44th Parl. 1st Sess.
September 20, 2022 10:00AM
Madam Speaker, first I must say that I disagree with the member's conclusions on economic policies with respect to inflation. To imply that provinces and even municipalities do not play a role in inflation is just outright wrong. They do, in fact, have an impact. One only need look at provincial variances, even within provinces. The member used the example of housing. That is something I would expand upon, but it is not what my question is about.
My question is about the legislation. Everyone in this chamber supports Bill C-22. That has been very clear. Yes, there are some issues surrounding the details within the legislation, but there seems to be a general feeling that those issues could be dealt at the standing committee. My friend knows how busy the chamber can get and how limited the time is here, whether it is because of the GST tax credit legislation that will be coming up, opposition days or the dental care legislation. We have a good opportunity to try to pass this legislation so that it at least goes to committee, and then we can have all sorts of debate come third reading.
Would the member not agree, given that everyone seems to be supporting the legislation, that it would be in the best interests of Canadians and people with disabilities to see the legislation go to committee? It seems to me that the principle of the legislation is universally accepted and supported in the House, so why not get it to committee?
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Madam Speaker, I think the member brought up a lot of the shortfalls of the bill. The government, over the last few years, has been promising that it would bring it through, but we see that most of the details are being left up to cabinet to decide.
I want to put this to him. Twenty-one regulations would be created through this piece of legislation, but it is leaving it up to cabinet to decide very simple things, such as when the benefit would be paid and what the rules would be for recision, which means how it would get paid back. The one that is most concerning to me is subclause 11(d), which says, “respecting the manner in which a benefit is to be indexed to inflation”. We have a cost-of-living crisis in this country. It is becoming more and more unaffordable, and when we go to the grocery store we see it. It is sticker shock for most people. The people on a fixed income, as the member was saying, are the ones who are hurt the worst, especially at the grocery store but also on their rent. Month after month, it is becoming more difficult to pay those bills, and now we would leave it up to cabinet to decide how this will be fixed in the future, for our benefit.
Could the member perhaps weigh in with his opinion on whether this is a particular area that should be amended in order to provide certainty for persons with disabilities?
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Madam Speaker, the bulk of the bill is on the so-called regulations side of things. Again, I do not know if we can determine in the regulations that the minister should tie this to a particular percentage point or something like that around inflation.
I note that inflation is probably the number one reason that folks from the disability community are communicating with me to say that it is getting harder and harder to live on what they receive. It is interesting that the government would not just put in the bill that this would be indexed to inflation.
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- Sep/20/22 7:00:50 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, on April 26, I asked a question in the House. I said, “Mr. Speaker,” because it was a “mister” at that time, “inflation hit 6.7% last month”. I wish that had been the worst of it, but unfortunately it went to 8.1% in June.
I continued:
...a 31-year high and well above the Bank of Canada's predictions. Canadians are already struggling to pay their bills, fill up at the pump and put food on the table. Unfortunately, budget 2022 failed to provide any credible solutions, and with the extensive, unfocused spending, it is only going to get worse. The simple fact is that Canadians cannot afford this Liberal-NDP government.
When will the minister acknowledge this cost-of-living crisis we are living in and work on real solutions?
Five months later, I wish I could say things are better, but they are, in fact, worse. A story published today by CTV News indicates that nearly a quarter of Canadians are cutting back on food purchases amid high inflation, and that amid soaring prices at the grocery stores, a new survey has found that 23.6% of Canadians have had to cut back on the amount of food they are buying. This survey, as conducted by Dalhousie University's Agri-Food Analytics Lab in partnership with Caddle, was conducted between September 8 and September 10 and involved 5,000 Canadians from coast to coast.
Over the last year, 8.2% said they have had to change their diet to save money on food, and 7.1% said they had skipped meals because of the cost of groceries; 24% of Canadians are literally buying less food due to higher prices. Of that number, 70% are women, so it is highly likely that children are also impacted by what is going on with this high inflation. The survey also found that nearly three-quarters of consumers were changing their buying habits in order to snag better deals at the grocery store, and of the respondents, 33.7% said they were using more loyalty program points to pay for groceries in the last year.
In addition, 32.1% said they were reading flyers more often, and 23.9% said they were using more coupons at the grocery store.
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- Sep/20/22 7:03:41 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, today the job vacancies for the second quarter report came out for 2022, and the following was determined. Overall, average offered hourly wages increased 5.3% to $24.05 in the second quarter, yet the consumer price index increased by 7.5% in the second quarter. Simply put, wages are not keeping up with inflation. With the cost of food, bakery products increased by 13.6%, sugar and confectionary by 9.7%, fresh fruit by 11.7% and eggs by 15.8%.
I asked the government to find solutions for the economy, and five months later it is clear it has still failed.
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- Sep/20/22 7:04:43 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I am very happy to be here to discuss this topic, and I thank the member opposite for raising it.
Canadians are seeing higher inflation rates and higher costs of living in Canada and, frankly, right around the world as the result of many factors, which include the war in Ukraine, global supply chain bottlenecks and global energy market uncertainty.
Despite these challenges, Canada's rate of inflation continues to be well below that of the G7, the United States and the OECD. I would like to remind my colleague across the aisle that our lower rate is in part due to the measures taken by our government, including in budget 2022, which put forward targeted measures to ensure that key expenses like housing, child care and dental care would be more affordable for more Canadians. Prior to that, we lowered taxes for the middle class on two occasions, tax decreases that the member and her party voted against.
While we could not foresee a global pandemic or a war in Europe, when it comes to the finances of our country, Canadians can rest assured that our net debt to GDP is the lowest in the G7 and we have improved our relative position over the course of the pandemic. Our government is fully aware that Canadians are feeling the effects of elevated inflation, particularly at the gas pumps and in grocery stores, but we also understand that inflation is a global phenomenon, driven in large part by the lasting impacts of a once-in-several-generations pandemic and, of course, Russia's illegal invasion of Ukraine.
While this is not a unique Canadian problem, we have a good plan to make life more affordable, especially for those Canadians who need it the most. Our affordability plan includes a suite of measures totalling $12.1 billion in new support for 2022. We have enhanced the Canada workers benefit, which now supports an estimated three million low-income workers. We have increased OAS for seniors 75 years and older by 10%, starting in July 2022.
By the end of this year, we will be cutting child care fees in half. That will deliver thousands of dollars for Canadian families while investing in their children and allowing more parents to get back to work. In addition, earlier today our government introduced legislation to implement new dental, housing and GST credit affordability measures that are also part of our affordability plan.
Now the new Conservative leader, and I congratulate him on his new position, said that today's announcement prints cash. That is a quote.
Let us be absolutely clear. These two pieces of legislation provide targeted relief for the middle-class Canadians who need it the most. He says this is inflationary spending. Multiple economists, including our former deputy parliamentary budget officer and the University of Calgary's Lindsay Tedds, have pointed out that these supports for Canadians are not inflationary.
The Conservative leader's solution to help with the cost of living is to make cuts to government programs without telling us what he would cut. He has also encouraged Canadians to invest in speculative assets. Sadly some Canadians listened to the Leader of the Opposition and have since lost their life savings as a result.
A more responsible approach to governance and more responsible approach to solving the affordability challenges of Canadians is required. Our government is continuing to focus on making life more affordable, and we are continuing to focus on making an economy that works for all Canadians.
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