Pascale St-Onge

[News Media Industry, February 8th, 2024]

Mr. Speaker, it is a really tough day for 4,800 people across Canada who found out this morning in the news that they are facing layoffs. It is really terrible for them and their families. They have my full support and solidarity.

Now, my colleague knows very well that the CRTC gave $40 million a year in relief to Bell Canada so that it could continue to produce its newscasts.

Bell Canada is still making billions of dollars in profit this year. It is up to them to fulfill their commitment to continue to provide news to the entire population. We will not give more taxpayer money to a billionaire corporation.

[Public Safety, February 8th, 2024]

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to see that the Conservatives are concerned about the issue of violence, and especially about women's safety.

Our government has taken significant steps, such as strengthening laws that restrict firearms in Canada. It has also introduced measures to prevent violence against women in domestic situations. Unfortunately, as we saw, the Conservatives opposed these measures to protect women and to restrict the use of firearms.

We are waiting to hear all the wonderful solutions they will propose to help us protect women across the country.

[Canadian Heritage, February 1st, 2024]

Mr. Speaker, my colleague is absolutely right. Quebeckers and Canadians are deeply attached to our culture. We like watching our films and television shows because we are so proud of who we are and of our stories.

That is why I was so pleased to announce yesterday that we are boosting Telefilm Canada's budget by $50 million so it can keep producing quality content here in Canada.

We know the Conservatives will make cuts to culture and our public broadcaster, just as they did under the Harper government. Here on this side of the House, we will continue to support the industry because it provides 180,000 jobs and it is very important.

[CBC/Radio-Canada, February 1st, 2024]

Mr. Speaker, we are going to continue to work to make sure that we have news media, whether that is private media, our public broadcaster or community media, which play an essential role in every community in Canada.

We have been there by increasing the payroll tax credit for newsrooms. We are currently looking at all the other measures we can take to better support the sector because we know it is essential to have quality information, particularly in order to fight misinformation and propaganda.

We are still convinced that this is the right thing to do, and we are going to be there for our media.

[CBC/Radio-Canada, February 1st, 2024]

Mr. Speaker, I think the president of CBC/Radio-Canada made it clear that the announcements she made took into account the public broadcaster's current financial situation.

We know how important Radio-Canada is to Quebec. That is why we are currently assessing how we can better support CBC/Radio-Canada and ensure its survival not just for this fiscal year, but for the long term. Obviously, my goal is to protect jobs at both Radio-Canada and CBC.

[CBC/Radio-Canada, December 12th, 2023]

Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for his question, because it gives me an opportunity to remind everyone in the House, as well as all Quebeckers, that the last time the Conservative Party was in power, it made cuts to CBC/Radio-Canada that jeopardized the public broadcaster's future. Still today, the Conservatives want to destroy the CBC, even though they are saying that they will protect Radio-Canada, as if that were doable.

All the Conservatives want is to no longer have a public broadcaster and to undermine Canadian democracy. That is shameful. Once again, we are seeing their true colours.

[News Media Industry, December 12th, 2023]

Mr. Speaker, I must begin by congratulating and thanking my colleague from the Bloc Québécois for being an advocate for newsrooms, for democracy and for journalism, which the Conservatives, unfortunately, try to destroy every chance they get.

As my colleague knows, we have modernized the Broadcasting Act, giving the CRTC the authority to lighten the regulatory burden on our broadcasters, which are indeed struggling right now. The CRTC will also be able to decide whether to create a new fund to support the news across Canada.

We will continue to work with the entire sector to deal with the media crisis.

[CBC/Radio-Canada, December 12th, 2023]

Mr. Speaker, the term of CBC/Radio-Canada's CEO ends at the beginning of 2025. Starting in early 2024, I will be striking a committee to search for the best candidates in the country to lead this organization, which is absolutely essential to Canadian democracy.

On this side of the House, we believe in a strong public broadcaster that provides services to Canadians from east to west, in French, English and eight indigenous languages. We will continue to defend our public broadcaster.

[Supplementary Estimates (B), 2023-24, December 8th, 2023]

moved:

That Vote 20b, in the amount of $359,344,340, under Treasury Board Secretariat — Public Service Insurance, in the Supplementary Estimates (B) for the fiscal year ending March 31, 2024, be concurred in.

[Supplementary Estimates (B), 2023-24, December 8th, 2023]

moved:

That Vote 15b, in the amount of $2,090,072,958, under Treasury Board Secretariat — Compensation Adjustments, in the Supplementary Estimates (B) for the fiscal year ending March 31, 2024, be concurred in.