44th Parl. 1st Sess.
May 29, 2023 11:00AM
- May/29/23 7:41:25 p.m.
- Watch
Mr. Chair, this is the first government budget that we could describe as a postpandemic budget. Obviously no one here in Parliament is to blame for the virus. However, the programs that might have helped us to get through the pandemic at the time are the responsibility of this Parliament. We need to learn important lessons and make corrections. We also need to prepare for the next crisis that could arise.
The government boasts about having signed agreements with the provinces on health. These agreements were imposed. Out of the demands that were made by the provinces and Quebec, only $1 out of $6 was granted. Before the Liberals came along, the transfers covered 24% of provincial health costs. Now they cover just 22%. With these new agreements, which are not real agreements, we are back to 24%. They are perpetuating the chronic underfunding of health.
Does the minister recognize that the federal government's chronic underfunding has left us short on hospital beds and that the measures to counter the pandemic, which hurt our economy, had to be excessively extended?
181 words
All Topics
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- May/29/23 7:42:38 p.m.
- Watch
Mr. Chair, I agree that health care is a priority for Quebeckers and for all Canadians. That is why we made a historic investment of almost $200 billion for health care in the budget. That is really a lot of money. However, we know that it was the right thing to do because for Quebec and for all the provinces, health care is essential. That is why we made this investment.
We also made huge investments during the pandemic. We supported the provinces and territories, including Quebec, obviously. Nine out of 10 dollars spent during the pandemic were spent by the federal government. It was the right thing to do, but the result today is that some provinces, including Quebec, are in a position—
126 words
All Topics
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- May/29/23 7:43:56 p.m.
- Watch
Mr. Chair, the minister confirmed that she supports the ongoing underfunding and that she also borrowed on behalf of the provinces. This is not a gift from the federal government. The money that the federal government sent during the pandemic was borrowed money.
Now there is no money for health care, but there is money for a dental plan. This is being done with the help of the federal spending power, which is the instrument of the fiscal imbalance.
The federal government is going to expand this program. The Government of Quebec and the Quebec National Assembly are unanimously calling for Quebec to be given the right to opt out with full financial compensation.
Will the Liberal government give Quebec the right to opt out with full financial compensation?
129 words
All Topics
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- May/29/23 7:45:39 p.m.
- Watch
Mr. Chair, I notice that the longer the answers are, the more they seem like a “no” in disguise.
We know that during the pandemic, health care was underfunded, that there was a shortage of hospital beds that led to people being turned away, and that the pandemic measures needed to be extended.
If, during the pandemic, we had had a dental plan like the one the minister is planning, how many more hospital beds would Quebec have had as a result of that dental plan?
88 words
All Topics
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- May/29/23 7:46:07 p.m.
- Watch
Mr. Chair, the pandemic was truly a crisis for the entire country. That being said, I think that we as Canadians and Quebeckers can be proud, in general, of our national response. If we compare Canada to the United States—
41 words
All Topics
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- May/29/23 7:46:39 p.m.
- Watch
Mr. Chair, during the pandemic, we saw significant gaps in the social safety net, especially Canada's social safety net, which led to the use of a set of temporary measures. Naturally, all parties quickly agreed to them. One temporary measure after another was implemented. Ultimately, these measures were poorly targeted and very costly.
Although it does not want to do so for China, does the government plan to launch a public inquiry into the reasons for these gaps in our social safety net so that, in the event of another crisis, we need not reintroduce the temporary measures one by one, since we know how costly they will be for taxpayers and future generations?
115 words
All Topics
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- May/29/23 7:49:48 p.m.
- Watch
Mr. Chair, indeed, just over $25 billion in additional funding was put into EI during the crisis. That was a small portion of the $250 billion to $300 billion that the Government of Canada spent to help Canadians and Quebeckers during the pandemic.
For the other programs, unlike EI, Quebeckers and Canadians have decided to stand in solidarity and band together to cover all of these pandemic-related expenses through the government's consolidated fund. In this case, the government is going to take another $25 billion out of the pockets of businesses and unemployed workers over the next seven years.
Does the government not think that it should show solidarity and treat this spending as pandemic spending instead of dipping into people's pockets for the next seven years?
136 words
All Topics
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- May/29/23 7:53:32 p.m.
- Watch
Mr. Chair, we understood during the pandemic that it was an historic crisis. We understood that it was important to have a response that measured up to the historic nature of this crisis.
That is what we did. We supported Canadians across the country and that was the right thing to do.
52 words
All Topics
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- May/29/23 7:54:36 p.m.
- Watch
Mr. Chair, our government understands the importance of the EI system. That is why we invested in EI during the pandemic.
We continue to—
25 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- May/29/23 7:56:26 p.m.
- Watch
Mr. Chair, I would like to finish my answer about the job market in Canada, because it is very important to understand that our focus during the pandemic was jobs, jobs and more jobs. We understood that, for Quebeckers and Canadians, having a job was the most important thing.
I am very pleased—
54 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- May/29/23 8:34:43 p.m.
- Watch
Mr. Chair, it went up from 42% to 43%, which is odd because, in this very House, the Minister of Finance said, “On this point, let me be very clear. We are absolutely determined that our debt-to-GDP ratio must continue to decline and our deficits must continue to be reduced. The pandemic debt we incurred to keep Canadians safe must be paid down. This is our fiscal anchor. This is a line we will not cross.”
Why did they cross the line?
86 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- May/29/23 9:57:56 p.m.
- Watch
Madam Chair, that is a really important question, and I think when historians look back on 2022 and 2023 they are going to note that these were the years we were coming out of the pandemic. Just as when we look back at the early years of the 20th century, we talk about the Spanish flu, but we talk even more about the great transformations at the beginning of the past century, I think historians are going to say 2022 and 2023 were the years that the world's great industrial economies got serious about climate change and about the industrial transformation it requires.
104 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- menumenu
- notificationsnotifications
- home
- mailmail
- searchsearch
