Alexandre Boulerice
Rosemont—La Petite-Patrie, Quebec · Independent · Canada
“Mr. Speaker, 15 years ago, a man named Jack Layton won Quebec's heart and led the NDP into official opposition for the first time. I had the privilege of being part of that wave. The people of Rosemont—La Petite-Patrie continued to put their trust in me in four subsequent elections. I want to thank them from the bottom of my heart.”
“Mr. Speaker, frankly, no one can believe that answer. For the first time in history, a human being is a trillionaire. Elon Musk is worth more than $1,000 billion. Even if he were to spend $1 million a day, it would take him 2,700 years to spend such an obscene amount of money.”
“I also thank my partner, Lisa, who has been incredibly patient and supportive. In this troubled and troubling world, we need progressive and humanist voices in this Parliament, in all parliaments and in all places where decisions are made. I hope that there will be many such voices in the future. Let us move forward.”
“Mr. Speaker, I am honoured to table a petition signed by hundreds of citizens. In light of the 70,000 Palestinians killed by bombings in Gaza, including 350 since the ceasefire, the failure to comply with several UN resolutions and the illegal boarding of several ships bringing humanitarian aid to Gaza, the petitioners call upon the Gover…”
“Mr. Speaker, the genocide in Gaza has claimed 70,000 lives, including 20,000 children. The humanitarian situation remains dire, with infrastructure in ruins. In the meantime, life for Palestinians in East Jerusalem and the West Bank is appalling. Illegal settlements are multiplying.”
“Mr. Speaker, we already knew that the cost of acquiring the F-35s had skyrocketed, going from $19 billion to $28 billion. However, we learned that, in addition to the 72 U.S. jets, the Liberals are thinking of buying another 72 fighter jets, the Gripen, for a potential fleet of 144 fighter jets. The questions are simple.”
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“Mr. Speaker, I want to thank and congratulate my colleague from Edmonton Strathcona on her excellent speech. It was reasonable and heartfelt. I would now like her to comment on the impact that the lack of a proper environmental assessment process would have on the people in her riding in Alberta. What repercussions will this have on future generations in terms of pollution or the destruction of habitats and ecosystems?”
“On June 9, representatives of more than 25,000 Quebec artists published a manifesto in defence of authentic creation because, every day, artificial intelligence steals work without consent or compensation. AI-generated content must be identified, and the government must protect creators and their copyright, because culture is fundamentally human.”
“Mr. Speaker, since time immemorial, the arts have been an integral part of human life. From the Lascaux cave paintings to film, music, dance and poetry, all peoples throughout time have expressed themselves through art. It makes the world a more beautiful place, it inspires, it stirs our emotions, it brings love and meaning into our lives. When we marvel at a work of art, a symphony or a painting, we connect with the essence of who we are. Art is also the ability to empathize with the characters in a novel, to imagine oneself in another's shoes. It is a multitude of pathways to the humanity we all share, because creation is a human act. Today, that very essence is under threat.”
“Mr. Speaker, I would like to congratulate my colleague on her speech. However, what I do not understand is the Liberals' old habit of hiding behind lawyers and procedures instead of making a firm political commitment to stand up for taxpayers who have been wronged and robbed of their money. Why is the member unable to stand up today and clearly tell Canadians and Quebeckers that the government will do everything it can to recover the money they lost because of GC Strategies?”
“Mr. Speaker, despite his speech about how this is a new government and a new face for the Liberals, the member for Winnipeg North has once again shown us through his repeated and often very frequent interventions that these are the same old Liberals with the same old scandals and the same old tendencies. Why is the member for Winnipeg North unable to commit to saying that his government will reimburse Quebec and Canadian taxpayers for the GC Strategies scandal?”
“Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister keeps saying that he cannot impose a pipeline without agreement from the provinces. The problem is that his Bill C-5 does not say that at all. It even says the opposite. In fact, once a project is designated as being in the national interest, it is a done deal, and there is nothing the provinces, the first nations, Canadians or cities can do to stop it. This is going to happen no matter the cost, in two years at the most. It is a huge gift for the large corporations. Why does the Prime Minister, who was elected to stop the Conservatives from winning, want to achieve Pierre Poilievre's wildest and most dangerous dreams?”
“Mr. Speaker, I share the member for Winnipeg Centre's concern. It seems as though the Liberal government is willing to cut corners on energy projects without respecting the rights of first nations, without respecting science and without respecting a real public consultation process. We will be keeping a close eye on that.”
“Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for his trick question. I can say that I love the people of Rosemont—La Petite‑Patrie, and I can assure my colleague that I will be here as a left-leaning politician to defend socialist values, fairness, social justice and equality. The people of Rosemont—La Petite‑Patrie, Montreal and Quebec will always be able to count on me and my NDP colleagues to defend workers and to make the world a better place, where everyone belongs and where everyone is able to have a good job and a good retirement with rights. We will do that together, regardless of how many Liberals or Conservatives there are here in the House. We are here to fight, we are here for the people, and we will continue to do the work.”
“Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for his question, and I too congratulate him on his re-election. I cannot explain why the Liberal government refuses to table a budget. It is not my decision. We voted in favour of the amendment put forward by the official opposition. To us, this is a matter of transparency, a matter of honesty. We know that the Department of Finance was working on a budget in the spring, before the election. The then minister of finance told us that he was working on it. I should imagine that all that work did not disappear or fly away, that the papers did not blow away through an open window. Fall is a little late to find out where we are headed. There are important decisions to be made for the Canadian economy, for taxation and for social justice in our country.”
“Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for his question and congratulate him on his election. Are we talking about the carbon tax? I just want to be sure. The NDP supported the carbon tax for years because it was the only measure the Liberal government brought forward. We have always said that a carbon exchange would be the best solution. However, with no other possible solutions, yes, we did support the consumer carbon tax a few times. During the election campaign, we advocated for ambitious and strong measures to reduce our carbon footprint. This would include a substantial increase in the industrial carbon tax, which targets major polluters. We also need a real emissions cap for the oil and gas sector, which the Liberal government unfortunately still has not introduced.”
“For example, there was no mention in the throne speech of high-speed rail, even though it had been announced. It is a truly exciting project that meets the needs of Canadians. We have long been saying that Canada should have high-speed rail. We are talking about projects of national interest or national scope. Why, then, is this public transit project, high-speed rail, not in the throne speech? There are also other projects that could be implemented but that do not meet our commitments in terms of climate change and greenhouse gas emissions. Thus, I have mixed feelings about this throne speech, which highlights some of the good things the NDP has done but fails to address a number of issues, especially for workers.”
“It will help stabilize prices, and it will prevent real estate speculation and stop the sector from heating up, two things that make it impossible for people to afford a house, an apartment or rent. That solution is not in the Speech from the Throne. There is also nothing about workers. The Liberals have been telling us for 10 years that employment insurance needs major reform, but there is no mention of EI in the throne speech. There is talk of a tariff war and perhaps a looming recession, but, once again, the majority of workers who lose their jobs do not have access to EI. It is ludicrous. This issue needs to be addressed, but there was nothing about it in the throne speech. As New Democrats, we will continue to fight for real EI reform. We will also support the implementation of promising and meaningful projects.”
“The proportion of non-market, non-profit housing has to be increased. There are community groups willing to make that happen. The government needs to facilitate stable, long-term funding. That is crucial for having housing prices that are based on a family's ability to pay rather than the mindset of an investor who wants to make a profit and maximize their returns. Three or four per cent of our housing stock is non-market or non-profit. In Scandinavian countries in Europe, that proportion is 10%, 15%, or 20%. We will never reach 50%, but if the government increases the proportion of non-market or non-profit housing, that will also help the market's private sector.”
“In recent years, we have seen that some definitions of “affordable”, like the one used by the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation, do not match up with what is truly affordable in the real world. The people we meet on the street and on the ground tell us that they love Rosemont—La Petite-Patrie and want to stay in the borough, but they cannot afford housing there anymore. That is why we need to build social housing, co-operative housing, community housing and student housing. If we keep on building nothing but condos at $2 million each, we will never get there. That is not the way to solve the housing crisis. We have to move away from a purely commercial mindset. Yes, housing can be a profit-generating investment or even a nest egg. That makes sense. However, it is not right that 97% of the housing stock is used in that way.”
“That is something that should be implemented everywhere, but it must be negotiated between the Government of Canada and the provincial governments, who manage their own pharmacare programs. Prescription drugs are too expensive, and every study, in particular the Hoskins report, has shown that a universal public pharmacare program is the best way of controlling prescription drug prices. We will now go over what was not mentioned in the throne speech. Though it talks about the housing crisis, it never says a word about non-profit housing, also called non-market housing. That is the one solution that will give people access to truly affordable housing. We have to be careful when we use the word “affordable”. What exactly does it mean?”
“The NDP will continue to pressure the government to implement a universal public pharmacare program. The Union des consommateurs du Québec is demanding the same, because it understands how important it is for people's lives, for providing care and avoiding illness. We have made progress with contraceptives and the price of diabetes medications. There are already agreements with the governments of British Columbia and Manitoba. I think there is also a letter of agreement with Prince Edward Island. We hope that Quebec will join in, because it would be a shame for Quebeckers not to have access to medications paid for by the federal government after negotiations with Quebec. I am thinking, for example, about people with diabetes.”
“It is also near to the heart of Quebec's civil society, particularly Quebec's union movement. The FTQ, CSN and CSQ have been demanding change for years, since Quebec's current public-private hybrid system has been unable to stabilize prescription drug prices. Prescription drug prices in Canada are among the highest in the world. It is always better to have a hybrid system than no system at all. Some people in English Canada have to go without their medications because they cannot pay for them, so they become even sicker, end up in the hospital, and fill up the emergency rooms. That is not good for anyone. (1135) Canada is the only country that has a universal public health care but no universal public pharmacare. It is as if we had only one leg to stand on and were unable to walk.”
“People are saving a substantial amount of money. One woman told me that, when she went to the dentist, her bill was $1,150 and she paid only $57 out of pocket. We helped her save over $1,000. That is a pretty big deal. I think this is one of the NDP's most significant achievements, and it has already helped more than 530,000 Quebeckers. Thanks to us, people have had all or part of their dental work paid for. I think that is a wonderful legacy. We will keep fighting to ensure that people have access to more health care services. Incidentally, health care was barely mentioned in the Speech from the Throne. That is one of the big things they left out. The throne speech included another of the NDP's achievements. Obviously, I am referring to the progress in terms of the universal public pharmacare program. That is near to our heart.”
“I would like to remind members that, had the NDP not forced the Liberal government to move forward with the dental care program, it would never have materialized. Every other time the NDP proposed a dental care program for the middle class and the less fortunate, the Liberals voted against it. This time, the NDP forced the Liberals to do it because they needed support in the House. That was useful. Now the Liberals are bragging about it. They think it was a good idea, but the truth is, the program exists because of the NDP's work. Folks in Montreal and Rosemont—La Petite-Patrie talked to me about it during the election campaign. Some told me that they had not been to the dentist for 10 or 12 years and that, thanks to my work, thanks to the work we did in Parliament, they can now go to the dentist and and it is paid for.”
“I thank Sevan for that motivation. I would like to come back to the Speech from the Throne. I will say that I found it rather peculiar that the monarch of another country was brought in to send a message to President Trump about Canada's sovereignty. The monarchy itself is a matter that could be discussed. As members of the New Democratic Party, we are committed to democratic values. Since the monarchy is not a democratic institution, I do not believe that it is all that legitimate. What is in the throne speech itself? It has some good things in it, but it is missing a few things. The good things are nice because they highlight NDP achievements in the last Parliament. As progressives, we have worked to improve people's lives.”
“Like many others here, I would also like to thank my family, especially my partner, Lisa Djevarhirdjian, with whom I have been sharing my life for a little over 15 years now. She is always by my side, always solidly supporting me in my political action. I thank Lisa very much. I give a shout-out to our youngest, Sevan, who was 10 months old when I was first sent to the House. This month, he will be 15 years old. For the first time in his life, he seemed to understand what was going on during an election campaign. It was very funny, because he was extremely afraid that I would lose. He put a lot of pressure on me to go to work. When he saw me at home in the late afternoon, when he came back from school, he would send me outside, telling me to knock on doors and make calls; there was no way I was going to lose, I had to win this election.”
“Mr. Speaker, first of all, I would like to say that I will be sharing my time with the wonderful member for Winnipeg Centre . Since this is my first speech, I obviously want to begin by thanking the people of Rosemont—La Petite-Patrie for once again placing their trust in me as I begin my fifth term as an NDP member here in the House of Commons. Once again, I will do whatever it takes to represent and honour them. I want to be able to defend their interests and priorities. I also want to thank my entire election team. I am thinking of all the people who helped ensure that there were telephone operators, that there were volunteers on the ground, that calls were made and that people went door to door. I want to sincerely thank everyone who made this new victory possible.”
“Mr. Speaker, for the past 20 months, the Netanyahu regime has been ruthlessly bombing Palestinians in Gaza. The result is that 54,000 are dead, including 15,000 children, thousands have been injured, starvation is being used as a weapon of war, hospitals are being bombed and families are being burned alive. Humanity said "never again", but now this is happening again right before our very eyes. The Prime Minister joined France and England in saying that if this did not stop, they would not stand idly by. Are the Liberals preparing sanctions against Netanyahu and his cabinet on behalf of all the children who have been injured and killed in Gaza?”