Hon. Marc Gold (Government Representative in the Senate): Thank you for your question. Keeping Canadians safe is the responsibility of every government, this government included.

The government knows that the situation of missing foreign criminals facing deportation is completely unacceptable. I’m assured that the government is working closely with CBSA to address and remedy the situation.

The government is committed and will continue to be tough on crime, putting the safety of Canadians first.

Hon. Marc Gold (Government Representative in the Senate): Thank you for your question. The government takes responsibility for the strong economic growth in this country. It takes responsibility for the fact that our gross domestic product, or GDP, growth remains strong. Recently, our AAA rating was affirmed by S&P Global Ratings with a stable outlook.

The government also takes responsibility and credit — to the extent that credit and blame are two sides of the coin; you’re looking for blame. The recent Parliamentary Budget Officer’s Economic and Fiscal Outlook states:

. . . For the current fiscal year 2022-23, PBO projects the deficit to decline to $25.8 billion (0.9 per cent of GDP) under status quo policy. . . . the budgetary deficit is projected to decline further . . .

Canada came into this crisis with the lowest net debt-to-GDP ratio in the G7. In fact, Canada has increased its relative advantage through this pandemic.

I think Canadians should be pleased that the government has steered our economy through this, notwithstanding the very true and disturbing fact that the cost of living is imposing significant strains on households across this country. That’s why the government is responding with the targeted measures that I mentioned earlier and that we’ll be debating in this chamber.