This view breaks the statement into its steps and names what each one does.
Mr. Speaker, Procedure · 12 wordsI will be sharing my time with my esteemed colleague from Lac-Saint-Jean.Procedure Thanks · 12 wordsI am sure he will make very good use of that time.Thanks Procedure · 19 wordsSince we are talking about the estimates today, we can address any aspect of the use of public funds.Procedure Claims · 28 wordsI want to briefly revisit our disappointment regarding the implementation of the budget, Bill C-31, among others, 1and the lack of response to one of our main concerns.Off point Procedure · 7 wordsThere is something I do not understand.Procedure Claims · 36 wordsWe keep saying that our SMEs need help. We also keep trying to explain to people in other Canadian provinces, in English-speaking Canada, that Quebec’s economic fabric is unique because of its SMEs, which need support. Reasoning · 17 wordsWe believe that the wage subsidy would be helpful in the current climate, given the new tariffs. Claims · 254 wordsHowever, we have not received a response. It is radio silence. There were no consultations before the budget measures were introduced. The government continues to subsidize the oil industry at every opportunity.2 Once again, these bills give the government even more power, including discretionary powers, which, to be perfectly honest, are frightening. Anyone who looked at the media this morning saw the news about crop protection products, herbicides and pesticides. I know what I am talking about, since I was the agriculture and agri-food critic for a long time. We studied these issues extensively at committee. What we were seeing, particularly with the Canadian Food Inspection Agency, or CFIA, and the Pest Management Regulatory Agency, or PMRA, which is now called the Pesticides Regulatory Directorate, 3or PRD, was a lack of efficiency. Whenever there was an emergency on a farm and an emergency registration was requested, it got delayed. It can take years, because the staff are in no rush, because there are not enough resources, or for any number of reasons. For three or four years, we had been studying the possibility of allowing drones to be used to spray pesticides, even though these same pesticides are already approved to be sprayed by plane.4 Planes spray pesticides at higher altitudes, over larger areas and using larger quantities. Logically, drone spraying will require a smaller quantity of pesticides and be able to focus on specific parts of the field. That is exactly what we want. It takes three or four years to approve that. Positioning · 8 wordsWe are scratching our heads and wondering why.Positioning Claims · 7 wordsThat is what we were calling out. The question · 10 wordsWhat is the government doing now to address the problem? Claims · 19 wordsIt is saying that when the PRD rejects a product, cabinet can decide to authorize it for economic reasons.5 Reasoning · 18 wordsThis is a very slippery slope, one that is reminiscent of what we have seen in previous bills. Claims · 19 wordsIn just about every bill we vote on, the government gives its ministers the power to override other laws. Positioning · 4 wordsThis is extremely concerning.Positioning Reasoning · 59 wordsI do not believe that allowing cabinet to decide to authorize banned products will increase public confidence. We already use several products that are banned in Europe.6 What we need are resources and efficiency at the PRD and the CFIA. We must not give elected officials, who are not scientists, the power to authorize the use of toxic products.Off point Procedure · 4 wordsLet us be honest: ProcedureClaims · 71 wordsThese products are used to kill pests or eliminate diseases. That is what they do. The people who apply these products are our farmers, the people who feed us. When products are banned, it is often not only because of their effects on the soil, but also because of the risks they pose to the people applying them. What they are saying is, too bad, saving the crop is more important. Positioning · 13 wordsI do not feel that we are reacting strongly enough to this change.Positioning Claims · 39 wordsI believe there is a major problem with undemocratic governance right now. The Liberal government continually grants itself the power to override the application of laws. Things are not moving quickly enough in Canada. We are not efficient enough.Off point Procedure · 5 wordsIt is not that complicated.Procedure Claims · 198 wordsThe government is going to run this country like a business. If a law slows things down, then the government will get rid of it. That is what it is doing with the Alto high‑speed rail project. If members watched the press scrums today, then they saw my leader’s response. We have no choice but to oppose this project because it is being handled all wrong and because the government is infringing on the rights of our constituents. As the member for Berthier—Maskinongé, I cannot sit idly by while my constituents are treated like second‑class citizens because the government wants to run a train through their land and it wants the project to be completed quickly without any delays. The government is going to take away these citizens’ right to speak to an independent hearing officer and their right to object to the price offered for the land.7 What is more, the government knows that the railway may have to cross sensitive areas, such as the Lanoraie peat bog.8 It figured that with the high-speed rail project, it is easy. It just needed to add a line to the bill stating that an environmental assessment is not required.9 Positioning · 35 wordsThat is how Canada is being run right now. I think the public will eventually realize this, as this bad habit of granting absolute powers continues to repeat itself. We are drifting away from democracy.PositioningOff point Procedure · 5 wordsThat is what I think.Procedure Claims · 7 wordsParliaments have passed laws over the years.Off point Procedure · 22 wordsI am not saying we should not adapt our laws. I am not saying we should not review and assess them regularly.Procedure Claims · 31 wordsIf 28 regulations have been added and none have ever been removed, perhaps one or two could make way for the new ones that address the same issue.10 That is possible. Reasoning · 28 wordsHowever, we need to be smart about this. We need to take our time. The opposition parties need to be consulted. We need to have healthy, thorough debates. Claims · 25 wordsThat is not what is happening right now. Instead, time allocation is imposed, so we do not have enough time. It is being rushed through. Positioning · 6 wordsThey want to go on vacation.Positioning Claims · 40 wordsIt is summer, and it is almost time to wrap up our work, but the government still wants to get its seven, eight, 10 or 12 bills passed. That means we have to stay until midnight and get it done.Off point Procedure · 8 wordsThat is the situation we find ourselves in.Procedure Reasoning · 61 wordsI dream of a world where election campaigns last a month and a half, like they are supposed to, and where, in between elections, elected officials work together for the common good. In that world, the party in power would not be able to negotiate with members to secure a majority and then do whatever it wants without consulting anyone else. Claims · 17 wordsThat is what we are currently experiencing. That is what I am experiencing, and it is dangerous.Off point Procedure · 29 wordsI have said it before, but I will say it again and again, because it seems that some members on the other side of the House are not listening.Procedure Positioning · 14 wordsThe Bloc Québécois is a constructive opposition. We do not just sit around whining.Positioning Claims · 54 wordsWe have come up with proposals. One good idea would be to eliminate the oil subsidies. The Liberals are listening to us so much that they are increasing that funding. There are wage subsidies, as I mentioned earlier. There is EI reform. When people lose their jobs, 40% of them are ineligible for benefits.11 Positioning · 11 wordsThat is outright theft because they have paid into the system.Positioning Claims · 11 wordsThey are required to do so, but they do not qualify. Aside · 40 wordsIt would be like me charging people for home insurance while telling them I will never pay out. I am not sure they would keep paying me for long, unless they did not check their bills. We do check them.Aside Claims · 27 wordsThere are the cheques that were sent out during the election campaign, for which we have requested reimbursement.12 There is the influx of refugees we took in.Off point Procedure · 8 wordsI am going to talk about agriculture again, ProcedureAside · 6 wordsbecause I miss it a little.Aside Claims · 13 wordsI saw the UPA people today at their press conference opposing high‑speed rail.13 Positioning · 4 wordsThey have a point.Positioning Claims · 5 wordsResearch centres have been closed.14 Reasoning · 12 wordsThe government should be investing in research and innovation, not making cuts. Claims · 29 wordsAt a time when cabinet is being given the power to approve whatever crop protection products it wants, the agencies responsible for regulating and approving them are facing cuts. Reasoning · 18 wordsWhat should be happening is the opposite. Personally, I dream of a government that makes agriculture a priority. Claims · 25 wordsThe fact that less than 1% of the budget goes to agriculture in a country like Canada is shameful.15 It should be at least 2%. Reasoning · 6 wordsAgriculture is the foundation for everything.Off point Claims · 6 wordsDefence is about to get 5%.16Partly on point Anecdote · 31 wordsDo members know how cities were captured in the Middle Ages? They were not attacked; they were encircled, and the besieging army simply waited until all the food inside was gone.Anecdote Reasoning · 51 wordsThat is the way a territory is weakened. It may have the best army in the world, but if it does not have the means to feed it, if it does not have free-flowing international trade and is not self-sufficient when it comes to food, it will have a big problem. The ask · 15 wordsWe need to make wise choices and, for goodness’ sake, stop this shift toward authoritarianism.Off point
Analysed on