“This bill makes it easier for foreign companies, especially American ones, to buy Canadian banks. I want to know why the government is allowing this. It goes against their promise to protect Canadians from Donald Trump.”

“Mr. Speaker, I have a somewhat technical question. The bill impacts several laws, including the Bank Act. If I understand correctly, the government is making it easier for foreign entities to take control of Canadian banks. The government was elected on a promise to protect the public from President Trump, yet it now appears to be facilitating the takeover of Canadian banks by various entities, particularly American ones. Could this be because Brookfield is now registered in the United States so that it can continue to use tax havens, or is this really just kowtowing to the American president?”

“This economic plan does not help people who are hurt most by high prices, especially seniors. The government treats some seniors better than others. I want to know why this plan does not give every senior the same pension starting at age 65.”

“Mr. Speaker, the government likes to brag a lot about the economic update, saying from the get-go that it addresses the cost-of-living issue and that it will solve the current problem of inflation. However, there is not much in this economic statement that actually helps people, particularly those most affected by inflation, such as people on fixed incomes, like seniors. Nothing was announced for them. That was something that the Bloc Québécois had asked for. There is an unfairness among seniors. This government created two classes of seniors and it is still unable to solve this problem, even though it has economic consequences. Why did my colleague and his government not use this economic update to ensure that all seniors receive the same pension amoun, starting at age 65?”

“Our health care system needs more money. Costs are going up faster than federal funding. I want the member to push the government to give more money to health care.”

“Mr. Speaker, I would first like to welcome the newly elected member and congratulate her on her excellent speech. I believe this is her first speech. Large parts of it were delivered in impeccable French. It is heartwarming to hear that. I was very moved by my colleague’s concern for health care. That is the top priority for people in Quebec. People often speak to me about it. Unfortunately, our health care system is under strain. This is often due to a lack of funding. One demand the Bloc Québécois has been making of the government for years is to increase funding for the health care system. Health transfers are increasing by about 3% a year, but the costs of the system are rising by 6% a year. We are therefore in the same situation as we were during the Harper years. Will my hon. colleague put pressure on the government to increase health care funding?”

“The deficit is only lower than expected because the government delayed spending and spent less on natural disasters. Also, the new $25 billion fund is kept off the budget balance sheet, but it still adds $25 billion to our debt. I want to know if that is a good idea.”

“Mr. Speaker, I want to congratulate my colleague on his very interesting speech. I will come back to what he said at the beginning about the deficit, which is lower than expected because growth was higher than expected, given that government spending was deferred. There is also another factor. The disaster mitigation and adaptation fund was used less than anticipated. If there had been more floods or fires, we would have had the expected deficit. I want to raise another point that my colleague mentioned later in his speech: the Canada Strong fund. That is $25 billion over three years. It does not appear on the balance sheet. In accounting terms, it is off-budget because it is asset-backed. However, as the member said, it still adds $25 billion to the government’s debt, even if it does not appear in the deficit. Is that a good idea?”