Business of the House  Mr. Speaker, the Conservatives are the only ones who are self-interested. Since my hon. colleague says that we are not following the recommendations made by our officials or departmental staff, I will quote the Update of Economic and Fiscal Projections 2015: The Government will pursue an approach to fiscal management that is realistic, sustainable, prudent and transparent.

Business of the House  Mr. Speaker, more than anyone else, we do trust the public servants who will help us frame the next budget. I had the privilege to travel with people from the department to listen to Canadians from coast to coast to coast. I had about 50 meetings with officials. We listened to Canadians.

Business of the House  Mr. Speaker, I thank my hon. colleague for the question. We have already lowered taxes for nine million Canadians. That is exactly what we have done. We will continue to work on our social policies. We will also invest in the Canada child benefit. As we all know, and as we said during the campaign, this measure will help nine out of 10 families.

Business of the House  Mr. Speaker, I would first like to thank my colleague from Berthier—Maskinongé for her question. Her riding is right next to mine, Saint-Maurice—Champlain. I can assure my colleague that I have been working hard to move forward on the pyrrhotite file every day since I was elected on October 19.

Business of the House  Mr. Speaker, I will be sharing my time with my colleague from Mississauga—Lakeshore. It is a privilege for me to be here to participate in this important debate on today's motion. I would like to reassure my hon. colleague that we have complete confidence in the abilities of the dedicated officials at the Department of Finance, who are currently working on the 2016 budget.

Business of Supply  Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank my hon. colleague for sharing that tale with Canadians. My hon. colleague forgot one thing, though: on October 19, Canadians clearly chose a government that invests in Canadians, in infrastructure, and in the middle class. She asked us if we held consultations.

The Economy  Mr. Speaker, we will continue to invest in growing the economy, but as we have said from the start, we will follow three cardinal principles in our approach. We will reduce the debt-to-GDP ratio, make prudent investments in our infrastructure, and return to a balanced budget before the end of our term.

The Economy  Mr. Speaker, I am always amazed when I hear my colleague opposite. Canadians know that the time to invest is when interest rates are low. That is what we said. We began in December with our plan to cut taxes for the middle class. In the next budget, we will introduce the Canada child benefit and make historic investments in infrastructure.

The Economy  Mr. Speaker, the only people who believe the Conservatives did not leave us with a deficit are the Conservatives themselves. The “Fiscal Monitor” is a snapshot in time. It is looking at our bank statement before we have paid the bills. It does not tell the whole story. The economic and fiscal update clearly shows that the previous government put us on track for a $3-billion deficit for this year.

The Economy  Mr. Speaker, as I just said to the hon. colleague, the previous government has put us on track for a $3-billion deficit for this year. We have a plan to grow the economy, to invest in Canadians, to create investments to grow our economy, and to invest in infrastructure. That is what we said, and that is exactly what we will be doing.

Income Tax Act  Mr. Speaker, I enjoyed listening to my hon. colleague, except for his political manifesto. It is time to set the record straight. To say it in English, we need to set the record straight. First of all, I applaud my hon. colleague's intervention, since he indicated that the Bloc Québécois plans to support Bill C-2.

Income Tax Act  Mr. Speaker, I wish the member's daughter a happy birthday. This is a place for serious discussion, but also we have families. I am very pleased that he acknowledged his daughter. It is very simple. Our tax plan is to reduce taxes for nine million Canadians. We went across the country and spoke with people from all walks of life, small business owners, people from the non-profit sector, and people from universities.

Income Tax Act  Mr. Speaker, the answer is quite simple. We have chosen to invest in the middle class. In 2013, just 6.7% of eligible Canadians made the maximum contribution. When the Conservatives doubled the maximum yearly contribution, it did nothing for 93.3% of Canadians. During the election campaign, we said that we would help the vast majority of Canadians, the middle class, and that is what we have done.

Income Tax Act  Mr. Speaker, Canadians understand that when interest rates are low, we invest in the economy to grow the economy. My answer for my constituents is simple. I told them what we would do with the economy, and that is exactly what we are doing. In December we started our plan by reducing taxes for the middle class.

Income Tax Act  Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to speak today. I want to begin by acknowledging my hon. colleague across the way, who said: Does the government have a plan? I can assure the House that the government has a plan. We first reduced taxes. I cannot believe that the hon. member would be against that.