Mr. Speaker, the Minister of Finance may have worn his new shoes this week, but budget 2017 still has the same old Liberal stench.
Budget 2017 confirms that the Liberals are the worst fiscal managers that Canada has ever known. The deficit will reach $28.5 billion this year and, by the end of their term, the Liberals will have racked up over $100 billion in debt that will have to be paid back by our children. This was supposed to boost the economy, so where are the jobs? Where are the construction projects that were supposed to get people back to work? Even with our very low expectations, the results are lacklustre. All of Quebec is disappointed.
The government knows very well that access to the Internet and cellular networks is a major problem in our regions and that the measures announced in 2016 were insufficient, but there is nothing about that in budget 2017.
The government's inaction sparked a crisis in the softwood lumber industry, but there is nothing about that in budget 2017.
There is nothing in budget 2017 for farmers.
The Prime Minister promised to do everything in his power to expedite the rail bypass project in Lac-Mégantic, but there is nothing about it in budget 2017. All we are getting in budget 2017 are tax hikes.
The minister can put new shoes on over his old socks, but that won't cover the stench.