Julie Vignola

[Criminal Code, November 24th, 2022]

Madam Speaker, my colleague opposite cannot say that I never agree with him. In general, I agree with him on Bill S-4.

That being said, there are problems that this bill does not resolve. The bill does, however, make it possible to revert back to the standard, usual, traditional way of doing things in the event of connection issues.

The fact remains that there are many judicial vacancies and that the Parole Board of Canada has internal issues.

When will these problems be fixed? When will the government ensure that the judges who are appointed are not appointed for partisan reasons?

[Fall Economic Statement Implementation Act, 2022, November 21st, 2022]

Madam Speaker, I hear what my colleague is saying about the national shipbuilding strategy, or NSS.

Since 2015, Davie has made extraordinary improvements to its workforce, so much so that it won the North American Shipyard of the Year that year.

Despite all of the promises made in 2019 and all of the announcements regarding the umbrella agreement, things keep getting delayed.

Does the member agree with my colleague that, if Davie had been included in the NSS without delay, then the costs of the strategy would be much lower than they are now?

[Fall Economic Statement Implementation Act, 2022, November 21st, 2022]

Madam Speaker, my question has to do with increasing the old age security pension for people 65 to 74. I want to know whether my colleague is aware that the people the most affected by the two classes of pensioners, are women, those who earn lower incomes their entire life to be able to feed or support their family. It is mainly women 65 to 74 who are suffering the adverse consequences of the government's refusal to increase their pension.

Does my colleague realize that? Will he commit to pressuring his colleagues to ensure that people 65 to 74 are finally included in the pension increases?

[Fall Economic Statement Implementation Act, 2022, November 17th, 2022]

Mr. Speaker, despite differences of opinion on certain aspects, I believe that we can agree that Bill C-32 dusts off some old legislation and also proposes new measures.

That said, our role is also to highlight the bill's shortcomings, and one of these shortcomings is the money for people aged 65 to 74. The hon. member opposite said that seniors would soon get an extra $220 or so. However, I have questions about this “extra”, seeing as pensions have not kept pace with rising consumer prices. I wonder why this amount is considered “extra” when the government created two classes of seniors. I wonder how this amount can be “extra” when more than 70,000 seniors who applied for their pension on time are still not receiving their money.

It is good that the government is implementing measures, but it needs to think of seniors, because they are the ones who built Canada and Quebec as we know them today, and they deserve our full consideration and support.

When will seniors aged 65 to 74 get this consideration and get proper financial support?

[Fall Economic Statement Implementation Act, 2022, November 17th, 2022]

Mr. Speaker, today we are talking about Bill C-32. The opposition's role is to point out what the bill is lacking. So far, it appears that the government's role is to boast a lot and not listen.

We are here to point out the flaws, the jurisdictional issues and the agreements that are not being honoured. Among those agreements is the one on infrastructure, which my colleague mentioned earlier, but there is another one that has not been respected for a very long time. It is the Constitution.

Strangely enough, in the last election, The New York Times said that the party that respected the Canadian Constitution the most was the Bloc Québécois, the separatist party. We are asking that the jurisdictions of Quebec and the Canadian provinces be respected in accordance with the Constitution.

Since I am talking about agreements we want the government to respect, I would like to point out that the 1867 Constitution, the only one that Quebec has signed, has yet to be translated, despite the 1982 agreement to translate it within six months.

When will this finally happen, and when will the government respect its own Constitution? It is about time it did.

[Fall Economic Statement Implementation Act, 2022, November 17th, 2022]

Mr. Speaker, discussions about investing in mental health, especially for first responders, always resonate with me. There are reasons why mental health deteriorates. It may be a lack of support, for example. Over the past 30 years, there has been a lack of support from the federal government. It is time to admit it and do something about it.

Health transfers have been inadequate and, as a result, governments across Canada have had to cut spending to ensure the sustainability of services, which has had an impact on first responders.

I would like to hear my colleague's comments on the importance of health transfers and the fact that the federal government should not interfere in the jurisdictions of the provinces and Quebec and should look after its own affairs instead.

[Fall Economic Statement Implementation Act, 2022, November 14th, 2022]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to come back to a question that my colleague from Mirabel got a few minutes ago about the $600 million to fight tax evasion.

That seems like fantastic, wonderful news. However, for the past two years, many of us have been asking the Minister of National Revenue about the billion dollars the government invested to fight tax evasion and tax havens. How much did we get back? We know that Quebec managed to recoup more than Canada did from tax evaders.

Is that $600 million really good news, or is it just more smoke and mirrors to try to convince people that the government is going to recover money from the right pockets?

[Fall Economic Statement Implementation Act, 2022, November 14th, 2022]

Mr. Speaker, the economic update mentions inflation no fewer than 108 times. Inflation means financial hardship for most people given that wages do not keep up with rising consumer prices. Historically, high inflation has meant that a recession is on the way. One usually follows the other. A recession means that many people will lose their jobs. The economic update and the bill do absolutely nothing to improve employment insurance, which is outdated and discriminates against 60% of claimants.

I wonder if my colleague could comment on this oversight in both the bill and the economic update.

[Fairmont Le Château Frontenac Recognized, November 14th, 2022]

Mr. Speaker, Quebec City has won international renown not once, not twice, but three times.

The Fairmont Le Château Frontenac still does us proud, winning the 2022 global hotel of the year award at the 16th annual World Luxury Hotel Awards. The Château is also the global winner in the luxury castle hotel category, and its restaurant Le Champlain is the regional winner in North and Central America in the fine dining cuisine category.

We are lucky to have this treasure at the heart of our city, which has welcomed many celebrities, from Alfred Hitchcock to Céline Dion, Maurice Duplessis and Grace Kelly.

This symbol of Quebec, the most photographed hotel in the world, is part of our history and will be for a long time to come. These awards are the result of the quality of the work and professionalism of all of the hotel's staff members and managers. They are the pride of our city, unique in North America. Bravo.

[Foreign Affairs, November 3rd, 2022]

Mr. Speaker, the monarchy is very costly, but not just financially.

I would like to go back to 2019, to the case of the two Michaels who were unjustly imprisoned in China.

Last Thursday, the Wall Street Journal revealed that, in that case, the Prime Minister was unable to negotiate with Chinese President Xi Jinping. Why? It is simple. The Chinese president refused to speak to the Prime Minister and instead demanded to speak to Canada's true head of state, Queen Elizabeth II.

Does the government not find it embarrassing that the real leader of Canada is actually a foreign monarch?