44th Parl. 1st Sess.
June 21, 2023 02:00PM
- Jun/21/23 2:59:34 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, last year's exorbitant increases in interest rates were incredible and unprecedented. They were caused by this government's inflationary deficit. Canadians are worried about losing their homes. According to the Bank of Canada, the average Canadian could see a 40% increase in their mortgage payments. The International Monetary Fund says that Canada is the country most at risk of experiencing a default crisis.
Will the Prime Minister finally eliminate his inflationary deficits to lower interest rates on mortgages and ensure that Canadians can keep their homes?
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- Jun/21/23 3:00:17 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, we have the lowest deficit in the G7. We have the best debt-to-GDP ratio in the G7, and we still have a AAA rating from rating agencies around the world.
We are taking a fiscally responsible approach to protecting our economy and creating growth. At the same time, we are investing to support low-income Canadians, to help people buy new homes, and we are also investing with municipalities to create more housing and to build more new apartments and housing units.
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- Jun/21/23 6:03:43 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I really appreciate having another opportunity to address Canada's current fiscal situation.
We have the lowest deficit in the G7. We have the lowest net debt-to-GDP ratio in the G7. That is what has allowed us to focus our investments in this budget on securing health care, with $196 billion invested over the next 10 years; investing in the future with sustainable jobs; investing in the clean economy; and of course investing in affordability.
There is global inflation, and while inflation in Canada has come down from 8.1% to 4.4% and is now likely, as forecast by the Bank of Canada, to hit 3% by the summer and 2% by next year, we need to make sure that Canadians who need our support are receiving that support. We have invested in very targeted measures to make sure that the most vulnerable Canadians who need support the most get it through these hard times, while we position Canada as a country, as a whole, to thrive going forward.
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- Jun/21/23 7:16:09 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, just to set the record straight, on average, 9% of OECD countries' revenue comes from corporate taxation. I have this from the OECD report. In Canada, it is 12%. Tax revenue that comes from corporate taxation is 30% more in Canada. Therefore, to say that we are somehow below the average in the amount of taxation we take from corporations is simply not true.
I heard the member criticizing both Liberals and Conservatives. He went on about some of the things that the Liberals are doing wrong. We agree that the Liberals have a deficit and debt that is way too high. We have interest rates and inflation. We might disagree on the cause of that, but we are seeing negative consequences. We have food bank usage doubling.
Will the member vote non-confidence in the government?
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- Jun/21/23 8:07:36 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, my hon. colleague is someone I have known for many years in the House, and I have travelled with him. I can say the member for Central Okanagan—Similkameen—Nicola is a dear friend.
That is a very important question that I, as an economist, would definitely like to address. I have always believed in Canada maintaining its AAA credit rating. Our deficit-to-GDP ratio should always be on a declining trend, as our deficit-to-GDP ratio is now and is being maintained. I also believe that we must always review our spending. I think that is a natural thing to do. In the budget, we have identified a number of savings, and that was in budget 2023, so we should continue to do that.
We have maintained fiscal prudence in our government. We have done the right thing in having the backs of Canadians during the pandemic. That is why we have recovered so quickly. That was the right thing to do, and any economist I ask would state that. At the same time, we must be fiscally prudent. I have always believed in that. I will continue to believe in that, and I will continue to advocate for that. That is the path we are going on, and we will continue to be on that path.
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- Jun/21/23 8:23:00 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I want to thank the member, because when we worked together on the finance committee a number of years ago, I thought we worked very well together. I am not sure what has happened for him to take a negative tone here tonight, but I think I see his sense of humour. I know where he is coming from. I know he raises those points in good nature.
I will simply offer back what is very clear, and that is that the deficit is coming down in a very pronounced way. That is what happens when one focuses on setting the table in a way that encourages economic growth. That will continue.
Where are the Conservatives on issues like the Volkswagen plant in the community of St. Thomas? That is just down the road from London, Ontario. They are against that investment and the 3,000 jobs it would create, not to mention the billions of dollars of economic growth that comes as a result of investments like that. What they are calling for in this motion would prevent Volkswagen from going forward.
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- Jun/21/23 9:54:31 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, through you, I would like to ask the member opposite some questions.
First, I thank him for that very fact-filled discourse. He spoke authoritatively on a number of fronts, and I would just like to check some of those facts.
He started off by saying that we were running bigger and bigger deficits every year. In 2021, the deficit was $328 billion; in 2022, it was $90 billion; and it is projected to be $40 billion this year. Could he reconcile his statement with these facts?
Second, he said that we do not know where this is all going to end, and it is true, we do not; the future is always uncertain. However, the Bank of Canada expects inflation to come down below 3% by the end of the summer and interest rates to follow in decline.
Third, he said that printing money was the cause of inflation. I understand that this is one economic theory, and it is the economic theory that the Conservatives follow. However, many economists have said that, in fact, the war in Ukraine and the COVID pandemic have been the causes of inflation worldwide.
Could you comment on a few of those apparent contradictions to what you said?
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- Jun/21/23 9:55:54 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I have been corrected. The member is correct that there were larger deficits during the pandemic than there were after the pandemic. Every year, we look at the deficit the Liberals put on the table for the next year, and it always rises. This is the point I was trying to make, and if I misspoke in that respect, I owe her an apology.
There were three questions, but the member talked about economists, Conservative theories and all this stuff. These are not Conservative theories; these are economic theories. I know that, sooner or later, the Liberals will have to start paying attention to economics and finance. The numbers will actually matter at the end of the day.
I apologize to the member because I have forgotten her second question out of the three. If she could ask me again later, I would appreciate it.
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