Debates of Nov. 6th, 2025

Financial Statement of Minister of Finance

[Gord Johns, NDP, Courtenay—Alberni, BC]

Mr. Speaker, over 52,000 Canadians have died from poisoned drug supply. Canada has the third-highest per capita rate of any country in the world; only the United States and Puerto Rico have a higher death rate per capita, yet in this budget, there is zero mention of the toxic drug crisis and an action plan to deal with it. The government has created a drug strategy that says that it is going to take a compassionate, integrated approach. Still, there is no timeline, plan or money, so that plan is useless.

When is the government going to take the toxic drug crisis seriously, or is it just going to continue the stigma it is implementing in responding to this terrible crisis?

[Juanita Nathan, Liberal, Pickering—Brooklin, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I understand that it is a crisis, and I do empathize.

I want to reiterate that, for some programs, health is under the jurisdiction of the provinces, and they need to pay closer attention to some of the crises happening in our communities.

[Arielle Kayabaga, Liberal, London West, ON]

Mr. Speaker, perhaps my colleague could go a bit further and tell us what parts of the budget speak to her community.

There is so much stuff in this budget that will respond to every riding represented across the House, but I want to hear from my colleague what from the budget she will tell her residents.

[Juanita Nathan, Liberal, Pickering—Brooklin, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I am particularly in support of and very thrilled about the programs and the money allocated for youth: $1.5 billion over three years, starting next year, to strengthen youth jobs programs, like Canada summer jobs, which is a 30% increase from last year; the youth employment and skills strategy to get youth ready for jobs; and the student work placement program, reaching roughly 20,000 youth. These are—

[The Assistant Deputy Speaker, John Nater]

Resuming debate, the hon. member for Saint John—St. Croix.

[John Williamson, Conservative, Saint John—St. Croix, NB]

Mr. Speaker, I will be splitting my time with the member for Sudbury East—Manitoulin—Nickel Belt.

I rise on behalf of the lobster fishermen and fisherwomen in Charlotte County, working families in Saint John West, the truck drivers driving our highways, the pensioners throughout New Brunswick Southwest and every small business owner hanging on for help. These Canadians look to Parliament and wonder if the people entrusted to govern understand the difficulties families and pensioners face every single day.

They are fed up with the government because it printed money and devalued family savings while driving up prices, especially home prices. They are exhausted because they are working harder and falling further behind. They are tired of a federal government that costs us too much, taxes too much and delivers too little year after year. They are dumbfounded by being told to tighten their belt and to sacrifice more after years of sacrifices, while the federal government adds another $78 billion to our debt this year alone. That works out to $5,400 more debt for each Canadian household.

My constituents are the people who pay the bills of the government, as well as the bone-crushing debt on government spending. They work hard and follow the rules, and in return they seek the dignity of keeping what they earn and the opportunity to build a financially secure life in safe communities.

Households in my riding are not asking for more government bureaucrats to manage the economy; they are asking for a government that respects the value of a paycheque and spends their money wisely. They are crying out for change.

When the Prime Minister entered office, he promised fiscal discipline. He promised a steady hand to make things better. Some of my constituents even believed that the Liberals would not be more of the same after the last federal election, yet it is obvious from the budget those hopes have been dashed.

The Liberals, under so-called new leadership, have nearly doubled the $42-billion deficit forecast by Justin Trudeau. We can now all see that the new boss is just like the old boss but even more expensive. Today's $78-billion deficit is the largest in Canadian history outside war or the pandemic. It is the most expensive government in Canadian history, and Canadians have never received less from it.

Our nation is on the wrong path. The Prime Minister is adding $10 million in debt every hour and placing the burden of today's spending on the backs of our children, our grandchildren and even our great-grandchildren. Canadians want the next generation to inherit a Canada where hard work is rewarded and where one can build a life, afford a home and have confidence in the future. The reality is that after a Liberal decade of lost opportunity, Canada is a less prosperous nation, less safe and more costly. It is a place where the dream of home ownership is now an impossible, costly nightmare.

Many people remember or understand from recent history what happens when government spends wildly beyond its means: Before we hit the fiscal wall, economic growth falls, families struggle and life becomes harder. This budget keeps Canada barrelling down Justin Trudeau's road to debt-fuelled economic ruin. It is the road to serfdom.

The national debt now stands at almost $1.35 trillion. What do Canadians receive from this vast sum, impossible to understand because it is so large? Do we have more doctors and nurses in our hospitals, more homes being built, more affordable food or stronger paycheques? No, there is none of this, yet a newborn in Canada now begins life with a $32,000 debt, thanks to the Liberals.

The Government of Canada is now drowning in red ink and will spend $55 billion on debt interest payments every single year. What is astonishing is that this amount is more than what Ottawa transfers to the provinces for health care every single year. It is also more than what Ottawa collects in GST revenue each year. This means that every dollar Canadians pay in GST to Ottawa now goes to bankers and bondholders instead of to social programs and federal programs. This is the direct cost of Liberal recklessness; GST revenue goes entirely to fund debt, not to social programs or to the government to help Canadians get ahead.

Meanwhile, food prices continue to rise thanks to failing Liberal policies. For example, spending $800 million, and likely double that amount, on a useless gun confiscation program that targets law-abiding firearm owners is a priority. Here is an idea: If the government were to eliminate this program outright, it would cut the federal deficit this year by 1%. We need 99 other ideas to get rid of this deficit altogether. There is one. If Brookfield paid its taxes, there would be a few more billion dollars. We can eliminate the deficit if we are smart about it.

The gun-grab program is just one example of misplaced Liberal priorities at a time when families that earn two paycheques are skipping meals; seniors are choosing between heating, eating and buying medicine; 2.2 million Canadians use a food bank monthly; and one in five people using a food bank work full time but still cannot afford basic groceries. This is the Canada today under Liberal management. It is time for a change.

Young Canadians who should be building their lives are instead delaying marriage, delaying children, delaying home ownership and delaying their futures. It is not because they lack effort or ambition but because they no longer see a path forward in their own country. The Liberal solution to this self-created mess, and the Liberal answer to every question, is always more government, more red tape and more debt.

Canada can choose another path, a path that builds and rewards work, a path that makes home ownership achievable again and a path where the government lives within its means so families can live within theirs. This is the promise Conservatives are offering. This is why Conservatives moved an amendment to this budget, to fix its flaws, to get Canada's fiscal house in order and to move Canada ahead, finally, after 10 years.

Now is not the time to try to repeat what has already failed and will fail again. We are a country rich in resources, talent and possibility. We cannot continue down a path where the government buries us deeper in debt as Canadians grow poorer. This is why I cannot support the budget as it stands today. It is why Conservatives will not support this budget. It is why the Conservatives will continue working to restore the promise of this country for families who work hard, play by the rules and simply want a fair chance. That will not happen with this budget. It has never happened and will never happen under 10 years of Liberal rule, and that is why we need change.

[Guillaume Deschênes-Thériault, Liberal, Madawaska—Restigouche, NB]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank my colleague from New Brunswick for his speech. I am sure he cares as much as I do about economic development in our beautiful province. New Brunswick has 21 of the 34 minerals that Canada has identified as critical. Budget 2025 provides for a $2-billion investment over five years to set up the critical minerals infrastructure fund, which will make it possible to invest in businesses' projects related to those critical minerals.

Does my colleague share my opinion that this is excellent news with a lot of potential for our province?

[John Williamson, Conservative, Saint John—St. Croix, NB]

Mr. Speaker, for a long time, I have been telling Parliament that we need to take advantage of our natural resources. Right now, the Government of New Brunswick, under the provincial Liberals, is asking this government to do something to move these very important projects forward. So far, nothing has been done.

Yes, it is time to do something for our province, because so far, the Prime Minister has turned down all projects coming from New Brunswick.

[Andréanne Larouche, Bloc, Shefford, QC]

Mr. Speaker, another major disappointment is the issue of health and health transfers, which was largely overlooked in this budget. The government boasts about having invested in hospital infrastructure.

This week, I met with health care representatives after the budget was tabled. They told me that it is good to build hospitals, but if the government does not transfer the necessary funding to pay for health care staff, to pay for research and to approve drugs, this is just a broken promise.

What does my colleague have to say to these health care representatives? It is great to focus on hospitals, but they also need to be staffed and taken care of.

[John Williamson, Conservative, Saint John—St. Croix, NB]

Mr. Speaker, to govern Canada, choices have to be made. I completely agree with my colleague.

Under the former Conservative government of Stephen Harper, health transfers increased every year. Health was always a priority to the Conservatives, but that meant making cuts to spending items that were not a priority. That is something that we know how to do, but the Liberals do not. That is why we need a change for the better.

[Burton Bailey, Conservative, Red Deer, AB]

Mr. Speaker, the Liberal budget proves that the Prime Minister is just the same, if not worse, than Justin Trudeau, adding more government bloat with another $321.7 billion to the federal debt over the next five years.

How can Canadians trust anything the Liberal government is doing with their hard-earned tax dollars?

[John Williamson, Conservative, Saint John—St. Croix, NB]

Mr. Speaker, we can trust it will do more of the same, and that record is going to be a record of failure.

I had hope the other day when the finance minister tabled his budget and looked up to the gallery, and we saw Mr. Chrétien. Thirty years ago, the Liberals had a problem with too much debt, too much spending and slow growth. What did they do? They went through an expenditure review and cut needless, wasteful duplicate spending. They balanced the budget in three years, and guess what happened. It turbocharged the Canadian economy. That is what this country needs to do again.

Instead, under the current Prime Minister, we are seeing the exact same playbook as the last prime minister, Justin Trudeau. We have had 10 years of slow, anemic growth. We need to turn it around. That will happen by getting our fiscal house in order, lowering taxes and getting out of the way so the private sector will build the homes and create the jobs that pay the paycheques that will get this country moving again.

[Madeleine Chenette, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Canadian Identity and Culture and Minister responsible for Official Languages and to the Secretary of State (Sport)]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to remind the House that our debt-to-GDP ratio is the lowest in the G7, which gives us room for sound management and for investment.

Is my colleague in favour of the “productivity superdeduction,” a set of enhanced tax incentives covering all new capital investment that allows businesses to write off a larger share of the cost of these investments right away so they can contribute to a strong economy?

[John Williamson, Conservative, Saint John—St. Croix, NB]

Mr. Speaker, I believe in tax cuts any time, anywhere, for Canadians, but I do not just believe in tax cuts for businesses. This budget is a failure because it fails to deal with the affordability crisis that is hurting working families, young families and pensioners. It is all well and good to talk about the debt-to-GDP ratio, which the government has broken. For the last 10 years, it promised to keep lowering it, and in fact, this budget sends it up, breaking another of the Prime Minister's promises.

Yes, I support tax relief to make sure this country is competitive, but I also want to ensure the federal government is doing something to bring down the costs for families. It has not done it, and that is why this budget is a failure.

[Jim Belanger, Conservative, Sudbury East—Manitoulin—Nickel Belt, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I wish I could say I am pleased to rise in this House to comment on the Liberal budget, but unfortunately, I cannot. As the newly elected member for Sudbury East—Manitoulin—Nickel Belt, I have to sadly say that the Liberal budget does almost nothing to address the concerns of the thousands of people I spoke to while campaigning during the election.

As I travelled from community to community during the election campaign, the message was consistent and clear: Life has become less and less affordable. The very necessities of basic life, such as food, housing and energy, have been increasing well beyond the ability of average working-class people to make ends meet. They understood that the last 10 years of Liberal policies were a very large part of the cost of living rising so fast.

From where I am standing, it looks like the government is still driving down the same reckless road it has been on for the past 10 years. Let us think about it. They plan to spend $321 billion over the next five years, and that is on top of the $1.3 trillion of federal debt we already have in this country. Who is going to pick up that tab? It will not be us. It will be our kids and grandkids who will be left paying the interest on the massive debt we have accumulated.

As I read the budget, I could not help but think of my grandsons. They do not even know it yet, but they each owe more than $30,000 as their share of Canada's national debt, all because of the Liberals' irresponsible spending.

Nothing in this budget will help lower the cost of living for northerners. In fact, it will only make things worse.

During the election campaign just six months ago, the Prime Minister made a lot of promises. In my view, he has broken them all. He promised to keep the deficit below $62 billion. This week's budget indicates that the deficit will be $78 billion this year and that his tax plan will add another $321 billion to our debt over the next five years.

It was not all that long ago the former finance minister, the member for University—Rosedale, resigned as the minister of finance because the former prime minister blew past the Liberals' own self-imposed $40-billion deficit cap to $62 billion. It makes me wonder if the Liberals across the aisle have forgotten the words of that very same minister, who called for a little fiscal discipline and warned against throwing money at costly political gimmicks.

Let us put this in perspective. In 2025 and 2026, the interest payments on our national debt will be $55.6 billion. This is more than the entire amount of money the Government of Canada sends to the provinces for health care. If one is waiting on a list for an MRI, a hip or knee replacement, or any other medical procedure that would improve their quality of life, the Liberal budget does nothing for them or their family's health.

The total amount of money spent by the Canadian federal government is projected to be $538 billion for the 2024-25 fiscal year. These costs have been caused by the last decade of out-of-control Liberal spending, which has created inflationary pressures, driving the cost of everything through the roof. One would think that when the government spends $538 billion, there would be investments for our seniors to help with the ever-rising costs of food and housing, and money to address addiction, mental health and homelessness.

I had reserved hope that this budget would contain measures to unlock the vast wealth and prosperity right under our feet in northern Ontario with the Ring of Fire. Opening this area to exploration has been a major priority for northern Ontario. The Ring of Fire is not even listed on the major projects list for consideration. There is only a vague mention that hopefully sometime in the next two years the government will encourage companies to invest in the Ring of Fire. While many other projects will be funded by federal dollars, we are left to wonder when we can start to explore and generate prosperity for the people in northern Ontario.

My great-grandparents, Joe and Azilda Bélanger, packed up and left Saint-André-Avellin, Quebec, back in 1886 looking for a better life in Ontario. They worked the land from sun-up to sundown just to scrape by. My grandfather followed in their footsteps, keeping up with the farm and operating his very own logging camps in the winter.

My dad followed the example of my grandfather and became an entrepreneur. He wore many hats throughout his life. He worked in the forestry industry and in construction, and later ran his own grocery store and then a hotel he owned, all while farming the same land Joe and Azilda farmed back in 1886. He did all this with just a grade 4 education. That is what I like to call real northern Ontario grit.

As for me, I was fortunate enough to get a university education, work in the corporate world and eventually run my very own small business. Now I have the privilege of serving as a member of Parliament. My kids and their generation are better educated than those before them and work just as hard, yet they struggle. That keeps me up at night. For the first time in our history, this generation might end up worse off than the one before, and that is what motivated me to run for office.

For 10 years, uncontrolled spending, high taxes, inflation and bad natural resource policies have made life more difficult. This is not the Canada I grew up in, nor is it the Canada I want for my grandchildren. The Liberals talk about the future and hope, but their actions never produce results that would make life more affordable for Canadians.

The Minister of Finance said that our GDP is too weak and that the Liberals are going to fix it, because they believe in Canada. He said they are going to do this and do that, that we are going to be the best in the G7 and that the Liberals are going to bet big on Canada.

I believe in Canada, but what I do not believe in is betting big on this Liberal budget. It is a very risky proposition. What we have seen in the last 10 years is a lot of promises. Liberals are big on talk, with little action and few results.

I hope my friends across the aisle will take a look at where we are headed. Canada's fiscal situation is not sustainable. I am asking them to accept the amendments we will be putting forward to make life more affordable for all Canadians, if not for their sake, for the sake of the next generation of Canadians, the sons, daughters, nieces and nephews, the young folks who deserve a fair shot at living the Canadian dream, just as we did. Let us not saddle them with debt and broken promises.

[Madeleine Chenette, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Canadian Identity and Culture and Minister responsible for Official Languages and to the Secretary of State (Sport)]

Mr. Speaker, I am a little surprised that my colleague failed to understand, from the budget, that we did everything right to lower the cost of living: We cut taxes for 22 million middle-class Canadians, cancelled the consumer carbon tax, made the national school food program permanent, made federal benefits automatic, increased competition and reduced telecommunications costs. There are many other cost-of-living measures I could name.

All the families in Thérèse-De Blainville clearly understood that and said that it matters to them.

Is my colleague going to promote that in his riding?

[Jim Belanger, Conservative, Sudbury East—Manitoulin—Nickel Belt, ON]

Mr. Speaker, that is not even close to what I see in the budget. What I see is money promised for future things. The Liberals are not doing anything for people today. They are clearly out of touch with reality.

This budget is going to make things worse. There is no help coming right now. Some help may come in the future, but the future is too late. People need help today.

[Alexis Deschênes, Bloc, Gaspésie—Les Îles-de-la-Madeleine—Listuguj, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to hear my colleague's thoughts on a subject that is of great concern to me as the member for the Gaspé region and the Magdalen Islands and the Bloc Québécois critic for fisheries and oceans. I know members of the Conservative caucus are also concerned about this.

There are a number of things missing from the budget, which fails to respond to a number of crises. In particular, the fisheries fund has not been renewed despite being of paramount strategic importance to Quebec, among others. With additional support from the Quebec government, this fund finances projects that promote innovation and scientific research. One example of the work made possible through this fund are the scientific tests conducted to better define the start of the lobster fishing season. Another project involved installing fishing gear that allows right whales to pass through, rather than getting trapped. The fishing gear allows them to pass through.

What does my colleague think of the Liberals' oversight or unwillingness to renew the fisheries fund for Quebec and for the Atlantic provinces?

[Jim Belanger, Conservative, Sudbury East—Manitoulin—Nickel Belt, ON]

Mr. Speaker, unfortunately, I have to apologize to my colleague and admit that I am not very familiar with fisheries and things like that. What I do see in the budget, however, is that certain things keep being promised without many details.

[Scott Anderson, Conservative, Vernon—Lake Country—Monashee, BC]

Mr. Speaker, the Liberals keep referring to the spending in the Liberal budget as investment. When I was a financial adviser, I was taught that investment is something we give away in the hopes that we get back not only the principal but a substantial amount of money with it.

I am wondering, for the gun grab, whether my colleague thinks “investment” is an appropriate word. We are putting out millions of dollars, but what exactly are we expecting in return? Would the member call that spending or investment?

[Jim Belanger, Conservative, Sudbury East—Manitoulin—Nickel Belt, ON]

Mr. Speaker, for sure, I would call that spending. It is more debt.

This gun grab is something that in my area people cannot get over. We are trying to take guns away from law-abiding citizens while criminals are running around with guns. They are the ones we should be going after.

To me, debt is debt. The former prime minister promised to stay within a budget of $40 billion, but the new Prime Minister is worse. He has ballooned the debt to $80 billion.

[Giovanna Mingarelli, Liberal, Prescott—Russell—Cumberland, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I will be sharing my time with the member for Surrey Newton.

I am proud to rise today on behalf of the people of Prescott—Russell—Cumberland to share my thoughts on the new budget tabled this week.

Prescott—Russell—Cumberland is a predominantly francophone rural riding that is woven tightly into the economic and social fabric of Canada's national capital region. The region is home to families of farmers, entrepreneurs, teachers and community workers. It is a region where people believe in the values of hard work, solidarity and kindness.

Budget 2025 provides a generational investment to make Canada and Prescott—Russell—Cumberland stronger, more sustainable and more resilient. This budget sets out $1 billion in investments over the next five years. I have been working hard to bring that investment to my riding and my community.

During my election campaign, I made sure the people of Prescott—Russell—Cumberland knew my priorities, including fighting against tariffs, supporting agriculture, SMES, industry and the francophonie, and treating people with dignity and inclusion.

Starting with tariffs, the effective U.S. tariff rate is now the highest it has been since the Great Depression in the 1930s. These tariffs are being applied to all countries and nearly all goods. I am proud to share that Canada has the best deal of any U.S. trading partner, with 85% of our trade being tariff-free. While some sectors remain deeply impacted, overall, Canadian exporters benefit from the lowest average U.S. tariff of any country, at 5.4%.

I am proud of the build communities strong fund, which will invest $51 billion over 10 years, followed by $3 billion per year ongoing, to revitalize local infrastructure, including hospitals, universities and colleges, and build the new roads and bridges we need to move our goods. We will also use these funds to build water and transit systems that sustain our towns, municipalities and communities.

Given the urgency of the moment, the government has also announced a series of new measures to protect workers and businesses in sectors most impacted by U.S. tariffs and trade disruptions. During this time of uncertainty, our government is supporting Canadian auto workers, agricultural producers, manufacturers and other workers who have felt the effects of trade tensions.

Over $25 billion has been announced in supports for workers and businesses. The government also expects $4.4 billion in tariff revenue. These measures will help give industries and workers the tools they need to build a more resilient Canadian economy.

On agriculture, over the past few months, I have had the opportunity to meet passionate farmers like Michel Dignard and Jeannette Mongeon, who have a farm together in Embrun, and families from the Gillette farm, which is also located in Embrun. These families have worked their land for generations. On my visits to these farms, they talked to me about sustainability, market access and the need to support the next generation of farmers. This budget recognizes these realities.

This budget invests over $639 million over five years to strengthen agriculture, including with increased compensation for producers through AgriStability, enhanced marketing supports and temporary increases to the advance payments program.

These measures will help our farmers cope with rising costs, adapt to global market shifts and continue to feed our communities and our world. These investments mean that farms like the Dignard-Mongeon family farm and the Gillette farm will be able to keep innovating, diversifying their products and passing on their knowledge to the next generation.

Supporting our local industries and small and medium-sized businesses, which are the backbone of our rural economy, is also at the heart of our plan. We can think of businesses like Dunrobin Distilleries in Vankleek Hill, Nonna's Gelato in Plantagenet or the Homestead Pub in Embrun, all of which I had the pleasure to visit this summer. They keep our small towns alive, fun and thriving.

That is why I welcome the new federal initiatives like the Strategic Response Fund, a $5-billion investment to help Canadian companies adapt, diversify, and grow. This includes $1 billion in the strategic innovation fund to support the steel industry's transition toward new lines of business and strengthening domestic supply chains.

In Prescott—Russell—Cumberland, I have been fighting for our steelworkers at Ivaco Rolling Mills in L'Orignal, which helps protect hundreds of local jobs. I have met with them regularly since the spring. I have also had the pleasure of meeting with IMI Manufacturing, also in L'Orignal, which produces metal structures, generator shelters and base tanks. It is a company that strives to be a leader in safety and quality.

In Hawkesbury, Tulmar Safety Systems is helping Canada reach our 5% NATO goals. With over 30 years of innovation, Tulmar designs, manufactures and services advanced safety solutions for land, air and sea applications, serving the defence, aviation and civil safety industries worldwide. It is companies like Tulmar Safety Systems that will deliver against the budget's investments into the Canadian Armed Forces.

The budget proposes $81.8 billion over five years, on a cash basis, starting in 2025, to rebuild, rearm and reinvest in the people who defend our country and keep us all safe. This includes over $9 billion in 2025 that was announced by the Prime Minister in June.

Canada's new government is on a mission to build Canada strong through major infrastructure projects, a modern defence industry and millions more homes.

Through the new buy Canadian policy, we are making government a force for nation-building, becoming our own best customer, protecting Canadian businesses and empowering our workers with high-paying careers that build prosperity here at home. The new buy Canadian policy is so important because it moves us from our best efforts to a real obligation to buy Canadian, ensuring that our public dollars support local jobs and local businesses right here at home.

This budget is about building resilience, not dependence, and about giving our companies the tools they need to compete and succeed in a changing world.

The francophonie is another key pillar in my riding. This week, I had the privilege of attending the welcoming francophone community of Hawkesbury's community forum to mark National Francophone Immigration Week. I met inspiring newcomers and families who have chosen to live, work, and raise their children in French. They enrich our communities and strengthen the social fabric of Canada and, most importantly, of Prescott—Russell—Cumberland.

Today, I am also thinking of our francophone community organizations, such as the Prescott and Russell chapter of the Association canadienne-française de l'Ontario, which works tirelessly to provide services, promote culture and support integration. That is why I am delighted that this budget supports our francophone institutions and invests in programs like Canadian Heritage's building communities through arts and heritage program, which provides support for festivals, cultural projects and the vitality of our regions.

Last week, I also met with passionate members of the Fédération des aînés francophones du Canada, which champions the rights and interests of seniors in minority situations to help them thrive in their own language and culture.

Of course, protecting CBC/Radio-Canada is part of that vision, with a $150‑million investment to modernize our public broadcaster and ensure that it provides high-quality programming in French and English. I also want to acknowledge the outstanding work of our local newspapers in Prescott—Russell—Cumberland, which are essential to democracy and to the vitality of our regions: Le Carillon, The Review, Vision, Tribune-Express, Reflet-News, Le Régional, TVC22 and others.

I am very proud of this budget's $38.4 million over three years, starting in 2026, to Canadian Heritage for the special measures for journalism component of the Canada periodical fund to help small and community news outlets continue producing quality Canadian editorial and journalistic content.

[Guillaume Deschênes-Thériault, Liberal, Madawaska—Restigouche, NB]

Mr. Speaker, like me, my colleague represents one of the ridings with the highest proportion of francophones outside Quebec. As she mentioned, our budget includes a number of interesting measures, including ambitious immigration targets that could put the demographic weight of francophone communities back on a path to growth. It also includes support for arts and culture and increased funding for CBC/Radio-Canada. This is in addition to the historic investments the government made in official languages in 2023. These were the largest investments to support our official languages in the history of Canada.

I would like to ask my colleague the following question. Why is it important to her, as it is to me, to be part of a government that cares about our francophone communities and that is putting concrete measures in place to support their vitality and population growth?

[Giovanna Mingarelli, Liberal, Prescott—Russell—Cumberland, ON]

Mr. Speaker, as I mentioned, Prescott—Russell—Cumberland is the only riding in the province of Ontario that is predominantly francophone. It is very important for our community and our local organizations to receive funding and support for official languages from the federal government. In fact, 60% of our population is francophone, and 40% is anglophone. It is very important to continue to support funding and projects that will promote official languages in our region.

[Patrick Bonin, Bloc, Repentigny, QC]

Mr. Speaker, we keep hearing the Liberals say that this is a visionary budget for future generations. However, the budget provides no new money for the environment, to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. There is also no money for protecting parks. This morning, the commissioner of the environment and sustainable development said that Canada was not on track to meet its greenhouse gas reduction targets or its protected area targets for either 2025 or 2030.

How can this budget address the climate crisis and biodiversity loss if there is not a penny for climate, parks and biodiversity?