Eric Lefebvre

Abitibi—Témiscamingue Madam Speaker, I would like to begin by thanking my colleague from, who has been fighting vigorously alongside me from the beginning. The Cúram financial fiasco is about more than just numbers. It affects human beings, seniors who have worked their entire lives, citizens who have paid their taxes for decades. Now they are being forced to wait for the pensions they are [more]

Madam Speaker, I would like to begin by thanking my colleague for his excellent speech. I have a question for him about the impact on our seniors, who find themselves waiting for their benefits for six, seven or eight months. People have been talking about numbers a lot, but the human side of the story is just as important. I would like my colleague to tell us a bit about the impact on our [more]

Madam Speaker, my colleague is denying that there is a problem just because he has not received any calls. He has not gotten any calls, so the problem does not exist. Some 85,000 seniors are affected. The government has known about this for months. Again this morning, the minister told us that more than 63,000 seniors are waiting. My colleague is saying that no one has been calling him about it [more]

Madam Speaker, I also want to thank my colleague for his keen interest in this issue and for his commitment to standing up for our seniors in this place. Naturally, the proposal for an independent commission of inquiry is of paramount importance. We are talking about the biggest Liberal financial scandal in history. We have a duty to shed light on this matter and use every means necessary to do [more]

Madam Speaker, I would be happy to talk about a specific case. I already talked about Martial Lavoie here in the House; he has been waiting for benefits for eight or nine months. That is just one case among many in my riding. People are contacting me. This man always got a recorded message when he tried calling the government. This morning, we asked what the average wait time was. We were told it [more]

Mr. Speaker, the Liberal government's Cúram financial fiasco continues. After $5 billion in cost overruns, officials themselves have admitted that they do not know the exact future costs, suggesting that yearly operating costs could exceed $660 million to $1 billion. Cúram is the most costly Liberal scandal in history. Prime Minister My question is simple. Will theshow some leadership and will [more]

Mr. Speaker, we were deeply saddened to learn of the passing of Rodger Brulotte, a legend in sports and broadcasting in Quebec and Canada. He was a larger-than-life figure whose voice and enthusiasm left a mark on generations of baseball fans. I was lucky enough to meet Rodger on a few occasions and I had the privilege of hosting an event with him. I witnessed his infectious passion, his [more]

Thank you, Madam Chair. Ms. Ryan, thank you for joining us this afternoon. I too would like to start by saying a few words about Mr. Jason Jacques, who has done a tremendous job over the last year or months as the Parliamentary Budget Officer. The Parliamentary Budget Officer is defined as someone who's neutral, non-partisan and independent. Moreover, the PBO must help senators and MPs in [more]

Ms. Ryan, I'll stop you there. I'll quote a former Quebec finance minister, whom I greatly respect. Sorry, Mr. Leitão. He said that balancing the budget wasn't an obligation, but an obsession. I would like you to share your thoughts on this quote, which states that balancing the budget must be an obligation, an obsession. Do you agree with that?

In reality, the deficit has grown from $700 billion 10 years ago to $1,350 billion. We're using the credit card of our children, our grandchildren and our great‑grandchildren. You're comfortable with that.

Thank you, Madam Chair. Ms. Ryan, when answering questions from my English‑speaking colleagues earlier, you spoke about a $78‑billion deficit. Do you think that a $78‑billion deficit is responsible?

What do you think of a balanced budget?

I'm getting to it, Madam Chair.