44th Parl. 1st Sess.
April 7, 2022 10:00AM
- Apr/7/22 2:26:42 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the budget will be presented very soon and all the details will be available. Certainly, everyone had access to the same details. We did not share information. That is not true at all.
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- Apr/7/22 2:27:50 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, there was no secret discussion. No information was shared. That is absolutely not the case. A very important budget for our country will be presented in a few moments. The member will have to wait for the budget. All the details will be there.
Some hon. members: Oh, oh!
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- Apr/7/22 2:41:43 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, today, the NDP‑Liberal government is presenting its inflationary budget that in no way responds to Canadians' economic realities. Every time this government intervenes in Canadians' lives, they wind up poorer.
Will the NDP‑Liberal government have the courage to take meaningful action to combat inflation?
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- Apr/7/22 2:42:12 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, we will find out what is in the budget in less than two hours.
I would, however, like to talk about Bill C‑8, which is being studied by the House. This bill would allocate $1.7 billion for rapid COVID‑19 tests and $100 million to improve ventilation in our schools, and it would also provide tax breaks for businesses and for teachers.
Why are the Conservatives playing politics instead of helping Canadians? What do they have against teachers? What do they have against small businesses?
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- Apr/7/22 2:49:30 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, we learned this week that the federal budget will likely provide $2 billion to accelerate the production of certain minerals needed for electric vehicles.
Canada is not targeting phosphate, even though we can potentially mine it. Tesla has chosen to use a lithium iron phosphate battery. Phosphate must be part of the strategy. That is one of the recommendations of the Standing Committee on International Trade.
Will phosphate be part of the strategy and will it be entitled to its share of the pie?
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- Apr/7/22 3:03:32 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the Deputy Prime Minister will be sharing the budget with Canadians in just a couple of hours, and I can assure all members of the House that all budget secrecy and all respect for this chamber was respected in the course of budget 2022.
This is an opportunity for me to share the exact economic fundamentals with which we head into this budget: 3.4 million jobs recovered, 6.7% GDP growth and the lowest debt-to-GDP ratio in the G7. The economy is growing. Canadians love it, even if the Conservatives do not.
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- Apr/7/22 3:04:07 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, yesterday we learned that the NDP leader and members of the NDP elite were given insight into the upcoming budget. Meanwhile—
Some hon. members: Oh, oh!
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- Apr/7/22 3:04:30 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, yesterday we learned that the NDP leader and members of the NDP elite were given insight into the upcoming budget. Meanwhile, this information was not even provided to Liberal members of Parliament.
Did the Minister of Finance provide the debt management plan of the Government of Canada or fiscal tables during her budget briefing with the NDP?
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- Apr/7/22 3:05:33 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, sharing market-moving information could be illegal. When I look from the NDP to the Liberals and the Liberals to the NDP, it is already impossible to tell the difference. Maybe that is why the NDP leader got a budget update yesterday.
One of the most important parts of the budget is the projected revenues, so to the finance minister, did the leader of the NDP get an update on the projected revenues for the next six years?
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- Apr/7/22 3:06:02 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the budget will be presented in the House of Commons today at 4:10 by the Deputy Prime Minister, at which time the House will understand exactly what is in budget 2022.
The economic fundamentals are sound. In 2021, we had the largest trading surplus since 2008. We will have the fastest growing economy in the G7 next year, and the second-fastest this year. It is such good news for Canadians. I do not know why the Conservatives do not want to share it.
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- Apr/7/22 3:08:30 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, we introduced Canada's first ever intellectual property strategy in 2018 with investments of over $85 million, and we have built on those investments. Budget 2021 proposed to invest $90 million to create ElevateIP, a program to help accelerators and incubators provide start-ups with access to intellectual property expertise. Moreover, budget 2021 also proposed $75 million for the National Research Council's industrial research assistance program to provide high-growth client firms with access to expert intellectual property services.
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- Apr/7/22 3:09:30 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, every day the Liberal government tells us how much money the Liberals have spent to help people. Do they know how insulting this sounds to people who are suffering, such as the 12,000 independent travel advisers, all women, who have been left out of financial supports? How does that sound to Diane, a senior who cannot afford her $430 propane bill? How does it sound to 30-year old Chelsea, who will never afford a home? What about Brian, who cannot afford to run his farm?
Will the government actually have Canadians' backs in today's budget, or will it just be more debt and “Justinflation”?
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- Apr/7/22 3:18:09 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, there is a tradition in the House to have the Thursday question done by the House leader, so in his stead, I will do so. There is a two-week break coming up for Easter. It is also the month of Ramadan and it is also Passover.
Upon our return, I am wondering if the government House leader could inform the House how he plans to budget the time of the House of Commons.
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- Apr/7/22 3:18:29 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, let me say to my colleague opposite that I hope he and his family are able to enjoy this time and enjoy Easter. I know we will be celebrating. I will say Ramadan Mubarak to those who are recognizing Ramadan and wish everybody a joyous Passover.
This afternoon, we are going to be continuing with the second reading of Bill C-14, the Quebec electoral representation bill. As members know, at 4 p.m. the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance will be presenting the budget.
When we return after the constituency weeks, we will continue debating the budget for a number of days, which will be Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. Then after that, it will be the budget implementation act.
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- Apr/7/22 4:38:18 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I notice the minister is wearing Conservative blue today, but that does not in any way transform her budget from being the first left-leaning NDP-Liberal budget.
The most pressing issue facing Canadians today is the cost of living, especially the housing affordability crisis. Millions of Canadians have seen their dream of home ownership slip through their fingers, and uncontrolled spending from the NDP-Liberal government has had a lot to do with that.
The minister's budget includes $10 billion for housing and homelessness, including $4 billion for a housing accelerator that will actually go to municipalities and not to those who wish to purchase homes but cannot afford to do so right now. In her speech, the minister made the following promise: “Over the next 10 years, we will double the number of new homes we build.”
This is a serious question. Can the minister tell us exactly how many homes she and her government have actually built over the past, say, seven years? I would like just the number, please. I know she has to have the number because she made the claim. Again, how many homes has her government built over the last seven years?
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- Apr/7/22 4:40:02 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank the member opposite, first of all, for pointing to the colour of my suit today. I chose it intentionally, and I chose the colour of this button. I thought it was important to show my solidarity, and I think the solidarity of everyone in this House. I am glad to see the member opposite wearing a blue and yellow tie. I have recently learned in fact that his roots, like my own family's, are in Ukraine.
I am glad the member opposite spoke about housing. Maybe that is something else we can all agree on. Housing is the most pressing economic and social issue in Canada today. That is why it is the centrepiece of this budget, just as early learning and child care was the centrepiece of last year's budget.
What is new and important about this budget, which again the member opposite has helpfully pointed out, is a focus on supply. What is new is an understanding that what we need to do as a country is find ways to tear down the barriers to building more homes. The member correctly points out that many of those barriers are at the municipal level. There are a lot of former city councillors and mayors in this House. They all understand very well that what we need to do is find ways to work together with municipalities, provinces and territories to build more of the homes Canadians need.
We will do it. We got early learning and child care done. We are committed, over the next 10 years, to doubling the new housing starts in Canada.
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- Apr/7/22 4:43:08 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, we fully understand that the provinces and territories are responsible for the Canadian health care system, which is excellent. We also understand that the federal government must help fund the health care system.
That is why, and it is written in the budget, we have “only” provided $2 billion to the provinces and territories to help them with the problems the COVID-19 crisis has created in the health care system.
I would like to add that in this budget we are proposing a massive investment of $45.2 billion through the Canada health transfer to support provinces and territories. That is a 4.8% increase over the baseline.
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- Apr/7/22 4:47:20 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, this appears, like all the other budgets so far from the government, to be one with lots of spending and good intentions but no results. The Parliamentary Budget Officer states that there are as many Canadians living in vulnerable homes now as there were when the government started, despite billions spent. Despite billions spent, the Library of Parliament says GHG emissions are going up every year. The Library of Parliament also says the government has had the 29th worst performance on debt-to-GDP ratio. Furthermore, the report “The Long Road” says Canada, for the next 30 years, will have the worst economic growth in the OECD.
If non-stop spending and crippling debt have not worked so far, what has changed that is going to work now?
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- Apr/7/22 4:49:19 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, “Where there is no vision, the people perish.” That is a proverb one of my Liberal colleagues used earlier today, but it was in a different context. It was used in the context of Easter. However, the context in which I am going to use it is the budget, which is absolutely bereft of any vision.
The budget is bereft of any vision to meaningfully address what currently matters most to Canadians, which is the skyrocketing cost of living and the housing affordability crisis. There is no real plan to fight the inflation that has exacerbated this government's tax-and-spend profligacy. There is no overarching investment into economic growth, and no growth plan to improve our productivity and our ability to compete in the global marketplace. There is no grand plan to restore Canada's tarnished reputation as a good place to invest. Right now, we are dead last among the OECD countries when it comes to investment. Nor is there is a grand vision to manage the massive debt load that my children and grandchildren will be left to repay, with interest, of course.
Like last year's budget, this one fails to put forward a credible fiscal anchor that outlines a clear pathway and a firm target to return to balance. There is no grand vision for restoring Canada's reputation as a trusted middle power among the world's nations, neither is there a serious plan to harness the power and potential of our sustainably produced natural resources to address the environmental challenges facing our world. In short, this budget fails to deliver the visionary leadership that these times call for. Instead, this budget is emblematic of an unserious Prime Minister, an unserious Minister of Finance and unserious government.
“Where there is no vision, the people perish.” That is from the Proverbs of Solomon, who is considered to be one of the wisest men ever to walk the earth. We need a vision, and I will have more to say in the days ahead.
Until then and until tomorrow, I move:
That the debate be now adjourned.
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