Parliamentary Speeches
1,397 speeches by François-Philippe Champagne — Page 12 of 28
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Madam Chair, this is probably the most important question tonight. I do not want to prejudge the rest, but honestly, once we have one Canadian economy, as I have heard economists repeating time and time again, it is going to unlock GDP growth in this country. I want to praise the Prime Minister and the premiers across this country, because they came together very recently to say we need to build t…
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Mr. Chair, the member is a very experienced member, but the number is $1.27 trillion.
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Mr. Chair, we might as well be precise. The federal debt, from “The Fiscal Monitor” for April to March—
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Mr. Chair, it is public, and I would be happy to, but there will be more questions. I am sure the member can look at the estimates, and she would know.
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Mr. Chair, the number is in the document.
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Mr. Chair, as I just said, if the member wanted to be precise with numbers, she would know that the federal debt is $1.27 trillion.
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Madam Chair, I would first like to take this opportunity to thank everyone who works at the Canada Revenue Agency, particularly those in Shawinigan, in my riding. I can tell you that each and every one of them strives to deliver the best possible service to Canadians. We are looking closely at the concerns raised by my colleague.
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Mr. Speaker, let us look at the chart. Ten years ago, the public debt charge was $24.2 billion and represented 1.2% of GDP. If we look at 2023-24, it represents 1.6%. Canada has been consistently maintaining a low level as—
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Mr. Chair, we would hope that by that time, there would be no tariffs imposed on Canada.
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Madam Chair, this is a great question. My colleague is spot-on. What I said was that we introduced a ways and means motion that was voted for unanimously in the House, which contains three things. The first thing is cutting taxes for 22 million Canadians. This is probably one of the most important things we could do to help people with affordability because we are leaving more money in the pockets…
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Madam Chair, I have had several discussions with the automotive sector in Quebec and Canada. The stakeholders know that I have always worked hand in hand with them, which has allowed us to attract record investments.
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Madam Chair, I am very proud of that. I am a proud Quebecker, and I am pleased to see that Quebeckers have chosen electric vehicles. That is why we will continue to invest in the battery industry.
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Mr. Chair, I have already answered that question a couple of times. We have collected $1.7 billion so far, and that sum of money will be used to support our workers and our industry, as we have said.
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Madam Chair, I would first like to congratulate my colleague from Mirabel on his election. He is a colleague whom I have always enjoyed working with. He is a colleague who is always there to advance the interests of Quebec and his constituents. We always enjoy working together. My colleague will know that we have made major investments in Quebec. We brought Quebec into the automotive industry when…
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Madam Chair, as I said, we are proud of what we have achieved together, and we will always be there for the auto industry, in both provinces.
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Madam Chair, in terms of apology, I think the member should apologize to all Canadians for having voted against every measure that would support Canadians. Whether it was about child care, dental care or any program that helps Canadians, the member voted against it. That is not exactly good.
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Madam Chair, for the people of Mirabel and Saint-Maurice-Champlain who are tuning in, I am going to keep this simple. People at home understand that when they go to the grocery store, they are spending money, and when they buy a house, they are investing money. People at home understand the difference in no uncertain terms. We will be extremely transparent about the accounting rules we apply.
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Madam Chair, I want to take this opportunity to thank all the public servants here with us this evening. They are doing a tremendous job. What we said was that we are going to be responsible. The Prime Minister has already spoken on this issue. We deeply appreciate the work of the public service, but at the same time, we want to make a service—
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Madam Chair, we have tried to reduce the use of consultants and focus on the ample expertise and experience available to us within the Canadian public service.
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Madam Chair, let us look at the numbers. I know he is eager to get to that. Ninety-nine percent of the content in the Department of Finance estimates is statutory spending. Only 1% is operating expenditures for the Department of Finance. That accounts for over $200 million. That is a direct transfer to Newfoundland and Labrador for the Hibernia project. I am sure my colleague is happy about gettin…
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Madam Chair, my colleague will have to wait for the budget to be tabled. I know that he is looking forward to it. It is coming in the fall. When fall arrives, he will be very happy to see a budget that will build a strong and ambitious Canada.
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Madam Chair, what I can say is that we have been there. Let us remember the major projects that we have undertaken. I would invite the member for Mirabel to come and visit Bécancour, in my riding. He will be proud to see what we have managed to build together.
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Madam Chair, this is public data that the member for Mirabel, who is very experienced in doing his own research, is free to access.
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Madam Chair, the goal is to reduce them, not increase them. We will therefore continue to work together, particularly with our colleagues in the public service, to be as efficient as possible and to provide Canadian citizens with the best possible services.
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Madam Chair, I would never claim to be an expert in British law, but I know that it is a unitary country. We recently welcomed King Charles III, who was here with us for the Speech from the Throne. I think that my colleague was very pleased to be able to listen to the Speech from the Throne.
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Madam Chair, I have the utmost respect for the member for Mirabel, but he honestly knows the answer to his question. I do not want to add anything to his knowledge. He is very familiar with the file.
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Madam Chair, I come from Shawinigan and I do not presume to try to explain to an hon. member from Mirabel things he already knows.
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Madam Chair, the member for Mirabel is very experienced. He knows very well how the carbon pricing system worked. I do not think that I can add anything to what he knows already. He knows the facts quite well.
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Madam Chair, transparency is one of the values that we all defend as Canadians. Every member of the House stands up for these values as well.
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Madam Chair, I thank the member for Mirabel. I really appreciate his question, because this is one of the issues I have discussed with various industry representatives. Like me and my colleagues on the other side, we all want to promote national, local and regional media. Yes, this issue is very important to me. I sincerely thank him for this question, because it is an issue that concerns me perso…
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Madam Chair, I do not need to confirm what is being done in the United Kingdom. It is public information.
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Madam Chair, the dealers know me well and they appreciate the work that we have done because they know that Quebec is now part of the automotive industry. We are always ready to look at what more we can do together.
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Mr. Chair, first of all, let me congratulate you on your role as the Chair this evening. As well, I thank the officials for being with us tonight. As the member should know, we had the largest countermeasures to face—
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Madam Chair, my colleague knows full well that things move quickly where tariffs are concerned. That is why I told him that we had already collected $1.7 billion. We want to be clear that our objective is to fight for an end to tariffs. Then there would be no need for retaliatory measures. My colleague understands that well. That is why we said we would reinvest everything we collect in defending …
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Mr. Chair, it is a real privilege to be with you tonight and to answer questions from the member. As he knows, we have mounted the largest number of countertariffs, probably in Canada's history, to face the unjustified and illegal tariffs that have been imposed by the United States.
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Madam Chair, the member for Mirabel knows things. What we want is to avoid having tariffs. To date, we have already collected $1.7 billion, but the end goal is to have no tariffs. That way, there will be no retaliatory measures against the tariffs imposed by the United States. We will always be there to defend industry.
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Madam Chair, I am pleased to see that my Bloc Québécois colleague has spent enough time reading the Liberal platform for it to inspire him. I encourage him to continue his reading. Clearly, what we said was that we were going to fight these tariffs, protect our industry workers and build a strong Canada.
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Madam Chair, on the contrary, I am very much in tune with the various stakeholders in the sector. I would like to point out that my colleague may be open to the idea of having a parliamentary committee look into this issue and advise us. I am very interested in his question. I will continue to talk to the industry. We will work hand in hand.
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Madam Chair, I was reaching out to the Bloc Québécois. What more can they ask of someone than to reach out to them to move forward on taxation in this country?
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Madam Chair, it is common knowledge that we have retaliatory measures in place against the tariffs imposed by the United States targeting $95 billion worth of imported goods. I know my colleague, in his heart, wants to support us in fighting against these U.S. tariffs so we can protect our industries and, at the same time, build a strong Canada together.
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Madam Chair, as I have already said, we want to do more with regional and local media. It is a concern, as I said. The member should be happy. I am answering his question by going to the heart of it. I am saying that I am concerned about this issue. I have talked to people in the industry. It is a cordial question. I am even reaching out to the member so that he can make suggestions to the Standin…
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Madam Chair, one thing every member in the House should be careful about is being authentic. When members vote against measures that help the people they represent, they cannot stand in the House and moralize to other members. The member has voted against measures to help Canadians, and he knows that very well.
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Madam Chair, I am sure people watching at home tonight are wondering, “What is the member going to tell the people who are using the food bank about why he voted against programs that would help them?” That is really the question people watching at home are asking tonight.
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Madam Chair, I do not wish to offend the journalist, but unfortunately I have not had a chance to read that article. However, I am sure that my colleague is about to tell me what it said.
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Mr. Chair, in this House, what we all want is to have no tariffs on Canadian industry or workers, because this is affecting our economy. It is affecting communities across the country—
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Madam Chair, would the member apologize to the children of Canada, including the children in his riding, for voting against a food program for children? When we make an allegation in this House, we have to be careful of the answer. He voted against a program to help children.
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Madam Chair, my colleague will be pleased to see that in the main estimates for Finance Canada, 99% of the funds requested are for statutory programs. Only 1% of it is for the operation of Finance Canada.
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Mr. Chair, it is a pleasure to answer that question. The member will know, as we have been public about this, that we have collected $1.7 billion so far in countertariffs in Canada—
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Madam Chair, the member should take comfort that the first measure passed by this government in this House was a tax cut for the middle class. I know this is good for her because she is going to be able to go to her riding and say she voted in favour of a great Liberal proposal to reduce taxes for 22 million Canadians.
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