44th Parl. 1st Sess.
May 9, 2022 11:00AM
Madam Speaker, it seems there is commonality in that not just veterans, but seniors are being targeted, and there needs to be more work. The gold-digger clause absolutely needs to be revoked. It is discriminatory to Canada's veterans, the people who put their lives on the line so that we have a fair and free society. We are indebted to them, and we owe them the benefits that every Canadian deserves. This is an unfair penalty on the very people we should be supporting the most.
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Madam Speaker, two weeks ago, I had the privilege of rising in the House to speak to the many ways that budget 2022 will improve the lives of Canadians. Today, I have the privilege to speak to how the rubber would hit the road with the budget implementation act.
There are so many topics I would like to cover, but in the short time I have, I am just going to choose one because we are finally setting in motion the changes that are outlined in this bill, and this is a topic that deserves debate in the chamber. These changes are increasing the transparency and accountability in our financial system and in land ownership through legislative changes that would result in the creation of a registry for beneficial ownership.
Canada has developed a reputation as a haven for money laundering, tax evasion and other financial crimes due to the relative sophistication of our banking sector and the opacity, which is a defining characteristic of our corporate and land ownership. This reputation has led Canada to have an internationally recognized term for money laundering, which is “snow washing”. It refers to the fact that anonymously owned corporations in Canada are presumed by banks and other financial institutions as being legitimate without the transparency that should underpin such a determination.
An expert panel on money laundering in B.C. real estate estimated that, in 2018, some $46 billion in list funds were laundered in Canada, much of it moving through real estate. The 2017 analysis by Transparency International found that Canada had the weakest corporate transparency rules in the G20, tied only with South Korea.
Why does this matter? Few realize that white-collar crime such as this has very real impacts, even if it may not be obvious from the beginning. The fact is that these vulnerabilities feed directly into the largest challenges we face in the present day. Consider the example of the Vancouver model of money laundering. In this model, opioids are shipped in large quantities from China to Canada as a way of Chinese residents moving capital out of China to the safe haven of Canada by evading the country's currency export controls of $50,000 U.S. per year. The proceeds from the drug trade are laundered through casinos or invested in, among other things, Canadian real estate, where it is purchased through blind trusts or numbered companies with the real owners obscured.
Money laundering not only supports criminals. It is also estimated to have contributed to a 5% increase in the price of housing in B.C. as of 2018. When studies show that we do not know the true owners of over half of the 100 most expensive properties in B.C., we know that it is not just causing more housing unaffordability, it may also be linked to tax evasion of our treatment of principal residences. Importantly, it is also fuelling the deadly health emergency we have in the province of B.C., which is the opioid epidemic. Dirty and dark money comes from both domestic and foreign sources.
In the House, it has been a source of great pride to see how members of all parties have come together to support our Ukrainian friends who have been victimized by the brutal invasion of Vladimir Putin. One of the main tools we have relied on has been the use of targeted sanctions on Putin's inner circle. This budget implementation act indeed contains measures that will create the conditions for the seizing and disposal of assets from sanctioned individuals. However, when the ownership of assets is undertaken through complex, international schemes of shell companies in countries that have similar opaque corporate registries, then we currently have very little ability to determine who the real owners of assets are in Canada, which are held in Canadian banks, and our sanctions, therefore, have limited effect.
It is abundantly clear that we need to act, and through measures in this budget, we are doing just that. We are reviewing and strengthening our anti-money laundering and terrorist financing regime by extending the current system to monitor payment service providers and crowd-funding platforms for money laundering and terrorist financing. About $90 million is provided to FINTRAC to significantly expand and modernize its ability to detect and prevent financial crime.
We are also taking the first steps to establish a new Canada financial crimes agency, which will become Canada's lead enforcement agency for financial crimes. This is important because we need to have financial and accounting experts in law enforcement and the public prosecution services to effectively tackle complex, white-collar crime cases.
Most importantly, we are amending the Canada Business Corporations Act to implement a public and searchable beneficial ownership registry, which would be available by the end of 2023. This will require that corporations report the identities of those who own and control significant portions of any corporation. It will allow law enforcement, the CRA, banks, journalists and the public at large to see exactly who owns any given company and ensure that criminals can no longer hide behind anonymous numbered corporations. Beneficial ownership registries are the gold standard when it comes to combatting corporate financial crime, and this has been recognized throughout the world.
In fact, this is not even going to be the first beneficial ownership registry in Canada, as B.C. has had a land registry since May 2019. However, unfortunately, what was supposed to be a world-leading system has been plagued by delays, unclear and poorly defined rules and heretofore a lack of compliance. The system should be in place by the end of this year, but that already puts it a year behind schedule. The registry currently has information on only 46,000 owners with a total of 73,000 properties, which is just a tiny fraction of the 2.2 million titles in British Columbia. Therefore, it is crucial that when we develop our federal beneficial ownership registry, we learn through some of the challenges that British Columbia has had and adopt some of the best practices that we can find from around the world.
The U.K., as one of the first countries to create a publicly accessible beneficial ownership registry, has one of the best systems in the world so far. U.K. companies are required to keep an up-to-date register of people with significant control over it, meaning anyone who holds more than 25% of the shares or voting rights of a company, either directly or indirectly, through another company or trust. Failure to comply with this is a criminal offence, not only for the company but also for the officers of the company. In the wake of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, the U.K. has expanded its register to apply to land ownership to give the government the ability to require identity verification for people who manage, control or just set up companies.
There are uniquely Canadian challenges that we will need to face as we build our own beneficial ownership registry. Unlike the U.K., Canada is a federal system where provinces and territories have jurisdiction over real property and for federally incorporated entities. This covers an enormous number of the entities that we need to have transparency on, so we will need to work with such partners to ensure that we have a national system that works. We have a national registry for money services businesses, regardless of where in Canada they are registered. This system was also created to combat money laundering and is centrally administered by FINTRAC.
There are many forms that this system could take, but what is most important is that the data is standardized to make it easier for law enforcement to analyze, for simplifying regulatory compliance and to minimize the regulatory burden on companies that operate in multiple jurisdictions in Canada. What is most important is that this registry be publicly accessible and free to access. This is important because we know that law enforcement has a limited capacity to monitor the millions of corporate structures in Canada. The public, particularly the press, has the ability to play a role to connect the dots and uncover wrongdoing that can assist in uncovering illegal actions as well.
To give an example of why this is important, I note that B.C.'s land ownership registry was not able to find any property owned by a sanctioned individual. It was only due to leaks that were involved in the Paradise papers that we were able to find a single piece of land in British Columbia, in the riding of the member for Saanich—Gulf Islands, connected to a sanctioned individual. That really shows the value of investigative reporting.
I would like to end by saying the following. We know the impact of financial crime is deep and far-reaching. It is clear that we need to act decisively and think big to mitigate the negative effects of money laundering and tax evasion, and to catch those who are using Canadian property and corporations to transfer, hide and launder their money in Canada. Now is the time to take lessons learned from jurisdictions around the world, calibrate them to the Canadian context and develop a system that will make Canada a leader in preventing financial crime.
Budget 2022 contains the building blocks for a financial system that has more integrity, and I look forward to working with my colleagues from all parties in the House to pass this bill as a first step in getting dirty money out of Canada.
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Madam Speaker, the Conservatives have been talking for a very long time about the need for action on money laundering. It is a regular concern I hear from Canadians. It is a particular concern I hear from Canadians from diaspora communities, actually. They raise the fact that money in other countries is taken by corrupt dictatorial regimes and then brought to and used in Canada.
In that vein, I want to ask a question that has been specifically brought to me regularly by people in the Iranian community in Canada. They are concerned about this issue. They are also concerned about the IRGC, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. The House of Commons voted to sanction the IRGC to list it as a terrorist entity, yet the government has not acted, despite the Liberals voting in favour of that listing motion three years ago. If we are not willing to identify terrorist organizations like the IRGC and list them under the Anti-terrorism Act, then we are missing out on a critical tool for combatting the kind of activities in which they might engage in Canada.
I wonder if the member has a comment specifically on the listing of the IRGC and whether that is something the government plans to do as part of a broader suite of measures. Also, why is there a delay?
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Madam Speaker, I think my hon. colleague's question speaks directly to the reasons why we need to move ahead on some of these measures. It is one thing to have a list of sanctions and individuals we are going to be sanctioning, but if we do not actually have the tools in place to ensure that we are able to go after the assets in Canada, those sanctions are not going to have significant effect.
In this budget implementation act, we have a number of measures that are going to allow us to do just that on beneficial ownership of companies. We have actions that are happening right across the country, in British Columbia and Manitoba and now Ontario as well. I would encourage the member opposite to talk to some of his colleagues in the provincial government in Alberta to see if they can start moving ahead with some of the measures that we need to have so we can move ahead with the measures that we need to bring in for sanctioned individuals.
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Madam Speaker, my colleague spoke a lot about investigations into money laundering and recovering money. We agree with all that.
However, there is something that really bothers me. How does my colleague explain the fact that his government is not doing anything at all about tax havens? They are perfectly legal and everyone is aware of them. It is estimated that the government is losing at least $7 billion a year to tax havens.
Also, is the member not the least bit embarrassed that his government is creating uncertainty about the coming into force of the farm succession act, on the pretext that our farmers are fraudsters rather than honest people who put food on our tables? I think that is completely shameful, and I encourage him to put pressure on the government from the inside to quickly dispel this uncertainty.
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Madam Speaker, I disagree with what the member said about the government not investigating tax havens.
We are going against some of the tax havens that we have here. There are new measures in the budget this year that do just that, including ways in which individuals are using international companies to get around paying taxes in Canada.
There is much more that we need to do. There are ways we can simplify our tax code to do that. Some of the measures I am talking about today will allow us to increase the amount of tax revenue that we can receive by going after some of the ways money is laundered, as well as the ways people are evading taxes through some of these anonymous organizations.
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Madam Speaker, I thank my neighbour for his interesting speech. I did not really see a profound investment in immigration. In my riding, we are having hundreds of calls day after day from people trying to figure out their status. They have done all of their paperwork and they have done everything they should. They are already living in Canada. We have people on worker visas who have done everything right and now cannot work. They are losing their homes. It is becoming a mess.
I am wondering if the member could talk about his government's responsibility and how long it is going to take to actually address these really important issues.
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Madam Speaker, I absolutely agree. In this budget, there is over $2 billion going to Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada to be able to deal with the backlogs. The idea is that by the end of this year, with these investments, we will get back to a normal service standard, as well as introducing new programs, such as an expedited temporary foreign worker program, which I know would be a game-changer for some of the hardest-hit sectors where there are major labour shortages, such as tourism in my riding.
There is a lot here on immigration. Because of the backlogs related to COVID, we have a lot we need to do. With these investments and some of the changes that are being made to expedite the processes, we are going to be able to deal with some of the backlogs that are causing major issues.
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Madam Speaker, it is always a pleasure to be in the House and to speak on behalf of the people of Calgary Midnapore, and here I am today addressing the BIA.
I will start with an anecdote. Last Friday, when my husband picked me up at the Calgary airport, we were making the left-hand turn we usually do in an effort to merge onto Deerfoot Trail. Halfway through our turn, the light turned yellow and my husband stopped in the middle of the intersection. I turned to him and said, “James, what the bleep are you doing here?” Well, that is what I have to say: What are we doing here? What is the government doing here?
When I arrived here in 2017, there was the same sentiment that existed in 2015 when the Liberal government came into place. Among Canadians, although we were disappointed as Conservatives and sorry to see the departure of former prime minister Stephen Harper, I think there was a feeling of hope and enthusiasm across the country. We often think of sunny ways at that time, when the Prime Minister and the Liberal government came in. Those same sentiments existed when I arrived here in 2017. I was just outside those doors getting ready to be walked into the House of Commons for the first time, and there was still that same feeling of excitement and of sunny ways.
I have to say, that is not there anymore, and this budget reflects it. This budget is a mishmash and a patchwork of legislation. Any individual reading through this content could not determine the goals, aspirations and theme of the government. Is that not what leadership really is? What are we doing here?
When I reflect upon the reasons for the lack of direction we now see from the government, I would attribute it to three things. Number one is now the failure to implement any vision the government to the Prime Minister might have once had. The second would be an unuseful and impractical adherence to ideology. The third would be ignoring the real problems affecting Canadians. I will take some time now to expand on each of those.
When I talk about the failure to implement the vision, I am talking about the sunny ways and hope and enthusiasm the Prime Minister and the government arrived here with. Unfortunately, when they have tried to execute these sunny ways and implement them in Canada and Canadian culture, it has been nothing but an absolute failure. We saw that with the attempts for democracy reform. We saw it when the attempt was made to go to proportional representation, which was a 2015 election promise. It was failed upon by the previous minister for democratic institutions, who is no longer in the House. That is one example of the failure of the implementation of vision we have seen from the government.
We saw this with the climate plan. We saw this with the Paris climate accord. I sat back there in my second week, having to vote on the Paris climate accord. The fear and division it created in the House, which I will expand upon, was for no reason. These targets that we voted upon and that divided us were never actually achieved by the government, so what is the point?
It is the same thing we saw with the Liberals' grand idea of planting two billion trees. As I look around this room, I see nary a tree. They have failed on these climate initiatives as well.
The third is unity, and I will speak to this from two perspectives. The first is regional. Liberals have pitted region against region in this country, needlessly creating division at a time even before the pandemic descended upon us. Of course, with the pandemic, it was the Prime Minister who used inflammatory language, name-called and attacked Canadians who had valid concerns about the mandates. He actually rejected a Conservative motion to create a plan to roll back the mandates, which could have lowered the temperature, and he then of course invoked the Emergencies Act for the first time in Canada's history. We, on this side of the House, are still reviewing that to this day. It created terrible disunity not only in the House, but among Canadians.
The second is a unuseful adherence to ideology. We have seen this in two places in particular. The first was the killing of the natural resources sector. As an Albertan, I take personal offence to this. How has the current government done this? It has done this by not providing support for Line 5. My colleague, the member for Calgary Centre, has talked and encouraged ad nauseam about this. Of course, at this moment in history, while Ukraine faces its most difficult time, the most difficult time we have seen in recent history, the government failed to pass a motion to get natural gas to Europe. At a time when our natural resources could be used for good in this world, the government turned its back against it. It brought in Bill C-48, the tanker moratorium, and who can forget Bill C-69, the no new pipelines bill, which again showed an unuseful adherence to ideology.
We also saw that with the mandates, the mandates that still rest with us today. I can tell members of the House that the parliamentary precinct, and frankly airports and airplanes, are the only places now where I am required to wear a mask. The government should lift the mandates on that and stop using this unuseful adherence to ideology. It is not helpful for Canadians at all.
What I think is most important here is that, if we look at the ways the government has failed and how this budget reflects that, it shows an ignorance of the real problems that affect Canadians. What are they? I will list a couple.
At the industry committee we saw a rejection to support the lithium mine, which would have been very important for semiconductors, something that is becoming increasingly important as we evaluate supply chains going into the future. In addition, we saw a government that was useless and unwilling to take a stand until the very last moment on the CP Rail strike, which would have had devastating impacts on not only western Canada, but also all of Canada.
We have seen this lack of action in labour shortages. The CFIB's recent report “Labour shortages are back with a vengeance” found that 55% of businesses could not find the staff they needed. Food and Beverage Canada said that it lacked 300,000 workers within its industry and has companies with vacancy rates of over 20%. The government throwing money at this is not helping. It needs to address the backlogs it has within its immigration processes.
We hear about housing endlessly here, with the average price of a home now reaching $874,100, a jolting 27.1% increase over the last year. The initiatives of the government, such as the first-time homebuyer incentive and the shared equity mortgage fund, are failing terribly.
I can talk about the failures of the government and how this budget and the budget implementation act do not address the cost of living and inflation. For the first time in 31 years, prices are up 6.7% compared to a year ago. Families are spending nearly $1,000 more a year on groceries and gas. Gas and home heating are costing more, and housing prices have doubled since the Prime Minister became the Prime Minister. More than half of Canadians are $200 or less away from not being able to pay their bills or rent, with three in 10 already falling behind at the end of the month.
In conclusion, the government has run its course. It has received a minority not once, but twice now. It just had to buy a mandate until 2025. When it was elected in 2015, there was a sense of hope, optimism and possibility. That is gone now. This budget reflects it, and the budget implementation act reflects it. What are we doing here?
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Madam Speaker, I am not too sure what the Conservative Party is doing here if we look at what their performance has been like in the past number of weeks. I can assure the member that the Government of Canada, in particular our Prime Minister and cabinet members and in fact all Liberal members of Parliament, are here because we want to be able to serve Canadians.
We are doing that in good part by budgetary measures that are going to have a profoundly positive impact on every Canadian from coast to coast to coast. Whether it is programs such as the first ever national universal child care program, which is going to enable the workforce to expand, or investments in infrastructure, there are so many gold nuggets inside the budget to ensure that we continue to provide hope for Canadians. The sun will continue to shine as we continue to move forward.
The member seems to be of the opinion that Ottawa is the only one with mandates left. If she crosses the river into Quebec, she will find that there are mandates for mask wearing. Would she maybe address that issue?
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Madam Speaker, I will tell my colleague that the sun has indeed set. He talks a lot about, for example, day care. I wish the Minister of Families, Children and Social Development had been focused on Service Canada and the delivery of passports. I think that is just another example of how the government has lost its way. Liberals have been so focused on their own ideology that they have forgotten about the needs of Canadians and delivering to Canadians, and they should remember that.
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Madam Speaker, I listened to my Conservative colleague's passionate speech. I found it interesting and stirring, so to speak.
When we talk about Bill C-19, we are also talking about the budget that the government tabled not too long ago. What I really did not like about that budget was the lack of action on climate change. With the approval of the Bay du Nord project, we see that the government is continuing to get more deeply involved in oil.
Could the member who just gave that wonderful speech tell us more about what the government should do to combat climate change and get away from oil?
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Madam Speaker, in fact, two people are disappointed. The first is the member who just asked the question, because, as I stated in my speech, this government has taken no action on climate change. The second is me, because, as I stated in my speech, nothing has been done for the natural resources sector.
Even though I agree with my Bloc colleague, I want to say that we must also take action for the natural resources sector, which is being neglected at present. Therefore, I agree with my colleague, but I am disappointed for another reason.
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Madam Speaker, the member and I work together on the disability inclusion file. I want to ask some questions about the Canada disability benefit.
Could the member for Calgary Midnapore comment around the missing Canada disability benefit in the budget?
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Madam Speaker, I think we need to look at the sincerity and the intentions of the government. I believe that the member would agree with me on this. The government tabled that bill in the last week before we left for the seasonal break, when there was an election about to be called. What does that say about the Liberals' sincerity and about their will in implementing the act?
As strongly as we may feel about this, as much as we need to see something done for Canadians with disabilities, it really starts with the government. The fact that Liberals tabled this in the final week before we left with an election potentially looming, and the fact that they have not brought it back in the recent budget of 2022, speaks volumes.
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Madam Speaker, it is my pleasure to join today’s debate on Bill C-19, the budget implementation act. Let me begin by stating something that I have mentioned before about this budget. This is a fiscally prudent budget that is also focused on economic growth. If we are looking for a theme and a direction, here is the theme and here is the direction.
We were able to shift this budget’s focus onto these elements because of how well we have done in recovering from a global pandemic that has exhausted economies around the world.
Starting with jobs, we have recovered 115% of the jobs lost since April 2020, which is equivalent to three million jobs. Just this past Friday, on May 6, Canada’s job numbers were released, and they showed that the labour market has gained over 15,000 jobs in April alone, bringing our unemployment rate to 5.2%, the lowest since 1976. These numbers are not to be taken lightly. They represent the resilience and strength of real people and real Canadians who made effective use of the supports and programs rolled out by our federal government. They worked hard to get back on their feet, stronger than ever.
However, there is more to be done, and that is exactly what the measures in budget 2022, implemented by Bill C-19, set out to do. The budget builds on the progress we have already made, by investing in workers, small businesses, our supply chain and more.
We also need to acknowledge that every success has its ups and downs. Canadians know that our recovery from COVID-19, along with our continued fight against it, has come at a very high price. This global pandemic has had not only health consequences, but also economic ones, as the international phenomenon of inflation has made things more expensive, both in other countries and right here in Canada.
We acknowledge the higher prices of groceries. We acknowledge the high and rising costs of homes, and we also acknowledge that the impacted supply chain has already deeply hurt the pockets of everyday consumers at the checkout counter. We know that the causes can be sourced to the pandemic and the current international conflicts, but we have to do something about it right here at home.
With budget 2022 and Bill C-19, our government is advancing and introducing measures that will address these concerns and help mitigate the rising costs of living for Canadians. The budget is grounded by a focus on housing, the climate, jobs and growth, and affordability, but one key common element in all of these pillars is people.
Our people are the backbone to a strong and growing country, and Bill C-19 ensures that we continue to have their backs through measures for affordable housing, clean and good jobs, and a safe place to live.
Before we get into those overarching categories, let us quickly review the key ways in which the budget implementation act will help Canadians.
On housing, Bill C-19 doubles the maximum for the home accessibility tax credit, and also proposes a two-year ban on foreign investment in Canadian housing that will make housing more affordable.
On health, Bill C-19 proposes $2 billion for the provinces and territories, to reduce backlogs in surgeries and procedures.
On the labour shortage, Bill C-19 introduces a labour mobility deduction that will make travel easier for tradespeople, who will be able to fill the gaps in important projects.
On a cleaner economy that is fuelled by our small businesses, Bill C-19 proposes a reduction by half to the corporate and small business tax rates for businesses that manufacture zero-emissions technologies.
Now that we have gone through some of this overview, let us get into some of the big themes, starting with the most pressing concern in our local communities and in my riding of Richmond Hill, which is housing.
We have never had such an ambitious plan as we do in budget 2022 to address the fundamental issue of housing affordability. Through Bill C-19, we can implement measures that would make housing not only more affordable for our first-time homebuyers, but also more accessible for all.
We know that gaps in supply are leading to increases in costs, which is why budget 2022 indicates our government’s commitment to doubling the number of new homes built over the next 10 years. This budget also includes measures to reduce the barriers for first-time homebuyers who work so hard to save up for a place to call their own. Bill C-19 would prevent foreign investors and commercial enterprises from parking their money in Canada and driving up costs to the point that young buyers can barely afford to enter the housing market.
We talked about youth, but what about seniors or persons with disabilities? They have made significant contributions to Canadian society and deserve homes that are accessible to them and continue to fit their needs. However, renovations can be pricey, and with the rising cost of living, such home improvements are far out of reach for seniors and persons with disabilities.
That is why Bill C-19 proposes to double the home accessibility tax credit’s annual limit to $20,000 to help make significant alterations and renovations more affordable. This would mean an additional $1,500 in tax support, which will in turn make alterations such as the installation of wheelchair ramps, walkers or non-slip flooring more affordable. For members of Richmond Hill's community council on seniors, who are concerned about the costs associated with customizing their homes to their current needs, I know this is going to be a significant aid in helping them age well in the houses they know and love.
We delved into housing affordability, but we know that to be able to purchase or maintain homes, people need good jobs, which is why investing in jobs and growth is a key pillar of budget 2022. Primarily, let us talk about the jobs that need support.
Currently, our economy can absorb nearly one million jobs, 300,000 of which could be fulfilled by the construction trades. Workers in the construction trades often travel to take on temporary jobs, frequently in rural and remote communities, but their associated expenses do not always qualify for existing tax relief. To ensure that we can get the workers where they are needed and address labour shortages in an equitable way, we need to support the mobility of workers within Canada. If they can travel without worrying about associated costs, we will have more workers and more projects will be completed, even some potentially in housing, which will indirectly increase our supply.
Through the labour mobility deduction for tradespeople, Bill C-19 proposes to provide tax relief on eligible travel and temporary relocation expenses. However, it is not just tradespersons who need the support in getting to work.
Lastly, Bill C-19 has measures that will make Canada a cleaner and safer place to live. We are committing to smart climate investments today that will not only be good for the planet, but good for the Canadian economy. Whether it is through the $15-billion investment in the Canada growth fund, the creation of the Canada water agency, the $1.7-billion incentive for zero-emission vehicles or the expansion of the low-carbon economy fund with $2.2 billion over seven years, this budget implementation act will bring to fruition Canada’s global efforts in fighting climate change in a way that is not only planet friendly, but economically friendly.
In closing, I ask all members of the House to join me in supporting this bill.
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Madam Speaker, in March 2020, the Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions reduced the domestic stability barrier to 1%, thus freeing up an additional $300 billion in capital. The government at the time said that it expected the banks to lend it out, and the banks did loan it out. Mortgage credit has exploded over the last two years of the pandemic, from $1.7 trillion to $2 trillion today.
Should the government have put in place measures to ensure that this additional $300 billion in credit did not all go into the residential mortgage market, thus fuelling the explosion in house prices and the skyrocketing housing prices we have seen over the last 24 months?
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Madam Speaker, the $300 billion was an investment in Canadians, from all aspects, whether it was directly to individuals or to businesses in various sectors, and as I said in my speech, the result is evident now. We are back with 115% job recovery; we are back with over three million jobs. We have shortages of one million jobs, and we have the potential to do much better. As we roll out various programs in Bill C-19, not only will we address the labour shortage, but we will also make sure that people have an affordable place to live and that we can also welcome new Canadians to Canada.
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Madam Speaker, I listened with interest to the member for Richmond Hill's speech, and I noticed he did mention, in addition to seniors, people with disabilities.
In the heart of the pandemic, the member for Elmwood—Transcona and I wrote to the minister, asking for the creation of a federal disability benefit to help lift all people with disabilities out of poverty, as a first step toward a guaranteed livable basic income. I wonder what is happening on the government side when it comes to providing that necessary income support for people with disabilities.
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Madam Speaker, that is a very important question. I have many stakeholders in my riding who are dealing with disabilities. One of the challenges we have is that there are also provincial programs that are being rolled out in conjunction with what we are planning in the federal government. As members know, there is nothing more important than working with provinces and territories to ensure that the programs that are being rolled out are complementary, and that takes some time. We are working very hard to ensure not only that we address the needs of those with disabilities, but also that the funding being given addresses the needs in a very complementary way.
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