SoVote

Mr. Mark Gerretsen (Parliamentary Secretary to the Leader of the Government in the House of Commons (Senate), Lib.)

Jun/8/22 5:25:41 p.m.
Watch
Re: Bill C-19

Mr. Speaker, I hope the Conservatives are aware of the fact that the only thing their amendment does when it is moved right after a bill is introduced is give the member for Winnipeg North another opportunity to speak. That is great for the member for Winnipeg North, but I am feeling really left out, because I will only have one opportunity to speak on this. The Conservatives are relentless in talking about, to quote the member, “a path to balance” in terms of the budget. Personally, I like to focus more on our debt-to-GDP ratio, and I will say why. It is more important because our country has added a million more people to it since 2015. Why is that important when we consider the debt-to-GDP ratio? That is a million more people who require services, a million more people who require infrastructure, but a million more people who, for decades to come, will be helping to fund the tax base that this country relies on. Can the member not accept the fact that the debt-to-GDP ratio is more important? I would remind him to look back at the Conservatives' platform from last fall, where the Conservatives proposed to run a higher deficit than we did. That was the member for Durham, who is no longer the leader, but nonetheless—

230 words

Context: House Hansard - 84 - Jun/8/22

Mr. Kevin Lamoureux (Parliamentary Secretary to the Leader of the Government in the House of Commons, Lib.)

Jun/8/22 9:15:35 p.m.
Watch
Re: Bill C-19

Madam Speaker, the member referred to the United States and compared it to Canada. He says that he wants the government to deal with inflation and then referred to how the United States is doing something, yet Canada's inflation rate is less than the United States. We can look at what the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance has done in managing our economy. Our debt-to-GDP ratio shows we are doing well compared to the United States. We can take a look at job creation. We are at 115% of pre-COVID jobs, those being the jobs we lost because of the coronavirus. We are at 115%, while the United States is still less than 100% in terms of recovery of jobs. If the member does that comparison, I suggest it would show that we do have a plan and that plan is working. Would he not agree?

152 words

Context: House Hansard - 84 - Jun/8/22

Mr. Dan Muys

Jun/8/22 9:16:36 p.m.
Watch
Re: Bill C-19

Madam Speaker, as a new member in the House, I am always impressed with the number of interjections by the member for Winnipeg North and the sense of humour that he often adds to his questions. The member cited a number of different metrics. Whether the cost of inflation is a couple of points higher in the United States, I do not think that answers Darlene's question. I do not think that answers Sal's question, Gerrit's question or Heinz's question. Despite the debt-to-GDP and the number of jobs, they are still dealing with that daily struggle of the price at the pumps. They are still dealing with that daily struggle of the prices at the grocery store. If we want to talk about employment, we know the labour shortages are exacerbating the inflation crisis in the country, so I would not agree that we are on the right path.

155 words