44th Parl. 1st Sess.
November 14, 2022 11:00AM
Madam Speaker, as the Canadian economy faces a period of slower economic growth due to the global challenge of high inflation and higher interest rates, our government understands that many Canadians are worried. They are certainly not relieved by the speech they just heard, but it is important to remember that inflation is a global phenomenon. It is a lingering result of the COVID pandemic.
Despite the Conservative leader's continued attempts to minimize the effects of the war in Ukraine, inflation has been exacerbated by the war in Ukraine and by the supply chain challenges that are affecting people and businesses, frankly, right around the world. Fortunately, there is no country better placed than Canada to weather the coming global economic slowdown and thrive in the years ahead. Indeed, Canada has the strongest economic growth in the G7 so far this year, and we have maintained our position as the G7 country with the lowest net debt and deficit-to-GDP ratios. Our country has a AAA credit rating, a recognition of our strong fiscal position. Canada also has an unemployment rate near its record low, as 500,000 more Canadians are working today than were before the pandemic.
While Canada's inflation rate is less severe, at 6.9%, than that of many of our peers, like the United States, at 7.7%, the United Kingdom, at 10.1%, and Germany, at 10.4%, we appreciate that this will continue to be a difficult time for many Canadians. That is why we are moving forward with our affordability plan, which includes targeted measures worth $12.1 billion. It is already putting more money back into the pockets of the most vulnerable Canadians and those who need it the most. While the Conservatives continue to oppose these compassionate measures, we will continue to be there for Canadians with support that has been carefully designed to avoid making inflation worse.
For example, individuals and families receiving the GST credit started receiving an additional $2.5 billion in support earlier this month. Despite Conservative efforts to oppose and block our compassionate plan, with Bill C-31, we are proposing to create the Canada dental benefit for children under 12 and families with annual incomes under $90,000 who do not have access to a private dental plan. Following the fall economic statement, we are also moving forward with Bill C-32 to make the federal portion of all Canada student loans and Canada apprentice loans permanently interest free, including those currently being repaid.
Canadians can count on our government to continue running a tight fiscal ship. I would like to remind my hon. colleagues that all of these support measures are targeted, fiscally responsible and continue to reduce our debt-to-GDP ratio.
When it comes to pollution pricing, we know that a national price on pollution is the most effective and least costly way of reducing greenhouse gas emissions while putting money back into the pockets of most Canadians. I would like to remind my hon. colleagues that unfortunately climate action is no longer a theoretically political debate. It is an economic necessity.
Canadians all know that the Conservatives do not have a serious plan to tackle climate change, which means they also do not have a plan to grow the Canadian economy. Earlier this month, the Parliamentary Budget Officer published an analysis showing that climate change has negatively impacted and will continue to negatively impact the Canadian economy. Our plan makes life more affordable, grows the economy, fights climate change and puts Canada in a great position to benefit from the growing global opportunity that is clean growth and from the creation of hundreds of thousands of good-paying, sustainable jobs.
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- Nov/14/22 6:38:30 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, it is clear that the parliamentary secretary has not cancelled his Disney+ subscription, because he still seems to think money grows on trees.
I will put the following points to him. The Governor of the Bank of Canada has said that inflation here in Canada is being caused by domestic policy. The same has been said by the former governor of the Bank of Canada and future leader of the Liberal Party, Mark Carney.
The government's proposal to triple the carbon tax and increase the cost of vital necessities such as gas, groceries and home heating is not going to help tackle inflation. The government's plan is to raise taxes on goods that are vitally necessary for Canadians and to balloon government spending, in the vast number of cases, on things totally unrelated to measures that Canadians can see, touch and feel, such as $54 million for the ArriveCAN app, $6,000 a night for a hotel room for the Prime Minister and an ineffective infrastructure bank. The government is taxing Canadians, causing inflation and making life less affordable.
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- Nov/14/22 6:39:36 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I would like to start by complimenting the creativity of the member opposite. He can apply that comment to whichever part of his two speeches he likes.
While there are still some difficult days ahead for the global and Canadian economy, Canadians can count on us to continue supporting those who need it the most. Our affordability plan and the other measures announced in the fall economic statement are highly targeted and fiscally responsible.
We will continue to work hard to build an economy that works for everyone, to create good jobs and to make life more affordable for Canadians. We will continue to pursue policy that ensures Canada remains the best place in the world to live, work, thrive and raise a family.
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- Nov/14/22 6:40:27 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, as we have heard many times in the House, the public safety minister claims that the government's use of the Emergencies Act was done at the request of law enforcement.
What we have heard from this side of the House and what we have heard from the police of jurisdiction is that the police did not ask the government to invoke the Emergencies Act. We have heard today that CSIS director David Vigneault has said that at no point did the service assess that the protests in Ottawa or elsewhere constituted a threat to the security of Canada. Cabinet was fully briefed on all of these details, that police had not asked them to invoke the act and that there had not been deemed a threat to national security. However, the minister continues to mislead Canadians, spreading disinformation.
It is incredibly troubling that the government, ministers of the Crown, would use an emergency for political gain. That is what we saw with the COVID-19 pandemic, when there was an emergency situation. There was a new virus, and people did not know what was happening. One of the first things the government tried to do, in an unprecedented move, was to give itself the power to raise taxes and to spend money without parliamentary oversight for a period spanning two years. That is what it did in the face of an actual emergency.
When we had an unprecedented situation, where Canadians had taken to the streets and the Prime Minister disagreed with what those protesters were saying, the government claimed that was an emergency and invoked never before used powers, claiming that it was done on the advice of law enforcement.
However, whether it was the Ottawa police, the Ontario Provincial Police, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police or the military police, no one, no police service asked the minister or the government to invoke the Emergencies Act. The rest of the information around the discussions and the decisions were not the subject of the question I asked the minister.
He claimed police asked him to invoke the act. We know that is not true. We have a convention of ministerial accountability. When a minister is misleading or untruthful, there is a convention that the minister resigns. Why has the minister not done that?
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- Nov/14/22 6:44:04 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, in response to the hon. member for Leeds—Grenville—Thousand Islands and Rideau Lakes, I am pleased to speak to the Government of Canada's extensive consultation leading up to the use of the Emergencies Act.
I will remind my colleagues that, in early February, disruptions and illegal blockades at Canada's border crossings had halted international trade and supply chains right when Canada's businesses were striving to take part in an ongoing global economic recovery. These illegal activities had shut down small businesses due to safety concerns. The City of Ottawa, the City of Windsor and the Province of Ontario had all declared states of emergency. We had also observed illegal blockades in Alberta and Manitoba.
At the time, we maintained close contact with law enforcement, and provincial, territorial and municipal officials to share information and expertise, with the collective goal of ending these blockades peacefully. Invoking the Emergencies Act was a difficult, but necessary, decision for our government to make for the good of Canada. It was not taken lightly, but factors in the length of these illegal blockades, as well as the volatile and unpredictable environment at the protest sites, were considered.
I will remind my colleagues that the reasons for issuing the declaration of a public order emergency are set out in a public document of explanation, as required in subsection 58(1) of the Emergencies Act. The document explains in detail why the Emergencies Act was invoked and is available for everyone to read, in line with our commitment to full transparency on this important issue. Furthermore, the houses of Parliament were provided with a document, which is also public, that documents all the consultations we undertook before invoking the act.
These documents highlight that, between the end of January and February 14, the escalation of the threats across the country had been regularly communicated by provinces, territories, municipalities and police of jurisdiction to the federal government. These partners requested the federal government's action in supporting police of jurisdiction to address the threat. It was within this environment that the Emergencies Act was invoked in mid-February. The decision to invoke the Emergencies Act was made after careful consideration of all other possible solutions to address this ongoing situation.
The Emergencies Act provided law enforcement with the additional tools to do their jobs and bring an end to the blockades safely and peacefully. Law enforcement was able to prohibit public assemblies that may reasonably be expected to lead to a breach of the peace, prevent adults from bringing children to these areas and prohibit people from travelling to these assemblies. They were also able to clamp down on the use of provisions of property in support of an unlawful assembly, such as diesel for illegally idling trucks that were creating a blockade. We were also able to designate new protected sites or no go zones. This tool was instrumental in helping us bring an end to the blockades safely.
These actions, done in consultation with provinces, territories, municipalities and law enforcement, were a measured, comprehensive response to the threat to our communities' safety and security. The Government of Canada recognizes that it has a great responsibility to keep its citizens and communities safe. Through the temporary, time-limited use of the Emergencies Act, we fulfilled that responsibility and safely brought an end to the illegal blockades in our communities.
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- Nov/14/22 6:47:53 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, let us be clear that the Minister of Public Safety said that police had requested that the government invoke the Emergencies Act. I did not hear anything from the member opposite to corroborate that statement, but we have heard in public, in committees and at press conferences from the police is that they did not say what the minister has said they asked for.
The question is this: Who is not telling the truth? Is it the head of the RCMP, the head of OPP, the head of the Ottawa police or the minister? Has there been some type of collusion, a conspiracy, against the Minister of Public Safety, or is he simply not telling the truth?
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- Nov/14/22 6:48:58 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, if the member did not hear me, it is because he chose not to listen. I will repeat what I just read to the member so that hopefully it will settle in a little better this time.
I said, “These partners requested the federal government's action in supporting police of jurisdiction to address the threat.” If the member wants to split hairs between the exact wording of what was said, he can do that to his heart's content, but as I stated, the police jurisdictions were requesting support from the federal government.
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- Nov/14/22 6:49:39 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, allow me to go back in time a bit.
The creation of an independent body for handling complaints in sport is the result of a request from the Bloc Québécois. On April 28, 2021, my colleague from Longueuil—Saint-Hubert moved a motion calling on the House to ask the Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage to undertake a study on the urgent need to establish a mechanism to receive complaints from athletes. On January 21, 2022, my colleague from Drummond and I wrote to the Minister of Canadian Heritage and the Minister of Sport to explain why it should be mandatory for national sport organizations to sign on to this mechanism.
Then, on April 5, 2022, Sport Canada announced the creation of the Office of the Sport Integrity Commissioner, or OSIC, which we welcomed. However, the OSIC is clearly an unsatisfactory response to the widespread consensus in sporting, political and media circles. The House of Commons called for an independent public inquiry to investigate the issue thoroughly. The motion it unanimously adopted read:
That the House call for an independent inquiry into Hockey Canada's handling of the events of June 2018, in order to determine whether this was an isolated event or whether there are deficiencies in Hockey Canada's handling of reported complaints of sexual assault, sexual harassment and other types of misconduct.
I would like to go over a few facts. We learned that the Minister of Sport was informed in advance, on May 24, 2022, by Hockey Canada that there would be an article in the newspapers about an out-of-court settlement with a young victim concerning allegations of gang rape by eight hockey players in June 2018 in London. I would like to commend the stellar journalist Rick Westhead for writing that article.
I then moved a motion in the House to summon Hockey Canada representatives to appear before the Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage. We know the rest. On October 5, I asked the Prime Minister to confirm when he would launch a public judicial inquiry into the issue of abuse in sport.
A motion was adopted unanimously by the Liberals, the Conservatives, the Bloc Québécois, the NDP and the Green Party, so when will this inquiry be launched?
More than six months later, athletes from several disciplines are reaching out to parliamentarians to talk about the different kinds of abuse they endured. There is a growing consensus. We are coming to realize that we must examine more than just Hockey Canada. We must shed light on the toxic culture that is polluting our sports, and examine how federations handle complaints and how they treat their athletes. The concrete recommendations that will be made will result in real change.
An independent inquiry will finally allow us to get to the bottom of this issue and will result in concrete recommendations that can be applied to all sport federations. This inquiry will bring everyone together and ensure that everyone is on the same page. It is important to harmonize the practices of national sport organizations and make them coherent.
To learn from the past, we need to understand what happened over the last few decades. We need to look at what worked and what did not. Ultimately, the goal is to come up with a mechanism that works and a strong and trustworthy organization. We know this mechanism is still overseen by people closely associated with sport organizations, and the toxic culture that takes over at times can shake people's confidence.
Athletes need to have faith in an organization that is dedicated to defending their rights, which is not the case at this point in time. I want to emphasize that athletes need a recognized, rigorous, credible organization that can ensure their complaints are handled by an independent individual.
How do we achieve that dialogue? There can be no reconciliation as long as athletes can see or feel the power imbalance created by national sport organizations and Sport Canada's inaction, as recognized in July.
Now, a public inquiry—
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- Nov/14/22 6:53:46 p.m.
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I am sorry to interrupt the hon. member. He has only four minutes for his speech. He will then have another minute to get an answer.
The hon. Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Health and to the Minister of Sport.
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- Nov/14/22 6:54:03 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I would first like to thank the member for Abitibi—Témiscamingue for his question.
I would also like to thank the other members of the Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage for the important work they do in promoting a safe sporting environment.
As a society, we in Canada have a shared responsibility to promote and ensure a safe sporting environment for all.
Last month, we learned that Hockey Canada's CEO and its entire board of directors were stepping aside. Although we are pleased to hear that, we expect the interim board of directors to be made up of people who want to make real changes.
We have tremendous admiration for our athletes, coaches and volunteers in sport federations. From international competitions to neighbourhood activities, sport is a positive force in our lives. That is why we, as a government, have worked really hard to ensure that partners, including athletes, take strong action to protect Canadian athletes and other Canadians by promoting an environment where all of us and them can safely engage in sport.
An example of that action is the funding we provided in budget 2019 to enable Canadian sport organizations to promote accessible, ethical, equitable and safe sport. We are also proud to provide an investment of $16 million over three years to support the newly created Office of the Sport Integrity Commissioner. This is an important step to challenge the culture of silence and to provide a clear and reliable way for all participants in sport to report incidences of maltreatment and to be heard and supported. This independent mechanism will gradually become mandatory for all national sport organizations.
In fact, in 2017, I was asked by the former minister of sport to be part of a working group. One of the things that my colleague from Abitibi—Témiscamingue mentioned was quite salient. In fact, we made some recommendations in that working group for what is now called the Office of the Sport Integrity Commissioner. One recommendation was that we create an arm's length, independent organization, a mechanism by which we can trust that sport organizations will rely on an ethical framework. We demanded that it be fully funded by the federal government. We also demanded, at that time back in 2017, that it be mandatory for all national sport organizations. I am proud to say that today, in 2022, all of those things are true.
In response to the determination that Hockey Canada created those two separate accounts that my colleague referred to, the Minister of Sport very quickly froze funding to that national sport organization to be reinstated only after an audit has been prepared and completed and it has signed on as a full member of the Office of the Sport Integrity Commissioner. More recently, this summer, the Government of Canada announced that Sport Canada was working on new requirements to ensure organizations that receive federal funding meet specific governance, accountability and safe sport standards.
We would also like to note that these new measures are only part of the solution. The responsibility of ensuring a safe sport environment must be shared by all leaders and stakeholders in the field, from community sport to competitive sport, from young ages to provincial, national and international sport.
Our government will continue to engage provincial and territorial partners to drive alignment, which is essential to achieving that change in culture that we all strive for. I would also add that the change in culture needs to happen in other areas, and not just in sport.
We firmly believe our society can transform the culture of sport and provide positive examples of sporting life. Our government is committed to continuing its work in that regard.
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- Nov/14/22 6:58:00 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, the problem is that athletes seem to no longer trust the organizations that manage their sport.
The Prime Minister reiterated that from his seat in response to my question on October 5. When will he launch this independent public inquiry that will put an end to the mistreatment in sport and mismanagement by the organizations that are meant to facilitate athletes' enjoyment of their sport? This includes Canada Soccer, Canada Artistic Swimming, Water Polo Canada, Bobsleigh Canada Skeleton, Gymnastics Canada, Boxing Canada, Rowing Canada, Alpine Canada and Rugby Canada, which have all experienced problems.
As parliamentarians, we have the obligation to ensure that our athletes and our children are not denied their rights when they practice the sport they love. Sports organizations have failed in their duty and it is because they turned a blind eye to the misconduct and failed to act in the interest of protecting athletes and our children that the House is seized with this issue this evening.
In keeping with what we learned from the Dublin commission of inquiry into doping, recommendations need to be made regarding the needs of the survivors and there need to be repercussions. When will there be an independent public inquiry?
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- Nov/14/22 6:59:04 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I really appreciate the engagement from my colleague. I appreciate it because he is passionate and he clearly cares about athletes.
At the same time, I was an athlete. I talk to athletes about this issue every single day. Somebody comes to me in my new capacity as parliamentary secretary for sport almost every single day to discuss these important issues. Without that experience that the then minister of sport provided me back in 2017, I do not know that I would be here as a member of Parliament.
I would also challenge the notion that we are continuing to fail. We are not failing. The Office of the Sport Integrity Commissioner is stood up. It is a system that was designed for athletes and by athletes. It is not a system that sprung from a bureaucracy. This is a system that Canada can be proud of. Since June, the cases the member opposite mentioned and listed have all received attention from the office, and progress is under way.
That is not to suggest that more work is not absolutely necessary. That is true. There is always more work to be done, but I am proud of the progress thus far.
The conference was also an opportunity for ministers to assess progress toward making sport safer. Since the Red Deer declaration—
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- Nov/14/22 7:00:28 p.m.
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I have to interrupt the member.
I just want to take a moment to remind members that, when they are speaking, they have to give the interpreters a chance to convey the message so everyone can understand. People are trying to pack more words into limited time, but I want to remind members that, when they are giving a speech, they have to make sure they give the interpreters at least a little flexibility so they can do their job.
The hon. member for Abitibi—Témiscamingue.
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- Nov/14/22 7:01:18 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I would like to thank my colleague for speaking French and I would also like to sincerely thank the interpreters. I am sorry. It is a fascinating debate and I will constantly strive to improve for them.
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- Nov/14/22 7:01:25 p.m.
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The motion that the House do now adjourn is deemed to have been adopted.
Accordingly the House stands adjourned until tomorrow at 10 a.m. pursuant to Standing Order 24(1).
(The House adjourned at 7:01 p.m.)
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- Nov/14/22 3:00:55 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, Canadians know our approach is compassionate. It is about doubling the GST credit. It is about giving kids under 12 dental care. It is about helping people struggling to pay their rent. What else? It is fiscally responsible. The day we tabled the fall economic statement, Moody's reaffirmed Canada's AAA rating with a stable outlook. The day afterward, Canada had a blockbusting jobs report with 108,000 jobs created in October alone. We have recovered 117% of the jobs lost to COVID, just—
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Mr. Speaker, the costly coalition strikes again. The fall economic statement gave us a window into the government's ongoing spending problem and the uncertain economic future that Canadians are bracing for. Liberal-made inflation continues to be a reality for Canadians and their families, while Liberal spending continues at a record pace.
After this Prime Minister spent more than all prime ministers before him combined, the finance minister had an opportunity to get her government's spending under control, listen to Canadians, stop new taxes and cancel the tripling of the carbon tax. There was hope that the finance minister would hear the plea to follow the wisdom of the Conservative leader that a dollar of savings would be found for every new dollar spent.
This update shows that the Prime Minister's addiction to spending shut her down. What is unfortunate is that it means Canadians will continue to pay record prices for groceries, gas and home heating. It means mortgages, loans and rent will all cost more, and it means Canadians continue to fall further and further behind.
It is like our country is being pulled back into the days of Pierre Trudeau, a prime minister who also inherited an excellent fiscal position and stable economy but then spent everything in the treasury and more, adding billions to the national debt. One deficit after another increased Canada's debt by 1,000%, and the deficit in his last year in office was over $37 billion, which is roughly $90 billion in today's money and eerily like last year's deficit. Canadians were also hit with high Liberal-made inflation and high interest rates caused by that spending. As a result, it took 13 years for the federal government to be pulled out of the deficit tailspin left by that government.
We are seeing the same pattern re-emerge as this Prime Minister adds hundreds of billions of dollars to the national debt. Liberal-made inflation continues, and interest rates caused by his out-of-control spending are rising. The Liberal government took over from the Conservatives, who balanced the budget and left the finances in good shape. Conservatives shepherded Canada through the 2008 recession without record-high spending or inflation. The inflation rate under the previous government never reached 4%, despite the recession and wars in the Middle East.
In contrast, before even one COVID case was detected in Canada, the Prime Minister had already added $110 billion to the debt. He then proceeded to spend and spend and spend, to the tune of half a trillion dollars in just the last two years. Liberals told Canadians that their enormous spending spree was to protect people from COVID. We learned that almost half of the $500 billion was actually not even related to pandemic measures and supports. Even the part of those hundreds of billions of dollars that was COVID related is also very questionable.
In budget 2022, the government continued to add to the debt with a $90-billion deficit as it announced $30 billion in new spending. This was at a time when inflation was at 6.7% and climbing, and stakeholders such as the Conference Board of Canada warned that new spending on this scale would add further fuel to this inflationary fire.
Since fiscal year 2014-15 and all the way to 2020-21, the government's program expenses have increased by 113%. The bureaucracy has also grown to almost 400,000 employees, costing taxpayers $60.7 billion. The government loves to claim it was creating jobs, but it turns out it did it for its bureaucracy, using money it got from Canadians struggling with Liberal inflation. What the government's economic update does not show Canadians is how the Liberals plan to return to fiscal stability or how they will rein in their spending. It instead reannounces several billion dollars from the 2022 budget and adds over $6 billion in new spending.
The PBO, economists and the Conservative leader have all warned the government that its out-of-control spending is driving up inflation. Now Canadians are getting hit from the left with inflation, as well as being squeezed by higher interest rates hiked by the same Bank of Canada that has kept printing money for the Liberals to spend.
Hard-working Canadians and their families are not even getting by, and any support the government proposes is evaporated by inflation, taxes, and higher mortgages and rents. Grocery inflation is at a 40-year record high as prices increased 11.4% in September. That has led to one in five Canadians skipping meals and forced 1.5 million people to visit a food bank in just one month. One-third of those food bank users are children.
It is not only grocery inflation that is eating up Canadians' paycheques. Home heating bills are also soaring. Natural gas prices were hit with 37% inflation, and other fuels increased by 48.7%.
The solution proposed by the finance minister is for families to cancel their Disney+ subscription. How out of touch does one have to be to tell Canadians that billions and billions of inflationary spending is a good thing and they should not worry if they cannot afford to eat, heat their home, or go to work, because cancelling their $14-a-month subscription will fix everything.
This is from a minister who makes way more than the average Canadian, kept her job during the lockdowns, voted to keep COVID measures in place long after the rest of the world opened up, and fed the Prime Minister’s spending addiction with taxpayers’ money. People in my riding and many parts of Canada cannot even afford Internet, let alone Disney+. They choose between heating their homes, feeding their kids, and paying for rent or their mortgage.
I grew up in an immigrant family that had very little. We knew, though, that if we worked hard and kept dreaming of a better future, we could one day achieve the Canadian dream. I know that through hard work and the grace of God, I am lucky to be standing here in this place, representing the community I grew up in and knowing my family is going to be okay.
That is not a luxury that many other Canadians and newcomers have. In a developed country like Canada, it should be possible for anyone, no matter where they come from or what their last name is, to work hard and get back what they are willing to put in. Unfortunately, the reality today is that dream is gone.
Conservatives have stood in the House week after week, demanding on behalf of Canadians that the government stop new taxes and cancel its plans to triple the carbon tax. Even after the Bank of Canada's governor said the carbon tax added to inflation, and even after the inflation numbers showed home heating costs increasing by ridiculous amounts, the costly coalition voted against our motions and responded to questions with condescending statements that ignored Canadians’ pain.
Liberals insist that spending more money and raising taxes is the solution to the fire they started. The left also loves to talk about so-called greedflation, but the real greed here is the profits the government is making off the empty stomachs of Canadians. The government is now making more revenue as inflation drives up the tax dollars the government brings in.
Canadians are hurtling towards a long, cold and hungry winter, and the other side does not look encouraging, yet the minister wants everyone to believe that Canada will be fine while all the spending, inflation and high interest rates wreak havoc on our economy. The government and the Liberal insiders might be fine, sitting on all the taxpayer money, but the people who paid those taxes are already paying the price.
Even more frustrating for Canadians is that this update had the opportunity to do what is right and stop the out-of-control spending, the taxing and the virtue signalling, yet none of that was done. Savings were not found to pay for new spending. The tripling carbon tax, payroll tax, second carbon tax and inflation tax continue targeting Canadians while loading up government coffers.
It is time to stop flooding the economy with government money and create more of what Canadians’ money buys: more homes, more energy and more food here at home. With the Conservative leader as prime minister, a Conservative government will remove gatekeepers. We will build more homes and affordable energy projects and let Canada’s world-class agriculture sector grow the food the world needs. Canadians are out of money, and the costly coalition is out of touch. While the Liberals continue to fail Canadians, Conservatives will fight to restore the Canadian promise and make hard work mean something again in this country.
For these reasons and more, I move:
That the motion be amended by deleting all the words after the word “That” and substituting the following:
the House decline to give second reading to Bill C-32, an act to implement certain provisions of the fall economic statement tabled in Parliament on November 3, 2022, and certain provisions of the budget tabled in Parliament on April 7, 2022, because the bill brings in new inflationary spending that is not matched by an equivalent saving, and does not cancel planned tax hikes.
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- Nov/14/22 2:36:07 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, that is misinformation from the member opposite.
In one month, 1.5 million Canadians used food banks. The response from the finance minister was to tell struggling Canadians that she was cutting her Disney+ subscription, but $14 a month is not going to put food on the table.
It is insulting. Canadians are out of money. The government is out of touch. When will it stop its out-of-control spending and stop raising taxes on Canadians?
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Mr. Speaker, I thank my hon. colleague for her insight. Of course, if this is a policy distortion, we will certainly take a look at it.
On the whole, we have to be mindful of the fact that the fall economic statement is in itself a very thin document. It is a prudent approach. We are paying down the deficit. We are focusing on growing the economy and helping Canadians who need it the most. Budget 2023 will be a whole other cycle. However, I take my hon. colleague's point and will definitely look into it.
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Mr. Speaker, I always get a kick out of it when Conservatives say they left this House in good fiscal order at the end of Stephen Harper's reign.
They are clapping when I say I get a kick out of it, and it is really interesting, because if we actually look back over Brian Mulroney and Stephen Harper, there were only three budgets that were balanced in the entire 13 or so years that they were in power for.
More importantly, when he talks about how they balanced this budget in 2015, they did it by selling off shares of GM at bargain prices, by slashing EI and by slashing veterans services. They did all that so they could “balance the budget”. They thought that when they went into the election in 2015, that would inspire people to bring them back into power. Of course, we know that never happened, because people saw right through it.
Can the member reflect on whether he thinks it was a good idea for the government of the day to balance the budget by slashing veterans services and EI, and by selling off the shares of GM at bargain prices?
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