Luc Berthold
Mégantic—L'Érable—Lotbinière, Quebec · Conservative · Canada
“Mr. Speaker, let me thank the member for Saint‑Hyacinthe—Bagot—Acton for his remarks and for the years he has spent serving the people of his riding.”
“Mr. Speaker, Canada is a country of lakes, mountains and rivers. Sadly, more and more anglers, paddlers and boaters fear they will lose access to Quebec's lakes. While public access points are disappearing or becoming prohibitively expensive, the Liberals are looking the other way and leaving local authorities to fend for themselves.”
“Mr. Speaker, during question period, the Leader of the Government in the House made derogatory comments about one of our members. I have to say that any seat one occupies here in the House is just as important as any other, and I would invite him to apologize to all—”
“Mr. Speaker, they want us to applaud them for putting a bandage over a wound they created. That is the issue. I have a message for the Prime Minister , who is at the G7. I also have a message for this minister.”
“Mr. Speaker, the Liberal Prime Minister will attend the G7 summit today as the only leader to have led his country into a recession. Full-time workers are living in RVs because they can no longer afford housing.”
“Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to be here today to ask this long-awaited question, as my colleague the Leader of the Government in the House of Commons would say. As we know, millions of Canadians look forward to this every week. I have even heard that people in France are waiting for this moment. Apparently, we are quite popular.”
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Every one of 291 lines we hold for Luc Berthold, in date order, each linked to its source. Free to read, in full, without an account. Page 6 of 6.
“Mr. Speaker, I listened with interest to what my colleague from Charlesbourg—Haute-Saint-Charles said and I know that he has been very involved in the Roxham Road file, which has become very problematic for Quebec. He has talked about people who decided to cross the border while there were already hundreds of people waiting in line who had followed all the proper steps to settle in Canada. After 10 years of laxness and chaos with regard to immigration, does my colleague think it's time to clean things up and take back control over this lost immigration which has practically turned the offices of members from all parties into branches of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada?”
“Mr. Speaker, it is cold in Canada. We live in a northern country. It is cold in Quebec. According to the CAA, cold weather reduces car battery life by 40%. A ban on gas-powered vehicles in Canada is unrealistic. It will cost Canadians 38,000 jobs. This government wants to punish Quebeckers who choose to drive gas-powered vehicles by imposing a $20,000 tax. Why do the Liberals want to punish Quebeckers who live in the regions? Will they vote in favour of our motion this evening, end the ban on gas-powered vehicles and give Quebeckers the freedom to choose between electricity and gas?”
“Mr. Speaker, Canadians do not realize it yet, but, thanks to this Liberal government, the cost of gas-powered vehicles is about to go up by $20,000 because the Liberals want to force everyone to buy electric vehicles. Banning gas-powered vehicles in Quebec means no more snowmobiles, no more ATVs and no more F-150s. It means vehicles will get more and more expensive for Quebec families. Will the Liberal Prime Minister , whose motorcade probably burns more gas than all the ATVs in the Eastern Townships, give Canadians the freedom to choose by casting his vote in favour of our motion to cancel the ban on gas-powered vehicles?”
“Mr. Speaker, we just went through 10 years of Liberal lethargy, 10 long years of Canadian complacency as the world eyed up our natural resources. This was a lost decade during which the Liberals decided to turn their backs on our allies and create the worst anti-energy environment in the G7, through anti-pipeline legislation, a cap on oil production and a ban on shipping. The G7 summit is taking place this week right here in Canada, in Alberta. Will the Liberal Prime Minister repeal these laws that are making Canadians poorer, and will he approve energy projects that will put more money in their pockets?”
“Mr. Speaker, as you know, the Thursday question is always an exciting time of the week. I have an excellent question for the government House leader. First, I would like to know what business the leader has planned for the House for tomorrow and for the coming week, which may be the last week before the summer recess. At the same time, is there a short day planned so that Canadians can finally see a budget tabled by the government?”
“Mr. Speaker, “they are waiting for us to die so they can keep the money”. That shocking statement is from Richard Nantais, a thalidomide victim from Thetford Mines. The issue is that the government paid Epiq $70 million to manage the program. According to Le Journal de Montréal, since 2019, the firm has compensated only 16 victims. It has rejected 174 applications and left 150 people, like Mr. Nantais, waiting. When will the Minister of Health fire Epiq and demand a refund so that the money goes directly into the pockets of victims, not legal consultants?”
“Mr. Speaker, he says he is new, but there might be something he is unaware of, so I will explain it to him slowly: The ministers who authorized those expenditures are members of his cabinet. They were not terminated like GC Strategies was, as the government's Minister of Government Transformation said yesterday. They were promoted. That is the truth. The House has already demanded that the money paid to GC Strategies be returned. Unfortunately, we have not seen a dime of it yet. That $64 million comes from income tax and other taxes paid by Canadians. The Liberal government has abused their trust. Our motion is clear. Will the Prime Minister vote to protect his ministers or to ensure that Canadians get their money back?”
“Mr. Speaker, thanks to a Conservative motion, the Auditor General shed light on the ArriveCAN scandal. What she found was not pretty. GC Strategies, a two-person firm that operated out of a basement and had no IT experience, got $64 million for doing nothing. According to the report, nobody knows who did the work, what was done, whether those people did anything or whether they were qualified to do it. The Conservatives are going to take the next step. We are going to move a motion to get Canadians their money back. Will the Prime Minister vote in favour of our motion to reimburse Canadians for his ministers' incompetence?”
“Mr. Speaker, GC Strategies did not force the government to pay it $64 million. It paid $64 million for an app that did not work, was not secure and cost much more than expected. The ministers who authorized those expenditures are in cabinet or in the Prime Minister's inner circle. Marco Mendicino is now the Prime Minister's chief of staff. Another former minister of public safety is now the Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs. The former health minister is now the Minister of Jobs and Families. Being promoted following a scandal is what being a Liberal is all about. Which of these ministers will now be declared ineligible?”
“Appearances do not lie. A Liberal is a Liberal is a scandal. The Auditor General issued a scathing report this morning on GC Strategies and the Liberal ArriveCAN app. That two-person company received $64 million in payments from the Liberals. The Auditor General found that nobody knows who did the work, what was done, whether the people who did something were qualified or whether they had the necessary security clearances. The ministers who allowed that to happen all got promotions. When will the Liberal Prime Minister recover the money that his government took out of the pockets of all Canadians?”
“We believe that the money that the federal government sent some Canadians should be sent to all Canadians, including all British Columbians and Quebeckers, once the greenhouse gas cap-and-trade system in Quebec has been lifted.”
“Madam Speaker, right in the middle of the election campaign, the Liberals just happened to send out cheques to reimburse Canadians for money they had not spent. It was easy to send a cheque to every Canadian; it was also very convenient. The timing was perfect for sending a cheque signed by the Liberal government. However, the reality is that the government forgot two provinces. As long as it was taking money from general government funds, why did it not send the same cheque to all Canadians? I agree that that was terribly unfair. I wonder why the 40 or so Liberal members from Quebec did not take a stand against taking everyone's tax dollars and sending them to parts of Canada.”
“Quebeckers deserve a bit of respite, too, when it comes to the price of gas, because they live in a large province where travel is necessary. Not all places have public transportation, so we need to use our personal vehicles. I do not think that I am dramatizing. These are facts and nothing but the facts.”
“Madam Speaker, allow me to take this opportunity to thank my colleague from the Bloc Québécois, as well as all of my federal, provincial and municipal colleagues of all stripes, for their solidarity. I felt it, and it really helped our family. I would like to thank all of my colleagues for their words of solidarity. That said, I am not an actor, and I would like to know what I said in my presentation that was not true. Quebec has a greenhouse gas cap-and-trade system, which means that Quebeckers pay more for their gasoline than Canadians in other provinces. I gave a clear example: Last week, I filled up at $1.12 per litre in Ontario and, Sunday, I paid $1.55 per litre in Thetford Mines before coming here. It is the same gas. That is not a fantasy. It is a fact. It is realistic.”
“I move that the motion be amended by deleting the words “without conditions” and “estimated at $814 million” and, in the last paragraph, by replacing the word “Quebec” with “Quebeckers and British Columbians” and adding the following: “when the Government of Quebec ends its cap-and-trade system to compensate Quebeckers who have paid for and are still paying for that system”. I think that would make it fair. It would mean that Quebeckers would receive a cheque directly from the federal government, as the citizens of the other provinces have. That way, Quebeckers would save at the gas pump every day.”
“I assume people know that credit cards have to be paid off eventually. I assume that most of our colleagues here know that. The problem we have is that the debt has become so big in Canada that we are not the ones who will pay off our own debt. It will be our children, our grandchildren, our great-grandchildren. If this continues, we will never see the end of this debt. Demanding a budget at this time is the right thing to do. The Bloc Québécois was right to join us in amending the reply to the throne speech. We expect the Prime Minister to table a budget to ensure fairness for all Canadians and Quebeckers. I would like to use my remaining speaking time to move an amendment to the Bloc Québécois motion.”
“I have another question, and this time it is for the Liberals who were elected in Quebec. Did they pressure the banker Prime Minister to extend this vote-buying exercise to Quebeckers? Did they let this injustice happen without standing up for the interests of Quebeckers? At first glance, the Bloc Québécois's request may seem legitimate, but it does not take into account the other request made by the Bloc on the state of public finances. It is not possible to play for the Liberal team, promise the moon and the stars and make all kinds of commitments, and say that everything will change overnight without telling Canadians and Quebeckers how much money is in the bank account and how much of that money will have to come from the credit card. Who will have to pay off this credit card? We know very well.”
“Why does the Bloc Québécois think it is acceptable that Quebeckers should pay for the war on carbon all by themselves and that families, especially those in rural areas, should be deprived of hundreds of dollars each year, money that they could be using to pay their bills? Fifty-six per cent of Quebeckers believe that Quebec should end its carbon pricing system. Furthermore, 68% of Quebeckers want the carbon tax to be shown separately on their gas bills. The Bloc Québécois voted with us for a budget to be tabled this fall. The Bloc Québécois rightly wants to know the state of public finances and the Liberal Prime Minister's plan. What is the state of the deficits? What is the government's operating deficit? How will the Liberals pay for the things they have promised?”
“It was Bloc Québécois MPs who said that the carbon tax should be much higher than it is. What does the Bloc Québécois think now about the fact that Quebec is still a province that levies a carbon tax and makes Quebeckers pay more for their gas by maintaining a carbon pricing system? How does the Bloc Québécois feel about the fact that, last week, I paid $1.16 a litre here in Ontario to fill up my car, whereas, when I came back to Ottawa this week, I paid $1.55 a litre in Thetford Mines for the same gas and for the same distance? This is a recurring theme in the daily lives of many Canadians who feel that the cost of living is rising. Gas prices have accounted for much of this increase. Does the Bloc Québécois agree that Quebeckers are currently disadvantaged in many respects with all the taxes on gas?”
“A thirst for power may have blotted out the last 10 years of their lives, but as the saying goes, “what's bred in the bone will come out in the flesh”. Let us see who will be the first to show their true colours. I would now like to speak to the Bloc Québécois's motion. It is not possible to talk about the Bloc Québécois and the carbon tax without first mentioning its visceral hatred of oil and gas. That is quite a paradoxical position for a party that represents the regions of Quebec, where gasoline is absolutely essential to everyday life. People need it to go to work, to drive their kids to school, to go to the grocery store, to work in the fields and to travel the long roads that connect one village to the next. For the Bloc Québécois, oil is just dirty, and Quebeckers must pay the price.”
“He will have the opportunity to do so this afternoon by voting in favour of the Conservative opposition motion. The opposition is reaching out and asking the government to end food inflation, come clean with Canadians about the state of public finances and table a budget before Parliament rises for the summer. (1130) Third, his new cabinet brought back the main ministers responsible for the chaos that Justin Trudeau caused over the past 10 years. It is just terrible to see these ministers defending the same Conservative ideas today that they fought against for 10 years. Their titles have changed, but what about their values, their ideals and everything they said for 10 years? All of that has evaporated. It is gone. We know it is just smoke and mirrors.”
“Second, everyone will remember the epic series of contradictory remarks that the Minister of Finance and National Revenue and the Prime Minister made to the media shortly after the election. First they said there would be no budget, but there would be an economic statement. In the end, they said there would be a budget, but it would not be presented until the fall. Basically, it was a bit chaotic over there. That said, it was all of a piece with the last 10 years of the Liberal government. Finally, we realized that the man with a plan did not have a plan ready this spring and that he would not be tabling a budget this spring. There is still time for him to make good on his own throne speech, which calls on him to table a budget this spring.”
“We were also expecting the man with the plan, this Liberal banker, to come forward right away with that plan and to be fully transparent, as promised, about what he was going to do to address the housing crisis, to end inflation, to prepare for the recession being forecast by more and more economists and to get public spending under control. The man with the plan actually promised to limit government spending increases to 2% a year. However, we have heard nothing but radio silence since he was elected. He is no longer talking about that. First, we learned that government spending will increase by 8% this year. The government is adding $500 billion to the bill that future generations will have to pay. That is four times more than he promised.”
“We might therefore have expected the Prime Minister to ditch all the ministers who had blasted the official opposition all these years for having the colossal nerve to demand an end to the carbon tax. Trudeau's cabinet ministers used to rise one after another to vilify the nasty Conservatives, accusing them of being willing to stand by while the planet burned with their loud demands to axe the carbon tax. The minister of environment and climate change at the time never missed an opportunity to tout the carbon tax as a cure-all for every climate ill and every wildfire, and to warn us that evil oil and gas users would have have to pay, pay, pay.”
“As we saw again this week, Canada has the second-highest food inflation rate among all G7 countries. During the election, the Liberal leader presented himself as the man with a plan, yet he cribbed freely from other parties' platforms, notably from Pierre Poilievre's Conservative plan. He even happily and unreservedly condemned Justin Trudeau's Liberal team for the disastrous state Canada is in today. It seems that he finally listened to the Conservatives' call to axe the carbon tax. As the unelected prime minister designate, he even dipped into public funds to give all Canadian citizens a nice little present—all, that is, except those in Quebec and British Columbia. As far as election goodies go, it rivalled Maurice Duplessis's refrigerators.”
“I am motivated to continue my work as the member for Mégantic—L'Érable—Lotbinière and to bring all of my experience and determination to that task. I know that David will always live on in my thoughts and in my heart. During this election campaign, people told me how concerned they are about the future and the direction taken by the Liberal government over the past 10 years. Although President Trump wormed his way into our election debates by creating economic chaos around the world, the everyday priorities of the people I met, whether in their homes, at the grocery store or at events, have not changed. Issues such as the rising cost of living, lack of housing, skyrocketing home prices, rising crime, weak justice system and out-of-control immigration were top of mind for everyone.”
“Finally, I want to thank the president of my riding association, Marc Nolin, along with all of leaders and volunteers who worked hard to ensure that Mégantic—L'Érable—Lotbinière remains a great Conservative riding. This election was unlike any other for me. It was a very emotionally difficult time that I would not wish on any of my colleagues. To wrap up my remarks about the election, I want to thank my wife and my two daughters, Marie‑Soleil and Justine. We have always been a close-knit team in good times and in bad, and we have just been through the worst with the loss of my son, David, four months ago today. He was with us in our hearts every day of this election campaign. Once again, I want to thank everyone for their messages of solidarity and support.”
“Madam Speaker, since this is my first speech in the House, I would like to take a few moments to thank the people of Mégantic—L'Érable—Lotbinière for placing their trust in me and for giving me the privilege of representing them for a fourth term. It is nice to see that the support from my constituents has continued to grow since I was first elected in 2015. I am extremely grateful for that. I want to personally thank my campaign manager, Isabelle Laplante, who has been my right-hand woman since almost the very beginning of this great adventure in Ottawa, and Anabel Grondin, the newest member of my team, who quickly learned what to do in an election campaign. I also want to thank my official agent, Serge‑André Tardif, for whom this was a brand new experience.”
“Madam Speaker, I would first like to congratulate my colleague on his election. I would also like to congratulate him on his French today. It is nice to hear members from this big beautiful province address the House in French, despite some minor errors that are not worth noting. I heard some murmurs about a French error at one point, but we should be encouraging people to speak French and not pointing out the little mistakes that can happen when people do not use French every day. I congratulate him on that. In his speech, my colleague talked about the size of his riding. I imagine it must cost a fortune in gas to travel across his entire riding. Are the member and his constituents very happy about the elimination of the carbon tax, something the Conservatives have been proposing for years and the Liberals have finally implemented?”
“Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister himself said that the Prime Minister should be held responsible for what Canadians pay at the grocery store. I take him at his word. He and his government are responsible for the second-worst food inflation in the G7. Since he became the Liberal Prime Minister, the cost of groceries has skyrocketed, increasing by nearly $800 per family. It is worse than under Justin Trudeau. The Prime Minister is increasing his government's spending by 8%, even though he promised to cap it at 2%. Will he present a budget this spring, yes or no, or will he continue to be as irresponsible as his predecessor?”
“Mr. Speaker, today, the Liberals will have to choose between continuing to starve Canadians and voting in favour of our motion to present a budget this spring. Groceries cost a fortune, and food banks are swamped and declaring a social emergency. This is all because of the inflationary policies of the Prime Minister 's Liberal government. I am not the one saying this; it is Sylvain Charlebois from Dalhousie University. He said that much of the grocery store inflation is policy-induced. Will the Prime Minister table a budget this spring and put an end to Liberal food inflation once and for all?”
“Mr. Speaker, tomorrow, President Trump will jeopardize thousands of aluminum jobs in Quebec with tariffs potentially reaching 50%, and meanwhile, the minority Liberal banker is refusing to hear the majority of the House calling for a budget this spring. He has no plan. He is spending half a trillion dollars without a budget. He is quietly abandoning the $20 billion in retaliatory tariffs while President Trump doubles down, and he is keeping Canadians in the dark. Will the Liberal Prime Minister show some respect for Parliament and for the majority of Canadians who did not vote for him and table a budget this spring? Yes or no?”
“Mr. Speaker, on July 6, 2013, the town of Lac-Mégantic experienced the worst rail disaster in Canadian history, and 47 people lost their lives. Four thousand, three hundred and forty-four days later, despite political commitments and several motions adopted unanimously in the House, the people of Lac-Mégantic are still waiting for the work to begin on the rail bypass to get trains out of the downtown core. “We are going to do it,” Justin Trudeau told the people of Lac-Mégantic on May 11, 2018. When will the new and fifth Liberal transport minister come to Lac-Mégantic to tell people the truth and explain why trains are still passing through the downtown core?”
“The Prime Minister claims he wants to take action quickly, immediately, with an ambitious agenda. Can the Liberal House leader tell us when the parliamentary committees will start meeting? When will we have the first meeting of the Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs? As a sign of good faith, I will assure the Liberal leader of our full co-operation. We would consent to a budget being tabled tomorrow, Saturday, Sunday or Monday, and to calling—”
“Mr. Speaker, I would not want my new colleagues to miss out on the unique opportunity to hear the Thursday question. It is a very important moment this week. As I was saying, during the election, I promised to be the voice of the people of Mégantic—L'Érable—Lotbinière, to speak for those in my riding who are struggling to make ends meet and for the young families who cannot pay their mortgage. I will ask the Liberal House leader if this week's agenda provides for a budget to be tabled soon. It is particularly vital that a budget be tabled this spring, especially after we learned this week that, despite all the fine words in the Speech from the Throne, Liberal spending is worse under this Prime Minister than under Justin Trudeau. I have another important question.”
“Mr. Speaker, it is an honour for me to rise today for the traditional Thursday question. It is the most anticipated time of the week for Canadians who follow the House proceedings closely. First, I would like to begin by thanking the people of Mégantic—L'Érable—Lotbinière for allowing me to continue serving as their representative.”
“Mr. Speaker, I want to begin by commending the excellent work of my colleague from Richmond—Arthabaska, who is also one of my neighbours. I can say that his list of fun things to do in the beautiful region of central Quebec and Victoriaville could have been much longer if he had been given more time. There are so many great things to do in central Quebec that my colleague would have had to filibuster to cover everything that is going on and all the beautiful things in our region. I would like to hear my colleague's thoughts on the fact that, despite the throne speech and the plan it outlined, the government did not really identify any concrete measures in that speech. There will be no budget this spring. Is that the right way to run a country? Does my colleague think the government should table a budget this spring?”
“Now he has the opportunity to present a real plan, a costed plan, a plan with tangible measures, a plan based on the current state of the public finances. That plan is called a budget. Why is he so afraid to table a budget this spring?”
“Mr. Speaker, I listened closely to the Liberal Prime Minister's speech. It seems that the Prime Minister has not yet made the transition from candidate to Prime Minister. He kept repeating his slogans, including the one about having a plan for Canadians. Household debt has reached record highs. The number of people who cannot pay their mortgage is on the rise. Lineups at food banks are getting longer. TD Bank predicts a recession, which means hundreds of thousands of job losses. The Prime Minister has acknowledged the damage caused by the Liberals over the past 10 years, with their irresponsible borrowing, the massive inflationary deficit, and the carbon tax that drove up the price of everything and scared away investors.”
“Mr. Speaker, it did not take the Liberal government long to slip into the previous government's old habits. The reality is that the Liberal Prime Minister seems to be taking his sweet time covering up his conflicts of interest before he opens his books to Canadians. One of his first decisions was to move his assets into a blind trust. He claims that, overnight, we will magically forget everything he owned and owns. The only people who do not know are Canadians, only Canadians. Will the Prime Minister come clean and disclose all of his financial holdings and the conflicts of interest contained in his trust, yes or no? We want an answer right now.”
“Mr. Speaker, how can we be sure the Prime Minister is not busy creating opportunity for himself? Why is the Liberal Prime Minister so loath to reveal the full extent of his personal fortune to Canadians? Why is so much being kept under wraps? We know that, just before becoming Prime Minister, he set up two multi-billion dollar funds for his company, Brookfield, in well-known tax havens to avoid paying taxes in Canada. Will the Prime Minister confirm, right now, that he does not hold any assets or financial interests in offshore tax havens?”