Luc Desilets

[Business of Supply, June 15th, 2021]

Madam Speaker, I would like to commend my colleague who has a really nice French accent.

He supports the Quebec nation but would like to add something to the Bloc Québécois motion to indicate that the Quebec nation is located within a united Canada.

First, I would like him to define what a “united Canada” means to him.

Second, would it not be better to see that Quebeckers, colleagues and partners are happy in his Canada?

[Business of Supply, June 15th, 2021]

Madam Speaker, I am somewhat astounded by what my colleague is saying. I must remind him that, as far back as the 17th century, the French sailor, Louis-Antoine de Bougainville, was saying that the French were different and that they formed a separate nation. On the subject of the revolt of the Patriotes in 1838, Lord Durham said, “I expected to find a conflict between a government and a people, but instead found two nations at war within the same state.”

This debate has been going on for years. Listening to my colleague, I get the impression that we have gone back in time 50 years. I understand that he does not support the motion, which I would like him to confirm unequivocally. I would also like to know how a province's domestic legislation is any business of federal MPs.

[Budget Implementation Act, 2021, No. 1, June 10th, 2021]

Madam Speaker, the Liberals received $850,000 from the wage subsidy, the Conservatives received $716,000 and the NDP received $265,000. The current amendment will require that they stop dipping into the cookie jar by the end of August.

If this can continue until August, why not make it retroactive, since we are saying that, starting in August, this is no longer allowed? That is what I do not understand. What are my colleague's thoughts on that?

[Business of Supply, June 8th, 2021]

Madam Speaker, the triennial progress report on the national housing strategy clearly demonstrates that the three targets set in 2017 have not been achieved. In concrete terms, only 39% of the planned new housing has been built, only 42% of renovations have been completed and just 12% of subsidies have been disbursed.

That said, I just want to remind my colleague that housing is an exclusive provincial jurisdiction. We cannot say this enough.

What is his reaction to that? Does he also remember that although the strategy was put in place in 2017, it took three years for Quebec and Canada to come to an agreement on it?

I just want to hear his comments on that.

[D-Day, June 4th, 2021]

Madam Speaker, on June 6, we will commemorate the day that Canadian and Quebec soldiers landed in Normandy as part of Operation Neptune, one of the most important moments of the Second World War.

Historian Sébastien Vincent compiled first-hand accounts from French Canadian soldiers who participated in the operation, including infantryman Émilien Dufresne, of the Régiment de la Chaudière:

Goddammit! The morning of June 6, 1944, I remember coming face-to-face with death—real death. A cold death that clings to you and feels unassailable, in spite of any victory we may have envisioned.... I am up to my shoulders in water, holding my gun high above my head. I know that this gun must be protected at all costs. My life depends on it.

To the French and English Canadians who participated in D-Day: We will honour your courage forever.

[Business of Supply, June 3rd, 2021]

Mr. Speaker, today, it seems obvious that all parties in the House will agree on the fact that this is a genocide that could, at the very least, be characterized as cultural. Unfortunately, it takes tragedies such as this to raise people's awareness and provoke their thoughts. Let us not forget that the goal of this “Canadianization” of indigenous people was purely and simply to kill the Indian in the child.

How does my colleague explain that, in the meantime, the federal government spent $3.2 million over eight years fighting a group of survivors of St. Anne's residential school, located in Fort Albany, northern Ontario, in court? What is it hoping to achieve? That seems to be something of a paradox.

[Business of Supply, June 1st, 2021]

Madam Speaker, with respect to the Winnipeg lab and this request for the unredacted version, I would like my colleague to comment on the fine line between national security and our need and right to get more information.

[Business of Supply, June 1st, 2021]

Madam Speaker, my colleague takes issue with certain parties scoring political points at the expense of the National Microbiology Laboratory in Winnipeg. I would like to remind him that reports published by the national media clearly show how naive the Liberal government is.

According to those reports, members of the Chinese People's Liberation Army have access to our supposedly high-security facilities. What does he have to say about that?

[Offshore Health and Safety Act, May 27th, 2021]

Mr. Speaker, members will recall that, in June 2020, the Prime Minister of Canada exempted all exploratory drilling in the marine environment off the coast of Newfoundland from the existing environmental assessment process. My question is very simple. What does my colleague think about that?

[National Framework for Diabetes Act, May 26th, 2021]

Mr. Speaker, we are here this evening to discuss Bill C-237, otherwise known as an act to establish a national framework for diabetes.

The purpose of this legislation is to promote and improve access to diabetes prevention and treatment. It is sponsored by my colleague from Brampton South and is going into the third stage, in other words, third reading.

To summarize Bill C-237, it seeks to explain what diabetes and prediabetes are; identify the training, education and guidance needs of health care and other professionals related to the prevention and treatment of diabetes; promote research and improve data collection in order to enhance the knowledge and information sharing required to conduct research; and ensure that the Canada Revenue Agency is administering the disability tax credit fairly so that it can help as many persons with diabetes as possible.

The legislation gives the government one year to develop the policy framework, and within five years the government must evaluate its effectiveness and revise it, of course, if necessary.

It should be noted that since 2016 Health Canada's Centre for Chronic Disease Prevention and Control has been managing the diabetes strategy. This plan is very general and contains more policy statements than meaningful measures.

Key aspects are essentially the same as the previous plan. That is why countless organizations are calling for a national plan or framework.

The Bloc Québécois is in favour of developing a national framework for diabetes. To oppose it in light of the medical catastrophe that this chronic disease represents would be just wrong.

However, it is imperative that this framework be developed with the demands of Quebec and the provinces in mind and, again, that the division of powers be respected.

In a way, health is a competitive jurisdiction since it involves some overlap between the provincial and federal governments. In the area of health, Quebec must have maximum authority and control. That is what we want and that is what we will have.

The federal government does have a role to play in prevention, and that includes working to stop the rampant obesity rates in this country. Obesity significantly increases a person's chance of becoming diabetic. Although Quebec is doing well compared to the other Canadian provinces and many major countries in the world, one in four Quebeckers is obese and will be obese in the coming years.

Diabetes Canada, the most influential diabetes organization in Canada, does not operate in Quebec. Instead, Quebec is fortunate to have Diabetes Québec, which provides information and support to its members and contributes to research. In 1994, the organization even founded Entraide diabétique du Québec, a separate organization that collects donations to help people with diabetes.

There are three main types of diabetes: type 1 diabetes, type 2 diabetes and gestational diabetes. In all three types, the disease is characterized by chronic hyperglycemia, or high blood sugar, which means that the person's glucose levels are too high.

Insulin abnormalities mean that sugar does not enter the body's cells to provide energy, but remains in the bloodstream anyway. This condition, which is lethal if left untreated, has a strong impact on susceptibility to cardiovascular disease, blindness and kidney failure, among others. Obviously, this type of disease can lead to limb amputations due to the factors listed previously.

With 442 million adults affected worldwide, diabetes truly is a global scourge, and Quebec is not spared. According to the Public Health Agency of Canada, one in 10 Quebeckers has diabetes or pre-diabetes. The financial burden of diabetes is naturally staggering. According to Quebec's public health department, we are talking about $3 billion a year.

The good news is that almost 90% of type 2 diabetes cases can be prevented or even cured by adopting healthy lifestyle habits. This is why it is imperative to take preventive action by educating people about healthy lifestyle habits, including good nutrition and exercise.

However, we would be deluding ourselves if we thought that the ball is entirely in our court. The sugar lobbies are obviously working hard to slow down, dilute or nip in the bud any form of legislation that might seek to reduce refined sugars.

Legislating for a tax on products containing refined sugar, honest labelling or a restriction on the advertising of these products would prove to be a difficult but necessary task.

Conversely, we must also point out that the diabetes epidemic is a boon for pharmaceutical companies. In 2016, global profits from sales of insulin reached almost $50 billion. It is extremely difficult to conduct an effective prevention campaign when going up against powerful pharmaceutical companies, which boast that they can help people with diabetes live a normal life, even though that may be stretching the truth.

While waiting to win this battle, it is vital that we continue and even redouble our efforts to provide adequate services. Medical research is making great strides, but it is not enough. We also know which communities are the most vulnerable to diabetes. In Quebec and Canada, it is first nations. The rate of diabetes in these communities is five times greater than that in Quebec and Canada.

To address this problem, Health Canada has invested approximately $50 million per year since 1989, mainly through the aboriginal diabetes initiative. Organizations are tasked with working with indigenous peoples to reduce health inequalities. At this time, much more still has to be done, and the federal government will have to invest far more than $50 million a year to reverse the current trend. That, however, is a debate for another day.

It was exactly 100 years ago in Ontario, in the magnificent country of Canada, that insulin was discovered by a team of medical researchers. For their work, Frederick Banting and John Macleod were awarded the Nobel Prize in Medicine two years later, in 1923.

As a pioneer in diabetes research and its treatment, Canada must have a clear and ambitious national framework. Nevertheless, the Bloc Québécois's support is contingent on the federal government respecting input from the provinces and Quebec and on the division of powers, which is what the Bloc Québécois wants. We will vote in favour of the bill as is because it does meet all the necessary criteria so far. Bill C-237 does not promise to eradicate the scourge of diabetes within the next few years, but it is a very acceptable solution even so.

Before I wrap up, I want to highlight the work of an organization in my riding, the Association du diabète Laval, Laurentides, which has been working tirelessly since 1984 to educate people about diabetes and share knowledge through presentations and workshops.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank hospitals and clinics in my riding and the rest of Quebec for the work they do every day to fight diabetes.

I applaud the medical professionals responsible for diagnosing and supporting patients with diabetes and improving their quality of life.

Lastly, I want to thank the researchers—