Taxation  Mr. Speaker, I thank my hon. colleague. The Conservatives are the ones who sunk the economic ship, but I will repeat for the benefit of my colleague that, thanks to our plan for economic growth, we are going to continue to responsibly invest in the economy. We are going to continue to reduce our debt-to-GDP ratio throughout our mandate.

Finance  Mr. Speaker, first, it is Friday, so let me salute my family in the gallery today, and let me—

Finance  Mr. Speaker, in answer to my colleague, we have plan to grow this economy. On October 19, Canadians made a real choice. They made the choice of growth. We are going to do that with our three principles. We are going to do that responsibly. We are going to continue to reduce our debt-to-GDP ratio throughout our mandate.

Finance  Mr. Speaker, I thank my hon. colleague for his question. The only people who do not realize that the Conservatives left behind a deficit are the Conservatives. Everyone else in Canada realizes it. We have a plan for growth, and Canadians made that choice on October 19. We will continue what we started in December when we cut taxes for the middle class.

Taxation  Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague. This government has a plan for the middle class. In December, this government committed to lowering taxes for the middle class. In the next budget, we will follow up by making historic investments in infrastructure, innovation, and productivity.

Taxation  Mr. Speaker, the one thing we will never take is lessons from the previous government about deficits. That is for sure. Let me tell the House that. We have a plan to invest in the economy, and that is exactly what we are going to do. We were clear with Canadians in October that we will do it responsibly.

The Economy  Mr. Speaker, I thank my hon. colleague for the question. The Conservatives left a deficit. They left Canada's public finances in a sorry state. Fortunately, on October 19, Canadians chose growth. In December, we launched our economic plan by lowering taxes for the middle class.

The Economy  Mr. Speaker, I thank my hon. colleague for the question. Only the Conservatives think that we can use a two-month period to determine whether there was a surplus or a deficit during a fiscal year. The reality is that we have a plan for growth. We launched our plan in December, and we will continue down this path in order to create growth.

The Economy  Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank my hon. colleague for his question. Economists agree that the time has come to invest in the economy. The only ones who do not understand that are the members opposite. At a time like this, we need to invest in the economy. We need to generate economic growth.

The Economy  Mr. Speaker, I thank my hon. colleague for her question even though I do not really understand it. If any party has been clear about its plan for the middle class, it is the current government. In December, we cut taxes for the middle class, which will help over nine million Canadians.

The Economy  Mr. Speaker, I thank my hon. colleague for the question. On October 19, Canadians made a very clear choice: they chose growth. In December, we started to follow through on our plan by lowering taxes for the middle class, a measure that is benefiting more than nine million Canadians.

Social Development  Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank the hon. member for his good question. In budget 2016, our government will introduce the Canada child benefit, a tax-free, monthly benefit for families with children. The CCB will ensure that the maximum help is provided to those families who need it most.

Finance  Mr. Speaker, the previous government left us with a $150 billion in additional debt for our country. We will continue to invest and grow our economy, but we will follow three key principles. That is what we said during the campaign and that is what we will do. We will continue to have a debt-to-GDP ratio on a downward track, we will be fiscally prudent in how we invest our money, and we will get back to a balanced budget by the end of our term.

Finance  Mr. Speaker, I am happy to say that it is only my hon. colleagues who believe that. The previous Liberal government left behind a $13 billion surplus in 2006. The Conservative government squandered that surplus and accumulated $150 billion of additional debt. We have a plan to grow the economy in this country, invest in our communities, invest in our middle class, invest in infrastructure.

Finance  I will use my speaking points just as my colleague did, Mr. Speaker. The only people who believe that the previous Conservatives left behind a surplus are the Conservatives themselves. Canadians know better. Make no mistake, the Government of Canada will post a deficit for the period 2015-16, and that deficit rests squarely on the shoulders of the previous government as a result of its action or inaction.