44th Parl. 1st Sess.
November 17, 2022 10:00AM
- Nov/17/22 2:10:34 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, British Columbia will be welcoming David Eby as our province's next premier on November 18. During this time of transition, I want to recognize and thank Premier John Horgan, who has served British Columbia since 2017.
Premier Horgan has been an advocate for the environment and an ally to our government on this important issue. Our governments have also found common ground on child care, with our government providing $3.2 billion to create more child care spaces to implement the $10-a-day child care in British Columbia.
Since the COVID-19 pandemic, our governments have worked together to ensure all British Columbians have access to vaccines. Premier Horgan has done well in advancing relationships with indigenous peoples based on respect and with the recognition of indigenous rights.
Recently, our governments partnered up by announcing improvements to the Glover Road crossing. This Highway 1 widening project is valued at $345 million, with $96 million coming from the federal government.
I want to wish Premier Horgan all the best in his future endeavours, and I want to extend my congratulations to David Eby on becoming B.C.’s next premier.
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Madam Speaker, it is my honour to rise today to speak to the fall economic statement implementation act.
As the member of Parliament for Aurora—Oak Ridges—Richmond Hill, I know the people I represent expect at least two things from me. One is to show compassion and the other, responsibility, and I know, by extension, it is what they expect of our government. That is why, when I saw the fall economic statement that was presented by our Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance, I was so pleased. I think it struck the right balance between compassion and responsibility.
We know Canadians are going through a tough time right now. Global inflation, the post-COVID economy and supply chain disruptions exacerbated by the war in Ukraine have caused economic challenges for every country around the world. We know that Canadians are among those who are facing challenging times. As such, in the fall economic statement, we have introduced a number of programs to help Canadians who are struggling the most.
What programs did we introduce and how are they helping? The GST rebate, for one, will be doubling the GST tax credit for six months. There is the elimination of interest on student loans and the top-up to the Canada housing benefit of $500. We are changing the Canada workers benefit so that hard-working families and people who are often making minimum wage but want to continue working get a top-up to their earnings. That is now going to be paid quarterly and in advance.
We are expanding the health care program by including dental care. We are providing funding for children's dental care for families that may not have enough money to pay for it and have to make a choice between dental care or food and clothing. Last is the Canada early learning and child care program. We have managed to reach agreement on that with all 10 provinces and three territories. It is program the Liberal government has worked on for over 50 years. It is finally being implemented with the agreement of the provinces and territories. This program is going to see parents receive 50% rebates, in the province of Ontario where my constituents live, this December, either as rebates to themselves or as credits on future payments. That is real money in the pockets of families that are struggling right now with inflationary pressures.
These are examples of investing in social infrastructure. We have heard many comments from across the aisle about how we should stop spending. They are mostly based on the doctrines of Milton Friedman, whom the previous speaker mentioned and of whom the current Leader of the Opposition is a great disciple, but we know these failed economic theories of trickle-down economics have been disproven many times. The best way to help Canadians is not to hope that money trickles down from the rich, but rather to give direct assistance.
These programs, such as the investment in early learning and child care, will increase productivity in the Canadian labour force, not only for women, but for both parents by having affordable reliable child care. The uptake in Ontario is 92%. Ninety-two per cent of licensed child care facilities will be participating in this amazing program.
There are so many other things we are doing. We know, though, that we cannot continue the wide-set supports that were provided to Canadians during the COVID pandemic, because we are facing inflationary pressures. This is where responsible government comes in. As much as we would like to help every Canadian who is struggling, we know we have to have targeted measures and be responsible.
Spending has been reduced in this past budget and the fall economic statement. It has come down significantly from where it was during the COVID year benefit programs. These were programs, I will remind members opposite, that they voted for, under another leader however, knowing full well that Canadians needed that support and that it would benefit our economy.
We now have a deficit of 1.3% of our GDP. We have received a AAA rating from Moody's, and we have the lowest debt-to-GDP ratio in the G7. In addition, we have increased selected taxes to make sure everyone pays their fair share. We are not increasing broad-based taxes, as the members opposite like to say. We are only increasing taxes, such as the Canada recovery dividend, on banks and insurance companies that have made excess profits during this period. We are being responsible. We are also being responsible with other important social programs we have in place and in continuing the fight against climate change.
We know that climate change is one of the most existential threats facing not only our country, but the planet. We are committed to stay the course, to follow the program we have put in place to combat this threat. Unlike the members on the other side of the House, who have gone back and forth as often as their leader has changed, on whether they support the price on pollution or not, we are following through on what we told businesses and Canadians we were going to be doing. This is important because the kind of uncertainty that the threat the Conservatives make about this program discourages investment in our clean economy and works against a just transition. We know that the cost of doing nothing is far greater than the cost of doing something. We also know, and the members opposite know, that all the money that is raised from this price on pollution, all the money taken in, is returned to Canadians. It is a net-neutral program. It is not an additional tax.
I talked about the cost of climate change. Since 1983, the cost of climate change impacts has risen from $0.4 billion to $1.9 billion annually. In addition is the cost of the health impacts. A recent article in The Lancet talked about the global impact, but the monetary value of global heat-related mortality was estimated to be $144 billion in 2021. These are significant impacts that cannot be overlooked. The responsible thing to do is to keep on a steady path to fight climate change, and we are doing that.
We are also investing in our economy, in businesses, and ensuring that we are putting in the incentives to attract investment in Canada. We know that the recent changes under the Inflation Reduction Act in the United States have brought about some challenging programs that we have to respond to. The tax credits under the clean tech program and the green hydrogen program have been put in place to try to keep Canada competitive with the United States in this.
We need to be responsible and we have to be sure that we are not putting out irresponsible messages. On this point I would like to say that the disinformation and misinformation that is being spread with half-truths, cute phrases and slogans is really increasing fear and anxiety in Canadians.
Just now, the Leader of the Opposition mentioned that everything in Canada is broken. I do not agree. Things in Canada are going fairly well. We have challenges we have to get through and we know it. There are real challenges due to these global inflationary pressures, due to the COVID pandemic and due to the supply chain disruptions that we have experienced, but those challenges are being experienced worldwide. We are taking responsible, targeted measures to help those who need help the most. This is the responsible thing to do.
What is irresponsible is quoting partial pieces of Tiff Macklem's or Mark Carney's statements, just using little quotes and pieces, or saying that things are happening that are not happening. Do members not realize that the price on pollution has not increased since April of last year? It cannot be the cause of these inflationary pressures. It is not due to increase again until April of next year. How is it accountable for the inflation that is happening right now? There are many countries around the world that do not have a price on pollution and they are experiencing greater inflation than we are. We are responsible for taking care of Canadians, for addressing the challenges that Canadians are facing due to this inflation and we are taking that responsibility seriously and with compassion.
Let me end by saying that we have to also let Canadians know that our economy is strong. Not only were our results during the COVID–19 pandemic strong with respect to our health results, but also with respect to our economy. We have over 500,000 more new jobs now than we had before the pandemic. Our economy had the largest growth of any in the G7. As we have heard, our deficits are the lowest and the only thing that has tripled is our AAA credit rating.
We are in a good position. We are facing challenges. Our government recognizes this and is taking action to address it, but we should not be increasing Canadians' anxiety. We should focus rather on sharing the values of compassion and responsibility and all work together to make this an even better—
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- Nov/17/22 6:46:51 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I am pleased to provide my hon. colleague with more details.
We all agree that we want to give young people access to mental health services when and where they need it most. Supporting mental health also helps to prevent suicide, and that is vitally important.
In 2020, suicide was the second leading cause of death among those aged 15 to 34. The government recognizes the devastating effects of suicide on families and communities. We also recognize that wait times and problems getting access to services are having a negative impact on people with mental health issues.
More people need more services. We all know about the lack of system capacity to meet needs, and the persistent and ongoing barriers to care have been exacerbated by the pandemic.
One such barrier is long wait times. This is unacceptable, and we are working to address this situation through a suite of measures. We have responded to these needs by working with provinces, territories and stakeholders to help spread and scale integrated youth services, or IYS, models of care.
This measure builds on the work we have done to increase young people's access to mental health and addiction services, which includes transferring $600 million to the provinces every year until 2027, as per budget 2017.
All 13 provinces and territories have developed or are developing an IYS network in their regions. Additionally, there is an indigenous IYS network in progress. These hubs are easily accessible, community-based one-stop shops that provide an integrated suite of services, which can include peer support, mental health and primary care support, and employment counselling, as well as support for navigating these systems of care.
This demonstrates how the federal government can work constructively with provinces and territories to spread and scale evidence-based practices in the mental health and substance-use space.
In addition, in response to the pandemic, we quickly launched Wellness Together Canada, an online portal offering mental health and substance use support. Budget 2022 committed an additional $140 million over two years for the portal so it can continue to provide this support to Canadians. Through the portal, people aged five to 29 can access a wide range of resources free of charge, including Kids Help Phone.
Kids Help Phone offers support via chat, call and text. Once again, the government has recognized the need for this support and is providing more than $14.8 million so that Kids Help Phone can support kids and teens in mental health crisis at this unique time.
In addition to investments in suicide crisis services, in the 2020 fall economic statement, the government announced a $50‑million investment to bolster distress centres across the country. It has supported over 61 such centres to date.
Furthermore, we are investing in the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, CAMH, to implement and sustain a fully operational pan-Canadian suicide prevention service with its partners. Talk Suicide Canada currently provides suicide crisis support via the phone in English and French, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, and by text, in—
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