44th Parl. 1st Sess.
March 22, 2022 10:00AM
- Mar/22/22 12:17:15 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to rise today after a two-week adjournment, which my colleagues and I spent in our respective ridings.
As the saying goes, just because we are in our ridings does not mean we are not working. Some people think we are off duty, but nothing could be further from the truth. It is in our ridings that we have the pleasure, the opportunity, the privilege and the duty to meet the people we represent here in the House of Commons and to speak directly with them. We are first and foremost the representatives of our constituents, no matter who they voted for.
Over the past two weeks, I met and talked with hundreds of Louis-Saint-Laurent residents at charity and community events, restaurants, cafés and gas stations. One issue that affects them directly, along with people in all ridings in Canada, is inflation.
Here we are with inflation at a 30-year high of 5.7%. Some members of the House were not even born the last time the inflation rate was this high.
Inflation affects everyone. It affects people who have to buy groceries and realize that putting food on the table costs a lot more, around $1,000 more per year for a family. Buying fruits, vegetables and meats can cost 10% to 15% more than last year.
Inflation is hitting housing even harder because of the housing bubble our country is currently contending with and prices that have gone up over 29% in the past year.
Inflation affects everyone, but it comes as no surprise. It did not show up on the weekend or two weeks ago while we were in our ridings. Inflation reared its ugly head many months ago and is not going away anytime soon. It is actually gaining momentum, not losing it.
This is not the first time we are addressing this issue here in the House of Commons. A few weeks ago, I asked the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance what she planned to do to help Canadian families struggling with inflation.
If there is someone powerful in cabinet right now, it is the Deputy Prime Minister. We will see how things go, but, today, she is especially powerful in her capacity as Minister of Finance, since she has full control over the economic levers that can help and not harm Canadian families.
The Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance answered that, according to the IMF, Canada has the second-highest growth rate among the G7 countries. That will certainly not help people who are having a hard time buying groceries today. The IMF says that things are going well: That is great for the IMF, but not so great for people buying their groceries.
What did she say next? She said that Canada was doing well, since its real GDP has grown by 0.6%. That is outstanding, and it will certainly put more food in Canadians’ grocery baskets, right? I do not know where she found that concept of the real GDP, but I did not find anything like it at the supermarket this weekend. The people I meet never talk about the real GDP, except the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance.
She is totally disconnected, but she is still very influential right now. We will see how things play out.
What did she say next? She said that we should not worry, that other countries are also facing inflation, and that the situation is worse in the United States. It is unbelievable that she would compare us with the worst case. The Conservatives and all Canadians worth their salt want to compare themselves with the best, not the worst.
Telling Mrs. Tremblay that she should not worry and that there is no problem because the situation is worse in the United States will certainly not help her do her shopping. It will not add any food to Canadians’ grocery basket. However, that is what the Liberal government has to say about inflation.
That is why we propose temporarily eliminating the GST in the fuel sector. I will explain why we chose this approach.
First of all, who benefits the most from high inflation? Unfortunately, the government does. I say “unfortunately” because it is unfortunate that the government benefits when inflation goes up. Indeed, when prices go up, revenues also go up. Of course, the tax is still 5%, but when people pay $20 for something today that cost $15 last year, that generates more tax. The one who benefits is the government, because the government increases its revenues with inflation. That is exactly what is happening right now.
That is why our motion uses the word “temporary”. At a time when we are in an inflationary spiral and the government is receiving millions in tax dollars because inflation is high, prices are high and more money is being collected, our temporary measure is meant to give Canadian families a little breathing room. We want to reduce the gas tax to zero, essentially eliminating it temporarily.
Why are we targeting that sector?
First, it is important to know that the gas tax brings in $3.5 billion for the government, generally speaking. That is the amount of money that will stay in the pockets of Canadian families. Let me be clear. Canadians know best how to manage their money. It is up to them to keep that money in their pockets and make the choices that are right for them, rather than paying a tax and giving that money to the government. Indeed, the tax increases when inflation rises.
Some people live in an area where they do not need to use their car. They do not need to drive anywhere. We can understand that. However, not everyone is in that situation.
I will paraphrase my friend from Louis-Hébert, who made an extraordinary statement a month ago about how we must be aware of the fact that not all Canadians are at the same level, but that everyone must be heard, listened to and, above all, respected. As he said so well, not everyone can earn a living on a MacBook at a cottage. That is the reality. He sharply criticized his own government in an extraordinary statement in which he repeated almost word for word what the Conservatives were saying. Unfortunately, two weeks later, he voted with his government. He will live with his decisions.
That is why we believe that temporarily removing the GST on gas is the right thing to do. Yes, that directly affects families and workers who must travel. However, we must stop thinking that the gas tax pertains only to the gas that we put in our vehicles. This gas tax has a much greater impact.
Do we think that the fruits and vegetables we buy at the grocery store just fall from the sky? Of course not. Food is not processed and transported from one place to another just by blinking as Jeannie did. Likely it is transported by gas-powered vehicles. That is why the impact of the GST on gas does not just affect those who fill up their big pickup with gas. It affects all Canadian families, especially the poorest among us, who we must respect.
In our view, this is the best measure. Now, what does the government plan on doing? First, which government are we talking about? Are we talking about the government that was duly elected about six months ago or the new NDP-Liberal government, which was just put into our Constitution? If that is the case, watch out dude, it is not going to be pretty.
What we have learned this morning is that now we have a brand new government in this country.
Did you vote, Mr. Speaker? I did not either. Canadians did not go to the polls, yet we learned this morning about a new NDP-Liberal government.
Who would have thought? Certainly not some of the current government ministers I saw this morning who did not seem to be in a good mood. Maybe they woke up on the wrong side of the bed or forgot to put sugar in their coffee. What I can say is that it is not party time for everyone on the other side. I say that, but we will see. Things are just getting started.
I am being sarcastic here, but I should not be. This is very bad news for Canadians, because although 80% of them did not vote for the NDP, both the NDP and the Liberals now have their hands on the wheel, or, at least, there is one big NDP hand on the wheel. This will unfortunately mean more taxes, more spending, more debt and more deficits.
The Conservatives are thinking about Canadian families. We are thinking about Canadians' wallets. We want to help Canadians directly, which is why we are proposing that the government temporarily stop collecting GST on gas.
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- Mar/22/22 12:27:22 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, that was a great question. A great answer would be, “No.”
Why? It is because we are talking about the GST. We are not talking about the Quebec sales tax.
Why do we have that term in our motion? This is a great question from my colleague. I asked my friends the same question. I asked why we had that in our motion. It is because, when we talked to Revenue Canada, it was explained to us that when we are talking about the GST, we are also talking about the Quebec sales tax. It is to be respectful because, on this side of the House, we do respect the rules and the laws.
To be respectful of the law, we have to include everything, but specifically we are addressing the GST. I can assure everybody, the Conservatives will not interfere with the provincial jurisdiction, compared to the new NDP-Liberal government.
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- Mar/22/22 12:29:24 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, what is deplorable is being unable to understand a totally logical explanation that falls under the law as defined. It is not convoluted, these are the laws and regulations we follow. That is exactly what we did.
What is deplorable is to forget the fact that I clearly said that governments are among those who do benefit. Unfortunately, facts can be stubborn. When prices rise, the tax and revenues stay at 5%. If prices rise, that increases government revenues. That is basic math. Since rising prices increase government revenues, we need to use this money to help taxpayers, which further increases revenues.
In conclusion, as long as we need so-called fossil fuels, I will always be the greatest champion of Canadian energies.
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- Mar/22/22 12:30:58 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I am also disheartened to see that my NDP colleague has come to conclusion to vote against abolishing a tax. It is too bad, but unfortunately that is what we can come to expect over the next few weeks, the next few months, and, unfortunately, the next few years.
Until October 2025, we have a new government, one that was not elected but magically showed up all of a sudden last night, or last evening, or possibly this morning, it is hard to say. According to the announcement made, we have an NDP-Liberal government. This will be interesting to watch, but it will not be good for Canadian taxpayers, since we are already seeing that the NDP is against lowering taxes and the current Liberal-NDP government is also against lowering taxes. Unfortunately, the best way to help Canadians directly is to lower taxes.
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- Mar/22/22 2:35:46 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, as we know, the Parliamentary Budget Officer is responsible for assessing the cost of each party's election promises. He did that last fall, and he did it for the NDP.
Do my colleagues know how much new spending NDP committed to? It pledged $214 billion in new spending.
My question is for the current Minister of Finance, and I say “current” because we never know what could happen. Could the Canadian government's Liberal-NDP finance minister tell us how much more her government will be spending to please her new NDP buddies?
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- Mar/22/22 2:36:58 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, as we know, the NDP is a centralizing party. That is not a fault per se, but we do not believe it is a good thing to be a centralizer in Canada. However, the NDP is a centralizer, so the new NDP-Liberal government will be one too. That will lead to fights with the provinces. We really do not need that.
My question is for the government member, and I do not mean the “minister member” for Rosemont—La Petite-Patrie. Can he tell us which Quebec program the new NDP-Liberal government is going to meddle in?
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