Alain Therrien

[Democratic Institutions, June 17th, 2024]

Mr. Speaker, we are back to square one in the foreign interference saga. One leader is telling us that everything is fine and dandy. Another leader is telling us that things could not be worse and that the house is on fire. Both ask for our blind trust in their judgment.

Their public statements prove, however, that when judgment was being handed out, there were at least two people in this room who were at the end of the line. The whole thing was pointless. Now there is a risk that doubt will be cast on the Hogue commission if the justice does not arrive at the same findings as our two chatterboxes. Is it asking too much to allow justice to run its course?

[Finance, June 13th, 2024]

Mr. Speaker, what is truly despicable is that this additional $3.5 million for medals bearing the image of Charles III is part of the same estimates as the funding that has finally been released for clean drinking water for indigenous communities, which could have used the extra money. That is pathetic.

Frankly, considering that Quebeckers and even most Canadians want nothing more to do with the monarchy, there are a lot of people who think that this money would have been better used in indigenous communities.

Seriously, will the government withdraw that money from the estimates while there is still time?

[Finance, June 13th, 2024]

Mr. Speaker, in the supplementary estimates, this government wants to allocate $3.5 million for medals to mark the transition of the Crown in Canada to Charles III.

There was already $22 million budgeted for that. That is $22 million too many, but that was not enough for the Governor General. She wanted an extra 15% and this government said yes.

The Liberals have one last chance to wake up before the vote later on. Will they remove this budget item and avoid wasting millions of dollars on monarchist trinkets?

[Taxation, June 12th, 2024]

Mr. Speaker, it is simple. We say yes to raising taxes on the gains of the ultrawealthy, but no to raising taxes on the savings of self-employed workers without retirement funds who have invested everything in a triplex.

These people have nothing to do with the real estate bubble. They have nothing to do with the problems that first-time homebuyers are experiencing.

The Liberals have a choice to make. They can work intelligently with us, or they can harm Quebeckers who are not ultrawealthy to score political points against the Conservatives.

Will they make the right choice?

[Taxation, June 12th, 2024]

Mr. Speaker, it is simple. We say yes to raising taxes on the gains of the ultrawealthy, but no to raising taxes on the savings of self-employed workers without retirement funds who have invested everything in a triplex.

These people have nothing to do with the real estate bubble. They have nothing to do with the problems that first-time homebuyers—

[Taxation, June 12th, 2024]

Mr. Speaker, the road to hell is paved with good intentions. The Liberals want to tax the wealthy's capital gains, but their simplistic definition of who is wealthy includes Quebeckers who are small investors or individual entrepreneurs.

The Bloc Québécois will propose amendments to correct the situation, such as offering these ordinary property owners, who are not real estate speculators, access to a higher one-time lifetime exemption instead of the annual exemption of $250,000.

Is the government committed to working with us to avoid overtaxing the assets of Quebeckers who are not ultrarich?

[Democratic Institutions, June 10th, 2024]

Mr. Speaker, last week, during question period, when I asked what the government was going to do to ensure that no one in the House is working for a foreign power, the Deputy Prime Minister responded by talking about the interest rates.

The Bloc Québécois cares about this issue and is concerned about this threat to democracy, and here she comes out with her useless spin. That speaks volumes about the Liberals' lack of seriousness. They are not taking this seriously. The threat is very serious.

Will the government offer its full collaboration to the Hogue commission once its terms of reference have been expanded?

Democracy depends on it.

[Democratic Institutions, June 10th, 2024]

Mr. Speaker, today we are debating a Bloc Québécois motion seeking to expand the Hogue commission's terms of reference to allow it to also investigate members of the House of Commons working on behalf of foreign interests.

Why did we move this motion? Is it because the Liberals consistently lack leadership on the interference file. They are always playing catch-up and, frankly, they should be embarrassed that the Bloc Québécois has had to take this initiative again today. They are the government in power.

Why do they always have to get backed into a corner before taking action on foreign interference?

[Democratic Institutions, June 6th, 2024]

Mr. Speaker, now is the time for action.

While public concerns are growing, what has been done here in Ottawa since the report was released? What has the government put in place or announced to address the fact that some members here in the House are collaborating with foreign powers?

Nothing at all has been done. It is still in the starting blocks.

When we point out that our democracy is under threat, the response we get is about interest rates and the Bank of Canada. What a joke.

Does the government take democracy seriously?

[Democratic Institutions, June 6th, 2024]

Mr. Speaker, the National Security and Intelligence Committee of Parliamentarians has issued a warning that some MPs here in the House are under foreign influence. This is extremely serious.

When we asked the Deputy Prime Minister about the matter yesterday, she flatly refused to address it. She did not want to talk about it. It held no interest for her. She acted the same way when the NDP asked questions on the same topic. Our democracy is under attack, but the Deputy Prime Minister could not care less.

If an elected official promotes foreign interests to the detriment of his or her country's interests, that elected official should be shown the door. This is serious.

What is the government going to do to make sure that happens?