Natilien Joseph

Mr. Speaker, Procedure · 15 wordsit is an honour to rise to speak on behalf of the people of Longueuil—Saint‑Hubert.Procedure Positioning · 44 wordsThere are days in the House that are full of procedure and routine, and then there are days like this, where Parliament is doing exactly what it was created to do. These are the moments that give true meaning to the office we hold.PositioningOff point Claims · 9 wordsMy colleagues have explained the mechanics of Bill C‑9. Procedure · 21 wordsI will use my speaking time to address the reality that this bill recognizes.Unearned certainty Let us start by stating the obvious: ProcedureUnearned certaintyClaims · 69 wordsHate is real in Canada. It exists today, in 2026, in our workplaces, our schools, our places of worship, and our neighbourhoods. Statistics Canada data confirms this year after year: Police-reported hate crimes have risen sharply.¹ Synagogues are being targeted, mosques are being targeted, and people are being singled out because of their background, faith, sexual orientation, or gender identity. Black Canadians are consistently among the groups most affected.² Procedure · 12 wordsI am going to talk about these communities that are being targeted.Procedure Claims · 73 wordsBlack communities have been part of the fabric of this country from the beginning. They have helped to build it, defend it, care for it and educate it. The Haitian community has had roots in Quebec for over 60 years.³ It has given us doctors and nurses who have kept our health care system afloat. It has given us teachers, entrepreneurs, artists and members of the House of Commons and Quebec National Assembly, Reasoning · 17 wordsand yet these very communities face a dual reality that Parliament must have the courage to acknowledge. Claims · 158 wordsBlack Canadians are overrepresented in our prisons.⁴ Reports from the Office of the Correctional Investigator have been documenting this for years.⁵Off point At the same time, they are also overrepresented among victims: victims of hate crimes, victims of intimidation, victims of acts meant to remind them that they will always be seen as different. Bill C‑9 tells this community and all communities targeted by hate that the law sees when they are targeted.⁶ The amendment regarding the noose is the clearest expression of all this. This symbol carries a history of terror that all Black families know without needing to be taught. When it appears on a construction site or in a locker room—and yes, that still happens—its message is instantly understood. Until now, a victim who reported such acts would find themselves thrown into a legal maze. However, from now on, Canadian law will clearly state that using this symbol to intimidate or promote hatred is an offence.⁷ Reasoning · 6 wordsConfronting anti-Black hate means naming it. Thanks · 46 wordsThat is exactly what this amendment does. I would like to highlight the fact that this amendment comes from the Senate.⁸ It was the senators who listened to their communities, who scrutinized this bill thoroughly and who saw that it could be improved. I thank them.Thanks Claims · 80 wordsThis is our parliamentary system at its best: two chambers working together to produce better legislation.Partly on point The stand-alone hate crime offence, the heart of the bill from the outset, completes this work.⁹ Hate takes forms that leave no visible mark: repeated threats, violence and intimidation. This offence gives the justice system the tools to prosecute these acts for what they are: criminal offences. For victims, no matter which community they belong to, the equation changes. Reporting will be worth it. Reasoning · 18 wordsNo single law can resolve decades of inequality on its own, but this law does what it can. Claims · 37 wordsIt acknowledges suffering that has long gone unnamed, and it tells Black Canadians and Haitian Canadians, as well as all communities affected by hate, that their government sees what they are going through and takes it seriously. Reasoning · 12 wordsThere is no room in Canada for symbols that deliberately promote hate. Positioning · 14 wordsVoting for this bill will be one of my proudest moments in this House.Positioning The ask · 13 wordsI urge all of my colleagues from every party to do the same.