44th Parl. 1st Sess.
April 19, 2023 02:00PM
- Apr/19/23 4:54:37 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, it is always a pleasure to rise in the House during a debate, particularly when we are discussing the economy and our budget.
It is truly an honour to rise in the House to speak more specifically about budget 2023. It is a budget that will help the most vulnerable in our country make ends meet and help put food on the table. It is a budget that will improve tax fairness; strengthen and, dare I say, save our health care system; accelerate our fight against climate change; and ensure that Canada is a leader in the economy of the future.
The economy is at a turning point right now, and turning points are often times of instability. Indeed, the economic instability around the world comes as a result of not only shifts in the foundations of our global economy itself, but also massive and significant geopolitical changes. The reality is that the economies of countries around the world are still recovering from the pandemic. The reality is that the war waged by Russia on Ukraine continues. The reality is that our closest allies are seeking to shift their dependence from dictatorships and autocracies to stable, reliable democracies, such as ours here in Canada.
The world's leading economies are moving faster and faster to reshape their own economies and build the net-zero industries of tomorrow. One thing is clear: Canada has to skate to where the puck is going. As president Biden said in this very House only a few weeks ago, our two countries are intertwined and inseparable, and our government’s budget is one that will secure Canada’s place in that North American market. It is a race to create the clean, green global economy of tomorrow. As a country, we need to not only keep pace and stay in the game, but also be leaders in that race, because the green economy and the clean economy of the future represent real money and real opportunities for Canadians.
Indeed, the International Energy Agency estimates that the global clean technology manufacturing market will triple by 2030, which is $650 billion a year. On top of that, the average earnings of workers in this sector, in 2021, were over $90,000, well above the Canadian economy-wide average, which is at about $70,000. Everyone in every province in this country will benefit.
Our budget addresses the demands of Canadians, and especially Quebeckers' demands to invest in the green economy of tomorrow. Almost a year and a half ago, I presented in the House a petition started by people in my riding that was supported in Quebec by the organization For Our Kids. Grandparents and parents like me, who care about fighting climate change, called on me, their MP, to accelerate the just, green transition that we want for our children and grandchildren. Budget 2023 responds to their calls.
I am also thinking of Equiterre, which has stated that it supports this budget's federal assistance for the decarbonization of our electricity grids. In addition, tax credits for green energy address a key demand of the Green Budget Coalition, which counts Equiterre as a member.
The measures included in our budget are crucial to support the just, green transition of our economy. I also want to highlight the incredible work done by our local organizations, our organizations on the ground, which work every day to protect our local environment and leave a greener world for our children.
I am thinking of Regeneration Canada, in the Mile End neighbourhood, whose mission is to promote soil regeneration in order to mitigate climate change, restore biodiversity, improve water cycles and support a healthy food system.
I could also mention Soverdi, another organization in my riding, one that implements greening strategies in urban settings to improve the quality of life in our neighbourhoods and the health of Montrealers. It recently celebrated the milestone of 100,000 trees planted in the last 10 years, which is just incredible.
Everyone here in the House knows that Quebec leads the way in Canada in terms of clean energy generation, and our budget ensures that Quebec benefits from this position, for the benefit of all Canadians. Our budget proposes a tax credit for clean energy investments, which includes hydroelectricity and battery production, two areas where Quebec is truly a leader. As Quebec's finance minister said, it is extremely interesting for us in Quebec.
I would like to speak for a moment to a few specific measures in this budget. For example, our new investments in clean electricity, the driving force of a clean economy, would build a national electricity grid that would connect Canadians from coast to coast to coast, an electricity grid that would provide cleaner, more affordable electricity to every Canadian. We are proposing, in the 2023 budget, to introduce a 15% refundable tax credit for eligible investments in clean electricity projects.
Our budget also proposes to create a refundable tax credit of 30% of the cost of investments in new machinery and equipment used to manufacture and process key clean technologies and to extract, process or recycle critical minerals. We are also announcing the details of the clean hydrogen investment tax credit, with support that would range from 15% to 40% of eligible project costs.
Canada is already a prime destination for foreign investment. Volkswagen has just announced that its PowerCo subsidiary will build its first overseas super factory for electric vehicle batteries in St. Thomas, Ontario. There is also Umicore, which is investing in a first-of-its-kind electric vehicle battery plant here in Canada, strengthening our battery value chain. There is also the new Stellantis battery plant in Windsor.
I could also point to Ford's decision to build a new factory in Bécancour, the sixth player in the battery industry to settle in Bécancour, and the list goes on.
As I have said before, including just this week alongside opposition colleagues in interview panels, our Liberal government has, as its main and principal priority, the economy. It is the economy. It is jobs. It is the welfare of Canadians and their pocketbooks.
Our plan is to make Canada a leader in the clean energy economy of tomorrow. It is one that is good for workers, good for business and good for the environment. While the Liberal government is focused on the economy, the Conservative leader is focused on Twitter, his Twitter.
In fact, while our government is focused on helping Canadians with the rising cost of living and global inflation, Conservatives are busy importing Trumpian politics to Canada. While our government is doing everything to fast-track the grocery rebate and help vulnerable Canadians, the Conservative leader is busy colluding with Elon Musk to make fun of and discredit Canadian institutions.
While the economy is our government's top priority, the Conservatives seem to think that the best way to help Canadians is to ask for Elon Musk's help to try to advance their plan to slash funding for the CBC.
In fact, I note that my Conservative colleagues from Quebec do not really seem to want to talk about their leader's attacks on the CBC. It would not be the first time that we see MPs in the House say one thing in English and another in French. I call upon my Conservative colleagues. I invite them to do better.
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- Apr/19/23 5:04:53 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the opportunity to talk about our support for Ukraine. It was not something I detailed in my speech, but I am happy to talk about it.
This government has put over $5 billion forward to support Ukrainians in their fight against Russia. We have been recognized by President Zelenskyy as being among the countries that are leading in support for Ukraine. We have been thanked on many occasions as a prime leader in the discussions at the G7 and G20 ensuring support from around the world for Ukraine. Also, our Leopards have arrived in Ukraine.
However, I would point out that the member opposite actually voted to lift sanctions on Russia for fertilizer. It is not the time to lift sanctions on Russia. It is the time to get tough on Russia, and it is an embarrassment that the Conservatives want to weaken our sanctions regime.
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- Apr/19/23 5:07:18 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I very much appreciate my colleague's work to make gains in our fight against climate change. She talks about investing in green, clean energy. That is exactly what we are doing in this budget.
In fact, I was surprised to learn that the Bloc Québécois was going to vote against this budget, given that it is a budget that truly responds to Quebeckers' demands to accelerate the country's green transition.
I would like to point out to my colleague that, according to the latest figures, our emissions are down almost 10% from the 2005 level, which is our reference year. We must continue. We need to accelerate these gains. That is why we have invested heavily in the green transition in this budget.
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- Apr/19/23 5:19:54 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I appreciated the speech by my colleague, particularly the opening when he indicated that he was very open to agreeing with and saluting certain specific measures.
He mentioned in his speech that he is very dedicated to curbing crime and violence in this country. Does he agree with our proposal to use existing funds, not new money, to take further action to tackle drug trafficking and stem the flow of drugs coming into our country, particularly from across borders?
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