Jim Bélanger

“Mr. Speaker, I want to begin by saying that I will be sharing my time with the member for Québec Centre. I am pleased to have the opportunity to rise today to speak to a subject that we all agree on, the importance of improving the cost of living for Canadians. We all hear about this. I think that members on both sides of the House agree that the cost of living is a very important issue for Canadians. It is an issue that I hear about in my riding, as do my colleagues. What we do not agree on is how to go about improving the cost of living. Our government is taking action to to improve the cost of living and to make life more affordable for people in our communities. I want to talk about some of the measures that we have put in place to help people in my riding and across Canada. It must be said that we are going through a very difficult time because of the highly unstable global geopolitical climate. This has been going on for several years now. Yes, we need to take action, but all of these tensions have consequences. That is what we, in the government, are working on. In the long and medium terms, we need to improve our fiscal situation and our trade so that we are in a more comfortable position. In the short term, we are proposing measures that will provide immediate support for Canadians, measures that will give them some relief. We do not want to make these permanent expenditures. What we need to do is strengthen our economy. That is what we are working on. The government’s response to the current cost of living crisis is to expand opportunities for businesses through federal procurement and to help them take advantage of those opportunities. Major projects that will spur economic growth are a good example. We are going to buy Canadian and build Canadian. We want Canadian businesses to prosper here at home, and it is working. Many Canadian companies are winning contracts. At the same time, we need to diversify our markets. We are overly reliant on a single trading partner. As we often say, when our neighbour to the south sneezes, Canada catches a cold. We cannot continue like that. We need to diversify our markets. A tremendous amount of work has already been done over the past year. More than 20 new agreements have been signed with new partners. That will create significant wealth here at home. When we create wealth, it means our businesses are thriving, paying taxes, and providing good-paying jobs for Canadians. As a result, we are creating the right conditions for a stronger, more resilient and more prosperous economy. Another aspect I want to talk about is fiscal responsibility. One of the things our government is working on is creating additional fiscal room within government. This fiscal room allows us to invest in businesses and streamline certain government operations. Very recently, we announced that we are going to cut red tape in a wide range of areas within government. Our businesses welcome those changes because they make it easier to do business. They are also very cost-effective because they allow us to achieve the same results with fewer resources. That is one of the solutions we are putting in place. The results we are achieving is a country where the net debt-to-GDP ratio is the lowest of any G7 nation. That bears repeating, because it is a game-changer. It inspires trust in people who want to invest in Canada. It reassures them that they can keep investing and that we are heading in the right direction. Our public finances are on a solid footing, and we are on a path to long-term sustainability. Budget 2025, tabled almost a year ago to the day, set us on a very positive course. We have made other federal investments to stimulate private investment and strengthen the economy. That is what we have been able to achieve. At the same time, we reduced operating costs. The money that we freed up is allowing us to invest even more. Over the next five years, we expect to save $60 billion through operating cost reductions. Sixty billion dollars in operating expenditures saved over five years makes all the difference in the government’s ability to direct its resources toward far more productive long-term priorities, including investments. That has required a great deal of adjustment. Some of that work is still ongoing, but those adjustments had not been made since the COVID-19 pandemic.. The government had to hire a lot of people to support the wide range of programs that were rolled out at the time. We are continuing that streamlining effort and reviewing public service staffing levels. Middle management is allowing us to move more quickly in some cases while also creating additional fiscal room.. This budgetary approach ensures that we carry out horizontal, targeted and ongoing reviews. As a result, it is constantly being updated. We are reducing expenditures on external management and consulting services while strengthening in-house capacity. We aim to balance budgetary and operating expenditures by the 2028-29 fiscal year and keep the deficit-to-GDP ratio on a downward path. We are already on track to achieve this. This balance in expenditures, originally projected for the 2027-28 fiscal year, will now be achieved a full year ahead of schedule. That progress confirms that we are on the right track. By clearly distinguishing between day-to-day operating expenses and long-term investments, we are able to stay on a positive trajectory. I would also like to highlight a number of measures that are in place and that directly support the people of my riding. In Compton—Stanstead, 14,000 families benefit from child and family benefits, receiving assistance to help cover expenses such as education, sports and other things. As a result, approximately 25,000 children receive support, and nearly $100 million is distributed in my constituency through the Canada child benefit. We also created the Canadian dental care plan. Nearly 33,000 people in my riding are benefiting from this dental care benefit. People can now go to the dentist, which has a long-term impact on overall health, and that is extremely important. Those are two examples with figures from my riding. We also doubled the GST and HST credit last summer, which became the Canada groceries and essentials benefit. We also increased it by 25%. That money is going into the pockets of the people who need it most. It gives them a little more money for all the essential items they may need. That is why I said at the beginning of my speech that we are taking action not only in the medium and long term, but also in the shorter term, with measures like this one, to put more money in families’ pockets now. Our fiscal framework allows us to choose these kinds of solutions and deliver benefits in regions like mine. We have taken other steps aimed at reducing fuel-related costs as well. We know this is a significant expense. In rural areas like mine, people travel a lot. They need a car. We are working on that. We have programs for energy-efficient home renovations. In fact, the Prime Minister visited the Eastern Townships to discuss a heat pump program. We continue to make progress on the issue of housing costs by building more homes. I believe that our government is putting in place the tools we need to help keep the cost of living for Canadians in check. We will continue to work toward that goal in the short, medium, and long term.”