The Senate resolved into a Committee of the Whole in order to receive the Honourable François-Philippe Champagne, P.C., M.P., Minister of Finance and National Revenue, accompanied by at most two officials, to examine the subject matter of Bill C-38, An Act to amend the Excise Tax Act (extension of the federal fuel excise tax relief)

Senator Cardozo: Thank you, minister, for being here so promptly to discuss this bill. Let me ask you this: Did you consider a more targeted approach, such as, say, a reduction just for farmers, or perhaps reducing it by 50% for twice as long? Have you considered the effect of the possible export ban on diesel that President Trump has been talking about?

Mr. Champagne: Thank you, senator. It is a pleasure to be sitting next to you.

Senator Cardozo: The feeling is mutual.

Mr. Champagne: To the first part of your question, I think broad measures are more appropriate in the circumstances. If you look at fuel, which is related to the question that the honourable senator was asking before, you want to support everyone in the country.

We have a number of support packages for specific sectors. You will recall, for example, recently, when we announced countermeasures to the U.S. tariffs, we announced $7.5 billion to provide more liquidity for businesses and support for workers. However, when you look at something like the price of fuel or energy across the nation, different people will be impacted differently, but everyone is impacted. A broad-based measure, at least in my opinion, is better because if you do it for gasoline, aviation fuel and diesel, it has an effect in many sectors of our economy.

Senator, we’ve been in contact with those who produce fuel in our nation. I’m told that they are maximizing their diesel production. We produce more diesel than we can consume in Canada. We are producing at full capacity, but you know as well as I know, senator, that the price is influenced by what’s going on in the world. Therefore, there are things we, you and I, can’t control — for example, what is happening in the Middle East — but we can control how we respond, how we support Canadians and how we create the fiscal space for us to do that. I think Canadians now see the benefit of being fiscally prudent, because when you are fiscally prudent, when events like that, which are not within your control but to which you are not immune, happen, it allows you to respond in a targeted way for those who need it most.

For now, we are looking at what is happening in other jurisdictions, but what we can control is how we respond. The House of Commons was unanimous, and this was a measure applauded by everyone. The suspension, by unanimous consent, received the same kinds of accolades from members of the House.

Senator Cardozo: Can you say anything about the world picture? You’ve talked about the geopolitical nature of this measure. What other geopolitical issues are you watching for around the world that we should all be thinking about?

Mr. Champagne: I often say that the speed, scope and scale of changes are unprecedented. It’s geopolitics, geo-economics and technology. This leaves populations in many countries with a sense of loss of control. All these events are happening at once and very quickly and are so broad-based. That’s why I think the Prime Minister has been judicious and wise in saying, “Let’s focus on what we can control.” What we can control is building one Canadian economy and removing interprovincial trade barriers.