Thanks very much, Chair.
Thanks to all of you for being here today. I won't have time to ask all of you questions, but I appreciate all the testimony. I've taken note of all of your input, so thank you for that.
We've been travelling to hear and listen to input from folks as to how we can solve the problems that people are facing in their various communities. Unfortunately, I've found myself spending a fair bit of my five-minute questioning time dispelling myths that have been put out there by the Conservative members on some things. We're entitled to our differences of opinion. I have differences of opinions with Gabriel and with Peter, but we are not entitled to our own set of facts. Unfortunately, there were some facts put out that aren't true, and I'd hate for the folks here and the good folks in B.C. to get the wrong idea, so here are just a few facts.
Economic growth in Canada is among the strongest in the G7, and it has been for the past several years. Post-COVID, Canada's economy recovered more quickly than any of our G7 counterparts. Inflation in Canada is too high. My constituents struggle with it every day, but it is the lowest, or second-lowest, in the G7, and has been for the past several years. Canada's debt-to-GDP is the lowest in the G7. Canada's deficit-to-GDP is the lowest in the G7.
The pause that was put on the carbon tax was Canada-wide, counter to those who would say it was just for Atlantic Canada. It was Canada-wide for home heating oil. The reason it was done specifically for home heating oil was that it is the most expensive form of heating and it is the most polluting form of heating. We were finding that people weren't transitioning away from home heating oil because it was so expensive to make that transition, and a lot of the folks who were using home heating oil already didn't have the finances to make that transition.
The three-year pause—it's not an elimination; it's a pause—is for people across Canada, and we increased the rural rebate across Canada.
I wanted to put those facts out there to counter some of the things that have been said. I'd rather be spending this time listening to you than talking, but when I hear misinformation put on the committee record, if it goes unchallenged, it can become a common belief. That is dangerous, because people's decision-making and how people advocate with the government depends on the facts they have before them. When the facts are inaccurate, it's dangerous, so I had to say that.
I want to spend some time with Madame Enayeh and Madame Boutiyeb.
Ladies, thank you for being here. You've talked a bit about the services offered in Ontario, here, in British Columbia and elsewhere in the country.
What is the role of the federal and provincial governments in providing financial support to the organizations you represent?