Bill Morneau

[Intergovernmental Relations, February 17th, 2016]

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to answer this question. We were very pleased to deal with the situation in the northern territories over a couple of months of discussion. Statistics Canada changed its calculation method which left it in a difficult situation. We found a way to improve that situation.

Happily, what we have also done is found ways that we can help people in other provinces through the plan we put forward. We are going to be making real investments in the Canadian economy through investments in infrastructure, investments that will help people in the middle class and those most vulnerable. We believe that our plan has the best shot in improving our economy for all Canadians.

[Finance, February 17th, 2016]

Mr. Speaker, the only people who believe that the previous Conservative government left a surplus are the Conservatives. Canadians are not fools. Make no mistake, the Government of Canada will post a deficit for fiscal 2015-16, which is the result of the Conservative government's actions and inactions. A fiscal monitor for a given month is a snapshot of that time. It does not tell the whole story.

[Finance, February 17th, 2016]

Mr. Speaker, we were elected with a plan to grow the economy, and we have already begun to do so. We began by cutting taxes for the middle class, and nine million Canadians have more money in their pockets.

In budget 2016, there will be other measures to improve our economic growth. We are going to introduce the Canada child benefit and make significant investments to grow our economy.

[Finance, February 17th, 2016]

Mr. Speaker, we have the right plan to grow the economy and we have already started. We have started by reducing taxes on nine million Canadians, and we will have measures in budget 2016 that will make a real difference for the most vulnerable and help us to grow the economy.

I will take no advice from the members across the way, who left us with an additional $150 billion worth of debt. What do we have to show for it but the lowest growth since the Great Depression, a couple of gazebos, and a fake lake?

[Finance, February 17th, 2016]

Mr. Speaker, we will be making smart, necessary, and long-overdue investments to grow our economy to make a real difference for the Canadian middle class and those most vulnerable. That is our plan. It is the plan that Canadians elected us on, it is the right plan for Canada, and we look forward to budget 2016 to give more details.

[Finance, February 16th, 2016]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank my hon. colleague, along with my colleagues the member for Yukon and the Minister of Fisheries, Oceans and the Canadian Coast Guard, for advocating on this issue.

Canadians expect their governments to work together. We have collaborated with the three territories to make the territorial funding formula more stable and predictable over time.

Today I am pleased to announce that I will be introducing an amendment to the formula. It will enable the government to recalculate the 2016-17 payments, which will provide an additional $67 million to territories compared to the amounts calculated in December.

[Finance, February 16th, 2016]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to remind the hon. member that we were elected on a plan to actually grow the economy. Canadians understand that after 10 years of weak growth it is time to grow the economy. We are going to make investments in the short term that are going to help our economy, but we are going to focus on investments that over the long term will ensure a more productive Canada. That will help Canadians today and Canadians tomorrow and will get us, over the long term, back into budget balance.

[Finance, February 16th, 2016]

Mr. Speaker, we plan to keep our promise to invest in order to grow the economy while following three principles. This is very important for future generations. We will work to lower the debt-to-GDP ratio throughout our term. We will be disciplined in our spending. We still want to achieve a balanced budget, but we also recognize that it is not going to be easy in this economy.

[Finance, February 16th, 2016]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to start by saying that Canadians elected us on a promise that we would focus on how we can actually help the middle class and those most vulnerable.

We have already moved forward on the promise to help the middle class. We have reduced taxes for nine million Canadians. We are going to move forward on helping those most vulnerable with the Canada child benefit. I can confirm that that is money that will go to the most vulnerable to help them to lead better lives.

[Finance, February 16th, 2016]

Mr. Speaker, we believe that the right question to ask is what we are going to do in order to improve the economy for all Canadians.

We were elected on a plan to grow the economy in order to help those Canadians who are struggling, who are most vulnerable, and those middle-class Canadians to do better. We have already moved forward on a tax cut for nine million Canadians. We will be moving forward not only with the Canada child benefit, but also with significant investments in infrastructure to improve the state of our economy.