Joël Godin

[COVID-19 Emergency Response, April 20th, 2020]

Mr. Speaker, our business owners are worried. Some are not sure if they will be able to reopen. Bills are piling up, and revenues are obviously down. Assistance seems to be a long time coming, including the commercial rent assistance program. SMEs had to pay rent for the month of March.

When will our SMEs, the backbone of our economy, get details about this assistance program that is supposed to help them pay commercial rent and reopen when the time comes? It is a simple question.

[Public Safety, April 20th, 2020]

Mr. Speaker, because it was slow to close Canada's borders, this government allowed thousands of people from at-risk areas to enter the country and put Canadians at risk.

After many calls from our party, Roxham Road was finally closed, but, once again, we saw that many people crossed the border illegally and no security measures were taken.

My question is simple. I would like to know how many illegal migrants entered Canada since the pandemic began.

[Shootings in Nova Scotia, April 20th, 2020]

Mr. Speaker, as a Canadian, I am proud of the solidarity people demonstrate during times of crisis and in response to ordeals like the one we experienced yesterday.

In the wake of the unprecedented killing spree in Nova Scotia, in which many people lost their loved ones in the most unfair way possible, I would like to take a moment to express my condolences to the friends and loved ones affected by this tragedy and to all Nova Scotians. I want to commend law enforcement agencies for their work, and I salute those courageous individuals who risk their lives every day to protect us.

Among the victims was Constable Heidi Stevenson, a 23-year veteran of the RCMP. She died in the line of duty. Heidi had a 13-year-old son and an 11-year-old daughter. This tragedy has changed the lives of many children, parents, spouses and friends, who are all going through an ordeal we cannot imagine.

In closing, let me share the words of Darcy Dobson, whose mother tragically lost her life during the incident: Let our memories define the victims, not the horrible way they died.

[Proceedings of the House and Committees, April 20th, 2020]

Madam Speaker, I am very glad to be in the House of Commons in this limited-capacity Parliament, considering that we are facing a crisis caused by COVID-19. We are in the process of developing procedures. We realize that this is the first time that the Canadian government is confronted with this type of situation. Us Conservatives understand the situation and are working with the government to ensure that Canadians and businesses have the tools they need to get through this crisis.

I was there this morning when the Leader of the Government in the House of Commons moved his motion, the purpose of which is to muzzle parliamentarians, plain and simple. The motion asks us to be here once per week. To ask that question is to answer it.

The Prime Minister has decided to limit question period. Every day, this Prime Minister takes questions from journalists, whose job it is to report the news. Our job as parliamentarians is to ask questions in order to improve the situation. I am not saying that the government has only made wrong decisions over the course of this extraordinary situation. I am able to acknowledge that it had no frame of reference in the matter. The government had to act, readjust and I would even say improvise. What I am saying is not negative.

The thing is, the Canada Emergency Response Benefit is a combination of two programs: the support program for victims of COVID-19 and the assistance program. There is support and assistance. In short, they combined two programs together and created the CERB. That is fine, because some changes were made. We made suggestions in that and many other cases.

I have a list, which is not exhaustive, of some of the things our party proposed. The Conservative Party, the official opposition in the House of Commons, advanced measures and programs that the government put in place. We are being accused of being difficult and unco-operative.

Let us look at the facts. Our suggestions have helped volunteer firefighters meet the needs of their municipalities in this crisis without their CERB being reduced. It is a matter of public safety. The government listened to us and changed course. That is our job as the opposition.

This morning, the government House leader, with support from his Bloc friends, said that it was irresponsible to be here in the House of Commons to do our job and work together on finding the tools that will enable Canadians and businesses to receive support in this exceptional situation.

Let us look at what is happening on both sides of the House. We are respecting social distancing rules. If we did not want to co-operate, the opposition benches would be full. That is not what we did. We co-operated. Our leader is negotiating. He had originally proposed four meetings per week. The two other opposition parties, the independents and the government all rejected that proposal, so we proposed three days, and we are still being called the bad guys.

The Conservative Party is responsible, and parliamentarians are important. Defending democracy is fundamental to parliamentarians. Of course, the Bloc Québécois is reducing Canadian parliamentary procedure to a simple expression: “tataouinage”, or “dilly-dallying” in English. The Bloc Québécois leader put on quite a show this morning as he described the term. Everyone knows his background and where he comes from, which certainly shone through this morning when he was talking about dilly-dallying. That said, the Bloc is another problem altogether.

For our part, we are here to work together. We want to help, but we want to ask questions. What is the incentive for this minority government—yes, I said “minority government”—to stay away from the House in order to limit the opportunities available to the opposition to challenge it? Is it because the government does not feel comfortable?

Canadians elected a minority government. As a parliamentarian, as an elected official, my interpretation of the word “minority” is that there are doubts about the government's effectiveness and the confidence people have in it. The people have agreed to give it power, but they also want a strong opposition that will protect the public purse and remind the government exactly what our citizens expect. In my case, it is the citizens of Portneuf—Jacques-Cartier, but I am speaking on behalf of all members, on both this side of the House as well as the other side, that is, the government.

Our job is to report the concerns of our constituents, and we need to be able to do that here in the Parliament of Canada, where the future is determined and where we implement programs that will improve the lives of Canadians.

It really bothers me when the Conservatives take the blame in news reports and are accused of being the bad guys. That is completely untrue and I would like that to be set right. These are facts. No one can contradict what I just said. We are willing to work together, but that does not mean that we are in bed with the Liberal Party. We are not the Bloc Québécois. We are the Conservative Party of Canada. We want to protect the Canadian federation. As a Quebecker, I am happy to be part of Canada because Canada is currently helping Quebec. I thank the government for its collaboration.

That is what the Canadian federation is for. The principle behind it is that sometimes we need something and sometimes we give something. I am proud to rise today in the House of Commons as a Quebec MP to say thank you to our Canada for being there to help us. Now, however, we want Canada to do a better job of helping us, and what we want to do is give the government the opportunity to hear what we have to say. It is clear that it will be harder for the government to do that if we only meet once a week.

We are proud that the 338 MPs' constituency offices are much like Service Canada offices. People are worried and confused. As I was saying earlier, that is because the situation is brand new to us. We are at war with a microbe, a virus. That is why people are a little lost. Even the government is lost.

I want to emphasize that the government is only responding because the opposition is forcing it to think. However, we do not deserve all the credit, because the government is probably also working to make things better. I am also thinking of public service employees, who we know are under a lot of pressure, and I thank them for what they are doing under these unusual circumstances.

This morning, I heard the Green Party, the NDP and the Bloc Québécois say that it is alarming to see members from Quebec coming here to the House of Commons to sit in this reduced Parliament. However, I want to remind the House that construction sites are reopening today, that mechanics have been back in their garages changing winter tires since last Wednesday, and, better yet, that garden centres are open again. Canadians are adapting and practising social distancing. They are complying with guidelines. They are resilient.

I am very proud to represent the people of Portneuf—Jacques-Cartier. They are resilient, proud, and supportive of one another, and they follow public health instructions.

I have visited organizations that help those who cannot go to the grocery store. In my role as an MP, I personally delivered food baskets. I went to pick up orders at the grocery stores and delivered them to residents of Portneuf—Jacques-Cartier. We support one another and we can be proud of that. I now invite the government to let us work together to strengthen its programs so they meet the needs of Canadians and entrepreneurs.

We have also been talking about a virtual Parliament. We are in a new building. I have had the opportunity to travel abroad. In many parliaments, the desks have integrated monitors and members can vote electronically. We are not there yet.

Mr. Speaker, our leader asked you directly if we have the technology needed to hold a virtual Parliament while respecting the rights of all parliamentarians. What was your answer? As far as I know, we are not yet ready.

As our leader said, when we receive confirmation that it can be done efficiently and with respect for parliamentarians' rights, we will reopen the discussion. In the meantime, we are asking the government to let us meet every day. First, there were going to be four sittings, then three sittings. Perhaps we could agree on two and a half sittings.

We are acting in good faith and we are working in the best interests of Canadians. We also want to get our businesses up and running again and give them the means, when possible, to kick-start the economy and once more create prosperity in Canada.

[Organisation internationale de la Francophonie, March 11th, 2020]

Mr. Speaker, March 20 marks the 50th anniversary of the Francophonie. Those who know me know that I am a strong advocate for the French fact. I am a proud Canadian, francophone, Quebecker and Conservative.

Today I acknowledge this notable and most important event. The forerunner of the Organisation internationale de la Francophonie was established on March 20, 1970, under the name of Agence de coopération culturelle et technique. Canada is one of the founding countries. The OIF was founded on a shared common language, French, and is responsible for promoting and disseminating francophone cultures.

I remember that it was the Conservative Party of Canada that committed to ensuring that the federal funding allocated to the provinces for francophone communities would be spent as planned. That is another reason I am proud to be a Conservative Party of Canada representative.

Let us continue to protect, develop, and promote our French language.

I invite francophones and francophiles to proudly celebrate the institution that is the OIF. I wish everyone a happy 50th anniversary.

[The Environment, February 25th, 2020]

Mr. Speaker, when the Prime Minister told environmentalists he would plant two billion trees by 2050, that was a simplistic solution. He tried to fool Canadians in order to get elected. He has never been able to tell the truth, and the truth is that his Liberal government will not meet its Paris targets. It is weak to talk nonsense, but that is how it goes with this Liberal Prime Minister.

I would like to remind him that he has already planted thousands of trees, and that is not enough to protect our environment. If there are trees left over that need planting in Canada, we could use some around Lake Saint-Augustin in Portneuf—Jacques-Cartier. The town of Saint-Augustin wants to protect the environment and has a tree planting project to protect its lake.

Where can tree planting projects be found? We in Portneuf—Jacques-Cartier really want to take meaningful action to improve our environmental footprint.

[The Economy, February 21st, 2020]

Mr. Speaker, after 16 days of Liberal government inaction, Canadians are being held hostage. Our businesses and consumers have had to resort to rationing, as if it were wartime. Chemco, a company in Portneuf—Jacques-Cartier, has run out of aircraft de-icing fluid to supply to the Quebec City, Mirabel and other airports.

What about public safety? Supermarket shelves are going empty. We need action now.

What does the member for Louis-Hébert think is the threshold for taking action and lifting the illegal blockades?

[Human Rights, February 19th, 2020]

Mr. Speaker, while Canada was grappling with a crisis that, unfortunately, is only getting worse, the Prime Minister was off conducting a charm offensive to secure an African president's vote.

I would like to remind our Prime Minister that the foreign leader he met with is in favour of criminalizing homosexuality. Existing laws have been used to arrest members of the LGBTQ community visiting their loved ones in hospital, perpetrate severe local police brutality and justify denying access to medical treatment.

Our Prime Minister is prepared to use human rights as a bargaining chip in his bid to get a UN seat. That is alarming. He does not have a plan to resolve the ongoing rail transportation crisis.

He is supporting a foreign leader who violates LGBTQ rights. This is pure hypocrisy on the part of a two-faced man who does everything for show. Inconsistency is the Liberal government's trademark. It does not respect the environment, it wastes money and it sells LGBTQ rights.

[Business of Supply, February 18th, 2020]

Madam Speaker, I want to defend myself against this accusation of inconsistency from the hon. member for Beauport—Limoilou.

I will explain to the hon. member, who is new to the House, that we are currently having a debate. I have not yet indicated how I will vote. The vote will be held tomorrow after question period. What I am saying is that we have to take care of these people. My slogan is not “50 years, 50 weeks”.

Let us give this some thought and take this initiative seriously.

[Business of Supply, February 18th, 2020]

Madam Speaker, I would like to thank my colleague from Winnipeg North.

Increasing the benefit period from 15 weeks to 26 is a step in the right direction. To pick up on the Bloc Québécois's analogy about 26 weeks being like doors and windows, I would say that we need to keep fixing up the rest of the house.

I think fixing up the rest of the house is a great idea, but we need a plan. We need to study the situation, maximize our options and find a solution that will really help Canadians and Quebeckers so we can make sure they are treated properly and have the right number of weeks. We need to think about it and study it.

That said, I would recommend that the government study this in committee and fast-track the process so we can get recommendations by the time the session ends on June 23, 2020.