Intergovernmental Relations  Mr. Speaker, I understand that there was less time to prepare, but yesterday, the Conservatives, Liberals and even the NDP—I say “even” because it kind of goes together—voted against an amendment from the Bloc Québécois that said that the budget was okay, because we are not bad sports, but that the jurisdictions of Quebec and the provinces need to be respected.

The Budget  Mr. Speaker, I would like to congratulate you on showing some common sense. If the Chair wants more questions, we are ready to ask plenty of them. It is clear that from firearms buy-back programs to the Phoenix pay system, issuing visas, McKinsey and GC Strategies, the government's management is very chaotic.

Intergovernmental Relations  Mr. Speaker, we will talk about “hand in hand with the provinces” in a bit. In the meantime, after some Pinocchio-like nonsense, the Conservatives are now voting with the Liberals. They are both obsessed with encroaching on provincial jurisdictions. Despite a request from all premiers—so much for “hand in hand”—the Liberals and Conservatives are voting against a motion on respecting Quebec's jurisdictions.

Guy Rocher  Mr. Speaker, next Saturday is Guy Rocher's 100th birthday. Guy Rocher is one of the great intellectuals of the Quiet Revolution and, because of his own personal journey, an icon of secularism in Quebec. His century of wisdom is worth celebrating. He is one of the little-known fathers of our education system, having played a key role in the mystical Parent commission and in the creation of the largest university in Quebec and Canada, the Université du Québec network and the extraordinary CEGEP system, which is unique to Quebec.

Intergovernmental Relations  Mr. Speaker, if you have 10 minutes, I would ask you to explain to the Prime Minister what purpose the opposition serves in Parliament, especially since it comes so naturally to a Quebecker. The Prime Minister is interfering in all of Quebec's jurisdictions, and yet the Liberals think it is outrageous for Quebec to want to use a tiny piece of the Constitution, the notwithstanding clause, to protect its own jurisdictions.

The Budget  Mr. Speaker, I refuse to believe that the Prime Minister is working hand in hand with Quebec. On the contrary, I believe he has his hand in Quebeckers' pockets. He is blatantly abusing the fiscal imbalance. He is blatantly abusing his spending power. Furthermore, he is racking up an appalling deficit that Quebeckers will be paying off for a long time to come simply to save his government's skin, and his own skin, in the next election.

The Budget  Mr. Speaker, with his budget, the Prime Minister is recognizing that the issues that are really important to Canadians fall under the jurisdiction of Quebec and the provinces. Therefore, he is shamelessly using the fiscal imbalance, thanks to which he has a lot more money than he should, while Quebec and the provinces have less.

The Budget  Mr. Speaker, Ottawa is working so hand in hand with the Quebec government that the Conservatives are recruiting from the CAQ. Will the Prime Minister admit that, by failing to meet his obligations, he is responsible for a $6-billion deficit in Quebec City, that he is responsible for making Quebeckers shoulder $8 billion out of his $40-billion deficit, and that he has just put Quebeckers $14 billion in debt in one year?

Intergovernmental Relations  Mr. Speaker, child care falls under the jurisdiction of Quebec and the provinces. Dental insurance, if applicable, would be a jurisdiction of Quebec or the provinces. The same goes for pharmacare, municipal infrastructure and housing. The Prime Minister is obsessed with the areas of jurisdiction of Quebec and the provinces.

Intergovernmental Relations  Mr. Speaker, I am not convinced that the Quebec government is saying the same thing as the Prime Minister. I myself am very proud to be a Quebecker. I am so proud, in fact, that I have confidence in Quebec. I believe it should be a country. I am not sure whether the Prime Minister has the same level of confidence.

The Member for Bécancour—Nicolet—Saurel  Mr. Speaker, we could, very carefully, despite his sense of humour, touch a little on the member's age. Now, we are mainly talking about the length of his reign as MP for this wonderful constituency. In theory, we should be talking about wisdom. We should be talking about the great wisdom of the member for Bécancour—Nicolet—Saurel, but no.

The Member for Bécancour—Nicolet—Saurel  Mr. Speaker, there have been discussions among the parties and if you seek it, I believe you will find unanimous consent to adopt the following motion: That the House: (a) recognize that the member for Bécancour—Nicolet—Saurel became, on April 3, 2024, the longest-serving and undefeated elected representative in the history of the Canadian Parliament on his 14,457th day in office, for a total of 39 years, 6 months and 29 days; (b) salute the dedication that he must have shown to the constituents of Bécancour—Nicolet—Saurel in order to be worthy of their trust since 1984 in twelve federal elections; (c) thank the member for Bécancour—Nicolet—Saurel, the dean of the House, for his record-setting length of public service over four historic decades devoted to standing up for the people of Quebec; and (d) pay tribute to the member for Bécancour—Nicolet—Saurel immediately following the adoption of this order to allow members to make brief statements, in the following order: a member of the Bloc Québécois, followed by a member of each recognized party, a member of the Green Party, and the member for Bécancour—Nicolet—Saurel.

Intergovernmental Affairs  Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister interferes with Quebec's jurisdictions like a ship's captain collects life rafts. Ottawa has no department or expertise in health, education, child care or municipal affairs. People here in Ottawa seem to forget that. However, the Prime Minister has our money because of the fiscal imbalance.

Intergovernmental Affairs  Mr. Speaker, when my car breaks down, I do not give my money to the dentist. The people in Ottawa do not understand that. They have to create all sorts of expertise in areas of jurisdiction that are not theirs. Does the Prime Minister realize that if he interferes in Quebec's jurisdictions, it is going to take longer, be more expensive and it will not improve anything?

Intergovernmental Affairs  Mr. Speaker, seated in the middle of a hundred or so Liberal members who are at risk of losing their jobs, the Prime Minister continues to interfere in provincial affairs. He boasts about pharmacare, which already exists, and talks about seniors, when he has refused to increase old age security.