Business of Supply  Madam Speaker, on Monday, we celebrated National Patriots Day. Our patriots fought and were sometimes exiled or even hanged for defending Quebeckers' right to manage their own affairs. In 1838, following the patriots' rebellion, Quebec lay in ruins. As the fires of British repression raged, one thought prevailed: How do we rid ourselves of these darn francophones who refuse to bow down to Queen Victoria and the interests of the British businessmen who dominate the colony?

Budget Implementation Act, 2024, No. 1  Mr. Speaker, the road to hell is paved with good intentions. I would like to answer those two questions, which are ultimately one and the same. Quite simply, these are encroachments on Quebec's areas of jurisdiction. As I said at the outset, since its inception, the Bloc Québécois has opposed encroachments on Quebec's areas of jurisdiction.

Budget Implementation Act, 2024, No. 1  Mr. Speaker, I could not agree more. That is why several jurisdictions already have laws on the books requiring a plan to return to a balanced budget, precisely to prevent situations where debt accumulates to the point of hurting the people who need it most. As my colleague rightly pointed out, a return to a balanced budget is essential.

Budget Implementation Act, 2024, No. 1  Mr. Speaker, it seems we are witnessing an NDP-Liberal coalition meeting here in the House. Basically, the government just keeps spending. Is it spending more? Not really, it is mostly just wasting more. Over the past few months, we have seen examples of the government spending too much and spending poorly.

Budget Implementation Act, 2024, No. 1  Mr. Speaker, I never thought I would rise in the House one day to say that the Prime Minister and I finally agree on a constitutional issue. A careful reading of this budget makes it clear that the Prime Minister and the Liberal Party are no longer federalists. Like the Bloc Québécois, they now oppose the idea of dividing responsibilities between the jurisdictions of Quebec and the provinces and those of the House of Commons.

Small Business  Mr. Speaker, a growing number of small and medium-sized businesses, or SMEs, are warning us that the federal government is behaving like a predator when it comes to emergency business account loans. They tell us that they paid off their entire loan to the federal government, but after being just a few days late, sometimes for reasons beyond their control, the federal government is still cutting their $20,000 grant portion.

Small Business  Mr. Speaker, the government is supposed to support struggling businesses, not kick them when they are down. This is a very unfortunate situation that perfectly illustrates the federal government's program management. Once again, when people want to talk to the federal government, there is no one human on the other end of the line.

Questions Passed as Orders for Returns  With regard to the awarding of non-competitive contracts, broken down by department, agency or body and by year, from 2006 to present: for each contract, what is the (i) total amount awarded, (ii) reason, if any, for awarding the contract, (iii) name of the organization that received the contract?

House of Commons  Mr. Speaker, does he agree that any public servants that did not follow internal procedures should lose their jobs and that if this is a widespread problem within the CBSA, then that agency should be put under third-party management?

House of Commons  Mr. Speaker, to summarize, Mr. Firth never paid for a coffee, never paid for a restaurant meal, never paid for a golf tournament and never paid for a whisky tasting, despite all the testimony we heard?

House of Commons  Mr. Speaker, here is a good example of a contradiction. We went from zero to yes, there were coffees, restaurant meals, golf tournaments, whisky tastings and on and on, with dozens of federal public servants. I will repeat the same question. How much, in money or in kind, was given to the federal public servants?

House of Commons  Mr. Speaker, why do that if not to obtain federal government contracts?

House of Commons  Mr. Speaker, had he previously identified those with whom he was having coffee and tasting whiskey as people who could grant him contracts, or were they simply people he met on the street?

House of Commons  Mr. Speaker, that is clearly providing a service paid in kind to obtain a contract. It is the very definition of it. Let us go on to the next question. Mr. Firth justified his rate of $2,600 per hour by saying that he did not just work 9 to 5. Does he think that Canadians and Quebeckers got their money's worth with the $2,600 per hour they paid for Mr.

House of Commons  Mr. Speaker, Mr. Firth and Mr. Anthony met at Veritaaq, which was accused of colluding on contracts in 2009 while Mr. Firth was working there. The judge who looked into the matter had ordered that all employees receive anti-collusion training. Did Mr. Firth learn anything from that training?