Simon Marcil

[International Trade, June 11th, 2018]

Mr. Speaker, last week, the Prime Minister climbed into a truck cab in Chicoutimi to make a stump-like speech that included a promise to protect supply management in NAFTA negotiations.

I would like to remind the government that, on September 26, the House adopted a unanimous motion to fully preserve supply management.

Will the government heed the unanimous will of the House of Commons, or will it break its promises as it did with CETA and the TPP?

[Public Safety, June 4th, 2018]

Mr. Speaker, Global Affairs Canada has told farmers not to spread manure during the G7. Once again, Ottawa does not understand the regions.

Here is how it works. Farmers have only until June 15 to finish planting their crops, but they have to spread manure before planting. These farms produce the food that the ministers from the big city will find on their expensive menus at the G7. That is what happens when events take place in rural areas. The scenery is beautiful, but people are hard at work.

Does the government realize that its directive is unrealistic?

[Questions Passed as Orders for Returns, June 1st, 2018]

With regard to federal spending in the riding of Mirabel, for each fiscal year since 2010–2011, inclusively: what are the details of all grants and contributions and all loans to every organization, group, business or municipality, broken down by the (i) name of the recipient, (ii) municipality of the recipient, (iii) date on which the funding was received, (iv) amount received, (v) department or agency that provided the funding, (vi) program under which the grant, contribution or loan was made, (vii) nature or purpose?

[Conservative Party of Canada, May 24th, 2018]

Mr. Speaker, it would seem that the Conservatives will now be defending Quebeckers' interests. The problem is, we do not know which Quebeckers they are talking about.

Clearly, they are not talking about those in the regions, because, yesterday in the House, they voted against using our softwood lumber, and their deputy leader is against supply management.

They will not defend the Quebec City region either. It was their own maritime strategy that costed Davie close to 900 jobs. They will not defend the millions of Quebeckers who live along the river.

Their leader, whose name nobody really remembers, is nice and all when he visits us, but when he is in the Maritimes, he promises the return of the energy east pipeline.

Conservatives will definitely not defend Quebeckers' interests. At this very moment, they are sponsoring a petition to reopen the abortion debate. That bunch of Harper clones who still believe that the Earth is flat are totally fine with that. They will take Quebeckers' money and votes, but when the time comes to defend Quebeckers' jobs, they will take a break. They do not defend our rights, our people, or our environment. How then will they defend our interests?

[International Workers' Day, May 1st, 2018]

Mr. Speaker, on behalf of the Groupe parlementaire québécois, I wish those who are the backbone of Quebec a happy International Workers' Day.

We have so much work ahead of us at the federal level to preserve the quality of life of our families. Think of all those affected by the Phoenix fiasco. This is serious. The Canadian government cannot even pay its employees properly. It is totally ridiculous. Think of employment insurance to which far too many workers contribute only to be denied benefits when they need it. Think of the new mothers who get absolutely no support if they lose their jobs when they return from parental leave. Think of all those who have just filed their tax returns. All those people make sacrifices while Ottawa allows the rich to hide their money in tax havens.

We want to assure all these people that we stand behind them and that together we will get more done for Quebec.

[Tsilhqot'in Chiefs, March 26th, 2018]

Mr. Speaker, I am honoured to rise briefly on behalf of my Groupe parlementaire québécois colleagues. The exoneration of the Tsilhqot'in chiefs is of great symbolic significance. The events of 1864 paint a telling portrait of colonialism at the height of its greed, set against the backdrop of the gold rush. I will not go into great detail about these events, but I would like to emphasize the major lack of comprehension surrounding this crisis.

When the workers who were hired to build a road through the Tsilhqot'in Nation's territory were killed in 1864, colonial forces set out in search of those they perceived as murderers. The important thing to note here is that the authorities had no idea what had happened when they made the decision to send a militia to avenge the workers.

Correspondence from that period indicates that no one understood the reason for the crisis. There was no indication that the construction workers had never sought or obtained permission from the Tsilhqot'in to build anything on their land. There was no indication of the fact that the arrival of the white man had come at a heavy cost for the Tsilhqot'in Nation, who lost half of its population to smallpox. It was not until the Tsilhqot'in chiefs were lured into peace negotiations, ambushed and subsequently sentenced to death that possible explanations came to light for the first time.

I wish I could say that this was merely representative of a bygone era when communication between speakers of different languages was all but impossible in a vast and little-known land. However, even now in the House, people talk about nation-to-nation relationships as though it were the most cutting-edge concept ever.

Establishing egalitarian relationships with others who share the same territory is not innovative, visionary, or bold. It is sensible. It is basic respect. No relationship works without respect. Let us keep that basic fact in mind as we go forward.

In closing, I would like to thank the Tsilhqot'in Nation representatives who are here with us today. May the tragedies that have afflicted your nation build a path to a better future for your people and all indigenous communities in Quebec and Canada.

[Employment Insurance, March 21st, 2018]

Mr. Speaker, for the past few weeks, workers across Quebec have not been collecting employment insurance because their benefits have run out. They are in the spring gap, that time of the year when thousands of families without employment income are forced to turn to welfare because they have the misfortune of working in seasonal industries.

Quebec has at least 200,000 workers in seasonal industries such as fishing, agriculture, tourism, construction, and forestry. Seasonal work is a cornerstone of our regional economies. By refusing to eliminate the spring gap, the government is hurting our people, our economy, and our regions. By refusing to eliminate the spring gap, the government is doing harm not only to our seasonal workers, but to Quebec as a whole, and that is something we cannot accept.

The government needs to fix this problem once and for all as soon as possible.

[International Trade, February 9th, 2018]

Mr. Speaker, on Wednesday, the House was unanimous in stating that there must be no breach in supply management as part of the new trans-Pacific partnership. No breach means no access. This motion just increased the government's negotiating power. They should be thanking me.

Has the government informed the 10 other countries of the House's unanimous will?

[Trans-Pacific Partnership, February 7th, 2018]

Mr. Speaker, now that that is taken care of, I seek the unanimous consent of the House for the following motion:

That this House calls on the government to ensure that there is no breach in supply management as part of the new Trans-Pacific Partnership.

[Point of Order, February 7th, 2018]

Mr. Speaker, during yesterday's question period, I used unparliamentary language and hurt people's feelings. Since I am not the kind of person who wants to hurt people's feelings, I withdraw my remarks.