Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Good afternoon, Madam Minister. I am delighted to see you here with our committee.
I'd like to begin with a few comments. I am very pleased that Bill C-14 is under study in committee today. Unless I'm mistaken, it's the first economic bill to be debated by the Standing Committee on Finance since the last election. We understand that it's urgent to act in a pandemic, but we've also found that it's beneficial to everyone for bills to be studied in committee, and that doing so enables Parliament, as the legislator, to perform its role effectively.
Bill C-14 implements a number of measures that were announced in the 2020 fall economic statement, which created great expectations for the next budget. Among other things, you mentioned a recovery plan of between $70 billion and $100 billion.
Madam Minister, I was really expecting this budget to be tabled in the final week of March during which we will be sitting. According to the media, this isn't going to happen.
Can you confirm that your budget will not be tabled in March?