“A new report from the Auditor General says Canada's money-laundering watchdog is not doing its job. It says the agency is failing to catch or stop money laundering. Does the Minister of Finance accept that his agency is failing to stop this crime?”

“Mr. Speaker, today the Auditor General released a sobering report on Canada’s anti-money laundering watchdog, FINTRAC, which reports directly to the Minister of Finance. Here is the bottom line up front. The AG said, “FINTRAC did not effectively carry out its role in overseeing compliance with Canada’s anti-money laundering laws” and that “limited FINTRAC’s ability to help detect, prevent, and deter money laundering.” Does the Minister of Finance accept the Auditor General’s findings that his agency is failing to prevent money laundering, terrorist financing and sanctions evasion in Canada?”

“The government broke its promise to create an agency to fight financial crime. It takes 112 days on average for the government to share financial clues with police, which is too late to be useful. Why is the finance minister not giving police the tools they need to stop money laundering and terror funding?”

“Mr. Speaker, if the government was serious about this issue, it would have created the agency, which it promised in 2021, and it would not have missed the legal deadline to review the Proceeds of Crime, Money Laundering, and Terrorist Financing Act. The reality is that police need timely access to this information, and yet the Auditor General found that it took on average 112 days for FINTRAC to give law enforcement information, and said that it was, “too late to be useful.” Why is the Minister of Finance not giving police across Canada the tools and information they need to stop money laundering and terrorist financing?”

“Inflation is up, economic growth is slowing, and paying interest on the national debt is the government's fastest-growing cost. The Liberals have run deficits for 11 straight years and broken their budget promises. This spending drives up the cost of living. When will the government stop running deficits?”

“Mr. Speaker, the Bank of Canada says inflation is rising and economic growth is slowing, while the Parliamentary Budget Officer says interest on the national debt is the fastest-growing government expense. The cost of government is driving up the cost of living and these Liberals have broken every fiscal promise, smashed through every fiscal guardrail and cut loose every fiscal anchor they have ever set. For 11 straight years, they have tabled deficits. When will the government finally stop its inflationary deficit spending?”

“Unemployment, grocery prices, inflation, and interest rates are all going up. The Prime Minister's spending caused this, making it harder for people to pay for or buy a home. I want to know if the government will stop this spending in the next budget.”

“Mr. Speaker, unemployment is up, grocery costs are up, inflation is up and now interest rates are up. Yesterday, deficit-fuelled inflation caused the Bank of Canada to raise interest rates, with the six big banks following. For those who own a home, their mortgage payment just got more expensive, and for those aspiring to buy one, that dream has just been pushed further out of reach, all because the Prime Minister could not control his spending. With their upcoming budget, will the Liberals stop their inflationary spending?”

“Higher interest rates and inflation will hurt families by raising mortgage costs and slowing down housing. I want the government to answer if any of its ministers understand that big debts and deficits cause inflation.”

“Mr. Speaker, this is terrible news for all Canadian families. Yesterday, the Bank of Canada announced that, for the first time in three years, the key interest rate is set to rise and inflation is set to climb to 3.5% for the year as a whole. What does this mean in practical terms? It means that mortgage rates will rise. It risks slowing home sales, placing additional pressure on homeowners and bringing housing construction to a standstill. Is there a single minister in this government who actually understands that colossal debts and deficits lead to inflation?”

“The Governor of the Bank of Canada says the Liberals have made a mess of the economy. Grocery prices are rising even faster this year than last year. I want the minister to explain why his government's policies are driving these prices up.”

“Mr. Speaker, I would invite the minister to update his statistics or, at the very least, check with the the Governor of the Bank of Canada to get the latest figures. The governor is the one saying that the Liberals’ management of the economy is a complete mess. What is the result? Grocery prices are going to go up. The governor is saying that prices will rise faster than last year, and things were already terrible last year. That is what life is like after 11 years of Liberal governance. Can the minister tell Canadians or the Governor of the Bank of Canada why the Liberals’ inflationary policies are causing grocery prices to rise even more sharply this year than last year?”

“The government's school food program cannot feed 400,000 more kids like the minister claims. The money only works out to less than three dollars per child each day, but the average school lunch costs over six dollars. I want the minister to show the math and data behind her claim.”

“Mr. Speaker, Breakfast Club of Canada told committee this week that the $1-billion school food program has lost 22% of its grocery purchasing power because of inflation, yet the minister keeps insisting that the program feeds an extra 400,000 kids a year. The math does not math. When we divide the money over five years and 180 school days per year, it averages less than three dollars per target child per day, but a five-province study found that the average lunch costs $6.45, double, which feeds a lot fewer kids. Will the minister table the national data and costing behind her claims? Hungry kids want to check her homework.”