Carlos Leitão

Mr. Speaker, I think I can safely say that, no, we will not vote for the Conservative motion. In fact, the motion would make things far worse. Some hon. members: Oh, oh! Carlos Leitão: Yes, it would. Yes, it would. Let me just say this, Mr. Speaker, if I may. Our current suspension of the federal excise tax for four months, at 10¢ a litre, will cost $2.4 billion. How much would the [more]

Mr. Speaker, talking about seniors, that is exactly what I would like to ask my colleague about, because we do have in Canada the program of old age security and the guaranteed income supplement. Together we are talking about something like $85 billion. Does my colleague think that the new, right Conservatives would probably put an axe to those programs?

Mr. Chair, the International Monetary Fund released its annual report a short time ago, which includes very encouraging remarks about Canada and the Canadian economy, despite the cloud of uncertainty hanging over the global economy. The IMF had some really positive things to say about us. When the minister is abroad, speaking with his counterparts and with investors looking to invest here, what [more]

Mr. Speaker, I understand the situation very well. In my riding also, folks talk to us all the time about the high prices of gasoline and about the high cost of living. Everybody is worried about that. Also, folks do understand that the current high prices of gasoline come from the very sudden increase in crude oil prices, which is totally out of the government's control. By the way, oil is a [more]

Mr. Speaker, before I ask my question, there is something that the members opposite have been saying over and over again, which is that, in 2014, oil prices were what they are now and gasoline prices were much lower. That is just not correct. It is factually incorrect. Perhaps they should stop saying that. Oil prices started 2014 at $100 a barrel, and they closed the year at $57. That was the [more]

Mr. Speaker, first of all, I want to thank my colleague for his speech. I also commend his party, since he said that the Bloc Québécois will be voting against the Conservative motion. In that regard, we are on the same wavelength. There are, of course, many other things my colleague mentioned that I do not fully agree with. There is just one aspect that I would like him to clarify for me. He [more]

Mr. Speaker, I am not even going to go to the money-printing side because that could take a few minutes. That is a whole different discussion. For example, I would never say I would fire the governor of the central bank. As a country, we do not say those things. Leader of the Opposition The very specific question I have is this. In 2014, yes, the crude oil price started the year at $100 a [more]

Minister of Finance Mr. Chair, I have some questions for our excellent. I am sorry about where I am sitting because we will have to turn. I did not choose my seating arrangement strategically. Perhaps the Minister of Finance could talk to us a little about what it really means to have a AAA credit rating. When he travels and meets with colleagues from other G7 countries, what does it mean to [more]

Mr. Chair, the economic update includes many measures, but I would like to focus on one in particular and ask the minister if he can comment on it. Unfortunately, we do not have much time. I am thinking in particular of the investment fund, the Canada Strong fund, which I think is an excellent idea. Could the minister comment on that?

C-30 Mr. Chair, it is my turn to talk about Billand to talk about the economic context in which our economic update was presented recently and, especially, the Canadian economy. What we have witnessed in the last year at least, since I have been here, is that our colleagues from the official opposition have developed this skill of offering really simplistic solutions to what are highly complex [more]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to congratulate my colleague on his speech, and I thank him for reiterating that the Bloc Québécois will be voting against this motion. We are on the same page, which is great. I would also like to thank my colleague for pointing out that, lately, our Conservative friends have often referred to the price of gas in 2014. However, what the Conservative members are saying [more]

Okay, that was 20 years ago. It might be time to do another one now, but, again, I understand it would be up to us to make that decision. I have just one final question. You also mentioned this. Perhaps it is not very well known publicly, but there is also a federal fiscal stabilization payment. Perhaps in the time we have left, you could just talk a little bit about that.