Luc Desilets

[Canada Disability Benefit Act, October 17th, 2022]

Madam Speaker, I feel compelled to reiterate the comments I made earlier. I am a little annoyed, not to say appalled, that some members are using their speaking time in this House to deliver speeches that have nothing to do with the subject at hand, as my Conservative colleague just did.

Talking about medical assistance in dying and access to suicide while using language like “killing children” is outrageous and pure demagoguery. I am extremely shocked by this.

This is a serious bill that we in the Bloc Québécois will support. It aims to provide financial assistance to people with disabilities, and that is what my colleague should have talked about during his 20 minutes of speaking time. I find this very disturbing, and I wanted to say so.

[Canada Disability Benefit Act, October 17th, 2022]

Madam Speaker, with all due respect to my colleague, he is completely off topic. We are talking about financial assistance for persons with disabilities, but he has spent the last 10 minutes talking about medical assistance in dying, which is a totally different subject.

I hope our colleague will get back on course.

[Committees of the House, October 4th, 2022]

Mr. Speaker, I am personally very happy that the Liberal Party is very much in favour of Taiwan joining the WHO.

I am pleasantly surprised, but I also remain cautious about the Liberal government's position, because, in other areas, it has been so fearful of offending the Chinese because of its attitude towards Taiwan. The government therefore has been reluctant to act and has not behaved as we would have liked.

What are my colleague's thoughts on that? On this matter relating to the WHO, why should we be so quick to accept this position?

[Committees of the House, October 4th, 2022]

Mr. Speaker, I think the Chair is in exceptionally good spirits tonight and I think that is wonderful.

I would like to begin by saying that my colleague is an extraordinary orator. I will give him that. That is wonderful. I am happy to see how seriously he defends the sovereignty of Taiwan against Chinese rule. I like that, and I think that we are all in agreement tonight.

My question is the following. On the day Quebec gains independence, will my colleague fight just as hard to bring us into the World Health Organization?

[Cost of Living Relief Act, No. 1, October 4th, 2022]

Madam Speaker, I would like to ask my energetic colleague what she thinks about this. The Bloc Québécois proposes to do two things to control the cost of living. First, to help seniors in particular, we want to see no reductions in the guaranteed income supplement for those who received the Canada emergency response benefit or the Canada recovery benefit during the pandemic.

Next, the Bloc Québécois would like to increase old age security to preserve seniors' purchasing power.

What does my colleague think about these two proposals?

[Committees of the House, October 3rd, 2022]

Madam Speaker, I thank my colleague for his logical, sensible and sensitive speech. My problem is how Canada handles foreign policy. We have not exactly excelled in that department in recent years, unfortunately. The issue here is the illegal annexation of territory. Everyone, government and opposition alike, is against that.

I would like to ask my colleague if he sees a diplomatic solution here. What is done is done. Is there no going back? Can we explore other diplomatic pressure tactics?

[Business of Supply, September 27th, 2022]

Mr. Speaker, I have a very simple question for my colleague.

The topic of the day is inflation. The Conservatives have their reasons for talking about the carbon tax.

Does my colleague agree that seniors are among those who are struggling most because of inflation? Does he agree that seniors are suffering the most because of inflation and that, more than anyone else, they have been abandoned by his government? My question is quite simple and straightforward.

[Cost of Living Relief Act, No. 1, September 26th, 2022]

Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for that interesting question.

Indeed, there has been a lot of talk about oil in the House today and in the past few months. The Liberal government has and would have had a great opportunity. Obviously this would never come from the Conservatives, but the oil companies' profits soared over the past few months, and the Liberal government refused to take a cut.

That is too bad because we are not talking about millions of dollars, but billions of dollars. A small cut of that amount could easily help our seniors, the people who always lose out and get overlooked in our system.

[Cost of Living Relief Act, No. 1, September 26th, 2022]

Mr. Speaker, I understand that this issue is important to the Conservatives, but I am not at all convinced that it is the key. The carbon tax is seen differently in different parts of Canada.

The Bloc Québécois has found other solutions that would help seniors. That is the answer to the first part of my colleague's question. I am extremely grateful that a young fellow like him is so concerned about us older folks.

[Cost of Living Relief Act, No. 1, September 26th, 2022]

Mr. Speaker, the member just opened a huge door for me.

Indeed, I do not support the measures proposed by the Conservative side, should they have any. However, I would remind the House that seniors deserve much more than they are getting right now.

The Bloc believes it is simple. We think seniors' pensions should be increased by $110 a month, not at 75, but at 65. That is one thing.

I touched on the second thing during my speech. Honestly, this is something I learned while doing some reading to prepare for this debate. It is the difference between the amount seniors receive while working and the amount they receive after retirement. I was astounded to learn that there is such a large gap in Canada and in Quebec. Seniors become much poorer when they retire. I think we should reflect on that.