44th Parl. 1st Sess.
June 2, 2022 10:00AM
- Jun/2/22 5:36:08 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I have to say I really appreciate the comments from my friend and colleague from Wellington—Halton Hills today. He is a beacon of experience and knowledge in this place, and I know that, of all members of the House, he is always fighting for a more equal chance for all.
My questions have to do with two inalienable features that govern all of our lives, and they are time and space.
First, I would like to know his thoughts on a secondary chamber for things like late shows and PMBs, creating a menu of options for members to consider and choose from when entering this place for debate. We spend a lot of time in Ottawa, and I feel that would make it more efficient. It is not just June that I am talking about.
Second, toward the end, the member got to the point of virtual Parliament. The member and I can drive here. We live close. The member opposite is just one riding north of mine and it is about four or five hours to drive. However, colleagues across this House do not have that luxury, so I wonder what his considerations are for members with young kids and members from places like Yukon, the northern territories and northern British Columbia.
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- Jun/2/22 6:52:02 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank my friend and colleague from Kitchener Centre for his work on this file and his dedication to seniors living in his riding and across the country.
Many seniors have faced significant health, economic and social challenges due to COVID-19, which has really laid bare the systematic challenges in Canada's long-term care system. As soon as COVID-19 exposed some of these challenges in our long-term care system, our government was there to help the provinces and territories with additional PPE, with the armed forces in the long-term care facilities in Quebec and Ontario and with much more.
Our government has also stressed the need for permanent, long-term solutions for long-term care facilities so that the Canadians living and working in them are safe and treated with respect and dignity. Key to achieving that level of safety and comfort are national standards for long-term care.
I would remind the member opposite that in March 2021, the Standards Council of Canada, which is a federal Crown corporation, the Health Standards Organization and the Canadian Standards Association announced that they would be collaborating on the development of two new complementary federal long-term care standards. That was a result of work from our government. Their collaboration with stakeholders across the country has focused on addressing the delivery of safe, reliable and high-quality long-term care services, the design and operation of long-term care homes, and infection prevention and control practices in long-term care.
For HSO's standard, this means resident-centred care practices: a respectful team-based environment, a healthy, competent and resilient workforce with healthy working conditions, and strong governance practices and operations. For the CSA group standard, this means cleaning and disinfecting processes, waste removal, HVAC, plumbing, medical gas systems and the use of more modern technology in care systems. We expect that the final release of those standards will be done at the end of this year. Budget 2021 also included a $3-billion investment to support the provinces and territories in their efforts to apply these standards and ensure permanent changes are made.
The COVID-19 pandemic continues to highlight the challenges in long-term care, including gaps in infection prevention and staffing. I believe that answers the first question my colleague asked, which was whether we recognize that this crisis is continuing. The answer is yes. Our government has made significant investments, including $4 billion to help the provinces and territories improve the standards of care in those facilities. In addition to that, there is $41.9 billion in cash supports to the provinces and territories through the Canada health transfer.
Canadians can rest assured that we will keep working hard with the provinces and territories so we can fight COVID-19 together. That includes in our long-term care facilities.
On the campaign, we also committed to investing an additional $25 billion over five years to better support the health care system and provide better mental health services across the country for seniors. The provinces and territories will now receive over $47 billion through the Canada health transfer in 2021 and 2022, with the territories getting $500 million, to help them prepare for outbreaks of COVID-19. To date, our government has spent more than eight dollars out of every $10 in this country to fight the pandemic.
There were a couple of other questions. When will the tabling of the safe long-term care act commence? I believe that work is under way. We are working expeditiously on that because it is a priority for this government. I do not have any updates on work with the provinces, but I look forward to the next round of questions from my friend and colleague from Kitchener Centre.
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- Jun/2/22 6:56:37 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, while I know that it is challenging for Green members to appear at committee, I would invite the member to the health committee at some point. Work is under way. We have been addressing human resources in health care, which is related to this challenge. I would also highlight what I said in a previous round, which is that we are investing $3 billion through budget 2021 to ensure that standards for long-term care are applied and that permanent changes are made.
We all agree that people living and working in long-term care deserve to be treated with respect and dignity in a safe environment. Our government has invested in immediate solutions while supporting efforts to permanently correct what needs correcting in the long-term care system, not only to better protect against a future pandemic, but to make every single day a day of safety and good living.
We owe this to our seniors in the country. They built this country. We are grateful for this country. It is a great place to live, and we owe them a life of dignity and respect. That is what we are achieving together by collaborating in this place.
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- Jun/2/22 7:01:28 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank my hon. colleague from North Okanagan—Shuswap for raising this question of the luxury tax this evening in adjournment debate. As we all know, taxes help pay for the government programs and services that all Canadians depend upon, and they provide a social safety net on which all Canadians can rely. The usefulness of this social safety net was very obvious during the pandemic.
While many Canadians have sacrificed a lot to keep our economy going through the pandemic, we also know that some of the wealthiest have done quite well. We believe that it is only fair to ask those who can afford to buy luxury goods to contribute a little bit more. That is why the government followed through on its commitment to introduce a tax on select luxury goods in budget 2021.
Our government proposed in budget 2021 the introduction of a tax on the sale of new luxury cars and aircraft with a retail price of over $100,000 and on new boats over $250,000. It is estimated that by this measure we will increase federal revenues by $654 million over five years starting in 2021-22. I would like to reassure my colleagues that the luxury tax only applies to boats above a quarter of a million dollars and has an effective rate less than 10% for boats less than $500,000.
I think we should also all be mindful that the $250,000 price threshold is 3.3 times the median household income in Canada before taxes. We also have seen recent reports the demand for luxury goods is strong and has continued throughout the pandemic. We are definitely not targeting middle-class Canadians with this measure. We are simply asking those who can buy these luxury goods to make an additional contribution.
I understand that my hon. colleague is concerned that the luxury tax will negatively impact the tourism industry in his region. However, I would like to reassure him that families that are renting or chartering new houseboats in the Shuswap region would only bear a very small portion of this tax, as it would be spread out over all the charters over the useful life of the houseboat.
Finally, the government is not implementing this new tax alone or blindly. Canadians have been consulted about it, and the draft legislative proposals were released in March of this year. Subject to parliamentary approval, this tax would come into effect on September 1, 2022.
I look forward to following up with my hon. colleague if he has any further questions or comments.
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- Jun/2/22 7:04:40 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I will do my best. I would like to conclude by reminding my colleagues and the hon. member that this government has been there to support Canadians as we navigated through the pandemic and taxes are necessary to pay for the social programs that Canadians depend upon. We believe that it is only fair that those who can afford vessels worth more than $250,000 contribute a little bit more than others.
In conclusion, I would just state that previous Conservative governments recognized that taxes are what pay for the government programs that are essential for Canadians, particularly vulnerable Canadians. As I have said many times in the House, I grew up in social housing. I grew up in a co-op, and those co-ops would not have existed if it were not for good tax structures similar to the ones that the Mulroney government brought forward with the GST. We would not be here today without that good Conservative idea of the general sales tax.
In closing, I would like to thank former prime minister Brian Mulroney for bringing forward the GST, and we are following up with this luxury tax because Canadians rely on these services more than ever.
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