Joël Godin

[Committees of the House, May 6th, 2021]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to take this opportunity to thank the members of the Standing Committee on Official Languages and all the staff and analysts who did an excellent job on this study of the challenges facing the parliamentary interpretation service in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic.

To allow greater flexibility in summoning members, we want to table a supplementary report with two amendments. In recommendation 2, we would like to change the wording to “at least 48 hours” for witness participation.

In recommendation 3, paragraph b), we would add this at the end:

...or any equivalent ISO-compliant system approved by the House, failing which it will be up to the committee to decide whether or not to hear the witness without the appropriate equipment.

[Multiple Sclerosis Awareness Month, May 5th, 2021]

Mr. Speaker, right now, we are all fighting against COVID-19, but today my thoughts go out to those who are engaged in another daily battle, those who have an autoimmune disease.

May is Multiple Sclerosis Awareness Month.

We all know people close to us who have to cope with multiple sclerosis on a daily basis. The symptoms of the disease vary from person to person and so does the pain. Also, for any one person, symptoms fluctuate from day to day and week to week, and the body does not always react the same way.

It is not unusual to hear that a person with MS has to stay in bed all day because their body can no longer function. Then, a few days later, they seem to be back to normal.

Today, and every day of the year, we need to think of them and be there for them. I invite all Canadians to support people with this type of disease. We must not forget them.

[Business of Supply, May 4th, 2021]

Madam Speaker, I would like to thank my colleague from Rivière-du-Nord. I enjoyed his speech.

It is obvious that there is a major problem in the Canadian Armed Forces and that we must protect women from sexual misconduct. What baffles me is that my colleague just told us that the Bloc Québécois will vote against taking actual steps to deal with this sexual misconduct. I would like to hear what my colleague has to say about the consistency of his position. Is he interested in protecting Canadian women?

[Petitions, May 4th, 2021]

Mr. Speaker, a citizen's initiative turned into a petition. One of my constituents is asking the government to pay special attention to our seniors.

I therefore invite the government to change the name of the old age security program, which has been around for 70 years. It is a simple gesture but a very important one to show respect for our seniors.

[Adding a Splash of Colour to Spring, May 3rd, 2021]

During this time of COVID-19, we need to adapt.

Let us add a splash of colour to spring. That was the theme of the invitation I extended to the people of Portneuf—Jacques-Cartier in February when I asked them to submit colourful drawings to create a mural or poster to brighten our seniors' spring. We got a nice surprise. We received over 350 drawings from across the riding to help create this collective piece of artwork.

The posters will be sent to 33 seniors' residences in the riding. I believe this wave of colour will bring them a little bit of comfort in the circumstances that we are all facing. This is a good way to remind our precious seniors that we are thinking of them and that we need to keep going and not give up.

Once again, I am very proud of the people of Portneuf—Jacques-Cartier. Congratulations to Léa Roy from Saint-Gabriel-de-Valcartier and Victoria Cantin from Neuville who are the lucky winners of the two gift bags. Their names were chosen at random from among all those who submitted a drawing. I thank all participants, both young and not-so-young, and I wish them all a happy spring.

[Agriculture and Agri-Food, April 30th, 2021]

Mr. Speaker, many agricultural producers and agribusinesses in my riding are anxiously awaiting the arrival of foreign workers.

Border security is paramount, and we need to be very careful about the variants.

However, essential workers must be able to enter the country quickly. Our farmers are very worried. They need these workers now. The production cycle for our fruits and vegetables cannot be put on hold.

Can the minister assure our business owners that they will be able to bring in their workers in the very near future?

[Canadian Net-Zero Emissions Accountability Act, April 27th, 2021]

Madam Speaker, I salute my colleague from Nanaimo—Ladysmith.

We must act now if we want to have an impact as quickly as possible. We have had a health crisis. The current government was slow to react and to close the border, but it did react eventually. If we want to do something about the climate crisis, we must act very quickly.

[Canadian Net-Zero Emissions Accountability Act, April 27th, 2021]

Madam Speaker, I want to apologize for my previous intervention.

In response to the question by my colleague from Longueuil—Saint-Hubert, I would say that unfortunately, the government has broken its promises yet again.

Tree planting is a tangible measure. Carbon capture from planting trees has a positive impact. Every environmentalist and every scientist agrees with that.

I would like to inform my colleague that all the members of the Conservative Party of Canada have planted far more trees than the Liberals have in six years.

[Canadian Net-Zero Emissions Accountability Act, April 27th, 2021]

Madam Speaker, I thank my colleague from Lac-Saint-Louis.

Had my colleague listened to my speech, he would have known that I said we need to work with all stakeholders in the industries involved. Workers want to have an impact. They want to contribute, but they are not represented on the advisory body. Oil and gas industry representatives are not part of the process.

Your government says it is inclusive, so you should work with everyone around the table to come up with a unanimous approach and have a meaningful impact on the environment. That is what we have to do for our children and grandchildren.

[Canadian Net-Zero Emissions Accountability Act, April 27th, 2021]

Madam Speaker, I thank the member for Rosemont—La Petite-Patrie, with whom I have the pleasure of serving on the Standing Committee on Official Languages.

He is absolutely right about the fact that the Liberal government thinks this is so urgent that it has just imposed a gag order on us.

I want to take this opportunity to give my colleague a message. I think it is unfortunate that the New Democrats supported the amendment in question.

Let us get back to the facts. It is important to act now. I remember the Liberal government saying in 2018 that we needed to take action and that it was urgent we do so. Yes, it is urgent that we take action. However, as I already mentioned in the House, under Bill C-12, there will have been two majority governments and one year of a minority government before we begin to see results. That is ridiculous.