House of Commons photoWon his last election, in 2025, with 46% of the vote.
Intergovernmental Relations June 6th, 2017
Mr. Speaker, after two years in power, this government really is in its “terrible twos” phase.
The Prime Minister seems to know only one word: no. Will the government maintain health transfer increases? No. Will it give Quebec more time to adapt to pot legalization? No. Will it discuss the Constitution? Heck no.
When will the government start showing Quebec some respect?
It really is time for Quebeckers to vote yes, once and for all.
Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission June 5th, 2017
Mr. Speaker, the Gala Québec Cinéma was held yesterday in Montreal. I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate the winners, the nominees, and the organizers of this event who make our cinema an essential voice for our culture.
During the ceremony, Xavier Dolan openly criticized the CRTC. Its decision regarding the licence for Séries+ and Historia jeopardizes the future of Quebec television.
Will the minister do something to support our culture and require the CRTC to review its decision?
Attacks in Manchester and London June 5th, 2017
Mr. Speaker, how many times must we rise to condemn these barbaric terrorist acts that keep happening? How many times must we rise to tell the victims' loved ones that our hearts go out to them, to tell the wounded that we wish them a swift recovery? How many more times before we end up just getting used to it?
London Bridge will not fall down. Manchester will remain united. We will stand together in solidarity, and we are asking the government and the entire world to do everything in their power to stop these cowardly terrorist attacks on our way of life.
It is time to take action. These crimes must stop. Is this the world we want to see our kids grow up in? We have a duty to act in memory of the victims and for future generations.
Intergovernmental Relations June 1st, 2017
Mr. Speaker, when the most federalist premier in the history of Quebec admits that the Constitution is not working, you know that it is really not working. Unsurprisingly, the Prime Minister of Canada told Philippe Couillard to take a hike. The Quebec nation exists, but the Prime Minister will have nothing to do with it. In his legal challenge of Bill 99, he is even denying Quebec's right to self-determination.
Will the Prime Minister be democratic enough to recognize Quebec's right to decide its own future?
Infrastructure May 30th, 2017
Mr. Speaker, hiding small sentences that weaken Quebec in mammoth bills is becoming the Liberal government's specialty.
Paragraph 5(4)(d) of the part of Bill C-44 on the infrastructure bank says that the government can order that the bank be an agent of the crown.
Why give a private investment fund the power to circumvent provincial and municipal laws? Are wealthy Bay Street investors more important to this government than Quebeckers?
Marijuana May 29th, 2017
Mr. Speaker, we know that legalizing marijuana has less to do with health and public safety than it does with money. We also know who is going to cash in: friends of the Liberal Party.
Considering how many boards of directors in the medical cannabis industry feature an erstwhile Liberal minister, an ex-senator, or a former Liberal Party director, the industry is obviously counting on the government to make money.
Does the government's move to legalize marijuana have anything to do with setting its pals up with golden parachutes?
Canada Revenue Agency May 18th, 2017
Mr. Speaker, the Minister of National Revenue promised that the person investigating ties between KPMG and the Canada Revenue Agency would have access to all of the necessary documents. It turns out that all of the documents were indeed available—except for the ones the agency decided to destroy. How is that for transparency?
Did the minister allow CRA employees to destroy documents that would have shed light on the incestuous ties between KPMG and her department?
Member for Sturgeon River—Parkland May 16th, 2017
Mr. Speaker, the Bloc Québécois hounded the Liberal government to do something about the Rona file. It did nothing, and we lost a vital Quebec business. Now the House is losing another important Rona. The interim leader of the Conservative Party, who, I think, has all the qualities to be an excellent leader, has decided to leave politics.
The House of Commons is losing a great parliamentarian. Obviously, we very rarely see eye to eye, but her class, her energy, and her convictions have always earned our admiration. The Leader of the Opposition is a remarkable woman.
With her mischievous sense of humour, she often managed to make the Conservative Party go viral on social media. Her very funny mannequin challenge comes to mind, along with the time she put Stornaway on Airbnb as an April fool's gag. She managed to give the Conservative Party a new dynamic image that was long overdue.
The Conservative Party is the party of oil, employers, and the moral right-wing base that would have voted for Trump, but it seems more likeable with the member for Sturgeon River—Parkland at the helm. She is like a breath of fresh air. Given her party's agenda, the fact that she managed to accomplish all the things she did is quite a feat. The interim leader of the Conservative Party gave a patina of unity to a party that has been, since time immemorial, in the throes of a leadership race involving some 30 candidates. We have lost count.
She was a beacon of party unity after the last election and has served the party very well in that regard. I would also be remiss if I failed to mention her desire to advance the cause of women, with her bill and her tough stand on gender equality. We have seen her applaud when the Bloc Québécois has asked questions about gender equality. Yes, that does happen. That too is to her credit.
A great parliamentarian is leaving us today, and I do not think that the Conservative Party will be able to find a better leader this weekend than the one it has had to date. Well done, Leader of the Opposition.
Canada Revenue Agency May 16th, 2017
Mr. Speaker, to recap, KPMG offers its clients ways to cheat on their taxes, the government refuses to cancel its contracts with KPMG, and the Canada Revenue Agency hires people from KPMG. Now we learn that the Liberal Party treasurer, who was appointed by the Prime Minister during the Isle of Man scandal, worked at KPMG.
Does the Prime Minister realize that his dealings with KPMG are dragging his party back to its old ways, the conflicts of interest and cronyism of the days of the sponsorship scandal?
The Environment May 15th, 2017
Mr. Speaker, over these past few weeks, terrible floods have affected thousands of families across Quebec.
Imagine if there had been a dumping ground for nuclear waste upriver when that flooding occurred. However, that is exactly what the government is proposing. It wants to store one million cubic metres of radioactive waste at Chalk River, despite all of the risks that poses for Quebeckers' drinking water.
Does the Minister of Environment and Climate Change agree with the proposal to build a dump site for radioactive waste on the banks of the Ottawa River?