Mr. Speaker, I thank my hon. colleagues on all sides of the House, and it is great to be here this evening to make life more affordable for Canadians while we continue to grow the economy. It is great to stand up when we are going through legislation that is going to provide tax relief during the Christmas season and into Valentine's Day for the benefit of all Canadians.
As the father of a three-year-old, like many parents, when I go to the Walmart, Costco or any store to buy diapers, children's diapers will be HST-free in Ontario. As an individual who grew up in a very humble household, every dollar counts, every little bit helps and I am so proud of that.
Also, as an economist and someone who had the chance to work on Wall Street and Bay Street for a number of years, it is great to see what a number of my former colleagues and people I have known for many years are commenting on exactly what Bill C-78 is. It is wonderful to see some of the remarks. I will just read one or two and then I will get into some other comments.
Benjamin Reitzes from BMO Economics said, “We're assuming a good chunk of the stimulus cheques will be saved, but the GST/HST rebate will drive additional spending. BMO Economics is boosting Q1 GDP growth from 1.7% to 2.5%, with 2024Q4 and 2025Q2” being even bigger and having a larger impact.
Derek Holt at Scotiabank said, “That, in turn, would lift GDP growth by about two percentage points above our baseline forecast.”
The Retail Council of Canada came out with some comments about its members and what they see: “Retail Council of Canada (RCC) welcomes today’s sales tax relief announcement from the federal government. The removal of GST and HST on a sizeable list of goods will create major tax savings for Canadians, along with economic stimulus for our industry”. Both—