Citizenship Act  Madam Speaker, I am pleased to rise today to speak to Bill C-223, which proposes changes to the current process for permanent residents of Canada to become Canadian citizens. Before I address the bill specifically, I would like to take a moment to talk about myself and my family

Official Languages  Madam Speaker, allow me to answer the hon. member for Fredericton's question. As members may know, November 1 to 7, 2020, was National Francophone Immigration Week, an opportunity to recognize the contributions of francophone newcomers and draw attention to the vitality of franc

Official Languages  Madam Speaker, the government believes that all newcomers, including francophone immigrants, contribute to Canada's vitality. To attract francophone newcomers, the minister announced on October 27 that French-speaking and bilingual candidates will receive additional points under

Official Languages  Madam Speaker, I thank my colleague for her question. Our government is proud to defend the French language. I am a proud Quebecker who stands up for francophone values in Quebec. We are working on concrete measures to support the French language and further support francophone

Official Languages  Madam Speaker, I thank my colleague for her question. As I said yesterday in my initial comments on the bill introduced by the Bloc, I myself am an immigrant, a child of Bill 101, and a Canadian citizen who did not speak French when she became a Canadian citizen. What matters i

Status of the French Language in Montreal  Madam Chair, it is my turn to thank the House for the opportunity to speak in this important debate. I join my hon. colleagues in this debate on the status of the French language in Quebec and our government's commitment to protecting and promoting the French language. Anyone w

Status of the French Language in Montreal  Madam Chair, can I excuse myself on the grounds that I am new here? There is no single solution, no small action we can take. A whole series of measures is needed, and those measures will require all of us to really want to protect French. For the first time, the federal govern

Status of the French Language in Montreal  Madam Chair, I thank my colleague and riding neighbour for his question. I have always said that I was a child of Bill 101. It is because of Bill 101 that I, as an immigrant, speak French today. Our government will continue to promote and protect the French language.

Status of the French Language in Montreal  Madam Chair, I thank my colleague for his question. We are indeed neighbours, and our Montreal ridings each include a portion of the eastern part of Rosemont. Interestingly, the 2016 Samson report concluded that a course correction was needed to strengthen the position of French

Status of the French Language in Montreal  Madam Chair, I thank my opposition colleague for his question. I would like to remind members that French is protected not just by one measure but by a series of measures. Over the past five years, our government has been working to protect French in Quebec, and we will continue

Status of the French Language in Montreal  Madam Chair, I thank my colleague for her question. One of the most important things is that for the first time, in the plan for immigration levels, there is a specific line for francophone immigration. This demonstrates the importance of maintaining the proportion of francopho

Status of the French Language in Montreal  Madam Chair, like my colleague from Rosemont—La Petite-Patrie, I am also rather surprised by what the member for La Pointe-de-l'Île said. I would like to quote the 2016 Samson report, which states that the decrease in French integration in Quebec is not attributable to a lack o

Hochelaga  Madam Speaker, Hochelaga is at the heart of Montreal East. This vast part of Montreal has a long industrial past. Several million square feet of land are contaminated, and there is a desperate need for transportation infrastructure. However, we in the east end strongly believe t

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship  Madam Speaker, the pandemic has impacted nearly every aspect of our lives Local restrictions have resulted in the closure of many international visa centres, but Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada's processing centres have remained open. We are continuing to increase c

Women's Rights  Mr. Speaker, I am a little surprised to see how the Conservatives have been trying to rebuild their image with women over the past few weeks. It will take more than just words to convince us women. I would like to remind the House of certain facts. When we introduced a bill on e