Business of Supply  Madam Speaker, I would first like to congratulate all MPs for the quality of this debate on the critical issue of our involvement in the fight against ISIS. As a former member of the military who served in Afghanistan, I obviously share many of the concerns expressed by the memb

Intergovernmental Relations  Mr. Speaker, in 2013, the previous government decided to support a court challenge of Bill 99, the legislation that reaffirms Quebec's right to determine its own future. I would like to remind the government of the unanimous motion of Quebec's National Assembly, which reaffirms

Business of Supply  Mr. Speaker, yesterday in the House, people singled out Quebec, specifically the stance taken by the mayor of Montreal and the municipalities surrounding the Montreal suburbs. In my riding, Terrebonne, there is a pipeline that has been in place since the 1970s. In my community,

Intergovernmental Relations  Mr. Speaker, last December, I asked the government to withdraw from the court challenge aimed at striking down the provisions of Bill 99, legislation passed by the Quebec National Assembly. The response was a resounding “no”. Are we disappointed? Of course we are. Are we surprise

Intergovernmental Relations  Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the comments by my colleague across the way about the jurisprudence. We all know that precedents are legally binding in a free and democratic society, especially under the rule of law. Even the House recognized that Quebec is a nation, and although I

National Defence  Mr. Speaker, the government's plan for the fight against ISIS sends the military mission in Iraq and Syria in a whole new direction. Yesterday the Minister of National Defence announced that we would be tripling our military forces on the ground in order to enhance training and

Canada's Contribution to the Effort to Combat ISIL  Mr. Speaker, clearly, everyone in the House always prepares a nice speech or memo to begin their 20 minutes of speaking time. However, I want to digress for a moment. As a veteran who served in Afghanistan myself, the topic we are discussing here is understandably very close to m

Canada's Contribution to the Effort to Combat ISIL  Mr. Speaker, I trust the minister. I hold him in high regard. However, as he himself said, the situation in Iraq and Syria is constantly changing. It is good to be on top of the information because that is an important part of conflict management. Nonetheless, doing without some

Canada's Contribution to the Effort to Combat ISIL  Mr. Speaker, this is really not rocket science. Whether it is this mission or some other one, we must always ensure that we have the resources to match our ambitions. There is no miracle solution in such situations. At a very minimum, when the decision is made to deploy forces, n

Canada's Contribution to the Effort to Combat ISIL  Mr. Speaker, it is no secret that I am a separatist. I will turn my colleague's question around. If Quebec had control of its own foreign policy, it would take a completely different approach. However, as I said at the beginning of my speech, it is not our decision. We have to l

Canada's Contribution to the Effort to Combat ISIL  Mr. Speaker, there is some grey area around the word “plan” in the motion we will be voting on. There is not much substance to allow us to make a fair and informed decision. We are in the dark. All we can do now is analyze this issue, since the Chief of the Defence Staff is the

Canada's Contribution to the Effort to Combat ISIL  Mr. Speaker, if the government had any decency, it would have waited for the debate to conclude, in order to be consistent. At the very least, the jets could have been grounded while we debated and made a decision. However, the decision has already been made. What can we do? It i

Royal Military College Saint-Jean  Madam Speaker, this past weekend, we learned that the Minister of National Defence intends to restore university-level education at Royal Military College Saint-Jean. After 21 years, it was high time that the Liberals recognized their mistake. Military officers have not had acce

Rail Transportation  Mr. Speaker, three years have gone by since the rail disaster in Lac-Mégantic. The people there are still waiting for a rail bypass so that they can rebuild their town with peace of mind. However, Aecom is proposing that the track follow the same route as before, right through t

Veterans' Week  Mr. Speaker, November 11 is Remembrance Day in Canada. We are pausing in the House today and taking a few moments to honour the memory of soldiers from all over the world who fought for their homelands and their fellow citizens. We will celebrate values like dedication, courage