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Democratic Institutions

During question period on democratic institutions, the Bloc Québécois raised concerns that the government was limiting debate, saying the Prime Minister was moving to cut off discussion of Bill C-22, which the Bloc said contains privacy concerns, and noting it was the ninth bill cut off since June. They asked the government to stop limiting debate and let MPs do their work. The Liberal government minister responded by criticizing the Bloc’s position on the Alto high-speed rail project, saying it would create 51,000 jobs and reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and that the government was focused on Canadians’ priorities such as affordability and major national projects.Written by AI from the debate. Updated .

Official text

4 statements

Yves Perron

Bloc Québécois
“The Prime Minister is cutting off debate on important bills, including ones about privacy and pesticides. He has cut off debate on nine bills since June. I want him to stop silencing members of Parliament.”
Official Hansard

Mr. Speaker, another day, another example of anti-democratic behaviour from this Prime Minister. Today, he is muzzling the opposition to pass Bill C-22, which contains serious privacy violations. Yesterday, he shut down the debate on Bill C-30, which allows him to approve pesticides that were previously banned by Health Canada. It is simple. Since June 1, the Prime Minister has moved time allocation on no fewer than nine bills. This Prime Minister is muzzling all the parliamentarians who want to do their jobs. Does he realize that his majority does not give him the right to subvert democracy?

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Steven MacKinnon

Liberal
“The Bloc Québécois leader broke his promise and now opposes the Alto project because Quebec provincial politicians told him to. This project would create 51,000 jobs and cut a record amount of greenhouse gas emissions.”

  • Government answer in Question Period

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    None of this answer addressed the specific question that was asked.

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Official Hansard

Mr. Speaker, I know the Bloc Québécois needs to change the subject, but unfortunately, we have to talk about the Bloc Québécois leader’s decision to obey his political masters in Quebec City and oppose Alto, oppose its 51,000 jobs and oppose the largest reduction in greenhouse gas emissions from a single infrastructure project in Canadian history. The Bloc Québécois is reneging on its election promise to support Alto, in obedience to the Parti Québécois.

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Yves Perron

Bloc Québécois
“The Prime Minister is rushing this bill through to stop MPs and the public from noticing abuses of power in it. He should respect Parliament and democracy.”

  • Opposition question in Question Period

    Respect 71 of 100

    This statement targeted a person rather than their actions or views: “The reason the Prime Minister is rushing so much is to keep people from noticing the deregulation and abuse of power…”.

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Official Hansard

Mr. Speaker, bad projects do not deserve support. The Prime Minister has a majority. He spends the majority of his time travelling, but he also has a majority in the House. All of his bills are guaranteed to pass. All he is doing with these repeated time allocation motions is preventing MPs from doing their job. All he is doing is trying to push things through so quickly that civil society does not realize what is happening. The reason the Prime Minister is rushing so much is to keep people from noticing the deregulation and abuse of power hidden within his laws. Why is the Prime Minister incapable of respecting Parliament and democracy?

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Steven MacKinnon

Liberal
“We are focusing on Canadians' priorities, like costs and building high-speed rail. Bloc members used to support high-speed rail, but now they oppose it. They need to explain why they changed their minds.”

  • Government answer in Question Period

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Official Hansard

Mr. Speaker, we make no apology for working tirelessly on Canadians’ priorities, on affordability, on delivering major projects and, yes, on major, unifying projects of national interest such as high-speed rail, which the Bloc MPs oppose, despite having supported it prior to the last election. What are they telling their constituents? The Bloc members made a solemn promise to support high-speed rail, but after receiving instructions from Mr. Plamondon, they are now against it. They need to explain their about-face.

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