Pablo Rodriguez

[Pyrrhotite, April 16th, 2021]

Madam Speaker, the federal government has always been there for the victims of pyrrhotite. We have met with them and talked with them. We are aware of the difficulties and problems they are facing and of everything they have had to deal with. Funding was made available to deal with this very serious problem. We will continue to be there for pyrrhotite victims.

[Points of Order, April 15th, 2021]

Mr. Speaker, I rise today on a point of order with respect to the events that unfolded in the House yesterday during question period.

I would like to say that the conduct of the person who took the screenshot is not only extremely unfortunate, but it is mean-spirited and life-changing for one of our colleagues. Taking a photo of someone who is changing clothes and in the nude, and sharing it without their consent could very well be criminal. Did the person who took the screenshot give any thought to the ramifications of their actions? Did they think of the member's family, children, friends, or the fact that the Internet is forever? Are we really at a point in our politics where it is acceptable to try to destroy the reputation of and humiliate a colleague because someone finds a very unfortunate error and unintentional mistake to be funny? Our politics has taken a very dark and destructive turn, if this is the case.

It is difficult to accept that the MP for Pontiac, who has been such a champion for environmental protection and climate action, could be treated with such callous disrespect, so I would request that the Speaker commence an immediate investigation to determine who took the photo, so that the House can decide the appropriate action to take.

[Aerospace Industry, April 13th, 2021]

Mr. Speaker, we have always been there for the aerospace industry, and we will continue to be there for this industry, which provides good, high-paying jobs and represents Canada around the world.

Yesterday's agreement clearly states that Air Canada will have to purchase its parts and planes here, in Quebec. That is in the agreement. I would like to know what part of this agreement the Bloc does not like.

[Aerospace Industry, April 13th, 2021]

Mr. Speaker, last night's announcement is excellent news for Quebec and all Quebeckers. As a result of our loans, Air Canada will refund Quebeckers' tickets, protect jobs here, and buy parts and planes here in Quebec.

Air Canada will also relaunch the suspended regional routes. This means that there will be flights again in Baie-Comeau, Castlegar, Gaspé, Les Îles-de-la-Madeleine, Mont-Joli, Val-d'Or and Wabush. We made a promise and we are keeping it. This is good news and the Bloc does not like that.

[National Defence, April 13th, 2021]

Mr. Speaker, my colleague knows full well that committees make their own decisions. I object to the comments he just made because they are deeply offensive. I want to stand up for my colleagues in the Bloc Québécois in response to the insinuation that they might have been bought off or some such. These comments from my Conservative colleague are disgraceful. The committee members made the decision they wanted to make at that time. They are responsible for their own decisions, and that is what they decided. My colleague needs to respect that.

[Health, April 13th, 2021]

Mr. Speaker, the hon. minister is currently having connection issues. She will get back to you on this as soon as possible.

[Health, April 12th, 2021]

Mr. Speaker, the Bloc Québécois is going to have to make up its mind.

Two weeks ago, just before the break, the Bloc wanted to exempt all snowbirds, all of them, even those who had been vaccinated, from quarantines. Now, all of a sudden, it is saying that we must have more stringent border controls. We cannot do both. Which one is the Bloc supporting?

The Bloc must at least be clear about that. We have been clear from the outset. We established strict rules at the border, among the strictest in the world. Why? It is because our priority is the health and safety of all Quebeckers and all Canadians.

[Intergovernmental Affairs, April 12th, 2021]

Mr. Speaker, my colleague knows very well, because I know him to be very well informed, that we have transferred roughly $7 billion in additional funding to Quebec, without any conditions or anything else, purely in the spirit of goodwill and collaboration.

That is what we have been doing from the beginning. We have taken a very pragmatic approach, like Quebec, to emerge from this crisis as strong as possible, to protect the health of all Quebeckers, to solve the issue of Internet access in the regions, to invest in aerospace and to invest in Quebec society as a whole.

The Bloc Québécois does not like this, because they become weaker when Canada is doing well, and that makes them unhappy.

[Intergovernmental Affairs, April 12th, 2021]

Mr. Speaker, I am a bit surprised to hear the Bloc member talk about working together, because what he is trying to do with that question is pick a fight. That is the opposite of working together.

What my colleague is saying is that one of the things Ottawa wants to do is impose its vision on Quebec, but the facts show that we work very well together. We are getting through the pandemic together. We are supplying vaccines, and Quebec is distributing them. We are doing all this together. We just addressed the issue of Internet access in the regions. We did that together. My colleague should at least have the decency to acknowledge that Ottawa and Quebec work very well together.

[Ethics, April 12th, 2021]

Mr. Speaker, my colleague knows the answers. There is nothing new there. He read from a document where the answers were already there. The problem for the Conservatives is that they are trying to say, “Aha, there's something new here”, when there is absolutely nothing. All the questions have been answered.

We are defending ministerial responsibility, just as the member who just spoke defended it for a very long time until he changed his mind. I wonder why.