Questions on the Order Paper  Mr. Speaker, with regard to part (a), ratings issued by credit ratings agencies are based on their assessment of a sovereign’s strengths and weaknesses under several categories, including economic strength, institutional strength, fiscal strength, external financing, a country’s ability to address adverse economic/financial shocks and how susceptible the country is to these risks; and a country’s performance according to environmental, social and governance, ESG, factors.

Questions on the Order Paper  Mr. Speaker, the combined response to parts (a), (b), (c), (d), and (e) is as follows. The eight tax measures, and the actions that have been taken to phase out or rationalize them, are listed below. For most of the measures, an estimate of cost savings was provided when the phase-out or rationalization was announced in the budget.

Questions on the Order Paper  Mr. Speaker, here is the response of the Department of Finance to parts (a), (b), (c), and (d). As committed to in the department’s action plan following the 2017 Auditor General report on fossil fuel subsidies, the department completed a review of 13 tax measures that are specific to the fossil fuel sector.

Natural Resources  Mr. Speaker, I would remind the House that we are very serious about protecting consumers across the country. We are very concerned about these issues. In so many areas, including financial matters and consumer affairs, we want to ensure that Canadian consumers are properly protected, and that is what we will continue to do.

Finance  Mr. Speaker, when it comes to respecting our officers of Parliament, we will take no lessons from the Conservatives, who, members will recall, appointed unilingual anglophone officers of Parliament, showing profound disrespect for Quebec. We are committed to giving the Auditor General all the necessary tools.

The Environment  Madam Speaker, with respect to TMX, that member was right. Équiterre has also said that the government's actions should not be judged on the Trans Mountain pipeline purchase alone, but rather on all actions taken by this government. No federal government in Canadian history as been more motivated and determined when it comes to the environment and fighting climate change.

The Environment  Madam Speaker, I am really not sure how the Conservative members can keep a straight face when they say that they are going to present their plan, since Canadians have been waiting for that plan for 382 days now. Actions speak louder than words, and all we have seen so far is that Canada's Conservatives have been waging war on the carbon tax, a policy that has proven effective in reducing greenhouse gas emissions, a policy that has been working in Quebec and British Columbia for years, a policy that many areas of the world are implementing, a policy that, if I am not mistaken, is supported by Mr.

The Environment  Madam Speaker, I am very pleased to have the opportunity to speak to the motion before us today that declares a state of climate emergency in Canada. It is clear, I think, to a large majority of Canadians, and certainly to a large majority of Quebeckers, that the situation with respect to climate change is in fact urgent and requires significant measures.

Canada–Madagascar Tax Convention Implementation Act, 2018  Madam Speaker, if I understand my opposition colleague's question correctly, he was talking about the importance of a good information sharing arrangement. That is the purpose of Bill S-6. That is also what we are trying to do with OECD member countries so we can really tackle tax evasion.

Canada–Madagascar Tax Convention Implementation Act, 2018  Madam Speaker, that is a very important question. Our world is so interconnected that the simple solutions that some are presenting, which involve Canada acting unilaterally and ignoring our trade partners, are rarely as straightforward as they seem. Obviously, we need to work with our partners to come up with collaborative approaches to tax treaties, just as we do when it comes to trade.

Canada–Madagascar Tax Convention Implementation Act, 2018  Madam Speaker, I would be happy to provide the member with the OECD study conducted last summer. It clearly affirms that when we take into account the Canada child benefit and the middle-class tax cut, a typical average family of four with two children is $2,000 better off at the end of the year than they were in 2015 for various reasons.

Canada–Madagascar Tax Convention Implementation Act, 2018  Madam Speaker, I want to start by thanking the NDP for supporting Bill S-6. I think that shows how important this bill is for preventing double taxation and giving the Canada Revenue Agency the tools it needs to obtain information from foreign countries so it can better fight tax evasion and tax avoidance.

Canada–Madagascar Tax Convention Implementation Act, 2018  Mr. Speaker, it is a pleasure for me to rise in the House to speak to Bill S-6, an act to implement the convention between Canada and the Republic of Madagascar for the avoidance of double taxation, which is another important step forward in our government's continued commitment to Canadians to strengthen tax fairness.

The Economy  Mr. Speaker, I am always astonished that my colleague from Louis-Saint-Laurent is able to keep a straight face when he says that the Conservatives balanced the budget, since they actually added $150 billion to the national debt. What was the result? The Conservatives had the worst export growth since the Second World War, along with the worst job growth.

Infrastructure  Madam Speaker, I am pleased to remind my colleague that the $1.2 billion that the federal government set aside in 2018 for the Quebec City tramway project is still there and always will be. If the CAQ does not want to make the Quebec City tramway a priority, than it will have to deal with me.