International Trade  Mr. Speaker, before he has a chance to give me the same answer yet again, I urge the Prime Minister to listen. Steel must come from North America to be use in the manufacturing of goods sold in North America. Aluminum from anywhere in the world can be used to manufacture aluminu

International Trade  Mr. Speaker, yesterday, we feared the new NAFTA would be a disaster for Quebec's aluminum industry. Today, we know for certain. Aluminum gets none of the protections that steel does. Worse still, the agreement states that there will be no protections for aluminum for at least 10

International Trade  Mr. Speaker, one of us does not have his facts right, that is for sure. I am not sure which one. I read an excerpt from the document the government posted online that states beyond any doubt that, for 10 years, Canada is prohibited from protecting aluminum the way it protects st

International Trade  Mr. Speaker, please rest assured that I am most compliant. That said, I understand that the Liberal members and ministers have been instructed to express great joy today and to celebrate the likely ratification of a new free trade agreement with the United States and Mexico.

International Trade  Mr. Speaker, they can carry on like that, I have more along the same lines. However, we know that Mexico does primary processing of aluminum, which will come largely from China, an aluminum producer and recycler. We are being told with great concern that aluminum would not be pr

International Trade  Mr. Speaker, they cannot say one thing and do another. When the content of this agreement is presented to the people of Quebec, to the workers of the eight aluminum smelters in Quebec, they may see things differently and in a much harsher light. I caution the government—and the o

International Trade  Mr. Speaker, my question was for the Prime Minister, but oh well. I will still ask it. Wherever he is, he will hear it.

Employment Insurance  Mr. Speaker, I hope you have a great week. Let us imagine that I have a cousin named Marcel who works in a plant. The plant closes down. Marcel has paid into EI and is entitled to up to 50 weeks of benefits, assuming he paid the necessary premiums. Émilie is with us today. She

Employment Insurance  Mr. Speaker, given the time that could be allocated to us, we may end up doing something that might not be sufficient. I am asking the Prime Minister clearly whether he will consider 50 weeks in order to be fair. Talking about 35 million people does not prove that a person is co

Resumption of Debate on Address in Reply  Mr. Speaker, here is our modus operandi: preaching by example, even though I have not always been perfect, and demonstrating that Parliament really can be a collaborative space. It is the same kind of collaboration, the same kind of attitude we will adopt the day we agree to sit

Resumption of Debate on Address in Reply  Mr. Speaker, I would gladly agree to that if the Conservative Party would agree that, from now, we will say that there are two conservative parties, many conservative parties, fragments of conservative parties. However, as I just explained, the Bloc Québécois is a separatist part

Resumption of Debate on Address in Reply  Mr. Speaker, I would say that we are essentially doing the NDP a favour. However, I thank the member for Rosemont—La Petite-Patrie for reiterating the essence of my speech. Not too long ago, the NDP had a virtual monopoly on the interests of Quebec. There is not much left. It wo

Resumption of Debate on Address in Reply  Mr. Speaker, I am overjoyed to answer yes. I will even go further. When measures are proposed that could potentially have a real impact on reducing greenhouse gas emissions to fight climate change, we will be there. We have even proposed some ourselves, including a bold law that

Resumption of Debate on Address in Reply  Mr. Speaker, by its very nature, the throne speech is a statement of principle. It contains ideas that may seem, perhaps intentionally, vague, hazy and ill-defined. Yesterday's speech, delivered by the British monarch's representative at the Prime Minister's behest, is nonethe

Resumption of Debate on Address in Reply  Mr. Speaker, I would like to point out that the member for Joliette also went to Washington. It would be a little naive to think that individual action alone can produce results. Sometimes actions outside of Canada can transcend party lines. Unfortunately, things are little more