Questions on the Order Paper  Mr. Speaker, on June 20, 2016, Canada’s ministers of finance reached an agreement in principle to enhance the Canada pension plan, CPP. The agreement will strengthen the CPP for future generations of Canadians, increasing income replacement from one-quarter of their eligible earnings to one-third, with an increase to the earnings limit.

Questions on the Order Paper  Mr. Speaker, Tthe preparation of the Bbudget is at the core of the Department of Finance’s mandate and is a year-long process. As such, the dDepartment does not track the hours of work nor the cost associated with this work. The total costs of contracted services (but not itemized by hours of work) relating to the printing and editing/translation of bBudget 2016, not itemized by hours of work, were $490,334.63 and $111,244.52, respectively.

Questions on the Order Paper  Mr. Speaker, the Government regularly consults with stakeholders on important policy issues. For example, during 2016 pre-budget consultations, tens of thousands of Canadians shared their thoughts through meetings, events, and through online channels, resulting in the highest-ever turnout for pre-budget consultations on record.

Questions on the Order Paper  Mr. Speaker, in response to part (a), to generate the economic impact of the measures presented in budget 2016, the Department of Finance used its Canadian economic and fiscal model, CEFM, along with social and economic data from Statistics Canada and aggregate tax collection and refunds data from Canada Revenue Agency.

Questions on the Order Paper  Mr. Speaker, with regard to part (a), the government’s projection of goods and services tax, GST, revenues published in Budget 2016 is based on projected growth in taxable consumption, projected growth in the GST/harmonized sales tax credit, and year-to-date results. Overall, GST revenues are projected to grow broadly in line with the outlook for nominal growth of the gross domestic product, GDP.

Canada Revenue Agency  Madam Speaker, I would remind my colleague that rhetoric will only get a person so far before action is needed. The thing we have done in this country is invest $44 million in the Canada Revenue Agency to do three things: provide tools, technology, and teams to deal with tax evasion in Canada.

Housing  Madam Speaker, we are very aware of the challenge faced by hard-working families who call cities like Vancouver and Toronto home. The very first action of the Minister of Finance, barely a month after being sworn in, was to take measures to address pockets of risk in markets like Vancouver and Toronto by increasing the minimum down payment of insured mortgages above $500,000.

The Economy  Madam Speaker, I thank my hon. colleague for his question. I would encourage him to read budget 2016 because the plan we created for Canadians targets growth. We talked about historic investments and infrastructure, including an infrastructure investment of $120 billion over 10 years.

Pensions  Madam Speaker, I thank my colleague for her question. My colleague should be pleased because our Minister of Finance is dealing with the pension problem in Canada. It would be pretentious to make assumptions about the outcome of the meeting. This government is open and co-operative.

Canada Revenue Agency  Madam Speaker, our government believes that all Canadians should pay their fair share of taxes in the jurisdiction in which they earned their revenue and profits, and the hon. member knows that. The last agreement was signed by the previous government on June 15, 2015. International tax evasion and tax avoidance have been the subjects of discussions at the G7 and G20.

Canada Revenue Agency  Madam Speaker, I thank my colleague for his question. The Liberal government made a commitment to combat tax evasion during the last election campaign. We have made historic investments in the Canada Revenue Agency, to the tune of $444 million, to outfit the agency with the tools, technology, and teams it needs to conduct investigations and put an end to tax evasion and tax avoidance.

Pensions  Madam Speaker, every Canadian shares the goal of a secure retirement. That is why our Minister of Finance, in one of his first acts, met with provincial ministers of finance in order to look at CPP enhancement. I am proud to say that under his leadership, on Monday, provincial ministers of finance will meet with him in order to ensure Canadians can retire in dignity.

Main Estimates 2016-17  Madam Speaker, I thank my hon. colleague, who is a veteran member of this House from whom we can all learn. He is also knowledgeable about waste water. I thank him for his question, because this gives me a chance to talk about a significant investment made in the latest budget.

Main Estimates 2016-17  Madam Speaker, I thank my colleague, who has vast experience in municipal politics. I thank her for her comments because she truly understands the needs of the municipalities, not just in urban areas, but also in rural areas, as I do. I can tell her, and I think that the House has taken note, that the minister said that we would go up to 50% during phase one of the historic infrastructure investment program.

Main Estimates 2016-17  Madam Speaker, Canadians had a lot to be concerned about. That is why they elected us after 10 years of Conservative government. That is why we are in power today. What I can say about infrastructure is that if the previous government did such a good job, I am surprised that I have heard across Canada that we need to make an historic investment, which we are making, of $120 billion in infrastructure.