Martin Champoux
Drummond, Quebec · Bloc Québécois · Canada
“Some might say that this is impossible, because that would mean that I had to have started at the age of five or six, and they would not be far off. In any case, I spent many years in this fascinating industry.”
“Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to speak to Bill C-268 , which is sponsored by the member for Compton—Stanstead . This is a bill that I am particularly interested in, given my professional background. The bill concerns the spectrum policy framework for Canada. The French word for spectrum is “spectre”.”
“When we check with companies that provide mobile phone services, we often get responses that do not accurately reflect the situation on the ground. We have seen this happen. I, for one, have been told that my region has 100% coverage and that there is no reason for there to be any problems.”
“In recent years, municipalities have begun implementing regulations to prevent owners from leaving vacant downtown lots unused. These lots must be developed because we need the space to alleviate congestion and we lack space to build housing. The same principle applies here.”
“We need to reach everyone. The argument we often hear from the industry is that 99% of the country is covered, that 99% of people have access to LTE or 5G technology, and that soon people will have access to the next technology. It might be 6G; who knows. Now, 99% does seem like a lot of people. Yes, that is true. It is good.”
“For now, obviously, that is not yet the case. There would be a process to ensure the accuracy of mobile coverage data provided by telecommunications companies as well as data on network deployment. In short, there would be more transparency, more efficiency and a better overview of the situation. These are easy things to put in place.”
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“Earlier, we talked about the fact that the bill infringes on the jurisdictions of municipalities and provinces, including Quebec, which is particularly well equipped to deal with this crisis. Quebec just needs funding from the federal government. There is another point that caught my attention. I look forward to hearing my colleague's thoughts on this. Build Canada Homes would be designated as an agent of the Crown. For municipalities, this could mean that they would be deprived of property tax revenues. This is a real and entirely legitimate concern. I would like to know what my colleague thinks about that.”
“Mr. Speaker, I want to thank my entertaining friend from St. Catharines for his speech and his enthusiasm. It is always enjoyable to listen to what he has to say and to ask him questions. I look forward to hearing his answer to my question. At the beginning of his speech he talked about the holistic approach of Build Canada Homes. However, the words “holistic” and “Liberal government” do not go together at all. This approach seems more like a kind of computer virus. It is a bit like those old computer viruses that got into the system, slowed everything down and made it take hours to download something that is less than 10 megabytes. It reminds me more of that than of a holistic approach. There are plenty of examples in Bill C-20 .”
“Mr. Speaker, I thank the member for Winnipeg North for yet another brief, but interesting, speech. Earlier, my colleague from La Pointe-de-l'Île mentioned that it took the federal government two years to negotiate agreements with the Quebec government under the Canada housing infrastructure fund. By the time the agreement was finally signed, there was not enough money left in the fund to meet Quebec's needs and give it its fair share. This time, could the government get a head start, think ahead, be proactive and agree to set aside a certain amount for Quebec and to sign agreements more quickly? All it would take is a “Quebec clause” or a formal commitment by the government to negotiate an agreement with Quebec in good faith and quickly.”
“Does my colleague not think that the federal government and the Liberals should get out of the way and simply transfer the money to Quebec and the provinces so that the programs can be implemented quickly?”
“Mr. Speaker, when the federal government, and especially this Liberal government, sticks its nose into something that is working relatively well, usually something managed by municipalities in Quebec and in the provinces or by the provincial governments or the Quebec government, it always creates a terrible disaster involving mismanagement, cost overruns and money not getting where it needs to go. Creating the giant beast that is Build Canada Homes may have been a great idea with the best intentions, but the fact is that mechanisms are already in place. Experts are already on the ground. The municipalities know better than anyone the needs they are facing.”
“Mr. Speaker, that is music to my ears. Canada is voting on Quebec's behalf at UNESCO. Last June, it did not vote in favour of a binding protocol that would protect our cultural sovereignty from the web giants. Worse still, it later scrapped the digital services tax, which would have forced web giants to pay a modest levy that could have been used to support our culture and media. Next week, Canada can take a step in the right direction by supporting the protocol in principle. Quebec's entire cultural industry and its government strongly support it. Will the minister vote to protect our culture? “Yes” would be better than his previous response.”
“Mr. Speaker, next Tuesday, Quebec will once again put pressure on UNESCO to protect the diversity of cultural expressions in the from the hegemony of the web giants. Quebec will join forces with European countries to ensure that the 2005 UNESCO convention, which protects different cultures from globalization, also applies to the digital world. However, this is not a done deal. Since Quebec is not yet a country, Canada votes on its behalf. Last June, Canada did not vote in favour of adopting a binding protocol. Will Canada change its position this time?”
“Mr. Speaker, Franco Nuovo just passed away unexpectedly, without warning, almost brazenly. We thought he was away for what, a week? Now, we are left wondering who will brighten our Sunday mornings, who will join us for a coffee. As Leonard Cohen put it, “Hey, that's no way to say goodbye”. As a commentator, critic and host, Nuovo picked up where Le Bigot left off as our weekend companion. He was a familiar voice on Quebec's airwaves for decades, one of that increasingly rare breed of radio hosts who have an opinion about everything, who are cultivated and a little arrogant, tender-hearted yet tough. I want to thank Mr. Nuovo for all his outbursts, for all the help he gave to emerging artists, for all the lively interviews, for all the pauses, the laughter and the on-air camaraderie.”
“Having just won a Canadian championship within a heavily anglophone environment, he was very vocal in saying out loud what all francophones were thinking in a passionate speech that could have summed up Quebec's history: “Nobody believed in us, but look at us now! You can keep your English!””
“Mr. Speaker, I would like to celebrate the retirement of an Alouette who refuses to have his feathers ruffled. Marc‑Antoine Dequoy is retiring after leaving his mark on the Montreal Alouettes. Although he was a defensive back in the team that won the 2023 Grey Cup against all odds, the broader public recently got to know him better through his appearances on television. The charismatic Marc‑Antoine Dequoy, who also previously played for the Carabins, has shown that he is just as comfortable in the media as in the fourth quarter of a challenging game. He was the Alouettes' ambassador to Quebeckers within a team that is making a real effort to promote the French language in a unilingual English environment. Of course, we cannot forget his impassioned plea during the Grey Cup, as he stood up for his team and for all Quebeckers.”
“Apart from tax breaks and cheque- or program-based support measures, like the ones this government often advances, would my colleague not agree that we should equip people to deal with the challenges awaiting them in the future, which will be numerous in the employment field, and which will certainly be all the more costly unless we start addressing them now?”
“Mr. Speaker, I listened to my colleague's speech and I think we are more or less on the same page when it comes to supporting Bill C‑19 . We consider it necessary because of the imperative need to support Quebeckers and Canadians through the extremely harsh financial circumstances facing families. Once again, however, I get a sense that we are good at extending support programs to help people in need, but not so good at creating measures that will help people gain wealth with dignity, improve their work skills or find new sources of employment. We know that artificial intelligence is going to replace many jobs in the coming years.”
“Could measures be implemented to make it easier for seniors to return to the workforce or that improve worker conditions to help them better cope with the skyrocketing cost of living?”
“Mr. Speaker, this government has perfected the art of devising band-aid solutions. Putting big band-aids on big problems is a good look for the government, since it creates the appearance of coming to people's aid. A measure is being introduced to assist people for five years. After that, these people will probably feel some anxiety, especially seniors, the most vulnerable in society, whose numbers are only going to grow as the years pass. In five years, the government will have to leave the band-aid in place or peel it off. No one knows and no one will know until immediately prior to an election, which is highly likely by the way. I would like to know whether my colleague thinks that the government should introduce measures that allow interested seniors to return to the labour force without their GIS benefits being clawed back.”
“Mr. Speaker, I want to congratulate my colleague from Shefford on her speech and on her commitment to seniors. When the measure proposed by the government in Bill C‑19 ends in five years, seniors especially but also families will be faced with the prospect of losing it. There is also a growing number of seniors, particularly those between 65 and 74 years of age, for whom my colleague has been advocating for a long time. Can my colleague talk to us a little about the anxiety that seniors, especially low-income seniors, are facing over a measure that will help them for a while, until they are eventually left with the anxiety of losing their increased GST credit in five years' time?”
“In a way, then, that cancels the vote cast in the House and a new one is cast electronically, which will be considered valid. I just wanted to confirm that.”
“Mr. Speaker, I rise on a point of order. I would like to clarify something, because I find the point of order raised by the government whip interesting. In your decision, I understand that the situation applied to the member for Skeena—Bulkley Valley, but the point raised here is nevertheless very interesting. In the case of a member who votes in person from their seat, then leaves the House before the end of the vote and later votes electronically, the vote in the House obviously does not count, because the member left their seat before the votes were tallied. However, I do not fully understand the decision and it remains unclear to me. Am I to understand that the initial vote cast in the House, which was valid until the member left the House, can be replaced by the electronic vote cast afterwards?”
“Mr. Speaker, I love when you speak French and when you say the word “multiculturalism” in French. I know it is hard to say, and I commend you for it, which is why we are requesting a recorded division.”
“Just as it is time for Quebec to make a choice, my colleagues must also make a choice. They can choose to partner with Quebec, or they can choose to remain confrontational, with serious consequences for the future of our fate in the Americas. I urge them to choose wisely.”
“To refresh my colleagues' memories, he said the Battle of the Plains of Abraham was actually the start of a grand partnership between the French, the English and indigenous peoples. All the Liberals stood behind this speech, even though it took pains to highlight the existence of Canada's founding peoples. Today, those same Liberals support forcing Quebec to submit to a form of multiculturalism that fails to acknowledge the founding peoples, our history, our values and our French language as the glue that holds Quebec society together. Once again, this is by no means a partnership. In fact, this is exactly the opposite of a partnership. My colleagues in Ottawa are imposing an integration policy on Quebec that directly contradicts the policy of our National Assembly.”
“Anyone who is in favour of imposing multiculturalism on Quebeckers is, in fact, supporting the assimilation of our people in the near future. I call on the House to let these words sink in. Supporting the imposition of multiculturalism on Quebeckers is tantamount to supporting the assimilation of Quebeckers as a people and as a nation. On the pretext of openness, the other parties are pushing for a Canada that would be less diverse, less culturally rich and, to be honest, less interesting, because our people would be marginalized within some nebulous, postnational, English Canadian blob. It seems ironic that we should be debating all this just a few days after the Prime Minister 's controversial Plains of Abraham speech at the Quebec Citadel.”
“We want these individuals to participate fully in the workplace, in the culture and in political life. We want these new Quebeckers to continue to enrich our common culture with their experiences and traditions. We want Quebec to be a place where there is equality of opportunity, but that is only possible when everyone has the tools, knowledge and networks they need to flourish. We do not want to live side-by-side with no connection, like unhappy neighbours, or with no relationship, like an unhappy couple. We cannot just be content to live with that, because the future of our nation is at stake. The future of more than four centuries of resistance from our people depends on our ability to build a shared life with newcomers in Quebec. We have no choice but to succeed, yet Canadian multiculturalism is standing in our way.”
“Multiculturalism completely rejects the fact that the official and common language of Quebec is French and that French must also be the language of integration. In the name of a supposed openness to others, multiculturalism promotes a postnational Canada, without history, values, or culture; a Canada without dialogue, but rather a proliferation of monologues; a Canada that is increasingly fragmented by communitarianism, when an integration policy is supposed to be unifying, as the name suggests. This Trudeauvian dream does not work in Quebec. Quebeckers know that being open to others does not mean denying ourselves. Rather, it means engaging in a dialogue. It takes two to come together. It takes two to have a dialogue. Quebeckers want to have a relationship with those who honour us by coming to live in our province.”
“Why do we want Quebec to be excluded from that? The reason is that, as a nation, Quebec has the right to choose the model for integrating newcomers that works best for Quebec. As my colleague said earlier, last May, the Quebec National Assembly passed a law to implement its own model, which the current government refers to as the national integration model. There are therefore two models in Quebec, two opposing models, primarily because multinationalism rejects the very existence of Quebeckers as a nation and as a founding people of Canada. Multiculturalism denies the existence of any common core whatsoever. It does not provide for upholding common values such as gender equality or the rule of law, nor does it provide for drawing inspiration from a common culture, such as the discovery of our national history.”
“Mr. Speaker, Bill C-245 , which was introduced by the Bloc Québécois, seeks to exclude Quebec from Canadian multiculturalism so that it can implement its own model for integrating immigrants. It is simple. The bill has just one provision, but the other parties are having a hard time understanding it. First, what is multiculturalism? We are hearing all sorts of things in the House, including a lot of misinformation. Multiculturalism is not about having a diverse, multicultural society, as is the case for Canada and for Quebec. It is also not about being open to immigration, which is a characteristic of Canada and of Quebec too. It has nothing to do with the fight against racism that is being waged in Canada, as well as in Quebec. Multiculturalism is simply the model for integrating newcomers that Canada chose for Canada.”
“Motion Mr. Speaker, if you seek it, I believe you will find unanimous consent among the parties for the following motion: That, notwithstanding any Standing Order or usual practice of the House, the member for Drummond be permitted to give the five-minute right of reply to close the debate on Bill C-245 on behalf of the member for Pierre-Boucher—Les Patriotes—Verchères.”
“Mr. Speaker, on January, 29, 2017, at approximately 7:45 p.m., we lost six Quebeckers in the tragic events that took place at the Quebec City mosque. Six Muslims were murdered for the sole reason that they were Muslims, for the sole reason that they had gone to pray that evening with their fellow believers. Quebec lost six of its own. Today, our thoughts are with the loved ones, families and friends who lost people they loved. We remember Mamadou Tanou Barry, Ibrahima Barry, Azzeddine Soufiane, Abdelkrim Hassane, Khaled Belkacemi and Aboubaker Thabti. They are not forgotten, and they remind us that no one, no one, should ever suffer, be threatened, be excluded or be discriminated against because of what they believe or do not believe. We must work together to ensure that such a tragedy never happens again.”
“I would like to know whether my colleague thinks that we are doing enough for women victims of violent sexual assault. How could we improve their conditions?”
“Mr. Speaker, I congratulate my colleague opposite on her speech. I am pleased that we are talking about Bill C-16 , because I have a concern about victims, especially victims of aggravated and violent sexual assault. I spoke just last week with one such victim, the survivor of an extremely violent sexual assault by a repeat offender who recently completed his federal sentence and is now out of the system, so to speak. The victim, this woman, is finding it terribly hard to feel safe because she cannot get any information, like where this assailant lives, an assailant who, as I said, has been released with very limited control. What I mean is that, despite the availability of an ombudsman for victims of crime, the service is not perfect. These victims understandably experience distress.”
“Mr. Speaker, that is wonderful. Rewriting the facts is contagious and rampant across the Liberal caucus. To hear the Prime Minister , it seems that Montcalm's dying words would have been: I die disappointed, saddened not to see the English reach Quebec City. The truth is that we were conquered, and since then the federal government has gone to great lengths trying to force us into submission. The Prime Minister chose to rewrite history on the assumption that Quebeckers are unfamiliar with it. Instead of spouting nonsense about the plains and insulting our intelligence, what is the Prime Minister waiting for to pick up a book and learn a little more about Quebec? He could use it.”
“Mr. Speaker, it was on a sunny day in September 1759 that the beautiful partnership between the French and the English began. This beautiful friendship, born on the Plains of Abraham, would give rise to moments filled with affection, including the banning of French in schools, the hanging of patriots, the Durham report, the execution of Riel, the Quebec City riot over conscription, the War Measures Act, the night of the long knives, Meech Lake and more. There are limits to offering a different perspective on history. Does this simply prove that the Prime Minister knows nothing about the history of Quebeckers and francophones in Canada?”
“The idea is to allow border officers to move between border crossings in order to provide better coverage and to back up the RCMP in order to fill needs not met by the government.”
“Mr. Speaker, I congratulate my colleague on his speech. The collaboration between the Conservatives and the Bloc Québécois on improving Bill C-12 has been mentioned several times since the beginning of today's debate. In fact, the original version of the bill was unacceptable or at least, as my colleague said, parts of it were extremely hard to swallow. The government had made commitments, including a commitment to hire Royal Canadian Mounted Police officers and Canada Border Services Agency officers, as requested by the union, which decries the shortage of 2,000 to 3,000 border services officers. Solutions have been proposed, including some by the Bloc Québécois. I would like to know whether my colleague agrees with our proposal, which is incidentally consistent with the proposal by the Customs and Immigration Union.”
“Mr. Speaker, my colleague from Vancouver East made her disdain for Bill C-12 clear. It goes without saying that I respect her opinion. There are groups that claim this bill will not stand up in court. I would like to know what my colleague thinks of the possibility of certain parts of the bill being challenged in court. I would like to hear her opinion. Does she think that is the case? Which parts are least likely to stand up in court?”
“Mr. Speaker, Bill C‑12 is the new version of Bill C‑2 . The Bloc Québécois believes that the government is taking a step in the right direction with this new iteration, but there is still a major problem. In their platform, the Liberals proposed hiring 1,000 additional RCMP officers and 1,000 additional CBSA officers. The RCMP will be fine; it was in the throne speech. However, that is not the case for the 1,000 border services officers. According to the union, the CBSA needs another 2,000 to 3,000 officers to fulfill its mandate. I would like to hear from my colleague about the government's stated intentions versus the actions it has taken to fulfill those intentions.”
“When this happens, I find it refreshing that we can discuss, debate and listen to members from various political backgrounds speak with the same perspective and passion for something that unites us rather than divides us.”
“If people knew about all the beauty, pride and richness of Ukrainian culture and history, I think that everyone in Quebec and Canada would push for an end to this conflict. We would be much more actively involved and much more aware of the horrors being experienced by the Ukrainian people, who have a great deal in common with Quebeckers and Canadians. Not surprisingly, we strongly support Bill S-210 . We strongly support the creation of a Ukrainian heritage month. We will support this proposal enthusiastically and proudly. In closing, I would like to remind members that we rarely have opportunities for friendly debate in the House of Commons. Generally speaking, we often debate bills that create a lot of tension and disagreement. However, sometimes bills like this one are introduced, and there is general agreement on them.”
“That is why, every year on Parliament Hill, I make a point of reminding people how important it is to share information, teach, and tell stories about things we do not want to see repeated. We must remember the horrors that have been committed throughout history. The things that matter are education, knowledge sharing, cultural sharing and enriching our common culture. When we welcome immigrants who arrive with such a rich culture, we hope that they will integrate and enrich our common culture. That is what a heritage month is all about. There are a few throughout the year. There are several heritage months for all kinds of cultures, but I would say that this one is particularly close to my heart. I think we would all benefit from learning more about this heritage.”
“These are elements that are unique to this culture, but we do not hear enough about them today, and they should be showcased. I had never heard of the Holodomor before I got involved with the Canada-Ukraine Friendship Group. Ukrainians lived for many years under Soviet oppression, which deprived us of critical and important information that would probably have allowed us to develop a more informed opinion of what this nation and its people are experiencing. (1845) When I learned about all this, I could not believe that these stories were not being shared more widely in Quebec. As I said, we have not had much contact with the immigrant community from Ukraine.”
“On occasions such as Vyshyvanka Day, we get to discover a side of Ukrainian culture that is utterly irresistible. It is an opportunity to chat with people, young and old, who embrace and belong to this culture, who are proud of it and eager to share it. I will say it again. Tools like a heritage month are critical in the current context, where the community in question does not get many opportunities to shine and share its great culture. I am sure the Ukrainian community will make good use of Ukrainian heritage month, which would be commemorated every September. It will be an opportunity to share something different, to share Ukraine's wonderful culinary traditions, which I definitely appreciate, as well as its musical and dance traditions, which were mentioned earlier.”
“Then came the horrific events of February 2022, which continue to this day and which the Ukrainian people have been enduring since Russia's monstrous invasion: the abuses, brutality and horrors that we see on the news almost every day. Creating another opportunity to learn more about Ukrainian culture and the rich history of its people, which should be known and celebrated, would likely help us further embrace support for Ukraine in this conflict. The groups I have had the opportunity to meet fall into two categories. Some of these meetings take the form of urgent requests: calls for help and for logistical and financial support for Ukraine as it fights off the Russian invader. There are also other meetings that I would describe not so much as social, but as human, and that are absolutely fabulous.”
“Joining this group and getting involved has taught me a great deal and made me realize that Quebec has not been as fortunate as other provinces that have welcomed immigrants from Ukraine over the centuries and decades, for around 125 years now, to come and enrich their communities. To be perfectly honest, all I knew about Ukraine—and I will humbly admit my ignorance—is that it was once part of the U.S.S.R. Given that it was part of the U.S.S.R., there were probably not many opportunities for this nation to share and promote its history and culture. However, it is important to do so, especially in the current context. I myself have had the opportunity to do so through various encounters. Initially, in 2019, a few months before the COVID-19 pandemic took hold in March 2020, meetings were obviously a little less frequent.”
“Mr. Speaker, it takes a lot of humility on my part to speak to this topic, especially after the Conservative member for Battlefords—Lloydminster—Meadow Lake and after my colleague from Etobicoke North , who have family roots in Ukraine and ties to the Ukrainian community. It takes a lot of humility for me, a little Quebecker with no official or family ties to Ukraine, to take the floor and defend Bill S-210 . Why am I doing this? First, I am doing it to collaborate, to convey a message that I have been advocating for since I became involved with the Canada-Ukraine Friendship Group, of which I have been a member since I arrived in Parliament in 2019.”
“I have worked with this member on the Canada-Ukraine Friendship Group for a number of years, and after the barbaric Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, we saw the full extent of the damage. If this Ukrainian heritage month is introduced, it will definitely teach all Quebeckers and Canadians more about the history of the Ukrainian nation. I would like to ask my colleague to explain why learning more about Ukraine than we have seen on the news since 2022 is important.”
“Mr. Speaker, I feel compelled to comment on the remark just made by the Conservative member. I understand that he is new to the House. He will have opportunities to experience other moments like the one before us this evening, with a bill intended to establish a heritage month. Other heritage months have been instituted in the past. More will be proposed and debated in the future. Usually, this is a time when members from all the parties come together in a relatively collegial way, while at other times, they join in criticizing the government's poor decisions. This evening, I want to echo my colleague from Etobicoke Centre in recognizing the importance of the Ukrainian heritage month proposed in Bill S-210 .”
“Mr. Speaker, perhaps the Leader of the Government in the House of Commons should visit Saguenay—Lac-Saint-Jean. He would find out that people certainly are talking about building a country, the country of Quebec. I have even more suggestions for the “no” side. The federal government could respect Quebec laws, such as state secularism and the Charter of the French Language. It could fight the decline of French in Quebec instead of funding anglicization. It could transfer immigration powers to Quebec. It could stop meddling in areas under Quebec's jurisdiction. The list goes on and on. We have been having the same problem since the 1980s. Nothing has changed. Does anyone really think that any of this is going to change today?”
“Thank you to our Bloc Québécois riding teams who have taken part in this initiative in many regions of the province. I closing, I would like to wish everyone a merry Christmas and a happy holiday season.”
“Mr. Speaker, the cold weather is returning, and lights are starting to sprout again in the trees. It can mean only one thing: The holiday season is back. Also back for its 25th year is the media food drive's traditional street corner collection day. This marks 25 years of generous support for families who need a little help to have a merry Christmas. On behalf of the Bloc Québécois, I encourage everyone who is able to help to give generously, by donating either food items or some money. Media personalities are out accepting donations all across Quebec today, but for anyone who is not able to go and meet them in person, donations can be made online until December 31. Thank you to the media for a quarter century of support. Thank you to all Quebeckers who participate.”
“Mr. Speaker, much has been said about decorum in the House. How many warnings do you have to give, how many times do you have to yell “order” before you dish out consequences? It is starting to get embarrassing, quite frankly. Mr. Speaker, thank you for bringing some order and for enforcing your authority in the House.”
“Mr. Speaker, earlier, in my speech, I spoke at length about how facts are being distorted and twisted in order to make people who are sincerely concerned accept the position of a political party. I find that unacceptable. I believe we have a duty to be honest. We have a duty to speak responsibly to voters and tell them the truth, the real facts. In this case, I get the impression that a message of fear has been spread to make people of faith, people who practise a religion, feel threatened. That is completely wrong, and I agree that we have a responsibility to hold debates that respect the truth and the facts.”