44th Parl. 1st Sess.
April 19, 2023 02:00PM
- Apr/19/23 2:20:32 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, Canadian families are struggling. Food bank usage is skyrocketing. People are cancelling their vacations because they just cannot afford them.
However, the Prime Minister just took a $160,000 trip to another friend's villa. This is just another example of the Prime Minister being out of touch with Canadians. This follows his trip to Tofino, where he went surfing on the first national truth and reconciliation day, and his trip when he spent $6,000 a night on a room in London, England, with a butler.
This is not the reality for any Canadian. Canadians deserve a break. People are tired. They are trying to pick up shifts at work to ensure they can put food on the table. The family budget cannot keep up with the cost of the government. I do not disagree with taking family trips, but we must not expect hard-working Canadians to pay for them, especially at a time like this. Enough is enough.
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- Apr/19/23 2:37:14 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, viewers watching at home may be surprised to see the extent to which the leader of the official opposition is choosing to focus on me, when they are worried about affordability, they are worried about growth, they are worried about health care, and when we are moving forward with a budget that would deliver a grocery rebate to Canadians, that would deliver health care, that would deliver dental care, that would deliver a plan for great jobs for the middle class for the coming years. That member and his party will be voting tonight against that budget that would help Canadians. Shame on them. We should be helping Canadians here; that is not what he is doing.
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- Apr/19/23 2:45:24 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, it is interesting to see the extent to which the Conservative Party does not want to talk about budget 2023 and all the measures we are putting forward to support Canadians, whether it is the grocery rebate, the work we are doing to support small businesses by reducing credit card fees or moving forward on dental care support, which the Conservatives continue to oppose.
We will continue to focus on Canadians while they, for some reason, focus on me.
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- Apr/19/23 3:00:40 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, if the leader of the Bloc Québécois wants this government to continue to do its job, all he has to do is vote in favour of our budget this evening.
We are here to implement measures that will help Canadians with the cost of living. We are here to help small businesses with credit card costs. We are here to help Canadians with investments in the health care system and dental care. We are here to create good jobs for the middle class for the years to come with a green shift that will create good jobs and growth across the country.
The leader of the Bloc Québécois has a very simple choice. Will he support our budget, which meets Canadians' expectations?
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- Apr/19/23 3:05:02 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, our solution is to continue to invest in affordability for Canadians, including with a grocery rebate. We really hope the Conservatives will vote to accelerate this, even though they will probably vote against it tonight in the budget vote.
In regard to the price on pollution, the member knows that constituents in his riding, the average family of four, will be receiving over a thousand dollars in carbon price returns this year. That offsets the cost of the price on pollution they are facing. It is both a plan to fight climate change and to grow the economy while supporting Canadians, and we will continue with it.
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- Apr/19/23 3:08:59 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the Parliamentary Budget Officer's report concurs with our analysis, which points out that eight out of 10 families across the country in regions where the federal backstop is brought in do better with the climate action rebate than the carbon price costs them. This is something that is well established.
What is less clear is how the Conservative Party of Canada plans to grow the economy and create good jobs for the future when it refuses to accept climate change is real and that it also provides an opportunity to innovate and grow the economy.
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- Apr/19/23 3:11:01 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, over the past years we have seen right across the country that the cost of inaction on fighting climate change is getting alarmingly high. This includes in many Conservative-held ridings that should be telling this to their leader. Whether in floods, wildfires or droughts, we are seeing the impacts of climate change that are going to get worse and worse.
That is why it is necessary to have a plan to fight climate change and grow the economy in sustainable ways that would give great jobs to Canadians for the coming decades. That is exactly what we have done with our approach on fighting climate change and in our latest budget.
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- Apr/19/23 4:05:36 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, first, please note that I will be sharing my time with the member for Shefford.
We got another budget. When I saw the budget, I remembered two things. First, when I was an economics professor at CEGEP and university, I had a tradition. When the budget was tabled, back when I was not in politics, I would take it and do an economic analysis of it. When I saw this budget, the first thing I thought was, thank god I will not have to analyze it in front of 70 students, because there is really not much to say about it, from an economic standpoint. It is devoid of inspiration. It is as if it was as easy for the Liberal government to find inspiration as to do a 5,000-piece puzzle while wearing boxing gloves.
The second thing I thought about was my leader, and what an extraordinary leader he is.
The members opposite are laughing because they know that I am right. I thank them for admitting it.
In 2021, the government kicked things off with the throne speech. It took some time before the House came back; it had other things to do, I guess, but it took a few months before the ball got rolling. The House reconvened. That morning, I was not fashionable, but we were finally back.
Then, there was the throne speech. I will never forget it. The leader stood up and said that the government before us was tired. Let us think about that. The government had just been elected, it gave a throne speech and it was already tired. When I saw the budget, I thought that it was the budget of a tired government.
There are two very striking things in this budget. The first is that the Liberals bought themselves a majority yet again. They had already done it once, but they arranged for their good friend the NDP to support them until death do they part. What do people say when they get married?
An hon. member: For better or for worse.
Mr. Alain Therrien: Yes, Mr. Speaker, the NDP is with the government for better or for worse. The government accepts the fact that the west has dirty oil and the NDP agrees. They shrug and they are happy, because they are buddies. To ensure that the NDP will stay with them, the government gave them a $13-billion gift of dental insurance.
Is that bad? Not necessarily, but it depends on how.
I have been in politics for 10 years. I am old now, and I have seen a few bills in my time. I would say I have seen quite a few. I think the worst bill I ever saw in my life was the dental care bill, which was introduced last fall. It was a disaster. I could not believe my eyes. I told myself it was impossible. In the end, I just had to cover my eyes. To me, it made no sense, it was completely ridiculous, but the government was pandering to the NDP. It hurriedly came up with a lot of nonsense, like telling people they would get $650 for going to the dentist, making an appointment or just driving by. Otherwise, they get nothing. It was totally preposterous.
Now, months later, the government has finally realized fraud is rampant. That was obvious. They could have just asked the opposition. We would have told them right from the start. This is cause for concern.
Now we come to the budget. It is stressful to hear the government say it is going to expand the scope of dental care. Not only does this trespass on the jurisdiction of Quebec and the provinces, it penalizes Quebec and the provinces that offered more generous dental insurance. There was no compensation for that. The message was that if they already had dental insurance, too bad. They would have to pay anyway, for nothing.
At least the bill is not tabled yet. Do we dare hope that the Liberals will respect the jurisdictions of Quebec and the provinces when they draft it?
When they put their glasses on and settle down to write that bill, I hope they will respect the jurisdictions of Quebec and the provinces. The Liberals are centralizers. They like to stretch out their tentacles and lay claim to taxes. They like to spend. The New Democrats are Liberals in a hurry. They get up at night to strategize about centralization. They call each other to talk about their dream of a world without provinces. That is their aim. If the two parties get together to cook up dental insurance, I hope they do not forget that the provinces and Quebec exist. That is my hope.
That is my first point, that this dental insurance looks more like majority insurance. My second point is that there are priorities. If we go outside and walk around and chat with people, there are some things we cannot miss. They are so obvious that it seems odd they did not see them. There is nothing in the budget, or very little, and what is there is done wrong. These priorities are not included in the budget, despite what we had hoped.
Health care is a priority for Quebec. We can already hear them saying that maybe the Quebec government is not so good at managing health care, and so on, and yet, all the provinces are having problems with health care. Has it not occurred to the government that perhaps the real problem lies somewhere above the level of Quebec and all the provincial governments? Does it take an honorary degree to understand that the problem might be elsewhere and that the provinces and Quebec all have the same problem?
It is called the federal government.
Everyone was practically climbing over each other to tell the federal government to increase health transfers to the provinces and Quebec. We said we wanted 35%, for starters. In the end, the federal government told Quebec and the provinces that it would give only one-sixth of the amount we were asking for. In the case of Quebec, instead of getting $6 billion, we were told that we would get $1 billion, and there was no guarantee that there would be enough growth to meet even that commitment.
That means that the transfers increased from 22% to 24%. People were clapping and knocking their glasses off in their excitement. One person was even doing cartwheels in the living room while eating broccoli. Everyone needs to calm down. When this government took office, transfers were already at 24% of total health care funding. The government lowered them to 22% and then raised them back up to 24%. What a victory. Great job.
What we are seeing now is that the Liberals are offering only one-sixth of what was requested, even though they say in the budget that the health care system is dysfunctional. They figured that out all by themselves and yet they are only giving Quebec and the provinces one-sixth of what they asked for. That does not make any sense.
Speaking of priorities, housing is definitely one of them. That is a no-brainer. We hear about it almost everyday on the news. There is also the labour shortage. The government is saying that we need to find a solution to the labour shortage, but did we hear any solutions out of the mouths of anyone on that side of the House when they talked about the budget? No, we have not.
There is one solution that is pretty simple. The government could tell certain people, like seniors aged 65 to 75, that they could be entitled to exemptions and tax incentives if they returned to work. That is the carrot policy, or the incentive policy, as my colleague said. However, that is not being proposed. What are the Liberals doing? They are making seniors poorer. That is not a carrot-and-stick policy, it is a stick-and-bludgeon policy. They are making seniors poorer.
The first time I asked a minister about what was happening with seniors, he said that if they do not have enough money, then they should go back to work. I wondered if he had skipped breakfast that morning, because he could not possibly have meant what he said. He did, however, because we heard him repeat the same thing later. In any case, my colleague from Shefford will speak at length about seniors and the fact that this issue is missing from the budget.
We might talk about the policy on aerospace, Quebec's primary source of exports. Quebec is one of the only places in the world where it is possible to build a plane from start to finish. There are three places in the world where this is possible, and Quebec is one of them.
I will say in closing that a government is supposed to have a vision to present in the budget. The government is tired and worn out. It no longer has a vision. I wonder what it is still doing here.
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- Apr/19/23 4:16:01 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the member is wrong on so many counts. This budget is indeed a reflection of the priorities that Canadians have expressed to the government in many different ways.
I would highlight what the member said about the dental legislation we brought in last year being the worst piece of legislation he has ever seen as a parliamentarian. That particular program, which the member sees as useless legislation, has benefited 250,000 children in Canada.
Many of the initiatives, whether we are talking about the grocery rebate or the expansion of the dental program for seniors, would directly benefit from the budget.
Why is the Bloc being so narrow-minded and following such a separatist agenda that it does not see the good that is being presented in this budget? For the sake of doing what is right, the Bloc should vote in favour of the budget so Canadians from coast to coast to coast would receive the badly needed benefits this budget would provide.
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- Apr/19/23 4:19:49 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I am so disappointed by this budget, because there are at least four new subsidies for oil and gas companies. What does the member from La Prairie think about the fact that, in the midst of a climate crisis, there are new subsidies for oil and gas companies?
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- Apr/19/23 4:21:08 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, it is never easy to rise after my colleague from La Prairie. I listened intently to his speech.
As the critic for seniors, I could not turn down the opportunity to talk about their situation in the House and, more importantly, to respond to a budget that cares nothing about them. I could not turn down the opportunity to set the record straight. The Bloc Québécois proposed a number of measures and made clear requests to the Minister of Finance.
I will focus on three points here. First, the budget does not provide for an adequate increase in health transfers. Second, it says nothing about EI reform. Finally, while the government continues to claim it has been generous to seniors, there are no new specific and ongoing measures for seniors in this budget.
I would like to start by pointing out that the government is not increasing the health transfers to any significant degree. The jurisdictional interference also continues. This issue is important, and it is a major public concern, especially among seniors' groups. FADOQ representatives even turned out for a conference I recently organized on the financial situation of seniors. They came to call attention to the urgent need for the federal government to make its contribution and increase health transfers to 35%, with no strings attached. They clearly understood that this jurisdiction belongs to Quebec, not the federal government.
Moving on to the second part of my presentation, the budget makes no provision for any major EI reform before 2030, despite the government's promises. The government also refuses to write off the EI fund's pandemic-related debt. As a result, premiums will have to increase and benefits will have to decrease for the fund to achieve a $24‑billion surplus by 2030. How great it would have been to have a little money left over to reform federal services.
As the status of women critic, I consider this to be a major reform from a feminist perspective. We know that 60% of workers are not eligible for employment insurance, and that is concerning. It is primarily women who work in unstable jobs, who do not work full time because they have to do invisible work at home with their families and who have difficulty accumulating the hours required to be eligible for EI.
I would like to point out that on Tuesday, April 4, groups in Quebec, including AFEAS, campaigned for a national invisible work day that would be held every year on the first Tuesday in April. This kind of day is needed to encourage real reflection on this issue, which also affects family caregivers and volunteers. How can we do more to recognize what these people do? My thoughts go out to them and I thank them, especially those who are being honoured this week as part of National Volunteer Week. I salute them.
I am now coming to my third point, and I will devote the rest of my speech to the lack of measures for seniors and their precarious financial situation. I actually held a conference on that issue back home in Granby on February 21, with seniors' groups from all over Quebec. I want to talk about some of the issues that were raised during that day of reflection.
First, I want to point out that while wages are rising, old age security is not increasing as much or as quickly. Currently, if someone is 75 years old and receives nothing but old age security and the guaranteed income supplement, their annual income is $20,574.24. Given today's inflation, who can really live on that? That level of income puts them below the official federal poverty line, as determined by the market basket measure, or MBM. In response to this statistic, the symposium participants that day said that the federal government needs to increase old age security benefits.
Add inflation to that, and old age security is not enough to live on; it is not a replacement for working income. As for income replacement in retirement through public pension plans, right now, a person earning the average wage in Quebec will have an income replacement rate of only 41%. The Quebec pension plan replaces about 25% of the average wage.
As for old age security, it barely replaces 15% of the average wage. Sadly, since wages are rising faster than the consumer price index—by about one percentage point per year—this federal program will in future contribute less in terms of replacing working income in retirement. The federal government must do better.
Finally, we must also revise the indexation method for old age security. The Association québécoise de défense des droits des aînés, or AQDR, agrees, and does not believe that it is adequate. Furthermore, the AQDR also believes that old age security is not increasing fast enough to replace employment income, which is rising faster than public plan replacement rates. Everyone is talking about wage increases right now.
Seniors are finding it very difficult to save, especially older women who, over the course of their lives, have greater difficulty setting aside money and saving to retire in dignity.
The old age security pension, or OAS, and the guaranteed income supplement, or GIS, are insufficient to meet the needs of seniors. Let us not forget that, in July 2022, the annual income of an individual under the age of 75 receiving only their pension and the GIS would fall below the official poverty line in Canada, based on the market basket measure, or MBM. That is significant in an inflationary context.
This index, which is calculated by Statistics Canada, seeks to establish the cost of a basket of goods for a modest basic standard of living. We are not talking about trips down south or luxury items; we are talking about basic needs.
In 2022, MBM thresholds were between $20,796 and $22,382 for singles, depending on the region in which they lived. The solution, therefore, is simple: Income levels for all seniors aged 65 and older need to be increased.
That day, we also talked about the implementation of a tax credit for experienced workers in the context of the labour shortage, a tax credit for working seniors who want to stay on the job or for seniors who decide to go back to work.
That day, we also talked about health transfer increases. I just wanted to point that out. The federal government needs to significantly increase health transfers so that the Quebec and provincial governments can make major investments in their health care systems.
Another item that was discussed that day and that should be noted is the fact that inflation is seriously eroding seniors' purchasing power. It would have been a good idea for the Liberal government to at least support those who cannot afford to be patient.
FADOQ expected Ottawa to walk the talk when it came to increasing the guaranteed income supplement. Let us not forget that those who receive the GIS are some of the most disadvantaged members of our society. FADOQ believes that the government could have taken these additional measures. Another example would be to make the Canada caregiver credit refundable.
Given the ongoing labour shortage, the FADOQ network also suggested that a tax credit to encourage seniors to keep working would be a great idea. The timing is perfect. Even though it was another thing the federal government had promised, this tax credit was not announced in the last budget.
To continue on the theme of the budget, the grocery rebate is actually a one-time payment through the GST tax credit. Although it is a decent measure, the Bloc Québécois hoped that low-income families and individuals would get better government support during this inflation crisis. For 2023, the amount remains a one-time payment. It does nothing to solve the longer-term problem.
My last point is that, despite everything, the long-term financial outlook remains the same. The ratio of the federal public debt relative to the GDP will continue its downward trend. Ottawa plans to completely pay off its debt within 30 to 40 years. The federal budget confirms the Parliamentary Budget Officer's long-term forecasts. Beyond the short term, the federal financial situation will keep improving. Over the long term, the financial situation of the provinces and Quebec will keep deteriorating. The money is in Ottawa, but the needs, in areas like health and education, are in Quebec.
In the short term, we must also deal with the global economic downturn, high interest rates worldwide and inflation that is still too high.
In conclusion, I could also have spoken about the lack of support for the next generation of farmers and the greenwashing that the budget also contains. It maintains the fossil fuel subsidies, subsidizing oil companies, as my colleague from La Prairie mentioned. The budget talks about hydrogen, meaning dirty hydrogen, about carbon capture and about small nuclear reactors, even though experts have condemned these measures. As I said, it is greenwashing. These are not measures that will help us seriously kick-start the shift we need to make to fight climate change.
In short, the spending in this budget is unwise and insufficient for those who are truly in need.
That is why, in closing, I will proudly say that I will soon be introducing a bill to abolish the injustice created by the 10% increase in old age security only for those 75 and over. We must ensure that all seniors, when they turn 65, can receive this little additional boost, but especially a boost in the long term and not a one-time cheque or, as the government has done all too often, a little pre-election cheque that looks good. With this bill, we want to increase the threshold to the point where seniors can work without their GIS being clawed back. This is about common sense and dignity for seniors. Even the economic sector is calling for this. Let us all work together.
There are also the demands from the National Assembly. We must meet people's needs. We must work together to improve the current situation, which, as we know, is not easy for everyone, especially the seniors who really need to be listened to and heard a little more.
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- Apr/19/23 4:31:20 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the accuracy of information is important when a member speaks. For example, the member talks about the old age supplement, the OAS, and gives the impression that it is not being increased. However, it is actually increased multiple times a year depending on rates of inflation.
The member says that we are not supporting seniors. However, if we take a look at the dental plan, the expansion is, in good part, for seniors. We could talk about the rebate the member made reference to. Seniors will benefit from that particular rebate, not to mention the climate action rebate. What about the $198 billion going toward public health over the next 10 years, a commitment of generational support for health care? One has to be pretty naive to believe that would not help seniors.
How can the member stand in her place and give the false impression that this budget is not supporting seniors when, in fact, it is supporting seniors? I believe she knows that.
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- Apr/19/23 4:36:25 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I will be sharing my time with the member for Outremont.
As a member of Parliament representing, in my opinion, maybe the best riding in all of Canada, Mississauga East—Cooksville, a riding with a thriving economic presence, a great region that people call home, where they work and where they raise their families, I am honoured to address the House on matters of great significance to my constituents, and to all Canadians for that matter.
Today's debate on budget 2023 and our government's fiscal plan is of great importance to the 800,000 residents of Mississauga and the 16,000 businesses in Mississauga. It is always an honour and a privilege to discuss issues that affect them and our communities. Budget 2023 is the government's plan to build a stronger, more sustainable and more secure Canadian economy, an economy that works for everyone.
The past couple of weeks gave me a wonderful opportunity to meet with residents and businesses in my riding to talk about budget 2023. The proposed budget aims to make life more affordable for Canadians when they need it most. This includes delivering a grocery rebate that would offer up to $467 extra for eligible families of four, so they can keep putting good food on the table and paying their bills. We would also be increasing assistance for students, cracking down on hidden junk fees and predatory lenders, and lowering credit card transaction fees for small businesses.
Together with provinces and territories, the budget proposes historic investments in health care, with conditions attached to ensure the delivery of improved services, such as more family doctors, better wages for support workers and mental health supports. This would ensure that Canadians get the care they need and deserve. To address dental care affordability concerns, we would be expanding dental coverage to millions of Canadians. Furthermore, the budget aims to grow the clean economy, fight climate change and deliver great jobs and great careers for now and for generations to come.
It is unfortunate that Conservative members opposite continue to stand in the way of all the progress we are trying to deliver and the supports for people who need them right now. They want to make reckless cuts, and the member for Carleton, the leader of the Conservatives, also encouraged people to invest their life savings in volatile cryptocurrencies, like Bitcoin, to opt out of inflation. I want to use parliamentary language as much as I can, so I will just say that the leader of the Conservatives is being reckless and irresponsible by giving out terrible advice. I feel sorry for Canadians who listened to that leader and lost much of their savings. The leader of the Conservatives should stand up and apologize to Canadians for his reckless messages for Canadians to invest in that cryptocurrency scheme.
We, as Liberals, will stay focused on supporting Canadians. My riding of Mississauga East—Cooksville is home to the largest population of Polish Canadians and one of the largest Ukrainian Canadian communities, my wife being one of those Ukrainian Canadians. My residents understand how Putin and his Russian crony oligarchs have driven up inflation in Canada and around the world. I wish that the official opposition and the leader of the Conservatives, the member for Carleton, would also understand that, like my constituents do.
Canada's economy has indeed made a remarkable recovery, well past what was imaginable. Inflation has fallen for eight months in a row, and the Bank of Canada predicts it will drop to just 2.6% by the end of this year. More Canadians of working age are employed than ever before. With 830,000 more Canadians working today than before the pandemic, 126% of the jobs lost to COVID have been recovered as of February. In February, the average wage for Canadians actually went up by 5.4%, and since 2015, the federal government has made significant investments to support Canadians and make life more affordable.
Inflation-relief payments are helping about 11 million low- and modest-income Canadians. With our enhanced Canada workers benefit, families could receive up to $2,461 this year, and a single Canadian without children could receive up to $1,428. Our Canada dental benefit has provided direct tax payments of up to $1,300 per child, over two years, to eligible families to cover dental expenses for their children under 12. As of early April, we have already helped about 260,000 children with this benefit.
With our one-time top-up to the Canada housing benefit, a tax-free payment of $500, we have helped low-income people who are struggling with the cost of rent. For our seniors who are 75 and older, a 10% increase in old age security payments is providing over $800 in new supports to full pensioners in the first year. Our tax-free Canada child benefit supports about 3.5 million Canadian families annually, with up to $6,997 per child under the age of six and $5,900 per child aged six to 17. It has helped 3.5 million families and lifted 500,000 children out of poverty.
Under many of these initiatives, our government has lifted over a million people out of poverty in Canada.
In Ontario, we celebrated the one-year anniversary of the signing of the Canada-wide early learning and child care agreement. This agreement will deliver, on average, $10-a-day child care for Ontario families by the end of March 2026. It is already saving thousands of dollars for families in my riding of Mississauga East—Cooksville, across Ontario and right across Canada. In addition, important benefits like the Canada child benefit, the Canada pension plan, OAS and the guaranteed income supplement are all keeping pace with inflation.
While we continue to talk about all the positive outcomes of our government's fiscal prudence through the most difficult few years, not only here but across the globe, we also know there is still much more work to be done, so what are we doing? We are cracking down on hidden junk fees such as higher telecom roaming charges, event and concert fees, excessive baggage fees and unjustified shipping and freight fees. We are also cracking down on predatory lending by proposing to lower the criminal rate of interest. For small businesses, we are lowering credit card transaction fees while protecting reward points for Canadians offered by Canada's large banks. Our proposed automatic tax filing for low-income Canadians will ensure they can easily file their tax returns in order to receive the benefits they are entitled to. Young Canadians will also be able to save for their first home. We launched the new tax-free home savings account on April 1. This is all good news.
With our new Canada dental care plan, our federal government is moving forward with transformational investments to provide dental care to all Canadians who need it. We are moving now to help families and seniors, with a dental plan for families with a family income of $90,000 or less, with no copays, and for individuals with $70,000 or less. Their coverage would begin by the end of 2023.
With budget 2023, we are growing a green economy. We are ensuring a clean Canadian economy that can deliver prosperity for the middle class and make more jobs and more vibrant communities right across our country. In my riding, Ukrainian Canadian families remind me every day that we cannot take our freedom and democracy for granted. Our country is filled with great opportunities. Our government has all these families, seniors, youth and businesses in mind, with timely supports. This is a great budget and I hope all members of the House will support it.
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- Apr/19/23 4:48:14 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I commend my colleague on his enthusiasm and his faith in his budget.
To me, the speech we just heard is too rosy and overly optimistic. I may be wearing rose-coloured glasses, but that does not stop me from seeing things as they are.
Seniors are getting poorer. Seasonal workers have to deal with the spring gap, or maybe a black hole. There are things the Bloc Québécois has been calling for for a long time. The environment is not about the environment, it is just greenwashing. What did my colleague not understand about the demands the Bloc Québécois has been making for a while now?
Let us support our seniors and propose ideas to encourage them to go back to work, if that is what they want. If they are unable to do so, then they need a basic income to get through the year. They are living below the poverty line. The same goes for seasonal workers.
I do not understand my colleague, who seems to be saying that everything is just fine. I do not think things are fine. In any case, in my riding, things are not fine at all. Some people are going hungry. Others do not know if they will have enough credit to manage. It is very worrisome. This is nothing new. The government has been pushing us into increasing poverty for some time now. It is odd to say “increasing” when it comes to poverty, but it is what it is.
I would like to hear my colleague's thoughts on my perspective.
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- Apr/19/23 4:53:03 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I got involved in politics so we could put in place better programs for young people. In this budget, we have talked a lot about dental care, removing interest rates on student loans and investing in young people through child care.
Why is it, from the member's perspective, so important for us to invest in the next generation in this budget?
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- 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 5:05:54 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I would like to hear my colleague's thoughts on the environmental portion of her government's budget. I think it is a bit of a shame that, in this era of fighting climate change, we are putting all industries on the same footing, even the heavy polluters. That has been proven.
I question the idea of offering more public funds to companies that make millions, if not billions, of dollars in profits per year, to help them develop new technologies that have not yet been proven effective. I am thinking about carbon capture and storage in particular.
All that money could have been directed elsewhere. They could have invested more in renewable energy, green energy. I spoke to the Minister of Environment and Climate Change about it, and he said that if we help one, we have no choice but to help them all. I am still having a hard time with that. We know that some companies are heavy polluters and that we should not encourage them to produce more. Instead, we should encourage them to produce less, so that they produce fewer greenhouse gases.
I would like to hear my colleague's opinion about giving equal footing to industries that are receiving public funds, even if they make billions of dollars in profits.
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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 5:08:20 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, today I rise to speak to budget 2023. I will be sharing my time with the great hon. member for Simcoe North.
Perhaps more than any other budget in recent memory, Canadians were looking to this federal government to send some strong signals on responsible governance, prudent spending, fiscal responsibility and a path through these high inflationary times. Unfortunately, however, the reality is that we did not see any of this in the budget. It should therefore come as no surprise that I, along with my Conservative colleagues, will not be supporting this budget as it stands.
Of course, we know that NDP members will support the Liberal government, because they always have and always will, ever since their coalition government began. However, the NDP's blank cheque approach to dealing with the Liberals' incompetence is only making matters worse. This makes them a part of the problem and leaves the Conservatives as the only national party to stand up for Canadians.
The single largest selling point in this budget that I see is the token $225 payment to lower-income Canadians to supposedly help with the rising cost of groceries. This shows that the Liberals are clearly out of touch with the realities that Canadians are facing as they do their weekly grocery shopping.
I was at the Calgary Co-op grocery centre in Brentwood last week. I shop there. I have been shopping there for probably 40 years, and I am getting to know the people. A shopping excursion for me takes an hour to an hour and a half. It is an hour to an hour and a half of talking to people in the aisles and shopping. The people I see at the shopping centre look drained, not only of their hard-earned money but of their mental resources as well. They are dealing with how they are going to put food on the table.
I went to the produce section, and it is shocking. The cost of lettuce is up 35% in just this past year. Fresh vegetables, for the vegans out there, are up 15%. Flour, for people who want to bake bread because they cannot afford to buy their bread, is up 23%. Cooking oil, for people who can afford to buy chicken or hamburger, is up 23%. Butter, to butter the bread we cannot afford, is up 19%. Pasta, for Italian lovers out there who enjoy Italian food, had a 19% increase. Canned veggies, again for the vegans, had a 17% increase. Bread, if one can afford it, was up 18%, and even potatoes were up 16% this past year.
This $225 payment literally equates to, if one does the math, about $4.32 per week. It is a pittance of support for struggling Canadians.
However, do not worry, because as the Liberals and the NDP say, everything is just fine and inflation is coming down. Sure, it may be coming down for non-essential items like televisions or high-tech gadgets. However, it certainly is not coming down for the bare essentials, the necessities that Canadians need to feed and house their families.
In no way can the government claim that food security is not an issue in Canada when 60% more Canadians are expected to need food banks this year. The problem is even more acute in certain communities around this country and certainly up in the north. This lack of food affordability will have long-term effects and will add to the stress of many households in this country. This stress will drive up the rates of domestic violence, it will impact the educational outcomes of many of our children and it will have a lasting impact on our most vulnerable, in particular our fixed-income seniors and veterans.
However, it is not only food affordability. There are many other things going wrong here in Canada, and the Liberals and the NDP seem to be blind to it all.
For example, in the last eight years, we have seen a country where there are marijuana pot shops at every turn, at every corner, yet parents are desperately driving around town searching for children's formula and children's medication.
Overdose deaths are at a shocking level and are rising, yet the Liberals' response is to make it easier to get access to deadly drugs.
Canadians need mental health support more than ever, but the Liberal government refuses to activate the 988 emergency line that my colleague, the member for Cariboo—Prince George, has been advocating for for years to no avail.
The government is hiring thousands more public servants. In the past two years alone, the public service has grown by 31,000 full-time employees, yet somehow wait times are worse than when we had fewer employees. The government is spending more and we are getting less. That is the story of the Liberal-NDP government.
Canada needs immigration more than ever to fill our labour shortages, but the immigration backlog gets longer by the day. In July 2021, the backlog was an astounding 1.5 million applications. The government promised to prioritize the problem and hire more people, but the result is that the backlog has increased even further. It now stands at 2.15 million applications. It is another example of paying more and getting less.
Housing prices have doubled. We all know that. However, the government thinks the problem is solved with a $500 housing payment.
Violent crime is up, illegal gun crime is up, drug crime is up and the number of police officers killed on duty is going up at an alarming rate. However, all the government has in response is that it gives its thoughts and prayers to families.
If I truly felt the government's 2023 budget really hit the mark, I would say so. I have in the past praised parts of Liberal budgets, but this budget is such a letdown for Canadians. There is no plan for housing affordability. There is no plan for reducing crime. There is no plan for controlling inflation. There is no plan for true food security. There is no plan for today and no plan for tomorrow.
Canadians need a government that remains focused on the most important things. Instead, we have a Liberal-NDP government that is more concerned with photo ops and penny payment schemes, instead of dealing with root causes. Canadians need a government that supports all businesses and encourages economic growth in every sector in this country, in particular our oil and gas sector, which the government has decimated.
Our national debt has also doubled under the Prime Minister. It is a massive debt burden that will haunt current and future generations of Canadians for decades to come. It will impact our ability to support our most precious social programs and will put our critical services at risk.
It has been a few weeks since the Liberal-NDP government delivered its budget. I hope it will take the feedback of Canadians seriously. The budget could not have been more widely denounced if it had tried. It needs to know the budget is not what Canadians wanted or needed.
What Canadians want is a fiscally responsible government that respects their hard-earned tax dollars. Canadians want a government focused on responsible, prudent spending that is within our spending capacity. Canadians want a government that tackles inflation, instead of recklessly spending to fuel that inflation. Canadians want a government that focuses on delivering the most basic services it currently has, instead of creating new, wasteful and ineffective programs. Canadians want a government that does not saddle future generations with crippling debt.
Canadians will get this kind of government in the next election when they elect a new Conservative government.
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- Apr/19/23 5:20:35 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, absolutely we need to curb the problem of illegal drugs coming into this country. We need to do whatever we can and spend whatever we can, but who will pay for it? It is the taxpayers who pay for this. They also pay for the dental plan and everything the government is offering in its budget.
How do we pay for all this? It is with a strong oil and gas industry in Alberta, an industry that provides us billions of dollars. In 2021 alone, this single industry generated $105 billion for our GDP while supporting almost 400,000 jobs, and the government is decimating it. If we continue to increase our debt in this country, we are in a lot of trouble.
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