House of Commons photo

Crucial Fact

  • His favourite word was finance.

Last in Parliament October 2019, as NDP MP for Rimouski-Neigette—Témiscouata—Les Basques (Québec)

Lost his last election, in 2019, with 29% of the vote.

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Statements in the House

International Trade October 24th, 2018

Mr. Speaker, it is difficult to believe that it is meaningful when they are giving themselves four months to consult.

The more time goes by, the more Canadians believe that the Liberals did not negotiate a good trade agreement with Mexico and the United States because the cost of prescription drugs is going to go up, they have created a new breach in the supply management system, and there is no guarantee that the tariffs on steel and aluminum will be eliminated. Entrepreneurs, workers, and farmers feel that they have been abandoned by this government.

Why did the Liberals give in instead of standing firm for Canadians?

Translated

Natural Resources October 24th, 2018

Mr. Speaker, yesterday, indigenous communities and environmental groups in British Columbia denounced the new Trans Mountain pipeline assessment process. They condemn the government's rush to get everything wrapped up by February. They condemn the botched consultations that will lead to yet another botched assessment. According to Stewart Phillip, Grand Chief of the Union of British Columbia Indian Chiefs, the new process is even worse than the old one.

Is that because the Liberals are working to cobble together a process that will lead to a yes?

Translated

International Trade October 23rd, 2018

Mr. Speaker, I am not the one questioning that; Canadians are.

Just to be clear, Canadians are the ones who will feel the pinch because of steel and aluminum tariffs and changes to supply management. Postal workers will feel the pinch too. Why? Because the new agreement will cut duties for online purchases in the United States only if they are delivered by private couriers, such as FedEx or UPS. What is a clause like that doing in a free trade agreement?

Basically, that clause gives U.S. companies a leg up at the expense of our Canadian public service.

Again I ask: Why did the Liberals roll over instead of standing up for Canadians?

Translated

International Trade October 23rd, 2018

Mr. Speaker, as time goes by and we get to know more about the USMCA, Canadians are quickly coming to the conclusion that the Liberals did not get a good deal. Because of the drug cost increases it will bring, because of yet another breach in the supply management system it will create and because there is no guarantee that steel and aluminum tariffs will be gone, workers in these industries all across the country feel that their government has let them down.

Why did the Liberals roll over instead of standing up for Canadians?

As spoken

The Environment October 22nd, 2018

Mr. Speaker, it is like Tout le monde en parle all over again. He is skating around the question and not really answering it.

Yesterday, on Tout le monde en parle, the Prime Minister was asked about the IPCC's finding that Canada's targets are not good enough. In response, he trotted out that old Conservative line about how our actions are just a drop in the bucket.

The IPCC does not want us to solve all the problems. It just wants us to do our part. Buying a 65-year-old pipeline is not doing our part. Reopening energy east is not doing our part. Using the Conservatives' targets is not doing our part.

The Liberals' current plan is not good enough. When will they make it better?

Translated

The Environment October 22nd, 2018

Mr. Speaker, when the Prime Minister said last night on national television that Canada was on its way to meet its GHG emissions targets, he was wrong on so many levels.

First, he is the only one saying that we will meet these targets. Even his own environment commissioner says that we will not. Second, at this rate, Canada will miss these targets by at least 66 million tonnes, the equivalent of 14 million cars. Third, these targets were not even his own to begin with; they were the Conservative targets.

The Prime Minister admitted he had no intention of changing course in face of these failures. Why?

As spoken

Marijuana October 18th, 2018

Mr. Speaker, it does not do the job.

The Liberals are making things up as they go.

Yesterday, the government had nothing prepared, but it still called in the media for a series of press conferences to announce some possible future legislation. In Canada, 500,000 people, including a disproportionate number of racialized and indigenous people, have a criminal record for simple possession of 30 grams or less of cannabis.

What does the government have to say to the tens of thousands of Canadians who are wondering why it does not want to expunge their criminal records, which, in our opinion, is the easiest and only option?

Partially translated

Marijuana October 18th, 2018

Mr. Speaker, an estimated 500,000 Canadians have a criminal record for simple possession of cannabis, which is now a perfectly legal substance. The Prime Minister acknowledged yesterday that a disproportionate number of marginalized people lived with the stigma of a criminal record, and pledged that those records would “not follow them for the rest of their lives”. However, they will. A pardon is like a band-aid covering a wound; it does not make it disappear.

When will the government finally understand that the best solution, the only solution, is expungement?

As spoken

Marijuana October 17th, 2018

Mr. Speaker, that answer has nothing to do with the question. The Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness has dismissed the possibility of expunging criminal records for the simple possession of marijuana. He does not see the historic injustice. Let us look at the numbers: three times as many black people in Toronto and five times as many black people in Halifax have criminal records for simple possession. In Regina, nine times as many indigenous people have criminal records for the same thing. Indigenous and racialized individuals have historically suffered systemic injustices in Canada and have been saddled with more criminal records for similar consumption.

Why, then, will the Prime Minister not adopt the solution proposed by the member for Victoria to eliminate—

Translated

Marijuana October 17th, 2018

Mr. Speaker, just imagine years ago someone who was convicted and given a criminal record for possessing a small amount of cannabis. Today, that person might have a family and wants to coach his or her kids' soccer team. If the school asks, “Have you ever been convicted of a criminal offence", the individual is legally bound to answer, “Yes, with a pardon”. With an expungement, a person can honestly answer no because under the law that is deemed never to have happened. Parents should not have to sit on the sidelines for something that is now completely legal.

Why do the Liberals not understand this?

As spoken