44th Parl. 1st Sess.
October 17, 2023 10:00AM
- Oct/17/23 3:03:40 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, Quebeckers are worried about debt. Young people fear that they will never be homeowners. That is what we read this morning in a Quebec newspaper this morning. After eight years of this Liberal government, with the complicity of the Bloc Québécois, our young people are pessimistic about the future. They see that it is costly to vote for the Bloc, just as it is costly to vote for the Liberals.
What new measures will be taken now to help our young people realize their dreams of home ownership?
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- Oct/17/23 5:24:36 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, before I begin my remarks, I want to turn my attention to the people of Gaza and Israel. I think we have to set both organizations aside and focus on the people themselves. My thoughts are with them.
I want to thank my colleague from Battlefords—Lloydminster, who gave an excellent speech.
I rise this afternoon to speak to an official opposition motion. I believe it is the role of the official opposition to call on the government to be more diligent and responsible and to deliver concrete results for Canadians. I will quote the different parts of the motion because that is what we are debating, and I think people who are watching at home on the House of Commons network deserve to know what we are talking about.
(i) after eight years of this Liberal government, this prime minister has added more to the national debt than all previous prime minister's combined,
(ii) a half-trillion dollars of inflationary deficits has directly led to 40-year inflation highs,
(iii) prior to budget 2023, the Minister of Finance said, “What Canadians want right now is for inflation to come down and for interest rates to fall […]
If I may say so, that is not what is happening right now.
…and that is one of our primary goals in this year's budget: not to pour fuel on the fire of inflation,” and then proceed to usher in $60 billion in new spending,
(iv) in order to combat inflation, the Bank of Canada has been forced to increase interest rates 10 times in just 19 months,
There is a problem somewhere, but the Liberals do not seem to want to acknowledge it.
(v) interest rate increases have increased mortgage payments, and since this prime minister took office, monthly mortgage payments have increased 150% and now cost $3,500 on a typical family home...
Then it mentions the Liberal-NDP government, because it is important to understand that this is a minority government and that, if this government is kept in power, it is because there is a coalition. The NDP and the Liberal Party are committed to keeping this government in office, despite the fact that it is not delivering results and Canadians are paying the price. Therefore:
(vi) the Liberal-NDP government must exercise fiscal discipline, end their inflation driving deficits so that interest rates can be lowered,
in order to—
An hon. member: Oh, oh!
Mr. Joël Godin: Mr. Speaker, may I have some quiet?
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- Oct/17/23 5:28:13 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I thank my NDP colleague for his intervention.
I will continue to read from the written motion, which is an official House of Commons document. If my colleague would like to have the full version, he can ask the table clerks, who are very helpful.
. . . inflation driving deficits so that interest rates can be lowered, in order to avoid a mortgage default crisis, as warned by the International Monetary Fund, and to ensure Canadians do not lose their homes, the House call on the government to introduce a fiscal plan that includes a pathway back to balanced budgets, in order to decrease inflation and interest rates, and to introduce this in the House of Commons prior to the Bank of Canada’s next policy interest rate decision on October 25, 2023.
Yes, the timeline is short, but this government has been in power for eight years. I hope the government members see things the way we do. We are back in the House after a week in our ridings. I have to say that everyone I met in Portneuf—Jacques-Cartier told me that they are struggling to balance their budgets, that they do not know how they are going to put food on the table and heat their homes properly. Unfortunately, in Canada, and particularly in Quebec, winter is pretty harsh. We have to heat our homes, we have to eat and, yes, we have to put gas in the car. My riding covers a low-density area, which means that people need a vehicle. There is no public transit. Unfortunately, that is the reality. We cannot bury our heads in the sand. We cannot ignore the facts. That is a reality, and we have to take it into account.
The Prime Minister stated, with a completely straight face, that budgets balance themselves. I am a father, and there are probably many parents here who have responsibilities and have to manage a budget. I have some news for the Prime Minister. I do not know whether budgets balance themselves in his ivory tower, but down here on earth, on the ground, in our homes, we have to balance our budgets. If not, we will be headed for bankruptcy, so we need to be responsible.
What is worse, at a certain point, the Liberals also said that it was time to borrow money because rates were low and they would not go up. We can see that today's reality is drastically different. Yesterday, I met with representatives of the Quebec Professional Association of Real Estate Brokers. They travelled here to Ottawa, and I met with them. I think it is important that members of Parliament meet with people to find out what is happening on the ground. I think that the government members should adopt such a practice. According to what the association representatives told me, we are going to hit a wall. It will not be long until the banks will have to start collecting house keys because people cannot pay their mortgages. That is a reality.
Today I met representatives from Pets Canada, a network of manufacturers, retailers and pet enthusiasts. Many of us have pets like cats and dogs. These pets are part of our families. Customers who buy dog or cat food are worried, because they will have to forgo buying food for their pets so that they themselves can survive. We are in Canada in 2023. I think that is important.
I will read other quotes from the Prime Minister, just for the fun of it.
“You'll forgive me if I don't think about monetary policy.” That was from August 19, 2021.
Here is another one: “We took on debt so Canadians wouldn't have to.”
However, as my colleague mentioned, it is taxpayers' money we are talking about. Governments do not make money, they simply administer the taxes collected from Canadian taxpayers.
Here is another quote from the Prime Minister, this one from 2015: “We're proposing a strong and real plan, one that invests in the middle class, so we can grow the economy, not from the top down...but from the heart outwards. That's what Canada has always done well”.
Now I want to talk about the Prime Minister's broken promises. This Prime Minister said the government would run a small deficit in 2015, tiny, temporary, no more than $10 billion. That was a broken promise. Then he said it would never go over $30 billion. Another broken promise. The Prime Minister said he would return to balanced budgets in 2019 and that this commitment was set in stone. What does he take us for? Once again, another broken promise.
As I mentioned, after eight years, the Prime Minister has added more to the debt than all of our country's prime ministers combined. This is serious. During question period yesterday, the Deputy Prime Minister again stated that Canada has the lowest deficit and the lowest debt-to-GDP ratio. I would like to ask the Deputy Prime Minister to go for a walk in the streets with me to talk to people. What will they tell her? They will tell her they are struggling to get by. There needs to be an action plan, and soon, to get the budget back into balance. It is about being responsible.
Now, on the other side of the House, they do not understand that. It is the job of the official opposition to force them to do their job and do it as quickly as possible, because it has been eight years. I hope they are not just waking up today because of the motion we moved. I hope they woke up several months ago and are working on finding a solution to balance the budget as quickly as possible.
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- Oct/17/23 5:36:12 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I am always happy to hear from my colleague from Sackville—Preston—Chezzetcook, with whom I enjoy spending time on Parliament Hill. He is a passionate man. We are hearing it less today because his voice will not let him be as passionate, but we can feel the underlying passion in the the depth of his voice.
My colleague gave me the answer in his question. There are many ways to get results, and I think that the method proposed by the government today is not effective. We saw that in the past.
Yes, we believe in prosperity, but we simply want action and an effective and prosperous plan.
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- Oct/17/23 5:38:21 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I salute my colleague, who represents the riding east of mine. My riding covers a very large territory. It is always a pleasure to collaborate with her, and I appreciate the respect she shows me. I can tell her that it is mutual, and I will always have a great deal of respect for her.
Now, I want to make it clear that we are prepared to help people who are in need. During the pandemic, this government sent money to various groups across Canada that it could not get back. We were there from the start during the pandemic to help these people. We we always be there.
As for the magic wand, we do not claim to be magicians, unlike the Liberals. We will work responsibly and we will help people who are truly in need, but only them.
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- Oct/17/23 5:39:55 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, the context is very different. It is now 2023, and we have to make decisions based on our current reality. There were constraining factors in the past. I think we can be proud of what the Conservative government did when it was in power.
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