House of Commons photoLost his last election, in 2025, with 28% of the vote.
Business of Supply March 21st, 2024
Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for his speech. I have the pleasure of serving with him on the Standing Committee on Access to Information, Privacy and Ethics.
Regarding the alternative facts that he often cites—instead of repeating ideas written by others, that criticize without offering solutions or that disregard the separation of powers—I would like to know whether they are deceptive, or a distortion of the truth.
International Day of La Francophonie March 20th, 2024
Mr. Speaker, Jean Ferrat said in his song, “It is so beautiful, life is beautiful,” so today I say, “It is so beautiful, La Francophonie is beautiful.”
Every year, we celebrate La Francophonie in March. All around the world, La Francophonie is a dynamic force that makes cultures soar and opens the lines of communication between them. La Francophonie is poetry. It is literature, it is a slam, it is values, it is living together and quite simply living.
From Morocco to Louisiana, from Quebec to Belgium, from the Ivory Coast to Tahiti, from Vietnam to Mauritius, La Francophonie is always with us. From David Cheramie in Louisiana to Patrice Desbiens in Sudbury, both poeticize La Francophonie in their own way. Aimé Césaire, elected politician, poet, playwright and essayist, made it his own too. We must not forget one of our finest, the great Dany Laferrière, who weaves an ineffable warmth into every one of his stories.
Through all of them, La Francophonie tells us its stories, as it charms us and speaks to us. It makes us a promise as well. It promises a world full of youthful spirit, happiness and friendship. Finally, with all of its different accents, La Francophonie is a celebration, a festival of the heart, a festival of the soul, a festival of life. On this International Day of La Francophonie, I wish everyone a happy Francophonie that will live on forever.
Business of Supply February 27th, 2024
Madam Speaker, we have been talking about procurement and ArriveCAN. There were plenty of disasters before ArriveCAN. When we look at the government's real capacity to manage passports, borders, when we look at WE Charity or employment insurance, Canada Life, we realize one thing: the government is incapable of carrying out its fundamental duty, which is to provide services to the public.
I have seen my colleague and his colleagues show some contrition many times. They say they are sorry, that this will never happen again, that the investigations are under way. In reality, these incidents occur on a regular basis.
Earlier my colleague talked about ethics. I would like to know what she thinks, ethically speaking, about these endless scandals.
Business of Supply February 27th, 2024
Madam Speaker, I thank my hon. colleague, who was at the Standing Committee on Access to Information, Privacy and Ethics this morning.
When I look at ArriveCAN, I see the latest in a long line of fiascos. I recall the government was having a hard time delivering passports. It is having a hard time with immigration. It is having a hard time with a lot of programs. It is losing internal expertise. It is relying on outside consultants. It is unable to control them.
I wonder, will my colleague admit that his government is utterly incompetent?
Canada Labour Code February 26th, 2024
Mr. Speaker, obviously, we have said, and reiterated today, that we are in favour of such a bill. We are a bit shocked that it will not come into force for 18 months, because this government will likely not be in office 18 months from now, and we are concerned about that.
With regard to the Port of Montreal longshore workers and the Canadian National and Air Canada employees, would it not have been smarter to take advantage of that delay to have them learn French?
Canada Labour Code February 26th, 2024
Madam Speaker, I thank my colleague from Longueuil—Saint-Hubert for his passionate speech. I would like to ask him a question that has really been bothering me.
Last December, I received a letter from an organization in Trois‑Rivières, Les Artisans de la paix. They told me that their budget had been cut by $79,000 under the Reaching Home program.
We are seeing more and more homeless people on the streets in Trois‑Rivières. A lot of people are experiencing homelessness. The distress is very real. I would like to ask my colleague the following question.
When I get letters like the one from Robert Tardif, executive director of Les Artisans de la paix, who says that it is totally irresponsible and inconceivable to make cuts to such a program, how should I reply, in light of the 3% budget cut to the Reaching Home program?
Canada Early Learning and Child Care Act February 14th, 2024
Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague from Abitibi—Baie-James—Nunavik—Eeyou for her passionate and moderate speech that puts things into perspective.
Let us not forget that, in 1997, Quebec brought forward such a plan. It was the work of Pauline Marois, whose courage allowed for great strides to be made.
I also remember that in 2006, my predecessor, Paule Brunelle, took part in the debate at first reading of Bill C‑303.
I would like to ask my colleague if the current bill does Quebec justice or if, on the contrary, it distorts an idea that was the best.
Canada Early Learning and Child Care Act February 14th, 2024
Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague from Portneuf—Jacques-Cartier for his passionate speech.
I know that he is on a mission for the Francophonie. I am delighted to serve with him on the Assemblée des parlementaires de la Francophonie. I know he cares about this.
His speech earlier sounded more partisan than pro-francophone to me. I know that in the past, his party, which he loves to talk about, actually appointed an anglophone judge to the Supreme Court, which was a bit of a black mark against it.
I would like him to tell me if there is anything good in this bill, apart from the fact that the inspiration came from Quebec's brilliant example.
National Council for Reconciliation Act February 12th, 2024
Mr. Speaker, I heard my colleague's passionate speech here, as well as that of my colleague across the way, and I have a question.
Where will the funding for this national council for reconciliation come from? There were some figures provided in 2019, but now we are talking about adding investigators, monitoring and recommending measures. Where will this budget come from? The bill does not mention that.
Canada-Ukraine Free Trade Agreement Implementation Act, 2023 February 5th, 2024
Mr. Speaker, my colleague's questions are always straight to the point and quite brilliant.
What enables trust in a given environment? I would say that it is the ability to understand. If people want to understand, they need to be informed.
Certainly, being presented with a bill, law, or treaty that is essentially a done deal does not allow us to engage with each other and make it our own. We can assess it, but we do not really own it. I believe that our aim here, in the house of democracy, must be to build trust. To do this, we need to be better at sharing information.
The risk is quite simple: If we do not build trust, we breed mistrust. If we do not address mistrust, we end up with non-confidence.