Hon. Marc Gold (Government Representative in the Senate): Senator Housakos, I will resist commenting on the fact that you have once again attributed to bad faith and, in some traditions, call a sin to our Prime Minister. It’s disrespectful and below this house.

I suppose the opposition would have preferred that, in the face of a global pandemic, we simply cut taxes and did nothing to help Canadians. I suppose that, in the face of the invasion of Ukraine by the Soviet Union, the opposition would have insisted that the government not provide the billions of dollars of assistance to Ukraine. Indeed, the opposition voted against the budget, which included such measures in it.

The fact is that this government has been here for Canadians and has responded to the circumstances and exigencies of events, and it will continue to do so. I repeat: It will do so in a way that has maintained the strength of our economy through the pandemic and beyond, maintained our credit rating and maintained our status as a country with the best growth in the G7 and the lowest debt-to-GDP ratio.