Xavier Barsalou-Duval

[Committees of the House, March 22nd, 2023]

Thank you, Madam Speaker.

I was saying that I wanted to set the record straight. The NDP asked for this debate. It seems that the Liberals are afraid to mention it because the NDP is a member of their coalition.

Now for my question, which is about partisanship. In her speech, my colleague used a certain word about every three sentences, perhaps even in every sentence, and that word is “partisan”. She was once again accusing the Conservatives of partisan politics.

I do not understand why she is only targeting the Conservatives, because the Bloc is also asking for a public inquiry into Chinese interference. The NDP is now asking for the same thing. Many people in civil society are asking for the same thing. It is as though anyone who asks for something the Liberals do not want is being partisan. I am trying to understand this.

Is it not the other way around? Is it not the Liberals who are being partisan and have things to hide or partisan interests to protect?

[Committees of the House, March 22nd, 2023]

Madam Speaker, I would like to comment on the speech by my colleague opposite.

First, in listening to her speech, one would have thought that this debate was initiated by the Conservatives. That is quite something. I am not a Conservative supporter, but we must set the record straight—

[Committees of the House, March 22nd, 2023]

Madam Speaker, I really liked my colleague's speech. It was inspiring as usual. It leads me to draw a parallel.

In 2022, I had the opportunity to visit a city in the former East Germany. While I was there, one of the first things I went to see was the famous Stasi Museum. The Stasi is the secret police that existed when the Soviet Union controlled East Germany. At one point, there were as many as 95,000 Stasi agents and 175,000 informers in East Germany. They were everywhere. The strength lay in the fact that nobody knew who they were, and that is how they managed to impose their reign of terror. No one knew who the Stasi agents or informers were. Basically, their strength lay in secrecy.

The government does not want to launch a public inquiry, which I think would bring secrets to light. That is pretty much what we are seeing with the Chinese regime right now. I am trying to understand why the government would want to maintain that secrecy when what would weaken a regime like that the most is greater transparency.

[Infrastructure, March 20th, 2023]

Mr. Speaker, the Liberals say they keep their word and work hard with Quebec, but once agreements have been signed, they do not respect them. They have some nerve. The government is threatening to deny our cities $2.3 billion for things like public transit projects, yet it keeps neglecting projects like Trans Mountain, which has just reached new heights with a bill for $30 billion.

The government is giving our cities an ultimatum: They have 11 days before their funding is cut. For dirty oil companies, however, there is no ultimatum or cap. The sky is the limit. The oil companies get preferential treatment while our cities get unfair treatment.

Why not assure our mayors that they will get their money?

[Infrastructure, March 20th, 2023]

Mr. Speaker, there are 11 days left. In 11 days, Quebec will no longer be able to submit our municipalities' green infrastructure and public transit projects, because Ottawa unilaterally decided to bring the deadline forward by two years. Quebec has 11 days before Ottawa pockets $2.3 billion of Quebeckers' money that was supposed to be for Quebec cities. Quebec has 11 days before Ottawa forces it to say goodbye to $2.3 billion that was supposed to be used for projects to limit shoreline erosion or to build cultural centres or water treatment plants.

Rather than threatening our cities, could the government not simply extend the deadline?

[Business of Supply, March 20th, 2023]

Madam Speaker, I listened to the minister's speech and found it very strange. Just think about the Chinese interference issue. Back when the first reports came out and questions started to be asked, the government simply said that there was no issue. It claimed that asking questions meant we were anti-Chinese, that we were, in essence, racist. That was the government's response.

Now, with everything that has come out in the media, the government has been backed into a corner, so it has decided to appoint a special rapporteur. It thinks that that will be enough, that everyone will be happy and move on. The whole thing is a farce.

We keep asking questions, and the minister claims that we are making partisan attacks. However, the people are also demanding a public inquiry into Chinese interference.

Is the entire population partisan too? I am trying to understand the logic behind the minister's speech.

[Business of Supply, March 20th, 2023]

Madam Speaker, I thank my colleague for his speech. He may have said things differently than I would have, but the main ideas are there. The reasons are there and they are valid.

There is one thing that I wish my colleague had talked about. I heard him criticize the NDP and the Liberal government a lot for their complicity in the fact that there still has not been a public inquiry on Chinese interference, which is a major problem. I would like to know what reasons the government and the NDP could have for refusing to open such an inquiry when the public is calling for one.

[Infrastructure, March 10th, 2023]

Madam Speaker, what the member opposite does not seem to understand or maybe she does know is that, ultimately, there will not be any projects without the money.

If the government wants projects in Quebec to go forward, it needs to give us the money. It owes us the $3 billion that was in the agreement and that was not yet allocated. The deadline is around the corner.

Members of the Union des municipalités du Québec are panicking. They are afraid that major projects in their municipality will get slashed. The Liberals need to wake up.

When the Liberal MPs go back to their ridings, what will they do? Will they tell their mayors that there will not be any projects for them because they decided to change their minds one fine day and say that Quebec's money is gone?

[Infrastructure, March 10th, 2023]

Madam Speaker, in 2018, the federal government signed an infrastructure agreement with the Quebec government. Under the agreement, Quebec would get $7.5 billion for our infrastructure and have until 2025 to submit the projects.

Since then, the federal government did a 180°, decided to rip up the agreement, like a good partner, and unilaterally decided that, now, the deadline would be March 31, 2023.

March 31, 2023, is soon, so soon that we can count the number of sleeps left. It is in 21 days. If Quebec does not comply within 21 days, it could lose nearly $3 billion.

[Guy Fontaine, March 10th, 2023]

Madam Speaker, I rise to pay tribute to Guy Fontaine, a distinguished citizen from Saint-Amable, who passed away on January 18, 2023.

Mr. Fontaine was known and loved by everyone in Saint-Amable, and with good reason. Throughout his life, he was involved in many causes and fundraisers to help his community. In his civic life, he was the founder of several events and organizations, including the Saint-Amable business association, the potato festival and the demolition derby. He was also the founder and grand knight of the Knights of Columbus Council 7019.

He was awarded the National Assembly medal in 2011, a well-deserved recognition. He was extremely energetic and hard-working and always had new projects in mind, which is why everyone was so surprised to hear of his passing, despite his 85 years.

In closing, I would like to offer his wife Ivonne, his children and his family, and everyone in Saint-Amable, my deepest condolences