This view breaks the statement into its steps and names what each one does.
Mr. Speaker, Thanks · 14 wordsI thank my colleague from Jonquière, whose speeches are always both eloquent and insightful.Thanks Claims · 52 wordsI am starting my 11th year in the House, 1Off pointand I have lost count of how many times I have risen to speak about the forestry and aluminum sectors or about the broader issue of Quebec, of course. Earlier, a government member asked a question about our dependence on the United States. Reasoning · 24 wordsAs a sovereignist, I would say that the first way that we are, unfortunately, unavoidably dependent on the U.S. is through the Canadian federation.Partly on point Positioning · 13 wordsWe see how the government and the Prime Minister fail to recognize Quebec.PositioningOff point Claims · 288 wordsThe Prime Minister said that his first major move had to be economic.Partly on point Perhaps that was necessary since he took office just a few months after the arrival of Trump and the tariffs he imposed.2 The Prime Minister spoke of a strong Canada and continues to repeat that ad nauseam today.Partly on point However, after more than a year, I fail to see any real benefits back home in my riding. I mentioned my riding, but this also affects the ridings of Lac-Saint-Jean and Jonquière, for example, because we are talking about the aluminum and forestry sectors, which are really struggling right now. There are three forestry companies in my riding, two of which shut their doors after briefly resuming operations.3 In short, the forestry sector is hanging on by a thread because the government is doing nothing to help it. This all happened over the course of a year, but as I said earlier, I have been talking about this for 11 years. We could even say that people have been talking about forestry for 40 years, this sector that is of little interest to the federal government in everything it does. For example, the government asked Quebec to diversify our markets by exporting to Asia. There were programs for that, but that got us absolutely nothing. I am thinking of the businesses back home, the people from Arbec, of course, all the workers who were laid off at the Outardes sawmill and all those families, 4because entire communities are being affected by the government’s refusal to work together and listen. The government has decided that the money would go to one place but it is failing to understand the industrial fabric of Quebec and its regions, including mine. Positioning · 25 wordsToday, I want to say that I stand with the families in my riding and elsewhere who are struggling to put food on the table.Positioning Claims · 95 wordsIt is the same thing in the aluminum sector. The largest aluminum smelter in North America, Alouette, is in my riding.5 Alcoa is there too.6 That sector is very strong. At the same time, we are sending the message that it might be a bit easier for large corporations to find other export markets. Let us not forget all the SMEs, the main focus of today’s debates, that are forced to shut down and face uncertainty and fear because the government is not doing anything. It says it is, but it is simply empty rhetoric. Positioning · 5 wordsWhat is it actually doing?Positioning Claims · 76 wordsAs my colleague from Jonquière mentioned, the government is offering new loans for businesses, 7but if it truly wanted to discuss things with people and businesses, it would be listening to what the unions are proposing. The Steelworkers, for instance, have made several proposals to help the various sectors.8 The same goes for the forestry and aluminum sectors. It is not only the unions. Sure, workers make proposals, but major corporations and SMEs also have demands. Reasoning · 50 wordsWe have to listen to the people on the ground. They know what the needs are. They know better than we do, in our offices far, far away from our ridings. To figure out what the needs are, we have to be there on the ground and talk to people. Claims · 6 wordsThe government is not doing that. Procedure · 5 wordsI will give an example.Procedure Claims · 8 wordsYes, the Bloc Québécois is an opposition party, Positioning · 7 wordsbut we want to offer constructive opposition.PositioningOff point Claims · 133 wordsWhat people back home are asking for is to keep their jobs. When a business has to close down because it is threatened by tariffs, it is important that it have the certainty that it will retain its employees and their expertise, and that these employees have the certainty that they will continue to receive a salary, in the form of a benefit. The employment relationship with workers is extremely important for all sectors, because it assures businesses that the workers will be there as soon as they resume operations. We must not delude ourselves into thinking that workers are everywhere, readily available and properly trained. I live in what is considered a remote region, a rural community spanning 350,000 square kilometres with a population of 100 people, 9and we definitely need workers. Reasoning · 16 wordsWhen sectors of our economy are weakened, folks will leave the region and may never return. Positioning · 8 wordsWe are truly caught in a vicious cycle.Positioning Claims · 42 wordsThis is what businesses, SMEs and workers are all asking for. They are simply asking that the government ensure this employment relationship can be maintained, as it did during the COVID-19 pandemic.10 Everyone wants a strong economy, as the Prime Minister says. Reasoning · 39 wordsWe must ensure that everyone has the tools needed to build a strong economy. Driving workers away is not a solution. Telling businesses to take on more debt when they are struggling the most is also not a solution, Claims · 22 wordsand that is exactly what the government is doing right now. I was saying that the government was not meeting the needs, Procedure · 6 wordsand I gave just one example.Procedure Claims · 157 wordsNot meeting the needs is one thing, but not anticipating is another. What we have noticed is that the government is always reacting to what is happening. CUSMA, the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement, 11and the negotiations are nothing new. They are cyclical, predictable issues. With the current President of the United States, I think we could have guessed that there would be obstacles, since he has been putting up roadblocks for over a year. Once again, there is nothing concrete in the government’s economic update or in the measures that should be taken based on the renegotiation of CUSMA. Nothing is being done, and that is worrisome. The government is reactive. With respect to the economic update, I listened to the Minister of Finance and he repeated slogans, which is just fine during a campaign, but now they keep coming back with slogans revolving around the sacrosanct notion of economic strength, but there is nothing for our sector. Reasoning · 36 wordsWhen I told one of my colleagues on the government side that we no longer want this dependence on the federal government, it is because our money, Quebeckers’ money, is not going where it would help. Claims · 85 wordsQuebec sends taxes to Ottawa—a fact that is sometimes forgotten—and we get money back while always being told, in a completely patronizing way, how to use it and what we should be doing in Quebec.12 Right now, it is clear that this is not working.Unearned certainty The government has decided to contribute to industries that are not the choice of Quebeckers.Partly on point When they talk about pipelines and western oil and gas, that is not what we want at all.Off point We want to develop in other ways.Partly on point Procedure · 6 wordsI talked about forestry and aluminum.Procedure Claims · 12 wordsThat is what we do at home, and we do it well. The ask · 26 wordsWe would like to see that money come back to us. Even a small percentage that could go back to the forestry industry would be extraordinary, Claims · 7 wordsbut the government is not doing that. The ask · 31 wordsIn closing, I would like to urge and formally invite the government to revisit the proposals the Bloc Québécois has put forward to help the industries and to help the workers, Reasoning · 7 wordsbecause these are not two separate issues, The ask · 7 wordsand to invest in strengthening these sectors. Claims · 53 wordsI was particularly struck when the Minister of Finance unveiled the sovereign wealth fund.13 That, too, was almost a slogan. A fund that belongs to itself, that is the be all and end all, and will fix everything that needs fixing in Canada’s economy. It is a fund that is actually a debt. Positioning · 12 wordsShould we call it a sovereign debt or the Prime Minister’s debt?PositioningOff point Procedure · 2 wordsI wonder.Procedure Claims · 40 wordsIt is debt, Off pointand the government is choosing to go into debt for oil and gas projects when it cannot even support Quebec businesses, forestry companies and aluminum companies.14 It is easy to see why we opposed the government’s measures. The ask · 8 wordsI hope they will listen and take action, Claims · 6 wordsbut it has been 11 years. Positioning · 11 wordsI feel like I do not even believe in it anymore.PositioningPartly on point
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