate?

[The Patriotes, February 18th, 2020]

Mr. Speaker, Saturday was a day of mourning for Quebec.

On February 15, 1839, five of our heroes, five Patriotes, were hanged at the Pied-du-Courant prison. They were executed for defending their nation's freedom.

François-Marie-Thomas Chevalier de Lorimier, Charles Hindelang, Pierre-Rémi Narbonne, Amable Daunais and François Nicolas lost their lives for the sake of justice and democracy.

Their voices were silenced that all Quebeckers might be heard.

The night before he was executed, Chevalier de Lorimier wrote these final words: “Although so much has gone wrong, I take heart and continue to hope for the future. My friends and my children will see better days. They will be free. Long live freedom and independence.”