SoVote

Ms. Melissa Lantsman (Thornhill, CPC)

Jun/7/22 4:26:35 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I will be splitting my time today with the hon. member for Beauce. I rise today on behalf of so many in the great community of Thornhill to speak in favour of this motion, and I will add my voice to the chorus of those calling on the government to finally tackle the cost-of-living crisis in this country. Canadians like those in my own family and in my community chose to make Canada home, the best country in the world, because it was the land of opportunity where anybody, no matter where they came from or who they were, could get ahead. Like millions of others who came here, they worked hard, saved their money, contributed to their communities and shared in the uniquely Canadian ideal that their children would be able to inherit a life greater and more prosperous than the one they led or, in some cases, more prosperous than the one they fled. That dream is in jeopardy, and we have the government to thank for that. It is not an overnight phenomenon; it is a consistent erosion of the way of life. It is most certainly not just a product of a global phenomenon, as Liberals continue to claim; it is unique to Canada in many ways. A recent survey stated that 30% of young Canadian immigrants are likely to leave this country. What is the reason? Three-quarters of them said that the rising cost of living is pushing them away to more affordable places. It is most certainly not talking down this country, as we have heard claimed on the other side. In fact, we are the only ones saying they should stay. New immigrant families are no longer living the Canadian dream. For the first time in our history, parents are not really sure if their children will have better lives than the one that they have. They are leaving our country. They are going to pursue the American dream or the British dream or the Australian dream. That is not a joke; it is the truth. The failure of the government to tackle the inflation crisis is driving valuable talent elsewhere, and the loss of good, hard-working, university-educated individuals, tradespeople and everyone in between will pose major economic problems for us in the future. It is not only young immigrants who are being squeezed by the inflation crisis; it is also Canadians from coast to coast to coast. It is everyone. How does the government expect families everywhere to get by when the average cost of living goes up by 6.8% ? That is now. That is what we are facing. It is the real pressure that few on the other side seem to recognize. How does the government expect commuters to drive to their jobs when the cost of gas has gone up 60% in a year? How does the government expect seniors to be able to heat their homes when the cost of natural gas increased 22% last year? How does the government expect millennials to be able to afford a new home when the cost of housing went up 7.4% last year, and more than 10% in my own neck of the woods? People cannot afford to live where they grew up, and telling them to move elsewhere is frankly offensive. Telling them to buy an electric car is void of common sense and of an understanding of the reality of most people. The government is not concerned with economic development. I will ask this: Has it built any pipelines lately? The answer is no. It bought some. It is not increasing wages, because real wages shrank in this country by 2.6% last year, and we know that it is not lowering taxes on hard-working Canadians because it does not do that. In fact, the government has had no solutions and no plan to help families get by at this critical juncture. It has completely lost the plot. I have been part of budgets before, and this big budget is devoid of vision. That is one thing, but imagine a document that has no vision and no actual relief. It is not even astute politically. It is just a book of words. The response to the record high gas prices was a higher-than-ever carbon tax and no GST holiday, with not a care in the world. That is because higher prices are the plan, and we would be better off if the Liberals just admitted it. Their response to worker shortages that not only cause confusion and delay but also make almost everything more expensive is doubling down on the vindictive and ineffective vaccine mandate that pushes more and more skilled workers to the side when we need as many people as possible on the job. There are a million job vacancies in this country. The government can act, and it absolutely knows it. What is the government's response to the housing crisis, with million-dollar homes in the GTA and families that need over $250,000 a year to be able to afford a down payment on an average house? Its solution is enacting a housing credit for a meagre $500. I have said before that this is not a typo. It is a real number. It is laughable, but it is real. If people cannot afford a house, which is not surprising, they cannot even afford rent. There has been a 4.5% increase in rental rates in the last month. We know that the Liberals have promised to build more affordable housing. They have promised projects financed with the Infrastructure Bank that have gone absolutely nowhere, because it is not a bank and it does not build infrastructure. Despite the government's promise on the pressing issues, it most certainly cannot be accused of putting more housing supply out there, of building more houses. The government has failed in its commitment to help the middle class. That is what it was elected to do. I remember it very well. In 2015, it was about the middle class and those working hard to join it. The Liberals have shrunk the middle class, and Canadians will not forget it. How could they, frankly, when gas is $2.15 a litre? How could they, when they will be paying off student loans for 30 years? How could they, when their mortgage payments in the GTA on a bungalow are 50% of the average salary? How could they, when they have to choose between heating their homes and eating nutritious food? There is a reason the Prime Minister thinks things are going so well in this country and there is a reason he has no plan: He does not have to pump his own gas and he has no idea how much it costs. He does not have to go to the grocery store every week. He does not have a mortgage payment on a house. He does not have student loans to pay back. It is time for some serious policy to get this country back on track. The Liberals could do it. Here is where we could start: We could scrap the GST on gasoline and diesel to help struggling families fill up, to help the floundering transportation sector, to help resolve the supply chain issues causing chaos across our country and to help the consumer who is paying for all of it. Let us suspend the carbon tax. Let us make good nutritious food more affordable for hard-working families. Let us make it cheaper to get on a plane, train or a bus. Let us do that for everybody. Let us scrap those vindictive mandates that are not only keeping Canadians separated but are also causing major labour shortages, the one that they lean on in every single answer in this country. The Liberals are hurting small businesses, hurting tourism and hurting the pocketbooks of every single Canadian across this country. Let us scrap the other restrictions too, the ones that our allies did away with months ago, to promote the free flow of goods across our borders to make sure that Canada remains competitive as a place for international investment and those who want to bring it here. Let us make housing more affordable and more attainable for every single Canadian by launching a national public inquiry into money laundering and curbing rampant speculation in our markets, and oh, let us get some housing built. Let us get some actual housing built, faster. At a time when 53% of Canadians are $1,000 away from bankruptcy and when seven out of 10 say that money is a major issue for them, we need to consider every idea possible. I am not sure what is going on on the other side of the House. I am not sure if they do not go back to their constituencies or they do not hear about this at the gas station, grocery store or anywhere they go. Let us make life more affordable for hard-working families everywhere in this country. Canadians are hurting, and they are looking for the government to take action. If Liberal members spent even one moment talking to one constituent in their riding, they would hear that too. Canadians are counting on us. This is about more than the motion. It is about more than a debate about the numbers and the rates and the percentages. We know that Canadians are hurting, and it is about Canadians. It is about the fact that they are hurting and nobody is listening. Let us pass this motion and get this country back on track, even if it is just for a short amount of time before the Liberals ruin everything again. Let us pass this motion and get us back on track. Let us reignite the Canadian dream. Let us make this nation a place where Canadians can truly prosper. It starts today, and we are not going to give up until it happens for every single citizen in this country. I might ask the same questions every single day, but we are not going to give up until something changes. We cannot wait. The alarm bells are sounding, and for some reason, members in the government are just not listening.

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Context: House Hansard - 83 - Jun/7/22

Ms. Melissa Lantsman

Jun/7/22 4:37:12 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I do not think there is a single tax cut that they would support on gasoline. This is a party that wants to see gas prices get higher. It would be better if the member opposite just told us that. The Liberals want to see the price of gas be over $2. That is part of the plan. Cutting the GST, which is a tax upon the tax, will give real relief at the pumps for constituents in his riding, who, I understand, need to drive a car really far to see him and tell him.

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Context: House Hansard - 83 - Jun/7/22

Ms. Melissa Lantsman

Jun/7/22 4:38:53 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I enjoy the work that my hon. colleague and I do on the transport committee, where we have heard expert after expert tell us that these mandates no longer make sense. We have asked the government, for months and months, to provide the specific scientific data. They have not, and they will not, and that is because it is vindictive and punitive to people who not agree with their world view. We are still testing 4,000 people upon arrival in airports. We have lineups out the door. I have a flight on Friday out of Pearson, and I want to know from the government if I should go today and line up, because that is what is happening in our economic centre, in Toronto's Pearson airport. It is not just people who are waiting in line who are affected. It is people who are not allowed to fly. There are about five million Canadians that the government has othered and continues to other, because it is punitive.

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Context: House Hansard - 83 - Jun/7/22

Ms. Melissa Lantsman

Jun/7/22 4:40:49 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I will be brief. Just because we ask the government or tell the government that we think the carbon tax should be eliminated, or just because we want a GST cut, or just because we have proposed solutions a number of times, it does not mean they are wrong. They are absolutely right, and we are going to continue standing up for Canadians in the House every single day until it gets done.

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