44th Parl. 1st Sess.
October 25, 2022 10:00AM
- Oct/25/22 11:25:20 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, I refer to the motion.
What is driving inflation to this point? Our national debt. The national debt has increased by $100 billion, despite Liberal promises. We remember the promise they made in 2015 to run small deficits for three year and then return to a balanced budget. That was forgotten and there is now a deficit of $100 billion.
Before the crisis in Ukraine, the Liberals increased our national debt by $500 billion, $200 billion of which was in no way related to COVID‑19 expenditures. The Prime Minister's mindset was plain to see when he said in his inaugural speech that it was time to borrow because interest rates would remain low for decades to come. I again refer to the motion, which states at point (ii) that the “House believes in the principle of equality for all”.
Unfortunately for the poor, the price of inflation means that they cannot buy and acquire goods. That is the reality and I thank the Bloc Québécois for giving me that opening and this opportunity to talk about equality for all, here in Canada, because it is important. Unfortunately, due to the costly NDP-Liberal coalition, that is no longer a reality; the poorest are finding it increasingly difficult to buy most things.
Let us talk a bit about the Bloc Québécois. If there is one good thing about their motion today, it is that it shows Quebeckers what the Bloc Québécois's main priority is. Contrary to what I have just said and the concerns of Quebeckers each day, the Bloc Québécois has shown today what its priority is. The Bloc Québécois supports a general federal carbon tax for all Canadians because they refuse to vote in favour of our motion to not increase the carbon tax for all Canadians. How ironic that the Bloc Québécois should support a federal tax on all the provinces.
The Bloc Québécois and its leader have always claimed they want to be the voice of Quebec's National Assembly in Ottawa. Unfortunately, what we have just seen proves that the Bloc Québécois talks a good game, but when the time comes to act, it cannot deliver.
Quebec just held an election to which the Bloc Québécois devoted all its energy. All the Bloc Québécois members worked really hard. They invested resources, and the leader gave speeches in support of one political party in Quebec's National Assembly, the Parti Québécois. Did the Bloc Québécois, the Bloc members and the party staffers who claim to represent Quebec's National Assembly remain neutral in the recent provincial campaign? The answer is obviously no. They dedicated their hearts, their energy, their resources and their speeches to supporting the candidates from a single political party, Quebec's separatist political party. It is the only party whose ultimate goal is Quebec independence, which is far from the goal shared by all the members of Quebec's National Assembly. I think if we did a quick survey of the National Assembly, we would see that most do not want Quebec independence.
In the election, only three Parti Québécois candidates won seats, despite all the resources that the Bloc Québécois had put into campaigning in Quebec. After campaigning against all the other parties represented in the National Assembly, and after Quebeckers only elected three Parti Québécois members, the Bloc Québécois still claims to be the voice of Quebec's National Assembly in Ottawa. That is not true, and the motion is clear proof of that. Rather than talk about Quebeckers who cannot make ends meet, rather than condemn the Liberal government's encroachment on areas of provincial jurisdiction, the Bloc Québécois chose to ask the House of Commons to debate an issue that only got three members elected to the National Assembly.
In closing, I just want to state that I speak for many Quebeckers when I say that people do not really care whose face is on the $20 bill. What they care about is having enough $20 bills in their pockets to pay for their groceries at the end of the month.
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- Oct/25/22 2:23:13 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister has built a house of debt. He doubled Canada's debt. He added more debt than all Canadian prime ministers combined. He flooded our financial and mortgage system with easy cash, which bid up house prices, forcing Canadians to pay over a million dollars for the average home in Toronto or Vancouver. Now the bill is coming due tomorrow, and interest rates are expected to go up half to three-quarters of a point. Those same Canadians who the Prime Minister forced to over-leverage themselves will be hit with an uppercut of surprise higher interest rates that his government said would never happen. How could he have been so irresponsible?
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- Oct/25/22 2:31:54 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, Canada has the lowest net debt-to-GDP ratio among G7 countries, and Canada has the lowest deficit among G7 countries. Our deficit is hovering around 1%. That is nearly deficit zero.
We have been fiscally responsible since well before the new Conservative leader was elected. In fact, we have been fiscally responsible to ensure that Canada would weather this inflationary storm better than most other countries.
The inflation numbers we are seeing among our peers are much higher than we are seeing here in Canada, and in Canada, we have an affordability plan that will help Canadians.
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- Oct/25/22 2:55:51 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, it was a slip of the tongue, but no, we will not forgive them for adding $500 billion to the debt during COVID-19, including $200 billion that had absolutely nothing to do with COVID-19. That is the reality.
Let us talk about “ArriveSCANDAL”, the $54-million app that should have cost $250,000. It cost $8 million to do the updates on an app that never worked.
The government even claims to have paid millions of dollars to businesses that say they never received a penny. That is the reality.
The costly coalition is costing Canadians dearly. Can we have the list of Liberal lottery winners who won millions?
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- Oct/25/22 3:04:51 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the Liberals have mismanaged our national debt. They counted on low interest rates to continue spending. Now they will have to tax people and tax them again to make it all work. After undermining our energy sector, the government was unable to adequately prepare for the global economic shock. Inflation is devastating families, and people have no money and no breathing room.
Will the Liberals promise to show some compassion and cancel the carbon tax increase?
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