Mr. Speaker, they are laughing at that now, but if we just look at the comments that have been made, we see that they completely support that.
The reality is that we have one of the best economies in the world. Before I even bring up the IMF, I will say that I realize there are some people on the other side, on the alt-right side of the Conservative Party, who are going to say, “We cannot trust anything the IMF, the bogeyman, says. It is the the puppeteer for everything across the globe.”
However, the reality is that according to the IMF, for those of us who still believe in it as a legitimate organization that does incredible work in our world, Canada is well positioned amongst the G7 nations. Canada has the room to make targeted investments. The IMF states that Canada's financial systems are “strong and well-regulated”.
We have the ability to invest in our country. As a matter of fact, Canada shares a unique position with Germany among the G7; we share with Germany the highest possible credit rating a country can get, as indicated by the organizations that rank countries. Below us are Japan, the United States and every other country in the G7.
If we are experiencing some significant shifts in the global economy that are going to require us to change our approach and to depend on and look for more diversification in trade, and if we are going to genuinely start to use the resources we have in Canada to distribute them throughout the world, we have to make investments. It comes down to this: I cannot think of a better time to use that fiscal capacity than now.
My question to my Conservative colleagues would be this: If we have the fiscal capacity, can they please describe to me a better time in Canadian history, or a time they could perceive happening in the future, when we could possibly have used or could use the fiscal capacity we have now?
I have sat in the House and listened to what Conservatives have been saying today. I feel sorry for them because they are not able to support the budget despite the fact that so many of their constituents are in favour of it. Many of their constituents I have talked to have opinions on the budget and believe it is the right thing for Canada to do now.
We are at a crossroads, a time when we have to make important decisions about the future of our country. Canadians made their decision in April of this year when they said, “Actually, we think we will go with the guy who was a two-term central bank governor and the guy who, by the way, Stephen Harper himself credited for saving the economy in 2008, as opposed to going with the guy who was elected while he was literally still in university.” That is the the choice Canadians made. We have a choice to make now, moving forward, and we are on the right path with the budget.