44th Parl. 1st Sess.
June 6, 2022 11:00AM
Madam Speaker, I will talk about the state of the Canadian economy all day long, and we will continue to do so once we get Bill C-19 passed.
Our economy grew at a rate of 3.1% annualized in quarter one of this year. The IMF has predicted that Canada will have the highest growth rate in the G7 this year and next year. Canada posted the fastest growth among G7 economies in Q1. Building upon our results in the last quarter, our AAA credit rating is intact, and 115% of the three million jobs lost during the pandemic have been recovered, faster than in the U.S. economy. Our unemployment rate is 5.2%, the lowest it has been since I was six years old in 1976. Our balance of international trade is a $5-billion trade surplus. Bankruptcies are lower than before the pandemic.
The Conservatives are doom and gloom. They want to obstruct Bill C-19, but we know the facts, and so do Canadians. The economy is doing well, and Bill C-19 will help make life more affordable.
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Madam Speaker, under the Standing Orders, the government can use time allocation, but there is a difference between using it and abusing it.
Bill C-19 is not a small inconsequential bill. It is over 430 pages long and makes a lot of changes to existing legislation. We need some time to study it.
We know that the Standing Committee on Finance was rushed. We had time to present amendments, which were debated. They were good amendments. Were it not for the work of the committee, the bill could have been passed without any improvements, when that is the whole point of committee work. The Standing Committee on Finance worked extremely hard.
I challenge any party in the House to say that the Bloc Québécois is filibustering. We have not filibustered in committee or in the House. On the contrary, we worked hard to improve Bill C-19, which is a massive bill that amends a number of important laws. I think it should be known that we did not have time to review it properly, even if there were 80 speeches on the subject.
My question is quite simple. Does the Minister of Tourism and Associate Minister of Finance not agree that we should have had more time to further improve this bill so that it would better respond to the needs of Canadians and businesses?
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Madam Speaker, I have a great deal of respect for the position my colleague across the way has taken. I agree that robust debates in the House and committee are necessary, and we have had those debates. For example, there have been 81 speakers, 42 hours of debate in the House and 27 hours in committee.
We realize that this is a large bill, but that is the norm for budget implementation bills.
Canadians need the measures that are in this budget. We want to address affordability. We have had robust debates and now we must move forward.
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Madam Speaker, the Conservatives have said that they are blocking this bill just as they are blocking other bills as well. We are coming up to the parliamentary recess on June 23. The NDP has forced, obliged and negotiated with this government to put in place national dental care and a national housing imitative that finally starts to address the crisis in affordable housing in this country, along with all of those measures that Canadians critically need to be delivered as soon as possible, but now we have Conservatives saying, “No, we want to delay it for literally months of time.”
To the hon. member, what are the implications of the Conservatives' blocking absolutely every piece of legislation, delaying for months, and even more, the ability to start making investments in affordable housing, to start making investments in the national dental plan and to start making investments that will make a difference in Canadians' lives?
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Madam Speaker, as the hon. colleague knows, people in his riding, people in my riding and people in the ridings of all members in this House need social and affordable housing now. We need the measures in the budget implementation act now. That is why we have to have the right balance, with scrutiny and robust debate on the one hand and getting on with the work for Canadians on the other.
I will build on what the hon. member put on the table and talk about what is put at risk by the Conservatives in opposing and blocking the advancement of this legislation. It is in the health care sector, with a $2-billion further top-up on health care in addition to the $86.7 billion already on the table.
Our residents in our ridings want surgeries and procedures to come back, and that is what the BIA would do.
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Madam Speaker, we are in June. For a lot of agencies and government departments, the fiscal year begins in March and April, and they start to plan for the rest of the year. However, we are in June already, and a lot of agencies, organizations and support groups in our community are looking for clear direction. They want to see this funding approved. All of the government programs that we are talking about in the budget have to be approved by the House ASAP so that these crucial supports through organizations, through government agencies, to individual Canadian families can happen as soon as possible.
Earlier I heard members across the floor talking about how important it is to have debate. I am all for debate and I agree with that, but my constituents are asking when these supports are coming.
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Madam Speaker, once we are able to get through this motion today and move on with the business of the people through Bill C-19, we can make sure that the supports that are in the BIA get to the people. It is thanks to the obstructionist techniques and tactics of the Conservatives that we are where we are today.
Again, let me go through what is at risk here: $2 billion for provinces and territories to reduce backlogs in surgeries and procedures; a labour mobility deduction for tradespeople, which is critically needed at this time; a doubling of the maximum amount of the home accessibility tax credit; a reduction, by half, for the corporate small business tax rates for businesses that manufacture zero-emission technologies; and more measures that matter to our residents from coast to coast to coast.
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Madam Speaker, it is obvious that this government has become extremely afraid of scrutiny, of accountability, and it is becoming even more evident with this latest backroom partnership with the NDP.
One hour of debate on 440 pages of a bill is hardly what Canadians deserve for scrutiny and accountability of the government. Not even the backbench Liberal MPs have been able to speak on any parts of this budget that may benefit their ridings. I have not had a chance to debate the possible $2 billion in lost sales in the auto, aerospace and marine sectors. The implementation of this budget, which is projecting a $53-billion deficit, needs more than the one hour of debate that this government has allowed.
We have not even talked about inflation. The minister earlier spoke about temporary inflation; it has recently been in the news that this inflation is now entrenched in Canada. This deserves debate, and I am strongly opposed to this time allocation motion.
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Madam Speaker, let us look at the facts.
There were 80 speakers at second reading alone, and 42 hours of debate, with 15 hours at second reading and 27 hours in committee. The Conservatives could have supported us to debate until midnight, but instead they had dilatory motions left, right and centre, preventing us from doing the work that Canadians expect us to do.
What is the Conservatives' response after claiming that somehow they did not have enough with 42 hours of debate? It is to throw away all of the work that parliamentarians in this House did and to propose 62 motions in amendment to simply gut the BIA.
What is at stake? It is the entire luxury tax that we have put into this budget, changes to the Competition Act, the expansion of the health care rebate for clients and taxation of assignment sales, among many other measures.
The Conservatives are opposing. We are moving forward.
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Madam Speaker, the government called a snap election last fall, and Canadians and Quebeckers voted to keep the government to a minority. That means the government cannot act as though it has a majority. Voters sent a message that we need to work together, to collaborate, in full transparency. They did not ask to be left in the dark. We should not be ramming through legislation, especially such an important bill.
Does a bill that is so big, so lengthy, and that has such far-reaching implications, not deserve an in-depth debate and study, instead of being rammed through under a gag order?
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Madam Speaker, I thank the member for giving me the opportunity to remind the House that there have been 80 speakers and 42 hours of debate, including 15 hours here in the House and 27 in committee.
The fact is that Canadians and Quebeckers need the measures set out in the budget. We are talking about the entire luxury tax, important changes to the Competition Act to protect Canadian businesses, workers and consumers, and the expansion of health care rebates for charitable organizations.
We have had a thorough debate. It is time to move forward for Canadians, and that is exactly what we will do.
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Madam Speaker, we know that there are critical needs right now for wild Pacific salmon. This is in the budget, as well as really important investments for child care and for co-op housing. We have had a vacancy in investments for co-op housing. Both Conservatives and Liberals have abandoned non-market housing, and now we are finally seeing a step forward. It is not exactly what the NDP would like, but these are critical investments that are good for people and good for the economy. They are absolutely essential right now for people in our country today.
The Conservatives are not just trying to block this bill; they are trying to block everything. Maybe my colleague, the minister, could speak about how important it is to get these investments through the House so that we can start helping people who need help today, especially critical investments for our environment like those on wild Pacific salmon.
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Madam Speaker, making sure that my hon. colleague and his constituents and the whole ecosystem for Pacific salmon are addressed is a critical component of this budget implementation act.
I think the Conservatives might be taking inspiration from colleagues to the south of the border, where gridlock seems to be the flavour of the day. In this place, Canadians sent us here to work together. I heard it very clearly, right in Edmonton, where the hon. member for Edmonton West was also elected from. They said, “We will vote for you now, but we do not want to see you back here in two years, so make sure you make that place work.” That is exactly what we are doing.
There is $4 billion on the table for a housing accelerator fund, as well as a tax-free first home savings account, a home builders' bill of rights and banning foreign buyers from owning property. The list goes on, including labour mobility and a deduction for tradespeople to grow our cities and towns. That is what we are doing. We need to get Bill C-19 passed.
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Madam Speaker, I find it mind-boggling and ironic that the minister talks about Conservatives bringing in U.S. problems, when the current government's whole modus operandi is to import U.S. culture wars.
I want to give an example of why it is so important that we continue debate. We heard the exact same response from the government over Bill C-8, Bill C-10 and the supplementary estimates (C), where there was $4 billion in Bill C-8 and Bill C-10 for rapid testing, and then a duplicate $4 billion in the supplementary estimates (C) for rapid testing.
We just found out today that the government is sitting on hundreds and hundreds, if not billions, of rapid tests unused, warehoused. This is the reason we need debate on this and other issues, so we do not have a repeat of this incompetence where the government is spending billions of dollars for items that are not even used.
Would the minister perhaps comment on why he wishes to stop any oversight of taxpayer spending and the government's incompetence?
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Madam Speaker, these are the greatest hits from the Conservative choir: obstructing us at Bill C-8 and trying to delay the work on behalf of Canadians, while we are making sure that we get the work done on behalf of the people of Canada. Once again, the Conservatives proposed an amendment at second reading that would even prevent scrutiny of the bill, so I do not know which the member wants: scrutiny or no scrutiny. His own people said not to look at the bill.
We need Bill C-19 passed. That is why we are here today. We will get the work done on behalf of Canadians.
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Madam Speaker, I want to ask the minister what he thought of the entire evening the Conservatives devoted to having parliamentarians decide which Conservative faction would speak next. We had repeated votes. We spent the entire evening on this. How does the minister react to that abuse of parliamentary time?
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Madam Speaker, the work and the time in this chamber are precious. If the Conservatives decide to waste it and slow down the work on behalf of Canadians, Canadians will decide their fate in a future election. They can hold us to account for the work we are doing for them. That is why Bill C-19, the budget implementation act, is so important. Affordability, growing the economy, making sure that Canadians can make ends meet and making sure we are at the top of the G7 are what the BIA is all about.
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- Jun/6/22 12:35:52 p.m.
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It is my duty to interrupt the proceedings and put forthwith the question on the motion now before the House.
The question is on the motion.
If a member of a recognized party present in the House wishes to request a recorded division or that the motion be adopted on division, I would invite them to rise and indicate it to the Chair.
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- Jun/6/22 12:37:10 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I request a recorded division.
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- Jun/6/22 12:37:13 p.m.
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