Mr. Speaker, I am very pleased to take the floor today following the Leader of the Opposition's motion on the budget that will be tabled tomorrow.
As is the case every year, the finance minister of some government or parliament or other stages what is called a photo-op in the business, meaning a photo session on the broad strokes of the finance minister's enthusiasm. All finance ministers of every party have participated in this kind of PR exercise. Of course, this is an opportunity for the minister to show off his new shoes, as British tradition dictates.
Yesterday, what caught my attention is that the Minister of Finance was in Toronto, which is a good thing, but he had children with him. What a nice way for him to show how kind and sensitive he is to children!
However, knowing full well that our children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren will have to foot the bill for the finance minister's poor fiscal mismanagement, the photo of him surrounded by children truly captures the harsh reality of this government's mismanagement.
We will have an opportunity a bit later to take a look at the Liberal government's record over the past 16 months, since the Liberals have already been in power for 16 months.
First of all, let us recall the facts. What was the state of Canada's finances at the time of the 2015 election? There was a surplus of $2.9 billion, as confirmed by the parliamentary budget officer last October 24 at the Standing Committee on Finance.
We left a clean house, with a surplus. Yes, “surplus”. This word existed under our government. It was not a deficit but a surplus, and our government had to address the worst economical crisis in the world since 1929. However, thanks to the Right Hon. Stephen Harper and those members of Parliament who supported him hard and strong, like the late Hon. Jim Flaherty, we came back as strong as possible. We came back as Canadians can come back. This was the signature of the Conservative government in the last 10 years. We left a clean house, and we were the first country in the G7 to get back on track. We were faster and better, which was Canada under the Conservative government.
Actually, we left the house in order with budget surpluses and the lowest tax rate that Canada has had in the last 50 years. All in all, Canadians had more money in their pockets at the end of the Conservative administration than in the previous 50 years. That, too, was signature Conservative.
We also had the best debt-to-GDP ratio in the G7, the most valuable legacy a government can bequeath to its constituents, and especially to the following government. Indeed, this debt-to-GDP ratio gives it the wiggle room it needs. Still, you need to know how to use it intelligently, contrary to what the Liberals have done.
Let us now remember the circumstances in which the Liberals were elected.
It was very surprising to see the successor to Paul Martin table a platform, which included a deficit. Paul Martin did a credible job as the minister of finance in the good old days of the Liberal Party when the Liberals were very afraid to have a deficit, and they fought for that. However, the successor of the Right Hon. Paul Martin, the actual Prime Minister, tabled a program in which he included a deficit. It is crazy.
What was this deficit?
Let us remember that the Liberals promised a very small deficit of $10 billion a year for three years, and then a return to a balanced budget in 2019. Hogwash.
Last year, the Liberals were very proud to table a budget that had a deficit of about $30 billion, three times higher than planned, and now they have completely lost control of public finances. We are not the ones saying it, Finance Canada officials are saying it, too. Indeed, two or three times a year, these officials conduct evaluations, assess our current situation and consider future prospects.
Now, on October 10, 2016, the Department of Finance gave the Minister of Finance a report that concludes that if nothing changes, Canada's debt will be $1.5 trillion in 2050, and if nothing changes, we will return to a balanced budget in 2055, 36 years later than expected under the Liberal agenda.
This isn't coming from the Conservatives. Department of Finance officials, the people who deal with this every day, are saying it. They see exactly what is going on. Their conclusion was brutal.
There will be a zero deficit in 2055. The government missed the target by 36 years. This is totally unacceptable but this is totally Liberal. This is the same situation.
The minister was so proud of the report. What did he do with the report? He put it on his table, not for a day, not for a week, not for a month, but for a full two months. He did not look at it for 10 weeks and then finally published it. When?