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House Hansard - 126

44th Parl. 1st Sess.
November 14, 2022 11:00AM
Context: House Hansard - 126 - Nov/14/22
Mr. Andy Fillmore (Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry, Lib.)
  • Nov/14/22 6:26:17 p.m.
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  • Re: Bill C-32 
Madam Speaker, it is a pleasure to rise today to speak to the fall economic statement presented earlier this month by the Minister of Finance and Deputy Prime Minister. The statement comes at a critical moment when we know Canadians are already deeply concerned about the accelerating realities of a changing climate, they are already deeply concerned by the economic fallout of a pandemic and they are also now worried about the impact of the international phenomenon of inflation impacting their monthly budgets. In short, inflation is a global phenomenon caused by COVID-related supply issues and Putin's illegal invasion of Ukraine, and it is making the goods and services Canadians rely on more expensive. Those rising costs have meant that people are having a difficult time making decisions on how they are going make ends meet each month. Our government recognizes these concerns, and we are not waiting to act on those. Our affordability plan is already under way, and earlier this month Canadians began receiving double GST credit payments, support that is making a difference for over 11 million households in need. There is up to $234 more for singles without kids, $467 for a typical family of four and $225 more on average for seniors. That is money in their pockets right now to help them put food on the table and pay their bills. Additionally, our legislation to extend dental care to kids and to provide rent support to renters is making its way through Parliament as we speak. The fall economic statement now goes further, introducing measures to help Canadians in need, and today I would like to share some of the key initiatives in that statement that I believe will support my constituents back home in Halifax and, indeed, the constituents of all members in the House. The first of those is eliminating interest on student loans. My city is home to many students and higher education students at universities like Dalhousie University, Saint Mary's University, the University of King's College, NSCAD University, the Atlantic School of Theology and the Nova Scotia Community College. In fact, in 2021, Halifax boasted 35,556 students across all of its educational institutions. These are young people who have made the decision to get an education so that they can pursue a career of their choice, one that keeps them inspired and employed and allows them to build the future they want for themselves and for their community. However, the cost of tuition has risen steadily over the years. The current generation is in the position where paying tuition has sadly become a prohibitive burden at a time when their careers should be all about opportunity, not about the cost of living and certainly not about debt. We know some students are fortunate enough to have families that can cover the cost of their education, but there are many more who are not able to rely on their families to cover that expense. That is where federal student loans come in. They are a way for the government to ensure that, if a young person wants to go to college or university, they can do so. This is a necessary support the government ought to extend in the pursuit of levelling the playing field for Canadians of all backgrounds, yet we know the interest that accrues on these student loans means that paying them back can take a very long time and the cost grows the longer they take to pay it back. That raises an important moral question: Why should the government profit off the backs of middle- and low-income students through student loan interest payments that other more fortunate students do not need to take on? Beyond the moral question, it is also simply poor economic policy. The government should not be holding back our young graduates at a time when we need to be growing our workforce and getting these young people launched productively into the economy. Therefore, the fall economic statement is permanently cancelling interest on federal student loans, including those currently in repayment. How about that? This change will help recent graduates who have been facing the prospect of paying back their loans with interest in a time when many people are struggling to make ends meet. When this was announced, I received a number of letters from recent grads in my riding. I have the permission of the authors of just two of those to read them here to illustrate what this means for the folks on the ground in the beautiful city of Halifax. Here is the first one: “I am writing to express my—
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