Pierre Nantel

[Multilateral Instrument in Respect of Tax Conventions Act, October 15th, 2018]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to ask my colleague a question, particularly since he is a members of those committees.

Ordinary Canadians who work hard and pay their taxes find it unacceptable that the government is introducing bills that merely fiddle with minor details. Will the government review the tax system? The NDP has asked it to do so many times.

The government is encouraging cynicism among Canadians by failing to make major changes, such as establishing a public registry of those who benefit from the tax exemptions given to the wealthiest Canadians and big business. When people hear that a company did not pay taxes one year or that it was taxed at only 1% when they were taxed at 33% or 34%, it makes them very angry.

I am sorry, but I must remind the House that a Liberal prime minister registered his Great Lakes ships in Panama.

Would my colleague care to comment on that?

[Canadian Heritage, October 4th, 2018]

Mr. Speaker, Netflix just announced it is opening a permanent office in France. The company will double its investment in French productions. Netflix will be paying taxes in France. It will even collect sales tax. It will invest 2% of its revenue in producing films and will have to guarantee that 30% of its content is European.

What a crazy revolutionary concept. The French asked Netflix to respect their culture and pay its fair share of taxes.

Will the new Minister of Heritage do his job, immediately put a stop to preferential treatment, and get the same commitments from Netflix here in Canada?

[Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership Implementation Act, October 3rd, 2018]

Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for her speech. It is easy to see why she is focusing on a specific amendment that she feels is valuable and worth defending. Of course, the royal Liberal bulldozer paid her no heed.

I would like to know the member's reaction. I am not an expert in international trade, but I hear that in the U.S., both major parties in the legislature get to participate, since they get updates on the proceedings and discussions on admittedly complex treaties. By contrast, we here in Canada are dependent on the members across the aisle.

I would like to hear the member's thoughts on that.

[Points of Order, October 1st, 2018]

Mr. Speaker, I will take down the picture, but I have no regrets about drawing attention to the fact that dairy farmers in Quebec—

[Canadian Heritage, September 28th, 2018]

Mr. Speaker, yesterday, 42 creators and artisans of our culture signed an open letter calling on the government to defend the cultural exemption in NAFTA and to ensure that it applies to online platforms, so that we can compel these platforms to contribute to our culture.

This means that signing agreements where Netflix does not have to pay any taxes or contribute anything or produce anything in French no longer flies.

Will the Liberals guarantee that Quebec and every government in Canada will be able to keep their right to protect our culture? We are not just going to give up our cultural policies as chump change in the NAFTA negotiations, are we?

[The Planet Joins the Campaign, September 28th, 2018]

Mr. Speaker, I have had the honour of representing the people of Longueuil—Saint-Hubert for seven years now. That has meant standing up for my constituents and everything that comes with the challenges facing our underprivileged families, with our transportation issues and access to the shores of the river. It has also meant developing our expertise in aerospace, agri-food, and the electrification of transportation.

Two other issues have become important to me since I was first elected to the House: reconciliation with indigenous peoples and the fact that quiet nationalism is reaching consensus in Quebec.

Every day I work on correcting this situation. These two issues have been added to the two priorities that first got me into politics in 2011, namely the fight against global warming and protecting our cultural industries. I am pleased to see that Quebec is celebrating culture days at the Théâtre du Nouveau Monde in Montreal, and at the Philippe Allard exhibit at the Maison de la culture in Longueuil. There is something for everyone.

All that culture will be for naught if the planet burns up because of global warming.

I invite everyone from the greater Montreal area to come march in the Planet Joins the Campaign rally being held this Saturday at 2 p.m. The starting point is Place Émilie-Gamelin at the Berri metro station.

[Business of Supply, September 27th, 2018]

Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for sharing his point of view, although it reflects a bit of an alternate reality. It is possible to see things from another perspective.

I would remind members that for Quebeckers who need social housing, it was Paul Martin's Liberal government that decreed that every Canadian had a right to suitable housing and decided to take action in that direction. The situation has only deteriorated since then. When it comes to funding for social housing, it has been nothing but a downward spiral.

According to FRAPRU, the right to housing is the cornerstone to ensuring that a number of other rights are respected. It can help meet many other needs, which is consistent with my colleague's vision regarding housing first. However, that is not the reality. At the Longueuil municipal housing bureau, the wait list for social housing is not counted in weeks or months, but rather in years. No joke.

We hear the Liberals crow about their royal benevolence on every possible issue and towards all of their subjects in Canada.

Did the parliamentary secretary or the Minister of Families bother to meet with the people who walked for four weeks with their backpacks, sleeping in school gymnasiums every night, to reach Parliament Hill? Do they not think that perhaps they should have met with those people?

[Business of Supply, September 27th, 2018]

Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for her speech. This is obviously an issue that the NDP cares a lot about. It is also particularly relevant to Longueuil—Saint-Hubert since housing is part of everyone's daily life.

I want to point out that this is the 10th anniversary of all of the social developments in the greater Longueuil area. There are three key founding members, namely Sonia Jurado, Mary Claire MacLeod and Hanh Lam. These three individuals were directly involved in absolutely fantastic projects, such as Terrasse Mousseau, a community housing project that is currently under way. It involves the renovation of 170 units that were in a state of complete disrepair. These homes were unfit to live in, but they are being fixed up little by little by relocating people, renovating the units and creating a new living environment. The project is currently in progress. We hope that everything continues to go well because it is a really well-run project.

I would like to know what my colleague thinks about the situation that she talked about at the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation.

It is important to remember that, from 2006 to 2013, 45,000 social housing units were affected by the expiry of CMHC agreements. In 2017, the number of households affected was over 140,000. I am thinking, for example, of a woman I met through FRAPRU. She was about 82 years old. She told me that she had been evicted because she lost her social housing subsidy.

When will the CMHC get involved in that case? What does my colleague think about that, since it is her government that is asleep at the switch on this?

[Business of Supply, September 27th, 2018]

Mr. Speaker, my colleague referred to the Canada-Quebec agreements. I had the chance—anyone could have joined in—to walk with the people from FRAPRU, the Quebec social housing coalition, who left Ottawa roughly a month ago to travel to Quebec City. They will arrive in Quebec City tomorrow. They walked 550 kilometres and stopped in all sorts of towns and villages along the way to talk about social housing.

I had the opportunity to welcome them back home in Longueuil—Saint-Hubert, where we walked 1% of the journey together. These people have deep convictions and they are walking on behalf of an entire community of people who need social housing.

In Longueuil—it is not for nothing that they stopped by—there are major housing challenges. The waiting lists are appalling. My team was on the phone with a friend in my riding who is a young professional, a single parent with two children. She came to see my team because she could no longer make ends meet. She pays $1,000 a month in rent.

These situations are commonplace in Longueuil. Fortunately, there are fantastic solutions. People have stepped up. The people on this walk were invited, for example, to have breakfast at Habitations Paul-Pratt, Manoir-Trinité, where seniors have been able to find great social housing and a wonderful quality of life. That is important. These are urgent needs.

I am wondering why we are talking about this today when the government made some lofty promises about great funding, which we were very pleased with. However, 90% of this money will only be disbursed after the government is re-elected. I believe it is horribly Machiavellian to deal with these issues in this way. I can say the same thing about cultural issues. I just blasted the Minister of Canadian Heritage because his committee will release a report in 2020, after the election. That is just appalling. The needs exist right now.

Why does the government not see what people across Canada and especially in Longueuil are dealing with?

[Canadian Heritage, September 27th, 2018]

Mr. Speaker, last week, the Prime Minister answered my question with some old material about his commitment to our cultural industries.

It has been a year since the Netflix agreement was announced, and key players in our cultural industry have already confirmed to CBC/Radio-Canada what we knew from the start. This was a stunt that benefits web giants instead of forcing them to broadcast and fund our original cultural productions.

Our creators are tired of waiting, but the minister said that we have to wait for the panel to submit its report in 2020. That is five years too late.

Does the minister understand how urgent this situation is or is he going to regurgitate the same talking points as his predecessor? We are going to disappear.