SoVote

Mr. Francesco Sorbara (Vaughan—Woodbridge, Lib.)

Nov/2/23 4:10:08 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, it is always a pleasure and a privilege to rise in this most honourable House and to be with many of my esteemed and honourable colleagues to debate important legislation. Today, we are obviously debating an opposition day motion. As I was one of those MPs who were elected in 2015, I came here to do the good work that my constituents in Vaughan—Woodbridge elected me to do. They sent me here and put their trust and faith in me to bring forth legislation to improve the lives of not just the residents in my riding but residents across the country, to put in place legislation that makes sense but has lasting and tangible benefits for generations, for my children at home and for many of us who are parents here to ensure that we have a bright future for all our children. I will get to my formal notes in a second, but when I think of some of those measures, we have made life more affordable. We have been able to create a strong economy, an inclusive economy, to lift all boats, as we economists say, to lift all individuals. We have been able to provide confidence for investors, for the private sector, to continue to invest in Canada and Canadians, and confidence in governments, I would say, to invest in their citizens and in their country, exactly as our government has been doing since we came into power in 2015. I think about things like the Canada child benefit. Some 653,000 children have been lifted out of poverty. Over two million Canadians have been lifted out of poverty since we came into power. I think about the Canada workers benefit, how it is lifting low-income Canadians, hard-working Canadians out of poverty, who need extra dollars at the end of each quarter. We changed it. That is something the Conservatives started, but we strengthened it. I think of the trade deals we have negotiated and put into place that help our businesses grow. I think of the supports we provided businesses and individuals during COVID. They were so important to keep our economy functioning, to keep Canadians in their homes and allow them to be with their families. I think of the benefits we have provided for seniors, with a 10% boost to old age security. Over three million seniors are receiving another $800 annually. There are so many things. Dental care has helped hundreds of thousands of children already and will help hundreds of thousands of seniors in the coming year. I also think of the two major middle-class income tax cuts we brought in. We raised the basic personal amount to $15,000, again taking people off the tax rolls, helping seniors, helping students and helping those folks entering the workforce, and asking the wealthiest to pay a little bit more. There are a lot of good things. We brought in pricing pollution. We know we have made commitments to be at net zero by 2050. As an economist, I know there are many ways to get there, and this is one of the ways that is really the most effective for individuals and businesses to adopt technology, yes, to change their behaviour, yes, but also to put in place measures, at the end of the day, that reduce greenhouse gas emissions. We know that in prior platforms from the party opposite and from members opposite who have also sat in provincial legislatures, they have supported this kind of measure. Those are just a few of my thoughts. Now I will comment on the motion at hand. Our government clearly understands that it has become difficult for many Canadian families to make ends meet. That is why we will continue to put forward measures to help them. The reality is that since 2015, our government has spared no effort to make life more affordable for Canadians from coast to coast to coast. For example, we lightened the financial load on Canadians through the Canada child benefit, the middle-class tax cut, the grocery rebate, the new dental care plan, and affordable early childhood education and child care services across the country, with our goal being $10-a-day child care. We have also helped millions of low- and modest-income Canadians by introducing and enhancing the Canada workers benefit. Our government has also supported the financial security of seniors by enhancing old age security and the guaranteed income supplement. However, the reality is that, at present, there are still people across the country who are having a hard time paying their bills and who are under tremendous financial pressure. It is important to us that we help them. That is why we decided to temporarily pause the fuel charge on heating oil for three years. As we saw this summer across the country, the effects of climate change on Canada are very real and very serious. Our country was hit with floods, forest fires and unprecedented storms. Just as we know that climate change is real, the path to follow is clear. To protect our planet and build a stronger economy, we must make a concerted effort to do even more on climate action. That is what we are doing with the historic investments announced in budget 2023 to build the green economy of tomorrow. Our pollution pricing system is an essential measure in our fight against climate change. Economists like me and experts around the world have known for a long time that putting a price on carbon emissions is the best way to reduce the emissions at the root of climate change. It is the least costly, most effective and most impactful approach, and it works. The scales are beginning to tip. We are leading the way among the G7 nations with our system that encourages people to choose ways to be pollute less at home and at work, while putting money back in the pockets of eight out of 10 households where the federal system applies. In fact, thanks to the climate action incentive payment, a family of four in Ontario will get $244 on a quarterly basis this year. The amount is $264 in Manitoba, $340 in Saskatchewan, $386 in Alberta, $328 in Newfoundland and Labrador, $240 in Prince Edward Island, $248 in Nova Scotia and $184 in New Brunswick. Moreover, residents of rural areas and small communities currently get an extra 10%. Last week, the Prime Minister announced that we are going to double the rural top-up for pollution pricing rebates from 10% to 20% of the baseline amount starting in April 2024. Our government is well aware that people who live in rural communities face unique realities, and this measure will help put even more money back in the pockets of families dealing with higher energy costs because they live outside a large city. We want to do even more to fight climate change by helping Canadians install more energy-efficient heating systems. An upfront $250 payment will be available to low- and median-income households that heat their homes with oil and sign up for a federal-provincial program to install a heat pump. Our goal is really to help Canadians make the transition. What is more, we are working with the provinces and territories to strengthen the oil to heat pump affordability program. The amount of federal funding that eligible homeowners can receive for installing a heat pump will increase from $10,000 to $15,000, adding up to an additional $5,000 in grant funding to match provincial and territorial contributions via co-delivery arrangements. This would make the average heat pump free for low- and modest-income households as we continue to minimize upfront costs and make federal programs even easier to access for all households.

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Context: House Hansard - 245 - Nov/2/23

Mr. Francesco Sorbara

Nov/2/23 4:21:32 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I represent the people of my riding of Vaughan—Woodbridge, and I always listen to them. I always will stand up for the citizens of my riding, and I have done so ever since I was elected in 2015. They know me quite well. The government has put in place policies that always put the citizens of Canada first, and we have done this again with this measure that we have brought in. The income tax cuts we brought in for 2015; the basic personal expenditure amount; the Canada child benefit; the Canada workers benefit; the dental benefit for kids under 12 and now, going forward, for seniors; and the national early learning and child care program, which, in my riding, is saving residents literally thousands of dollars a year, are measures I am very proud of.

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Context: House Hansard - 245 - Nov/2/23

Mr. Francesco Sorbara

Nov/2/23 4:23:49 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, ever since we were first elected in 2015, we have brought into place income tax measures on high-income earners here in Canada. We have also put in place the dividend recovery on banks and financial institutions earning over a certain amount. We have increased resources to the Canada Revenue Agency to make sure we go after Canadian institutions and organizations pursuing measures that try to minimize their taxes in illegal ways and so forth. We know that to have a strong economy, we need a strong social fabric, and we can do that only by ensuring that all Canadians pay their fair share. I know that the hard-working citizens in my riding of Vaughan—Woodbridge, the residents who go to work every day, play by the rules, save for their kids, go to their soccer tournaments on the weekends and bus their kids around, are working hard. They need to know that all 338 of us are working hard to represent not only the residents of my riding but also all the residents across Canada.

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