Madam Speaker, first of all, I would like to commend the courage of my colleague from Mégantic—L'Érable—Lotbinière. He gave a very moving speech that took tremendous courage and a lot of guts, and I am very proud of him today. He has been a mentor to me since I first arrived. I want to congratulate him.
Last week, my speech was interrupted while I was talking about the generational budget, which the people in my riding call a credit card budget. I am honoured to pick up my speech where I left off. I spoke about agriculture and labour, and now I would like to talk about SMEs in the regions.
Our small and medium-sized businesses are vital to our communities. They create jobs and keep our communities and regions going. However, SMEs' costs keep going up and up. The government could be doing something about it, but this budget does nothing for them. Take credit card fees, for example. These fees are paid directly by SMEs and can be as much as 2% or 2.5%. In Europe, a law was passed that limits these credit card fees to 0.3%. I see nothing in this budget that supports SMEs.
Entrepreneurs need concrete support, not just fine words and fine speeches. I have been here for eight months, and it is time to put forward some real solutions to help SMEs survive, grow and invest. Canadians and the residents of Beauce do not want fine words; they want us to take action. They want us to work for them, not for ourselves. They want us to give them the straight goods.
Our role as members of Parliament is to be there on the ground, in our constituency offices; to be there with the Fédérations de l'âge d'or du Québec, in the arenas, and wherever people come together. Last week, we did seven or eight activities with some extraordinary people. The message is very clear: People want a better quality of life, and they want things to cost less. They want the government to take action. Most of all, they want a more affordable life.
On the other side of the House, they tell us that the industrial carbon tax has no impact on the cost of living. The truth, however, is that the tax adds 17¢ to the cost of a litre of diesel, and that amount comes directly out of the pockets of Canadians.
Let us now take action. Let us stop talking and act to support our farmers. Let us create wealth and provide businesses and workers with the right tools. Let us streamline programs and speed up processes that are extremely cumbersome.
One glaring omission in the budget is that it does not include any measures to improve cell coverage in my region of Beauce. This issue directly hinders business productivity. It is impossible to be competitive without access to such an essential service. However, there is nothing in this budget to address that. It is also a matter of public safety. A situation occurred in Saint-Martin, in my riding, during a children's activity. There was an emergency, and no one could get a cell signal. It could have been fatal. It is time to stop talking and start taking action. Our children should never be put at risk because of a lack of investment.
I touched on a number of points in my speech, but before we break for the holidays, I invite all members to use some of our time off to reflect, recharge their batteries and come back with concrete solutions for Canadians, not just to save our jobs and our ridings, but to help all 40 million Canadians. We are not here to pay lip service. We are here to make life better for Canadians.
I want the people of Beauce to know that I will continue to fight for them with all the energy they deserve. I wish them happy holidays.