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Decentralized Democracy

House Hansard - 149

44th Parl. 1st Sess.
January 30, 2023 11:00AM
Context: House Hansard - 149 - Jan/30/23
Mr. Terry Beech (Parliamentary Secretary to the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance, Lib.)
  • Jan/30/23 6:44:31 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, happy new year to you and to my friend from Sherwood Park—Fort Saskatchewan. As was stated by the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Foreign Affairs, our government makes every effort to ensure that spending on official trips is both responsible and transparent. The official Canadian delegation included former prime ministers and the Governor General. All members of this delegation stayed at the same hotel, which was uniquely able to accommodate the size of the delegation during levels of extremely high demand, as members can imagine. Literally the entire world was heading to England for the Queen's funeral at the time. I have not prepared exactitudes on any McKinsey things today, but I do know that there was at least one contract that was issued where McKinsey was tasked to find some savings in a government program and it found $350 million in savings and $178 million of that has been implemented to date. I can get more details. I was not prepared to discuss McKinsey tonight. I personally had the opportunity as well to connect with my own constituents over the holidays and know that household budgets are being stretched by increases in interest rates, higher rents and higher food prices. Many of these challenges are global challenges created by external stressors, which include lingering effects of the COVID pandemic and, of course, Putin's illegal war in Ukraine. Impacts on the cost of food and energy have been especially significant. We do have some good news, however. While inflation is high, it has started to go down in Canada. Inflation was 8.1% in June and now is 6.3%. It is still high but it is heading in the right direction and it is lower than what we see in many of our peer economies. The United States still has inflation of 6.5%, the euro area of 9.2%, the United Kingdom of 10.5% and the OECD is also above 10% on average. While increased interest rates present their own burden, especially after rising from historic lows, private sector economists expect inflation to ease toward the 2% inflation target over the next two years. Canada's underlying economy is still very strong and that gives us the ability to help those who were most impacted by these challenges. In fact, Canada has created more than 659,000 jobs since the start of the pandemic and we have retained our AAA credit rating. We also have the lowest deficit and the lowest net debt-to-GDP ratio in the G7. However, inflation in Canada is still too high and Canadians need help to make ends meet. This is why we have provided targeted relief while ensuring that our measures do not further increase inflation. For example, we doubled the GST credit for 11 million Canadians who need it the most. This is a great example to start with, of course, because my friend opposite also voted and supported that particular measure. In addition, we launched the Canada dental benefit for children under 12 with family incomes below $90,000. This will allow up to 500,000 kids to get their teeth fixed. I am pleased to report tonight that 153,000 families have already utilized the program. This is in addition to our child care investments that were just being debated in this House. I am happy to report that just today it was announced that 12,700 $10-a-day child care spaces are now available in British Columbia with more spaces opening up every day across Canada. Despite these supports, our government is continuing to run a tight fiscal ship. As I stated previously, we are able to make these investments because we have the lowest net debt-to-GDP ratios in the G7. At the same time, we have committed to saving $9 billion from government spending through budget 2022. As Canadians are cutting back in their costs, it is prudent that our government do the same. We will do that. We will make life more affordable for all Canadians right across the country.
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Context: House Hansard - 149 - Jan/30/23
Mr. Terry Beech
  • Jan/30/23 6:49:28 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, Canadians can count on us to continue supporting them while proceeding in a way that is fiscally responsible. In the months ahead as we prepare for the 2023 budget, Canadians can count on this government to continue to work hard to build an economy that works for everyone, to create good jobs and to make life more affordable both for Canadian workers but also for Canadian families.
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