Richard Martel

[Finance, April 29th, 2024]

Mr. Speaker, after nine years under this government, too many Quebeckers and Canadians have been forced into poverty. According to the Journal de Montréal, 25% of Quebeckers do not have a livable income. Let us think about this. Working 50 hours a week is no longer enough for people to meet their needs.

Despite all that, the Bloc Québécois continues to support the Liberals by voting in favour of the estimates. My goodness, it is costly to vote for the Bloc Québécois.

When will the government finally listen to us and stop its out-of-control spending?

[Intergovernmental Affairs, April 11th, 2024]

Mr. Speaker, we have only to think of ArriveCAN, the borders, passports, EI, the deficit. The list is a long one. Everything is broken. After eight years, the Prime Minister has failed on every level. Everything the Prime Minister touches fails, and now he is adding insult to injury by encroaching on Quebec's jurisdictions.

Can the Prime Minister please mind his own business and let Quebec make its own decisions?

[Intergovernmental Affairs, April 11th, 2024]

Mr. Speaker, after eight long years, the Prime Minister is not worth the cost. Food banks can no longer keep up with demand. The cost of rent and mortgages has doubled. The dream of buying a first home is almost unattainable for young Canadians. After eight years of federal encroachment on provincial jurisdictions, Quebeckers' quality of life has declined.

Can the Prime Minister please stop imposing his incompetence on the provinces and mind his own business?

[Housing, April 8th, 2024]

Mr. Speaker, after eight years of deficits, people are no longer able to put a roof over their heads. There is still more red tape than common-sense solutions, like giving bonuses to cities that build more housing.

As we have said before, this Prime Minister is not worth the cost. The demand for housing is skyrocketing. A landlord in Saguenay received over 200 applications for his rental unit in just 24 hours. Apartments are increasingly scarce and increasingly expensive.

In the upcoming budget, will the Prime Minister finally build housing and stop adding red tape?

[ArriveCAN App, February 28th, 2024]

Mr. Speaker, while the common-sense Conservatives will axe the tax, build the homes, fix the budget and stop the crime, after eight years, this Prime Minister is not worth the cost, the crime or the corruption.

The failed ArriveCAN app was initially supposed to cost $80,000, but we have learned that this Prime Minister ended up wasting at least $60 million on it. The Prime Minister shamelessly dipped into Canadians' pockets at a time when they are struggling to make ends meet and having a hard time paying their mortgage and when prices just keep going up. This is not the first time. He has been doing this throughout his term in office.

How did the ArriveCAN app end up costing over 750 times the initial price? I cannot even imagine. We, the common-sense Conservatives, have made it our mission to get to the bottom of this new scandal. Canadians deserve answers and they will get them.

After eight years of this Prime Minister, things need to change. The only way to achieve that is with our common-sense leader.

[Housing, February 15th, 2024]

Mr. Speaker, after eight years of this government, the cost of rent has doubled in Canada and tripled in Montreal, which means that Canada has the worst record in the G7. Meanwhile, we are the ones with the most land on which to build. This sad record shows that, in 2022, Canada built less housing than in 1972.

It is time to implement incentives to increase the construction of housing across Canada. With a view to doing just that, my leader was in Montreal this morning to announce his common-sense housing plan. He is proposing to give federal bonuses to cities, such as Saguenay, Victoriaville or Trois‑Rivières, that are successfully accelerating housing construction and to exempt small municipalities from penalties, while giving them the right to bonuses if they exceed the 15% target.

Things need to change. After eight years under this government, it is high time we put our common-sense plan into action.

[Carbon Pricing, February 13th, 2024]

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister wasted $60 million on his corrupt ArriveCAN app. Now he is asking Canadians for even more money through the carbon tax, which the Bloc wants to radically increase.

After eight years under this government, everything is more expensive. Worse still, the Bloc is supporting Liberal policies.

Can the Prime Minister confirm that he will scrap the carbon tax in order to give Canadians a little more breathing room?

[Marina Larouche, February 5th, 2024]

Mr. Speaker, today, I am rising to pay tribute to Marina Larouche, who passed away in January at the age of 88.

This woman led a very impressive life. As the mother of nine children, she was balancing work and family well before that concept became popular. After being involved in minor hockey for many years, she worked as a city councillor for 28 years. One of the highlights of her career was heading up the Accès Bleuets campaign, which led to the construction of a four-lane divided highway through the Laurentides wildlife sanctuary. That gave us a safer, less congested highway that benefits everyone.

What is more, in 2002, she received the Queen Elizabeth II Golden Jubilee Medal, and in 2015, the Chicoutimi-Nord arena was renamed the Marina Larouche arena in her honour.

In short, Ms. Larouche was a model woman, mother and politician.

[Carbon Pricing, February 1st, 2024]

Mr. Speaker, after eight years of this government, people are running out of money. Food banks were emptied over the holidays.

We have found out that the Bloc Québécois fully supports the Liberals' policies and wants to hike the infamous carbon tax yet again. Voting for the Bloc Québécois is costly for people in the regions, because the Bloc Québécois has lost touch with regional realities, as we know.

Could the Liberals come back down to Earth and support our common-sense motion by at least refraining from raising the tax on April 1?

[Housing, January 29th, 2024]

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister should be encouraging the ingenuity of mayors who have managed to accelerate housing construction in places like Victoriaville, Trois-Rivières and Saguenay. Montreal has seen a 37% drop in housing starts compared to last year, and Quebec City has seen a 40% drop. Once elected, our leader will give federal bonuses to cities that accelerate housing construction.

Once again, when will the Liberals listen to our common-sense plan and finally build more housing?