Alain Therrien

[International Trade, November 7th, 2024]

Mr. Speaker, the thing farmers were afraid of happened in the Senate.

Senator Peter Harder introduced an amendment to Bill C‑282 that prevents it from protecting supply management. Mr. Harder's amendment invalidates the bill as far as future renegotiations of existing agreements are concerned. In other words, the Senate is giving Donald Trump carte blanche to attack supply management during the next round of CUSMA talks in 2026.

Peter Harder and Peter Boehm are not working for farmers; they are working for Donald Trump.

Will the leader of the government ask senators to defeat this toxic amendment?

[International Trade, November 4th, 2024]

Mr. Speaker, we know that the next president of the United States can reopen CUSMA as early as 2026. On the one hand, we have Trump, who wants to eliminate our supply management system altogether. On the other, we have Kamala Harris, whose running mate is the Governor of Wisconsin, a state that will benefit hugely if our supply management system is weakened. Caught in the middle are Quebec farmers, who are appalled that the will of the elected members of the House of Commons is being thwarted by two unelected senators. That is undemocratic. It is shocking and it is dangerous.

Will the Prime Minister finally ask Peter Boehm and Peter Harder to pass Bill C-282?

[International Trade, November 4th, 2024]

Mr. Speaker, on the eve of the American election, we must stop Senators Peter Boehm and Peter Harder from blocking Bill C-282. They want to prevent us from protecting supply management in free trade agreements, when we know that the U.S. can reopen CUSMA, the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement, as early as 2026. The fact that these two senators are blocking this bill is not just undemocratic and harmful, it is also dangerous. It is dangerous because it is jeopardizing 6,000 businesses and 100,000 jobs in Quebec.

Will the Prime Minister finally ask them to stop threatening Quebec farmers?

[Seniors, October 30th, 2024]

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister could have helped one million Quebec retirees by working with the Bloc Québécois. Instead, he abandoned them to get back together with the NDP, the party that had kicked him out and changed the locks. He went crawling back to a party so out of touch with Quebec that its lone Quebec MP is desperately looking for an out with the City of Montreal. I feel sorry for Montrealers. The Prime Minister could have chosen one million Quebeckers. Instead, he chose 25 MPs, 96% of whom are from outside Quebec.

Does he understand that we do not need a secret ballot to know that no one in Quebec trusts him anymore?

[Seniors, October 30th, 2024]

Mr. Speaker, here is how to lose at politics.

Fully 80% of the population is asking the Prime Minister to increase old age security for seniors aged 65 to 74. Every party voted in favour of it, even his own. Thanks to the Bloc Québécois, the Prime Minister had a unique opportunity to make things fair for seniors, make 80% of people happy and stay in power. He could have killed three birds with one stone. Instead, he chose to abandon seniors, say no to 80% of the population and risk an election. That is zero out of three.

Now does he understand why nobody wants him around anymore?

[Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship, October 28th, 2024]

Mr. Speaker, if people are afraid of being deported by Trump, they might want to leave the United States. Many may consider heading north rather than south. Let us not forget that the last time Trump threatened to deport lots of people, it triggered the problems at Roxham Road, the consequences of which are still being felt seven years later.

Governing means looking ahead. It is not enough to answer “yes”. Eight days away from the election, without presuming to know its outcome, can the government assure us that it has a plan to deal with a massive influx of asylum seekers, rather than simply replying “yes”?

[Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship, October 28th, 2024]

Mr. Speaker, everyone in Quebec is worried about our ability to keep taking in so many asylum seekers. Refugee applications are likely to increase because the U.S. is going to the ballot box in eight days. Candidate Trump is promising that, on his first day in office, he will launch the largest deportation program in the country's history. He said that again yesterday, in New York. He said he would deport up to 18 million people.

Many Americans are worried. The federal government should be worried, too. Does it have a plan in case migration from the U.S. to our shores skyrockets?

[Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship, October 24th, 2024]

Mr. Speaker, not only is the federal government finally agreeing with us on integration capacity, but it is also recognizing the Bloc Québécois's demand for successful immigration. I will quote a report on immigration that says, “successful immigration requires that housing, education, healthcare, childcare services and other key services keep pace with projected population growth”.

The Liberals finally seem to get it. Quebeckers have been saying this for years, but it was not until the Liberals heard if from Canadians that they finally listened. Why did the Liberals not listen to Quebeckers before, instead of lecturing us?

[Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship, October 24th, 2024]

Mr. Speaker, for years now, the Bloc Québécois has been the lone voice in Ottawa pointing out that federal immigration targets were steering us right into a wall. For years, the government has been lecturing us, saying that there is no such thing as integration capacity and that to claim otherwise amounts to immigrant-bashing, that Quebec has not exhausted its integration capacity, it is just not willing to accept immigrants.

Today, the government has finally done a spectacular about-face and dropped its immigration targets. Why did it wait until all of Canada was in a full-blown crisis before finally listening to Quebeckers?

[International Trade, October 21st, 2024]

Mr. Speaker, guess who has not yet said a word about Bill C‑282, which is being blocked by two senators? I am talking about the Prime Minister himself.

He has never asked Peter Boehm or Peter Harder to do their job. He has not said a word. He is too busy pulling all the knives out of his back. Not only is he the one who appointed those two senators, but one of them is even a friend, specifically, Peter Harder, whom he often calls for advice.

Could he pick up the phone now, call his buddy Peter and tell him to do his job?