44th Parl. 1st Sess.
June 12, 2023 11:00AM
- Jun/12/23 2:10:18 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the consequences of eight years of a Liberal government are painfully evident. The costs of food, housing and fuel have hit historic highs. Canadians are visiting food banks at record levels. Household debt in Canada has reached an all-time high, and now, amongst advanced economies, Canadians are the most at risk of missing mortgage payments. Last week's Bank of Canada rate hike will only make it more difficult for homeowners.
Canadians simply cannot afford the Liberal-NDP government's inflationary deficits, yet these NDP-Liberals do not care. They have added 60 billion dollars' worth of fuel to the inflationary fire while turning a blind eye to the pain and anxiety they are causing Canadian families. It is time to end inflationary deficits to bring down inflation and interest rates. It is painfully clear that only Conservatives have a common-sense plan to end the cost of living crisis and make life affordable.
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- Jun/12/23 2:11:28 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, under the government, Canadian families are in more debt than any other country in the G7. Last week, with the passage of budget 2023, the costly coalition poured another 60 billion dollars' worth of fuel onto the inflationary fire, sparking another interest rate hike from the Bank of Canada. Families with variable-rate mortgages, those who the Prime Minister encouraged to borrow, promising rates would be low for a long time, are seeing their monthly payments going up again. Even before last week's hike, rate increases had already added $1,000 a month to the average $500,000 mortgage. In my province of B.C., the average cost of a home is $995,000. We can think about how this rate hike will impact British Columbians.
Thanks to the government, families are worried about how they are going to pay for their groceries, day care, summer camps and everything else. Conservatives would put a stop to deficit spending, get inflation under control, create powerful paycheques and get homes built that Canadians can afford. For their home, my home, our home, Conservatives are going to bring it home.
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- Jun/12/23 2:16:14 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the Liberals are out of touch and Canadians are out of money. These inflationary deficits are causing Canadians to miss meals and use food banks, and young people are abandoning the hope of owning a home.
In a couple more weeks, a second carbon tax will kick in, further driving up the price of gas to add 61¢ a litre, pouring more gas on the inflationary fire.
Mortgages and rents have doubled. The combined carbon taxes will cost families $4,000 extra per year. With all of the wildfires raging in Canada, there will be stiff penalties for the arsonists responsible, but what will the punishment be for the Prime Minister and the finance minister, who are deliberately setting the inflationary fire?
I reiterate my party's call for the Liberals to work throughout the summer to draft a budget that will combat inflation, reduce interest rates, axe the carbon tax and make it possible to build more homes.
For one's home, my home, our home, let us bring it home.
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- Jun/12/23 2:19:50 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, ever since this Prime Minister came to power, rent has doubled. Mortgages have also doubled since this Prime Minister came to power.
He spent half a billion dollars, which drove up interest rates and inflation. He is also giving money to local governments that are preventing affordable housing from being built.
Will the Prime Minister finally reverse his inflationary policies, balance the budget and get rid of the red tape so that we can finally build affordable housing?
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- Jun/12/23 2:21:10 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, doubling housing costs is not going to stop forest fires.
The Prime Minister has doubled housing costs with half a trillion dollars of inflationary deficits and by giving billions of dollars to local gatekeepers who block housing construction with the second-slowest housing permits of any country in the entire OECD. Now the deficits the Prime Minister is running risk increasing interest rates further and causing people to lose their homes to higher mortgage prices.
Will the government introduce a balanced budget to bring down inflation and interest rates so Canadians do not lose their homes?
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- Jun/12/23 2:22:32 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the question was about the doubling of housing costs. The Prime Minister has brought in half a trillion dollars of inflationary spending, which has doubled rent costs, mortgage payments and the down payment needed for the average house, and now the IMF says that Canada is the country most at risk of a massive mortgage default as our households have the most debt as a share of GDP of any country in the G7. That debt is about to collide with soaring interest rates, driven by the government's deficits.
Will they eliminate the deficits and balance the budgets to bring down inflation and interest rates before Canadians lose their homes?
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- Jun/12/23 2:42:17 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, in the last eight years, the Prime Minister has racked up more debt than all other prime ministers combined. That is not just a shocking fact; the real-life consequence is that massive Liberal deficits raise the inflation rate. This forces the Bank of Canada to raise the interest rates, forcing Canadians to default on their mortgages.
Canadians are going bankrupt because the Liberals cannot control the government's spending. When will they get their spending under control?
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- Jun/12/23 2:44:47 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, as everyone knows, the government's reckless spending is causing serious problems across the country.
A few days ago, the Bank of Canada had to react to this Prime Minister's inflationary spending by raising interest rates for the ninth time. Canadians are struggling to stay warm, to buy food and to pay their mortgages, which, I would remind members, have doubled. Some Canadians are even in default.
Will the Prime Minister immediately put a stop to his inflation-causing deficit spending and table a plan to balance the budget as soon as possible?
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- Jun/12/23 2:51:14 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, what is embarrassing is that, while Canadians are suffering, the finance minister dumped a $60-billion jerry can of fuel on the inflationary fire she started.
Liberals do not understand that reducing the deficits would reduce inflation, bank interest rates and the risk of a mortgage default crisis. The interest rate hikes will cost an extra $1,300 a month for Canadians, who are already struggling to pay mortgages that cost $3,000 on average.
If the Liberals do not have any plans to reduce this deficit, will they at least get out of the way, so Conservatives can save Canadians' homes?
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- Jun/12/23 2:52:35 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the Liberal government has run massive deficits for eight long years, and, as predicted, inflation has soared, leading to unaffordable mortgage rates for households across this country.
Canadians have the highest household debt in the G7, and today, we now have the highest risk of mortgage default in the OECD nations. The solution is obvious: It is to end deficit spending, stop inflation and help Canadian families.
Will the Prime Minister and his government commit to ending his inflationary spending to prevent a fiscal crisis?
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- Jun/12/23 2:54:28 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, that is absurd. During the pandemic, $200 billion was spent that had nothing to do with helping Canadians. The current government just added another $60 billion to its inflationary bonfire, and it now has deficits for as far as the eye can see.
Canadians are struggling to put food on their tables. They are cancelling their summer vacations because of the Liberal-caused inflation. On our side of the House, we are willing to work all summer to fix and pass a budget that will bring down inflation, bring down deficits, and make home ownership and hard work affordable again.
Will the Prime Minister cancel his summer vacation? Will he get to work, or are surfboard—
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- Jun/12/23 2:55:55 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, when our farmers used the emergency account during the pandemic, they could not have anticipated all the other misfortunes that would follow.
The war in Ukraine has driven up input costs. The inflation rate is more than three times higher than in other industries. There is $8 of debt for every dollar of income, and the policy rate continues to rise. I could go on all day. As a result, one in 10 farm businesses are worried about having to shut down within a year.
Will the Minister of Finance allow farmers to defer their emergency account repayments without them losing the subsidy portion?
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- Jun/12/23 2:58:22 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, it is no secret that the government's record deficit spending has shot inflation through the roof. As a result, Canadians are spending more on food than ever before. This is particularly marked in rural communities like my own, where higher shipping costs add on to the cost of the end product and will only continue to get more expensive with this government's carbon taxes.
Will the government finally acknowledge the damage its lavish and out-of-control spending is having on the kitchen table?
Canadians are needing help. It needs to end its inflation-inducing monetary policy. Will it do it?
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- Jun/12/23 2:59:02 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, we know that Canadians will not receive any help from the Conservatives, because their plan is austerity, austerity, austerity. In opposition, our government is committed to supporting Canadians.
In fact, inflation is a global phenomenon. A recent report noted that Canada actually has the second-lowest food inflation in the world. It does not mean that Canadians are not hurting. That is why we brought forward the grocery rebate that, as of July 5, 11 million Canadians are going to receive.
That is in addition to the Canada child benefit, early learning and child care, the rental benefit. We have been there for Canadians—
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- Jun/12/23 2:59:43 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, unlike the federal government, struggling Canadians cannot simply print more money. They need to manage their budgets and spend within their means. They cannot impose a series of punitive taxes on their neighbours to balance their books. They need to manage their finances with the added hurdle of reduced spending power.
When will the government stop spending, reduce inflation and lower massive grocery bills?
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- Jun/12/23 3:03:04 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, this is a very serious problem. Massive Liberal deficits are fuelling inflation. Inflation causes interest rates to go up. Higher interest rates lead to higher mortgage payments and more mortgage defaults. To stop mortgage defaults, we need to balance the budget, end the big deficits and reduce interest rates.
Will the Prime Minister end his inflationary deficit spending so Canadians can afford to live?
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- Jun/12/23 3:04:16 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, that is certainly not a very serious answer.
The bank governor is working to rein in inflation by increasing interest rates. At the same time, the Prime Minister's massive $60-billion spending spree is fuelling inflation and has caused yet another interest rate hike just last week. While the Liberals are making the Bank of Canada's job even harder, it is ordinary Canadians who will be dropping their keys off at their banks and saying goodbye to their homes.
Will the Prime Minister put an end to his inflationary deficit spending and let Canadians keep their homes?
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- Jun/12/23 3:04:50 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, earlier in question period, I reminded the Conservatives that their leader, at the beginning of the pandemic, held a press conference where he decried our pandemic benefits as big, fat government programs. If members watch that video on the Internet, the member who posed the question is standing behind him.
The reality is the spending we put in place has supported people through the pandemic. The Conservative solution to the cause of inflation is to spend less money on supporting the households that need it.
We are going to continue to be there for Canadians to support health care, to help protect our environment and to make life more affordable. It is a shame the Conservatives will not join us.
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- Jun/12/23 3:05:31 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, this Prime Minister is running deficits like there is no tomorrow and that has driven up inflation.
Inflation prompted the Bank of Canada to raise interest rates nine times over the past year. Homeowners who are making mortgage payments know all about it. The International Monetary Fund has warned Canada: The country is at risk of defaulting on its payments. That is where we are. It is very unfortunate, but that is how it is.
Will the Prime Minister stop with his inflationary deficits?
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- Jun/13/23 12:00:39 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, I rise today because of a question I asked some time ago in the House of Commons, which went unanswered in many respects. We talked about, at that point in time, the inflation and the toll it was taking on Canada's businesses, both in their ability to borrow and with respect to the bankruptcies that were happening across Canada. That is on the rise as well.
When I asked that question, it was just before the budget came out on March 28. I asked the Prime Minister and I asked the government to ensure there were no new taxes coming forward in the budget so there would not be more burden felt by Canadians, and by Canadian businesses in particular, from the rising cost of CPI, the Consumer Price Index in Canada. This is something that continues to haunt Canadians, and it has haunted us more again, as we have seen in the last little while.
There was a point when it looked like the Bank of Canada was actually getting inflation under control. When I say “under control”, I mean back down to about the 4% level, or about double where it needs to be in order for the economy to manage to the point where it is deemed to be stable, which is between 1% and 3%. Usually, we say about 2%. That is not happening anymore.
On June 7, the Bank of Canada raised the bank rate again because the CPI was continuing to increase. Why did the CPI increase after April? What happened after the budget? The government imposed an increase in the carbon tax, a new tax, 30% of which was felt directly by consumers. The government will tell consumers that they get all their money back, yet it has been proven time and time again by objective officers of Parliament that it is in fact an in-and-out scheme, where Canadians are being fooled about how much they are getting back.
On top of that, the government is designing a new tax from July 1, which is going to double the effect of the clean fuel regulations, which is going to take a total now of 61¢ on average per litre of gasoline out of the pockets of Canadians. One cannot sit there and impose more taxes and more costs on Canadians without it having an effect on everything they buy, and that in itself creates inflation. These things all flow all the way through the value chain. When one increases the cost of things, one increases inflation. When one increases inflation, one increases the cost of debt and devalues the work people do, because everything costs more. Therefore, what they used to take home does not buy as much. It is not worth as much to them as it was before the inflation was created.
We have more inflation and we are on a spiral. The government continues to create more inflation. We must think about everything it is doing here. It is over-budget on everything it is doing. A $41-billion deficit plan for this year is already out of date. Three months into when that budget was planned, we are already well past that. We have all kinds of industrial commitments for which the government never foresaw, for some strange reason, that it would have to pay the bill at the end of the day. In addition, interest rates go up, and interest rates are going up again. They go up not just for Canadians; they go up also for the Canadian government. The Canadian government is going to pay more in interest this year because the bank rate just went up, and that causes more interest to be paid by the government, which causes more interest to be paid by Canadians. This is a vicious cycle. The government needs to get over it. Will it please commit to looking at inflation and stop the increase in costs upon Canadians?
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