Joël Godin

[Official Languages, March 25th, 2022]

Madam Speaker, my question is for the Minister of Official Languages.

This government is talking out of both sides of its mouth. First, the Minister of Official Languages claims to want to protect the French language, but then, her colleague, the Minister of Justice, rejects the ruling from the Federal Court of Appeal and wants to take francophones to court. Talk about hypocrisy.

Will the Minister of Official Languages show some respect for francophones and put a stop to this legal action?

[Official Languages, March 25th, 2022]

Madam Speaker, I would like my Bloc Québécois colleague to be called to order. It is not the federal government, but rather the Liberals who are against francophones.

A Le Droit headline reads, “The federal government is dragging francophones to the Supreme Court of Canada”.

How can the Minister of Official Languages accept and endorse the fact that her government is attacking francophones and blocking their access to French-language services in British Columbia?

[5th Light Artillery Regiment of Canada, March 25th, 2022]

Madam Speaker, nearly 120 members of the 5e régiment d'artillerie légère du Canada are now deployed in Latvia for Operation Reassurance.

The regiment is stationed on the Valcartier military base in my riding, Portneuf—Jacques-Cartier, and has participated in numerous missions since it originated in May 1968, including combat operations in Kandahar, peacekeeping missions in Cyprus, Haiti and Bosnia, and domestic security missions, such as the Oka crisis.

This deployment to Latvia is for a period of approximately three months, during which the Canadian Armed Forces will be conducting training, exercises and some NATO-specific tasks. This significant support helps make central and eastern Europe more secure and stable.

We are proud that these soldiers will be joining other members already serving in the region. I am grateful to our brave men and women who are always ready to serve. Given the invasion of Ukraine, their presence is all the more important. I wish them well on their mission.

[Public Safety, March 1st, 2022]

Mr. Speaker, there was nothing left in the streets of Ottawa.

The border crossings at Coutts, Emerson and Windsor were cleared without the use of the Emergencies Act. Here in Ottawa, the Prime Minister waited three weeks and then decided one morning that he would invoke the Emergencies Act. Late once again, when there was nothing left in the streets of Ottawa, the NDP and the Liberals voted in favour of this legislation last Monday. Two days later, the Prime Minister did an about-face and revoked it.

I have a simple question. What happened?

[Public Safety, March 1st, 2022]

Mr. Speaker, this is the story of a protest that dragged on because of the inaction of a Prime Minister who did nothing for three weeks. It was disappointing.

Suddenly, on February 14, this Prime Minister invoked the Emergencies Act. Three days of debate followed. On February 21, the Liberals and the NDP voted in favour of that legislation. On Wednesday, February 23, this Prime Minister contradicted himself by saying that what had been urgent was no longer urgent, and he revoked the act.

Can he tell us what happened between Monday and Wednesday to make him do that?

[Justice, February 21st, 2022]

Mr. Speaker, the Emergencies Act authorizes the freezing of bank accounts. Many Canadians know very little about the rules, the duration or the guidelines.

The legislation must not be trivialized. It is very troubling and, worse still, the Minister of Finance wants to introduce legislation to give more powers, without a warrant.

Will the minister commit to including a mechanism to appeal abusive decisions in order to protect honest Canadians?

[Health, February 15th, 2022]

Mr. Speaker, it is the government that is being irresponsible. I will repeat my question, and I invite the leader to listen.

Prince Edward Island, New Brunswick, Alberta and Quebec no longer want health measures. What is the government waiting for? It must commit to not forcing the provinces to impose health measures.

[Public Safety, February 15th, 2022]

Mr. Speaker, we all want to resolve the impasse in front of Parliament in Ottawa, and we want it to end quickly and peacefully. Because this government failed to act earlier, now it has to play catch-up and is invoking the Emergencies Act. The government should have emulated the provincial premiers, who managed to control the protests without any special legislation.

Will the Prime Minister commit to not using any powers under the Emergencies Act in the many provinces that oppose it?

[Olympic and Paralympic Athletes, February 14th, 2022]

Mr. Speaker, the word “resilience” has been used many times since the beginning of this health crisis. I would like to mention an exceptional group of people: our Olympic and Paralympic athletes who are participating in the Olympic Winter Games in Beijing.

These athletes have had to overcome many challenges due to the pandemic. Getting to the Olympics is never easy even in normal times, so imagine the effort they had to make this year.

On behalf of all the citizens of our beautiful country, I congratulate the 215 Canadian athletes. Canada already has 15 medals, and the games are not over yet. We all stand behind these athletes, and we are proud of their performances. Let us not forget that starting on March 4, our inspiring Paralympic athletes will have their turn to shine.

I want to take this opportunity to congratulate our athletes from Portneuf—Jacques‑Cartier: Flavie Aumond in freestyle skiing, Miha Fontaine, who won bronze in mixed team aerials, and Laurie Blouin, who we will be watching this evening in the snowboard finals. We are proud of them.

[COVID-19 Protests, February 11th, 2022]

Madam Speaker, we do not want to hear about restrictions. We want a plan to reopen.

Almost 90% of Canadians are vaccinated. Protesters came to Ottawa with the message that they want some freedom back. The Prime Minister's partisan attitude turned this protest into a blockade that is now entering its third weekend.

Will the Prime Minister undertake to quickly and peacefully bring an end to the blockade?