Xavier Barsalou-Duval

[Oil and Gas Industry, April 19th, 2024]

Madam Speaker, on Thursday morning, gas prices jumped by 15¢ a litre in one fell swoop. That is highway robbery.

The carbon tax is not the culprit. It does not apply in Quebec. It did not even budge Thursday morning. No, the blame lies at the feet of greedy oil and gas companies getting ready for summer by bleeding everyone dry. Those same oil and gas companies, Suncor and CNRL, earned $8 billion in profits last year.

The Liberals, however, are subsidizing oil and gas companies to the tune of $83 billion over 10 years, in addition to having bought them a $34‑billion pipeline.

Is it not time to cut them off?

[National Council for Reconciliation Act, April 19th, 2024]

Madam Speaker, I would like to congratulate my colleague for the empathy and goodwill toward indigenous people that were so evident in his speech. I think it is important to do the work required to move closer to reconciliation. We learned that he is going to vote in favour of Bill C‑29, which can only be a positive thing.

Obviously, the Conservatives are not the government. They are the opposition. However, there are things they could do right now to help with reconciliation. Not so long ago, for example, their leader held a big celebration of the well-known John A. Macdonald, who created residential schools, had Louis Riel hanged and came up with a strategy to cause famine among indigenous peoples.

Does my colleague think that celebrations like this are appropriate against a backdrop of reconciliation?

[Housing, April 11th, 2024]

Mr. Speaker, the Liberals have a lot of nerve. Instead of being helpful, they decided to be contemptuous and blackmail us with our own money, just like the Conservatives proposed.

Quebec's housing minister was clear this week. She said it was out of the question for Quebec to agree to any conditions to get its fair share of a community funding envelope. Quebec cities do not fall under Ottawa's jurisdiction.

Will the minister commit to guaranteeing Quebec its right to opt out with full compensation?

[Housing, April 11th, 2024]

Mr. Speaker, the federal government is not helping solve the housing crisis; it is simply stretching it out over time.

Ottawa could just transfer the housing money to Quebec. That would be simple enough. Instead, the Liberals have chosen to attach conditions to the infrastructure program, supposedly to force the provinces to build housing faster. As a result, not only is housing construction slowing down, Ottawa is paralyzing the construction of infrastructure such as water systems. It wants to see doorknobs first, running water later.

Does the minister realize that his plan is putting the cart before the horse?

[French Integration Initiative, April 10th, 2024]

Mr. Speaker, to promote the French language in Quebec, we need to share it with all new Quebeckers, but, of course, learning our national language takes time. That is why I want to talk about an inspiring initiative that is being taken by the Provigo in Boucherville. The grocery store gave all of its new employees who are learning French a button that says “I am learning French. Thank you for speaking slowly”. What an extraordinary way to encourage employees as they learn and to encourage customers to take part in this learning process by being understanding, patient and kind.

On behalf of the Bloc Québécois, I want to thank the owner of Provigo, Mona Turbide, and the person in charge of the French language training, Martine Coulombe. I also want to commend the workers who are learning French for their perseverance. I hope that this initiative will snowball and be implemented all over Quebec.

[Infrastructure, March 22nd, 2024]

Madam Speaker, if the feds want to invest money in housing, that is fine. That is not a problem. The government can put money into housing, but it cannot take money from the gas tax fund and use it for anything other than upgrading our sewers, our water treatment plants and our streets, so that it can force cities to build housing. The government would basically be robbing Peter to pay Paul, and that is a problem.

This is one of the few federal programs that is currently working. Now is not the time to mess with it.

Will the federal government drop the terrible idea of imposing new conditions on the community-building fund?

[Infrastructure, March 22nd, 2024]

Madam Speaker, they cannot help themselves. The federal government is interfering not only in Quebec's affairs, but now it wants to interfere in municipal affairs.

Our cities are afraid that Ottawa is getting ready to interfere in the Canada community-building fund, which is actually the gas tax fund, and that the government is taking advantage of the fact that the fund expired in December to add new conditions. What the cities are calling for is for the fund be renewed without conditions

The municipalities know how things work for them. They know what they need. Will the government listen to our municipalities and not add new conditions to the gas tax fund?

[Julien Lévesque and Laurence Brière, March 19th, 2024]

Mr. Speaker, Quebec has some great athletes. I am pleased to rise in the House to celebrate the victory of two of our athletes, Julien Lévesque from Boucherville and his partner Laurence Brière, who form one heck of a figure skating duo.

I was delighted to see these two youngsters, beaming and waving the Quebec flag, all with the Canadian championship medal around their necks.

This Quebec duo, competing in the “novice” category in Waterloo, Ontario, came out on top against all the other athletes from the Canadian provinces. It is a resounding testament not only to their talent, but also to the amazing ability Quebeckers have to shine among the best in the world.

Julien and Laurence, you have our admiration, and you can be sure we will be following the rest of your journey closely. Bravo, we are proud of you.

[Canada Early Learning and Child Care Act, February 16th, 2024]

Madam Speaker, I represent a Quebec riding. Quebec's day care system has been in place for 25 years. Families really like it and are proud of it. I doubt we could make any sort of changes to it because people are so attached to the system and even take it for granted. It is a fixture in Quebec.

As for the rest of Canada, the program is under development, if I understand correctly. The government started creating the program and then introduced the bill. The program was already in the works and now the government comes strolling in with the bill.

Is this not an admission from the government and Liberal MPs that things are not going well for them and that they expect to lose a lot of seats in the next election?

Essentially, the purpose of the bill is to lock in the program they have created. Ultimately, the program could exist without a bill, could it not?

[Business of Supply, February 8th, 2024]

Madam Speaker, the kind of debate we are having today is a good opportunity to clarify a few things and explain the data and the facts, rather than engage in the kind of extreme polarization that pegs people as nice when they want higher targets or as nasty xenophobes when they want lower targets. In reality, it is much more complex. For example, it is important to have a good sense of Quebec's capacity to help people learn French and of how many people it can realistically integrate, given its existing infrastructure.

People who come here must not feel guilty, nor must they be attacked just for coming here. People must feel welcome, and we must do everything we can to set them up for success from the get-go.