François-Philippe Champagne
Saint-Maurice—Champlain, Quebec · Liberal · Canada
“Mr. Speaker, during this final question period before the summer recess, I would have expected the Leader of the Opposition to thank the Prime Minister of Canada for the work he did at the G7 summit. We brought back 13 deals that will generate $5 billion.”
“Mr. Speaker, let me remind the leader that we will take no lessons from the Conservatives. He needs to be reminded. We have the second-fastest growing economy in the G7.”
“Mr. Speaker, as we come to the end of the session, we would expect the Leader of the Opposition to be a bit more cheerful because, in fact, there is good news. If he wants to look at results, Canada is the second-fastest growing economy in the G7. We have seen that investment in machinery and equipment is up.”
“Mr. Speaker, we hear the Conservatives talk against the economy. On this side of the House, we are proud. We are proud to have the most skilled workers in the world. We are proud to have an auto industry, a maritime industry, and an aerospace industry. We are proud to have critical minerals for the 21st century.”
“Mr. Speaker, I would like to begin by thanking the member for Hull—Aylmer for his question and for all his leadership. I am sure that my colleagues will agree with me. He is right. Last week, we unveiled the national food security strategy, because we know that food security is a top priority for Canadians.”
“Mr. Speaker, my colleague will be pleased to hear that the Canadian economy ranks second in the G7 in terms of growth. Not only are we seeing growth, but we are also seeing investment; Bombardier is a perfect example of that. Quebec's aerospace industry is thriving. We have always been there to defend our industries.”
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“Madam Chair, humility in politics is the best thing someone can have. I do not want to correct the member, but in fact the member should know that people in her riding can save up to $840 for a family with two incomes. This is great news, and I am sure she is going to put that in her householder.”
“Madam Chair, the Liberals did not wait. The first thing we did in this House, which the member voted in favour of, was a ways and means motion to reduce taxes for 22 million Canadians. She should be proud. She can put that in her householder to inform all her constituents that she voted—”
“Madam Chair, I know the member is eager to present it to her constituents and have her constituents look at this great budget, but she will have to wait just a bit longer. It is going to be great, and she is going to be proud of the budget.”
“Madam Chair, my colleague will be pleased to see that in the main estimates for Finance Canada, 99% of the funds requested are for statutory programs. Only 1% of it is for the operation of Finance Canada.”
“Madam Chair, can I take the opportunity to welcome the member to the House? I will be happy to answer all her questions, but first I think she deserves to be welcomed in the House. We are delighted to have her with us tonight.”
“Madam Chair, again, I do not want to go down this line of questioning with the member, because he is an honourable member, but why did he vote against a program to support children, the national child care program? If the member wants to go down that line of questioning, he has to be able to take the heat from his constituents, who are going to ask, “Why did he vote against the program?””
“Madam Chair, I have a lot of respect for the member, but why did he vote against a national school food program for children? That is the question people are asking tonight. If he wants to go with this line of questioning, I am happy to answer, but people—”
“Madam Chair, would the member apologize to the children of Canada, including the children in his riding, for voting against a food program for children? When we make an allegation in this House, we have to be careful of the answer. He voted against a program to help children.”
“Madam Chair, I am sure people watching at home tonight are wondering, “What is the member going to tell the people who are using the food bank about why he voted against programs that would help them?” That is really the question people watching at home are asking tonight.”
“Madam Chair, one thing every member in the House should be careful about is being authentic. When members vote against measures that help the people they represent, they cannot stand in the House and moralize to other members. The member has voted against measures to help Canadians, and he knows that very well.”
“Madam Chair, in terms of apology, I think the member should apologize to all Canadians for having voted against every measure that would support Canadians. Whether it was about child care, dental care or any program that helps Canadians, the member voted against it. That is not exactly good.”
“Madam Chair, my colleague will be pleased to learn that the tax cut we have offered is going to help 22 million Canadians, and obviously a number of Ontarians. I am happy he voted in favour of that particular—”
“Madam Chair, it is common knowledge that we have retaliatory measures in place against the tariffs imposed by the United States targeting $95 billion worth of imported goods. I know my colleague, in his heart, wants to support us in fighting against these U.S. tariffs so we can protect our industries and, at the same time, build a strong Canada together.”
“Madam Chair, I am pleased to see that my Bloc Québécois colleague has spent enough time reading the Liberal platform for it to inspire him. I encourage him to continue his reading. Clearly, what we said was that we were going to fight these tariffs, protect our industry workers and build a strong Canada.”
“Madam Chair, my colleague knows full well that things move quickly where tariffs are concerned. That is why I told him that we had already collected $1.7 billion. We want to be clear that our objective is to fight for an end to tariffs. Then there would be no need for retaliatory measures. My colleague understands that well. That is why we said we would reinvest everything we collect in defending our workers and our industries.”
“Madam Chair, the member for Mirabel knows things. What we want is to avoid having tariffs. To date, we have already collected $1.7 billion, but the end goal is to have no tariffs. That way, there will be no retaliatory measures against the tariffs imposed by the United States. We will always be there to defend industry.”
“Madam Chair, as I have already said, we want to do more with regional and local media. It is a concern, as I said. The member should be happy. I am answering his question by going to the heart of it. I am saying that I am concerned about this issue. I have talked to people in the industry. It is a cordial question. I am even reaching out to the member so that he can make suggestions to the Standing Committee on Finance to move the issue forward. It is something that is near and dear to my heart.”
“Madam Chair, on the contrary, I am very much in tune with the various stakeholders in the sector. I would like to point out that my colleague may be open to the idea of having a parliamentary committee look into this issue and advise us. I am very interested in his question. I will continue to talk to the industry. We will work hand in hand.”
“Madam Chair, I thank the member for Mirabel. I really appreciate his question, because this is one of the issues I have discussed with various industry representatives. Like me and my colleagues on the other side, we all want to promote national, local and regional media. Yes, this issue is very important to me. I sincerely thank him for this question, because it is an issue that concerns me personally, specifically how we can support local media here in Canada and ensure their prosperity. Yes, we are looking at that.”
“Madam Chair, the goal is to reduce them, not increase them. We will therefore continue to work together, particularly with our colleagues in the public service, to be as efficient as possible and to provide Canadian citizens with the best possible services.”
“Madam Chair, let us look at the numbers. I know he is eager to get to that. Ninety-nine percent of the content in the Department of Finance estimates is statutory spending. Only 1% is operating expenditures for the Department of Finance. That accounts for over $200 million. That is a direct transfer to Newfoundland and Labrador for the Hibernia project. I am sure my colleague is happy about getting into the numbers.”
“Madam Chair, I want to take this opportunity to thank all the public servants here with us this evening. They are doing a tremendous job. What we said was that we are going to be responsible. The Prime Minister has already spoken on this issue. We deeply appreciate the work of the public service, but at the same time, we want to make a service—”
“Madam Chair, for the people of Mirabel and Saint-Maurice-Champlain who are tuning in, I am going to keep this simple. People at home understand that when they go to the grocery store, they are spending money, and when they buy a house, they are investing money. People at home understand the difference in no uncertain terms. We will be extremely transparent about the accounting rules we apply.”
“Madam Chair, my colleague will have to wait for the budget to be tabled. I know that he is looking forward to it. It is coming in the fall. When fall arrives, he will be very happy to see a budget that will build a strong and ambitious Canada.”
“Madam Chair, I would never claim to be an expert in British law, but I know that it is a unitary country. We recently welcomed King Charles III, who was here with us for the Speech from the Throne. I think that my colleague was very pleased to be able to listen to the Speech from the Throne.”
“Madam Chair, the member for Mirabel is very experienced. He knows very well how the carbon pricing system worked. I do not think that I can add anything to what he knows already. He knows the facts quite well.”
“Madam Chair, the dealers know me well and they appreciate the work that we have done because they know that Quebec is now part of the automotive industry. We are always ready to look at what more we can do together.”
“Madam Chair, what I can say is that we have been there. Let us remember the major projects that we have undertaken. I would invite the member for Mirabel to come and visit Bécancour, in my riding. He will be proud to see what we have managed to build together.”
“Madam Chair, I have had several discussions with the automotive sector in Quebec and Canada. The stakeholders know that I have always worked hand in hand with them, which has allowed us to attract record investments.”
“Madam Chair, I would first like to congratulate my colleague from Mirabel on his election. He is a colleague whom I have always enjoyed working with. He is a colleague who is always there to advance the interests of Quebec and his constituents. We always enjoy working together. My colleague will know that we have made major investments in Quebec. We brought Quebec into the automotive industry when I was the industry minister. This is a major achievement that we accomplished with our counterparts in the Quebec government, because we knew that Quebec had to play a role in the automotive industry. We will continue to fight to ensure that Quebec can be part of this great electric vehicle supply chain in this country.”
“Madam Chair, this is probably the most important question tonight. I do not want to prejudge the rest, but honestly, once we have one Canadian economy, as I have heard economists repeating time and time again, it is going to unlock GDP growth in this country. I want to praise the Prime Minister and the premiers across this country, because they came together very recently to say we need to build this country, we need to act as one, we need to make sure that we have one assessment and one project, and we need to make sure that we move to faster approval of projects so we can work together as one nation. This is the time to build. This is the time to be ambitious. This is the time to build the resilient Canada that we all hope for.”
“Madam Chair, we all remember the years when we had a government that was spending but at the same time did not necessarily have the back of Canadians. We understand that, in times like this, what we want to do is be there to support Canadians with programs. I can think, for example, of the dental care program. I can think of the programs we have put in place with respect to social security. I can think of the program we did for child care and early learning in this country. Those are the kinds of programs that are part of the fabric of this country, and I know that Canadians watching at home are very attached to these programs. If we look at the main estimates, we see that a good part of the amounts refer to transfers that would be done to provinces and territories and that also support great services for Canadians.”
“We are the true north strong and free, and the mission we have to build a strong, resilient and ambitious Canada is resonating from coast to coast to coast. I am happy that my colleague, the member, is supporting that agenda. She is great, and she is doing great work. The people in her riding really appreciate her work.”
“Madam Chair, my colleague raised a very important question. The Prime Minister has been clear from day one that we are going to fight. We are going to fight the unjustified and illegal tariffs that have been imposed on Canada, on our communities, on our workers and on our industries. At the same time, we are going to protect our workers and our industries, because we said we will have their back; that is what we are doing on a daily basis, but at the same time, we are going to build Canada. I know that the members of the House care about that, and the Prime Minister said something that really resonated with me and with many Canadians: We can give to ourselves far more than anyone can take away from us as Canadians.”
“This is very significant for young families and for people who want to get in and buy a house. I know people are rejoicing at home tonight.”
“Madam Chair, this is a great question. My colleague is spot-on. What I said was that we introduced a ways and means motion that was voted for unanimously in the House, which contains three things. The first thing is cutting taxes for 22 million Canadians. This is probably one of the most important things we could do to help people with affordability because we are leaving more money in the pockets of Canadians. I know people watching at home care about that, and we have reduced the first bracket of imposition from 15% to 14%, which would be a real help to families across the nation. The second thing we did is really for first-time homebuyers, which is very significant. For first-time homebuyers we have eliminated the GST for houses up to $1 million, for that represents $50,000 in savings.”
“The government has removed the requirement for provinces and territories to have a carbon price for consumers. [ English ] In conclusion, the measures in the main estimates presented before the committee today are an important part of the federal government's plan to put people first and build a single, hyper-connected economy where everyone has a real and fair chance at success. We want to build the strongest economy in the G7. We are ensuring Canadians receive the health and social services they need to thrive. We are supporting Canadians through the current global challenges we face, by cutting taxes and making housing more affordable. We are catalyzing infrastructure investment and creating well-paying jobs across the country. Let us be proud. We are the true north, strong and free.”
“As a result, first-time homebuyers would be able to save up to $50,000 on new homes, and it would deliver $3.9 billion in tax savings to Canadians over the next five years. We should all be very happy to support people who want to buy a new home for the first time, as a new buyer. (1855) [ Translation ] In addition, we are putting forward our proposal to reduce the marginal tax rate for the first tax bracket of personal income from 15% to 14% effective July 1, 2025. This will provide much-needed tax relief to nearly 22 million Canadians. Twenty-two million Canadians will be able to benefit from this tax cut, which is important for the middle class. To make Canada's carbon pricing system more equitable and efficient, the Government of Canada has adopted regulations terminating the federal fuel charge effective April 1, 2025.”
“[ English ] Before I conclude, I would like to highlight some crucial measures the new government is taking to make life more affordable while building a single, interconnected and resilient Canadian economy, the one economy that I think everyone in the House and people at home are wishing for. To make buying a new home easier and to boost the construction of new homes across the country, including in the beautiful Quebec City, the government is eliminating the goods and services tax, what we call the GST, for first-time homebuyers on new homes up to $1 million and reducing the GST for first-time homebuyers on new homes between $1 million and $1.5 million. This is a great moment for Canada, and I can see how much you appreciate that, Madam Chair, because it is going to help people in your riding as well.”
“[ Translation ] Specifically, the federal government can provide up to $35 billion to the Canada Infrastructure Bank to invest in priority sectors, including public transit, green infrastructure, clean energy, broadband access, trade and transportation. By making this investment, we will build a stronger, more inclusive and more sustainable Canada for all Canadians. I can already see my Bloc Québécois colleagues smiling, because we are united in building a strong Canada. I can see it in their eyes. They are proud to support us as we build a strong Canada together.”
“[ Translation ] Another increase worth mentioning is the allocation of $200 million to the World Bank's Ukraine relief, recovery, reconstruction and reform trust fund, which will assist the country in its courageous fight against Russia's illegal invasion. This amount is part of Canada's contribution through the G7's extraordinary revenue acceleration loan initiative for Ukraine. It will be used to support projects, programs and activities that address Ukraine's budget, recovery and reconstruction needs. [ English ] Finally, I would like to touch on one important increase in the main estimates, which is to the Canada Infrastructure Bank. It was established to ensure that all Canadians can benefit from modern and sustainable infrastructure through partnerships between the private sector and all levels of government.”
“I think we can all agree that people in one part of the country should not have to pay more to receive the same basic services compared to their fellow Canadians in other parts of the country. This is all about fairness. It is why we have equalization and territorial formula financing, which, as members well know, provides funding from federal revenues to provinces and territories with a weaker ability to raise revenues, ensuring these regions can provide reasonably comparable services at reasonably comparable levels of taxation. The territorial formula financing also takes into account the higher cost of delivering services in our beloved north. We are increasing fiscal equalization by nearly $970 million and territorial financing by almost $330 million so we can continue promoting equity across our great nation.”
“What we call the Canada social transfer is intended to support three broad areas of social programming plus post-secondary education, social assistance and social services, as well as early childhood development, and early learning and child care. These all contribute to improving the social determinants of health from coast to coast to coast. Together, these transfers will promote more equity, boost social inclusion and cohesion and support a comprehensive safety net so vital to the Canadian way of life. My colleagues on this side of the house, the Liberal government, have always been there for Canadians. I know Canadians watching know we have their backs.”
“That is why—and I know my Conservative colleagues will be very interested in this part of my speech—the Canada health transfers will increase by $2.6 billion. This will ease immediate pressures on health care systems across Canada and ensure that more people can get to the hospital, receive emergency care and see a doctor quickly and efficiently. This increase reflects the federal government's February 2023 commitment to a minimum growth rate of 5% until 2027‑28. (1850) [ English ] The Canadian social transfer, which I know my Conservative colleagues care a lot about as well, will increase by $507 million as a result of the legislated 3% annual growth rate.”
“[ English ] From increasing federal transfers that uphold the core Canadian values of equal opportunity and social stability, to helping Ukraine in its fight against Russia's war of aggression and investing in the infrastructure projects that transform our communities for the better, our government is delivering the change Canadians want and deserve. I look forward to outlining these measures further as they pertain to building a greater, more inclusive and more robust economy for everyone. [ Translation ] Our government is committed to helping the provinces and territories deliver the social programs and supports that Canadians need to maintain their financial, personal and social well-being, no matter where they live in our great country.”
“Mr. Chair, it is a great pleasure to be with you this evening and with my colleagues, whom I truly appreciate. We will be spending a wonderful evening together. I want to begin by thanking all the deputy ministers who are with us this evening. This is an important evening during which I will have an opportunity to address this important committee of the whole. I would also like to thank all the senior officials who helped prepare for this evening, as well as my opposition colleagues, who play an important role in our democracy by asking questions, as they will this evening. I would like to speak specifically to some of the spending measures outlined in the main estimates that are helping to support Canadians during this period of great economic volatility while preparing us for the opportunities available to us as a nation.”
“Mr. Chair, Canadians watching at home tonight, and I know there are many, want to understand the difference between expenses and investments. If a person buys groceries, they spend, and if they buy a house, they invest.”
“Mr. Chair, we have been very clear during the campaign that we will lay that out very simply. However, I can say that, when a person buys groceries, they spend, and when they buy a house, they invest.”
“Mr. Chair, we have been very clear to Canadians that we would balance the operating budget of this government within three years. I know the member is looking forward to the budget. It is going to be great. I know he is so anxious, but he will just have to wait a bit—”
“Mr. Chair, what I said to this House and to all Canadians is that the unemployment rate in May was 7%, and the member is well aware of that. With respect to projection, I will let him guess what he thinks, but what I can say on this side of the House is that 7% was the number in May 2025.”