Parliamentary Speeches
1,397 speeches by François-Philippe Champagne — Page 11 of 28
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Mr. Chair, I know he is anxious. It is going to come in the fall, and it is going to be great. We just have to be a bit patient, but it is going to be great. He is going to like it. I see it in his face.
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Mr. Chair, again, in May, the unemployment rate in Canada was 7%. That is a public figure.
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Mr. Chair, the unemployment number always comes back, looking retrospectively. The number, as of May 2025, is 7%.
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Mr. Chair, we want to build a resilient economy, so by building a resilient economy, obviously we would expect that the unemployment number would remain steady, because we want to build a very sustainable—
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Mr. Chair, he asked me this all evening. I am an old guy, and I will answer the same thing: Seven is seven.
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Mr. Chair, what I said to this House and to all Canadians is that the unemployment rate in May was 7%, and the member is well aware of that. With respect to projection, I will let him guess what he thinks, but what I can say on this side of the House is that 7% was the number in May 2025.
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Mr. Chair, we said we would be presenting a great budget, and I know the member will have—
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Mr. Chair, we have been very clear to Canadians that we would balance the operating budget of this government within three years. I know the member is looking forward to the budget. It is going to be great. I know he is so anxious, but he will just have to wait a bit—
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Mr. Chair, it is Finance 101: The member can look at “The Fiscal Monitor” and the estimates. It is a great read. I would suggest it to the member.
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Mr. Chair, I know the member knows that a lot of the expenses incurred are to support transfers made to provinces to—
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Mr. Chair, the member would know that a good part of the federal budget is transferred to provinces to support great programs that help people in her riding—
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Mr. Chair, the member will be very happy tonight, because she will learn that Canada has the lowest debt-to-GDP ratio in the G7. It is a great position to be in, and we will—
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Mr. Chair, the answer is that Canada has an AAA credit rating. It is a great position to be in.
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Mr. Chair, I am impressed that the member has been listening to the Liberal campaign, and she can draw her own conclusions.
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Mr. Chair, we have been very clear during the campaign that we will lay that out very simply. However, I can say that, when a person buys groceries, they spend, and when they buy a house, they invest.
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Mr. Chair, Canadians watching at home tonight, and I know there are many, want to understand the difference between expenses and investments. If a person buys groceries, they spend, and if they buy a house, they invest.
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Mr. Chair, I will come back to an example that folks will be very familiar with. They know that, when they do their groceries, they spend, and when they buy a house, they invest—
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Mr. Chair, as I said, when we lay out the budget, it is going to be very clear what are expenses and what is capital, and I know the member—
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Mr. Chair, the member will be pleased to know that the United Kingdom also divides between operating expenses and capital. She would know that other G7 countries are doing that.
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Mr. Chair, I know that the bond market cares a lot about the AAA credit rating, which is what Canada has to offer. I can tell the member that the markets are very appreciative of Canada.
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Mr. Chair, it is public, but as of the projection for 2024-25, it was 41.9%.
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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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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, my colleague raised a very important question. The Prime Minister has been clear from day one that we are going to fight. We are going to fight the unjustified and illegal tariffs that have been imposed on Canada, on our communities, on our workers and on our industries. At the same time, we are going to protect our workers and our industries, because we said we will have their back; …
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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, we all remember the years when we had a government that was spending but at the same time did not necessarily have the back of Canadians. We understand that, in times like this, what we want to do is be there to support Canadians with programs. I can think, for example, of the dental care program. I can think of the programs we have put in place with respect to social security. I can …
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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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Madam Chair, very briefly, it would be great. What can I say? It would be great for Canadians, and even the Conservatives are smiling tonight. What more can we ask for?
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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, 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, 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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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, 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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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, it is common knowledge that the United Kingdom is a unitary state.
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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, 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 do not need to confirm what is being done in the United Kingdom. It is public information.
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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, 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, 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, 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, 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 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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