Alexis Deschênes
Gaspésie—Les Îles-de-la-Madeleine—Listuguj, Quebec · Bloc Québécois · Canada
“Madam Speaker, I am going to ask my colleague the same question I asked earlier. I hope I get an answer by the end of the debate. Bill C-9 contains interpretive clauses specifically intended to ensure that under no circumstances are individuals prevented from practising the religion of their choice or communicating the contents of a bibli…”
“Here is the first one: 11.1(1) For greater certainty, nothing in subsection 319(2) or (2.2) of the Criminal Code shall be construed as prohibiting a person from communicating a statement on a matter of public interest, including an educational, religious, political or scientific statement made in the course of a discussion, publication or…”
“Madam Speaker, in the drafting of Bill C‑9 , some interpretive clauses were added that, in my opinion, address the concerns of my Conservative colleagues. I am going to read them, and I want my Conservative colleagues to tell me what is missing from these clauses so I can reassure them.”
“Mr. Speaker, I thank my riding neighbour for his speech. My colleague represents a riding on the other side of our beautiful Chaleur Bay. I want to ask him a question. He brought up remarks made yesterday in the House. I was there. It was about 11:50 p.m.”
“Madam Speaker, my colleague has provided an accurate description of the turmoil and concerns that Bill C-9 has caused among the people. Does he not acknowledge that the government may have failed to explain Bill C‑9 properly, allowing the situation to escalate because of what appears to be incorrect information?”
“Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for his great speech. I heard all of his demands for his province of Saskatchewan that Ottawa has not listened to. I heard him list the things that Saskatchewan is asking for and not getting. I have a serious question for him about something that is bothering me.”
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“The soldiers then gathered up the terrified population, expelled them from their lands, and burned their homes and crops to the ground. Acadian families were deported on 16 ships, mostly to lands in New England, France, Louisiana and England. Of a population amounting to about 13,500 Acadians, an estimated 12,600 or more were deported. Others managed to escape to Quebec and Acadia, that remained French. On the Gaspé peninsula, where I live today, and on Île Royale and Île Saint‑Jean, exiled Acadians established a number of villages. Historians estimate that more than half of the 12,600 deported Acadians perished from disease, epidemics, hardship, malnutrition or shipwreck. On February 15, 1839, at 9 a.m., five patriots climbed the scaffold to be hanged at the Pied-du-Courant prison in Montreal.”
“Mr. Speaker, I will be sharing my time with the member for Don Valley North . In response to the Speech from the Throne, allow me to begin with a few words about the messenger. On September 5, 1755, in Nova Scotia, the King of England's instructions were read aloud by Lieutenant Colonel John Winslow, in English, to 418 men and boys called to the Saint-Charles-des-Mines church in Grand-Pré. The royal proclamation of Acadian deportation ordered that all of their lands, homes, livestock and herds of all kinds be confiscated on behalf of the Crown, along with other goods, not including money and personal items, and that they be expelled from the province. The King's imperial orders led to the deportation of all French inhabitants of these districts.”
“Mr. Speaker, the Liberals continue to improvise with Quebeckers' money. They would have us believe that they can both raise spending and lower revenues without increasing the debt or cutting services. Quebeckers can see that this does not hold water. However, by not presenting a budget plan, the Liberals are asking Quebeckers to take them at their word. The Liberals have proved time and time again that they do not deserve Quebeckers' blind trust when it comes to public finances. When will we see a budget?”
“Mr. Speaker, elected officials should never blindly spend Quebeckers' money. However, that is exactly what the Liberals are proposing today. They are asking the House to adopt measures worth more than $200 billion without presenting a budget. There is no budget, not even an economic update. This is literally a spending spree. If the new government wants to break with the frivolous image of the Trudeau years, it is off to a bad start. Will it come clean and disclose the true state of public finances to Quebeckers?”
“Mr. Speaker, for the past 10 years, I worked as a lawyer at the New Richmond legal aid office in the Baie-des-Chaleurs region. I served the most vulnerable members of society and saw poverty first-hand. When my colleague talks about the link between poverty and crime, I find that quite interesting. I would like him to explain why, in the Speech from the Throne, his government did not commit to reforming employment insurance to get rid of the “spring gap” problem, to ensure that the EI system is generous enough to keep people from falling under the poverty line.”
“Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague from Shefford for her speech. It embodied her dedication to social justice. I would like to give my colleague a bit of time to explain why protecting supply management is so important for Quebec's agriculture sector. In her riding and mine, there are dairy farmers operating family farms. It is a system that works well, because the entire agricultural sector is currently in crisis. Revenues are down. The ones faring best are the ones that stayed in the old system, the supply management system. I invite my colleague to tell us why it is so important in her riding.”
“Mr. Speaker, my colleague is talking about the economy. Yesterday, the Quebec National Assembly unanimously adopted a motion reminding Via Rail that regional routes are at the heart of its mandate, that the Matapédia to Gaspé link is absolutely essential and calling on Via Rail to restore passenger rail service as soon as the railway is operational in the coming weeks. In the throne speech, this government talked about creating the best economy in the G7. It seems to me that would start with adequate passenger rail service to the Gaspé Peninsula. Can my colleague tell me when the Liberal government will listen to Quebec and the Gaspé Peninsula and pressure Via Rail to start passenger rail service as soon as possible?”
“Mr. Speaker, I would like to say hello to my colleague from Nanaimo—Ladysmith. We have things in common. My riding is also made up of mountains and seas. My colleague talked about the tariff war and the importance of taking action now. We know that very important negotiations will have to take place with the American government. Today, the Bloc Québécois introduced a bill to protect supply management, a price-setting mechanism that protects Quebec's family dairy farmers. If the bill were to pass, it could protect supply-managed sectors across Canada. The Liberal government has already announced that it will look at the bill very closely and that supply management will never be on the table. What is my colleague's position on the bill introduced this morning?”
“Mr. Speaker, I never got to know my colleague from Battle River—Crowfoot, but I want to acknowledge his decision, which must not have been easy. I also want to point out that he seems to be a real team player. In his speech, my colleague talked about the challenges to Canada's national unity, so I would like to give him the opportunity, before he leaves us, to share his thoughts on what appears to be a growing desire for independence in Alberta. What does he think of his fellow Albertans who want their province to have the power to govern itself and achieve its full potential?”
“This text was read by a British monarch and it is so disconnected from the needs of Quebeckers that it could just as easily have been written in London. Where are Quebec's interests in that document?”
“Mr. Speaker, I want to begin by thanking the people of Gaspésie—Les Îles-de-la-Madeleine for putting their trust in me. I will endeavour, at every opportunity, to be worthy of them and stand up for the interests of Quebec and its regions. The Speech from the Throne in no way prioritizes the interests of our regions. We have just come out of an election campaign that was entirely focused on the importance of protecting our economy against Donald Trump, but the Speech from the Throne makes no mention of Quebec's forestry industry and its needs in the softwood lumber dispute. It makes no mention of aluminum, which is one of the sectors hit by the U.S. tariffs. It makes no mention of the fishery, an important and fragile sector whose exports rely far too heavily on the Americans.”