Thank you, Madam Chair.
Good afternoon, Minister. Welcome to the committee and congratulations on your appointment.
You already know what my first question's going to be, since it's been asked a million times.
During the election campaign, your party bought votes by reimbursing citizens of seven provinces for a carbon tax they had not paid. However, Quebeckers, who essentially paid that tax, didn't get a cheque. We're talking about $814 million that was stolen from Quebeckers.
I won't ask you your opinion on the matter, since it has been scientifically proven. The Parliamentary Budget Officer has confirmed this, and so did your officials. When he came before the committee, the Minister of Finance did not deny it. He suggested that using the consolidated revenue fund—in other words, the government's bank account—to reimburse people for a carbon tax they did not pay as a way to buy votes wasn't a big deal, since the federal government had used that same fund to pay for the new Champlain Bridge in Quebec.
Do you agree that it's okay to buy votes because the Champlain Bridge was built using federal funds?