Kristina Michaud

[Further COVID-19 Measures Act, July 21st, 2020]

Mr. Speaker, earlier today, I raised the issue of how complex this bill is. Many questions are left unanswered. For instance, Bill C-20 expands access to include seasonal businesses, businesses that were not eligible for assistance before.

There are several questions in my mind. Will the assistance be retroactive? Will it also apply retroactively for those who have been receiving it for months or for new businesses? This could change a lot of things for a business, helping it survive. Being able to get retroactive financial support could be good for a business. I am wondering if that will be on offer.

[Further COVID-19 Measures Act, July 21st, 2020]

Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for his speech. I really liked what he had to say.

I think Bill C-20 would have been a good opportunity for the government to simplify to some degree the fairly complex measures introduced in Bill C-17. It is still complex. It is written in very complex jargon. We are afraid it might prevent some businesses and individuals from getting the help they need, which is what happened with the emergency commercial rent assistance. We realized that applying for it was so complicated, people just gave up.

Does my colleague think Bill C-20 would have been a good opportunity for the government to simplify the process?

[Regional Air Transportation, July 20th, 2020]

Madam Speaker, on July 1, Air Canada announced its decision to drop 30 regional routes and close eight stations at regional airports, including many in eastern Quebec. This was a devastating blow for my entire region, and especially for the Mont-Joli airport, which will lose over 30% of its revenues without the Air Canada counter.

Local players quickly joined forces to try to come up with a new model for reliable, sustainable regional air service. Various project proponents saw this news as an opportunity to transform the regional transportation model by proposing an alternative to private companies, since we are talking about providing a service, not a product. Air transportation is a service that should help revitalize a region.

The federal government must commit to supporting the Quebec initiatives rather than continue to stubbornly subsidize private airlines that abandon Quebec's regions overnight. The government needs to wake up and recognize that an air transportation model should serve the interests of the people, not the shareholders of private corporations.

[COVID-19 Pandemic and Other Matters, July 8th, 2020]

Madam Chair, when it's not Air Canada, it's Service Canada.

Non-essential businesses reopened in Quebec weeks ago, but people still do not have access to Service Canada. There was an announcement that offices in Montreal, Quebec City and Gatineau were reopening, but nothing has been said about the offices in Canada's regions.

When will the government give the regions the same services as everywhere else?

[COVID-19 Pandemic and Other Matters, July 8th, 2020]

Madam Chair, Air Canada received far more financial assistance than many businesses in my riding and in several other ridings, which always fall through the cracks during this pandemic.

Will the Minister of Transport commit to supporting Quebec initiatives by taking concrete action, such as reducing administrative delays in obtaining the authorization for new airlines and providing access to the national network instead of continuing to subsidize companies such as Air Canada which, once again, is abandoning Quebec regions?

[COVID-19 Pandemic and Other Matters, July 8th, 2020]

Madam Chair, as my colleagues keep saying, Air Canada is shamelessly abandoning the regions in Quebec, regions like mine, the Gaspé, the Lower St. Lawrence and the North Shore, regions that are struggling to recover from this crisis. Air Canada is heavily subsidized by the government. These people, who pay the same taxes as those in large centres, are entitled to the same services. People back home are resilient. They are quick to roll up their sleeves, and we are already seeing new initiatives. They need some help.

Will the government commit to funding a Quebec project that would ensure a reliable and lasting regional service and prevent us all from being stuck in the same loop where Air Canada is again given funding without being required to serve the regions?

[Proceedings of the House and Committees, May 26th, 2020]

Mr. Speaker, my colleague from Shefford talked about women and the systemic inequalities that persist to this day. Just yesterday, the Minister of Natural Resources celebrated the second anniversary of the Equal by 30 campaign, which was launched in partnership with the Government of Sweden in May 2018.

Right now, just 23% of employees and 18% of executives in the clean energy sector are women. That is less than in other sectors. I wonder if Canada would like to show some leadership. Research proves that putting women in charge of companies is good for everyone.

What should the Government of Canada do to give women a better chance, especially during a crisis? I would like my colleague to comment on that.

[Proceedings of the House and Committees, May 26th, 2020]

Mr. Speaker, in another life, my colleague was a nurse, and my colleague from Longueuil—Saint-Hubert just paid her a beautiful tribute. At least she knows what it is like for people on the front lines. She knows the needs, or what the needs were in the past, and I do not think much has changed.

She must surely agree that health is a provincial jurisdiction. I heard an NDP member earlier say that the pandemic knows no jurisdictions, but it seems to me that the federal government is the one that knows no jurisdictions, as it encroaches on Quebec's jurisdictions.

Does my colleague agree that the federal government should use this crisis as an opportunity to increase health transfers to Quebec and the provinces?

[Proceedings of the House and Committees, May 26th, 2020]

Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for his remarks. It is a very nice way of looking at things. I completely share his point of view. I think this crisis is the right time to rethink all the ways we do things, as I was saying earlier. Indeed, what was normal was not necessarily right.

We often talk about returning to normal after the crisis, but we do not want to go back there. Earlier today, I heard my colleague from Saint-Jean talk about the ice storm, and recall how quickly we forgot about it and went back to our old habits.

Our role as parliamentarians is to create something else, a different way of life from the one before. Of course, we would have preferred the pandemic not to have happened, but I think something good can come out of it, such as rethinking our way of life.

[Proceedings of the House and Committees, May 26th, 2020]

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased that my colleague is encouraging me to talk about this subject because it is another one of my passions.

It is crucial that we think about the future that we are going to leave to the next generations and even my generation. Unfortunately or fortunately, depending on how one looks at it, we are spending billions of dollars to help people in this time of crisis. By so doing, we are passing on a rather astonishing amount of debt to future generations. It is therefore time to think about our way of doing things and to come up with an economic recovery plan without forgetting about environmental measures. We have no other choice.

Shortly before leaving Parliament in March, I introduced a bill to compel the government to meet its climate change commitments. I was so looking forward to debating it, but we cannot do that in the current situation.

At some point, however, we will have to start talking about other subjects again, particularly the environment. That is absolutely essential. My colleague is working hard on a green recovery plan, and I am working with her. We are very much looking forward to debating it here in the House and to bringing forward suggestions, ideas and solutions that we will have no choice but to implement if we want to ensure a better future for generations to come.