44th Parl. 1st Sess.
February 1, 2022 10:00AM
- Feb/1/22 12:04:22 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I consider the member one of my friends across the aisle, and we work well together on the Canada-U.K. committee. As a person who has been here for 24 years, I would say to him that my youngest daughter was seven years old when I started. She is now 31. It does get better.
An hon. member: Speak for yourself.
Hon. John McKay: Mr. Speaker, I hear some dissent on the other side.
I want to pick up on a central contradiction in the positioning of some of the opposition parties here with respect to what I would argue are worthwhile initiatives. Whether it is the suicide number referenced by the member for Abbotsford, long-term care initiatives that have been proposed or mental health initiatives that have been proposed, all of which are national in scope, the Bloc's answer to all of those questions is, “Do not mess in our jurisdiction. Give us the money and go away. We do not want national standards for anything.”
I would be curious to hear how the member responds to that central contradiction from our friends in the Bloc.
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- Feb/1/22 1:09:53 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the hon. member mentioned at the beginning of his very thoughtful speech the issue of cryptocurrency. Like him, I too have a son, and we have conversations about cryptocurrency, which I barely understand. However, my son, and I dare say his son, actually do understand.
I would be interested in his thoughts about what the Government of Canada's role, particularly the Department of Finance's role, should be in the regulation and taxation of exchanges in cryptocurrency.
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- Feb/1/22 1:51:23 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the member asks when it will end, and I think that is a live question for all of us, truckers and non-truckers alike. When will it end? Does the member actually think there is an answer to when COVID will end? We have had three or four waves of COVID, and maybe tomorrow there will be another wave coming.
First, does the member actually think that this is an answerable question?
Second, why is it that the focus of the complaints by the truckers is here? The mandates for masks, for distancing, etc., in Ontario are largely made at Queen's Park, yet I do not see any protests there, which is where, as I understand it, the bulk of the complaints are coming from.
If the member could answer those questions, I would appreciate it.
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- Feb/1/22 1:56:22 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, let me say, first off, that I am splitting my time with the hon. member for Humber River—Black Creek. Whatever time I do have, I will leave for her.
This is my first opportunity to thank the people of Scarborough—Guildwood for my re-election. This will be my 24th year in the House of Commons, nine elections. Some may question the sanity of the citizens of Scarborough—Guildwood, but I am quite grateful.
I am also grateful to the small army of volunteers who have helped me over the years to be here and to represent the people of Scarborough—Guildwood. For some apparent reason they seem to think I continue to do a decent job, and I hope to continue to work for their faith.
I know it is always a dangerous thing to thank individuals, but I want to particularly recognize the work of Layla, Meena and Atik; Natasha and Mark; and Napas, all of whom worked 24-7 for the entire election period. Of course this was a pretty challenging election for all of us. We had to do things differently.
Finally, far from least, I want to thank my wife Carolyn, who has been at my side for the last 24 years, actually far more than these 24 years. She is an amazing woman with amazing accomplishments, and probably the most amazing thing of all is that she continues to love me and be married to me. I know we are all grateful for miracles.
I originally started to write out these thoughts in November, because that is when the reply to the Speech from the Throne started. Here we are six to eight weeks later. I looked over my notes the other day, and they are somewhat irrelevant at this point. In part this is because, if it is said that a week is a long time in politics, in truth two months is even longer, so I have had to do a rewrite. Indeed, the pandemic has changed everything. I want to just turn to the topic at hand and concentrate on the issues of the economy. I hope to add a little bit more light than heat, but that is not always true in this chamber.
I have noted a lot of discussion about inflation, something in the order of 4.8% last month. In the United States it is 7%. There is this endless conversation about whether we are better than the OECD average or poorer than the OECD average. The comparators become a little meaningless over time, but the reality is that this is a worldwide phenomenon. Canada, as a large trading nation where 40% of our GDP is dependent on trade, is particularly vulnerable to the economic currents outside of its borders. For the time being at least, inflation will be a reality and a preoccupation of this government and, indeed, any government.
The second point I wanted to make, assuming I have a little bit of time, is on the issue of interest rates. Currently, rates are quite low, but I was gratified to hear the Bank of Canada's governor indicate that it is going to be addressed and he is on the way to addressing that. I personally would have preferred a little action a little bit sooner, because I too was consumed with the grocery aisle indicators of inflation.
I look forward to expanding on these profound thoughts. I know my hon. colleagues will wait in their seats to hear what I have to say after question period
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- Feb/1/22 3:26:07 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I am grateful that so many colleagues remained behind in order to hear my great thoughts on the Speech from the Throne. It is very kind of them. I appreciate that. I do take note that a few are heading for the exits.
The point that I was making prior to question period had to do with interest rates and that the Bank of Canada's governor had indicated that there would be movement on the interest rates. Therefore, the ultralow rates that we have had and enjoyed, indeed, for the last number of months and years are likely to end, with significant consequences.
I also take note that the Government of Canada has locked in a lot of its debt in ultralow extensive securities, so that in and of itself will reduce the cost of interest.
The third point I want to make is that a significant number of the major support programs instituted by the House and by the government over the last year and months were terminated on October 23, and that is a significant reduction in the fiscal stimulus that was in the economy. There is no question. The debt to GDP has gone from 29% to 49% over the course of the pandemic, as the Government of Canada used its fiscal firepower to alleviate the genuine suffering of the people of Canada.
I would just like to point out in passing that eight out of every 10 pandemic dollars were spent by the federal government, in part because the fiscal situation of the federal government is arguably the strongest of any G7 nation. We used that fiscal firepower in order to alleviate the suffering of Canadians, largely supported in the House may I say, but it did contribute to the rise in debt. Provincial governments, on the other hand, had no significant rise in their debt to GDP, so the financial burden of the pandemic thus far has largely rested on the shoulders of the federal government.
The fifth point is the interesting contradiction with the low unemployment rate in Canada. I know this was subject to some discussion during question period. Members will recollect that, as the pandemic began, the rate shot up to, I think, 13%. It is now below 6% and in some jurisdictions even lower than that.
I know, Madam Speaker, that you and I and everyone else in the House are fairly fresh off asking people questions at the door and getting responses, but businesses are desperately looking for workers. Every time we talk to anybody who is an employer, we hear that their biggest problem is just getting qualified workers. In fact, all kinds of incentives and all kinds of training are needed just to get workers. Hence, that has led to a significantly low unemployment rate.
The seventh point has been this discussion about supply chains. There is no question that the supply chains have been disrupted. This is actually a pretty significant problem because the policy of all governments, all western nations, has been that they will go to the cheapest possible supply source. That, in turn, has led to vulnerabilities in our supply chain, and those vulnerabilities in turn have been shown to be very serious during a pandemic crisis. We will hear a lot of conversation about reshoring, shortening the supply chains, etc. I would encourage that.
While we are encouraging that, I would put in a plug for my private member's bill on modern-day slavery, and we will have the opportunity to eliminate slavery from our supply chain.
I see from your body language, Madam Speaker, that you seem to think that I should be finishing this speech. Because you are the Speaker and because I respect the traditions of the House, I will yield and I look forward to the members' questions.
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- Feb/1/22 3:32:04 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, my hon. colleague will take note, as will members of the House, that the Minister of Immigration recently announced a significant increase in financial allocations in order to speed up the processing in the immigration system. I, like many members of the House, have a riding that is multi-ethnic, multireligious and multiracial, and is highly influenced by the speed of processing when it comes to immigration.
I am hoping that the announcement by the Minister of Immigration in the past day or two will really address that issue and that this part of the supply chain, at least, can be dealt with.
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- Feb/1/22 3:33:22 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, in 2018 I introduced a bill that said, in effect, that all major companies in Canada, along with governments, had to examine their supply chains on an annual basis and certify to the Minister of Public Safety that those supply chains were free of the scourge of slavery and of child labour.
I am still pursuing that bill. I take some comfort in the fact that the House, through its foreign affairs committee, has told the Government of Canada to do something. I am also encouraged by the fact that four mandate letters have been issued to four separate ministers to initiate legislation. I am also encouraged by the fact the bill is actually being discussed in the Senate as we speak.
I appreciate the question and I look forward to some success with the House moving that initiative forward.
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- Feb/1/22 3:35:22 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, there is virtually no doubt from any source whatsoever that there is slavery, that the Uighur people are being enslaved, that products are being produced out of that part of China and that the Government of China, directly or indirectly, condones the production of those goods.
The problem for us is that this infects our own supply chains, whether they are food supply chains or high-end technology items. It is very disturbing.
The most significant supply chain that has been in the news lately has been PPE. We had to buy a lot of personal protective equipment early on in the pandemic, and it has been found to be an infected supply chain. To the great credit of the government, that contract was cancelled.
That is going—
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