Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the member opposite's question although I disagree with many of the premises of her argument, if it could be called an argument. I heard her talk about the importance of jobs. That is exactly what our government is focused on.
We did not ask for the trade war that we are in, which is obviously having a negative impact on our economy, but we have stepped up time and time again to support tariff-affected industries, whether it is steel and aluminum, automotive or lumber. For every single industry that has seen an impact, we have stepped up and offered liquidity support. We have offered a remissions framework. We have offered a $5-billion fund to help SMEs pivot and adapt to the changing economy. We have offered re-skilling programs for any workers who are displaced. It goes on and on, in terms of the supports that we have offered.
We are the ones who have been standing up for our industries, all while we stimulate our economy and move forward with nation-building projects that are essential infrastructure to get goods to market. We know exactly what is within our control, which is that the government can invest in and encourage private sector investment in the industries that Canada sees a strategic advantage in. That will create jobs for the future. That will help us get goods to market.
Simultaneously, our government is actively pursuing economic co-operation with many different countries around the world. We heard just recently that our Minister of International Trade secured a deal with Indonesia, which has an economy of a very significant size, almost double the size, I believe, of Canada's, with significant market access for many of our businesses. Again, that is just an example of one thing that our government has done to help.
The member opposite mentioned the PBO's comments. I thought maybe it would be good to review a few quotes from former PBO officers as of last weekend. Former PBO Kevin Page thinks, “If you put the deficit and debt in perspective, we are not in a bad place with respect to other countries. With respect to our credit rating, we are actually in a pretty good place.” That was a direct quote.
Another direct quote from Kevin Page is this: “I think the analysis that we've seen from finance, from the PBO and from the [International Monetary Fund] last year, is that Canada is fiscally sustainable.” Another quote from Kevin Page says, “Well, I think the language from the current Parliamentary Budget Officer, Mr. Jason Jacques, is just wrong, and he should walk that back, quite frankly. He should tell people that our fiscal situation is sustainable.”
How about another one from Kevin Page? He said, “I think it's definitely inflamed certain passions around Canada's fiscal situation that I think are not consistent with the numbers.” Another one from the former PBO is, “We're a AAA country, so like, where do you see ‘shocking’? It's not shocking to see a deficit go up, because the economy is slowing and we have NATO commitments. To me, it's sustainable.” Again, that is from the previous PBO.
Former PBO Yves Giroux said, “I would...personally...wait until we see what's in the budget before making such a statement...[because] we'll have a much better idea...on the evening of Nov. 4”.
These are comments from two well-respected former PBOs that obviously conflict with those of the interim PBO, but it just goes to show members that there are many credible experts out there, including the Bank of Canada governor, who thinks that our fiscal plan and new fiscal budgeting framework are ways of stimulating the Canadian economy and creating a virtuous circle between investment and economic growth. That is going to create jobs.