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Criticized the bill's tax reduction as minimal, stating it's only about $20 a month.

"I wonder if the member would consider changing the federal interim health benefits that asylum seekers get when they are denied asylum in Canada but are trying to stay on by appealing that decision."

Argued that the bill includes positive provisions for combating fraudulent asylum claims.

"Bill C-12 is a step in the right direction. It will help improve the system."

“Mr. Speaker, I am sure my colleague knows what I am going to say because this has come up a number of times in the House. Currently in Quebec, roughly 200,000 asylum seekers are waiting for their case to be processed. That represents roughly 40% of the total number of asylum seekers in Canada, while…”

“Mr. Speaker, the Bloc Québécois supports Bill C-12, an act respecting certain measures relating to the security of Canada's borders and the integrity of the Canadian immigration system and respecting other related security measures , at third reading. As the critic for immigration, refugees and citi…”

“Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for his well-reasoned question. With respect to the distribution of asylum seekers, I call on this government to show leadership and ensure that a distribution plan is put in place. That has not been done. It made a timid attempt to do so in the summer of 2024, if m…”

“Madam Speaker, I want to thank my colleague for his question. I think it is important to discuss the issues plaguing the asylum seeker system. We need to recognize that the overall immigration system been broken by the Liberals. Asylum seekers now have to wait a long time for their applications to b…”

“Madam Speaker, I thank my colleague for the question. When it comes to refugees and asylum seekers, I do not think anybody in the House says that there is a problem with people coming from another country who are fleeing persecution. Some of the greatest Canadians I know fled persecution. There is s…”

“Mr. Speaker, I had a chance to put my question to one of my colleague's colleagues who spoke earlier. I did not get an answer, so I will repeat my question. As I have said several times today, a disproportionate number of asylum seekers make their claims in Quebec, which puts a lot of pressure on ou…”

“Mr. Speaker, I am going to ask the same question I asked another colleague from the same party earlier, since I did not receive an answer. The question was simple, actually. Among other things, the bill deals with border restrictions in order to address situations where asylum seekers are abusing th…”

“Madam Speaker, welcome back to the House. I listened to my colleague talk about Bill C‑2 , but there is an elephant in the room when it comes to this bill. People are reluctant to talk about it, but it is one of the reasons why we in the Bloc Québécois are inclined to be in favour of this bill. The …”

“Mr. Speaker, before I begin, I would like to acknowledge that we are gathered on the traditional unceded territory of the Algonquin Anishinabe people. I rise today to speak to how the legislative changes proposed in Bill C‑12 will continue to uphold our humanitarian tradition and due process, while …”

“Mr. Speaker, when we consider any bill, we need to ask a fundamental question: Who will this bill benefit? Will this measure that the government or the House is proposing make our programs more effective, make our services more compassionate and make our country fairer? When we look at Bill C‑12 , a…”

“Madam Speaker, I believe that Canada has obligations when it comes to taking in refugees. If there is an increase in the number of refugees around the world, it is because there is an increase in crises around the world too, caused by conflict, civil war and the climate crisis. It is not up to us to…”

“Mr. Speaker, the real problem is that asylum seekers are supposed to be people who are coming here because they fear for their safety, because they are in danger in their own country. However, we have seen that the asylum process increasingly became a completely separate immigration stream used to g…”

“Mr. Speaker, that is a good question. The most important thing we need to do as a country is to make sure that we have the best controls we can on asylum seekers so that we are not attracting people. Former prime minister Trudeau famously said that Canada was open and invited people to come to Canad…”

“Mr. Speaker, today we are debating amendments that the other place has proposed to Bill C-12 , as well as the government's response to those amendments. I would like to use this opportunity to offer a word of caution to the government regarding developments that have occurred since the immigration m…”

“Mr. Speaker, I applaud my colleague from Gaspésie—Les Îles‑de‑la‑Madeleine—Listuguj for his open-mindedness. He mentioned at the outset that there are currently 300,000 asylum claims. In light of that, it is easy to see why Bill C‑12 is so important. He rightly observed that he thought Bill C‑12 mig…”

“Mr. Speaker, the member brought up several concerns about asylum seekers. Some pretty substantial changes are being proposed in this bill in order to strengthen our asylum processing system. Is the member prepared to join Canadians in supporting a bill that would bring more integrity to the asylum s…”

“Mr. Speaker, I wonder how come the Liberals have been talking and acting like Conservatives since they came to power. Asylum seekers and refugees are human beings who are entitled to dignity, respect, and a transparent and honest process. Can my colleague assure us that Bill C-12 complies with the i…”

“Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank my colleague, whom I hold in high regard, for her remarks. She took the time to clearly explain the Kanyinda decision, a recent Supreme Court ruling. There has been debate in Quebec following this ruling as to whether Quebec will invoke the notwithstanding clause t…”

“Madam Speaker, I will just pick up on the asylum issue. If we look back at 2010-2011, we see that there was a bump in the number of asylum seekers, and the government at the time recognized the need for some change. We have gone through a pandemic; there are issues surrounding international students…”

“Mr. Speaker, bail reform legislation is on its way, and I look forward to the Conservatives' response to it. The question I have for the member is about asylum seekers. Back when Jason Kenney was the minister of immigration, the number was 60,000 and it was reduced to 10,000. They recognized the nee…”

“Mr. Speaker, there is no ban on asylum claims. There is no ban at all. While some individuals will be ineligible to claim asylum in certain specific circumstances, there are still safeguards in place to make sure legitimate claims are properly reviewed. Individuals will still have access to the pre-…”

“Mr. Speaker, I would like to acknowledge that we are gathered today on the traditional and unceded territory of the Algonquin Anishinabe people. I rise today to speak about how the legislative amendments proposed in Bill C-12 would continue to uphold our humanitarian tradition and due process while …”

“Mr. Speaker, I am well aware of the challenges facing asylum seekers. That is why we included in the legislation the one-year rule effective June 25, 2020, to make our systems comprehensive and effective. We work very well with the Province of Quebec in these situations.”

“Mr. Speaker, I am honoured to rise today to speak to Bill C-2 , a major legislative initiative to both strengthen our asylum system and secure our borders. These two objectives go hand in hand, because we need an effective and humane immigration system that protects vulnerable people, while ensuring…”

“Mr. Speaker, under certain new measures, people who have been in Canada for more than a year will no longer be able to claim asylum. Does my colleague think that the government should provide a humanitarian carve-out for vulnerable individuals or victims of persecution that occurred after their arri…”

“Mr. Speaker, we are committed to ensuring that our asylum system is efficient and flexible in the face of global crises. Let me be clear: Canada's asylum system is not a shortcut. That is why we introduced the measures: to reduce pressure on our system and protect it from a sudden rise in claims.”

“Mr. Speaker, we talked a little bit today about part 8 of the bill, which includes some of the demands that the Bloc Québécois has repeatedly made concerning asylum seekers. However, there is something missing from the bill, and I would like to know where my colleague and the Conservative Party stan…”

“Mr. Speaker, this bill will strengthen the integrity of our asylum system, and claimants will have access to the pre-removal risk assessment that will take into consideration their situation to ensure those who need refugee protection will have access to it.”

“Mr. Speaker, I find it a bit surprising that the Conservatives, while in opposition, are really concerned about constitutional issues and the charter when it comes to the government bringing in laws, because they sure were not concerned before. When the member sat around with the Harper government, …”

“Mr. Speaker, this bill would reduce taxes for people, yes. We have already heard it is probably like $20 a month, so it is not a really big deal. If this government was truly serious about saving money and saving taxpayer money, I wonder if the member would consider changing the federal interim heal…”

“Mr. Speaker, I would like to begin by acknowledging that we are gathered today on the traditional and unceded territory of the Algonquin and Anishinabe people. I am pleased to rise in the chamber to speak about the ways we can and must improve Canada's asylum system through the legislative amendment…”

“Madam Speaker, I agree with many of the observations my colleague raised about the Conservatives' negligence in matters of immigration. I am sorry, I meant to say “Liberals”. I quite agree with him regarding asylum seekers, and Quebec has taken in more than its share of asylum seekers without being …”

“Mr. Speaker, Bill C-22 , the so-called lawful access act, is being presented as a necessary modernization of investigative powers in the digital age. To be clear, there is some truth in that framing. We do need to modernize. Law enforcement and national security agencies are operating in a rapidly e…”

“Mr. Speaker, there are 300,000 asylum claimants in the system, as we know. The Liberals' interim health program is now $1 billion. Toronto has to increase rents. The Liberals broke the system. Many legal experts have suggested that the immigration provisions in the bill are unconstitutional. Some ha…”

“Mr. Speaker, it is great to be back. I want to welcome you and all our colleagues back for another session. I am pleased to have spent the summer back home in my constituency, Miramichi—Grand Lake. I spent the past few months connecting with friends, neighbours and constituents and listening to thei…”

“Mr. Speaker, as I understand it, that is what was discussed in committee, and it was determined that Bill C‑12 includes a deadline of one year, after which asylum claims cannot be made. It stands to reason that someone who fears persecution if they return to their country would be capable of submitt…”

“Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the many comments the minister has actually put on the record. I truly believe that the immigration department, with the new Prime Minister , has put a lot of emphasis on stabilizing immigration here in Canada. When I think of asylum seekers, I go back to the days when I wa…”

“Mr. Speaker, I will be sharing my time with the hon. member for Bourassa . I am pleased to rise today to talk about the strong borders act. The legislation before the House would strengthen border protection and border security and ensure integrity in the immigration system, with new authorities to …”