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Decentralized Democracy

House Hansard - 16

44th Parl. 1st Sess.
December 13, 2021 11:00AM
Context: House Hansard - 16 - Dec/13/21
Ms. Rachel Bendayan (Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Tourism and Associate Minister of Finance, Lib.)
  • Dec/13/21 7:22:32 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank the member for Brantford—Brant, congratulate him on his election and welcome him to the House of Commons. I welcome this discussion, to be quite frank. I feel that the issue the member is raising is one of the most important issues facing this country and our government. I would like to assure him that it is absolutely top of mind in the work we are doing. In fact, the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance earlier today held a press conference alongside the Governor of the Bank of Canada, Tiff Macklem. They announced today that we would be renewing the bank's mandate to ensure price stability for Canadians, and to ensure stability in the market generally. The renewal of this mandate for the Bank of Canada means that the bank will be targeting a 2% inflation rate, at the midpoint of the 1% to 3% inflation range, showing continuity and ensuring stability. The inflationary pressures that Canadians are feeling are a global phenomenon. We have said many times in this chamber, and I will say again, that Canada is actually faring much better than most other countries and most of our counterparts. Elsewhere in the OECD, inflation is considerably higher, including for our neighbours down south: The United States' inflation rate today is 6.8%. The latest number in Canada is 4.7%. That being said, there is absolutely no doubt in my mind that inflation and affordability are pressing challenges for Canadians. I felt it at the grocery store this weekend. I know that the constituents of my colleague opposite are feeling it and so are my constituents. I think we need to look at the root cause of this increasing inflation. All of the experts are pointing to global supply chain interruptions, to the global rise in energy prices and to the comeback of the global economy following the COVID-19 shutdown. There are certainly other structural costs that Canadian families are feeling, including housing and child care affordability. I find it unfortunate that the member opposite is talking down the importance of affordable child care and of attacking the housing crisis here in Canada. Those are two very important factors we are taking into consideration, and we are planning on implementing policies in order to tackle them. For example, Canadians know the $10-a-day child care program will reduce their overall cost of living. I believe that all provinces have now signed on, save for Ontario. I certainly encourage everybody watching and hearing this debate to lobby the Ontario government in order to get that done as quickly as possible, because it will make life more affordable for families. In addition to housing, I would like to point out that the member opposite raised the issue of food banks. I find that surprising, given that our government spent so much time over the pandemic to support Canadians, to implement programs, to support workers through the CERB, to support food banks and community organizations that were supporting our communities, and to support our small businesses with wage and rent subsidies, without which they would have shut down. I would like to understand this. What does the member opposite mean when he says that we should not be investing in these programs going forward? We know the pandemic is still with us, we know there are hard-hit sectors and we know that we need to continue to have Canadians' backs.
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Context: House Hansard - 16 - Dec/13/21
Ms. Rachel Bendayan
  • Dec/13/21 7:28:00 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, it is pretty obvious that I answered that question already, but to keep the debate going, maybe I can share a few important facts. Right now, Canada is already at 106% of pre-pandemic employment levels. At 5.4% in the last quarter, our economic growth leads the G7, and our perfect AAA credit rating was recently renewed. I can understand my colleague raising concerns about inflation, but the economy is doing well. We talked about the Bank of Canada's mandate this morning, and we will keep working to ensure ongoing economic growth.
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