44th Parl. 1st Sess.
November 17, 2022 10:00AM
Mr. Speaker, three times the other night while I was speaking, the Conservatives did the exact same thing. I would take this opportunity to encourage people to go to my Twitter feed right now, where I posted a really interesting video that shows how Conservatives were playing with that quorum game just two nights ago in the House. They did it again. What happened when they did a quorum call? The Speaker stood up, verified we had quorum, and then I continued. This happens to me; it happened to the member for Saanich—Gulf Islands. The Conservatives are doing it routinely, and I do not understand if they think that is the business of the House, because it is not.
I would like to get back to the Bloc, and I apologize to my Conservative friends that I have gone off topic from them, and I want to focus on the Bloc. I am back with the Bloc now. Its members say we are not doing any initiatives for Canadians and that there is nothing to help Canadians. They can look at the countless measures in here making life more affordable, like by taking the interest off students loans. They can go talk to students who have interest on their loans and ask them if that is going to help make life more affordable for them. We are lowering credit card transactions and doubling the GST tax credit for six months for certain Canadians. There is a $500 top-up for the Canada housing benefit, the Canada dental benefit and a new quarterly Canada workers benefit.
Are Bloc members trying to tell me that those are not meaningful things that would impact people? Are they nodding? If they are nodding, that basically means they do not think that stuff would be impactful to Canadians and Quebeckers. Even if they are nodding, I doubt they would actually agree with that.
We can also look at some of the other stuff in here, like making housing more affordable. The housing top-up I mentioned is helping young Canadians afford a down payment faster. We are helping Canadians save on closing costs, introducing a new refundable multi-generational home renovation tax credit and cracking down on house flipping by ensuring profits from properties are held for less than 12 months. Do those members think these are initiatives that Canadians are not going to benefit from?
There is the Canada growth fund to help build technology, infrastructure and businesses. I could go on and on, and then the Bloc is going to get up, ask about the health transfers and say we are failing because they do not happen to agree with the manner in which we are distributing the health transfers.
This fall economic statement is about providing supports for Canadians. That is exactly what has been laid out in this document. It is exactly why I am very much in favour of supporting it, and I think the Canadian people will judge those who choose not to support these measures, and we will see how that comes to be when we get to vote for this. Hopefully Conservatives will let us vote on this some time in the fall, rather than waiting until June, like last year, but I will not hold my breath.
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Madam Speaker, as we know, Bill C‑32 contains 25 tax measures and about 10 non-tax measures. There are two kinds: minor legislative amendments and measures announced in the budget in the spring of 2022, last spring, that had not been included in the first implementation bill passed last June.
This means that this bill does not contain any measures to address the new economic reality of a high cost of living and a possible recession. As with the economic statement presented two weeks ago, there is nothing new, it is a rehash. The government thinks its measures are like shepherd's pie, better served as leftovers.
This is a bill with no point or certainty. It does not deserve to be applauded, but contains nothing to justify opposing it. Given current inflation and the risk of recession, the Bloc Québécois had asked the government to focus on its fundamental responsibilities toward vulnerable individuals, namely to increase health transfers, adequately support those aged 65 and over, and urgently reform employment insurance. Since the government chose to reject those proposals, we denounce this missed opportunity to help Quebeckers deal with the difficult times they are already experiencing or that are expected in the coming months.
The Bloc Québécois had asked the government to agree to the unanimous request by Quebec and the other provinces to immediately, sustainably, and unconditionally increase health transfers. The health care system is stretched thin.
While emergency physicians warn us that our hospitals have reached their breaking point, the federal government is failing to act. The government clearly prefers its strategy of prolonging the health funding crisis in the hope of breaking the consensus among the provinces to convince them to agree to dilute their funding requests. That is exactly what the Liberal health minister said in the Quebec National Assembly: It is called predatory federalism.
We know too well that the fixed incomes of seniors do not allow them to cope with what are currently such pronounced increases in the cost of living. Seniors are those who are most likely to have to make difficult choices, such as groceries, medication or housing.
Madam Speaker, I am told that I must share my time with me esteemed colleague from Abitibi—Témiscamingue.
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- Nov/17/22 2:28:35 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, rather than talking about what the government is giving, let us talk about what is missing.
In general, the government has begun to treat Quebeckers and health system managers as though they are no good. The Prime Minister and his ministers think they are better than everyone. The only thing the federal government has that the Quebec government does not is money. No one in the federal government has any knowledge, experience or skill in emergency room management, mental health or the hiring of doctors and nurses. The government does not have those skills and it is creating delays at the expense of the most vulnerable people.
Can we get a decent transfer now?
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- Nov/17/22 2:29:19 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, this year, Quebec received $10.1 billion through the Canada health transfers. That is a 4.8% increase. Add to that $450 million to help the province clear backlogs in procedures and surgeries.
Canada was there for Quebec and Quebeckers during the pandemic. We will continue to be there for them.
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- Nov/17/22 2:39:00 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, food insecurity means worrying every day about not being able to pay for food. It means a mother or father skipping a meal to feed their child.
We should not even be talking about this in an industrialized country like Canada, but according to the numbers that were released just yesterday, 16% of Quebeckers are suffering from severe food insecurity. The research is clear: The main reasons are inflation and rising food prices.
Will the government stop impoverishing Canadian families and guarantee that it will not increase taxes?
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- Nov/17/22 2:40:14 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, one thing is for sure, anyway. I do not know where they are getting their numbers from when they say they are lifting people out of poverty, but right now, in 2022, 671,000 Quebeckers are using food banks, and one-third of those people are children.
Minister of Families is not just a title, actually. It comes with responsibilities, such as making sure families do not have to water down their babies' formula because they cannot afford to pay 20% more.
Will the government stop its inflationary spending so that Canadians can afford food, housing and heating?
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- Nov/17/22 2:41:31 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, it is embarrassing for Quebeckers to be represented by Canada at COP27.
On Monday, the climate change performance index ranked 60 countries based on their greenhouse gas emissions, climate policy and energy use.
Do members know where Canada ranked out of 60 countries? It is 58th. Canada is even worse than China.
Will the Liberals stop lying to themselves and realize that, under their reign, Canada is one of the most dangerous countries for the planet?
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- Nov/17/22 3:09:34 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, Liberal inflation hurts. We learned that the proportion of Quebeckers experiencing food insecurity has doubled. It is currently 15%. These are people who have jobs but are worried about not being able to afford groceries at the end of the week, people who are skipping meals and using food banks. That is happening here in Canada, a G7 country.
All of my Conservative colleagues have been asking the same question for a long time. Will the Liberal government cancel its plan to raise taxes? It is a simple question.
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