Discussion · Government Orders
Yves-François Blanchet Bloc Québécois
“We cannot blame the Prime Minister for how the American president acts. But the government must understand how big this problem is and how closely tied we are to American businesses. The government should act on what it has been saying for the past year instead of making careless moves.”
“Mr. Speaker, I think I understand the question. I believe it would be unwise to suggest that the Prime Minister of Canada is to blame for the behaviour, attitude and vagaries of the President of the United States, to say nothing of his absence of mind. We are, all of us, victims of that. Nevertheless, the first thing the government needs to do is recognize the scale of the challenge, assess the extent of our economic ties to U.S. companies and, perhaps, act in accordance with what it has been saying for the past year. That is not what it has done. It seems strange to speak out against empires two days after reaching an agreement with China. After all, provocation serves no one. This could all have been handled differently.”
Mr. Speaker, I think I understand the question. I believe it would be unwise to suggest that the Prime Minister of Canada is to blame for the behaviour, attitude and vagaries of the President of the United States, to say nothing of his absence of mind. We are, all of us, victims of that. Nevertheless, the first thing the government needs to do is recognize the scale of the challenge, assess the extent of our economic ties to U.S. companies and, perhaps, act in accordance with what it has been saying for the past year. That is not what it has done. It seems strange to speak out against empires two days after reaching an agreement with China. After all, provocation serves no one. This could all have been handled differently.