Mr. Speaker, I was listening to the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance answer my colleague from Repentigny earlier. She spoke about all the good things in her budget, things we could not in good conscience vote against.
It is nice to see what is in the budget, but it is even more important to see what is not in the budget. There is nothing for the housing crisis and nothing for seniors between the ages of 65 and 74, who for years have been demanding that they also be eligible for the increase in old age security benefits.
The cultural industry has been sounding the alarm for years, especially during the pandemic. We even did a study in committee to recommend that the government maintain financial assistance to the cultural sector, because it will be more difficult for the cultural industries in Quebec and Canada to recover. We are seeing it now with our smaller festivals, which are having a hard time. There were clear and precise requests, but they were not addressed in this budget.
As a result, we will be voting against the budget. We will not vote against it because of the measures it contains, but because of the measures it does not contain, which are just as important as what the Deputy Prime Minister is boasting about today.