44th Parl. 1st Sess.
April 26, 2022 10:00AM
- Apr/26/22 10:07:17 a.m.
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Mr. Speaker, it is a privilege for me to rise this morning to discuss budget 2022 and to share the views of my constituents from Kings—Hants. I will be sharing my time with the hon. member for Ottawa Centre.
The budget contains many initiatives. Since I have only 10 minutes, my speech will focus on the following three areas: initiatives that are of particular importance to my riding of Kings—Hants, the importance of promoting economic growth and prosperity while remaining fiscally responsible, and the announced initiatives that support our energy and food security.
Before I elaborate on these three areas, I would like to give a bit of background, especially in light of the past two years of COVID-19.
We came into this pandemic with the lowest net debt-to-GDP ratio in the G7. Unemployment was at a 40-year low, and our economic growth was outpacing the cost of financing our country's debt. Sometimes it is easy to forget that, given the two years we have been through.
We can all remember back to March 13, 2020. It is a moment frozen in time. I remember arriving home on a Thursday night flight to Halifax. I was in my constituency office on a Friday when the Prime Minister, and indeed most of the world, was recognizing the gravity of what the COVID-19 pandemic represented for our collective health and well-being.
We had a choice. Either we could have stepped up to be there for Canadians and businesses as we asked them to take precautions to protect our collective health or we could have asked them to fend for themselves. We made the choice to be there for Canadians. It came with a cost; let us recognize that. This government has spent significantly over the past two years to protect Canadians and make sure there was financial support in place.
The results are telling. We have recovered 112% of our prepandemic jobs. We actually have more jobs in this country right now than we did before the pandemic. Our economy has not only recovered, but is larger than it was prepandemic. Unemployment is at a truly historic low. In fact, it is the lowest since we started recording it in 1976.
It is an interesting dynamic. I am an MP from rural Nova Scotia in Atlantic Canada. If we talk to my predecessor, Mr. Brison, or other MPs who have served in the region, sometimes the biggest concern was having jobs for people in our region to let them stay home, be with their families and have opportunities. Now it is reversed: It is about having the people to fill the jobs we need for our small businesses to continue to grow our rural economy.
Our GDP had 4.6% growth last year, and we have a strong projection in the days ahead. However, it is important right now to recognize that we have to wind down the pandemic-related expenditures and be mindful of our fiscal position. I was very pleased to see the Minister of Finance, the Deputy Prime Minister, in her remarks two weeks ago highlight that importance and that we have a fiscal anchor and will be fiscally prudent in the days ahead.
This budget shows a declining debt-to-GDP ratio over the next five years. By and large, yes, there will be perspectives on this across the country, and indeed in my own riding, but Canadians are expected to make sure they keep their fiscal houses in order, and they expect their governments to do the same. I believe this budget presents a pathway back to balance given we have had to be there for the past two years.
I want to compare that with the Conservative record. I was just graduating high school in 2009 when we were going through the global economic recession. At that time, the Harper Conservative government was slow to react to the situation. It was slow to be there to inject the necessary stimulus to keep our economy moving, and the economic scarring lasted for the next five or six years. In fact, we never really got back to our economic strength until after 2015.
I have listened to some of my Conservative colleagues in the House, particularly those in the 43rd Parliament and perhaps early in this Parliament, who have suggested that this government is doing too much. I want to compare our record, in a fiscal sense, on economic growth with their record back in 2008. By and large, I think Canadians believe that what we are doing and what we are moving forward with are extremely important.
I will now talk about initiatives for Kings—Hants.
When I knocked on doors during the 2019 election campaign, many homeowners in rural areas were worried about not being able to sell their homes.
The pandemic has shown how important quality of life is, and Nova Scotia's communities are an excellent place to feel at home. We welcomed thousands of Canadians from across the country.
In fact, housing is up 40% in valuation, year over year, in my riding of Kings—Hants. Of course, we need to be concerned about that in terms of affordability, but as I just mentioned, back in 2019, people were concerned about even being able to sell their house and people wanted to be in our communities. Nova Scotia is booming right now and we have to embrace that, but we also have to be there to try to support individuals who want to live in our province, and indeed those who want to live in Canada, because we know this is not just a Nova Scotia challenge. This is a challenge across the country.
I thought the Minister of Finance had important remarks in her budget speech two weeks ago when she highlighted that we are going to be there. We are going to focus on housing as an economic growth sector to make sure that people have a place to call home. She also readily recognized that it is not the Government of Canada's sole jurisdiction. We do not have the ability to go at it alone. We need to make sure we have other partners at the table. She recognized that and I think it is important to recognize it today.
I am one of the younger members of Parliament here in the House, and I have friends and individuals I went to high school with who, in this situation right now, are finding it very difficult to find a home. That is why we have introduced the housing accelerator fund. This is a $4-billion initiative to partner with municipalities to try to expedite some of the red tape and municipal planning to make sure that our municipalities are partnering with the private sector to deliver the housing we need. We need 3.5 million houses by 2031. On average, we have 200,000 housing starts per year. We have a gap to fill. The government is stepping up by putting money on the table to incentivize that initiative, but again, we will need municipalities at the table and we will need the private sector at the table.
We are also putting $1.5 billion to the rapid housing initiative. This program has been rolled out to try to expedite housing approvals in the country. Indeed, it has supported the construction of approximately 40 units in Kings—Hants alone. I know it has done upward of 4,000 or 5,000 across the country, although I do not have the number right in front of me. It is an important initiative to continue moving forward.
We are banning foreign buying for two years. Obviously, there are individuals moving to the country who are going to come to study, but we are not banning that activity. This is for anyone who is going to simply buy housing as a speculative asset. We are making sure that this is not going to be possible.
We are introducing the first-time homebuyers' savings account. How this works is that a person is able to take $8,000 a year, deduct that from income and put it into a savings account, up to $40,000 per individual. It can then be withdrawn tax-free to help support the purchase of a new home. I know that is going to be extremely important to Canadians across the country, and indeed to many of my contemporaries who are trying to get into housing right now.
These are good initiatives, but this goes back to supply. We need more supply and we are putting initiatives on the table. We are also focused on social and co-operative housing. Admittedly, I would argue that, over time, the Government of Canada has not been in this space to the extent that it should, but we are stepping up and being there.
I am going to highlight a final couple of things.
On supply management, we are there to make sure we are compensating our farmers in Kings—Hants. Indeed, for the wine industry, we have signalled that we will have a program in place to represent their interests. Our Minister of Agriculture has been working with her provincial counterparts on the Canadian agricultural partnership. That will be extremely important, as will the specific agricultural worker program.
I wish I had more time, but I look forward to taking questions and perhaps re-engaging with my colleagues on points I might have missed.
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- Apr/26/22 11:22:55 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, it is my pleasure to rise today to speak in support of budget 2022: a plan to grow our economy and make life more affordable.
Let us talk about the budget, finally. What is this budget all about? It has become apparent that fiscal prudence and economic growth serve as two major themes throughout this plan, and there is a clear reason for that. With a prudent and responsible approach, this is a budget that acknowledges and addresses the biggest concerns for Canadians based on four pillars: housing, climate protection, affordability, and jobs and growth.
Before I get into my budget speech, I want to emphasize that the budget’s comprehensive approach to these concerns is not by accident. It is a result of numerous consultations, community feedback sessions, town halls, emails, phone calls and more. For that, I want to thank everyone who has participated in the process of developing this budget. I want to specifically extend my gratitude to my constituents in Richmond Hill, because they took the time to engage with this process by attending my five community councils or contacting my office with their concerns.
I would like to start by giving some context for the fiscal prudence of this budget.
Throughout the COVID‑19 pandemic and during the lockdowns, the economic downturns and more, our federal government quickly and effectively rolled out our major financial support programs that helped keep businesses, workers and families afloat. We have been at a 115% recovery in jobs since April 2020, over three million jobs have been created since the depths of COVID‑19, and our unemployment rate has declined to 5.3%. It is lower than it was prior to the pandemic, and lower than it has been since 1976. Our focus has been on keeping Canadians safe and financially stable, and that continues to be the case today, but we know that we need a different approach from the one that was necessary during the pandemic. In essence, budget 2022 outlines a fiscally prudent plan to reduce deficits, lower the debt-to-GDP ratio and drive toward a near-balanced budget within five years.
Now, we need to turn our attention to growing an economy that is still in recovery, but we know that we cannot strengthen our economy without first thinking about affordability. That is why this budget continues to highlight our investment in affordable child care while touching on new commitments for affordable housing and dental care.
The overarching pillars of this budget can be further broken down.
The housing measures focus on building and supply, saving, and the banning of foreign investments.
The climate pillar invests in zero-emission vehicles, clean electricity, oceans and fresh water, and clean technology.
Under the jobs and growth pillar, we are helping small businesses benefit from tax cuts, establishing the Canada growth fund, and focusing on supporting tradespeople across the country.
Lastly, affordability plays a role in all of these pillars, but its own particular investments are most explicitly seen in child care and dental care.
I am really going to hone in on housing, which is a topic I am passionate about, because I know that it will likely have the greatest direct impact on Canadians and the constituents in my riding.
Budget 2022 targets affordable housing through increasing supply and making it more obtainable for buyers, especially young and first-time homebuyers whose dream of home ownership is in jeopardy due to the continuing rise in costs.
On the supply front, we have made a commitment to doubling the number of housing units built over a 10-year period. This commitment is going to come to fruition in several ways, including with the launch of a new housing accelerator fund. The $4 billion investment for this fund will be put toward creating 100,000 new housing units over the next five years.
In order to further speed up the construction of housing, we are also investing $200 million in the affordable housing innovation fund, which will encourage new innovative building techniques in the affordable housing sector. In fact, this fund will dedicate $100 million to support not-for-profits, co-ops, developers and rent-to-own companies in building new rent-to-own units, and will turn the discussion of affordable housing into a reality for our communities.
We also recognize that increasing supply does not always work effectively unless it is accompanied by quick and timely execution. For vulnerable populations that are in urgent need of affordable housing, waiting years for the supply to increase is simply not an option. Thanks to the tireless efforts of housing support providers in my riding, such as Blue Door, Home on the Hill, Yellow Brick House, Sandgate Women’s Shelter and more, there are services in place to help address the housing needs of vulnerable groups, but we need to do more to reduce the burden on their shoulders.
That is why our government launched the rapid housing initiative with the goal of delivering affordable housing units for vulnerable people in an expedited manner. Budget 2022 highlights our $1.5-billion investment in this initiative, which will create at least 6,000 additional affordable housing units across Canada. This budget also proposes to advance $2.9 billion in funding on a cash basis under the national housing co-investment fund, which will speed up the creation of up to 4,300 new units and the repair of up to 17,800 units for the Canadians who need them most.
All of this is going to mean more generous contributions, faster approvals, and an overall quicker and more efficient process that will make affordable housing more accessible, sooner.
Now let us talk about our future homebuyers: first-time homebuyers and youth who are going to be saving up for places they call home. In my riding of Richmond Hill, the cost of owning a home is at an all-time high. First-time homebuyers in Richmond Hill are now faced with the difficult decision between staying at home in a community that they know and love and having to move further away to be able to afford a place that fits their needs.
Our federal government is aware of these issues, which is why we are proposing a series of new measures, starting with the tax-free first home savings account. Through this, we are giving prospective homebuyers under the age of 40 the ability to save up to $40,000. This could mean around $725 million in support over five years for Canadians who are trying to save their money by having it go in tax-free and come out tax-free. We are also going to be doubling the first-time homebuyers’ tax credit to $10,000, which means up to $1,500 in direct support to home buyers. This amount is not insignificant for young people: every penny towards their home matters.
Providing financial support is not the only way to address the rising costs. We need to implement preventative measures that will protect buyers and renters. Through Budget 2022’s commitment to prohibiting foreign investment in housing and the development of a homebuyers' bill of rights, we will tackle the issue of foreign commercial enterprises using homes in Canada for non-residential purposes such as parking their money, and we will also put forth a national plan to end blind bidding.
There is one more component to housing, and it is something that we see quite often in Richmond Hill. The concept of multi-generational homes is very important to my community, as families prefer to stay together and feel connected to their homes and to their relatives. This budget’s introduction of the multi-generational home renovation tax credit helps provide up to $7,500 for families hoping to construct a secondary suite in their homes for seniors or adults with disabilities. This means more money for more space, without separating families from one another.
In closing, all of these are targeted and responsible investments that align with the themes of fiscal prudence as well as economic growth, while giving more Canadians safe and affordable places to call home. This really is a responsible and responsive plan, and I hope that every member of the house joins me in supporting it, because its supports are necessary to build a more affordable and resilient Canada.
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- Apr/26/22 12:08:45 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I am pleased to see you in the chair and pleased to be back in the House. I hope everybody had a restful period of time and we are all back here now.
As I rise in the House today to speak to this year’s budget, I will be sharing my time with the member for Mississauga—Streetsville, a wonderful new member of Parliament we have here who is doing great things and who is great to work with.
Several weeks ago, when it was announced that our Liberal government had made a supply agreement deal with the New Democratic Party, I was concerned about that, and I made that known. I am a firm believer in helping and supporting not just Canadians, but those all over the world as we continue, but I am also, like many of my colleagues, a very strong believer in fiscal responsibility. With our country still in an unknown due to COVID, a war on Ukraine, and any other potential things that could come our way, I was unsettled about how we could meet those needs and still remain financially responsible as a government.
I have to congratulate my hon. colleague, the Minister of Finance, as I no longer have those concerns because she struck the perfect chord in this budget. My concerns about the arrangements that we had made on the supply deal and the impact it was going to have on the direction of our government were very much unfounded, because we were able to produce a budget that, yes, delivered on things that mattered to other people but, importantly, we were fiscally responsible, and I was very pleased with all of that.
Before I speak further on the budget, I want to mention page 101, which says “Protecting Our Freshwater”. It might sound like an odd thing to be concerned about as a Toronto member, but we have to be concerned about our lakes. It is an ongoing subject that I have been involved with for some time when it comes to the invasion of sea lamprey in our lakes and the agreements that we had between Canada and the U.S. We were not paying our share to ensure that the invasive sea lamprey were not allowed to continue to cause the kind of damage that they do in the Great Lakes.
I have been lobbying on that issue with my former staff member Greg McClinchey and others. With the help of the member for Niagara Centre and his continued persistence, it is in the budget, with significant funds that will truly be our support in dealing with invasive species like that. I want to congratulate Mr. McClinchey and the member for Niagara Centre for pushing it over the line. I am glad it is done. It does not matter who gets the credit if it gets done, and it is going to make a difference in the Great Lakes and our cities.
The other issue that matters a lot to the residents of Humber River—Black Creek is that all of the provinces have finally signed an agreement for affordable day care, something with which I go back to the previous prime minister Martin, trying to get child care then. That was at least 12 years ago. Well, we finally got it over the finish line and we have agreements with all of the provinces and the territories for an early learning and child care infrastructure fund in the budget. It is going to make a huge difference in the lives of residents in Humber River—Black Creek. Many of the parents in Ontario will be able to save an average of $6,000 per year per child by the end of 2022.
What I see as most important for the residents of Humber River—Black Creek is the fact that many of the families have had to have one member of the partnership stay home, and I know that these women, many of them, wanted the opportunity to go to work. They could not find child care that was affordable. Well, now they will have child care that is affordable. They will be able to go back to school. They will be able to pursue a career. It will make a huge difference in their lives. Otherwise, they had to wait until their children were significantly grown up in order to be able to actually get on to work.
When we look at seniors in poverty, which is an issue we have talked a lot about over the many years I have been here, every year we manage to reduce the number of seniors in poverty. However, if we turn around and make sure, and this is what we are doing with child care, that we provide women and men the opportunity to work, because their children are going to be in a safe day care, an affordable day care opportunity, they can go to work and contribute to their pensions from early on, not having to wait until their children are completely grown up and out of the house before they can go to work. The cost of child care has been exorbitant and parents were simply having to make a choice. They could earn money, but they would pay it all out in child care, so it just did not make any sense for them to go forward. The more Canadians are working, the better our economy will be.
Since our government took power in 2015, we have brought forward six other budgets. Many of them have included great things that have helped the residents of Humber River—Black Creek, such as the Canada child benefit. We should not forget all the families that are benefiting throughout this country. We have helped 435,000 families out of poverty since 2015 and continue to provide almost $7,000 per child to families this year. We are increasing the minimum wage. We have also increased the amounts for the GIS and the old age security pension, things that matter to many people.
We have made investments in workers. As a result of the pandemic, we realized just how important it is to have paid sick days. We can keep our head in the sand all we want, but the reality is that if people are sick and have to pay rent and put food on the table, they are going to go to work, sick or not, and that is very unfortunate. Having 10 paid days of sick leave for federal and private sector employees will make a difference in the lives of many Canadians as we move forward.
We are increasing climate action incentive payments. Most families in my riding are going to receive over $800. I am certainly talking to them about paying attention to how they file their income tax, because there is almost $800 coming back as a result of the carbon tax that they continue to hear people criticize. It is putting money back into the pockets of many people.
I talk a lot about how important it is to use a budget to be fiscally responsible, but also to give people a hand up as we move forward, and dental health is one that we as a party and certainly I have talked about many times. I talk to people in my riding who are having a tough time and cannot get a job. They have missing teeth, and even when they try to pull themselves together to present themselves for a job, clearly they do not present themselves well because they do not have the money to have proper dental health care. We, as Liberals, have talked about it, and I think this agreement we have is a major boost. Yes, it is going to cost a lot of money, but if it makes people's mental health and physical health better as a result of having proper dental care, I think it makes a huge difference. We are phasing it in, again, in a fiscally responsible way. I think those things are very important as we move forward.
On housing, I cannot tell members how happy I am to see the amount of money going into housing, and how well we are doing with that. It is a huge subject. If people do not have a place to live or a roof over their head, it does not matter what else we do for them; that is what they need, so investing in affordable housing and making it all move forward is an extremely important thing. I am thrilled to see the amount of money that is going into housing. Co-op housing in particular is something that I have a real interest in. I would like to see a lot more of that built throughout the country, especially in Humber River—Black Creek, for the residents there.
Madam Speaker, I can see that my time is up. Thank you very much for the opportunity. I think it is a great budget, and I am very proud to stand and support it.
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- Apr/26/22 1:41:39 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the opportunity to rise today and join in the debate on the 2022 budget. I would like to congratulate the government for having a string of two years in a row where it tabled a budget. It kind of broke that historical trend for a while.
In many ways, this is a historic budget, and one that may well be remembered for generations to come. It will be remembered as a budget that failed to rein in reckless spending and restore fiscal responsibility, a budget that has put the financial well-being and access to government services for future generations at risk, and a budget that doubled down on failed policies in the pursuit of ideology.
It will also be remembered as the New Democratic Party's first federal budget, which is no small feat for a party that officially won only 25 seats with less than 18% of the vote just six months ago. It is a government nobody voted for and was not even debated in the last election.
It has never been clearer that we have an NDP Prime Minister who just happened to be born into the Liberal Party. Instead of going his own way as a New Democrat, he decided it would be easier to turn the once fiscally reasonable Liberal Party of Sir Wilfrid Laurier and Jean Chrétien into a mirror image of the NDP, complete with a coalition-style partnership, to avoid scrutiny and accountability. That reality is reflected in this budget, and it is future generations who are going to bear the burden of it.
It was necessary to engage in extraordinary spending in the early days of the pandemic in order to ensure that Canadians had the support they needed to make it through the incredibly difficult times brought on by the pandemic and the various public health measures brought in across the country by all levels of government to address it. Unfortunately, the government treated—
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