The Economy  We are there for the most vulnerable Canadians, we are there to support them. During the pandemic, the Conservatives were proposing austerity measures, but that is not what Canadians wanted. We will ensure that our economy continues to grow. As I said earlier, the economy is doing well, and we will continue to do our job.

The Economy  Bill C‑12 received royal assent this week, which will allow us to get more money out to seniors. We are here for Canadians. The austerity that the Conservatives are proposing is the wrong approach.

Human Resources committee  In our view, the staffing challenges in the care economy result from the following causes: heavy demand of unpaid work among the workforce dominated by women; staffing shortages fuelled by years and even decades of fiscal austerity and spending cuts, leading to high workloads and poor retention; low wages and poor working conditions; rising harassment and violence; and a lack of workforce planning. While the pandemic had us celebrating care workers as heroes, all of these challenges were not only exposed but compounded, bringing care workers and care sectors to a breaking point.

Economic and Fiscal Update Implementation Act, 2021  The economic and fiscal update is a transparent report of our nation's finances, but it is about making sure that we have the tools we need to protect Canadians and keep our economy growing. It is about prudence, not austerity, and intelligent investment, not a blank cheque. It would set the stage for us to build on the supports and investments that are bolstering our economy and ensuring its growth for the long term.

Government Business No. 8—Proceedings on Bill C-10  As a result, on the receiving end of that plan, the provincial and Quebec governments have been struggling ever since. They have had to bring in their own austerity measures, because the federal government is starving them of funds. Jean Chrétien liked to brag about it. In interviews not so long ago, he said that making budget cuts made him look good, and that the world was angry with Quebec.

Finance committee  In the 1980s, during a period of austerity we relaxed control, and we were proud at that point that we had held the population to about 90%, generally speaking, across the basin to what it was pre-control. We started to fall back really quickly well below the 70% range in just a couple of years.

Economic and Fiscal Update Implementation Act, 2021  What are the savings the member is looking for? Where are we supposed to cut costs? Which program would he have cut in order to find austerity and a solution that, frankly, does not exist right now?

Economic and Fiscal Update Implementation Act, 2021  The federal government's responsibility is clear. Even though I am not a fan of Philippe Couillard or of austerity, he has also paid the price for the federal government's underfunding of health care. I am not making any of this up. The Parliamentary Budget Officer's reports since 2013 have all observed that if the government does not invest more in health care, the provinces will rack up deficits year after year, while the federal government posts surpluses.

The Economy  Madam Speaker, by delivering significant fiscal policy support to Canadians during the pandemic and avoiding harmful austerity policies, we have seen a rapid and resilient recovery so far. In short, our government's economic plan is working. Canada has exceeded its goal of creating a million jobs well ahead of schedule and ahead of expectations.

The Economy  Fewer businesses have gone bankrupt over the past year than in the year before COVID. Conservative austerity would have devastated the lives of millions of Canadians. We are proud to have acted decisively to save jobs and businesses. That is how to make life affordable.

Government Business No. 4—An Act to Provide Further Support in Response to COVID-19  We have now surpassed our target and have, in fact, recovered 106% of the jobs lost at the peak of the pandemic, significantly outpacing the United States, where just 83% of lost jobs have been recovered thus far. By delivering significant fiscal policy support to the economy and avoiding the harmful austerity policies proposed by the Conservatives after the 2008 recession, our Liberal government has supported a much more rapid and resilient recovery. In fact, our economy is now back to pre-pandemic outputs many months earlier than in the 2008 recession, even though the COVID recession was four times deeper and more significant.

Finance committee  It was unprecedented, and we had to react very quickly. The subtext from the opposition continues to pose that they would choose austerity over supporting Canadians during the pandemic, and that's unfortunate. We're positioned very well. Coming from a small province of 160,000, Bill C-2 is so necessary. I can't stress enough how important it is.

Business of Supply  Madam Chair, during the course of the pandemic, it was clear that the Conservatives wanted to embrace a policy of austerity, and they really believed that the COVID lockdowns were a time for cutting back. They thought that in this time of crisis, the government should have told Canadians to just stick it out on their own.

Housing  The Conservatives answer, “Well, you have to do less.” That is unfortunately the kind of austerity that they continue to push, despite the fact that Canadians need help.

Housing  Speaker, if the Conservatives really disagree with Stephen Poloz, appointed by Stephen Harper as governor of the Bank of Canada, and they really believe that COVID was the time for austerity, then it is time for them to come clean with Canadians and talk about what they would have cut. Would they have cut the CERB, which supported nine million Canadians who lost their jobs?