Public Services and Procurement  We are going to continue to stay focused on being there for people. While Conservatives continue to push austerity and cuts and criticize us for having supported people through the pandemic, we are going to demonstrate our understanding that building a strong economy involves investing and supporting people, which is why, apparently, they voted against support for renters and support for dental care for young kids.

The Economy  His constituents can rest assured that we will take no lessons from the Conservative Party's record of austerity and cuts when it comes to supporting people. While the Conservative leader promotes Bitcoin to Canadians dealing with inflation, we have cut child care fees in half across this country.

Public Services and Procurement  Unfortunately, the Conservative Party voted against these initiatives. It would rather support austerity than investments that help Canadians get through these tough times.

Government Priorities  Speaker, that might be a little more credible coming from the Conservatives if they had not voted against benefits for low-income renters just a few months ago, and if they had not voted against extra supports so families who could not afford to send their kids to the dentist could finally send them to the dentist. What we hear from the Conservative Party is promotion of cuts and promotion of austerity, instead of stepping up and actually investing in the support that Canadians need. We manage to deliver targeted supports in a way that maintains our strong fiscal position so that we are coming through these difficult times by leaning on each other as we always do.

Government Services and Procurement  We are going to continue to step up by investing in Canadians while the Conservatives continue to push cuts and austerity and to not be there for Canadians. We know that investing in Canadians is the best way to build a better future.

The Economy  Speaker, when the Conservatives complain that we invest too much money in helping Canadians, we know that they are still pushing for austerity. We are giving $1,300 over the next two years to families who could not afford to take their children to the dentist. The Conservatives voted against those measures. That is $1,300 in the pockets of Canadian families who need it.

COVID-19 Emergency Response  They voted against supports to make sure that families could send their kids to the dentist this year and next. These are the kinds of things the Conservatives continue to propose in their “cuts and austerity” approach. On this side of the aisle, we will continue to be there to support Canadians who need it, because that is who are we are as Canadians. We support each other.

The Economy  Mr. Speaker, austerity is when one in five Canadians have to skip meals because they cannot afford groceries. That is the austerity that meant 1.5 million Canadians literally had to go to a food bank in a single month.

Fall Economic Statement Implementation Act, 2022  In terms of the vision the member opposite claimed our government does not have, I would say the Conservative Party today seems to bring nothing to the table but angst and austerity, fear and division, and empty rhetoric and catchphrases. There are no solutions and no plan. I will argue in my speech today that we do have a vision, there is a plan and it is represented in the fall economic statement.

Fall Economic Statement Implementation Act, 2022  This permanent and unconditional increase would make it possible for Quebec to rebuild its health system, which was undermined by years of austerity caused by the reduction in transfers in the 1990s. It would also help address issues related to the aging population and the additional pressure this will put on the health care network.

Subcommittee on International Human Rights committee  I would take the example of international financial institutions like the IMF and the World Bank, when they are going in to look at debt refinancing with a policy of austerity measures. We know that women are the most impacted by austerity measures in terms of health and social services. Unless those things are being taken into account and they are recognizing what a harmful impact those policies can have on women, it undermines a lot of the other work that Canada and other countries are trying to do to enhance women's rights.

Medical Assistance in Dying committee  The expansion of MAID must be viewed within the context of the economic order we live under that is eviscerating the social contract by encouraging government to retreat from its responsibilities for the public's welfare and to instead kill us. You feel generous providing mercy from the austerity that you have designed. To all of you, disabled people do not need your help to die. You have been killing us for years. We need your help to get out of the institution you trapped us in.

Transport committee  Alhassan, you commented in your opening on what what the savings would be for the cut of $85 million in the austerity budget. If you had to restore that service again today, what would that cost look like? Do you have an estimate?

Transport committee  In 2017, the Saskatchewan Transportation Company, or STC, a 70-year-old bus service, was shut down by our provincial government as part of an austerity budget. At the time of the closure, the STC had a fleet of 41 buses connecting about 253 communities and travelling 2.8 million miles per year. The closure of STC without any research evidence, ostensibly to save $85 million, provides an important case study to understand what happens when we lose intercity public transportation.

The Economy  That demonstrates the priorities of the Conservative Party to not be there for Canadians and to attempt austerity as a way of moving forward. We demonstrated during the pandemic that by being there for families, small businesses and communities, not only did we get through the pandemic but we ended up with a stronger economy.