House of Commons photo

Crucial Fact

  • His favourite word was plan.

Last in Parliament February 2017, as Liberal MP for Saint-Laurent (Québec)

Won his last election, in 2015, with 62% of the vote.

Statements in the House

MAIN ESTIMATES 2015-16 June 8th, 2015

Mr. Speaker, I want to thank my colleague for a very vigorous and substantial speech. He seems quite enthusiastic about the idea of reopening the Constitution.

I would like to know if he spoke on behalf of his leader when he said so; especially, when he said that the constitutional talks he is considering would not be limited to the Senate, but would touch a lot of issues, such as the three that he mentioned.

MAIN ESTIMATES 2015-16 June 8th, 2015

Mr. Speaker, I understand from the answer of my hon. colleague that the plan of the Conservatives for Senate reform is still an elected Senate. The Supreme Court said that to elect the Senate, we would need a constitutional amendment, supported by seven provinces with 50% of the population.

Is it the view of the government that the constitution must be reopened, yes or no?

MAIN ESTIMATES 2015-16 June 8th, 2015

Mr. Speaker, what is the Conservative plan to reform the Senate?

Taxation June 5th, 2015

Mr. Speaker, it is clear that the minister does not want to talk about the Liberals' Canada child benefit, since he knows that under this program, 9 of 10 Canadian families will get bigger cheques. That is what will happen and he cannot deny it. That is what all the experts are saying. The Conservatives deny this, and the minister's bad faith is becoming increasingly evident.

Do the Conservatives not see that a typical family earning $90,000 with two children will receive $2,575 more under the Liberal plan, starting in the first year of a Liberal government, an amount that is indexed and tax free?

Will the minister admit this and stop acting in bad faith?

Jacques Parizeau June 2nd, 2015

Mr. Speaker, Jacques Parizeau was a formidable intellectual opponent, always ready to offer a new substantive argument or new way of doing things that no one else had thought of, but with which the independence movement in Quebec was on board.

As proponents of Canadian unity, it was up to us to find a way and to find a counter-argument, knowing that Mr. Parizeau would be relentless in his response. He always kept us on our toes and kept us in top intellectual form. There was never a dull moment when he was around.

Today, I cannot help but think about what he could have accomplished for Quebeckers and all Canadians if he had put his exceptional talents to work for a united Canada, with the benefit of all of the creativity and culture of a Quebecker like him. However, he made a different choice and we respect that.

We in the Liberal Party of Canada offer our sincere condolences to the family and loved ones of the former Quebec premier and an architect of the Quiet Revolution.

Petitions May 29th, 2015

Mr. Speaker, I have the honour to rise in the House to present a petition sent to me by the organization Development and Peace. The petitioners believe that new rules for the use of seed are detrimental to small farmers because, in some cases, the preservation, use and exchange of seeds are illegal and could be punishable by law. This petition seeks to bring to the attention of the House of Commons and the Government of Canada the importance of respecting farmers' right to preserve, exchange and use seeds.

Infrastructure May 29th, 2015

Mr. Speaker, we are celebrating the 150th anniversary of Confederation, but Canada existed long before.

For over a year now, we have been asking the Minister of Canadian Heritage for a plan for the celebration of this 150th anniversary. Instead, the government throws together a disparate and haphazard Canada 150 program that has everyone so pressed for time that neither the municipalities in Quebec nor the Province of Ontario will be able to participate.

Will the Conservatives admit that this mad rush is just a way for them to hand out goodies before the election?

Citizenship and Immigration May 28th, 2015

Mr. Speaker, Canada is no longer one of the top five countries for immigrant integration. One of the reasons for our decline is that wait times for family reunification keep increasing.

According to the department's own website, between 2007 and 2014 there was a 146% increase in wait times for families, a 546% increase for parents and grandparents, and a 73% increase for spouses and children.

Is the minister denying these staggering figures? They were taken from his own department's website.

Dany Laferrière May 28th, 2015

Mr. Speaker, today, a Canadian is being inducted into the Académie française for the first time since Cardinal de Richelieu established the institution in 1635. Voted in by his peers on the first ballot, he will be welcomed into the prestigious academy. Dany Laferrière, the great Canadian, Québécois and Haitian writer, will now be one of the 40 immortals.

We can count on the author of The Return to promote both the elegance and the vividness of the French language. In between novels, Mr. Laferrière, a man who writes thought-provoking, stimulating and exciting works, will be celebrating not only the universality of the French language, but also its multiple realities, and reflecting its precision, but also its creative and sensitive side. He is a man of great contrasts who is curious about everything.

Mr. Laferrière will inherit the chair that once belonged to Montesquieu, the author of The Spirit of the Laws, and will be able to share with his fellow immortals how it feels to bask in the Caribbean sun and live through a Canadian winter.

Congratulations, Dany Laferrière. Canada owes you a great debt of gratitude.

Canadian Heritage May 13th, 2015

Mr. Speaker, let me say also that 90% of families would receive more with the Liberal plan.

Neglected by the current government, the Copyright Board cannot fulfill its mission. The average time to render a decision is between two and three years. Only two out of five board seats are filled, and the chair's position has been vacant for a year. It seems hard for the minister to find a chair who is competent and Conservative enough.

When will the minister give the board resources so that it can render sound and timely decisions?