44th Parl. 1st Sess.
April 4, 2022 11:00AM
- Apr/4/22 2:31:25 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the opposition is raising the issue of affordability, so let us go to the facts.
Our government lowered taxes on the middle class and raised them on the wealthiest 1%. Conservatives voted against that. We created the Canada child benefit and indexed it to inflation. The Conservatives voted against that too. We provided seniors 75 years of age and over a $500 payment last summer. The Conservatives voted against that. They voted against Bill C-2, and they are on track to vote against Bill C-8. Why do they not just double down on affordability and vote with us on Bill C-8?
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- Apr/4/22 2:32:00 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, my question is to the minister.
Money does not grow on trees. Virtue-signalling does not feed people or put gas in their car, and it does not buy a home. What Canada needs is a plan for growth with investments in jobs and productivity. We need a budget that has a real debt-management strategy with a firm fiscal anchor and a clear path to returning to balanced budgets.
Will the upcoming spend-DP-Liberal budget include a plan to control inflation, a strategy to grow our economy and a return to balanced budgets?
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- Apr/4/22 2:32:48 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, what I can share with the member opposite is a real plan to grow our economy. In every province and territory across this country, families now have access to reduced child care fees. In fact, if women across Canada choose to enter the workforce at the same rate as women in Quebec did 25 years ago, that is 240,000 workers in this country able to join the economy and able to grow the economy.
We are committed to fiscal responsibility, and we will do just that.
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- Apr/4/22 2:33:21 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, last week, the former parliamentary budget officer indicated that this is not the environment in which we want to do deficit spending. The economy is in recovery, and unemployment is low, while the Bank of Canada is struggling to deal with inflation we have not seen in 30 years.
Does the Minister of Finance realize that additional spending risks making inflation worse, yes or no?
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- Apr/4/22 2:33:51 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I will remind Canadians and opposition members that they campaigned on deficit spending of $168 billion.
Our fiscally prudent plan, which will be revealed in the budget later this week, will continue to not only make investments in Canadians but also set us on a very prudent course for the future.
Our GDP is now above prepandemic levels. We have recovered 3.4 million jobs. We came into this crisis with the lowest debt-to-GDP ratio in the G7, and after investing half a trillion dollars in Canadians, it is still the lowest debt-to-GDP ratio in the G7.
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- Apr/4/22 2:34:27 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I guess if everything is so good, why do we need to keep spending?
The government's only answer to every problem is to spend more money, but now the chorus of warnings is growing. Just last week, Scotiabank said that spending commitments undermine the government's ability to tackle inflation. Even Stephen Poloz and a former Liberal finance minister agree that now is not the time for stimulus.
For a government who claims to listen to the experts, why is it burying its head in the sand when it comes to inflation, out-of-control spending and affordability?
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- Apr/4/22 2:35:02 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, what the opposition clearly does not understand is that it is important for us to support Canadians when they need that help. In fact, in 2015 we brought in the Canada child benefit, and the Conservative Party voted against it.
We have also brought in universal, affordable and accessible quality child care across the country, and what did that opposition party say? It said that it would get rid of it, if it were elected. Thank goodness it was not elected because we have Canadians' backs, and we will continue to do so.
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- Apr/4/22 2:35:34 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, food prices are going up, rent prices are going up, gas prices are going up, yet this government is doing nothing.
What is worse, as a result of the new NDP-Liberal alliance, on Friday, taxes went up. That is the legacy of this NDP-Liberal government.
My question for the Minister of Finance is very straightforward. Will she rise in this House, look Canadians straight in the eye and assure them that she will do everything she can as the Minister of Finance, specifically control spending, at the very least, to reduce inflation for Canadians?
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- Apr/4/22 2:36:13 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I think it is important that Canadians look at the facts because the Conservatives certainly are not.
Under our plan and our program, a single mother with two children will receive $13,600 from the Canada child benefit, an average family in Saskatchewan will receive nearly $1,000 in carbon tax rebates, and a student will save more than $3,000 thanks to the changes we have made to the program.
This is a plan that allows us to tackle affordability, and that is what we will continue to do on this side of the House.
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- Apr/4/22 2:36:43 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, they are missing in action again.
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- Apr/4/22 2:36:43 p.m.
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In Quebec, there is a great expression about governments “having both hands on the wheel”. That is a great political expression in Quebec.
Unfortunately, what are we seeing with the new Liberal-NDP government? There are two people driving the truck.
What is the result? There are two left hands on the wheel to steer left, and there are two right hands to dip into taxpayers' pockets. That is the new NDP-Liberal government.
Could the Minister of Finance be clear and at least tell Canadians that they are going to control spending?
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- Apr/4/22 2:37:22 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, all this time, the Government of Canada has been there for Canadians with respect to the environment, families, seniors and the regions. These are issues that many former Liberal prime ministers supported, including Jean Chrétien, Paul Martin and Jean Charest.
Meanwhile, the Conservatives have been sliding further and further to the right. Why would we need a Conservative Party when we have Maxime Bernier's party?
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- Apr/4/22 2:37:48 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, today, Quebec's health care workers joined the Bloc Québécois in calling for a public summit on health care funding.
The men and women who take care of us have been telling us about the consequences of federal underfunding for a long time, but government after government has failed to listen. The pandemic exposed those consequences in the most tragic way possible.
Today the health care community wants to be listened to. They are calling for a public summit to talk about a major, sustainable, no-strings-attached health transfer increase.
My question is very simple: Will the government give them what they want?
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- Apr/4/22 2:38:29 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I am grateful to our colleague for generously giving me the opportunity to add further information to the previous question.
Exactly 10 days ago, we announced $2 billion. That is an extra $2 billion, no strings attached, to help the provinces and territories clear the terrible backlog in surgery, treatment and diagnosis, because we know just how important this is to the provinces, the territories and all the patients who have been waiting for these surgeries for so long.
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- Apr/4/22 2:39:01 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, for Ottawa to claim that it knows Quebec's and the provinces' health care needs better than they do is one thing, but how can it claim to know better than medical specialists, general practitioners, haematologists, oncologists, nurses, respiratory therapists, perfusionists, physiotherapists, orthotherapists, occupational therapists, psychologists and support staff?
I could go on and on and list all health professionals who today are condemning how the federal government funds health care.
Will the government invite them to a public summit to listen to them talk about their needs, rather than telling them what those needs are?
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- Apr/4/22 2:39:37 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I once again sincerely thank my colleague. I will be able to add more information to the list.
One billion dollars is the sum we agreed to transfer to the provinces and territories just a few days ago. We are really looking forward to making an official announcement to all the provinces and territories.
That money will help take care of our seniors, who went through very hard times and suffered a great deal over the past two years. We know that the stress on seniors and patients was also a source of stress for all health care workers, who found it difficult to find the time and resources to look after our seniors.
We are very proud of this agreement, and we look forward to discussing it further.
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- Apr/4/22 2:40:14 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the people speaking out today are the women and men who care for others every day around the clock.
They want their voices to be heard. They know what they need, because that is their job. They are not here today to play partisan politics. They are here to be invited to share their experience at a public summit on health care funding.
The real experts want to tell us how to care for our people properly, today and tomorrow. Why not accept their offer?
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- Apr/4/22 2:40:54 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, once again, I thank my colleagues for giving me a chance to talk about the $3-billion investment in mental health that is already allocated in our budgets. We look forward to being able to transfer that investment to the provinces and territories to help look after Canadians' mental health.
We know how much people's mental health has suffered, including that of health care workers who, over the past few months, have had a hard time doing their jobs because of challenges related to physical and mental health. We know how difficult it has been for them.
It is very good news that we are investing another $3 billion to help the provinces and territories.
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- Apr/4/22 2:41:32 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, promises of housing affordability are a complete joke under this government. For example, housing prices in Toronto are up over 36%. In Montreal and Vancouver, they are up over 20%, and in Calgary and Ottawa, they are up 16%. All of these urban centres are full of hard-working young people who just want to get out of their parents' basements.
When will the spend-DP-Liberal MPs join Conservatives and demand a real housing affordability plan that will actually help these young people and these first-time homebuyers?
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- Apr/4/22 2:42:07 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I wish the hon. member had had a conversation with the hon. member for Stormont—Dundas—South Glengarry, who said that we should end the first-time homebuyer incentive, precisely the program that is meant to help Canadians access the dream of home ownership. He should have another conversation with the member of Parliament for—
Some hon. members: Oh, oh!
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