Committees of the House  Madam Speaker, I would like to say hello to all of the members who are taking part in the debate on the report of the Standing Committee on Finance. As we know, finance committee reports mean budgetary policy. At this stage, we are being asked to concur in the report of the Standing Committee on Finance, but since the budget has already been tabled, we might as well talk about that.

The Environment  Mr. Speaker, there have been consultations among the parties, and I think you will find unanimous consent for the following motion: That the House recognize that U.S. economic policy, specifically with respect to the trade embargo against the Republic of Cuba, must in no way restrict the right of Canadian and Quebec companies operating in accordance with Canadian law to do business with their international partners.

Business of Supply  Mr. Speaker, the motion says that the government is going against the recommendations of vaccine manufacturers by extending the recommended interval for the second dose to four months. I am sure that the manufacturers' recommendations are important, but this motion portrays those recommendations as gospel.

Mobiles Newspaper  Mr. Speaker, in 2004, a new community paper called Mobiles was published for the first time in Saint-Hyacinthe. Now, in 2021, Mobiles is a monthly paper that reaches 55,000 readers in print, 114,000 readers online and 20,000 Facebook followers. Mobiles covers a broad range of topics and is a fixture in our community.

The Budget  Mr. Speaker, of course it makes no sense. On this issue, I am sure the seniors in my riding are not so different from those in my colleague's riding. We do not have two classes of seniors. A senior is anyone 65 years of age or older. All seniors have seen their purchasing power decline since the beginning of the pandemic.

The Budget  Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague from Shefford, who is the MP for the riding next to mine. Aside from the investments, a policy begins with a vision and consultation. If we really want to compare what was done with Ontario, we can see that Ottawa sits down with the industry, the provincial government and the unions to make plans and agree on a policy.

The Budget  Mr. Speaker, as I was saying, one of the problems is that this plan to help the aerospace and airline industries green their aircraft is so far off from what France is planning. France has announced that its hydrogen-powered plane will be flying by 2035. Here, the government is doing everything piecemeal.

The Budget  Okay, Mr. Speaker. As for the $1.7 billion, the government is essentially lumping the aerospace industry in with other industries such as the energy, mining, steel and aluminum industries. Although the budget is extremely short on details, I do want to point out that the aerospace industry deserves its own money specifically to work on greening its aircraft.

The Budget  Mr. Speaker, I am using the House-issued headset and I am not sure I have another, but I can check in the office.

The Budget  Mr. Speaker, I checked and everything seems to be working. May I continue?

The Budget  Mr. Speaker, would you like me to start over, since some of our colleagues were unable to understand the first part of my speech?

The Budget  Mr. Speaker, I was saying that the message has gotten through at last. The budget even pairs “strategic” and “aerospace” in the same sentence. The government is finally acknowledging that aerospace is a strategic industry, just as the auto industry is strategic for Ontario. The wording is a little unusual because it does not literally say that, but it mentions—

The Budget  Mr. Speaker, some unusual wording in the budget document does suggest that aerospace is a strategic industry. It does not say that literally, but in a roundabout way, it does say that the spinoffs from this industry are strategic. Again, that is a start. We have long been calling on the government to provide targeted assistance to the aerospace sector.

The Budget  Mr. Speaker, I want to wish all my colleagues an excellent Earth Day. Today I am speaking as the Bloc Québécois aerospace critic. We are very happy that the budget is finally acknowledging the aerospace sector. Getting there took a lot of work. The Bloc Québécois really took on the role of patient teacher.

The Budget  Madam Speaker, I thank my colleague for her presentation. She believes that we are not doing enough to exploit our energy resources, but this budget maintains direct and indirect financing for fossil fuels. In her opinion, how is it possible to square money for fossil fuels with the government's supposed environmental goals?