SoVote

Mr. Clifford Small (Coast of Bays—Central—Notre Dame, CPC)

Sep/20/22 2:46:14 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, Cory from Gander, and many more like him, are not too impressed with that answer. Does the minister get it? Last year, Cory spent $4,000 on oil to heat his home. The Liberal carbon tax will add $700 to his annual heating bill. Cory considers himself middle class, but with these inflationary tax increases he is worried about paying his bills. I again ask this on behalf of Newfoundlanders and Labradorians, many of whom voted for the current Prime Minister: Will he choose not to hurt them and cancel these planned tax hikes?

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Context: House Hansard - 98 - Sep/20/22

Hon. Andrew Scheer (Regina—Qu'Appelle, CPC)

Sep/20/22 3:00:53 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the cost of government is driving up the cost of living. A half trillion dollars of Liberal inflationary deficits have bid up the cost of the goods we buy and the interest we pay. Inflation is running at historic highs and taking a massive bite out of the ability of Canadians to pay the bills. Now, if one thought it could not get much worse, one would be wrong, because the Liberals are planning on raising taxes on the paycheques of Canadians by hiking CPP and EI premiums. Instead of making the problem worse, will the government commit to cancelling its planned tax hikes and cancel its tripling of the carbon tax?

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Context: House Hansard - 98 - Sep/20/22

Mr. Richard Martel (Chicoutimi—Le Fjord, CPC)

Sep/20/22 3:05:34 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, we have been warning the Liberals about the dangers of inflation for two years now. They kept saying there was nothing to worry about, but now we are in a Liberal inflationary spiral. Over half of Canadians have said they could not afford a sudden expense over $1,000. Nearly 40% of Canadians are worried about their debt load. Families are having a hard time putting gas in the car and food on the table. Will the Liberals promise not to raise taxes?

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Context: House Hansard - 98 - Sep/20/22

Mr. Terry Beech (Parliamentary Secretary to the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance, Lib.)

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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