Mr. Speaker, I congratulate the hon. member on watching his children grow. I too have children, both born and unborn. My wife is about to give birth in January to the latest addition to our family, a girl who I am very proud to say will be my third girl. I am very proud to work in the House on behalf of my family and to see the nation's resources stewarded for future generations.
I realize the member opposite probably takes a different view than I do, but let us just review for a second what the former parliamentary budget officer, in fact the first one, Kevin Page, said recently: “In the current economic environment, I'm comfortable with budgetary deficits in the 2.5 per cent range of GDP. Our economy is weak, and we're operating well below Canada's potential growth rate.” He also said recently, “We need to deploy significant resources to strengthen Canada's political and economic sovereignty.... We need investment to diversify and boost growth. We need to increase our defence capabilities.” Those are exactly the statements I would point out to say that our government is stewarding the nation's resources responsibly.
In order to get through the difficult times we are in, we need to invest in our country. Confident countries invest in themselves. This is a profound time of change, and it is a time to build. It is not a time to backtrack and cower at the challenges ahead; it is a time to invest. We need to reimagine our trading relationships and supply chains, protect and transform our strategic industries, invest in major projects to build a stronger economy and show that we believe in ourselves. I think having confidence in ourselves is key.
To do this, we need to re-evaluate, but also make significant adjustments. That is why we are changing how government works and spending less on government operations. It is so we can invest more in Canada's future, creating high-paying careers, building our country and, of course, growing our economy.
As part of that process, we recognize the government itself can become more productive. We will do this by rightsizing the public service and returning to more sustainable levels in the public service, pre-COVID levels; reducing red tape; eliminating wasteful spending; and adopting new and emerging technologies. Of course, artificial intelligence is something we all recognize has great potential for achieving productivity. By doing all this, we will refocus on results and better allocate scarce taxpayer dollars to catalyze private investment and grow a stronger, more resilient Canadian economy.
Our ambitious plan is to save dollars on the one hand while creating fiscal space. The head of the IMF has said that Canada has acted decisively and that we need to invest that extra fiscal space in capital investments that can help grow our industries and economy.
We have done all of this without compromising social programs and federal benefits, including the Canada child benefit, dental care, the disability benefit, child care, pharmacare and many others. This is good news for Canadians. It is a responsible approach, and I firmly believe that our credit rating, being the best in the world at a AAA rating, will be reaffirmed by the two credit rating agencies, Moody's and S&P Global.