Discussion · Government Orders
Jean-Denis Garon Bloc Québécois
“Our economy is facing hard times and external tariffs, so our budget choices matter. To keep debt under control, we must make tough decisions. The Prime Minister makes these decisions and takes the credit for them. He needs to come to a parliamentary committee to answer for them.”
“Madam Speaker, I did not write the budget, thank God. Perhaps that answers my colleague’s question. This is not an easy situation. The reality is that the economic situation is really not easy. No one here decided to impose tariffs on us; they were imposed on us from outside. We are experiencing major structural challenges, and in a situation like this, the choices we make become all the more important. When there is growth, as there was in the 1990s, when money flows freely and the economy is doing well, we can afford to be less discriminating in the choices we make without it having an immediate impact. The motion does not call for a return to a balanced budget, far from it. What the motion says is that if we want the debt-to-GDP ratio to stabilize, we will have to make choices. These are not easy choices, but I think it is up to the Prime Minister to answer for them. Like many Quebeckers and Canadians, I think that a lot of things get decided in the Prime Minister’s Office. One cannot take all the credit, hold press conferences, travel the world trumpeting the decision, and then turn around and say that the minister will handle it. The Prime Minister wants to make the decisions, and he must answer for those decisions in the appropriate parliamentary forum, namely before a committee.”
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Madam Speaker, I did not write the budget, thank God. Perhaps that answers my colleague’s question. This is not an easy situation. The reality is that the economic situation is really not easy. No one here decided to impose tariffs on us; they were imposed on us from outside. We are experiencing major structural challenges, and in a situation like this, the choices we make become all the more important. When there is growth, as there was in the 1990s, when money flows freely and the economy is doing well, we can afford to be less discriminating in the choices we make without it having an immediate impact. The motion does not call for a return to a balanced budget, far from it. What the motion says is that if we want the debt-to-GDP ratio to stabilize, we will have to make choices. These are not easy choices, but I think it is up to the Prime Minister to answer for them. Like many Quebeckers and Canadians, I think that a lot of things get decided in the Prime Minister’s Office. One cannot take all the credit, hold press conferences, travel the world trumpeting the decision, and then turn around and say that the minister will handle it. The Prime Minister wants to make the decisions, and he must answer for those decisions in the appropriate parliamentary forum, namely before a committee.